Fantastic News

Attention all: The De Facto Publishing site has launched! Our fearless leader intends to "commission a tee-shirt that says PREZ immediately, as well as ring Barack posthaste about forming some sort of guild".

Sounds like a good plan to me.

There's even a new fan page on Facebook. CHECK IT OUT.

But the best part? THE BEST PART IS THAT WE ARE ALREADY ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR A NEW BOOK. Yes people. A book that will be PUBLISHED. In hard copy. It's pretty amazing.

De Facto Publishing is an independent, non-profit publishing house located in San Francisco, California. We are currently accepting submissions for a compilation of short stories.

We are looking for short stories centered around women in their twenties in California, those qualifications being the only limits for subject matter. We are interested in stories about work, families, homes, cooking, friends, relationships, sunglasses, your dog, new shoes--any sort of subject matter, as long as it pertains to the human experience of being a woman in her twenties in California. Your age doesn't matter, your gender doesn't matter- the point is to write a story that relates to being a woman in her twenties in California, whether it's personal experience, a witness account, a theory about it, or what you anticipate.

This is not a paid gig! This publishing house, as a non-profit company in an industry where the bulk of the revenue is generated by the top 50 publishing houses in the industry, exists to promote literature! What you will get is industry recognition and something for your portfolio.

Submissions are accepted in physical form only. Keep the story 10-20 pages, print it, and send it in a manila envelope with your contact information on the first page to:

PO Box 26367
San Francisco, CA
94126

Website: www.defactopublishing.com
Twitter @DeFactoPub
Blog: www.defactopublishing.blogspot.com

And now for something completely different!

It will not have escaped the notice of the discerning reader that it has been many days, nay WEEKS, (moons even?) since a last post.

...

Moving on!

Interesting article in Vanity Fair today - apparently V.F. and 60 minutes took a poll of approximately 580 Americans. This poll lead to the conclusion that "Americans are like straightlaced, upright citizens who turn out to have a surprising quirky streak - the accountant with an entire room dedicated to his collection of Pez dispensers. Alphabetized by character"

I must say, I wish I could agree a little more strongly. Surely we could do with more of the quirk and less of the accountant!

I should note that they based this "quirkiness" trait on the fact that 9% of Americans, if given the chance to change the map of the United States, would choose to combine the Dakotas.

Riiiiiiiiiight.

Book Club for the Non-Nerdy

OK...maybe nerdy.

I am in / have been in a number of bookclubs over the past couple of months. Currently, I am in two: The Book Club for the Non- Nerdy (ok maybe nerdy) AND my work book club. Since it really can't be a good idea for me to talk about work here, let's focus on the books selected by the non-nerds.

We have had a select few already:

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach

The Three Coffins, by John Dickson Carr

Tender at the Bone, by Ruth Reichl

Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell

Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpha Lahiri

Today's discussion was regarding Lahiri's book, and team - I LOVED it. And not just for the company, which was fabulous. Everyone contributed something: there were spring rolls, and curry, and kabobs, and NAAN, and chicken tiki masala, and me. I baked. Per the usj: ginger molasses cookies.

I enjoyed the book itself, and I wasn't really expecting to, true literature not really being my bag. I had forgotten how much I liked the short story format - I found myself going through the book rather quickly. The stories are very human, and very full of what I deem to be the stuff of life - love, family, dealing with tragedy and dishonesty, growing up and growing old.

...well I suppose that was nerdy after all. Nerdy, and full of the sweetness.

Commentary on...The Creatures

Yes, yes I know it has been an unforgivably long time since the last posting (almost a week! HORRORS) but team, I have used that time productively. And I feel that it is now appropriate to comment on my reading choices of late. Namely, those with a theme of Creatures. In Classic Regency Literature (please note the Capitals - they are for emphasis)

Just so:

And here:

I know RIGHT? Totes awesome.

Over the past few weeks, I have had conversations with several naysayers: "Frances" they say, "Old egg - you cannot expect us to take you seriously when you are walking around with this book in your hand bag. In fact, we really don't feel comfortable walking around with you at all. Please go sit over there - next to the woman carrying four different containers of soup on Muni."

Friends, I can understand your hesitation. Why mess with Jane Austen? Do we really need satire OF satire? With plenty of zombie fun to be had here, here, and here, do we really need zombies in another medium?

The answer is yes.

The thing I enjoy most about these books is the fact that the tone is kept consistent. As calmly as the sisters Bennett might discuss the weather, they discuss the merits of various patterns a cauliflower garden might be laid out, to better lure in the bands of zombies that roam the countryside (zombies being ably distracted by the resemblance of cauliflower to brains). As Marianne Dashwood frets over the attentions of Willoughby, Colonel Brandon frets over Marianne (while the elder Elinor Dashwood looks on, repulsed by the tentacles that Colonel Brandon has encrusted over the bottom half of his face, courtesy of a sea witch's curse). I am entertained by the juxtaposition of the two worlds - the Regency England that Austen satirized, and the Creature-filled England by which the new contributors satirize Austen.

I appreciate a classic as much as the next. Indeed, I cannot abide the thought of a zombie or vampire eeling along next to Jeeves, suggesting various sock and jacket combinations to Bertie. However, at this time, I feel that the world was ready for a re-interpretation of Austen. And I must say that the entertainment gained from these books makes me want to re-read a few Austen classics.

And really - until they release "Emma: Matchmaking Amongst Werewolves - A Field Guide" I shall just have to re-read Persuasion, in its original Austen form.

EDIT: I must admit, I also enjoy how "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" rolls off the tongue so pleasantly, and the alliteration in "Sense and Sensibilities and Sea Monsters" is really quite awesome, but I have not yet come to a decision on the rhyming in "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Zombie Jim". I'll let you know.

EDIT Part Deux: I really am not even going to comment on the DISGRACE that was the Bears on Saturday. Seriously. I don't want to talk about it.