A real day off!! Bliss…

A real day off!! Bliss…

Hitting if off with the Aussies :)

Hitting if off with the Aussies :)

Writing Retreat- Big Bear - Book Two: What Tears Us Apart

Writing Retreat- Big Bear - Book Two: What Tears Us Apart

I had the great honor of interviewing and chatting with Percival Everett, esteemed novelist and USC Professor of English. Below are my questions to this great mind and kind man.  To hear the answers on our blog talk radio chat, go to: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rarebirdradio/2011/07/29/deborah-cloyed-with-percival-everett 1.            You write short stories, poetry, novels, children’s books.  Do you think writing ability necessarily makes you equally good at these different forms?  (I feel like I’m no good at short stories. I lose interest.  Ironically.)   2.            Where do your ideas for novels come from?  From newspaper articles?  Dreams?  Long walks in nature?  Do you believe we tell the stories we do because we are selected to tell them?  Or we create them?   3.            Elizabeth Gilbert gave a TED talk on creativity that got everybody talking.  She surveyed the history of creativity and discussed, among other things, how in Greek and Roman times, creativity was not from the artist but tapped into and borrowed from, like the Muse.  Do you have a personal theory on creativity?   4.            What is your writing process?  Do you recite anything?  Wear anything?  Gaze at anything?  Music?     5.            The story of how we met …  What do you think the value of an MFA is for a writer?  Training?  Growth?  Community?  Accountability?  Discourse?  Degree/Reputation?      6.            I have taught photography for many years …  Do you believe you can teach someone to write?  Have you ever discouraged a student from pursuing writing?  Or conversely, a writer from going to grad school?       7.            How do you revise a novel?  What is the novel writing process?  What do you think of things like writer’s groups or hiring someone to help edit?     8.            What were you like as a child?  What did you want to be?  How did you envision your life?  How do you envision it ten years from now?   9.            How are writing novels like having children?   10.            When/how did you get your first novel published?  Do you have any secret unpublished novels?  Choose one piece of advice you have to a debut novelist:     11.            I live with my boyfriend, also a writer.  Have any advice for writer-writer relationships?     12.            I am personally overwhelmed by what is expected of an author these days in social media and publicity.  I had no idea what I was getting into.   I love the personal contact with fans, but I’ve always said I only wanted to write in my pajamas.  With a dog nearby perhaps.  You don’t have a website as far as I can tell.  Your Facebook fan page has 628 fans.  No Twitter, I don’t think. I suppose at this point in a successful career, you can make your own rules. But what do you think of all this facebook, blog, Twitter stuff?    13.  Tell me why you love to paint.   14.  Your book Erasure deals with, among other issues, the publishing industry’s use (or misuse) of genre and categorization.  In interviews, I am often asked about the meaning of ‘women’s fiction’ and told why my book shouldn’t have quantum physics in it.  Can you talk about your views now on the marginalization effects of genre in the publishing industry?  What happened when that book came out in 2002?  What were people’s and publisher’s reactions to it?      

I had the great honor of interviewing and chatting with Percival Everett, esteemed novelist and USC Professor of English.

Below are my questions to this great mind and kind man.  To hear the answers on our blog talk radio chat, go to:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rarebirdradio/2011/07/29/deborah-cloyed-with-percival-everett

1.            You write short stories, poetry, novels, children’s books.  Do you think writing ability necessarily makes you equally good at these different forms?  (I feel like I’m no good at short stories. I lose interest.  Ironically.)

 

2.            Where do your ideas for novels come from?  From newspaper articles?  Dreams?  Long walks in nature?  Do you believe we tell the stories we do because we are selected to tell them?  Or we create them?

 

3.            Elizabeth Gilbert gave a TED talk on creativity that got everybody talking.  She surveyed the history of creativity and discussed, among other things, how in Greek and Roman times, creativity was not from the artist but tapped into and borrowed from, like the Muse.  Do you have a personal theory on creativity?

 

4.            What is your writing process?  Do you recite anything?  Wear anything?  Gaze at anything?  Music?

 

 

5.            The story of how we met …  What do you think the value of an MFA is for a writer?  Training?  Growth?  Community?  Accountability?  Discourse?  Degree/Reputation? 

