Caroline Leavitt's Blog, page 139

Guest blog from Deborah Schupack, author of Sylvan Street

I first became aware of Deborah Schupack when I read and loved her novel, The Boy on The Bus. (James Patterson called it, "My favorite book of the year, an incredible page-turning idea, written with grace, style, and deep, true emotion." I was supposed to meet her one rainy New York evening, but we both had readings on the same night, blocks from each other, and the rain was pounding, I remember. In any case, her new novel, Sylvan Street, is even more splendid. I'm honored that she's...

Writers Who Imbibe

20 Distinguished Writers and Their Drink of Choice is a fascinating little article about famous writers and the spirits they like to lift, from a quirky, interesting new blog.

Christopher Meeks talks about The Writers' Struggle

Christopher Meeks, the author of Months and Seasons, The Middle Aged Man and the Sea and The Brightest Moon of the Century, is a friend, a colleague at UCLA, and a knock-out writer (Hey, it's not just me who said so, so did Time Magazine.) I'm honored that he wrote a guest blog. Thanks so much, Chris!

STRUGGLES FOR WRITERS—NEWS AT ELEVEN by Christopher Meeks

Up-and-coming writers want to hear how down the line things will get easier. Heck, I want to hear that. Thus, when I sent my...

Writers anxiety, anyone?

I talk about writers' anxiety on Eros-Alegra Clarke's great blog, Editors Unleashed.

Read this Book: Slut Lullabies by Gina Frangello

Gina Frangello is the author of the critically acclaimed novel My Sister's Continent. She's the executive editor and co-founder of Other Voices Books, and the editor of the fiction section at The Nervous Breakdown. She's also one of the funniest people on the planet. Thank you so much, Gina for answering all my questions.

First, let's talk about the title, Slut Lullabies, which conveys a mix of shock with tenderness. How did you come up with that title and how do you feel that it evokes...

Read This Book: The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli follows three people caught in war-torn Vietnam: a female photojournalist, a charismatic male photographer and a conflicted soldier. It's a breathtaking book, and I am thrilled that Tatjana can be here to answer my questions.

What made you obsessed with the idea of a female photojournalist in Vietnam? Why this topic—and why at this time?

I was always obsessed with Vietnam. My mother worked for NATO and then at Fort Ord, so the military — soldiers leaving...

Reading Group Guide questions

Ah yes, it's time to write my reading group guide questions for Pictures of You, coming November from Algonquin books. Doing reading group guides requires a different part of the brain than the writing of the novel. You have to become critical, yet not so critical that you feel as if you are writing Sparks Notes. I grew so baffled and befuddled writing mine that I began to get a little slap-happy, so in the interest of feeding my personal lunacy, I've come up with the following reading grou...

Holly LeCraw talks about The Swimming Pool

Holly LeCraw's The Swimming Pool is the kind of dark, thorny, complex novel I love. But don't take my word for it. Amy Tan called it riveting and psychologically complex, Tom Perrotta called it gripping and passionate, and raves came in from People, Entertainment Weekly and more, giving this glorious novel the attention it deserves. I'm honored to have Holly here answering my questions. The story of a present day love affair against the backdrop of a past filled with secrets and lies, The...

Guest Blog from Aryn Kyle, sublime author of Boys and Girls Like You and Me

I first discovered Aryn Kyle when I reviewed her ravishing debut novel, The God of Animals, for The Boston Globe. (I gave it a rave.) She has a new book out, the superb collection of stories, Boys and Girls Like You and Me and because she's also really, really funny, I asked her if she would do a guest blog for me. Thank you so much, Aryn!

That Horse Book

My first novel is about horses. I didn't mean for it to be about horses—really, it's about a family—but it's set on a horse ranch...

In Praise of Deadlines

Ok, I admit it, I can be a lazy writer, or at least it feels that way sometimes. I can take a a year to write a first chapter because I keep fiddling with the words, fussing with a sentence to the point of being ridiculous (Should it read, "He ran to the store" or "He ran"?) Maybe it isn't really being lazy at all. Maybe it has to do with not wanting to let this glorious writing stage go into the next panic-inducing stage of giving pages to my agent and then to my editor. The sort of "proof...