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20 Questions with April Dávila

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Los Angeles Local Author April Dávila is a fourth generation Californian and Pushcart Prize-nominated author of the debut novel, 142 OSTRICHES. She has lived briefly in places as far-flung as Ecuador, the Caribbean, and the Marshall Islands, but always comes back to California. The daughter of an artist, Dávila studied marine biology at Scripps College before studying writing at USC. An attendee of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers and a past resident at the Dorland Mountain Arts Colony, April runs LitWeekLA, a weekly newsletter covering Los Angeles area literary events. Her website AprilDavila.com was named one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers by Writers Digest.
(Photo credit: Rob Greer)

What part of Los Angeles do you call home?
After 10 years in Silver Lake we moved north a bit to La Cañada. We love it. It feels very suburban and kid-friendly, but it’s just a quick shot down the 2 to the city.

Are you a native of L.A. or a transplant?
I grew up in Northern California, and I met my husband when we were both living in San Francisco. Three years later, when we moved down to Los Angeles, we swore it was temporary. Like all good Northern Californians, we had well-developed opinions about our home’s superiority over Southern California. We loved the fog. We loved the compact size of the city and how we could get around without a car. We said 5 years. 5 Years for me to go to grad school and for us both to build our careers, and then we would move back.

But we really came to love Los Angeles. We found a wonderful community of writers and filmmakers, all working to create their art on a professional level. It was exciting. Five years passed quickly, and when it came time to enroll our eldest in school, we decided to stay. I do sometimes miss the fog, but I don’t regret our choice at all. We’ve built a great life down here.

How many books have you written?
142 OSTRICHES is my first book, but I am already nearing completion on my second. I hope to introduce it to the world before too long.

Did you publish traditionally or independently?
I decided to publish traditionally. There are pros and cons for either route, but I knew I didn’t want to be in charge of marketing. I just want to write, and having a traditional publisher seemed the best way to stick with what I know.

What inspired you to write this story?
The first question I get, when people learn the title of my debut novel, is usually some variation of “why ostriches?” Short answer: they’re fascinating, which, when I started this project, I didn’t even know. All I knew back then was that I wanted to tell a story set in the California desert. As an ecology major at Scripps College I’d fallen in love with the Mojave’s explosive sunrises, its defensive flora and hardy fauna.

The trouble was, my protagonist was based (loosely) on my mother and her experiences growing up on a dairy farm in the Sacramento valley. After being assured by my mother that it would, under no circumstances, make sense to plunk a dairy farm in the Mojave, a fortuitous combination of search terms lead me to the OK Corral Ostrich Ranch, just sixty miles from my home in Los Angeles. I immediately emailed the owner, Doug Osborne, to ask for a tour.

Within minutes of arriving I knew I’d found something special. The birds were so strange, with their prehistoric skin and Lancome eyelashes, and Doug spoke of them with such affection, even while swatting away their invasive pecks. This was a place for contradictions. The perfect setting for a story about a family torn between love and hate, loyalty and abandonment.

Which characteristic of your protagonist do you most admire?
Tallulah is super tough. She doesn’t see anything as impossible. She can figure it out, whatever it is. I really admire that about her.

Which characteristic of his/her/their nemesis do you enjoy?
I really didn’t enjoy writing my main character’s nemesis. To make “bad guys” believable, you have to find their humanity, and I found his to be so painful. He’s such a damaged person, and to touch into that was difficult. To find sympathy for it was even harder.

What’s the best part about being an author?
My greatest disappointment in life is that I will never get to be or do all the things I wish I could be and do. I will most likely never go to space, or fight for survival in the wilderness, or work on an ostrich ranch. But as a writer, I have the best of excuses to dive into all the things that spark my curiosity, to steep myself in them for as long as they hold my interest, then move on. It’s the best.

And the worst?
The hardest part about being an author is touching into the emotional truth of damaged people. Because happy, well-adjusted people don’t make for a very good story. And, as the author, if you aren’t willing to get deep into what makes a character tick, you’re only ever going to write the surface level of their interactions. So I dive in. And some times (a lot of times) I only really capture a character when I can tolerate being uncomfortable long enough to write a scene as they would experience it.

How do you keep the momentum of writing/editing/publishing/promoting?
It’s hard, especially during a pandemic. I’m not feeling super creative these days, and it’s disappointing that I can’t be out doing my book tour. That said, writing is a job. I sit my butt down and do my best at all of it.

The thing I find most helpful is to set intentions. Every time I sit at my desk, I decide what I’m going to work on, and how long I’m going to work on it. I find I’m more creative in the mornings, so I try to set aside an hour or so to write before lunch. After lunch I send emails, write blog posts, check in on social media… all of it.

What’s your “writing ritual”?
I wake up before anyone else, pour a cup of black coffee and drink it while I write one page in my journal. Sometimes I can go immediately into writing fiction after that, but more often I turn my attention to waking children, making sure everyone is fed and (in pre-pandemic times) off to school. Then I sit down to write.