 

 

6.            I have taught photography for many years …  Do you believe you can teach someone to write?  Have you ever discouraged a student from pursuing writing?  Or conversely, a writer from going to grad school?

 

 

 

7.            How do you revise a novel?  What is the novel writing process?  What do you think of things like writer’s groups or hiring someone to help edit?

 

 

8.            What were you like as a child?  What did you want to be?  How did you envision your life?  How do you envision it ten years from now?

 

9.            How are writing novels like having children?

 

10.            When/how did you get your first novel published?  Do you have any secret unpublished novels?  Choose one piece of advice you have to a debut novelist:

 

 

11.            I live with my boyfriend, also a writer.  Have any advice for writer-writer relationships?

 

 

12.            I am personally overwhelmed by what is expected of an author these days in social media and publicity.  I had no idea what I was getting into.   I love the personal contact with fans, but I’ve always said I only wanted to write in my pajamas.  With a dog nearby perhaps.  You don’t have a website as far as I can tell.  Your Facebook fan page has 628 fans.  No Twitter, I don’t think. I suppose at this point in a successful career, you can make your own rules. But what do you think of all this facebook, blog, Twitter stuff? 

 

13.  Tell me why you love to paint.

 

14.  Your book Erasure deals with, among other issues, the publishing industry’s use (or misuse) of genre and categorization.  In interviews, I am often asked about the meaning of ‘women’s fiction’ and told why my book shouldn’t have quantum physics in it.  Can you talk about your views now on the marginalization effects of genre in the publishing industry?  What happened when that book came out in 2002?  What were people’s and publisher’s reactions to it?

 

 

 

Cover of Estilo Magazine! Me, and the best dog in the world Figo, on the August cover of Estilo Magazine in Honduras!  Ah, this crazy life … :)

Cover of Estilo Magazine!

Me, and the best dog in the world Figo, on the August cover of Estilo Magazine in Honduras!  Ah, this crazy life … :)

Radio Interview with renowned physicist Clifford Johnson about The Summer We Came to Life. I had the pleasure of speaking with world famous string theorist and USC professor Clifford Johnson, about the physics employed in my book (The Copenhagen Theory, Many Worlds Theory and parallel universes), the state of modern science education, religion vs. science, and what he really thinks of scientific theory winding its way into sci-fi and women’s fiction.   Here’s the link to the interview :  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rarebirdradio/2011/07/26/deborah-cloyed-with-clifford-v-johnson And here’s the link to Clifford Johnson’s blog Asymptotia, where he discusses our chat and why he thinks it’s important to for scientists to have dialogue with us ‘laymen’ :  http://asymptotia.com/2011/07/31/on-physics-spiritualism-fiction-and-non-fiction/

Radio Interview with renowned physicist Clifford Johnson about The Summer We Came to Life.

I had the pleasure of speaking with world famous string theorist and USC professor Clifford Johnson, about the physics employed in my book (The Copenhagen Theory, Many Worlds Theory and parallel universes), the state of modern science education, religion vs. science, and what he really thinks of scientific theory winding its way into sci-fi and women’s fiction.  

Here’s the link to the interview : 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rarebirdradio/2011/07/26/deborah-cloyed-with-clifford-v-johnson

And here’s the link to Clifford Johnson’s blog Asymptotia, where he discusses our chat and why he thinks it’s important to for scientists to have dialogue with us ‘laymen’ : 

http://asymptotia.com/2011/07/31/on-physics-spiritualism-fiction-and-non-fiction/

I need an Intern!

