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Friday Night at Cantera

Alas, I have no photos to share. I thought the camera was in my bag but it was on my desk!

We raised a lot of money for YWCA’s Wise Place and I think there are plans to do it again so I’ll keep you posted.

One of the coolest things happened to me. A woman came upstairs where I was hanging out and I noticed her look at my table and then walk away to talk to her friends. She did this a couple of times and even though I smiled, she kept wandering away. So finally, she walks up to me with her friends on either side and says with her voice shaking, “I have all your books. I’m a big fan.”

Dude, I almost cried. (But I didn’t!) I just stood up, shook her hand and said thank you because honestly, I had no idea what to say. (By the way, what should one say in this situation? I always imagine it should be something elegant and inspiring but I was floored.) Many moons ago, I did the same thing to James Elroy. I wanted to go up to him and yet, I was so intimidated that I couldn’t. Finally he picked up a book, signed it and handed it to a guy to give to me.

So it was very cool to meet a fan of my own! (Fan? I have fans?!?! I still can’t get over it.)

Anyway, I’ve been up since 3 a.m. today because someone who shall not be named decided he wanted milk and chips. One day when he’s seventeen and sleeping in till 1 p.m., I will be merciless in my vengeance!

But I’m still in NaNoMo mode so I have pages to write. I think I cracked the first 100 pages of the new book. This weekend I stopped keeping track because it was driving me nuts, so I’ll update my stats tonight.

I wasn’t going to do this but I can’t stop myself…

This is the house that is inspiring my new book! I grew up not far from this street and I always asked my parents to drive me by the Victorians (there’s a huge mansion across the street from this one) because there was something about them that got to me.

Finally, after twenty odd years, I’m writing a story set in this house. I’m so giddy that I’m annoying myself! So I’ll go now.

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“Just when I thought that I was out …

…they pull me back in.”

Which Godfather movie did that line come from? I don’t have a prize. You’ll just look really smart in the comments section.

But the spirit of its sentiment applies to me now as I’ve put the NaNoMo book aside to polish up the mariachi story. My agent read it, loved it, had a few comment here and there and you think that would be good enough for me. But oh no. As a neurotic writer, I had to go back and make sure that its perfect or as close to perfect as it can get.

So if I’m a good girl and quickly wrap up this post, I’ll be back to the NaNoMo book on Thursday.

Cheers,
Mary

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Outting Myself

If J.K. Rowling outted Dumbledore, than I’ll out the fact that I’ve signed up for NaNoWriMo. I even have a profile! So for the next two weeks, I’m focusing on a short story for the blog, my adaptation of Switchcraft and all the pre-writing for my NaNoMo book.
If you want to join me, become my buddy here.
Truthfully, I’m a little nervous. I’ve never committed to 50,000 words in one month and with a nanny-less two year-old and Thanksgiving looming ahead, it’ll be a real challenge. (Not to mention a real kick in the ego if I don’t make it!)
But for the last three weeks or so, I’ve been in promo mode for Switchcraft, which has been a life of writing press releases, stalking bloggers and reviewers and setting up events. It’s been great but I miss writing and I’m starting to crack up. For example, in my non-writing interests I initially wrote “booking” when I meant “cooking!”
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Taking Note

This Saturday I went to my first Orange County Chapter of RWA meeting in a looong, looong time. Best selling author, Robert Crais spoke about his childhood – he grew up behind a drive-in theatre reading comics – and his adventures in Hollywood and publishing. He did a good job, signed a ton of books and in all, I think everyone was happy.
As a member of OCC RWA, I’ve seen quite a few big-name NYT best-selling authors take our stage and realized that the only difference between a little fish like me and a guy like Mr. Crais is that he makes a lot more money than I do. So perhaps the true secret to success in publishing is to wait for the big fish to die or retire.
However, here’s my list of what I have in common with a New York Times best-selling author:
  1. No matter how many copies of books in print and sold, authors still count and remember their rejection letters.
  2. Even if their latest book debuts high up on the NYT list, best-selling authors still envy writers whom they think are (a) more talented than they are or (b) get more money and attention from their publishers.
  3. Best-selling authors always talk about how during their childhood, they were the family mutant. Only when we succeed do our families look at us in a different light. (Usually to see if we used them as a character in the book, or if we’ve made enough money to spring for lunch.)
  4. Best-selling authors always walk into the room looking a bit bewildered by everyone’s awe and reverance. Wait, that’s not true. Jackie Collins once paid a visit to OCC RWA and she made an entrance. Then again, Nora Roberts struts around RWA National like she doesn’t notice everyone staring at her so maybe it’s a guy versus girl thing.
    Moving on…
  5. Most best-selling authors – actually I should say that the ones who are still good and aren’t paying other writers to write their stuff – never lose that sense of awe that they get paid to make stuff up.
  6. No matter how many millions they’ve acquired (and that their publisher will fly them first-class and not put them up in a haunted hotel), best-selling authors still want us to feel sorry for them when they tell us how they struggled in the early years.
Hey man, I feel your pain. So when are you thinking about doing something else?
(Me, bitter? Nah!)
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Oh What A Night

This Thursday, Oct. 18th, I’m having a Ladies Night at Calacas Inc. in Santa Ana from 7 to 8:30 p.m. There will be treats, prizes and copies of all my books including, Switchcraft!

