Ask the Author: Jamie Mason
Answered Questions (6)
Jamie Mason
Well, summer is all but gone, but I've got The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt and Hacking Darwin, by Jamie Metzl
Jamie Mason
Kimberly! I am so sorry. I don't get notifications of questions here and I had no idea that you'd asked it.
So the original artwork, with the ribbon and the rings, is for the hardcover. It's gorgeous. I loved it. They only ever did one cover design and I was on board with no suggestions.
But a review that came up for Monday's Lie had them rethink it. The reviewer loved the book (yay!) but he thought that the cover looked too exclusively like women's fiction, which, he noted, the book was not.
So the people over at Gallery saw this review and decided to do a redesign for the paperback release.
That cover is also gorgeous. I love it.
But they sent me a big, beautifully mounted poster of it and it's too creepy to actually hang in my office. I can't figure out what to do with it. : )
So the original artwork, with the ribbon and the rings, is for the hardcover. It's gorgeous. I loved it. They only ever did one cover design and I was on board with no suggestions.
But a review that came up for Monday's Lie had them rethink it. The reviewer loved the book (yay!) but he thought that the cover looked too exclusively like women's fiction, which, he noted, the book was not.
So the people over at Gallery saw this review and decided to do a redesign for the paperback release.
That cover is also gorgeous. I love it.
But they sent me a big, beautifully mounted poster of it and it's too creepy to actually hang in my office. I can't figure out what to do with it. : )
Jamie Mason
So sorry to have left this for so long! I didn't realize the question was here.
I did just keep pounding out query letters until I found my match. There was a first novel out there that never quite caught, so Three Graves Full was actually the second book I'd written, first to get picked up.
All the best to you and your work! Thank you for the kind words.
I did just keep pounding out query letters until I found my match. There was a first novel out there that never quite caught, so Three Graves Full was actually the second book I'd written, first to get picked up.
All the best to you and your work! Thank you for the kind words.
Jamie Mason
Thank you so much!
As far as the question, the short answer is no, not really. Some of the strong elements of structure, for me, seem to appear out of the process itself, of just writing the arc of the tale. It's the later editorial passes that show where my subconscious has left room or has ramped segues to revelations and resolutions.
If that even makes any sense. I don't frame it out that way from the starting line. I had not heard that writing rule before, but it makes sense to me as a natural extension of resolving the confusions and quandaries of the characters.
As far as the question, the short answer is no, not really. Some of the strong elements of structure, for me, seem to appear out of the process itself, of just writing the arc of the tale. It's the later editorial passes that show where my subconscious has left room or has ramped segues to revelations and resolutions.
If that even makes any sense. I don't frame it out that way from the starting line. I had not heard that writing rule before, but it makes sense to me as a natural extension of resolving the confusions and quandaries of the characters.
Jamie Mason
Words. English is such a messy, bendable thing. I love it.
Jamie Mason
I make a very strong drink and sip in it a very hot bath. I will either figure out my block or I will drown. So far, by virtue of the fact that I'm still here, this method has a 100% success rate.
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