Claudia Sternbach's path to publication: It's Pub Day for the bouncing baby book!

About six months ago, I received an ARC of Claudia Sternbach's Reading Lips: a Memoir of Kisses. I inhaled it in one afternoon and wrote to her editor, "Reading Lips rings true and sweet as a music box. In a sea of memoirs based on big marketing hooks, Sternbach’s subtle theme is refreshing and, you come to realize, profound. Flawless pitch and balance. Guileless, unaffected writing. A book club’s dream date. I loved this perfect little opal earring of a book."

Yeah, that's blurbspeak, but I meant every word. And the Kirkus reviewer (for once)agrees with me:

Sternbach...is an impressive stylist and a candid guide through her life. Although the reality of kissing serves as the connecting thread, each essay is grounded in one of a wide variety of complementary topics, such as the first love as an adolescent, best friends, parents, sisters, birthdays, tennis, summer camp, air travel, marriage, divorce, cancer, rape and death—among others. Sternbach has carefully considered how to make a life story interesting through unusual yet approachable formatting, and she throws humor, sarcasm and self-deprecation into the mix. A memorable, laugh-out-loud, cry-out-loud essay collection for both genders and all ages.

Reading Lips: A Memoir of Kisses is in stores today, and Thursday night, the book launches with an event on Manhattan's Upper East Side at Barnes & Noble, 86th and Lex, where Claudia will be introduced by none other than Jonathan Franzen. I so want this beautiful little book to be embraced by book clubs, gifted to sisters and friends, eaten with a spoon by anyone and everyone who's ever experienced the simple wonder of a kiss. Visit Unbridled Books to read an excerpt.

I invited Claudia to share her path to publication with our readers, and she responded with a series of essays that have delighted and inspired all of us trying to make a go of this crazy business and life in general. Here's linkage to all six installments:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Congratulations, Claudia!

Claudia Sternbach's path to publication continues with Chapter 6: Out the Door

Another installment of Claudia Sternbach's continuing adventure from brainstorm to bookshelf with her forthcoming book Reading Lips: A Memoir of Kisses. Click here to read Chapter One.

Well. I didn't see that coming. For almost eighteen months I have known that the release date for my book, Reading Lips: A Memoir of Kisses, was April 5th, 2011. This is what my contract from Unbridled Books stated. So, when during the first week of March I received an email from one of my sisters telling me how excited she was that she had received notification that her copy of my book had been shipped, I was surprised. After all, my copy had not been shipped. And wouldn't be for quite a while.

I emailed my publisher and politely asked, “WTF?”

“Amazon,” he replied. “Once a book lands in Amazon's big old storeroom they begin shipping. Filling orders before the official date of publication.”

“But,” said my publisher, “I will overnight one to you so your sister won't get the book before you—the person who wrote the book—do.”

I was happy. Except for the fact that I thought I had a few weeks before I would actually hear what my sisters thought of what I had written. I fully realized this would happen at some point, but it felt like the time I popped in to the doctor to discuss a possible surgery and within the hour was wearing an open-in-the-back cotton gown and being wheeled on a gurney down a hospital corridor.

Perhaps it is better this way. Just grab the corner of the band-aid and let her rip.

There is something rather surreal about opening a package and finding a book inside written by yourself. I had been working at my desk when I heard a knock on the door. I ignored it as I was not in "receiving company" dress. It was, after all, only a bit before noon and any self-respecting writer is still in her pajamas at that hour.

After waiting long enough to hear what sounded like a UPS truck drive up the hill I opened the front door just a crack. There was a small package lying on the Welcome mat. I reached out with one flannel-covered arm, snatched it up, and closed the door. Then sat on the floor staring at it.

This is the second time a UPS driver has delivered a book I have written. The last time I happened to be dressed—it must have been late in the day—and I answered the door. A uniformed deliveryman stood there with a carton in his arms. Recognizing the return address I began to bubble over with excitement, certain I was scaring the guy dressed in brown from head to toe. I suggested he wait right there on the porch while I opened said box. Then I pulled a book from the carton, held it up proudly and said, “I wrote this!”

There was a photo on the cover of a naked breast, not mine but how could he know, and he turned a lovely shade of red. Rather like Friday-night lipstick worn by women deeply interested in being noticed across a smoky room.

I asked his name and signed a copy for him. Gifting him whether he wanted to be gifted or not. About an hour later my husband, Michael, called me from the tractor dealership where he works to tell me that a UPS driver had just stopped in with a case of tractor parts and told him about the crazy woman with the naked-breast book.

“That's no woman, that's my wife,” said Michael. Small world.

So, I sat quietly on the floor. Then opened the package and there it was. The shiny new book. My book. And just a few days later an entire box of them arrived. The driver, I assume hoping to avoid embarrassment, just delivered, knocked and ran.

And both of my sisters have weighed in. It's all good. I have not been voted off the family island.

Path to Publication: Claudia Sternbach's (mis)adventure continues

Claudia Sternbach is out of pocket this week, so I'm posting the fourth installment of her continuing adventure from brainstorm to bookshelf with her forthcoming book Reading Lips: A Memoir of Kisses. Click here to read Chapter One.