If you have copies of my books already and would like them signed, come on by! No book – unless it is written by someone else because that would be rude – will be turned away!

All the details are here.
P.S. I have no idea why the flier has that block of gray.
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Someone Has Juicy Mangos!

Phyllis L. of Victor, ID was drawn from the hat and will recieve her copy of Juicy Mangos! If you’d like to get your hands on a juicy mango (okay, sorry but a dirty mind is too precious to waste!) then order your copy today!

Also, come back later today for a new profile. I’m sorry I didn’t have it posted this morning but someone who shall not be named didn’t take a nap yesterday! But he did help me decorate for Halloween.

If you’re in the Orange County area, I have two book-signing events coming up. This Saturday I’ll be at the birthday bash for Orange County Chapter of RWA and then next Thursday, I’ll be at Calacas serving up signed copies of Switchcraft and the spicy Mexican brownies! All the info is here. Oh and if you already have Switchcraft and would like to have it signed, stop by Calacas where I promise no book will be left unsigned!

See ya later today!
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Still Got It, Baby

I hesitated to post this because I thought that you might think I was getting a bit big for my breeches. Then again after my weekend of gluttony, I’ve got some serious muffin top over the waistband if you know what I mean!

But then I remembered how hard it was to write Switchcraft and how, for so long, I thought I’d failed in capturing my vision. So here’s a really great review from the Parkersburg News and Sentinel and in the spirit of my conversation with Jen as we drove to Glen Ivy last Friday, I’m gonna celebrate a job well done.

And then go right back to work!

Two best friends find themselves switching lives in “Switchcraft” by Mary Castillo.

Aggie is living the single life, running her own clothing store and debating on whether or not to strike up a romance with her friend, Kevin. Nely is the former business manager turned stay-at-home mother who is fighting for supremacy in her marriage and daughter’s life against her meddling mother-in-law who lives right next door. Aggie thinks Nely has the perfect life and Nely envies Aggie’s freedom. A weekend retreat with a spirit guide leads to the two switching bodies. Now Nely is Aggie and Aggie is Nely until the next full moon.

Nely soon finds that Aggie’s business is in trouble, a property manager is stalking her, and Kevin doesn’t want to take no for an answer. Aggie learns Nely is being mowed over by her domineering mother-in-law, taking care of a toddler is not as easy as it looks, the local mommies group is headed by the ultimate mean girl, and her husband is feeling neglected. Sometimes it just takes someone else to sort out your life, which is exactly what Nely and Aggie do, with hilarous results.

Nely and Aggie are both highly relatable characters you can’t help but cheer on. They both are tough in the face of adversity and go for exactly what they believe their friend would want for their life.

This book is a fun love letter to all women and the bond of sisterhood that is best friends.

“Switchcraft” is published by Avon, an imprint of HarperCollins. It is $13.95 and 282 pages long.

Photo from Art.com!
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How Many More Days?

You’ve heard it before and now you’ll hear it again but dudes, I’m going nuts with the upcoming release of Switchcraft. Happily, the reviews have been very enthusiastic (yes, Erica, I know I shouldn’t be reading them but I couldn’t help it!).

So let’s talk about something else.

The chica lit panel in Phoenix was a blast!

Barb (aka Caridad Ferrer) almost made Alisa cry when she credited her for kicking the door down in the publishing industry so that a rush of chica lit writers could get their books in stores.

I made everyone laugh when I called my first screenwriting professor a dick for suggesting that I take out my Hispanic characters because there were no actors in Hollywood who would play those roles. He was right, because in 1994 we had yet to see America Ferrera, Salma Hayek, Eva Mendes, Eva Longoria and Rosario Dawson.

Alisa told everyone to stop lending their books to their friends, sisters, tias and co-workers or else, chica lit would become an endangered species.

We were asked how we balance our home lives to make time for our writing. Margo got big cheers when she said, “You have to do it and then make the people around you respect that. You make the time and then respect the time.”

Now for the nagging portion of our program:

Did you enter to win a copy of The Reincarnationist? Email me with “MJ Rose Contest” in the subject line. I’ll draw the name of the lucky winner on Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007. Enter now!

Cheers,
Mary

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Mary’s Mom Reads Switchcraft

During the Little Dude’s birthday party, Mom swiped a copy of Switchraft from my supply closet. Having reached the middle of the book, she called me the other night.

Mom: I’m at the part where Aggie goes to the baby class.

Me: What do you think?

Mom: By the way, are you going to have Aggie sleep with Nely’s husband?

Me (not sure how we went from the baby class to this): I can’t tell you. You’ll have to finish the book.

Mom (mutters something I can’t quite make out): So, were the moms from the baby class you went to as bad as the ones in the book?

Me: No. The ones at my class were worse. They tried to kill my son, remember?

Mom: That’s right, those pendejas!