April 5, 2007
The Three Tomatoes Anniversary, The Silver Cup, and You
When we launched The Three Tomatoes two years
ago this month, we had no idea where this little side path off the main road of our life would lead us. We didn't have a business
plan, we didn't have a start up budget, and we didn't have a staff. What we did have was an idea we wanted to execute, and a few friends to try it
out on. Well our little side path has turned out to be a fairly main road these days, and our few friends have turned into hundreds of new friends.
We still don't have a business plan, or a budget, or a staff (unless you count the
dog) but we just keep following the path to see where it will lead us. So far it's been an amazing journey that's opened
doors, opened our minds, and best of all lead us to meeting all kinds of terrific interesting people we never would have met.
And yes, we have those occasional weeks where we're not feeling very motivated, or question why we're doing this, and then
we'll get a great email from one of you. Sometimes it's just a little note of appreciation. And sometimes it's from one of you who
have a story of your own amazing side path, like Constance Leeds.
From lawyer to soccer mom to published author
Constance Leeds' very first novel, The Silver
Cup published by Viking Press, goes on sale today. It's a story of hope about a young German Catholic girl and a young Jewish girl who strike up an amazing friendship in medieval times.
Geared to young girls ages 12 and up, it's the perfect antidote to the Paris's,
Lindsey's, and Brittany's with its message of how a small act of kindness can be very brave. Constance's own story is equally
inspiring.
Like lots of women of The Three Tomatoes generation
who graduated from college in the early '70's, Connie Leeds felt the pressure to have a profession. And as she put it, she didn't
really have the attention span to become a doctor, so she became a lawyer. She lawyered right into her marriage and up to
her third child, when she realized she didn't really want to lawyer anymore and in fact never had. So she put her energy into her
family and raising her three children -- and secretly writing. You see she really always wanted to write a book, but kept it
a secret because she didn't want to be one of those people who are "writing a book".
So, she was raising her kids, wracking up the odometer on her
car, and in between the daily chaos of being wife and mother, she started writing a couple of novels, which never really got too far.
Then one year when she was admittedly "over-helping" her son with his research for a term paper that he was supposed to be writing about the
Crusades, she came upon a little story that happened in 11th century Germany that captured her writer's mind. She
continued researching the medieval time period , even going to Germany to the area where her story takes place, and started writing the
book. Five years later she had a finished manuscript, and only a prayer of getting it published, or so she thought.
The 1 in 5000 odds
A friend found an editor at Viking who was going to at least read the
manuscript, but then the editor left for another publishing house. So like many aspiring novelists, she sent her
manuscript "cold" to a list of book publishers. After six months and no word, she assumed her book was on the "slush
pile". Which in fact it was, until a new editor at Viking, and a fan of historical novels, retrieved the
manuscript and called Connie to find out if the book was still available for publishing -- something we are told happens in maybe
1 out of every 5000 manuscripts submitted to publishers.
Another Side Path
Well that was four years ago, and starting today The Silver Cup is available at major booksellers
everywhere, and Connie is now indeed a published novelist. But sadly, her life took another side path when her husband and
soul mate died suddenly last year. She sold her house in the suburbs of Boston and moved into the city with her two corgis. We
think she'll find this new path an amazing journey too. She is one heck of a tomato.
Here's to side paths, the ones you choose and even the ones you don't.
'til next week,
The Three Tomatoes
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