Fiction author Robin Brande talks about writing, reading, and other vital matters

Hint to all you writers out there: People are happy for your success, but they’re happiest if you feed them cannolis.

Yesterday was my pal Barry Lyga’s book launch party, celebrating the release last week of the much-buzzed about The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl. Think I’m exaggerating about the buzz? Not only did USA Today give it a fabulous review a few days ago, but the reviewer Whitney Matheson then went on to say on her blog Pop Candy:

I just wanted to point out that today I have a roundup of new young-adult books in the paper — if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Barry Lyga’s The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl. The book is an entertaining read no matter what age you are, especially if you’re a fan of sarcastic high-school tales and/or comic-book references.

And to think we know him.

(Thanks, BJ, for the photo.)

But back to the cannolis. Barry threw the party at his favorite Italian restaurant, and we the guests were happy to enter into a food stupor almost right away. There was so much to eat, all of it worth our time and taste buds, and then came the champagne and the cake with the sugar-imprinted perfect likeness of Barry’s book cover, and finally the cannolis.

By the time the party was over, people were lying on the floor moaning, their top buttons undone, this look of sugar and fat bliss on their faces. Who knew that the publication of a book could lead to cheesy sauces and creamy desserts? Another reason to encourage your friends to finish those novels they keep talking about writing.

What was clear from the thank-you speech Barry gave was that a book doesn’t spring up on its own. It takes friendships and life experiences and nagging by well-intentioned spouses to pull us out of our dreamy state into writing stories that other people want to read. It’s tempting sometimes for a novelist to lock himself away and cut off all contact with the human world, but that’s almost always a mistake. You never know when some random comment from a friend of yours will unlock a new idea that leads to some great writing. I’ve had that happen so many times I’ve come to depend on it.

Sorry you couldn’t all be at the party yesterday–until Barry sells the movie rights, he’s not that flush–but I hope you’ll all raise your imaginary glass to him right now. It’s a true accomplishment to write and finish a novel at all. I applaud anyone who has gotten that far. The world is full of people will half-completed novels stuck in their drawers. But to finish, to write something good enough to see it published, and then to have it well-received by readers and reviewers–that’s really something special.

Mazel tov, Mr. Lyga! And thanks for all the sugar and fat.

Technorati Tags: Barry Lyga, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, Books, Authors, Book Reviews, Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Novels, Novelists, USA Today, Pop Candy, Whitney Matheson, Writing, Publishing, Reading

Posted on Sunday, October 1st, 2006 at 6:17 am under Reading, Writing . Subscribe to responses: RSS 2.0 Comment Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.