I expand my Scrivener window (I’m a huge Scrivener nerd) so that I can’t see anything else on my screen. I set the Do Not Disturb on my phone for 1 hour and put it face down. After one hour, I allow myself to get more coffee, use the restroom, and then, if it’s a good day, I’ll do it again and get one more hour in.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Follow the enthusiasm. Technically, it wasn’t given to me, I just overheard it, but it’s great advice. I wrote a blog post about it: https://aprildavila.com/enthusiasm/

What’s the best advice you could give another author?
I have three bits of advice I give when people ask:
1. Follow the enthusiasm (see above)
2. Writers read. If you want to be a writer, you must read. A lot.
3. Don’t give up. Keep writing. Success is 10% talent and 90% work.

How do you interact with your reading audience?
I’ve been blogging at aprildavila.com for 10 years. Sometimes it feels like writing into the void, but when I was out on my book tour (before I had to cut it short and scurry home due to Covid 19), I was really touched by how many people stood in line to get a book signed because they were fans of my blog. It has really proven to be a wonderful way to connect with fellow writers and readers. I’m also big on Twitter (@aprildavila).

Where are you most social online?
Twitter. Hands down. I quit Facebook a while back, because duh.

Where are you most social in real life?
Probably in the bleachers at my kids’ sporting events. Most of my friends these days are other kick-ass moms I’ve met at some sort of kid-related thing.

What’s your favorite place in Los Angeles?
There are some beautiful trails near our home in La Canada. Usually, when the kids are in school, I drop them off, then take the dogs to a trailhead for a quick walk in the woods. There’s this one trail that dips down to follow a little creek through some oak trees and it smells so good, like damp earth and anise seeds. Then you pop out at the top of the trail and can see all the way to the ocean. It’s only about a mile loop. I can usually walk it and still be at my desk by 8:45. It’s a great way to start the day.

Do you have a hobby or go-to that helps you recharge?
I love a good long walk. Usually, when I walk, I listen to audiobooks, but if I’m stuck on a story, I’ll leave the earbuds at home and, I swear, it works every time. Something about just being outdoors and moving my body sets everything straight and gets the creative juices flowing.

What are you currently reading?
I’m reading DEPRIVATION, a mystery thriller by Roy Freirich, and listening to EDUCATED, the memoir by Tara Westover.

What’s next for you?
I’m working on my second novel. It’s an epic adventure story spanning three centuries. That’s about all I can say about it just yet, but I’m very excited about it. Please check out my website for more information (that’s where I’ll post it when I have it) and say hello. I love connecting with people online and (someday, fingers crossed) in person.

142-Ostriches-cover-high-resSet against the unexpected splendor of an ostrich ranch in the California desert, April Dávila’s beautifully written debut conjures an absorbing and compelling heroine in a story of courage, family and forgiveness. April is currently offering a free copy of 142 OSTRICHES to share with a friend for those who have already bought her book or are planning to purchase. Click here for details.

Adopt a Bookstore

Dear Booklovers,

Whether you are a writer, a seller, publisher, editor or reader, if you love books, then you must love bookstores, too. Right now, among many in America, our local, independent bookstores are facing a crisis. It’s not their first, of course. They rose phoenix-like in recent years after surviving the onslaught of online sales and the 2008 recession. The questions is: Can they survive again?

An event like this was something we could hardly imagine beyond a work of fiction. We are all doing what we can to navigate this pandemic, trying to remain healthy and safe with social distancing, city and state lockdowns, and non-essential business closures. But our small businesses are essential to our communities. Bookstores, in particular.

Bookstores are vital to the literary industry. They have hosted us for events and launches, they have recommended our work, put us on their shelves; they are our champions. For their neighborhoods, they often serve as friends or extended family, a comforting space to roam and discover, and provide trusted advice on what next to read. They are the special beating hearts of our communities. They are truly special places.

We know their value to us professionally and personally, but their value economically is also crucial. A larger portion of money spent in independent stores stays in the local economy than a chain store; zero dollars are kept in the community from an online retailer. Yet, many of us are quick to link to Amazon out of habit, convenience or a desire to reach the most readers. Now, in light of this crisis, we need to turn our focus toward saving our local booksellers. We can start today by adopting bookstores and doing what we can to drive business to them.

If you are an author, poet, journalist, editor, publisher, podcaster or blogger, please reach out to your fellow booklovers and ask them to join us in this endeavor. The request is simple: Encourage our readers/audience to set aside the one-click habit and make the effort—the investment!—in their local bookstores by buying books through them during this crisis and beyond. Send links to the stores’ websites, their Bookshop.org stores (for physical copies or audiobooks), or a link to IndieBound (e-books, hard copies and audio). Many local bookstores are offering online, phone or email sales with home delivery, curb-side pick-up or mailed options. Make your online community aware of this, too.

