September

Chicago was great, lots of fun, lots of books sold. My favorite videographer (my husband Stu) did a great job capturing my presentations, you can see snippets of them on YouTube.

I'm working on setting up book events on the West Coast for the Fall months, so check my "J" website for more information there as time goes on. My literary agent, Krista Goering, is presenting my second novel, the one about John Singer Sargent, to various publishers, so I'm always waiting for emails about progress on that front. And (finally, it seems), I have started early sketches for my next novel -- doing lots of research, writing a few pages, thinking of plot lines -- it feels like this one is going to take a long time, but it will be good, and fun on the journey.

August

8/1/10:  Getting ready for Chicago! My book tour launch begins in the Windy City (and suburbs) on Sunday, August 8th at 2:00 at the Borders in Oak Brook -- then Tuesday, August 10th at 7:00 pm at the Borders in LaGrange -- then at Women & Children First, an indie bookstore at 5322 N. Clark Street on Wednesday, August 11th at 7:30 pm. It's going to be pretty exciting and lots of fun!  I'm setting up book events in the San Francisco Bay Area for the Fall, and also hope to be going up to Portland and Seattle, maybe even as far as Vancouver and Victoria.  Check at my "J" site for all the details.  Hope to see you at one of them!

July

7/1/10: Good news on the "J" front with all the online booksellers having it in stock this week. Please ask your local bookstore to order it for you if that works better for you, and check out my "J" website for dates and locations of bookstores and other venues I'm setting up to talk about "J" and sign books. Kickoff in Chicago in early August!

Happy Independence Day! We get the whole weekend to celebrate, so have a great time!

June

6/12/10 -- We are experiencing our annual three days of "real summer" out here on the western side of San Francisco - it's actually 80 degrees, very sunny, very warm! but the fog will roll back in tomorrow or the next day and cool us off, while the East Bay continues to bake (into the 100's over the summer). Which is why we like it here.

Next Saturday I will be at the San Mateo County Fair, selling/signing copies of my book(s) at a Local Authors Day event sponsored by the Peninsula Artists Council. I plan to bring a box of The Tarot Card Murders--and offer a simple three-card reading for people who stop by. And, I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of a box of 20 "J" books which I ordered from the printer - they might even arrive in time to take them to San Mateo with me, which would be really cool! But I'm not counting on it. 

Amazon has initiated the "Look Inside This Book" function for "J" - it's really neat to see the inside of the book online!  Amazon states the book is available as of July 16th, but of course, pre-orders are just fine, too.

May

5/27/10 -- Just got back from Europe! We went on a group trip sponsored by our local classical radio station (KDFC) with host Hoyt Smith titled "In Pursuit of Chopin" - Warsaw, Krakow and Prague. The weather was rainy and cool while we were in Poland (they had the worst floods in 160 years, though we kept one step ahead of it), but sunny and great in Prague. The music was wonderful, there were three private concerts with award-winning Chopin pianists, a Dvorak opera in Prague and a symphony event our last night in Prague that was simply fabulous. Interesting food -- lots of vodka!! -- and a very insightful look into the lives of people under the Soviet Communist regimes, especially in Poland, where our tour guides had grown up under the system and witnessed/participated in the changes. There was also a side trip to Auschwitz, a very moving and intense visit. Still thinking about it...

5/12/10 -- Been busy setting up Author Events and book signings for my late summer/autumn book tour!  The "Launch" will be in my hometown of Chicago, the week of August 8th. Check the "BOOK TOUR/EVENTS" page at www.jthewomanwhowrotethebible.com for complete information for locations and dates. Nothing new on the "Sargent book" front, but fingers are still crossed.

April

4/28/10-- I decided I'd better write something before April was entirely over! It's been a busy 'vacation' month, with long weekend trips to places all around Northern California:  Monterey Dunes, Jackson (in the Gold Country foothills), and Sonoma County for an excellent wine-and-food pairing/tasting event that lasted two days! On the writing front, (a) I'm not writing anything, which bothers me, and (b) I'm awaiting replies from several publishers who are reading my Sargent manuscript. Here's hoping one of them will recognize this great masterpiece!

