Saturday, January 29, 2011

What came out of her little sister's brain...


My sister is vacationing at the beach and has been reading my book, Song of Scarabaeus. With six young children, she hasn’t found it easy to get through more than 20 minutes at a time, but she just texted me to say she finished it, she loved it, and she can’t wait for the next one. Wow. “I can’t believe all these ideas came out of my little sister's brain,” she tells me. (It shouldn’t surprise her. We spent our childhoods keeping each other awake at night telling stories, and filled our vacation time by drawing comic strips and typing out silly ditties on our typewriters.)

Almost a year after the book’s release, it still amazes me when someone tells me they enjoyed it. Is this reaction of mine just a lingering effect of being on debut-author cloud nine? I don’t know. I wrote the kind of book I wanted to read – smart female protagonist in a no-win situation, sexy hero/sidekick, strong scientific elements, interesting secondary characters, and loads of action. Every time I read a nice review on a blog or on Amazon, I think, “Yay! Someone else ‘got it’.” Someone else wants to read the kind of book I want to read, the kind of book I wrote.

Last week, much to my astonishment, my book was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award. Heady stuff. But I’ll be honest: hearing my sister enthuse about my book – my big sister, who almost never reads fiction – means even more to me.

6 comments:

Kathryn Packer Roberts said...

That's awesome.

Nicole Murphy said...

Isn't it great when family love what you do? I was tickled when my mum told me she stayed up until 1am reading my last book, she loved it so much :)

Agree, that all the accolades and outside love is great (cause that tends to help with sales too) but at the end of the day, knowing your family approve is the best feeling.

nymfaux said...

Congrats on both counts!!! That's so awesome!!!!

Mel Teshco said...

A family member's praise and respect means more I think than any critic's review.
I have your book Sara, and now can't wait to read it and enjoy it myself!

Barbara E. said...

How wonderful that you're getting praise from family members and a nomination for an award. I can see why, I read the book and I loved it - then recommended it to my sister as well. I'm with your sister, I can't wait for the next one too!

Brenda Hyde said...

Wow, congrats on both things. To get a compliment from a family member, especially one who doesn't read fiction is wonderful:) My first short story-- a zombie tale--did please my sister, but my dad said he couldn't finish it. I kid you not. It was less than 5,000 words. LOL

Your awards are only just beginning:)