While the L.A.L.A. Society is focusing on Los Angeles and the surrounding communities, please encourage booklovers throughout the US to do the same. If authors in every city and state participated in adopting bookstores, perhaps the blow to those small businesses will be softened, and more will be there to open their doors to us when this is over. For that to be a possibility, we need to shout this out as soon as possible and as often as possible.

We love our bookstores. We love our bookloving community. Thank you for doing what you can!

Sincerly,
Sandra Ann Miller
Author/Founding Member of the L.A.L.A. Society

Writers’ March

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Join Los Angeles Local Authors in dedicating 1 hour each day to your writing throughout the month of March. Whether it’s progress or polishing, let’s see what these 31 hours accomplish.

New to writing? This is a great time to start! Rather than focusing on word count, allow yourself to set aside 60 minutes daily (a solid hour or broken up to fit your busy schedule) to your writing project (novel, memoir, short story, poetry, etc.). Share your experience with everyone by tagging your tweets and Instagram posts with #LosAngelesLocalAuthors #WritersMarch.

20 Questions with Nina Sadowsky

[In a new series, we ask local authors the same 20 questions to get a glimpse into their personalities and processes.]

Sadowsky headshot 2019Nina Sadowsky is an author, filmmaker and educator. She has written numerous screenplays and produced such films as “The Wedding Planner.” Her debut thriller, JUST FALL, was published by Ballantine in 2016 and her BURIAL SOCIETY series launched in 2018 with the second book in the series, THE EMPTY BED, to be published on January 28, 2020. Nina currently serves as Program Director of NYU Los Angeles, a “semester abroad” program for advanced students considering careers in the entertainment and media industries. Sadowsky also serves as the Director of Educational Outreach for the Humanitas Prize, is on the Leadership Council of Creative Future, and is a founding member of the Woolfpack, an organization of women showrunners, writers and producers committed to community and mentorship.

What part of Los Angeles do you call home? Westwood.

Are you a native of L.A. or a transplant? A native New Yorker.

How many books have you written? Four: two published and two coming in 2020.

Did you publish traditionally or independently? Traditionally.

What inspired you to write this (your most current book’s) story? Anger at an unjust society.

Which characteristic of your protagonist do you most admire? Badass fearlessness.

Which characteristic of his/her/their nemesis do you enjoy? Defeating them.

What’s the best part about being an author? Writing. And when people respond to my work and “get it.” Also the ability to make a real difference as I’m doing by donating a portion of the pre-orders for THE EMPTY BED to benefit the Violence Intervention Program and the Alexis Project. (More details on my website.)

And the worst? The cycle of thinking I’m a genius before I recognize I’m an idiot before I think I’m a genius again. And repeat.

How do you keep the momentum of writing/editing/publishing/promoting? No sleep! The promoting is a shocking amount of work.

What’s your “writing ritual”? I set asaide the hours and then treat that commitment with the utmost respect. I also blast a little music and dance before I work.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? The author is the doctor. The editor or other reader is the patient. It’s their job to tell us where it hurts, but our job to diagnose the problem and treat it.

What’s the best advice you could give another author? See above. And persevere!

How do you interact with your reading audience? Conferences, workshops, book clubs, virtual appearances and classes, a monthly newsletter (“Dispatches from the Cheerfully Dark Mind of Nina Sadowsky”), which is filled with writing tips and other tasty content. (Sign up for it on my website.)

Where are you most social online? I use Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Where are you most social in real life? Everywhere. My philosophy is “Be the light.”

What’s your favorite place in Los Angeles? The Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City ranks high.

Do you have a hobby or go-to that helps you recharge? Dance, meditation, Pilates, cooking, collage art.

What are you currently reading? SOMETIMES I LIE by Alica Feeney; just finished BIG SKY by Kate Atkinson.

What’s next for you? Edits on my new book, CONVINCE ME, plus an original TV pilot.

Empty BedAbout THE BURIAL SOCIETY and THE EMPTY BED: The Burial Society series is in development for television. THE EMPTY BED is the latest in her Burial Society series, in which a woman with a dark past runs a “private witness protection program,” helping whistleblowers, abused women, and other desperate people escape their dangerous lives and find safe new ones. The third in The Burial Society series, CONVINCE ME, is to be published in summer 2020. Find her at www.ninarsadowsky.com

20 Questions with Brian Finney

[In a new series, we ask local authors the same 20 questions to get a glimpse into their personalities and processes.]

 

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Brian Finney is a Los Angeles local author who spent the first half of his life in England, where he became a lecturer in English Literature at the University of London. In 1987, he immigrated to Southern California where he was a Professor of English at UC Riverside, UCLA, USC, and California State University Long Beach (where he remains Professor Emeritus). He has written seven nonfiction books, including a biography of Christopher Isherwood that won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in Britain. After retiring from full-time teaching, he wrote and published his first novel, MONEY MATTERS, in 2019 that was a Finalist in the Best American Fiction Awards (2019).