March

3/31/10 -- Almost April! I've been lining up bookstores in the greater Chicagoland area for the launch of "J" in August.  I'll be back there for a family reunion (check out the website I created for the family: www.matkovichfamilyreunion.com) and thought it would be so cool to kick off the book tour in my own home town! The SF Bay Area tour will start after Labor Day (when everyone's back from vacation, eh?). Also, I have launched a dedicated website for "J" at www.jthewomanwhowrotethebible.com so please take a look for lots of backstory information about the "making of J"!

And, I finished my "Spring" stained glass window: 

More developments soon. Happy Easter!

3/5/10 -- I just checked the website of the Historical Novel Society, and a book review I wrote recently for their quarterly publication is now online -- it's one of my favorites, for The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova.  Click here if you'd like to read the review.

3/4/10 -- I'm very busy planning for all the "J"-related activities and events that will start happening as soon as the book is available for purchase - which Amazon.com says is July 16, 2010. Yay! I've been looking up all sort of venues for author events: bookstores, universities, book clubs, and of course, looking on the internet for sites and groups relevant to the subject. It's a lot of work, and mostly fun.

I've started a blog at www.literarygracenotes.blogspot.com which also keeps me busy, as do the several 'profile pages' I've been feeding and monitoring at a variety of social, literary, and professional networking sites. Good thing I can type fast!

February

2/1/10 -- On the 'have-more-fun' side of things, I've gone back to piano lessons once a week, and have already learned to play two of Eric Satie's "Gnossiennes" (#1 and #3) and am working on two folk/emo hits, Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and Tears for Fears' "Mad World" which became popular when it was used in the cult film "Donny Darko." Also, I started a five-week course at the stained glass making studio I went to last year -- Cradle of the Sun on 24th Street in Noe Valley (SF) -- and have begun work on the second of four windows I've designed - "Four Seasons" - Winter was first (see image right), and now I'm working on Spring. Looks like Summer's not far away! I've been even more inspired with the windows looking like a Frank Lloyed Wright-type of design because I just finished reading "Loving Frank" (by Nancy Horan) which is all about his love affair with Mamah Borthwick, a great scandal at the time in Chicago and all through the nation. Great story, well written.

January, 2010

1/24/10 -- So, I've been making crucial edits to the Sargent book, especially the opening chapters, and Krista has agreed to take on the book to find a publisher! Yay! I think there may still be some back and forth about it but it's exciting to be at this stage already.  As for "J", I'm beginning to think out some strategies for publicity and book tours -- I believe it will all start in CHICAGO in early August, as I'll be back there for a big family reunion, and the book will be available by the end of July, so I might as well start there, surrounded by all my friends and family, right? I'm working on a new website dedicated to "J" with FAQs, blog, calendar/schedule of events, and other good things, so stay tuned.

1/1/10 -- Happy New Year!  I can't believe I haven't written for more than six weeks - I guess I must be having fun! I have sent in my Singer Sargent novel manuscript to my agent, Krista Goering, and she's reading it over the holidays - hope she likes it! I've been trying to fill the time "between novels" with other creative pursuits - taking piano lessons again after a hiatus of about four years, signing up for stained glass window-making classes (again), and other things, including writing a short story -- titled "Somewhere West of Eden" -- which I have submitted to GlimmerTrain literary magazine for their Fiction Open competition. Results to be announced at the end of February, so fingers crossed!

I keep scanning the universe for a sign about the subject of my next historical novel -- Russian icons? Medieval tapestries? The "closing of the American frontier"? I was so in love with late 19th century Paris and John Singer Sargent that I'm not sure I'm quite ready to leave that era yet, so I may look there for another inspiration - perhaps Gustave Caillebotte and his incredible painting, Paris Street: Rainy Day, (at right) which I have viewed numerous times at the Chicago Art Institute - although the last time I was there, they were renovating the Impressionist section and it was in storage, replaced temporarily by the almost as wonderful pointillist painting of Seurat's "Grand Jatte". What a fascinating time and place to be alive!

