You can purchase Three Days in New York City right here! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . You can purchase Another Bite of the Apple here! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
This site is a service of Publishers Lunch,
the e-mail newsletter known as "publishing's essential daily read."
Join the thousands of people
who read Lunch every day.
Wow. I am totally shocked to notice I haven't posted here since March. I really need to stop giving up that $20 per month, huh. But since I am still here, mostly because I like my wacky disorganized, out of date page featuring some of my favorite photos, let me tell you about three things:
(1) I am now a contributing columnist over at The Nervous Breakdown, and you can read my latest piece right here...and if you want to comment in the space provided under said article, even better;
(2) I've been hanging out a lot on Twitter lately so if you want to follow me, you can find me here;
(3) I'm still pitching that rock and roll cookbook...if there's anyone on this site other than robots reading, which, according to the site meter they give you here tells me are in fact the only ones reading, you know where to find me.
Peace and love,
xo
March 23, 2009
Winding down my account here, but here's a new blog post to entice you to follow me once I do leave PM and my huge, sparkling fanbase of Yahoo and Googlebots...
xo
March 14, 2009
Note to self: It really is time to end this page because only robots read it, but in case you are a real person, I have one thing to say:
And then I decided to have a contest so that one of you could win a copy. I asked you to write me your best six word memoirs on love and heartbreak. Some of you posted here, some posted at my blog over at Salon, and some came to me via email. Here's all of the entries I have to date...and there's still time to enter before I pick a winner by midnight eastern time. That winner will be announced tomorrow morning.
And that's what I've got so far - they are all totally fabulous and I love them all. As I said, there's still time to submit your best six words, you can enter this contest more than once, so if you are reading this here, my standard blog or my cross post over at Salon, to make things easier for me please email me at Robin81700@gmail.com; I'll come in and edit and add you to the above list, and assuming I am on my usual schedule of falling asleep early and waking up at dawn, the winning words will be posted here first thing tomorrow morning.
I have so much more to say it's ridiculous but best to leave that for my next post...just know that I had dinner last night with my daughter Julie, freshly back from recording "e" in Nashville and performing at Sweetwater Music in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and whoa, do I have stories!
Later,
xo
February 17, 2009
Real quick - if you are lucky enough to be in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area today, you can catch the Adrian Belew Power Trio hanging out while Ade gives a workshop, seminar, whatever at Sweetwater Music Instruments and Pro Audio...and then the trio will perform a free show tonight for as long and as many of you want...nice little newspaper article and further details here!
Apparently, he has, um, sullied the Robert Fripp suite.
And in other news..
Now be good little kiddies and scroll down to the post below and enter the contest to win a free copy of my new book...I've extended the deadline until this Friday.
Later,
xo
February 15 - I received such brilliant six word memoirs on love and heartbreak on both my regular blog and the one I keep over at Salon in a contest to win my new book that I have no choice but to extend the deadline until this Friday, February 20. Why, you ask? Because I'm unable to pick a winner and have to wait for my two impartial judges to arrive home from Nashville where recording their new CD. So yeah, another heads up that the contest is still going over at my blogs to win a copy of my latest book/memoir, Daddy Left Me Alone with God. Here's the only link you'll need....write me your best six words on love and heartbreak!
xo
February 11, 2009
Okay, time to stop whatever you are doing, jump up and down, and scream Yes! Yes! Yes!
Oh. Wait. That's me screaming. Erm. Sorry. But okay, I'm a little bit excited. After five years of total insanity, three agents, many rewrites, quitting my job of over two decades to write it...Daddy Left Me Alone with God is now in print and available at Amazon...look for it at Barnes and Noble, Borders, and yes, even an independent bookstore near you shortly. But for now, you can purchase it right here!
I wanted to mention the goddess responsible for not only my book cover but for all of the cool promo which will be forthcoming when I come to a town near you to sign, read, and generally party over the book's release. And she is also a brilliant author in her own write, the lovely (oh is she ever!) Stella Price.
Is it lame to be excited about promo? Not in this case. Along with the usual postcards, magnets, t-shirts, keychains, etc., Stella has designed very special custom guitar picks for me, which I purchased through the absolutely fabulous In Tune Guitar Picks...some of which will be, d'oh, just picks, but others of which I will be busy turning into some really cool jewelry - earrings, chokers, and whatever else my devious little brain can come up with, but here's a sneak peek of the pick itself - all of which will be black with silver print/design, some of which will matte, some of which will be glossy:
And where will I be in the coming months? Well, my favorite webmaster, Scott of Nerdy Rhino Development has updated my website...go on...have a look...you know you want to...and he's added a new feature, Where's Robin? Look for more dates and places to appear in the coming weeks, but so far, my first event is in Orlando, Florida for four days in April - the 22nd through the 26th right here.