Looking for a paid intern/assistant, ideally a writer/aspiring writer who wants a behind the scenes look on getting published.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/wrg/2519632670.html

INTERVIEW on LOST IN A SUPERMARKET: http://lostinasupermarket.com/2011/07/lias-interview-deborah-cloyed-author-of-the-summer-we-came-to-life/ “In the novel The Summer We Came to Life, three lifelong friends unite for their annual summer journey of discovery. What has changed with this trip, however, is the death of their fourth friend, Mina. The protagonist, Sam, battles hardest with the loss in the wilds of Honduras where she has temporarily relocated, and through her eyes writer Deborah Cloyed investigates some heady subjects including friendship, Quantum Physics, loss, the afterlife and the basic complexities of familial relationships. But the debut novel is not a heavy or dense read, bogged down by pretension or affected gravitas. Instead, Cloyed tackles the subjects with a maturity and depth that belie her debut stature. The interview we got with Deborah has been one of our favorites, so let’s just let her do the talking — and if you like what you read, buy the just-released The Summer We Came to Life for some intelligent, solid summertime reading…” This book takes place in Honduras, where you really lived for 6 months as a photographer. What specifically were you doing in Honduras? How did your travels there influence the book — were there any autobiographical moments that made it to The Summer We Came to Life?I was in Honduras working for Susan Potter, a very successful commercial photographer there, and a dear, dear friend. It was a unique situation in which I was introduced to an amazing group of very successful influential peeps in the capital, Tegucigalpa. It was a truly magical time — filled with family rooftop dinners, fashion shows, restaurant and nightclub openings, 16-hr society weddings on sprawling estate grounds, and weekend trips to our friends’ vacation homes on both coasts, at Mayan ruins, and in the jungle. Certainly these experiences inspired the landscape of the book, and the vacation home in Tela in the book is modeled after my friend’s home there, but really it was the relationships — the emphasis placed on family and love and best friends — that are reflected most in the book. Nany’s Restaurant in the Garifuna village and dancing punta — that’s pretty close to a real memory. And, of course the near-drowning…. I want to ask you about your extensive travels. It’s obviously been a big part of your life — you and your best friend Bianca were even contestants on Amazing Race. How was that experience?Hilarious, miserable, enlightening, and ultimately incredible. Incredible to be on TV as yourself with your best friend since 3rd grade in front of millions of people. And to be a part of a generational phenomenon, that’s the best part –stories for the old folks home. Bianca and I will still be friends, showing ancient sexy pics of ourselves to the wait staff and bickering about how we lost a million dollars. To read the rest of the interview go to: http://lostinasupermarket.com/2011/07/lias-interview-deborah-cloyed-author-of-the-summer-we-came-to-life/

INTERVIEW on LOST IN A SUPERMARKET:

http://lostinasupermarket.com/2011/07/lias-interview-deborah-cloyed-author-of-the-summer-we-came-to-life/

“In the novel The Summer We Came to Life, three lifelong friends unite for their annual summer journey of discovery. What has changed with this trip, however, is the death of their fourth friend, Mina. The protagonist, Sam, battles hardest with the loss in the wilds of Honduras where she has temporarily relocated, and through her eyes writer Deborah Cloyed investigates some heady subjects including friendship, Quantum Physics, loss, the afterlife and the basic complexities of familial relationships. But the debut novel is not a heavy or dense read, bogged down by pretension or affected gravitas. Instead, Cloyed tackles the subjects with a maturity and depth that belie her debut stature. The interview we got with Deborah has been one of our favorites, so let’s just let her do the talking — and if you like what you read, buy the just-released The Summer We Came to Life for some intelligent, solid summertime reading…”

This book takes place in Honduras, where you really lived for 6 months as a photographer. What specifically were you doing in Honduras? How did your travels there influence the book — were there any autobiographical moments that made it to The Summer We Came to Life?
I was in Honduras working for Susan Potter, a very successful commercial photographer there, and a dear, dear friend. It was a unique situation in which I was introduced to an amazing group of very successful influential peeps in the capital, Tegucigalpa. It was a truly magical time — filled with family rooftop dinners, fashion shows, restaurant and nightclub openings, 16-hr society weddings on sprawling estate grounds, and weekend trips to our friends’ vacation homes on both coasts, at Mayan ruins, and in the jungle. Certainly these experiences inspired the landscape of the book, and the vacation home in Tela in the book is modeled after my friend’s home there, but really it was the relationships — the emphasis placed on family and love and best friends — that are reflected most in the book.