November, 2009

11/12/09 -- I know I've written previously about how all my characters 'talk' to me while I'm working on a novel -- well, it's fascinating to realize that now, with the Sargent "story" all written down, they're not talking to me anymore! It's very, very weird to be so absorbed with characters and their lives, and then suddenly, nothing. No dialogue in my head at night, no sudden bursts of "that's how I need to start the next chapter". It's almost scary, in a way, and rather sad -- those people with whom I was spending so much time are gone now. It will be interesting to see if any remnants (or revenants!) come back when I read over the novel again once I've gotten responses from my editor(s)/readers. In the meantime, I'm feeling a little bereft, kind of lost -- as my Mom used to say, "you're wandering around the house like a lost soul" after which she would exhort me (and my brothers and sisters) to "go outside" or do something interesting, like paint pictures or read a book.

I did do one craft-like little thing the other day - I had gathered a couple dozen very beautiful autumn leaves of all kinds when I was in North Carolina at the end of October, and pressed them in books to bring home. I then bought a couple of "floating frames" and made two arrangements of leaves between the glass plates, and one I sent to my youngest sister in Chicago for her birthday, and the other I made for myself - it's sitting on the window sill in my office, with the still/always very green San Francisco garden outside as a background. At least it was something creative! I think my Mom would be proud.

11/03/09 -- Obladie, Obladah! I finished the first draft of THE PAINTER OF PORTRAITS on Saturday morning, Oct. 31st! I really think that the combination of a quiet hotel room and the emotional intensity of the glorious singing by the YRC Alumni really ignited my creativity--and I'm very happy with the results. Of course, now come the hard parts - re-reading, editing, having other people read the book and comment, and re-working again. But the most significant part is done, and it feels really good.

On the "J" front, the book is at the printer, there should be review copies available in two months or so, and I've got to start charting the course of my BOOK TOUR which will probably begin next August in the Bay Area. I hope to visit a number of cities: San Diego, Portland and Seattle on the West Coast; Omaha/Sioux City, Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee in the Midwest; and a variety of cities and towns on the East Coast from Maine to North Carolina! I'm working on a separate website just for "J" which will list all the tour cities and dates as they are set up, as well as discuss many aspects of the book in greater detail.

October, 2009

10/30/09 -- Happy Halloween (almost)! I am sitting in a hotel in Durham, North Carolina (my husband is busy rehearsing at the Duke University Chapel with the Yale Russian Chorus Alumni group, they're cutting a CD) and I have written FOUR chapters of my Sargent novel THE PAINTER OF PORTRAITS in the last two days! In the words of the Beatles, it's getting very near the end! I actually wrote one whole chapter in longhand on the plane (my laptop battery died some time ago) and that was interesting, I must say. Oddly, I can still use my right hand! Anyway, I am just delighted and a little overwhelmed with how this story is just pouring out of me -- the characters keep talking! Even at night, waking me up to insist on telling me what's going on with them - what a kick. I can hardly do anything else but think about it, so it's a good thing I'm all by myself in a hotel room, as I don't think I'm very good company just now -- anyone else have this "problem"??

BOOK EVENT!  In San Francisco's West Portal neighborhood, Thursday, October 22nd from 6:00 to 8:00 pm - I will be signing (and selling) copies of The Tarot Card Murders at a wonderful little gift/card store, Just Because... as part of a fund-raising event for the Susan G. Kolmen Breast Cancer Fund -- $1.00 of every book sold will be donated to the Fund.

10/09/09 - Nine months and counting! O-Books has sent my book information and cover art to the UK and US distribution companies (NBN, Ingrams), which are the broker-wholesalers for all the bookstores and retail shops who order books from them. My "AI" (Author Information) Sheet is done and a draft Press Release is ready, too. I have to start thinking about all the websites, associations, groups, etc., to whom I want to announce the book publication date, and get that set up. Then, the Book Tour! I'm thinking San Francisco/Bay Area (of course) and every other city where I have a friend or relative to put me up while I'm there: Portland, OR and ME; Chicago; Boston; Victoria/Vancouver; San Diego; Minneapolis; Omaha/Sioux City; Phoenix; Austin. Hmm, going to have to think about the airfare aspect of all this travelling! Of course, it won't happen until next August--which seems so very far away.

In the meantime, I'm still on a sustained writing spree for the Sargent book (60,000 words now) and going strong. Going to take a little two-day break and travel up to Mendocino, one of my favorite places, with my husband to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary.