Isn't the "moving" Daddy banner on my front page cool?
And now about the book itself...
Daddy Left Me Alone with God started out as two separate entities...the first of which was a short story published in an anthology, Rebellion: New Voices of Fiction, and not to toot my own horn, but this is a book really worth picking up as it contains stories by incredibly fantastic authors, some of whom are good friends.
But really, it's the second aspect that is the meat of the book. In 2004, when the Paul Green School of Rock was just beginning to make their mark on the world and Julie and Eric Slick were the two of the original twenty-two All-Stars, Paul took the kids on a three week tour across America, playing in clubs everywhere from Salt Lake City, Utah to Spokane, Washington to Phoenix, Arizona to Boise, Idaho, etc. Julie and Eric were 17 and 18 at the time and I learned that this would be a real rock and roll tour...um, meaning, a real rock and roll tour of a group of musicians who hadn't quite "made it". Translation: Spending some nights traveling 13 hours by bus; some days with no hotels, no showers, 22 kids eating tacos from fast food restaurants on the way and then sharing one porta-potty on said bus. Ever the neurotic, over-protective mother, I said "There's no way you are going on this trip without me!" So I signed up as a chaperone and got a lot more than I bargained for. No one over the age of forty should ever spend that much time on a bus with 22 teenagers in raging hormone hell (both them and me) -- certainly not without a comfortable bed to sleep in every evening or hot and cold running water. There were times I thought I was going to die. But somehow I managed to write a daily journal of the tour, and documented everything. Early readers of this blog may remember my day by day account of this fabled event, warts and all (since deleted).
Did you ever have an experience in life which you wish you had the opportunity to do over? While on that bus, I was so freaked out by lack of sleep and proper nutrition (my own fault...I could have chosen healthier options on the road), that I failed to really appreciate all of the good on that tour - seeing places in America I never dreamed existed, (did you know Wyoming is mostly surrounded by red mountains/rocks? It looks like Mars! And ohhh...the beauty of San Francisco...) hearing incredible music every single night as the kids just got better and better...and watching the amazing, amazing comradery grow between this unlikely group of extremely talented group of friends/musicians.
And so I decided to rewrite the book as it should have been written in the first place -- full of joy and wonder and har har, anonymous characters as opposed to a strict non-fiction account naming names. So yes, while the book has a strong backstory of the 2004 School of Rock west coast tour and some of you may think you recognize yourselves, trust me, you've all been turned into...muhahahahaha...other people. Ahem. Some of you, anyway.
But the book was still missing something. What, you might ask? Well, how about something about the author? Why was she on the trip? Did she have any ulterior motives? Why yes, she did. Did she have a deep, dark secret?
From the book's back cover blurb:
"At age seventeen, Annie had a love affair with a man ten years her senior, legendary British rock guitarist Mick Saunders.
Now...feeling desperate to change her life, she is unexpectedly given the chance to reconnect with Mick while chaperoning her fledgling rock star teenagers on a tour across America.
To Annie, this opportunity to recapture her past is a dream come true. But will she and Mick be able to pick up where they left off?"
Hmm...is Annie my alter ego? Is this book really a memoir? Or is it simply a fictional tale, woven into the story to make it more interesting?
Ha ha - how about all of the above?
So when you read Daddy, you may learn more about me than you ever wanted.
Or not.
You be the judge.
Would you like a free copy? Okay. I've decided to launch a little contest here in connection with a new book by the editors at the fabulous Smith Magazine, where I also have a little piece of the internet. The book is also available at Amazon, it's called Six Words on Love and Heartbreak, and you can purchase it right here.
And in furtherance of that...this is your challenge. Write me a six word memoir on love and heartbreak. Post it here, or email it to me (but let me know in your email if I have permission to post it on the blog). I'll choose one or two winners or more, depending on the amount of entries I receive...and that lucky person(s) will receive not only a copy of the book, autographed, but some fabulous guitar picks/jewelry as well.
Cool? Cool!
In closing, um, I did say this was the "mostly" Robin Slick post. As most of you know, Julie and Eric are down in Nashville recording their very first studio CD with Mr. Belew. I trust all of you have seen this?
Okay! Write me your six word memoir on love and heartbreak. I'm really looking forward to knowing a little bit about each of you, too.
Later,
xo
February 9, 2009
Well, it's been a month since I've posted and the robots continue to visit, but whatever. I thought I'd put up a very brief synopsis of a rock and roll cookbook my daughter and I are co-writing...we are currently hammering out a formal proposal as we continue to work on the book itself. I will be officially querying agents with this project shortly, but let me give those of you at PM the first glance to see if anyone (other than robots) are reading and might be interested. Here goes..
