Author: Laura Langston

My March Reads

DaffodilsonBirchHill The daffodils are blooming, and so are the flowering cherry and plum trees. It’s time to clean up the greenhouse, thin the plants in the pond and dust off the patio furniture. It might be a little premature for the furniture but spring is definitely here so my thoughts are naturally turning to outside activities. However, before I can get out there, I need to ready my taxes for the accountant. Every year, I vow to tackle all the paperwork in January and every year it’s March before I do. Luckily, I have some great books to read when I put the papers aside at the end of the day.

Here’s what I’m reading this month:

Beside the bed: The Art of Stillness by Pico Iyer

At the gym: Fly Away Home  by Jennifer Weiner

By the fire: Someone Else’s Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson

Books read to date in 2016: 16

And Now for Something a Little Different

pileofpapersI’m deep into revisions on In Plain Sight and I have two more manuscripts waiting, waiting, IMPATIENTLY waiting for their turn to be polished and cleaned. So this week, I’d like to suggest you pop on over to Adriyanna Zimmermann’s blog where she posts author interviews and reviews. She interviewed me about The Art of Getting Stared At and followed that with a lovely review. I hope you like it as much as I did!

https://lifewritingsofareader.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/review-interview-the-art-of-getting-stared-at-by-laura-langston/

 

 

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Library Love Affair

publiclendingrightAnyone who reads my blog on a regular basis probably knows how much I love libraries. When I was a child, I learned to read and write because I wanted a library card. Back then, going to the library and wandering the stacks of books was one of my favorite things to do. When I became a writer, libraries (and the invaluable librarians who work there) took on added importance. As well as being a place of escape, I began to rely on the library for much of my research. I still do to some extent today.

Libraries nourished me as a child. They informed me as an adult. As a writer, they contribute to my income.

The end of February is when PLR (Public Lending Right) cheques are issued to authors. This year, more than 17,000 Canadian authors will receive money as compensation for free public access to our books through Canada’s public libraries. I’m always grateful when that cheque hits the mailbox. I’m also grateful for what it represents – our incredible library system and the acknowledgement of the role Canadian authors play in contributing to it. Thanks is also due to the Canada Council for the Arts which spearheads this important program.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the PLR. And for the first time since the program began, electronic books may be registered. If you’re an author and you’d like more information, go here: http://plr-dpp.ca/PLR/

And if you’re a reader but you haven’t visited the library in a while, I hope you check out your local branch soon!

Stepping Out

STEPPINGOUTCOVER9781459808959Yesterday was the official release day for Stepping Out, my latest title in the Orca Limelights series. You should be able to find it at your favorite independent bookstore or an online retailer, if that’s your preference. And while February 16th was the actual day it went on sale, I tend to feel more celebratory when the book is officially launched, which usually happens in the company of other writers several months after it goes on sale (I’ll put a note here when that date is set).

Meanwhile, here’s an idea of what Stepping Out is all about.

Fifteen-year-old Paige Larsson loves to laugh. She likes it even more when others laugh with her. As a YouTube comedy vlogger, laughter is Paige’s currency in life.  It takes the sting out of life’s tough stuff. It eases the pain of nasty comments, agonizing moments in gym class, and awkward pauses at parties.

Now Paige is about to step out of her comfort zone and compete in the prestigious International Teens in Comedy festival. Winning will give her the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in comedy. It’ll also mean $10,000 for her school’s performing arts department. But Paige has always used her humor to mask the pain of a disability, and in the world of stand-up comedy that won’t cut it anymore. 

I find it ironic that I’ve written a novel about a stand up comic because I’m actually afraid of comedy. Afraid to watch it, I mean. I’m always worried that the comic is going to bomb, especially if they are obviously new or just starting out. There are times when I literally can’t look or listen. But when I think about it, maybe that unease helped with the writing. I could certainly relate to the terror Paige felt getting up on stage!

My February Reads

seeds 002The seed catalogues are arriving and so are the seeds! We’re trying some new things this year – pepper varieties generally only found in Mexico, a few Mexican herbs, and some new (to us) tomato varieties too. And that’s only what we’ve ordered so far. There will be more. I love the promise of this time of year. There’s anticipation but not much hard work. Although the greenhouse is an absolute horror show and it’ll require some cleaning and prepping before it’s ready for seed flats. For now, though, this year’s garden is more of a dream and less of a demand. And that means I still have lots of time to read.

Here’s what I’m reading this month:

On the Kindle: Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

At the Gym: After You by Jojo Moyes

In Front of the Fire: My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl

Books read to date in 2016: 11

Million Dollar Blues

money bundle_1Here’s an interesting bit of trivia. On this date back in 1690, the first piece of paper money was issued by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the United States.

 

Life would never be the same again.

I’m thinking about money quite a bit these days because I’m working on Million Dollar Blues. It’s a women’s fiction novel about a contested lottery win and the impact it has on the lives and loves of three different women. I’ll be self-publishing it under my Laura Tobias name but first I have to get it in some kind of shape for the editor. There’ll probably be revisions to tackle after she’s finished with it too. And then there’s the cover to commission and the formatting to take care of and all the other details that go into self-publishing a book.

It’s been a real learning curve since I uploaded What Lainey Sees a little over a year ago. Changes are afoot with that title too. It started life as an ebook available only on Amazon, but in the coming months I’ll be making it available on more platforms and getting print copies made as well.

Stay tuned for details.

Meanwhile, happy February!