September, 2009

9/28/09 - Well, September's almost over! I have just returned to San Francisco from a long road trip and stay in Sioux City, Iowa, to help a friend relocate for a new job, a new house, a new husband, returning to her Midwestern roots. It was a long slog, but well worth it to see her happily situated and starting a new phase in her life.

Book-wise, I've been writing furiously on my Sargent novel, and a few weeks ago I had a true epiphany about what the book's all about -- with more than 45,000 words at the time, it struck me how I really wasn't quite sure where I was going with the plot -- and then it all became clear to me. So now, a month and some 7,000 words later, I'm really barrelling along. As always when writing, I still never am quite sure what my characters are going to say or do - for example, I just finished a scene of a dinner party with a group of characters new to the book (for this scene), and they are saying the most amazing, funny things! Each person has his or her own personality, and it just comes out as I tap on the keys! Writing is a truly sublime activity, and sometimes scary.

August, 2009

8/28/09 - The book is ready to go to print! I just approved the third and final proof, and it all looks as perfect as it's going to get. And, the final cover is done too, complete with the wonderful endorsements on the back, supplied by my super colleagues in historical fiction: Eva Etzioni-Halevy, India Edghill and Ellissa Elliott - thanks again, friends!

The other really fun thing I've been doing is preparing a set of "Preview Trailers" -- like movie trailers -- that tell a little bit of J's story with words, color and music -- the first one is on the Home page here, and I will be adding a new one at the beginning of each month starting Sept. 1 for the next eight months -- would love to know what you think of them -- not real flashy but I think they add some charm. Collect the whole set! I will have all them set up and available on the "J" page here as time goes on.

8/22/09 - Had a wonderful, fun time in Napa, California on Thursday evening (Aug. 20) meeting with a book club of folks who had read The Lucky Dog Lottery! One of the members was a work colleague from long ago (my boss, the CEO of an engineering firm at the time) with whom I'd gotten in touch in the last several months, and he and his wife invited me and Stu up there for a game of croquet, dinner and the book club meeting. It was good practice talking about how I write, how I think up plots and characters, and also explaining things that people were curious about. Of course I told them all about "J" and offered to come back next year when it's in print! A good time was had by all in a lovely setting (Meadowood Country Club), and great food and wine on a beautiful summer day and evening.

8/12/09 - Second Proof of the book! It's been very exciting going over the book for the penultimate reading, and making sure it's as perfect as can be. The book designers at O-Books are good and fast. One more time around should do it. So many details!

In other news, I have recently been elected to the Historical Novel Society's Annual Conference Board of Directors as the next conference Publicity Coordinator! They alternate each year between Great Britain and North America for conferences, so our next one here will be in June 2011, probably in San Diego. I also signed on as a book reviewer for their print publication (Historical Novels Review) as well as their online review page, and have read and reviewed five books in the last several months. It's a lot of fun, of course, but also makes me realize how very hard it is to comment on a whole book in 250 words or less! Finally, I've been writing up a storm on my John Singer Sargent book and am feeling like I've hit a good rhythm with it, (only interrupted for the last few days by a terrible summer cold and cough) and also that I pretty much know where it's going (each book has a life of its own, revealed as it is written!).

July, 2009

7-22-09 - First Proof of the manuscript! I just spent the last few days reading "J" word by word in its almost-final edition from the book designer! So exciting to see it formatted and taking shape. There were hardly any typos, but I had a slew of corrections and changes to make based on the incredibly generous feedback from my set of readers -- little but important historical items such as: there were no lemon trees in Israel in the era I'm writing about, ditto coins and tea (as we know it now). Got to keep it as authentic as possible! It was fascinating to read my own work after all this time, and I have to say, I think it's a pretty good story! There were a couple of places where I was able to insert just a sentence or two that helped explain something a little better, or that just made sense in the bigger picture.  I will get one more chance to look it over again, then that will be it! Out it will go with all my blessings and hopes to send it to all the potential readers out there, and I sure hope they like it. 

7/3/09 - Independence Day is upon us! And we have so much to be grateful for this year, especially our (still new) President Barack Obama, yay!