From the time she was a young girl, Julie Slick accompanied her mother, author Robin Slick, on culinary adventures throughout Philadelphia and New York City, re-creating and putting a unique spin on recipes from many different cultures in their home kitchen. Now a twenty-three year old pesco-vegetarian (fancy term for a fish eating veggie), Julie, who plays bass in the Adrian Belew Power Trio, (www.adrianbelew.net) tours the world, wowing rock fans internationally. She continues to visit restaurants in each country and in her down time cooks for friends, documenting her reviews and original recipes at www.julieslick.blogspot.com which is where the idea for a cookbook first began to take shape. Robin accompanies her daughter on tour from time to time and writes about the experience, both culinary and musical, in an award winning journal, www.inherownwrite.blogspot.com.
The cookbook is envisioned as an on-going series as Julie’s star continues to rise and will be called “Having My Bass and Eating It, Too”.
If you are interested, please contact me at Robin81700@aol.com or Robin81700@gmail.com.
Thanks!
Best,
Robin
***********
January 7, 2009
How totally bizarre that I put the below post up and I was #1 here in "Writers" for three days. What does that tell you?
Oh well. I guess I'll enjoy my five minutes of fame and direct you, as usual, to my blog for my latest ramblings. I guess this site is at least good for that...
January 3, 2009
I'm starting to wonder if my page at Publishers Marketplace is worth it. While I'm frequently in the top twenty, a view of my stat lists here looks like this:
In other words, I'm paying $20.00 a month to be visited by robots and my "This Writer is Looking for An Agent" has not been met with one response.
So why do I stay? I am not entirely sure. In the beginning, it was a cool way to network with other writers and yes, possibly hook up with a decent agent...now I'm thinking I've made all the friends I'm going to make here and it's time to move on and save myself $240 a year.
Well, I haven't made any final decisions yet. I don't like change, and my luck, the minute I leave this site, things will pick up. But in the meantime, as I've been advertising, I've been keeping a "secret blog" over at Open Salon, and today, I have written my biography in 100 words. You can view that, and other secret posts, right here.
And if you do head over to Open Salon, can I respectfully request that you join (great spot for writers -- it's free, and it takes 10 seconds to sign up) and add your comments and ratings? And maybe if you mention you found me through PM, it will entice me to stay. But I'm not sure. I really am getting creeped out by all those robots who come to call each day...
Merry Goo Year,
Robin
November 3, 2008
So I've got a bunch of Adrian Belew Power Trio news on my blog today but I'm really up to my ears in National Novel Writing Month. I'm not ready to link excerpts yet, but here's a very, very rough draft of my synopsis:
Oh, and the book is called "Sparrow Rising".
"Sparrow is a brilliant socialite in her early twenties who is miffed at Paris Hilton comparisons. While she loathes that she is outwardly shallow and has contempt for her lifestyle, she is unwilling/unable to break out of it because she is lazy. She came by her fortune via her father, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who invented a Better than Botox procedure. Celebrities flock to him but he secretly yearns to be a screen writer – only one problem, he can’t write. He sleeps with his clients, thinking they will get his scripts read. Sparrow’s mother is Princeton educated and miserable but sucked in by the trappings of her wealthy life and her husband's treatments. When Sparrow catches her mom doing the NYT crossword puzzle with a timer, her mother acts like she's been caught with cocaine. Sparrow has an 18 year old sister, Anais, equally intelligent but a bookworm who avoids all social scenes and is scheduled to go to Harvard in the fall. On the evening of Anais’ high school graduation, she is given a Porsche by her parents and the two girls drive off - but it's the parents who are wiped out that night. In her grief, Anais becomes an out of control party animal with Sparrow as her willing accomplice, but then she slowly becomes more responsible and dismayed and worries Anais won't go to college. The way their late parents’ trust is set up, for the girls to get any income at all, they both need to be in school or legitimately working. The climax has Anais almost dying in an overdose related incident which acts as a catalyst for both Sparrow and Anais to re-examine and re-focus their lives."
Yikes, that really is a rough draft of a synopsis. But you get the point.
Later,
xo
October 31, 2008
As a special promotion today, you can get a deep discount on all of my books! May I respectfully suggest, if you are not familiar with my work, that you start off with Three Days in New York City...
Anyway, here's the info and here's the direct link to my author page.
"To celebrate this spooktacular day, Phaze Books is giving you a 20%
discount! Just enter this promotional code when you check out:
CANDYCORN
Good for 20% off everything, on Halloween day only.
And take a look at my new book cover -- Daddy Left Me Alone with God is now scheduled for an early 2009 release! To read more about said novel, please click on the above link and visit my blog.
