A Real Rocket Scientist Came to VHOB Last Saturday

We had a really interesting author event at VHOB this past Saturday.  Pascal Lee, who is the co-founder and chairman of the Mars Institute, and who has a masters in geophysics and a PhD in astronomy and space sciences, wrote a children's book, Mission to Mars. Although the book is geared for children, it's equally interesting for adults.  In fact, the adults (including me and about a dozen others) were mesmerized.  Here are some random facts that Pascal told all of us:

1.  There have been 7 unmanned landings on Mars.  He said the surface is like what you would find in a desert.  So far there has been no sign of life.
2.  They are expecting to have the 1st manned flight to Mars in the decade of the 2030's.
3.  The round trip, including time spent on the planet, will be 2.5 years (it's about 6 months one-way).
4.  The crew will be 7-9 strong, including experts from different disciplines - doctor and dentist, among others.  The mission has to be self-contained, for obvious reasons.
5.  The age of the crew will vary from those in their 20's and 30's all the way up to some in their 60's and maybe even 70's, based on the expertise needed to be gone from Earth for 2.5 years.
6.  The crew will wear blue spacesuits to contrast and stand out from the red soil of Mars.
7.  The air is too thin to breathe without a spacesuit.  In fact, you would tan 800X faster than being at a beach on Earth.
8.  You have 6X less weight on the moon than on Earth and about 2X less weight on Mars.
9.  If you drove your car at 70MPH to Mars, it would take you 431 years to get there.

As I said, random facts.  There were many others, too.  I can certainly tell you if you're looking for an "outer space" children's book for your kids, especially one with lots of scientific facts in it, get Mission to Mars by Pascal Lee.  Your kids (and you) will love it.

A Healthcare Nightmare - Dr. Russell Andrews Tells All

Too Big to Succeed, Profiteering in American Medicine, by Russell J. Andrews, MD, DEd, is a true eye-opener.  We are all hearing about the healthcare crisis in our country, but usually those "scare tactics" are coming from consumer advocates, of one kind or another.  In this case, it's a well-established doctor, a long-standing neurosurgeon, somebody on the inside, that is pressing the panic button.  And I, for one, am taking notice.

Dr. Andrews paints a very disturbing, but convincing, picture of how healthcare in the U.S. is being driven by profits.  Profits for the hospitals, profits for the medical device companies, profits for the physicians, profits for the medical practices, and profits for the drug companies (perhaps the most notorious of the actors in this play/tragedy).

Here is the blurb on the inside cover of Dr. Andrews' book.  I think this says it all:

"Medicine in the United States is big business.  We spend 50 percent more on health care per capita than other developed countries, but a multitude of measures indicate that we are not getting healthcare value for our money.  Dr. Russell J. Andrews details why health care in America has become more expensive but less effective and outlines a new paradigm for healthcare delivery."

Dr. Andrews talks quite a bit about the Hippocratic Oath and how fewer and fewer individual and corporate members are adhering to it.  In fact, when talking about a company that provides on-line information about drug doses and interactions, in conjunction with infomercials from the drug companies, Dr. Andrews says:  "If Hippocrates's estate had a good lawyer, there might be a lawsuit..."  That certainly makes you think.

Too Big to Succeed is not an easy book to read, especially for someone like me, who is not in the medical profession.  There is a lot of medical information given, with a bunch of acronyms for medical organizations and a lot of statistics.  But it is definitely a worthwhile book to read.  Do you want to go behind the curtain and see what's really going on? Spend some time with this book.  I can't exactly say you will be glad you did.  But when is it ever fun to learn bad stuff about a profession and industry upon which we so greatly rely?  Definitely not here.  Read it anyway.

NEW BOOK CLUB AT VHOB

Have you ever been part of a book club where you actually get to meet the author?  Me neither, but that's what we're doing!

In the book club at Village House of Books (VHOB), all of the authors we read will appear at VHOB for a Q&A session immediately after we discuss the book.  That's right.  The VHOB Book Club will tie its selections to author visits to the bookstore.  Here are the details:

1.  The VHOB Book Club will meet once a month from 6:30 to 7:15 at Village House of Books in Los Gatos.
2.  The author of each book will visit VHOB right after our discussion for a Q&A session starting at 7:15.
3.  For those who want a little meet and greet, we will have a half-hour of wine and cheese beginning at 6:00.