 

 

What part of Los Angeles do you call home? Since immigrating here in 1987, I have lived in the same 1908 bungalow in Venice that I and my wife added on to in the rear in 1992-93, just before the Northridge earthquake. Despite the inroads of tech companies, Venice is still a unique neighborhood that I love.

Are you a native of L.A. or a transplant? I moved here 32 years ago and have been a naturalized American citizen for 30 years.

How many books have you written? Seven nonfiction books and one suspense / amateur detective novel.

Did you publish traditionally or independently? All but the last of my nonfiction books were published by major publishers in Britain and America. For my last nonfiction work I went outside my academic field. Titled Terrorized: How the War on Terror Affected American Culture and Society, I felt compelled to write this socio-economic-political book and self-published it to avoid all the hurdles that would be raised for daring to write outside my specialist field.

What inspired you to write this (your most current book’s) story? Having spent much of my adult life teaching students how to read and interpret works of fiction, once I was free of the compulsion to publish academic book, I eagerly turned to practicing what I had been preaching (or teaching), by writing my own work of fiction.

Which characteristic of your protagonist do you most admire? Jenny, my 27-year-old narrator and major character, resists succumbing to the money culture of the time (2010) and is determined to find her own response to a society where money trumps everything else.

Which characteristic of his/her/their nemesis do you enjoy? Jenny has to learn that she needs to come to terms with her materialist society, and her arguments with her high-earning sister offered me some of my greatest pleasure.

What’s the best part about being an author? Having complete freedom to invent whatever you want. Compare that to writing a biography where every assertion has to be backed with a source.

And the worst? Having to publicize your work (even when it is accepted by a major publisher), particularly the need to post regularly on social media.

How do you keep the momentum of writing/editing/publishing/promoting? Once I have a subject I want to write about, the rest follows naturally.

What’s your “writing ritual”? I don’t have a ritual. I write when I feel creative, and I do other things when I am not in the mood to write.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? Employ a professional editor, even though they cost a fortune.

What’s the best advice you could give another author? Never be afraid to delete – entire sections if necessary. Nothing is ever perfect, and any piece of writing can be improved – and improved again.

How do you interact with your reading audience? Mainly through social media – posts, interviews, blogs, newsletters.

Where are you most social online? Instagram

Where are you most social in real life? With friends and neighbors.

What’s your favorite place in Los Angeles? The Venice canals, followed by the Venice walk-streets. Both are traffic-free.

Do you have a hobby or go-to that helps you recharge? Once a week I attend a life drawing workshop that I find totally absorbing.

What are you currently reading? I am about to start Jeanette Winterson’s FRANKISSTEIN. She is a wonderful stylist whose sheer writing skill always thrills me.

What’s next for you? I don’t yet know. I’m still busy publicizing Money Matters. I don’t even know whether the next book will be fiction, fictional biography or nonfiction. I am leaving it to my unconscious. When I know I’ll announce it on my website: bhfinney.com

MMAbout MONEY MATTERS: At once a painful coming-of-age novel, an exciting amateur detective tale, and an intriguing narrative engaging with social issues (immigration and wealth disparity), Money Matters has mystery at its core. This emotionally charged debut novel is firmly embedded in Los Angeles culture during the 2010 mid-term election. Jenny, the 27-year-old protagonist, faced with the tragic disappearance of a friend, assumes the role of amateur detective, and finds herself battling financial tycoons, corrupt politicians, and the treacherous Baja drug cartel in her search to uncover the truth.

Jenny’s investigation also takes her into the liminal world of undocumented immigrants, which leads her to seek the help of the handsome director of an immigrant rights organization to whom she is strongly attracted. But will the deadly enmity of the rich end her budding romance?

Meet the Authors Behind Made in L.A.

Cody Sisco, Allison Rose and Gabi Lorino are the authors behind the independent author co-op and anthology series, Made in L.A. Volume 2 of the series was released on May 31st. The three authors were kind enough to chat with L.A.L.A. Society founder, Sandra Ann Miller, about the landscape of literary Los Angeles and coming together to make a bigger splash.

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Of the three, Allison is the lone Los Angeles native. Cody was raised in the San Francisco East Bay and moved to L.A. seven years ago after living abroad. Gabi hails from Tampa and just celebrated her fifth year as an Angeleno. [Editor’s Note: The interview has been edited for brevity. When four authors come together, it can get wordy.]

Sandra: How did the three of you meet?

Allison: Cody and I met three years ago at an Indie Author Day hosted by the Alhambra Library. We were both very new to the self-pub scene with one book each. The event itself was less than inspiring, but I ran into Cody months later and he mentioned he had a booth at the LA Times’ Festival of Books and asked if I wanted to join him. It felt like fate at that point. This was well before the Made In L.A. group was even a thought.

Cody: Allison and I clicked—both for our approach to indie publishing, and because we’re both drawn to similar science fiction ideas and dark themes.

