Writer's on Writing: Gloria Naylor 1996

Gloria Naylor
After having published several critically acclaimed novels like The Women of Brewster Place and Mama Day, author Gloria Naylor bought a house on St. Helena Island off the coast of South Carolina. She intended to relax, write in peace, and enjoy life and gardening. Her tranquility was ruined, however, by her Jewish neighbor, who felt threatened by the presence of a Black neighbor. When this neighbor's fears spurred a massive covert surveillance operation against Naylor in 1996, the year became one of discomfort and confusion for Naylor. This is her account of invasion of privacy in the extreme.

Bubbles in my Head: a literature and writing resource

Bubbles in my Head: a literature and writing resource

How Kaavya Viswanathan Got CANNED!

After saying it will not pull Ms. Kaavya Viswanathan from bookstores, Little Brown (an imprint of Time Warner Book Publishing Co.) recalled Ms. Kaavya Viswanathan book. After going to the publishers website she is also nowhere to be found. For more on the story check out the NYT
or go here: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/28/books/28author.html

and the STORY goes on...

Amazing and asembly line for teen lit' ...an excerpt from the New York Times below


"Nobody associated with the plagiarism accusations is pointing fingers at Alloy, a behind-the-scenes creator of some of the hottest books in young-adult publishing. Ms. Viswanathan says that she alone is responsible for borrowing portions of two novels by Megan McCafferty, "Sloppy Firsts" and "Second Helpings." But at the very least, the incident opens a window onto a powerful company with lucrative, if tangled, relationships within the publishing industry that might take fans of series like "The It Girl" by surprise.

In many cases, editors at Alloy — known as a "book packager" — craft proposals for publishers and create plotlines and characters before handing them over to a writer (or a string of writers).

The relationships between Alloy and the publishers are so intertwined that the same editor, Claudia Gabel, is thanked on the acknowledgments pages of both Ms. McCafferty's books and Ms. Viswanathan's "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life." Ms. Gabel had been an editorial assistant at Crown Publishing Group, then moved to Alloy, where she helped develop the idea for Ms. Viswanathan's book. She has recently become an editor at Knopf Delacorte Dell Young Readers Group, a sister imprint to Crown.

Ms. Gabel did not return calls for comment. " to read the rest of the article please click here or go to :http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/27/books/27pack.html
?pagewanted=1&ei=5087%0A&en=adc168b209bf0b6d&ex=1146283200

Kaava Viswanathan....and her GhostWriter???

From Harvard Independent

"17th Street Productions, a subsidiary of Alloy Entertainment, is a "book packager." The Globe described 17th Street's job as "developing projects in young-adult and middle-grade fiction." In a March article, the Crimson said 17th Street "helped shape the work in progress into something that would be more easily marketable to young adults." But what does all this mean? What does 17th Street really do?

Rachel Plummer, an author in the young-adult genre who has worked with the company, offers a candid look at its operations on her personal web site. "Book packaging is a part of the publishing industry that is little known by people outside the industry," she says. "In some cases the packagers come up with series ideas on their own. In the case of Sweet Valley, the book packager, 17th Street Productions, contracts with the creator of the series, Francine Pascal, to come up with ideas for the many Sweet Valley books." That's right: the same firm that "packaged" Opal Mehta also churns out the well-known Sweet Valley series, which is written by a host of anonymous, work-for-hire scriveners, including Plummer. "Writers for hire are commissioned to write a specific piece of work and are paid for that work without receiving any rights to [it]," Plummer explains. "As a writer for hire, I'm pretty much told what the book packager wants me to do. In other words, I'm given a plot outline, and the characters and setting are already developed."

On the amateur-writer web site Absolute Write, Plummer expanded on this description.

Many of the middle grade and young adult series you see on your library and bookstore shelves are written by various writers hired to create a specific volume of the series. The book packager...offers a flat fee, a deadline (usually six weeks from the day the contract is signed in the case of the Sweet Valley Twins), and an outline of what has to happen in the story. For 17th Street Productions, once you sign the contract, the editor sends you a two-to-three page outline that relates the plot of the story and which characters are involved. The writer then creates a more in-depth chapter outline and returns it to the editor, who may require some changes, after which the writer completes the first draft. The first draft is edited for corrections and changes, and returned to the writer, who makes the required changes and sends it back to the editor.

However harsh a six-week deadline for the production of an entire novel may seem, Plummer notes that "having the pressure of a deadline really does amazing things for your work output." "

For the rest of the story go to Harvard's Independent or direct URL: http://www.harvardindependent.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=9906

Subconscious Writing...

Kaava Viswanathan, a Harvard sophomore, received a $ 500,000 two-book deal at 16yo from Little, Brown and Company. According to the story by AP writer Andrew Ryan, Kaava didn't even have a full manuscript when she received her deal: "The stories eventually made it Little Brown. She pitched the book in a chatty e-mail, and they inked a deal before her freshman year." The "stories" were a few short stories she showed to her high-school counselor, who gave the stories to an agent. It is believe that Ms. Viswanathan lifted or copyrighted parts of Megan F. Mccafferty's novel Sloppy First; To see to what extent visit Harvards' , The Crimson, for full details or visit : http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=512968
What is this world coming to when teenagers get book deals likes this?, YIKES!
Either way I purchase the Novels by Ms. Viswanathan and Ms. Mcfatterty to form my own opinion , I hope others will do the same

Either way Kaava claims she reads and studied Ms. Mcfatterty works of fiction, and she didn't mean to copyright purposely, it was done " subconsciously" and she intends to rewrite the part of the novel in dispute and rerelease it. . (Creative Marketing?)


