A couple of firsts

I’ve had my name on the front of at least one book; I’ve been mentioned on the inside of at least one; but yesterday a book arrived in the mail that has my name on its back. Yep, I’ve made it into the ranks of those who supply cover blurbs. The book is Lorraine Marwood’s collection of poetry That Downhill Yelling, published by Five Islands Press.Not only that, but my blurb is used as the promo on the Five Islands Press web site, where incidentally: a) my first name is misspelled (the book has it right); b) they have me still at my old job (so does the book, but that’s fine as I was in the job when I gave the quote, though I wouldn’t have given it if I’d been going to be still there when the book was published, because of Public Service ethics and all that); and c) they don’t quote the bit of the blurb I like best (‘If I ever use the phrase “downhill all the way” again, it will inevitably have a new, exuberant meaning’), though arguably I should be grateful that someone murdered that particular darling.

Anyhow, don’t buy it just for the blurb, but do buy it. It’s a terrific book, for older children and younger adolescents. Again I lament that those annual ‘best of’ collections apparently exclude children’s poetry from their pool.
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No sooner had I finished writing that than I found in the mail my first rejection slip since leaving my job. It’s just two short paragraphs on a letterheaded third-of-A4 slip of paper. After dropping the bad news, the second paragraph goes on:

Please don’t despair. Our judgement is well-schooled, but inevitably subjective.

Posted: Thu – December 15, 2005 at 03:01 PM