Nany’s Restaurant in the Garifuna village and dancing punta — that’s pretty close to a real memory. And, of course the near-drowning….

I want to ask you about your extensive travels. It’s obviously been a big part of your life — you and your best friend Bianca were even contestants on Amazing Race. How was that experience?
Hilarious, miserable, enlightening, and ultimately incredible. Incredible to be on TV as yourself with your best friend since 3rd grade in front of millions of people. And to be a part of a generational phenomenon, that’s the best part –stories for the old folks home. Bianca and I will still be friends, showing ancient sexy pics of ourselves to the wait staff and bickering about how we lost a million dollars.

To read the rest of the interview go to:

http://lostinasupermarket.com/2011/07/lias-interview-deborah-cloyed-author-of-the-summer-we-came-to-life/


Link to CBS KCAL interview, in case you missed it!  : http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/07/05/former-%E2%80%98amazing-race%E2%80%99-contestant-authors-fiction-novel/

Link to CBS KCAL interview, in case you missed it!  :

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/07/05/former-%E2%80%98amazing-race%E2%80%99-contestant-authors-fiction-novel/

July 5th: Watch Deborah Cloyed on CBS KCAL 9 at 2PM PST, discussing The Summer We Came to Life!!
Last Day for Summer Beach Bag Giveaway! Sanctuary of Style website. Announced at: http://sanctuaryofstyle.net/2011/06/22/do-you-love-your-workout/ To enter, go to facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=1015018312337652 TO ENTER: You have a bit of homework, but it’s just 4 simple tasks! Click like on the SOS Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/sanctuaryofstyle Subscribe to the SOS blogsite www.sanctuaryofstyle.net Click like to the Salerm facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/Salerm.Cosmetics.International Once you’ve completed the first 3 tasks, post a comment on the SOS facebook page saying “I WANT THE SOS SUMMER BEACH BAG” ONE WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN & ANNOUNCED BY THE 4th OF JULY! GOOD LUCK:-)

Last Day for Summer Beach Bag Giveaway!

Sanctuary of Style website.

Announced at:

http://sanctuaryofstyle.net/2011/06/22/do-you-love-your-workout/

To enter, go to facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=1015018312337652

TO ENTER:

You have a bit of homework, but it’s just 4 simple tasks!

  1. Click like on the SOS Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/sanctuaryofstyle
  2. Subscribe to the SOS blogsite www.sanctuaryofstyle.net
  3. Click like to the Salerm facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/Salerm.Cosmetics.International
  4. Once you’ve completed the first 3 tasks, post a comment on the SOS facebook page saying “I WANT THE SOS SUMMER BEACH BAG”

ONE WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN & ANNOUNCED BY THE 4th OF JULY!

GOOD LUCK:-)


“How to Turn Your Travel Adventures into a Novel” My article posted on travel site JohnnyJet.com: http://www.johnnyjet.com/folder/archive/Debbie-Cloyed-Turning-your-Travel-Adventures-into-a-Novel-2011.html Johnny Jet is a US-based travel expert with a leading travel information website. He has visited over 60 countries and chronicles his experiences around the globe on JohnnyJet.com. Johnny has appeared over 1,800 times in numerous publications,[2] including The LA Times,[3] Outside Magazine,[4] USA Today,[5] and Travel and Leisure Magazine[6] among others. He has made television appearances on CNN,[7] Tech TV,[8] Fox News,[9] and various media outlets worldwide. In addition, Johnny frequently contributes articles toFrommers[10] and is a regularly featured guest on Peter Greenberg Worldwide.[11] And … I used to write for him!!   (Here’s the link to the story I did on Macau, China:  http://www.johnnyjet.com/debbiec/DebbieCMacau2006.html)

“How to Turn Your Travel Adventures into a Novel”

My article posted on travel site JohnnyJet.com:

http://www.johnnyjet.com/folder/archive/Debbie-Cloyed-Turning-your-Travel-Adventures-into-a-Novel-2011.html

Johnny Jet is a US-based travel expert with a leading travel information website. He has visited over 60 countries and chronicles his experiences around the globe on JohnnyJet.com. Johnny has appeared over 1,800 times in numerous publications,[2] including The LA Times,[3] Outside Magazine,[4] USA Today,[5] and Travel and Leisure Magazine[6] among others. He has made television appearances on CNN,[7] Tech TV,[8] Fox News,[9] and various media outlets worldwide. In addition, Johnny frequently contributes articles toFrommers[10] and is a regularly featured guest on Peter Greenberg Worldwide.[11]

And … I used to write for him!!  