Just One?

favoriteIt’s always fun to be interviewed or contacted on Twitter. Because Stepping Out will be released in mid-February, and because The Art of Getting Stared At is up for a couple of reader’s choice awards, I’m receiving lots of tweets and emails. I’ve even been interviewed for a couple of blogs which is both cool and a little weird (as a former journalist, I’m used to asking the questions, not answering them).

Last week, a theme of sorts emerged.

I was asked to identify my favorite color, my favorite meal, and the book that had changed my life. In other words, a kind of favorite too.

The last question was posed on Twitter and I wasn’t the only writer asked. There was also a deadline. A book club wanted to know as they were discussing our latest releases the next day. I read tweets from the other authors offering up their single life changing book. I mulled and fretted and walked Team Sheltie and got my daily writing done and mulled and fretted and went to the gym and mulled and fretted some more. Eventually, I responded with several tweets saying I couldn’t pick a single book because different books had impacted and changed my life at different times. I picked a couple: Charlotte’s Web, Mrs. Mike, Karen, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Alchemist, The Lovely Bones. But there were so many I left off: Green Eggs & Ham changed my life because it taught me to read; Jonathan Livingstone Seagull changed my life at thirteen because it affirmed for me that there’s more to life than meets the eye; every single Junie. B. Jones book I read to my daughter changed my life because I saw the importance of humor in storytelling. Interview with a Vampire changed my life because it opened my eyes to a completely different style of writing and a new genre. Lady of Hay changed my life because I read it and said, “I want to write a past life novel too.” And I did.

I can’t pick a favorite color either. I adore the pale green of a seedling bursting through the soil. The blazing orange of a sunset. The black of my velvet throw. The rich purple of an amethyst cluster. The voluptuous white of summer clouds. The shocking red of fireworks. Even gray, which I never really thought much of before, has become a favorite. I’m letting my gray hair shine and, to me, the color speaks of authenticity and courage. Because in our culture, it is still far more acceptable for men than women to embrace their gray hair.

Don’t get me started on food. How can people pick a favorite food? Or even a favorite meal? A last meal? Faced with that challenge, I’d be starting my last meal several weeks in advance. I’d feast on crepes and smoked salmon . . . avocado and shrimp on a ciabatta bun . . . baby greens with my homemade raspberry vinegar . . . juicy peaches with wedges of brie. . . dim sum . . . curried scallops and biriyani rice . . . scones with clotted cream and chunky strawberry jam . . .spicy basil tofu . . . and steamed crab and mushroom risotto and a fatty rib eye and baked potatoes loaded with everything and French press coffee and popcorn with lots of butter. Lots and lots and lots of butter. Oh, and halloumi cheese. Maybe not with the popcorn but crispy fried halloumi would be in there somewhere too.

I can’t pick a single favorite anything. Except when it comes to love. I do have a favorite man. I married him. I also have a favorite son and a favorite daughter but someday, when they commit to their ‘one and only,’ my list will surely expand. I hope it does. For their sake and for mine. For them because we all deserve a life filled with love. And for me because I like my favorites multiplied.

A New Office

The office reno is officially done. After twenty years of dwelling in the basement (and writing almost twenty books in the same space!) I’ve moved to a place of ‘honor’ on the main floor. Let’s hope I have another twenty years and twenty books left in me! All I need to do now is find some art for the walls and strip and refinish a plant stand for the corner. Team Sheltie is slowly getting used to the new digs.

 

Okay. Get in here.

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Yes, we know you have a manuscript in that cubby that needs revising . . .january 152016 053

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But you need to get to the fresh writing first . . .january 152016 056

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And no sitting down on the job. Get on that treadmill and start producing. We’re ready for a nap. january 152016 061

A Promising Start

readingbythefire (2)2016 started in the best possible way – with time to read. The trick is giving everybody else books for Christmas and then making sure I set aside a block of time after the company leaves but before I have to go back to work.

This year the stars aligned and I had some uninterrupted reading time during the holidays. Having a fridge full of leftovers helped, as did having a relatively clean house. Aside from a few visits with friends (at their house!) and making sure Team Sheltie got out for their daily walks, I was able to relax in front of the fire with a few new books. I’ll be tracking the books I read again this year and tallying up the numbers every month or so. I read 79 books in 2015 which is up from 65 books in 2014 but nowhere close to my goal of reading two books a week.

However, I got off to a good start this year and that’s encouraging! Here’s what I’m reading this month:

On the Kindle: Find the Good by Heather Lende

At the gym: Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

Beside the bed: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Books read to date in 2016: 4

Happy New Year!

year2016 (2)And so it begins! A new year (a leap year, no less), a fresh start, a blank calendar to note down dates and events and maybe, if I’m very, very lucky, a holiday getaway somewhere warm.

One can dream!

2016 is a 9 year which is supposed to be a year of completion and fulfillment if you lean to numerology. Culturally, nine is considered a sacred number. There are nine muses in Greek mythology. The universe is divided into nine worlds in Norse mythology. Literature utilizes the power of nine too. There are nine circles of hell in Dante’s’ divine comedy. In Tolkien’s Middle-earth, nine rings of power are given to men; The Fellowship of the Ring consists of nine companions which represent the free races.

I hope this year brings you surprises so wonderful you end up on cloud nine. I hope too that you get a chance to dress up to the nines and enjoy your friends and family, and that you have somebody in your corner who has your back and would go the whole nine yards for you.

Happy 2016!