Please click on that link, which takes you to my blog, which will take you to a link where you can actually watch the movie based on my new novel, and vote. It's currently making the rounds of several international film festivals and garnering high praise. Ha ha, now, if only an agent would represent the book but that's a whole 'nother story. Would it be too much to ask you to view this seven minute film and click on "Best" so we win? Ha ha - I think not! Hey, it's my birthday on Sunday and I can't think of a better gift.
And in case you haven't the billboards I posted all over the internet, I am featured in Smith Magazine...the whole sad story of my writing career. Ha.
xo
April 14, 2008
Tonight I am part of literary royalty in New York City - I'm reading with Todd Zuniga, founder of Opium Magazine, and Nick Antosca over at the Boxcar Lounge, 168 Avenue B, in New York City, starting at 7:00 p.m.
So yeah, I'm like the only chick, the only one born before 1970...arghh...please kill me.
I've finally updated my blog, which as I have probably already said before, you can now access easily via my new website.
xo
January 14, 2008
39 and Holding...Him, the new anthology which I both edited and contributed a story, is available in print today - order your copy right here. (Scroll down for the print version; the digital version is also available and you will see that first when you click on the link).
Also, not a lot to report, but I do have a new post up on my blog as well.
Now. Must be a good little writer girl and, well, write!
Later,
xo
January 8, 2008
Yeah! I have a brand new website! And by visiting it each day, you can easily access my blog, which yes, will update on the home page each time I do a new entry. Please check it out and let me know what you think.
Also...in case you are not inclined to visit my blog today, I am posting billboards all over the internet that WXPN radio in Philadelphia will be playing my kids' new CD tonight between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. eastern, and the live internet stream can be found right here.
Do you think I am a little bit excited?
xo
December 3, 2007
So there's all kind of cool news happening on my blog but one thing I didn't mention is that with the impending success of the anthology I edited for Phaze entitled 39 and Holding Him, which is set for a New Years Eve release, there is enough quality material for Volume 2 though it is not full yet. So if you have a story, poem, or even novella you think might qualify, here are the details and if you click "for authors" you will also see the submission requirements. But if you have any specific questions not addressed on the website, feel free to email me directly. It should be noted each volume will be in print as well as digital format, which I believe even includes the new and exciting Kindle.
xo
November 29, 2007
Today is Art Appreciation Day on my blog which features, among other things, a brilliant un-birthday card from "Neil Gaiman" and the world's greatest sketch of Kurt Vonnegut (because it was drawn by Adrian Belew's bass player, a/k/a my daughter)...
And do you believe I am suffering from post-Nano depression?
xo
November 28, 2007
Happy Birthday Papa Slick!. (Click on that link for some cool photos of my brilliant offspring autographing their brand new CD)
And erm, other than that, I have finished my National Novel Writing project but have not posted the final excerpt as I'm debating how wise that is, given that other than a few tweaks and tune-ups, the book is basically completed and I should really start the query process without giving away the ending.
But you never know. Sheer ego could make me crack...
Ha.
xo
November 25, 2007
Yep, I won National Novel Writing Month bragging rights today but even having reached 50,000 words, I'm still not finished and in a perfect world will have it done at around 70,000 words by November 30 - my own personal goal.
Yay me! And for those of you who cannot get enough of my tongue in cheek erotica (god I hope you all realize that), I am continuing to post daily excerpts here. I haven't begun the query process for representation since the book is not complete yet, and while it is the third novel in my Three Days in New York City series, it does stand on its own. The first two books have garnered Hollywood interest but then the writers' strike came along so at least for the time being, nothing exciting is happening along those lines though a proposal is in fact imminent. If you are an agent reading this and think you might be interested, that would be very cool and please drop me a line at Robin81700@aol.com.
But more importantly, if you are awake at midnight tonight (eastern time) you can listen to the world premier of Side Four Live -- well, two songs, anyway - over at Public Radio Station WNKU which will be streamed live over the internet and in case you are wondering what I sound like, I will be calling in and you might just get to hear me...can't promise anything...but it could happen. Hey, at the very least, you'll be the first to preview my kids and Adrian Belew perform two songs from their newly released CD.
xo
November 23, 2007
Well, Thanksgiving at Casa de Slick went off smashingly - you can read all about it, complete with lovely photos of our meal, over at my blog. But yeah, yeah, I know what you are really interested in. Has Robin added any more smut...err...I mean, excerpts to her novel in progress over at National Novel Writing Month's website. You betcha! I'm up to 40,588 words and you can view the whole burning building right here.
xo
November 19, 2007
Just a note to let you know that National Novel Writing Month and my crazy high blood pressure are both still kicking my butt which is why my blog has pretty much gone to hell the past few days but I have updated the latest excerpt to my new novel and I'm now at 35,694 words. If you are going to read it, let me put it to you this way -- don't read it at work unless you work alone or with a significant other...otherwise you will hate me for life.
xo
November 18, 2007
Well, as of 5:00 p.m. tonight, I have somehow amassed 34,758 words for National Novel Writing Month. Get your free smut via the link below.