(Here’s the link to the story I did on Macau, China:  http://www.johnnyjet.com/debbiec/DebbieCMacau2006.html)

RT spotlighted my book for June!! http://bit.ly/flTar1 Here’s the post I did for them: In The Summer We Came to Life, three best friends face tough life choices after the death of their fourth musketeer. The main character Samantha, age 29, just accepted a marriage proposal from an older, successful French movie director. Now she has to decide if she really wants to marry him, and be absorbed into his glitzy world. Her friend Kendra faces an unexpected pregnancy, and must re-evaluate her priorities and the boyfriend she thought she knew. For Isabel, finding a husband is the least of her problems after getting laid off makes her question the very nature of fate and fulfillment in life. The girls’ choices embody the plight of the modern woman – balancing unprecedented freedom with romantic ideals of love. Welcome to the modern world of dating in the 21st century! I started thinking about the novel when I was single and in a similar situation to Samantha – living abroad in search of adventure and love and laughter, but not necessarily marriage. Back in Los Angeles, however, a lot of my girlfriends were growing frustrated with their love lives. Nearing the end of their twenties, they finally had it all – burgeoning careers, a platoon of best friend support, and a glamorous social life. Nobody - men or women - was in any hurry to settle down. Then thirty appeared on the horizon, and all us ladies experienced a little stumble in our stilettos. My best friend says we have created an army of Peter Pans in their pajamas. By being independent, successful, and fancy-free, we have fostered a society in which men feel no pressure to … be men, i.e. fathers and breadwinners. But didn’t we do it to ourselves? We are so proud of not needing to be taken care of, yet we still want to be wined and dined. Eventually we want to take time off to raise children. Must be very confusing for the boys. And for us, too! Now I live with my boyfriend whom I adore, and my childhood best friend and two other artists, all of us in our thirties, in an enormous house in the Hollywood Hills. Apparently, we get to make our own rules! But back then, that’s what I was thinking about as Kendra, Sam, and Isabel came to life - the pros and cons of women’s empowerment, and striking that tricky balance between dependency and independence in relationships. Around this same time, at the inception of the book, I was also getting to know my parents for the first time as adults. When I returned from Honduras and Kenya, I stayed a few months with my folks in their DC suburb, and began to write the book in earnest. As I started researching Lynette and Cornell’s love story during the Civil Rights era, my mom and dad told me stories I had never heard before – about racism, politics, love, and revolution in the 60’s. It got me thinking about all the ways dating, love, and marriage have changed. And the ways it will always be the same. So, that’s what we see in The Summer We Came to Life - parents’ stories helping the younger generation of women navigate tough choices about identity and love. Through the horrors of the Iranian Revolution, the heady days of US Civil Rights, and the corrupt world of the ruling elite in 1970’s Panama, we ask ourselves - how are love and marriage different now than in the days of the Baby Boomer generation? Read The Summer We Came to Life, then go my website to tell me about your own love stories. Everyone has a moving, heartbreaking, hilarious story to tell. I’d love to hear yours! - Deborah Cloyed

RT spotlighted my book for June!!

http://bit.ly/flTar1

Here’s the post I did for them:

In The Summer We Came to Life, three best friends face tough life choices after the death of their fourth musketeer. The main character Samantha, age 29, just accepted a marriage proposal from an older, successful French movie director. Now she has to decide if she really wants to marry him, and be absorbed into his glitzy world. Her friend Kendra faces an unexpected pregnancy, and must re-evaluate her priorities and the boyfriend she thought she knew. For Isabel, finding a husband is the least of her problems after getting laid off makes her question the very nature of fate and fulfillment in life. The girls’ choices embody the plight of the modern woman – balancing unprecedented freedom with romantic ideals of love.