In other news, I'm working with my publisher on the book cover design for "J" as well as the "illustrations" inside the text of ancient Hebrew letters and words - more complicated than I thought! I've also been hard at work garnering endorsements ("blurbs") for the back cover and various advertising needs, and have been most blessed by three wonderful authors of biblical historicals agreeing to endorse my book! Eva Etzioni-Halevy (author of The Garden of Ruth, The Song of Hannah, and The Triumph of Deborah) is one; India Edghill (author of Queenmaker, the story of King David's first wife, Michal, daughter of Saul) is another; and third is Elissa Elliott, whom I met at the Historical Novel Society conference, and whose book Eve - A Novel of the First Woman I am currently reading and loving every minute of it.

June, 2009

June 17, 2009  I've just returned from the Historical Novel Society conference in Schaumberg, Illinois - what a great time!  So interesting to talk to other writers ALL DAY LONG about writing.  All those little details, worries and joys that no one else but a writer can really understand -- like when your characters take on a life of their own and wake you up in the middle of the night, insisting you listen to their stories - so that you have to get up and write it all down right away. 

I met many wonderful people, and felt inspired all over again to get back to my Sargent novel and keep going!  Also, I met Elissa Elliott, author of the recently published "Eve, The First Woman" and was delighted to find someone with a true sympathy for biblical historical novels, like my "J".  I'm hoping that next summer, when "J" is about to come out, I can attend the HNS conference in England and be one of the authors signing her own book there.


Historical Novel Society Conference... Getting ready for this conference next week (June 11-13) being held in Schaumberg, Illinois (a large western suburb near the O'Hair Airport) and really looking forward to it. Author Margaret George (most recent book: Mary the Magdalene) is the keynote speaker for Friday night. There is one workshop/discussion on biblical historical writing which I'm really interested in, and others as well. How I wish my "J" book were ready to show at this conference! But then I'll get to go t next year's conference--in London! with copies of my book.

Requesting Endorsements... I've been asking some other biblical historical authors for the very great favor of reading my book for the purpose of writing an endorsement (a "blurb" for the back cover or for ads) and have received some very gracious replies, two "yes" and one "no" so far ... and I'll keep trying.

Writer's Block Strikes Again!... My book about John Singer Sargent is floundering on the shoals of the summer blahs and loss of clarity in my thinking through the plot. I know I'll pick it up again but it's frustrating in the meantime!

May, 2009

Marketing, Marketing...It's all about that now! Well, a little "editorial and production" process going on as well. So many details! Getting endorsements, writing up an "Acknowledgements" section, trying to decide about front and back page matter (do I need a map? a chronology of the ancient Israelites? scholarly explanations?). It seems at first as if "one year to publication" seems an awfully long time, but there's something to do nearly every day in order to get ready for the book launch. But it sure is fun! 

April, 2009

The Contract is Signed... and the publishing process is underway! And, since they asked, I sent a draft design of the cover as I've been thinking/dreaming about it (go to the "J" page and take a look). LOTS and LOTS of marketing and publicity ideas to be thinking about now, while the book itself gets turned into print - using only recycled paper, yay!

GREAT NEWS!  I have a publisher! My super agent, Krista Goering, has connected with O-Books in Great Britain and they have offered me a contract to publish J-THE WOMAN WHO WROTE THE BIBLE! As these things go, it's not likely to actually be printed and available until NEXT year in the spring - but there's lots of work to be done in the meantime. Kalloo-kallay! O frabjous day!

Spring has sprung... and with it are new beginnings for many aspects of life, eh? I hit the old writer's block with my Sargent book but am feeling my way back to it now, perhaps with a different perspective on the story. My agent (Krista Goering) is diligently pursuing a publisher for "J-The Woman Who Wrote the Bible" but the economic maelstrom has swept away many editors at publishing companies, leaving those left with too much work and a mandate to accept only those books that are sure to sell at least 25,000 copies! Not a great market for first-time novelists. But we live in hope...

January, 2009

Happy New Year!  Starting the new year off with a jolt: I have become a member of the, alas, now extensive club of the unemployed due to layoffs, but am looking forward to having more time to write, of course!  I've had the good fortune to be back and forth frequently between corporate work and my own consulting business, so I'm used to it, and rather welcome the change every once in a while.  I've been toying with an idea about The Book of Job, but it's not clear yet where that might take me.  But see the Works in Progress section for what I'm actively writing these days.  Best wishes to all for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009 - and Yay Obama!

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