Kaava Viswanathan Novel
How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life

Megan F. Mccafferty Novels
Sloppy Firsts
Second Helpings : A Novel
Sixteen : Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday
Charmed Thirds : A Novel

Book Talk on wbai

Book Talk: Topic discussion on caribbean writers . You can stream the show online at www.wbai.org

Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients for One 9-inch Sponge Cake Layer

1/2 cup sifted cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

3 extra-large eggs separated

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 drops pure lemon extract

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions for the Thin Sponge Cake Layer for Cheesecake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and generously butter a 9-inch springform pan. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.

2. Beat the egg yolks together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high for 3 minutes. Then, with the mixer still running, gradually add the 1/3 cup of sugar and continue beating until thick light-yellow ribbons form in the bowl, about 5 minutes more. Beat in the vanilla and lemon extracts.

3. Sift the flour mixture over the batter and stir it in by hand until no more white flecks appear. Then blend in the butter.

4. In a clean bowl, using clean dry beaters, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together on high until frothy. Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form (the whites should stand up in stiff peaks, but not be dry).

5. Stir about 1/3 cup of the whites into the batter, then gently fold in the remaining whites (don't worry if a few white specks remain).

6. Gently spoon the batter into the pan. Bake the cake just until the center of the cake springs back when lightly touched, only about 10 minutes (watch carefully!). Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack while you continue making the cheesecake filling. Do not remove the cake from the pan.

Makes Enough for One Cheesecake

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Filling

4 8-ounce packages cream cheese (the regular variety not light Neufchatel cream cheese), at room temperature

1 2/3 cups sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 extra-large eggs

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions for the Cream Cheese Filling

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and generously butter a 9-inch springform pan. Make the batter for the sponge cake as the recipe directs Evenly spread the batter on the bottom of the pan, and bake just until set and golden, about 10 minutes. Place the cake on a wire rack to cool (do not remove it from the pan).

2. While the cake cools, make the cream cheese filling: Place one 8-ounce package of the cream cheese, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and the cornstarch in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low until creamy, about 3 mintues, then beat in the remaining 3 packages of cream cheese.

3. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of the sugar, then beat in the vanilla and heavy cream. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating the bating only until completely blended . Be careful not to overmix the batter.

4. Gently spoon the cheese filling on top of the baked sponge cake layer. Place the springform pan in a large shallow pan containing hot water that comes about 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Bake the cheesecake until the center barely jiggles when you shake the pan, about 1 hour.

5. Cool the cake on a wire rack for 1 hour. Then cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until it's completely cold, at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove the sides of the springform pan.

6. Slide the cake off of the bottom of the pan onto a serving plate. Or if you wish, simply leave the cake on the removable bottom of the pan and place it on a serving plate. If any cake is left over, cover it with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

Makes Enough for One 8-Inch Cake, About 2 1/2 Inches High

Writer's on Writing : Walter Mosley

I am listening to Writer's on Writing, on Medger evers radio. Today's guest is Walter Mosley. I never heard him speak, but I have read all of his books thus. He is extremely intelligent and has some interesting things to say about the pubishing industry himself. His most recent Book is Fortunate Son, it's a novel about "two boys, one ensconced in a life of privilege and the other in a life of hardship, explores the true meaning of fortune.

In spite of remarkable differences, Eric and Tommy are as close as brothers. Eric, a Nordic Adonis, is graced by a seemingly endless supply of good fortune. Tommy is a lame black boy, cursed with health problems, yet he remains optimistic and strong.

After tragedy rips their makeshift family apart, the lives of these boys diverge astonishingly: Eric, the golden youth, is given everything but trusts nothing; Tommy, motherless and impoverished, has nothing, but feels lucky every day of his life. In a riveting story of modern-day resilience and redemption, the two confront separate challenges, and when circumstances reunite them years later, they draw on their extraordinary natures to confront a common enemy and, ultimately, save their lives." (amazon.com)

check it out!

Author's Website: www.waltermosley.com

the shows website : http://www.mec.cuny.edu/blacklitcenter/prog-5.html

Happy Passover, easter, and ...

any other holiday I might of missed. I am in the process of cooking. I just finished my cheesecake ..I will put up my recipe for it later on this blog. For dinner I have BBQ Baked Chicken stuffed with cornbread-italian sausage stuffing, macoroni and cheese, and vegetables on the side. What ya think? I love to cook, cause I love to eat...if you want the recipe for the rest of dinner menu for today please just email. If i get enough requests I will just post it sometime this week
peace and love

Welcome

This is just a test blog. I will introduce myself and this blog later on