Oy.
But in the middle of writing it, I got inspired to work on an essay about just how hard a job it is to actually pull off viable erotica and how I have to go and make it impossibly more difficult by insisting on a lead female character who cracks a lot of jokes. So while I'm busy writing hot scenes I'm simultaneously writing one-liners for my sexy heroine to blurt out. And then there's also this...
My husband calls himself "my wife's science experiment."
The other night while I was working on my said novel for National Novel Writing Month, I was trying to figure out if a certain sexual position would work in a chair. My poor husband was upstairs trying to watch a hockey game but hey, this was for my art. I called him downstairs.
"Gary, I need you to sit in this chair facing me for a second to see if something is possible. Oh, and I need you to take off your clothes."
"But it's freezing down here!"
"Light a fire, then. Stop complaining. Most husbands would be thrilled to accommodate their wives this way..."
"Just tell me one thing about this chair experiment. Which one of us stands the greatest chance of falling on his/her head?" he asked.
"Me."
"Okay, then! Let's go for it."
Ha ha. (It ended up working but not the original way I'd written the scene so I had to go in and edit. I told him I would give him full credit in my acknowledgments..."And to my husband Gary, without whom I never could have written this book ACCURATELY.")
November 17, 2007
Well, seventeen days in, I have finally faced the truth: National Novel Writing Month is for masochists.
Luckily, I have always been one.
And so I am somehow managing to stay on track, having just posted my latest excerpt this morning, which brings me up to 27,216 words. I only need 28,102 by the time I go to bed tonight, so although it's already been established I suck at math, even I know that's a mere 886 words, which I'll probably knock out in the next hour.
Or not.
I'm not bragging or anything, but I've managed to write all week while pretty sick - a reaction to a flu shot, naturally - the only big surprise is that I haven't broken out into a full fledged projectile vomiting session -- and a terrible spike in my blood pressure which had my doctor prescribing all kinds of new medications of wonder and terror...i.e., I pretty much feel like I've been drinking a daily bottle of cough medicine. Ugh. How in the world do people enjoy that feeling recreationally?
And on top of all that, my kids' new CD with Adrian Belew finally went on sale yesterday. Normally I would be posting billboards all over the internet, but for now, this will have to do.
Okay, time to write about more sex and drugs and rock and roll.
Oh, wait. That was my last book. This one is just sex.
xo
November 15, 2007
Hey, thanks to all of you who emailed me yesterday. I can't believe how many writers/editors are reading my train wreck of a first draft over at NANO and all the positive feedback you gave me. Ha ha - and too funny, the response as to whether I should include the erotic scenes which I intend to have in the final draft was 100% unanimous - you all told me to include them. I only put that question out on this site so since you are all serious writers and editors, I will take your word for it. My word count at NANO should therefore be increasing significantly throughout the day as I go back in and add to scenes already written. Yeah, yeah, I know that's not the way you are supposed to do it, but I'm ahead of the game (23,342 words) anyway and if I go in and amp up previously written scenes, it will probably take me to 30,000 which will be nice and put a hell of a lot less pressure on me to NOT have the plot wrapped up at 50,000 words since now that you've inspired me with all of your wonderful comments, I'm shooting for 70,000 by November 30.
Yes, I know. I am crazy.
xo
November 14, 2007
So I had quite a day yesterday. Here's the obligatory blog link.
I do have a question for those of you who stop by this page today. I will be updating my author excerpt page on National Novel writing month by the end of the day though I've been adding and editing all along. Am I being a total idiot to post the entire first draft? Should I throw caution to the wind and put in the sex scenes they way I intend them to be written instead of the watered down version I'm inserting now because I'm worried I might be attracting unsavory characters to my site by being so open? Or should I say the hell with it, I write erotica, it's more humorous than overtly sexual, it's only NANO, and really, how many people are actually going to read it?
And err...I should tell you I have ulterior motives because yeah, yeah, I think I might be looking for an agent to represent me on this one since I'm not sure if I have one for this particular book or not. All I can tell you is the first two books in this series were best sellers and won awards, and I sold them to Mundania Press myself.
So if any of you could let me know via email at Robin81700@aol.com if I am doing the right thing by posting the whole book in its haphazard first draft stage, whether you think "hmm, she has something pretty decent here", whether I should add the full monty regarding the sex stuff, and um, if you are an agent and are interested in repping this book...well, yeah, I'd love to hear from you.