Welcome to the modern world of dating in the 21st century!

I started thinking about the novel when I was single and in a similar situation to Samantha – living abroad in search of adventure and love and laughter, but not necessarily marriage. Back in Los Angeles, however, a lot of my girlfriends were growing frustrated with their love lives. Nearing the end of their twenties, they finally had it all – burgeoning careers, a platoon of best friend support, and a glamorous social life. Nobody - men or women - was in any hurry to settle down. Then thirty appeared on the horizon, and all us ladies experienced a little stumble in our stilettos. My best friend says we have created an army of Peter Pans in their pajamas. By being independent, successful, and fancy-free, we have fostered a society in which men feel no pressure to … be men, i.e. fathers and breadwinners. But didn’t we do it to ourselves? We are so proud of not needing to be taken care of, yet we still want to be wined and dined. Eventually we want to take time off to raise children. Must be very confusing for the boys. And for us, too!

Now I live with my boyfriend whom I adore, and my childhood best friend and two other artists, all of us in our thirties, in an enormous house in the Hollywood Hills. Apparently, we get to make our own rules!

But back then, that’s what I was thinking about as Kendra, Sam, and Isabel came to life - the pros and cons of women’s empowerment, and striking that tricky balance between dependency and independence in relationships.

Around this same time, at the inception of the book, I was also getting to know my parents for the first time as adults. When I returned from Honduras and Kenya, I stayed a few months with my folks in their DC suburb, and began to write the book in earnest. As I started researching Lynette and Cornell’s love story during the Civil Rights era, my mom and dad told me stories I had never heard before – about racism, politics, love, and revolution in the 60’s. It got me thinking about all the ways dating, love, and marriage have changed. And the ways it will always be the same.

So, that’s what we see in The Summer We Came to Life - parents’ stories helping the younger generation of women navigate tough choices about identity and love. Through the horrors of the Iranian Revolution, the heady days of US Civil Rights, and the corrupt world of the ruling elite in 1970’s Panama, we ask ourselves - how are love and marriage different now than in the days of the Baby Boomer generation?

Read The Summer We Came to Life, then go my website to tell me about your own love stories. Everyone has a moving, heartbreaking, hilarious story to tell. I’d love to hear yours!

- Deborah Cloyed

Link to Photo Album:  http://www.bookpartythesummerwecametolife.shutterfly.com/4 Photos by Kim Zsebe: http://www.zbimages.com Thank you for coming!  Such an amazing night!   Special thanks to sponsors VeeV Acai Spirit and SKYBAR. The Los Angeles Release Party for The Summer We Came to Life (MIRA Books/Harlequin), with a percentage of sales going to the City of Los Angeles’ “Charity of the Year” – WriteGirl – empowering young female writers through mentorship and self-expression. http://www.writegirl.org/Read about it on Page Six of The NY Post!http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/mel_at_large_ipZK1XJnYUnGe9PY9GGh1O  

Link to Photo Album:  http://www.bookpartythesummerwecametolife.shutterfly.com/4

Photos by Kim Zsebe: http://www.zbimages.com


Thank you for coming!  Such an amazing night!  

Special thanks to sponsors VeeV Acai Spirit and SKYBAR.

The Los Angeles Release Party for The Summer We Came to Life (MIRA Books/Harlequin), with a percentage of sales going to the City of Los Angeles’ “Charity of the Year” – WriteGirl – empowering young female writers through mentorship and self-expression.

http://www.writegirl.org/

Read about it on Page Six of The NY Post!
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/mel_at_large_ipZK1XJnYUnGe9PY9GGh1O

  

We Made NY Post Page Six!


Women everywhere rejoice: Mel Gibson is back on the singles scene. He relaxed at the Mondrian’s Skybar in West Hollywood with a bevy of female friends Wednesday night. He was tucked away in the VIP hut with the group celebrating the launch of Deborah Cloyed’s book, “The Summer We Came to Life.”

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/mel_at_large_ipZK1XJnYUnGe9PY9GGh1O
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