Gabi: I first met Cody through the L.A. Writers Critique Group, which has gone through several names. It’s a Meetup group that meets twice per month at different libraries in Pasadena and Silver Lake. The original founder couldn’t continue the group, so we stepped in to keep it going, and we’re still involved four years after that.

Cody: It’s been four—maybe five—years and all is going smoothly. It’s now a place where writers’ talents are incubated and any writer can get feedback that will help them grow. At some point, though, critique becomes a smaller part of a bigger picture. After my first book came out, the reality settled in that there was more to a writing career than writing, and I started looking for authors who were in a similar place.

After Indie Author Day, which was the first time I sold books in person, I wanted more. Foolishly, I signed up for a booth at the LA Times’ Festival of Books thinking that I had six months to organize something and it would all work out. I think I started to panic in January.

Gabi: I volunteered to reach out to potential readers for the mix of authors who were sharing it with him. That’s how I met Allison and, after that, the members helped me get my first book finished and out in the world.

Cody: Luckily Gabi and Allison saved me from myself and the Made in L.A. brand. The group came together and it’s been rocketing forward ever since.

That’s pretty impressive. How many books have you published between the three of you, including the anthologies, in that time?

Cody: Two anthologies, my second book, Allison’s second book, and Gabi’s first—so, five. I’d never thought of it in those terms!MiLA 2 Cover

Five books and two writers’ groups. That’s a lot of caffeine.

Gabi: Due to medical reasons I can’t have caffeine or alcohol, which makes me wonder how I can call myself a writer anymore. [Laughs.]

Allison: It is pretty impressive that we have all published individual books in that time period. We are inspiring each other to finish work and publish books, and it is great to be able to be more transparent with each other about the challenges of writing and self-publishing. We encourage and challenge each other to push forward and grow.

Cody: Previously, it was so easy to get into a mode where I was mostly alone with my writing, feeling like every step in marketing my book was futile, and that I was kidding myself about where my career was headed. Now, I have a responsibility to my fellow writers to make things happen and things are happening, it’s a virtuous circle. There’s a huge benefit to working together.

There’s still somewhat of a ridiculous stigma to “self-published” authors. I prefer to use the term independent like you. What “traditional” publishers fail to see is how entrepreneurial independent authors must be. In a sense, the three of you started a publishing company with Made in L.A. How has that worked for you and why did you choose that independent path?

Allison: There is a lot of conversation to be had regarding the indie vs. traditional publishing route. Yes, there is a lot of stigma surrounding self-publishing, and a lot of that is due to how easy it is for Joe Schmoe to throw a quick draft version of a novel on Amazon and call themselves a published writer. As individuals, Cody, Gabi and I still face the challenge of proving our own expectations of professionalism and our ability to prove that to readers without explicitly stating that we hold our work to the same industry standard as traditionally published books.

The advantage to our Made in L.A. publishing group is that we can present ourselves as not simply one individual promoting how amazing we are, and instead we push for the visibility of each other. The three of us are putting our own credibility on the line in doing so, and I think that resonates with readers.

Cody: Regarding self vs. traditional publishing: I don’t think most readers understand the ins and outs of publishing and how much the landscape has and hasn’t changed over the past 10 years. On the whole, they probably don’t care. They want a good story. They want to be entertained.

Gabi: I personally chose independent publishing because some of what appeals to me hasn’t made it to the mainstream yet, and I don’t want to be told to write stuff that doesn’t come naturally by an agent or whoever who’s just trying to get something produced that can sell today. Fiction writing is a way of expressing myself and my Gen X worldview, and I want to be true to it. Besides, I got to set up my own imprint and name it Word Nerd Media, and that makes me pretty happy!

What has your reception been with local media on getting coverage for your book launches and events? With over 1,000,000 self-published books released last year, how do you go about building an audience?

Cody: I think we’ve seen that there are no shortcuts to building an audience. At a minimum, you have to have entertaining writing. Beyond that, with regard to finding an audience, there are as many approaches as there are authors. For Made in L.A., we knew from the start that our stories were in demand, so it became a matter of showing up in places where fans would find us. Thus far, we’ve done panel discussions, readings, and activities at libraries, bookstores, and other venues. For me, half of the strategy is to be visible and to create space in the literary landscape. There are other themed anthologies that put a focus on L.A., but they don’t have—as far as I can tell—the same approach. We’re committed to collaboration and engagement, and paving the way for more indies to find their own path to success.

Allison: There is also a lot of misconception from people that those who chose to publish independently have done so because they have failed to sell to a traditional publisher. I chose to publish my own material without even sending a single query to a publisher or agent. Not to speak for everyone, but the three of us have chosen the indie path for a number of reasons, but mostly for creative control. The gate-keeper mindset of traditional publishers is infinitely frustrating, so for me it comes down to creative freedom. Yes, the major downside is that the uphill battle of visibility can often make this choice feel pointless. Indie authors have to be more creative with visibility, more supportive of each other, more part of a collective and creative team instead of competing against each other like the big publishers do. I have hope that the indie community will find success in becoming a community instead of seeing every other author as an adversary.