How great does this sound?  What?  You say you want one more benefit to joining the VHOB Book Club?  Well, here it is:

4.  You'll have me there to pick the books and lead the discussions.  Why is that a benefit?  Because you will be able to push me around for my book selection, my questions asked, and just because.   How often does that opportunity arise?

If you are interested in belonging to this trend-setting venture, let me know.  You can email me at lloydrrussell@gmail.com to tell me "Yes" (or "Heck Yes") or to get more details.  Our 1st meeting will be Tuesday, January 7, 2014.  Come one time, or come every time.  Just come.

P.S.  The day of the week and the date each month will vary depending on the availability of the author.  But once we get up and running, I will post a schedule for the 1st 6 months.

Behind the Scenes with Ann Patchett

Do you want to know what Ann Patchett thinks about her new book, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, and how she came to write it?  How about the inside scoop on her writing of Bel Canto?  Just click on the links below.  As you can see, there are 4 of them.  Pretty interesting insight into one of our best authors.

·         Video of Ann Patchett discussing This is the Story of a Happy Marriage: http://youtu.be/0mMRD8QmBSs

To embed: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0mMRD8QmBSs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

·         Video of Ann Patchett reflecting on Bel Canto, her late editor, and what writers really want: http://youtu.be/xteOMrFJ_EU

To embed: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xteOMrFJ_EU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Jenn Castro's Visit to VHOB Last Saturday, November 16

This is a blog from Jenn Castro, who appeared at Village House of Books on November 16.

Reading to A Village

Jenn Castro | November 24, 2013 | COMMENTS:No Comments »

The reading hasn’t started. Curious about the audience, it spans from ages two to 65 or 70, I wonder how to reach them all. “Do you like to write?” I ask a seven-year old girl? “Here’s what it’s like in my two-boy club home,” I confide with another mom, comparing notes about her two energetic girls and my two sons.
Los Gatos, California’s Village House of Books, a cozy house-like bookshop of nook-sized rooms filled from floor to ceiling with books of all shapes and sizes, perfect for browsing and buying, invited me last Saturday, November 16, to read MOM*ME.
“I like telling stories, but I don’t like (and then the seven-year old mimes the motion of holding pencil and writing words on a pretend page).” I know what she means, cause my kids used to feel reticent about the mechanics of putting pen to paper.
“How long did it take to write the book?” another mom asks. “The ideas came in bits over time,” I tell her, wanting to convey an accessible project that can be completed, “…It took four years, but that’s cause I’m a mom.” The audience giggles. “Kids could create a book much faster,” I reassure, “All those moments I used to fritter away, are committed now to writing” Heads nod in understanding. “How long to publish it?” another audience member asks. “About nine months,” I explain. And then the reading, “My mommy is not a tissue…” I begin.
Visit Village House of Books. You won’t be disappointed. See you in April when I return for a second reading just before Mother’s Day. As for the seven year old, I got to sign her book, “Happy reading — and writing,” was my message!

Editing and Copyediting from an Author's Viewpoint

I have posted blogs from Taylor Stevens before - www.taylorstevensbooks.com/connect.php.

She writes insightful articles about the publishing industry.  This one is particularly important to me because it's about the editing vs. copyediting process.  And since I am working to become a legitimate copyeditor (originally, I thought  it was to become an editor), I thought I would share her distinction with you.  When I am ready to hang out my copyediting shingle, I will shout it from every mountaintop (and even from every valley).

Why this ad?

