Hello from New Orleans! Julie Smith, author and teleclass lecturer
 ,Many apologies to everyone who's written saying, "Why haven't we heard from you since The Storm? "I guess the best answer is that a lot of people responded by gluing themselves to their computers and writing reams and reams, either for publication or just for their friends--but I wasn't one of them. I was more a stare-at-the-ceiling type.
Nonetheless, thanks much for your concern--I truly appreciate it--and despite the psychic wrench of the thing, my husband and I came through magnificently. We're on high ground, so we were totally unscathed if you didn't count the weeks and weeks of exile, the loss of so many friends who moved, and an untoward adventure involving our cats, which ended just fine. We were all reunited within two weeks and now we have an adorable puppy too. Kind of my therapy dog.
It's been a complicated adjustment, and at the end of a year, I think I'm ready for a whole new life, so let me tell you about that first. My first book was published in 1982, which means I've officially been a professional novelist (that can be a job description, right?) for twenty-four years. Looking back, I really think I've actually managed to learn a thing or two in that vast amount of time and what I most want to do now is pass some of it on. So consider me at your service.
What happened was,...
 I heard of fabulous new technology that makes it possible and affordable to give writing classes by phone. Wow, I thought--you could be anywhere in the world, and you could just dial a number and be in class with the teacher you want. No driving, no parking, no rushing, no putting on make-up, no jamming it into your schedule. You could take the course in your sweats and no one would know. You could make faces at the teacher. If you had a headset; you could even multi-task.
And thus was born the idea of WritersTrack, my new plan to turn the entire population into accomplished, well-published novelists. Or rather, the portion of the population that for some reason desires such a fate. Maybe it just seems like everybody.
I also thought about what I didn't like about most writing courses (and writing teachers). In fact, it turned out I was extremely opinionated on the subject. Most writing courses are packed with filler, for one thing--you're lucky if you take away more than two or three new techniques or ideas from any of them. (Not that that's really a bad average--every little bit helps--but I thought I could do better.) The other thing that bothered me is that most writing teachers are little dictators about how you should go about your writing-- even specifying what time of day you should do it, and what order you should do things in. As if there's only one way. As if what matters isn't the book, but your process--which has to duplicate their process.
So I immediately set about putting together a writing course...
...with plenty of nuggets and tidbits and mnemonic devices and takeaways. And not only that, a course that seeks to help students find their own best method rather than dictates to them. We're ready to roll now--our first course starts November 1. I'd love it if you'd come check it out at writerstrack.com . We've got schedules, we've got FAQ's, we've even got a way for someone out there to get a FREE CRITIQUE. Oooh, I just thought of something--maybe you're not interested but you've got a pal this would be perfect for--shoot this right on over to her. But I'm getting overexcited here. I really ought not to digress--this is supposed to be a newsletter, not a sales pitch.
So for those of you who are outraged about this—about to fire off, “Yeah, but what-about-Skip-and-Talba?” letters, I’ve gotta confess, they’re on extended leave. Part of it is the loss of my beloved editor, Win Blevins, who had five books of his own published last year (I mean that he wrote, not edited) and who finally had the temerity to leave to devote himself full-time to his own work. And part of it is the way the storm, the devastation in New Orleans, the near-total loss of a way of life is changing the way we write down here. Right after the storm, when I should have been dreaming up a new plot, I thought of all those people who’d died and suddenly the idea of a detective investigating just one death seemed trivial. Even contrived.
So I’m struggling to find a new way of expression. I think my next book—whatever it is—will probably have more to do with this new way we live in New Orleans right now than with current political issues and social commentary. Exactly what it will be I’m not sure yet. BUT—I’ve not been idle! I’ve been working on short stories—in fact, I have one in the current issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, which is an all-New Orleans issue meant to benefit many of our recovery organizations.
And I edited an anthology, of which I’m extremely proud—it’s NEW ORLEANS NOIR, part of Akashic Books’ acclaimed noir series. It’ll be out in March of next year, and features such writers as Ace Atkins, Patty Friedmann, Chris Wiltz, Greg Herren, Jervey Tervalon, Barbara Hambly, David Fulmer, Laura Lippman, Olympia Vernon, Maureen Tan, and Thomas Adcock, plus some fabulous local ones I can’t wait to introduce you to. Great stuff, guys, I promise you.
Last, but certainly not least...
 ...permit me to throw myself on your mercy. My latest Talba Wallis book, P.I. ON A HOT TIN ROOF, came out the last week of August, 2005—that’s right, about a week before Hurricane Katrina, As a result, there was no one home to buy it. And in the rest of the country, it ...you know...kind of took a back seat to events. But the paperback’s just out and I entreat you to go buy it. I really need the boost.
Good-bye for now—see you at www.WritersTrack.com , and go get yourself that terrific Talba Wallis book you no doubt missed.
As Louis Armstrong used to say--
Red Beans and Ricely Yours,
Julie Smith |
