Bits and pieces, odds and ends 5 Aug 2010

It's August, and even my fingers seem to be typing at half-speed; my brain function is at a crawl. What I really want is to be sitting in the sun, eating gelato, or swimming, or lounging on the beach; so please forgive the pokey pace of my posting. 

Something more "real" is to come soon, but in the meantime, I thought I'd offer a few links:

USA Today did a story today about "Recession Lit," and included "This Is Where We Live" as an example of a book that's mining our current economic situation. Who knew I was on the bleeding edge of a hot new literary trend? But really, it's not so surprising: Authors (often) write about what's happening around them. What's happening now is a recession. If A = B, and B = C, then A = C. QED. Not a shocker; but hey, I never met a journalist who doesn't love a good trend story. Myself included. 

Also, I was discovered today by both Strollerderby, a site for moms; and Campus Circle, a publication for college students, thereby hitting two completely different demographics at once. I'm now waiting for AARP to call. Strollerderby said that "Janelle Brown proves that there is indeed an LA lit scene and that she is one of its rising stars." That's me, singlehandedly raising the literary profile of Los Angeles. James Ellroy can thank me later.