And did I mention my kids' new CD with Adrian Belew will be available for pre-order this Tuesday? Does the fact that this CD will surely be nominated for a Grammy help my cause? (Adrian was nominated last year as well)
Oh well. Back to NANO.
xo
November 12, 2007
Somehow, I now have 20,142 words completed for National Novel Month, which puts me ahead by a couple hundred words. I AM INSANE! Anyway, I'm adding to the excerpt linked below every day and doing what I'm not supposed to be doing, i.e., editing it, but I find it impossible not to. And ew, I just learned there are those who have already finished their 50,000 words. You know what I say to them? You cheated! You had to!
I have no other explanation.
xo
November 11, 2007
So the votes have been tallied and it's official, I won 4th place, Best Blogger, Diarist. I'm pretty stoked about that, and once again, I thank all of you who voted.
On my blog today, I talk about the horror that is National Novel Writing Month. Who in their right mind attempts a 50,000 word novel in thirty days? Well, I am insane enough to do it, and I've pretty much been participating since 2003. I have three completed novels which arose out of "Nano", two of which are published. If anyone wants to have a look at what a real first draft train wreck looks like, you can read my novel in progress, which is the third book in the Three Days in New York City series, right here.
On second thought, don't.
xo
Rob
November 8, 2007
So voting for the Best of Blog Awards ends today at 5:00 p.m. eastern time. Thanks to a lot of you, I am now in 4th place, which ROCKS! But, um, Desperate Irish Housewife is only 19 votes behind. As I said yesterday, normally I would not care, BUT SHE HAS A LINK TO ANN COULTER ON HER BLOG!!!!
Dear god don't let me be beaten by anyone who worships Ann Coulter.
I just may be having a nervous breakdown. For real. Read all about it here.
November 4, 2007
Yeah, it's true. For the first time in the entire 22 years of her life, my daughter finally agreed to be something other than a bloody ogre for Halloween and she even let me style her hair (also a first...I mean, really, what's the use of having a daughter if she won't let you ever play dress-up with her, ever). Here's the obligatory link to read all about it.
And just a reminder, please vote for me for Best Blog 2007, Diarist. You do not have to register your name, email address, or anything. You merely click on the button that says Robin Slick In Her Own Write. You can vote from your computer once a day until the polls close on November 8.
I'm being clobbered by a blog called Army Wife/Toddler Mom and I just can't have that. Should I change mine to read "Lunatic Wife/Rock Star Mom"?
(hint: We both won the same award, which is probably the first and only time that is going to happen but I will take what I can get)
October 31, 2007
Don't know if I will get around to updating my actual blog today or not (but I surely will if I find out I'm a finalist in the 2007 Web Blog Awards which will announced later today/tonight) because I'm currently working on a vague outline for the start of National Novel Writing Month tomorrow, but I do want to say one thing:
Weird and creepy west coast stalker chick? We have site meters on our Publishers Marketplace pages here, too. They give them to us free of charge.
Boo! And Happy Halloween!
Sigh...what is it that you want from me, anyway?
Yeah, yeah, I already said it in my blog. You can't help yourself. Why? Because you have discovered what the rest of the world already knows -- I am simply irresistible!
Another clip of my son, this time performing "Apostrophe" in NY last week
October 13, 2007
That's my son on drums Thursday night in NY performing the Zappa classic Montana with Zappa great Napoleon Murphy Brock. Yes, I agree. My son is a genius.
Anyway...
Today I'm giving a reading at Robin's (no relation) Books at 4:00 p.m. in Philadelphia. For further details, visit my blog.
And something tells me I should be turning this PM page into blogger format....
October 12, 2007
Still can't blab my news, but for those of you living near New York City, my son has a gig with the fabulous Project Object featuring Napoleon Murphy Brock at the Lion's Den, 214 Sullivan Avenue, down in the Village.
October 8, 2007:
Still can't share any news but I did start writing a new novel...
October 5, 2007
Hi there:
I'm sitting on a ton of news which the jinx factor prevents me from revealing at this time, so instead I will entertain you with this:
See my blog for an explanation - not that this film requires one. Ha!
xo
Rob
October 1, 2007
I'm just back from vacation and have a ton of news which I'll report in the near future. In the meantime, while I decompress for a bit, I've posted some pics on my blog...
So while I am "in limbo" mode and unable to concentrate on much other than to remind you that you can now purchase the trade paperback of Another Bite of the Apple (see link directly below), here's a short clip of Adrian Belew and my two offspring performing in front of 2,000 people in Mexico last night:
September 10, 2007
Trade Paperpack $9.00
Yay! The trade paperback of Another Bite of the Apple is available for pre-order at a special promotional rate - for further details click here!
****************
September 7, 2007
Update: You'll just have to read my blog today...