Gabi: Independent bookstores are thriving. No one saw that coming but I’m so glad that’s the case. I’ve worked for one in the past and love to visit them. Any bookstore or library, really, but an independent business that’s part of the community is a place I’d choose to spend my money over a chain. And the ones here are willing to stock our books! It takes effort but there is a payoff in the end. Ultimately, you want to get people to read your work because it’s appealing and available, and you make it that way by getting out there and showing up. Bookstores want to host events to bring readers in, and writers want their work to be heard and seen. It’s a perfect pairing, if you’re willing to get out there and show up.

Cody: The media situation for literature is dismal all around. News publications, when they cover the arts at all, focus on film, music and performing arts. When they do cover books, they are so overwhelmed with options, they have to filter and by necessity they focus on the biggest names or the books that publishers are pushing hard with well-resourced and connected publicity campaigns. This landscape is not the one that indies inhabit. We’re in spaces that are DIY, hyper-local, niche-obsessive, and face-to-face. Rather than marketing dollars, our legitimacy is determined by our reputations and the strength of fandoms.

Which is why I think it makes sense to create something “bigger” than a single author, such as Made In L.A.and that’s the main reason I started the L.A.L.A. Society. Power in numbers, creating a larger, louder voice for local authors in a city that sometimes ignores books until they come to a screen.

Gabi: Mass media is like traditional publishing, whereas social media is like indie publishing. There’s a lot of luck involved in getting coverage for serious issues like a child’s disappearance, let alone books. But on social media, if you make a meme and post it, it exists. If you communicate about an issue you care about or tell people about your stories and books, it literally puts the information out there. So that puts the power with you and your network.

Cody: I think it’s also important to recognize that the playing field for indies is not level and it’s up to us to find and work with partners who are interested in creating alternatives and supporting change. I’ll call them out here, in a good way: IngramSpark has created a path for indies to get their books, printed on-demand, in bookstores. We’re not limited to selling e-books or sending all our readers to Amazon.

Getting back to the collaboration aspect, how is it gathering authors together and then having to accept, edit or reject their work?

Cody: The three of us balance each other out. When we’re deciding whether or not to accept a submitted story, all three of us have our say. It literally would not work for one person to make that decision. I tend to be a “yes man”, and Gabi and Allison’s more discerning viewpoints are necessary to uphold the standard we set for ourselves.

Gabi: If you write and want to get better, you have to learn to accept criticism. You also have to rely on your gut to sift through the advice you get in a critique session from multiple people around a table or via online input. Working on the anthologies steps this up a bit, but the general guidelines are the same. You provide feedback; you share the responsibility of choosing stories because one person’s tastes and preferences shouldn’t set the whole tone, and you offer what you think is the best advice/changes/edits, then see what the writer says. It has to be a collaboration between you and the writer. And if it isn’t a match for what you’re working on, you have to let them know this gently, because there may be a great match for their work elsewhere and it’s not a personal slight if their work isn’t a fit for your collection.

Allison: Authors are an odd bunch. We all want individual success, to be praised for our talent. But as we have all learned, one person makes a pretty small splash. A group of authors has the advantage of presenting more professionally because in order to be a part of said group, the individual has to first prove their worth. The same goes for the anthology acceptance and rejection process; we want the anthology to showcase compelling stories from strong authors because we are the ones presenting this publication and asking readers to spend their precious time and money. Gabi, Cody and I are quite picky about the stories we admit into the publication, not only because we have high standards for quality, but because it is our own personal credibility on the line. That said, we have thoroughly enjoyed the eclectic collection of stories from authors all over the greater Los Angeles area, and are excited to showcase in our anthology series just how vast and interesting the city can be. We as authors also have to remember we are asking strangers to spend their precious time and money on something they know little about. How can I prove that my book is more worth their attention than someone else’s? What makes my book special? So many authors can’t answer that question. Personally, I’m still struggling with that as well.

It’s probably a little early for this question, since Volume 2 was just released, but what’s the feedback been from authors, readers and bookstores on the Made in L.A. anthology series?

Cody: At the Festival of Books this year, we had a bunch of readers who told us they enjoyed the first anthology and were excited to buy the second. Our readings draw both people we know and people who’ve recently heard about us. “I’ve seen your Instagram,” is something we hear a lot. We’re in more bookstores than we were before and have four events coming up at Skylight Books, Stories Books & Cafe, Gatsby Books and the Last Bookstore, and we’ll likely schedule a few more, so it feels like we’ve crossed a threshold.

That has to feel really good.

Allison: Readers in L.A. are excited to read stories about L.A., and it has been pretty amazing to be able to tap into that. The fact that so many readers enjoyed Volume 1 enough to come back for Volume 2 speaks to how we may actually be doing something right!

