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Linda Rader Overman is so proud of her former student Natalie Grill who was a winner of the Oliver W. Evans Writing Prize in Fall 2023--Well done!!

A Comparative Analysis of Spiegelman’s Maus II and Oster’s The Stable Boy of Auschwitz It has been nearly eighty years since that decis...

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Linda Rader Overman and Pictures on the Wall of My Life needs to be more obvious

So I am marketing my latest novel, Pictures on the Wall of My Life, and my query letter gets the usual thanks, but no thanks on the first round.  Then there are those agents/publishers who are interested in taking a look at more, 5 pages, a chapter, 25 pages, 50 pages, the entire manuscript.  And I dutifully send out one at a time and wait for a response so as not to have multiple submissions.  But then, I think, well at least they are willing to check it out.  And I have gotten over that first hurdle with an agent here or there.  But then I get this kind of rejection:

"I think you’re a talented and original writer.  That makes it all the harder to say that I’m not confident that I can find a publisher for you in the current difficult market for literary fiction.  Editors seem exceedingly cautious right now about acquiring anything but the most obvious fiction."

Hmmmpffff...so perhaps I should follow Quentin Rowan's plagiarizing approach, when he wrote what Little Brown promoted as the new classic spy novel, just steal from about 13 other classic spy novels as Jeremy Duns discovered and revealed in his blog, The Debrief

This was not the first time Little Brown boasted of an amazing new brilliant work...anyone remember Harvard undergraduate Kaavya Viswanathan ’08, “How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life,” that contained several passages strikingly similar to two books by Megan F. McCafferty—the 2001 novel “Sloppy Firsts” and the 2003 novel “Second Helpings.” ?????

I suppose I should be "that original" rather than write from a place of my own original thought as my fictional memoir Pictures on the Wall of My Life is.  Maybe I should have just "borrowed" everything like Quentin Rowan (aka QR Markham) has. 

It seems that since my talented and original idea is just not that obvious I need to appropriate work from others...to even get noticed.  There should be a special place in hell for writers who plagiarize.

Why does this make me so damn mad? 

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Linda Rader Overman is proud of her daughter

Watch this clip from "Hell's Kitchen" which aired 8/29, at 14:35 in to the segment the chefs go shopping at Ted Baker, the boutique our daughter Deva works at on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hiils. And she helped style the chefs...she is wearing a short white skirt...it is great fun to see our Deva on TV! Yahoo!

Hell's Kitchen episode 12 Part 1 from Season 9 with our daughter Deva is it!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Linda Rader Overman honors her publisher along with state of Texas

A salute to Susan Bright publisher of a 35-year-old issue-based literary publishing house which has published 350 titles presenting the work of almost 500 national and international writers. Susan devoted time, dedication and energy in publishing my first novel, Letters Between Us, but sadly and tragically met her untimely death New Year's week 2010 has been honored by the State legislature of Texas.
House Resolution 176 in honor of Susan Bright

"WHEREAS, Susan Bright made a lasting impact in the lives of countless people through her dedication to literature and to myriad worthy causes, and those who were privileged to share in her love and affection will forever hold her close in their hearts.... "


God be with you Susan! Your legacy and larger than life spirit and driving force remains in Plain View Press with the recent good news that it has achieved---"Non-profit Status!
Plain View Press has converted to a non-profit corporation, a decision made to insure the ongoing operation and stability of the press. It was important to resolve certain legal and financial issues to put the press on a firm footing. More to come as we initiate fundraising events and membership participation in the press. Thanks to John Andrews, Sherry Pilisko, and Pam Knight, we are now on a new path of exciting oportunities. The Press hopes to reopen submissions this fall under this new structure."

Friday, July 29, 2011

Linda Rader Overman thanks Kindle purchasers of Letters Between Us

Many thanks to those Kindle purchasers of Letters Between Us for pushing my novel's standing in Kindle to Amazon Bestsellers Rank Kindle Edition #61,389 out of 750,000. I am humbled and grateful!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Linda Rader Overman honors a mentor of long ago PASSINGs: Phyllis Gebauer . . .

PASSINGS: Phyllis Gebauer . . .

Rest in peace Phyllis Gebauer, my teacher and mentor of so long ago, I will never forget you, nor ever be able to thank you for mentioning me during the recent Thomas Pynchon donation ceremony at UCLA. Blessings to you for helping me shepherd my nascent novel back in 1990 (published in 2008) Letters Between Us in your class at UCLA Extension. God carries your soul into the light!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Linda Rader Overman presents Pictures on the Wall of My Life


 


At the Hawaii International Conference on the Arts & Humanities I gave my talk on my new novel Pictures on the Wall of My Life...my personal paparrazo (husband Jim) did his best to catch the spirit of the talk and large crowds that attended....I was quite lucky to have interested viewers and listeners who participated in the talk and found the photographs I discussed interesting.

More importantly will they purchase my novel?
Even more importantly, will I find a publisher? I suppose I will find out when I finally get this novel out into the marketing world. Right now it is part of my PhD through Lancaster University.
Somehow presenting in Hawaii just makes everything feel light, breezy, and full of sun. Hmmm...Now that my presentation is complete...mai tai anyone?



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