Helene Wecker @helenewecker - Tumblr Blog

This season's first novels range over a multitude of time periods, global settings, and genres, and come from authors with a variety of backgrounds.

With lots of hype and glowing reviews, these debuts auger a bright future for the printed word. Read what the critics have to say!

helenewecker

So stoked to see Michelle Adelman's wonderful PIECE OF MIND up top!

I was listening to Back to Work this morning in the car, minding my own business, when Dan and Merlin threw a memory at me:

MERLIN: It reminds me a little bit of SRAs. I don't know if you ever had those when you were a kid, like when you read a module and answer some questions -- DAN: Yes! MERLIN: -- and kind of level up, from red to purple. DAN: Yes, the SRA Reading Laboratory. And they were these organized boxes. MERLIN: Yeah! And you would start with red, and go through orange, get to yellow. And even though I was a really good reader, I feel like I was stuck in green forever.

It’s been close to 30 years since I remembered these things existed. All the color levels! Gold! Tan! Olive! I’m sure one of the greens was avocado, this was the 70s. And those FONTS. The right-triangle A’s alone are giving me feels.

#backtowork #1970s #1980s #childhood

I’ve got a burning desire to camp out in the Library of Congress and read all the old Pinkerton case files.

#libraryofcongress #pinkerton #research

A bunch of Things I Learned Over 20 Years of Being a Professional Writer.

THIIIIIS THIS THIS THIS THIS

#writing #advice

At, um, Starbucks.

#cognitivedissonance

"From a hygienic standpoint the sleeping arrangements left much to be desired; one 'awoke in the morning with considerable mucus in the nostrils and a so-called 'oil-head'. ... In one small corner of this space stood a toilet screened by a curtain and, after seeing this arrangement, I understood why the officer I had relieved recommended the use of opium before all cruises which were to last over twelve hours."

Life on a 1914 U-boat. You might be snotty and constipated, but at least you're stoned.

#research

Today in loving The Toast.

TWENTY TWO REPLIES.

#elves #poop

steampunktendencies

Shelves by EverWoodStudio

helenewecker

This is the only steampunk anything I've ever kinda wanted.

paradigmmagazine

I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited.

Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals (via paradigmmagazine)

emilystjohnmandel

There was this one time when New York Magazine emailed to ask if I wanted to take part in a photo shoot where writers dress up as characters from literature, which sounded like a fun thing to do on Halloween. “Is there a fictional character you’ve fantasized about being?” they asked.

Yes. Just one.

helenewecker

I spent half the morning trying to figure out who I would've chosen and settled on Harriet Vane.

chroniclebooks

Recipe: Duck Carnitas Nachos with the Perfect Beer Pairings from Beer Bites

helenewecker

Ohhhhhhhhhh

thoughtsoncelluloid

Parks & Rec, Pretty Little Liars and the Fast & Furious films all exist in the same universe

itsverybeautifulover-there

And SCANDAL WTF

thoughtsoncelluloid

Oh jeez, SCANDAL….

….and BATTLESHIP too, apparently. It’s a goddamn conspiracy

thoughtsoncelluloid

Oh god. He’s on REVENGE too. How deep does this rabbit-hole go….

thoughtsoncelluloid

Oh my god. DEXTER.

thoughtsoncelluloid

THE ACTUAL NEWS

hijinksensue

I read an interview with this guy (who is a real news anchor), and he said he told his acting agent that he is ONLY interested in parts where he plays a new anchor. This is no coincidence. This is by design.

fieldbears

what is his plan

belovedmuerto

this is the greatest thing ever.

helenewecker

Theory: If this guy drags enough TV shows into his reality, he'll create a singularity that swallows our universe and replaces it with his.

Ruth Galm tearing it up at her debut reading for INTO THE VALLEY.

A small series of constraints can stop the writer before she’s ever worth writing about. Women in particular seem vulnerable in that middle stretch to having our work pruned back until it’s compact enough to fit inside a pink cover.

Homme de Plume: What I Learned Sending My Novel Out Under a Male Name

The more I read articles like this, the more I realize how much sheer luck was involved in THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI being published at all, let alone in un-pruned form. I lucked out in my agent, and I lucked out in my editor. The book was big, “ambitious” (which I take it means narratively complicated, since all good books are ambitious), and a hybrid of genres. Plus I have ladyparts. Statistically, it should’ve been dead in the water.