Gabi: The bottom line is that many people feel a connection to L.A., which can be played out in a million ways. We’ve managed to tell a small fraction of stories set here, and each year there’s more. Something about this place soaks into you and becomes part of you no matter where you might move next, so the people who read our work are generally pretty excited about L.A. stories.

Will there be a Volume 3 for Made in L.A.?

Cody: Yes, absolutely. We have not yet nearly exhausted the great stories and authors who could contribute. And the three of us are an efficient and effective team, and it helps that we like and get along with each other. The timeline is something we’re always seeking to stretch to make it less of a crunch. Good luck to us! I’d like to put out the call for submissions in July before our events ramp up. We’re always making little improvements. This year we’ve talked but haven’t yet made any decisions about possibly involving more readers and using Submittable to manage the process.

What’s next for the three of you?

Allison: I think it is safe to say we are always working on something! I will spend this year completing my third young adult sci-fi novel of The Tick Series, as well as wrapping up some other unfinished works. Writing and storytelling is a never-ending process, but it has been an amazing experience to continually strengthen my skills.

Gabi: I got really inspired last Christmas and wrote a song called “Single in December.” My band, the Ukuladies, plays it every time we get together. I always get inspired to write at the holidays, about the holidays, and I’m compiling a short story collection of interconnected characters, with all stories set at Christmastime, same title. Just sent it out for peer review last week. I’ll record the song with my husband—he has an at-home studio—and make a book trailer (which I have to call ‘music video’ to get excited about it) to be released in November, one hopes.

Cody: I’m working on the third novel in the Resonant Earth series and hope to publish late 2019/early 2020. BookSwell is taking off thanks to a team of contributors and a biweekly podcast. I hope to be able to add an educational component for indies to the mix later this year.

One of the things I really enjoyed about the Festival of Books was being a few booths down from Made in L.A., and kind of sharing that space with you, sending authors and readers back and forth to each other. It made our first time there that much more special. It was nice having that collaborative feeling between similar groups. I wanted to thank you for that. And thanks for taking time out for this interview.

To learn more about Made in L.A., click here.

Gabi, Allison and Cody are listed in our Author Directory. 

Festival of Books

We happily survived (and thrived at) the Los Angeles Times’ Festival of Books and were utterly overwhelmed by the wonderful response to our organization. Local authors Heidi Mastrogiovanni, Patricia Smith and myself (Sandra Ann Miller) had the pleasure of meeting many other authors, aspiring writers and booklovers interested in collaborating with the Society to grow a larger, louder voice for Los Angeles local authors. We are excited for what’s next.

L.A.L.A. is busy planning the Society’s event calendar, anticipating an active year with author meetings, reader events and writer roundtables. If you haven’t already, please sign up for the newsletter so you’ll be informed of what’s coming up. (Please also follow BookSwell, which lists upcoming literary events in L.A. so you don’t miss anything.) If you’re more into social media, we are more active on Twitter at the moment.

We’ll have our next author meeting on May 18th to further discuss our needs as a group so we have a better plan of action to engage with readers and bookstores, and support up-and-coming writers. A password to the Eventbrite page will be provided in the newsletter. Please feel free to reach out via the Contact page if you missed the newsletter (out on the 25th) and want more information.

We are also planning to go back to the Festival of Books next year and encourage all local authors to participate however they can. While we’ll have limited space, we will offer opportunities to show at our booth. There is also the Independent Author Pavillion offered at the Festival that provides a more affordable option. We also hope to collaborate with other groups in Los Angeles so we can direct visitors to other like-minded booths. (We greatly enjoyed being a few “doors” down from the folks at Made in L.A.)

The Festival is a big weekend with a lot of activity and requires a good deal of energy. For those planning on attending in 2020, here’s my best advice:

  • Sign up early to save on the cost and start saving now (this is not an inexpensive event; be ready to request a booth/pay for it this December)
  • Plan out your costs (from tablecloths to additional signage, swag and books, there’s a lot to get…don’t forget bookstands)
  • Get promotional items that are easy for people to pick up as they pass by (bookmarks, business cards, postcards, buttons)
  • Invest in items that will help you get noticed by  and you can use again (like a standing, retractable banner)
  • Announce your attendance when the booth has been secured and regularly up through the Festival dates; you’ll have a lot of competition
  • Get plenty of rest before (they are long, active days) and get there early on Saturday (traffic getting in is nuts, Sunday was a little easier)
  • Wear comfortable shoes, comfortable clothes (layers!), and be camera ready (everybody Instagrams)
  • Bring plenty of water and snacks (you probably won’t be able to leave the booth much)
  • Have a friend/colleague or two to help out/cover the booth when nature calls
  • Invest in a trolley (like this) for easy transport; have all your items in boxes or bags for quick loading and set-up
  • Have a sign-up sheet (or two) and pens ready for people to leave their information (having one at either end of the table helps for when there’s a rush; legal pads work great for that) as well as a container for those who want to leave business cards
  • Powerstrip for phone charging, music playing
  • Square or other credit card option to make for easy purchasing
  • String, tape, scissors, hand wipes, tissues, paper towels, sunscreen, hand lotion, band-aids, etc.
  • And the Starbucks on campus is NOT on the Starbucks app so if you order on that to bypass the line, you’ll have to cross the street to pick up your needed caffeine (and you will need extra caffeine on Sunday)

