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Nothing I can say here will be as interesting as my books. I have lived virtually everything described in them, except for the spirit rituals in Brazil. Those are kind of hairy, and while my husband and I lived there we never once considered attending one session. They are usually set in dangerous locations and perilous to blatant newcomers. I researched those rituals in Portuguese. Although I know a lot of spells to cast, I haven't dared use any of them to persuade an editor to buy. Newsletter Dated: 2/16/2004 10:07:37 AMSubject: Speed-dating agents I went to the First San Francisco Writers Conference yesterday. What a mob. Thank God my friend Jenni drove me. I felt barely conscious.
I made three very good connections. One agent wanted me to send her all three: Snake Woman, The Year of the Rat, Journey from Shanghai. The other two only RAT, for starters. My technique was to put in front of them my two-page list of publication credits while I set up the three books plus the floppy disk of RARE PASSION, the romance. I had two-1/2 minutes to talk. It was enough.
Jenni came in now and then to see if I was still alive -- the crush was so thick she wondered if I wasn't lying on the floor in a faint. Hadn't slept for two whole nights because the neighbor's dogs were barking again. Nobody answered my calls; the cops wouldn't come because they said I needed Animal Control, who don't work at night.
So when Jenni picked me up I was on my feet at 7:30 a.m. but not much more. My directions to her to get to the Stockton garage were all garbled.
But I did the damn thing! Today I will work on letters and mailings. I'd read an article that historical fiction was big now; so I emphasized that for RAT. For once the article was true, it seemed.
You know, those professional-looking books on the tabletop looked pretty good. I had a heckuva lot more interesting material than the others
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