**********
Okay, I'm trying not to hyperventilate, but on August 28, 2007, I received the following email:
Dear Robin,
I am a Movie and Television Producer/Director based in Los Angeles. I recently read your book Three Days In New York City - and wanted to discuss with you the possibilities of adapting it for Film and or Television.
Please contact me.
***********
Ahem. I purposely did not include his name here though a google search shows he's for real and because this is me we are dealing with, there's kind of a funny story behind it. Sooo...stay tuned for further developments...by the end of this week, in a perfect world. If not, you can all talk me off the ledge together.
And in other news...
I've just completed my third novel, which is a complete departure from my other books, entitled Daddy Left Me Alone with God, and at the moment it is a semi-finalist in a contest being held by Simon Schuster as well as in the hands of an editor at another publishing house.
And if you "vote" (weird word, but you will see what I mean) for my new book at Media Predict - link is right here, I will give you candy
Anyway, back to me and my new book. Here's the official blurb/synopsis:
"Annie, a former groupie/hipster, struggles to come to terms with middle age and a faltering marriage when she reconnects with Mick, a legendary guitar God from her wild past while accompanying and allegedly chaperoning her young rock star offspring on a tour across America. This novel is not only a humorous account of the women who grew up in the "Hope I Die Before I Get Old" generation but also offers a sneak peek at the brilliant teenaged musicians featured in the documentary, Rock School."
******
Daddy Left Me Alone with God opens with its baby boomer narrator, Annie, lamenting the fact that she�s middle-aged and no longer considered cool even though she�s still a cutting edge hipster in her own mind. And she has a secret she has kept for almost three decades...
Following graduation from high school, Annie has a love affair with legendary rock guitarist Mick Saunders to whom she was introduced by her coke-dealing, jazz musician father. The relationship ends tragically when her mother dies and Annie is forced into early adulthood as sole guardian of her ten-year-old brother, Danny. She marries her high school sweetheart, John, and they raise Danny until he leaves for college. Annie and John go on to have two children of their own, Dylan and Gracie.
Eighteen years later, Dylan and Gracie are budding rock stars themselves, as two of the students in the original School of Rock, led by the almost cult-like charismatic Phil Klein.
As her children approach adulthood, Annie finds herself at a crossroads. She�s vaguely unhappy in her marriage, and can�t decide if it�s because she married so young and grew up in a different direction from her husband or it's simply the menopause from hell wreaking havoc with baby boomer syndrome: She no longer hopes she�ll die before she gets old but she doesn�t want to get old, either.
As a graduation present to his original students and as a shrewd, calculated business decision to sell franchises of his company, Phil Klein arranges for a twenty-one day tour by bus across America showcasing his kids. His All-stars, which include Gracie and Dylan, will play in major venues with classic rock legends, one of whom is superstar Mick Saunders, Annie's old love.
Annie has dreamed of this reunion for years and so she accompanies her sheltered children as the official tour chaperone.
To Annie, this opportunity to recapture her past feels like a dream come true, and she wonders how she'll deal with the absence from her husband...and if she and Mick will pick up where they left off.
They make many plans to rekindle their affair during the three week tour but between Annie�s responsibilities as chaperone, the fact that she may still love her husband after all, and other unexpected comedic developments involving fire, flooding, and an imaginary drug overdose, they are thwarted at every attempt until the final evening of the tour where they have a bittersweet and maybe not so final goodbye.
********
So that's basically the synopsis for my new book. Here's my official, G-rated bio:
I'm widely published on both the web and in print and short stories have appeared in Small Spiral Notebook, In Posse Review, NFG, Insolent Rudder, Yankee Pot Roast, Word Riot, Uber, Flashquake, Salome, Reading Divas, Hackwriters, Fiction Warehouse, Storyhouse, Nagoya Writes, Smokelong Quarterly, Clean Sheets, The Beat UK, Flash Fiction, Spoiled Ink, Opium, Slow Trains Literary Journal, Monkeybicycle, Ken*Again, Juked, Chick Flicks, and Poor Mojo's Almanack
My debut novel, Three Days in New York City, was published courtesy of Phaze/Mundania Press and is available in paperback at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and www.phaze.com. Read an excerpt here!
The sequel, Another Bite of the Apple, was published in 2006 and will be in paperback shortly -- see link on the right for purchase information. A 7,000 comedic erotic short, Buenos Noches, Justine, is also now available at www.phaze.com.
*******
And even though I do absolutely nothing with it at all because is it just me or are those things freaking impossible to find unless you are really determined, I have an author page up at Amazon.
TRADE REFERENCES
Kathryn Lively, Publisher, Phaze/Mundania Press
Daniel Reitz, Publisher, Mundania Press
MOST RECENT PROJECTS
Three Days in New York City, published by Phaze/Mundania Press and its recently published sequel, Another Bite of the Apple.