The vendors we used were:

  • Vistaprint (business cards — for each book, cheaper than bookmarks; postcards, also cheaper than bookmarks; retractable banner — the economy version worked just fine in the sun, save those dollars)
  • Sticker Mule (buttons)
  • Amazon (tablecloth, bookstands, trolley)

How did we do? More than 200 postcards were taken, 180 buttons (sadly, I didn’t do a tally of business cards), and more than 115 authors, writers and booklovers joined our list (with more signing up through the website, thank you!). We’re thrilled that so many people were interested in L.A.L.A. and learning more about the authors here in Los Angeles, whichever side of the book they’re on.

We’re excited to get to know you, too.

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The Slow Build

We are coming up on the one-year mark of the L.A.L.A. Society’s inception. It has been a very slow roll-out, but I’m not sure if that’s a bad thing. While it’s nice to have a project take off right away, there is something to be said about being deliberate. Taking the time to watch and listen. Being patient with other’s schedules and priorities. Creating a solid foundation and clear vision that will sustain the efforts of all involved.

We are excited to be at the Festival of Books next month (find us at Booth 830). It will give us the chance to meet even more booksellers and readers, and get to know more local authors. We look forward to a summer of exciting events and celebrating several book releases this fall and winter.

If you haven’t signed up for the newsletter yet, please do. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. We want to get to know you and hope to see you at the Festival of Books.

What’s Next

The first L.A.L.A. Society event, “Coming to Terms with Amy Dresner and Sandra Ann Miller,” is in the books. Much gratitude to Sandpiper Books in Torrance for hosting us, and for the wonderful readers and writers who attended. It was exactly what we hoped it would be: A conversation. The interaction and laughter were wonderful. We feel it was a great success.

Of course, that leads to the question of What’s next? That would be meeting more of you, Los Angeles Local Authors. We need to get together to see what events we can create around your work, pair up authors to center conversations on, and find out how best we can engage with readers and booksellers.

Recently, Publisher’s Weekly posed the question, “What’s Wrong with Fiction Sales?” They stated:

“The most commonly shared view is that it has become extremely difficult to generate exposure for novels. Fiction, more than nonfiction, depends on readers discovering new books by browsing.”

That exposure is exactly what the L.A.L.A. Society wants to create. Instead of browsing pages, let’s help the readers of Los Angeles meet its authors. Because L.A.L.A. events go beyond a book launch, we can keep that conversation going (as well as that back catalogue), create a community of readers, writers and booksellers, and foster those important connections.

With that, we respectfully ask you, kind author, to introduce yourself to us. Please reach out through the Contact page or join the email list (that pop-up is around here somewhere). We only use the list to announce events, and we hope to grow those to monthly gatherings. If possible, we’d like to pull one together in November to hear your thoughts on what’s needed, what you would like to do and how we can help make that happen. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, too.

We look forward to meeting you, having fun and expanding our successes.

Your Invitation

About six months ago, I was in that in-between space of releasing one novel and starting the next, wondering how I was going to keep the promo/release/write/promo/release train going. Writing is hard and can be isolating. Promoting one’s work (and oneself) is hard and can feel humiliating. (Not a lot of writers are extroverts, you know?)

Growing one’s audience–without a huge stroke of luck and/or a full-time publicist–is the biggest challenge for most authors. There are a lot of books out there. How does one get the word out and still get out new work?

It occurred to me that there is a strong population of amazing authors in L.A., and there’s a rabid nation of avid readers in our fair city looking for books by new (to them) authors. Why doesn’t someone introduce all of these wonderful folks to each other?

Of course, that happens weekly. There’s always a reading for a new release at your favorite bookstore where you get a chance to ask that author a question or two, have your book signed and then wait for the next release. But what about that pesky in-between? There are months (years) between book releases for most authors, leaving the already-written tomes hiding in plain sight.

But what if there was a group of authors who did events for readers? Not just for new releases, but an ongoing conversation writers and readers could (should) have. Wouldn’t that be something unexpected in Lala Land, when so many believe we only read screenplays and movie reviews?

That’s the idea for the L.A.L.A. Society. A place for it to start, anyway. If you are a local, Los Angeles author, an aspiring writer, book lover or someone who keeps meaning to read more, please join us. Let’s get to know one another.

Sandra Ann Miller is an author and publisher (SAME ink), native of Los Angeles and a founding member of the L.A.L.A. Society.