Terry Shames here:
Our weekly question is, "What author are
you jealous of?"
I had to look up the word “jealous” to make sure I knew what
it meant, and to my surprise, it has a strong element of “resentful.” So I can
say that I’m not really jealous of any author. I don’t resent what someone else
has, but I may wish I had it, too! So I’ll proceed with the caveat that
resentment isn’t part of the equation.
Author? As in singular? No. What I envy is a lot of authors
for a lot of different reasons.
I am jealous of young authors who got published right out of
the chute and have long careers ahead of them. It took me years of slogging
through rejections before I finally hit on my series character and became a
published writer. I have so many ideas for books, and time looms large in the
equation.
Here are some specific authors I’m jealous of for specific
reason:
Catriona McPherson for her sense of humor. My God, where
does this woman get her comic patter? Her timing? Her sense of glee that grabs
her readers?
Okay, Cindy Sample and Heather Havens, you
too!
Lou Berney because….well, The Long and Faraway Gone and November
Road. Need I say more? One brilliant book following on the heels of
another. If he wasn’t such a great guy, a person could be tempted to be
resentful.
William Kent Krueger for so many reason that it’s stupid.
His beautiful writing, and the fact that he’s so damn nice. I hope he has dark
thoughts that he keeps to himself, otherwise he’s too good to be true. Plus, he
has the nicest wife!
Timothy Hallinan. God, three series, all spectacular. I am
jealous of the philosophical depth in his books. There are paragraphs in his
books that I reread just for the pleasure of musing on the thoughts.
I am jealous of Rhys Bowen for suddenly stepping off the
cliff and soaring with her two historical novels. She said her publishers were
uncertain, but apparently she wasn’t. Oh, to have that courage along with the
ability to follow through with the ideas and find herself in the spotlight afterwards:
In a more serious vein, I’m jealous of authors some of whose
works I don’t particularly admire as well as those whose work I revere, who
have somehow hit a chord and become famous. That doesn’t mean I wish they weren’t
successful; It just means I wish I could find that magic formula as well.
The fact is, though, that I’m grateful for having found a
good publisher and loyal fans. Having toiled in obscurity for many years, I
appreciate every reader, every editor who makes my work better, every workshop
I’ve attended that gave me the tools I needed to perfect my craft. I am grateful
that I have the means to write without worrying about paying the rent. I’m
grateful that I have ideas that I’m excited about. I’m thrilled to have an
agent who is right by my side in my endeavors.
Being jealous doesn’t get the job done. What does get the
job done is writing. Long, hard hours of writing, rewriting, editing, and
reediting. The writers I’m “jealous” of work just as hard as I do—or maybe
harder. So I don’t have anything but delight and admiration for their success.
Well, maybe I’m slightly still jealous of Catriona’s sense of humor…and her
hair.
4 comments:
Well, hey! Thank you. I notice you don't envy my decorum in photos.
Oh, but I do! I just thought I should leave off the gushing.
Thanks, Terry, A good post. I think getting inspired is a better bet than being jealous.
Me, too. I've read some books lately that should have made me jealous!
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