A review in Blue Iris Journal has this to say about Three Days in New York City:
Author: Robin Slick
Genre: Erotic Romance
Reviewed by: Susan DiPlacido
Forty-year-old Elizabeth is a frustrated artist turned corporate lawyer. She's in a dead marriage, and her children are ready to fly off to college. So she boards a train, leaving behind her sports obsessed husband for a three-day tryst in New York City with a colleague from the London offices of her firm.
Elizabeth and Richard, her self-assured and highly polished lover for the weekend, have been planning this affair for years, ever since they worked a case together and struck up a friendly-cum-naughty e-mail relationship. But this will be the first time they meet in person. On the train, Elizabeth's anticipation is balanced by her nervousness, both of which get turned up notches higher when Richard calls her on the way and tempts her even more.
Elizabeth has been playing the part of the sex-vixen online with Richard, and she's terrified he's going to discover that she's really a tame, married woman. But these aren't Elizabeth's only doubts and insecurities. And as her weekend with Richard unfolds, not only in a hot and sexy fashion, but also in a shower of comedic mishaps, Elizabeth is forced to confront her true inner desires regarding the direction of her life.
This was a steamy read, for sure. But it was also touching and humorous. Elizabeth is a charming lead and a strong and vibrant woman who is finally starting to look for a life for herself after a lifetime of caring for her family. And she'll pull you along and show the reader the city, and herself, in this tantalizing first novel by Robin Slick.
********************
And Literary Nymphs has this to say about Three Days in New York City:
Review: Amusing. Honest. Wicked. Three Days in New York City, published by Phaze, uses with these three words as the foundation upon which a wonderfully compelling story is built. Told from the first person perspective, it is impossible not to fall into the mind and body of the very realistic forty-something heroine as she learns more about herself in three days than most women learn in a lifetime. I strongly recommend you give this book by Ms. Slick a try. The last page will definitely leave you begging for more.
Rating: Five Nymphs!
SPECIALIZED TRAINING, WORK EXPERIENCE, HONORS
My short story, Three Days in New York City, out of which my novel arose, was nominated for a Best American Short Story, 2004.
Rebellion: New Voices of Fiction, which contains my story Daddy Left Me Alone with God -- the short story on which my new novel is based, was #1 finalist in the USA Book News Awards for 2006.
Another Bite of the Apple was rated #1 in erotica over at www.fictionwise.com from September, 2006 through February, 2007.
Three Days in New York City was voted #11 reader favorite, Predator and Editor poll 2005, and in late 2006 was on the best seller lists, erotica, in both the UK and Canada after enjoying a long run as a best seller on Fictionwise and at Phaze.
I am former fiction editor at both NFG and Philadelphia Stories and I now work as an editor for Mundania/Phaze Publishing.
THREE DAYS IN NEW YORK CITY IS MENTIONED IN DECEMBER, 2005 PLAYGIRL MAGAZINE AS BEING A BEST SELLER AND AN EXCERPT AND INTERVIEW WILL APPEAR IN A FUTURE ISSUE OF PLAYGIRL. ALSO, MY TWO ROCK STAR OFFSPRING, JULIE SLICK (BASS) AND ERIC SLICK (DRUMS) ARE NOW THE BASSIST AND DRUMMER, RESPECTIVELY, FOR ADRIAN BELEW as his new power trio and will be traveling throughout Europe and the United States during the summer and late fall of 2007 after an incredible string of shows in 2006 which resulted in the recording of "Side Four Live", a brand new CD which will be released in June, 2007. Adrian was originally lead guitarist with Frank Zappa in 1977, then moved on to join David Bowie's band, King Crimson, Talking Heads...the list is endless. I pinch myself daily that he chose my kids as his bandmates and yes, you'd better believe I'm considering all of the events leading up to that monumentous event as well as what's happened since as fodder for my next book.
PROJECTS ON OFFER / PROPOSALS AVAILABLE
My latest novel, Daddy Left Me Alone with God. See details above.
And here's a few photos where I give the cliche "deer caught in the headlights" a whole new meaning...maybe...deer having a stroke? Deer facing three men in plaid caps with ear flaps? Anyway, here I am with just a few of the people I have met while tagging along on tour with my kids, though Neil Gaiman I met on my own and dragged my poor son as my accomplice - you can read all about it here. So that would be me with Eddie Vedder (swoon - he took us out for pizza - nicest guy ever), Jon Anderson of Yes, and Oh My God, yep, there I am with Neil Gaiman's arm around me and contrary to popular belief, I did shower the next morning though it pained me to do so. The final pic is my daughter and son with Adrian Belew...one of about three billion photos I post pretty much daily on my blog.