Tonight on TKA Chats: Nephele Tempest

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Tonight 11-10-05 TKA Chats stars Nephele Tempest from 9-10PM EST

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Below is a taste of what you will find if you attend tonight. Tantalizing, I know!

1. Favorite book of all time? Why?

I don’t really have a single favorite book of all time, because I don’t know how I could possibly narrow it down that way. I love far too many books in far too many genres, some of which include: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen, THE EIGHT by Katherine Neville, THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt, THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN by John Fowles (who just passed away this past weekend), the Harry Potter series, all those Madeleine L’Engle books I read as a kid – such as A WRINKLE IN TIME, MARJORIE MORNINGSTAR by Herman Wouk, POSSESSION by A.S.Byatt, GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell, FARENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury, and THE ALIENIST by Caleb Carr. I’m sure I’ve left off tons, but you get the idea. I’m rather all over the place.

2. With a career in reading, do you find/make time to read for pleasure? If so, what are you currently devouring?

When I first started with the agency I felt guilty about reading anything already published because I felt like I was wasting time that could be spent reading submissions. However, in the last few months I’ve realized that that’s just plain ridiculous. As an agent, I need to keep abreast of what’s being published, and it’s also important to stop and read something of truly high quality now and then just to keep my perspective. So I’ve instituted a new rule: no reading for work past 11 pm (unless it’s an emergency). That gives me about an hour before bed to putz and read for my own pleasure, even though often I’m reading things that I feel give me a sense of the marketplace.

Most nights I only get to read a few pages before I start to get sleepy, so I wouldn’t say I’m actually devouring anything, but I’ve managed to get through a few books. I just finished reading A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY by Libba Bray, which is a YA book – an historical novel with a paranormal twist, that I enjoyed quite a bit. Prior to that I read TRUTH AND BEAUTY by Ann Patchett, which is a biography/autobiography about her friendship with poet Lucy Greeley. Other books I enjoyed recently include: THE SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, BELLWETHER by Connie Willis, READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN by Azar Nafisi (which if fabulous), and DIARY by Chuck Palahniuk. I just started Philippa Gregory’s THE VIRGIN’S LOVER, which I’m enjoying quite a lot so far. And then there’s my “purse book” that gets carried around everywhere (I’ve been spending some time in dentists’ offices lately), which is STORM FRONT, the first of Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden noir/sci-fi series.

3. What kind of manuscripts would you like to see more of on your desk?

Right now I mostly have romances stacked around my desk, so I’d like to see more of everything else. I’m looking for: science fiction, fantasy, YA that isn’t necessarily a romantic comedy, and straight out commercial or literary fiction.

4. Where do you see the market going in the next year? 5 years?

It’s really difficult to say where the market is going. In the next year or so I suspect we’ll continue to see these crossover type genres that are becoming so popular: fantasy with romance, paranormal everything, maybe fewer vampires but more witches, psychics, shape-shifters, time-travelers, etc. Also historical women’s fiction and historical literary fiction are really big right now and it looks like that’s going to continue for a bit. Five years out is almost impossible to say, but I think it’s a good bet that by then the tide will have turned and most of what’s so popular right now will start experiencing a lower point in the cycle. Maybe historical romances will be back by then, possibly with some new twist. I wouldn’t mind if Czarist Russia was the next hot thing…

5. Tips for forging/keeping a good agent/author relationship?

Communication is the most important thing in a good agent/author relationship, from both sides. After that, just remember that an agent can’t drag people into a store and force them to read your books. Our job is to get your manuscript in front of the best possible editors and try to get you the best situation for your work, then to follow up on contracts, covers, release dates, etc., to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. Writing the fabulous book is up to you, as is making a good effort to market your work both on your own and in conjunction with your publisher. The rest, to a large extent, is up to fate.

Join us tonight! Can't wait to see you there!