Chapter 4

It is funny thinking about all of the things that can and did happen over the past few months while waiting for the book to come out. As my friends and family began to hear about the "tell all" each had comments and/or advice. Everyone felt I should go on Oprah. And that advice was given as easily as say, you should put on a jacket if it is snowing out.

I know that to slip into my black puffy parka I just need to grab it from the hall closet and pull it on. I haven't a clue how to end up on Oprah. But I do know I wouldn't wear that fat jacket.

Many felt that the book should come out on Valentine's Day. The title, Reading Lips, a memoir of kisses, seemed to go perfectly with heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and red roses by the dozens. But, I told them, not all of the kisses in life are romantic. I have kissed my dog and had no lust in my heart whatsoever.

Eventually the advice died down. After all, how many months can go by with nothing happening and still find folks interested in the publishing process. New topics of conversation cropped up at dinner parties and holiday gatherings. I was off their radar. But deep in the night when I could not sleep I held the truth close. A book, small as it was, was on the way. I had a new job I loved as an editor of a literary journal, I had my position as a newspaper columnist that I found fulfilling, I was still finding a moment here and there to work on a novel. Life was good.

But I could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. I am sixty years old and am much more used to the snags and glitches and pot holes and black holes in life.

So when, one evening late in the summer, my phone rang and it was a new features editor at the paper calling to say that after more than fifteen years I was no longer needed as of that very moment I began to feel a bit more like myself. And when the next day a writer friend sent me a letter filled with angry denunciations, not the least of which was calling me an idiot, I thought, yes this is more like it. And when the following afternoon while making my way through New York's JFK Jet Blue terminal and getting ready to check in for a flight to California I heard my cell phone ring and was able to answer it while my carry on was being scanned only to have my sister tell me that our father had died just moments ago, I thought, ah ha. My life is back on track.

I settled in to my aisle seat. Tried to stay composed. But when one of the flight attendants noticed my tense expression, my clenched jaw, my blank stare, he kindly asked if I was alright. Which caused me to cry. Which caused him to bring me a cocktail. Which I appreciated so much I wanted to kiss him.

Debut Author Angi Morgan's Path to Publication

I love hearing first sale stories, and freshly-minted author Angi Morgan, whose debut, Hill Country Holdup, releases Sept 14th from Harlequin Intrigue has one that's especially inspiring.



BtO: Hi, Angi, and welcome to Boxing the Octopus. When I first met you at the RWA national conference in Orlando in July, you had a smile that could be measured in megawatts - and no wonder, since you were a Golden Heart finalist whose manuscript had already sold and was scheduled for release. (For those who are unfamiliar, the Golden Heart is romance's most prestigious award for unpublished authors, given at the annual GH/RITA ceremony at the Romance Writers of America national convention. In terms of hoopla, it's the genre's Academy Awards event.)

So which came first, the contest final or the sale, and did one lead to the other? Did you have an agent to help you seal the deal?

AM: It’s a bit of a rollercoaster ride, but I’ll keep it brief... Signed with my agent on Oct 1st; won the chapter GH drawing (they pay for you to enter) on Oct 17th; waited until the last minute to enter the GH on Nov 9th; got THE CALL on Nov 12th; tried to withdraw (but it was confirmed I was eligible); signed a contract on Dec 1st; submitted the book, finished edits and proofs by Feb; then received notification that See Jane Run (now HCH) was a finalist in the GH at the end of March. And to make the rollercoaster ride just a bit more exciting, we sold .38 Caliber Cover-Up on May 28th.

I did have an agent, but I sent SJR to both the editor and agent after winning the Daphne du Maurier contest in 2009. My agent is directly responsible for the second sale and its early release date in February 2011.

BtO: How long had you been writing before this all unfolded? And what were some steps that aided your development as a writer?

AM: I’ve been reading and writing romance since Junior High. I joined RWA in 99, got involved in 2000. Through RWA I’ve met critique partners, utilized workshops, learned the craft of writing, volunteered, networked, made tons of contacts... But in 2009, I knew it was MY year. The kids were out of the house, I concentrated on me, my writing, and getting published. I was positive I would sell. I worked hard to get my manuscript in front of the right editor who loved it!

BtO: Love that winning attitude. And you’re right — sometimes it’s as if some internal switch is flipped, and we really do know.

Please tell us a little about your Sept. 14th debut, HILL COUNTRY HOLDUP, along with what's next for you.

AM: Oh, the back cover blurb is so much more exciting. LOL I like to say that HCH is a non-stop, action-packed, edge-of-your-seat heart-twister. It’s a fast read about a mother forced to commit a crime in order to save her son and the only man she can turn to that can help. A missing child. A mother on the run. And the man who saves them both.

BtO: Sounds like my kind of book, and I loved the excerpt from the buying page on Amazon! (See above link.) You've already got me hooked.

AM: I’m running a SNAP THE COVER contest. Details on my website: AngiMorgan.com Take a picture of yourself next to my store book display, send it to me and sign up for my newsletter. I’ll draw for prizes, but also display the pictures on my website.


Thanks so much, Angi, for stopping by BtO today. We wish you all the best with your first release and many more to come and encourage all of our readers to support a debut author by picking up a copy of HILL COUNTRY HOLDUP locally or online through our buying link!