Dear Money

As a novelist, one of the most common questions one gets is "How are your sales?" And as novelist Martha McPhee says, that's just another way of asking "how much money do you make?" It's irritating because I'm pretty sure no one asks computer programmers how much they make. (Or maybe they do.)

But it got Martha McPhee thinking about art and money and then a legendary Wall Street trader propositioned her. He said if she gave him 18 months he'd turn her into a (multi-million dollar making) Wall Street trader. As a literary novelist, this must have been tempting. Money. So much money. Instead, she wrote a novel about a literary novelist, tight on money, who is propositioned by a legendary Wall Street trader who says he can turn her into a (multi-million dollar earning) bond trader. And she says yes.

Dear Money is such a wonderful read. Entertaining, lyrical, (and at one point, laugh out loud funny) and at the same time thought-provoking and disturbing. I loved it.

More later,

Tammar

Beautiful Possibilities

I think life harbors the possibility that we can push forward and come out better on the other end. In this country, one thing that's certain is that not far around the corner from every ugly thing there's something really beautiful. And if you stop at every bitter comment, you will never reach your destination. --Soledad O'Brien


What a lovely way to start Monday.

More later,

Tammar

Bookaholic Blog

I recently guest-blogged for the wonderful Bookaholic blog. If I were a certain kind of blogger I would post a link. But since I'm not (able) I've just cut and pasted. Here's the short (true) story I wrote:

The first time, the only time, I ever saw an angel I was five years old. I know that sounds amazing but it wasn’t some big, miraculous event. It was actually pretty ordinary. We were living in Israel at the time, in a tall apartment building. It had just finished storming and as the rain eased, I saw a rainbow. I had a perfect view of it from my window and I remember resting my elbows on the windowsill, watching it and the dark gray clouds.

There was a particularly odd shaped cloud drifting closer to the rainbow and I watched, curious, wondering why it seemed to be moving with purpose. So I had a perfect view of a hand emerging from that oddly shaped cloud. It reached over, touched the rainbow and just like that, the rainbow and the hand dissipated like mist and the cloud drifted off, all innocent and normal.

I jumped up and raced to my mother. I had seen an angel! It made such sense. I’d read the story of Noah’s ark. I knew the rainbow was a sign from God. It made sense angels kept track of them. Yet my mother, smiling fondly, insisted that all rainbows fade and that clouds often have shapes. Even five-year-olds know condescension when they hear it. I returned to my window, scanning the clouds, looking for proof. There was nothing to show, of course, nothing to point out. But I knew. And to this day, I can still see that hand, can still remember the unnatural way the rainbow simply vanished.

I used to feel disappointed that my one experience with the supernatural was so mundane. There were no fireworks , no goosebumps, no lasting repercussions that I know of. Just a little girl catching a glimpse of something amazing. As I grow older, though, I don’t mind the lack of fireworks, or the unexciting nature of my sighting. It’s kind of nice to think there might be wonders happening all around our oblivious selves. That miracles and marvels don’t need a drum roll to precede them, don’t need life altering meaning to follow. They’re just there, on a rainy afternoon, keeping us company.


More later,

Tammar

Alligator!

I saw an alligator on my morning walk today! There used to be a large seven foot 'gator that lived in the pond across the street from our house, until one day it wasn't there anymore. Had it moved to a different location? Did neighbors complain and had it "relocated"? Was it lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce? I'll never know.

The alligator I saw this morning was only about three feet long. Down right cute. Its eyes and snout were just above the waterline and let me tell you, living in Florida your eyes quickly learn to search and recognize that sight.

What a cool way to start the day.

More later,

Tammar

The Journal Keeper

You know that when Elizabeth Gilbert and Naomi Shihab Nye positively gush over a book, that it's going to be good. And so far, The Journal Keeper, by Phyllis Theroux is wonderful.

Here's a quote I just had to share with you:

When people say something changed their life, I think they usually mean, upon deeper examination, that something had revived their imagination. A door we didn't know existed, or always thought was locked, suddenly swings open. Old ambitions, which we were too timid or thought we were too unqualified to realize, are gathered up and reconsidered. A talent judged too small is reevaluated.

Lovely, isn't it?

More later,
Tammar

Hello little pineapple

Look at it! Just look at it. Isn't it the cutest little thing? It's about the size of a softball, and it won't get much bigger. We'll know it's ripe when it turns a bit golden and then, we'll eat homegrown pineapple! And here's the really cool part. Each pineapple plant only produces one pineapple during its lifetime. But to get more pineapples, all you have to do is take that leafy top and stick it in the ground. A new pineapple plant will grow from it, along with a new pineapple. Just like that, simple as pie. Ah, the circle of life. Although this is more of a line, isn't it?

More later,
Tammar

Kindred!

I know I've been pretty closed-mouth about my up-coming novel, Kindred. I've learned the hard way is baaaaad ju-ju to talk about a work in progress and then, even when it was all finished, it was just easier to smile mysteriously and promise that good things come to those who wait. (Read: I really hate talking about what my books are about. I could made JR Ward's Brotherhood series seem dull, it's a curse.)

But now, I don't have to mumble and bumble, Kindred is available for pre-order on Amazon and comes with a nice, concise description, all ready to go.

Here's what it says:

The first time I meet an angel, it is Raphael and I am eighteen.

Miriam is an unassuming college freshman stuck on campus after her spring break plans fall through. She's not a religious girl—when pressed she admits reluctantly to believing in a higher power. Truth be told, she's about as comfortable speaking about her faith as she is about her sex life, which is to say, not at all. And then the archangel Raphael pays her a visit, and Miriam's life will never be the same. Chosen to save two of her contemporaries, Miriam begins a desperate race to fulfill her mission. But why has she been chosen? And what is the real purpose behind her mission?

Pretty cool, huh? And that first paragraph, that's my opening line. I am so proud of that line! I can't wait to share Kindred with you.

More later,
Tammar