Alison Pace

Author / Editor Series at McNally Robinson

As listed stage-right, on Thursday, August 9, I'll be at McNally Robinson Bookstore to read and sign books, and also to talk about the writing/editing process with Susan Allison, my editor and the Editorial Director of Berkley Books.  It's at 7pm at 52 Prince Street (between Lafayette & Mulberry). 

Here's the very nice description from the McNally Robinson website:

Alison Pace, author of Through Thick and Thin (Berkley/Penguin) In conversation with Berkley Editorial Director Susan Allison.

The Author/Editor Series brings writers and their editors together for a conversation about the process of creation, offering insights into a book that go far beyond the traditional reading event. With her first novel, If Andy Warhol Had A Girlfriend, Alison Pace established herself as a hilarious and witty chronicler of romance, New York City, and the love of dogs. With her second book, Pug Hill, she teamed up with Susan Allison, one of Penguin’s most distinguished editors. With her new third novel, Through Thick and Thin, Alison Pace brings all these strengths to bear with a story of two sisters who put aside their differences in a mutual quest to lose weight. Join us this evening as Alison and Susan talk together about the books, the publishing process, and of course, the dogs.

Carlie: World Famous

Carlie makes her Galleycat debut today.  Thanks to Ron Hogan, who hopes he'll see Carlie at my reading in 2 weeks (more on that next) but unfortunately, I don't think she's going to be in attendance.  Alas. However, she will be appearing all day at my September 22 event --a dog friendly book-signing at Zoomies in the West Village.

In celebration, here's another picture of Carlie.  If you look at in the right way, doesn't it look as if she's contemplating the vastness of her fame?

Have a great weekend...

Kristen Buckley: Tramps Like Us

Kristen Buckley: very cool.

Not only does Kristen Buckley have the highest distinction of being the first person ever to provide one of my books with a blurb, she's also the author of the excellent novel, The Parker Grey Show, and the screenwriter of How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days and 102 Dalmations.  And now, she's also got a new memoir out, Tramps Like Us: A Suburban Confession, an emotional odyssey through the eerie netherlands of New Jersey, where perverted gym teachers are as big a threat as local mobsters, and timbale playing orangutans wield the power to shape the future.

Heres more:

New Jersey native Kristen Buckley travels through a series of catastrophic detours she calls childhood—one that was anything but normal. Set adrift after her parents divorce, Buckley embarks upon an emotional odyssey through the eerie underworld of northern New Jersey, where perverted gym teachers are as big a threat as the local mobsters, and timbale-playing orangutans wield the power to shape the future. Among the colorful cast of chracaters vividly portrayed are her brilliantlly wry mother; two deaf, adopted siblings from Korea; two Jewish stepsisters; and one pot-smoking runaway. After a childhood spent searching for a place to call home, she ultimately finds it and emerges as a truly unforgettable heroine.

Definitely check it out.

Elizabeth McKenzie! Blurb!

The wonderfully talented Elizabeth McKenzie, author of STOP THAT GIRL and (the newly released) MACGREGOR TELLS THE WORLD has this to say about THROUGH THICK AND THIN:

"A tale of two sisters that charmed me, and even better, introduced me to the wry and artful writing of Alison Pace."

Very happy.  Thanks to Elizabeth.

Notes from the Lockdown

Well, hola.

I left the city right before the 4th, and haven't been back since.  Partially this is due to the fact that it was really hot in the city, partially due to the fact that I was, very uncharacteristically, getting a bit tired of the city, but mostly due to the fact that I felt the time was nigh for a lockdown. 

The lockdown is the part of the novel-writing process which for me means not seeing anyone, not going out, not really doing anything other than being virtuous and writing, the goal being 2000 words a day, which I've been told is insane.  But I read that Jesse Kellerman aims for ten new pages a day, which is more like 5000 words a day, so when you look at it that way, not so insane.  Since my third book, as you know, or at least as I hope you know, comes out AUGUST 7, August is not a good time for lockdown.  So, here I am.  Ironically writing a book called THINGS TO DO IN THE CITY WITH YOUR DOG, away from the city, but of course with the dog.

Some things that are new:
*I finished reading Cathleen Schines' The New Yorkers, which is also about New York City, and dogs, and quite charming.  Very well written, I recommend it.
*I've started reading Alexandra Fuller's Don't Lets Go To The Dogs Tonight.  I'm not actually trying for a theme of dog books (though I could see how one would think that), rather I'm reading this fascinating book about an African childhood for my new bookclub.  My downstairs neighbors asked me to join and I'm very much looking forward to it.  Haven't had the best luck or longevity with my previous bookclubs, more on that later.
*Carlie went swimming for the first time.  Didn't love it.
*I have some good pictures of Carlie communing with nature, but don't have the thingy that connects my camera to my computer
*THROUGH THICK AND THIN received a five star review from Harriet Klausner on Barnes & Noble.com.  Hi Harriet.
*The Romantic Times, which had previously been put on my bad list for not being super jazzed about PUG HILL, has been put back onto the good list for saying this about THROUGH THICK AND THIN: 
Pace's revealing tale about the bond between two sisters reflects the very real and complex nature of relationships.  Her novel is simultaneously heartwarming and emotionally charged, and the author's depiction of each sister's outwardly perfect life propels the storyline with fascinating detail.

Okay, back to work...

07/07/07

Get lucky!

THROUGH THICK AND THIN comes out exactly one month from today...

Important Monday Message

My new most favorite show on the television is Flight of the Conchords.

Here's a video.