Friday, January 14, 2011

Links, leftovers, and a whole lot of wine

You ever have one of those lunches consisting of a hodge-podge of leftovers from four different meals you've had throughout the week? Sometimes it's delicious, sometimes it's...well, just interesting.

I'm not sure which this will be, but that's what I'm serving up on today's blog.

First up, have you ever wondered what happens behind-the-scenes during the acquisition process at a publishing house? I have. Well, "wondered" is probably too mild a word.

During my years on the submission train when my agent would tell me editor so-and-so liked my manuscript and was taking it to the editorial board, I would drive myself nuts trying to figure out what that meant. I'd cyber-stalk editors to see if I could determine the precise hour the meeting might take place. I'd check my website for unexpected visitors. I'd try to imagine how the meeting might go, or what sort of shoes they'd all be wearing.

Though I'm past that stage now, I never stopped wondering about the behind-the-scenes details. Lucky for me, my amazing editor, Deb Werksman, just did a blog post over at Romance University giving an inside glimpse into the acquisition process. Though she didn't mention the shoes, she covered pretty much everything else I ever wanted to know. Check it out HERE.

Next up, just a reminder that I'm blogging over at The Debutante Ball today. We've been discussing agents all week, and it's possible I got a little mushy discussing my relationship with Michelle Wolfson. You can read that post here.

Lastly, we get to pick a winner to receive Petals and Thorns from Jennifer Paris (a.k.a. Jeffe Kennedy). If you missed the post about the giveaway, go here.

I didn't have time to stage an elaborate selection process with the pets like I did here or here or here, and Jeffe wasn't too keen on swimming out into an icy pond to fetch a stick with a name on it.

"What's something Jeffe and I have in common?" I mused as I sipped a glass of Shiraz and instant-messaged her the other evening.

"Beats me," Jeffe mused back with her glass of Zin in hand.

Ah-ha!

I made a list of all 37 people who commented on the post to win a copy of Petals and Thorns. Then I made a list of 37 different varieties of wine. I'm kind of impressed I was able to do most of it off the top of my head (though I did have to consult a book for a few of them).

My apologies for skipping some of the accent marks and other unusual punctuation, but here's the list:

1. Chardonnay

2. Sauvignon Blanc

3. Semillon

4. Riesling

5. Gewürztraminer

6. Pinot Grigio

7. Pinot Blanc

8. Frascati

9. Chenin

10. Pouilly-Fuissé

11. Silvaner

12. Port

13. German Eiswein

14. Pedro Ximénez

15. Sangiovese

16. Cabernet Franc

17. Petit Verdot

18. Malbec

19. Cabernet Sauvignon

20. Syrah

21. Shiraz

22. Marechal Foch

23. Tempranillo

24. Mouvedre

25. Viognier

26. Merlot

27. Pinot Noir

28. Zinfandel

29. Chianti

30. Rioja

31. Grenache

32. Mueller-Thurgau

33. Baco Noir

34. Grüner Veltliner

35. Dolcetto

36. Liebfraumilch

37. Melon de Bourgogne

We briefly considered drinking a glass of each just to put ourselves in the proper frame of mind, but decided against it about halfway through the list.

Instead, I assigned each blog commenter a wine variety and then sent the wine list to Jeffe. After a bit of deliberation (and maybe a few more glasses of wine) she picked Zinfandel, #28.

That's the wine I assigned to Jami Gold, who just so happened to write her own blog post about our little experiment reading outside your comfort zone. You can read her post here.

So congratulations to Jami. You don't get the wine, but you DO get a pretty awesome book from Jeffe. She'll be in touch. She also wanted to thank all of you for making her feel like the belle of the ball the other day.

She said "ball."

That's it for me, kids. Were the leftovers good for you? Are you doing anything fun this weekend? Please share!

15 comments :

Jeffe Kennedy said...

Belle of the big sparkly balls! Thanks Tawna. Jami - DM me and tell me which e-version you prefer!

And thank you all - this made my week. Hell it made my month!

Sarah W said...

Please tell me I was the Gewürztraminer! I don't care for most wines, but this one is something special.

This weekend, I'm going to find some plastic ice cubes so we can numb my daughter's ears for round three of the Great Ear Piercing Debacle. Wish us luck---lives may be lost.

Jami Gold said...

Woo Hoo! Thanks! Now this is the good kind of Zin, right? *pshaw* Look who I'm talking to, of course it's the good kind of Zin.

Oh wait, I won Jeffe's book? Cool, even better! It is rather early in my time zone for wine.

In all seriousness, thank you, Tawna and Jeffe! Any book that Tawna had so much fun with is bound to be fabulous. And thanks for the link too. :)

TAWNA FENSKE said...

LOL Sarah, you were actually Sauvignon Blanc. The highly scientific method I used was to make a list of all the commenters in order and just line that up with the wine list. Voila!

Congrats, Jami, and thanks again to Jeffe for the fun read!

Tawna

Linda G. said...

Hey, what was I? Please don't say Gewürztraminer. I feel silly just saying that.

Congrats to Jami! Guess I'll just mosey along and buy my own copy now. Can I load it onto my Kindle? (Yeah, I'm new at this eReader stuff.)

TAWNA FENSKE said...

Linda G, you were a lovely German Eiswein. If you've never tried one, Ponzi Vineyards outside Portland, Oregon makes one that's just exquisite. If only I were checking luggage for my upcoming trip, I'd gladly bring you a bottle!

Tawna

Danica Avet said...

I hope I was the Shiraz since that's pretty much the only wine I drink. I'm more of a beer or whiskey girl *cough*

I love your methods of choosing winners. I must learn from you, o great one!

TAWNA FENSKE said...

Danica, you were Frascati. I have to confess, that's one of the wines that wasn't familiar to me, though I know it's an Italian white. I'm going to have to go out and find one now!

Tawna

Linda G. said...

A German Eiswein? Hmm. I'll have to head over to Total Beverage this week and see if they stock that. Kind of appropriate that I'd be dessert wine, considering that's always my favorite course in any meal. ;)

Teri Anne Stanley said...

I've always been a Mad Dog 20/20 girl myself. Or Boonesfarm Strawberry Hill. Those are legitimate wines, right? And you don't need no stinkin' corkscrew to get into them cause they're FANCY.

Steph Schmidt said...

I can never say Gewürztraminer with a straight face.

I'm surprised a muscato or muscat didn't make the list.

Brandi Guthrie said...

I'm totally using your method as a sign for the type of alcohol I'm buying tonight. I'm usually a zin girl, but I shall branch out and try cabernet sauvignon. :) It's fun to say, at least.

Sarah W said...

C'mon, people! Give poor Gewürztraminer a try.

It tastes like wild roses smell.

Jeffe Kennedy said...

Frascati is quite nice, but I admit I loathe Gewürztraminer. I noticed Tawna did not have a Fume Blanc, either.

And you can get P&T on the Loose Id site for sure in all e-formats. One click on Amazon sends it to the Kindle!

lora96 said...

Next time i want to be a sparkling wine!