One of the topics most confusing to me when I was still trying to get published was the issue of “editor.” I had done so much research about the publishing industry, and yet, this one issue completely eluded me. I remember at one point talking to a friend of a friend of a friend and explaining my goal of publication, and, in trying to discover where I was in my process, she asked me if I had an editor yet. I told her that I had someone lined up to go over the manuscript, and at that point our conversation diverged to a place where we were both speaking English but clearly not talking about the same thing. She lived and worked in the UK, so I just chalked it up to industry differences between the two countries. Oh, how wrong I was. Looking back, her side of the conversation makes perfect sense now. The problem was that in my mind at the time, “editor” meant “copyeditor.”   In publishing, the editor is the person who actually buys your book on behalf of the publishing house. Your book then becomes the editor’s baby, just like it’s your baby—well, maybe more like an adopted child that he or she claims to love as much as you love your own, although we all know that nobody can love your own work as much as you do, but we let them think they do. Out of love for this child--I mean book--the editor works with you to get the manuscript into the best possible condition it can be, insofar as plot and structure and characters and storyline. The editor is also the guardian of the book throughout the entire publication process. He or she will be the one fighting for marketing dollars and working to make sure the cover art fits the vision of the book, and will work to get you as much attention from publicity and the rest of the in house team as possible. The editor is your point man/woman within the publishing house and if there’s ever an issue or a problem, they are the one you (or your agent) goes to in order to get problems fixed. The copyeditor, on the other hand, is a technician of sorts. I don’t know how it goes with other publishing houses, but my publisher hires copyediting out to freelancers. After the author and editor have gone back and forth over the manuscript until they are both satisfied, then it goes to the copyeditor. The copyeditor pores over the manuscript for style and word usage and punctuation and grammar. Sometimes they try to rewrite the book, but the really good ones deserve champagne because mostly they catch mistakes and save you from looking stupid.

Author Schedule from Tomorrow, November 23, through December 31 (sorry I couldn't figure out how to transfer pictures of the book covers along with the descriptions!)

Store Hours: Tuesdays - Saturdays 10 to 6 & Sundays 9 to 2 (For December we’ll be open until 9pm on Thursdays)   Here is our author schedule at Village House of Books from tomorrow, November 23, through the end of December.  Come on down! November 2013
	Saturday November 23rd at 2pm: My Mama’s Closet by Alice Rhea Mitchell Little girls watch their mothers all of the time, and every mother has an intriguing boutique behind her closet door. Discover what a little girl finds behind this door through fun poetry and artful illustrations.
	Friday November 29th from 2 to 4pm: Manresa by David Kinch The long-awaited cookbook by one of the San Francisco Bay Area's star chefs, David Kinch, who has revolutionized restaurant culture with his take on the farm-to-table ethic and focus on theterroirof the Northern California coast.
	Saturday November 30th at 2pm: Mission: Mars by Pascal Lee “Pascal Lee is a true pioneer of Mars exploration. This book makes me want to put on a spacesuit and go to Mars!”  —Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 Astronaut and author of Mission To Mars
	Coming in December! Thursday December 4th at 7pm: Dancing Naked in Fuzzy Red Slippers by Carmen Rutlen Reviewers found its “refreshing and raw views on the slices of life to be both fun and thought provoking”.
	Saturday December 7th at 2pm: Code Busters 1, 2, and 3 by Penny Warner Penny Warner is an award-winning author of over sixty books, including the Dead Body Language mystery series (Macavity winner). The Code Busters Club, won the Agatha Award for Best Children's Mystery.
	Wednesday December 11th at 7pm: Share by Lauri Pastrone Share is a collection of 100 recipes from chefs, actors, political leaders and human rights advocates around the globe. Its flavorful recipes for the family are all easy to prepare and highly nutritious, using fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients. 100% of the profits go to Women for Women International.
	Saturday December 14th from 12 to 2pm: JZ Bingham, author of the Salty Splashes series Winner of Mom's Choice Awards Honoring Excellence in Family-Friendly Media (Sept. 2013)
	Saturday December 14th at 2pm: Wyndano’s Cloak by A.R. Silverberry Jen has settled into a peaceful life when a terrifying event awakens old fears—of being homeless and alone, of a danger horrible enough to destroy her family and shatter her world. Wyndano's Cloak may be Jen's only hope. If she can only trust that she has what it takes to use it . . .
	Sunday December 15th at 2pm: The Tails of Brinkley the Berner by Laura Johnson There are good "life lessons" about friendship and kindness. At the end of the story, I wanted to hug Brinkley -- Pamela Quinn, Retired Elementary Teacher