Corabel Shofner's Blog, page 2
May 31, 2015
Shakespeare and Company Booksellers, Highlands NC
BACKROADS BOOKSTORES, literary rambles from sea to shining sea.
Highlands is a mountaintop village in Macon County, North Carolina in the southern Appalachian Mountains, within the Nantahala National Forest. The elevation is just over 4,000 feet, making it one of the highest incorporated municipalities east of the Mississippi. the full time residents number just under 1000 but the population swells to over 20,000 during the summer season.
I spend a good amount of time in Cashiers, North Carolina which sits proudly at the crossroads of U.S. Route 64 and North Carolina Highway 107. It is a world away from chaos. U.S Route 64 stretches from Whale Bone Junction, North Carolina to Teec Nos Pos, Arizona. I’ve found several Backroads Bookstores in communities along the western mountains section of Route 64: Hendersonville, Brevard, Highlands, and Franklin. And it is just a short detour to Tryon, Sylva and Waynesville, each sporting a vital bookshop.
A hidden jewel
Just off Main Street in Highlands, tucked into a leafy enclave, (with no street signs because of zoning restrictions) you will discover Katherine Willoughby’s Shakespeare and Company Bookseller. Katherine began the shop with her own collection of books in 1991 and quickly expanded to serve the literary needs of Highlands.
“Love of the written word was the impetus for Shakespeare and Company. George Whitman the owner of Shakespeare and Company in Paris, encouraged Katherine Willoughby to open her book store in Highlands: and just like in Paris, readers are encouraged to browse the collection of new and used tomes or join one of the groups that meet there.” Laurel Magazine.
Chip Wilson on the left and Katherine Willoughby on the right
One sunny afternoon in May, I rambled upon Katherine and her friend, Chip Wilson, having an elegant European styled lunch on the patio in front of the store. I thought they had ordered from the chef next door but after lunch, Katherine returned their dishes to her kitchen above the bookstore. We talked of books and movies, Europe, Alabama and bear sightings while store dog Rugby lounged at their feet.
Katherine had just returned from Florida town to open the store for the season. Chip returned from Fair Hope Alabama. Chip explained that Katherine had boxes and boxes of unpacked books that she acquired off season at various estates and markets. The two companionable and intelligent women grew up as neighbors in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan but they never actually met (That would never happen in the quaint villages along U.S. Route 64) until their vastly different paths finally converged in Highlands where they discovered their mutual love of books.
In Shakespeare and Company you will find a wide range of used and new books, including fiction, poetry, art, history, religion, reference, games,cooking, natural history and North Carolina subjects. The store also hosts readings and signings. Like the Paris store, there is a writer’s guest house for visiting authors.
As seems true in most villages, the local bookstores do much more than sell books. Shakespeare and Company is a gathering place for book lovers.
Books and Mirros
Chip Wilson, author of “Inn and Out: Memoirs of a Southern Innkeeper,” hosts Wednesday afternoon (3:30 p.m.) book discussions and serves tea and home-made treats. The effervescent Chip is a great facilitator and she gets the most out of her visitors—even the shy ones. They have delicious refreshments from Fresser’s (their courtyard neighbor) and then talk about whatever books have recently captivated them. It’s all very casual and relaxed, and it’s free.
Local artist and author, Diane McPhail (aka Nonnie) is hosting “Nonnie’s Book of the Month Club and Story Hour” for Children on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11 am. The Nonnie book of the Month Club and Story Hour grew out of something by the same name that Diane did for each of her grandchildren: Twin boys now 13, and a 6 year-old granddaughter. She happened to see an article in Shelf Awareness Pro on a bookstore setting up a children ’s book-of-the-month and posted it. From there she suggested to Katherine that they do something similar here for the summer—so many grandparents and kids out of school. Diane has been wanting to spend more time with children as her twins move toward adolescence. “This just evolved like magic into a twice a week reading hour with the kids.”
Highlands is a thriving mountain village. Nearby is the public Highlands School, as well as the public Hudson Library. The Bascom is a nonprofit visual arts center that is housed on a six-building, six-acre campus, and offers exhibitions and educational programs.
Front door of Shakespeare and Company Booksellers
Shakespeare and Company Bookseller. 204 N. 5th St. Highlands, NC 28741. 828-526-3777. kwillo6014@aol.com
May 22, 2015
Highland Books, Brevard, NC
BACKROADS BOOKSTORES, literary ramblings from sea to shining sea.
Brevard North Carolina is the county seat of Transylvania County with a population of about 7,500 and an elevation as just over 2,200 feet above sea level. The vibrant little town is situated at the entrance to the Pisgah National Forest. The area is well known for white squirrels who “took up residence after a carnival trunk overturned” allowing them to escape into the wild. Did I say the people of Brevard enjoy a story? It is the home of Brevard College and Brevard Music Center. Moms Mabley was born here in 1894. The official dog is the West Highland White Terrier and the official rooster is the Silkie.
I spend a good amount of time in Cashiers, North Carolina which sits proudly at the crossroads of U.S. Route 64 and North Carolina Highway 107. It is a world away from chaos. U.S Route 64 stretches from Whale Bone Junction, North Carolina to Teec Nos Pos, Arizona. I’ve found several Backroads Bookstores in communities along the western mountains section of Route 64: Hendersonville, Brevard, Highlands, and Franklin. And it is just a short detour to Tryon, Sylva and Waynesville, each sporting a vital bookshop.
Highland Books in Brevard was started in 1976 by Tim and Peggy Hansen who had a romantic idea that they would plant bookstores all over the mountains. They saw themselves as the “Johnny Appleseeds of bookstores.” But Brevard had different plans for the Hansens. The natural beauty and small-town friendliness captured their hearts and they are still running Highland Books in Brevard in 2015. Their two daughters were born in Brevard — Lena in 1979 and Megan in 1982 — and grew up in the bookstore. both daughters became booklovers and writers. Lena, who works for a sustainable energy policy organization in Colorado, is co-author of the book Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era. And her younger sister, Megan, is an accomplished author of YA novels.
The store eagerly awaits Megan Hansen Shepherd’s book launch for her fourth Young Adult novel, The Cage, on May 26, 2015. Megan has published a trilogy; Madman’s Daughter, Her Dark Curiosity and A Cold Legacy. The Cage is the first of another trilogy published by Balzer + Bray.
Peggy and Tim Hansen
The Hansens are deeply involved in community projects involving the schools, library, local authors, reading groups. They are particularly pleased to have helped collect books to create a library for an after school tutoring program.They also give their time to the Free Clinic of Transylvania County; the missions at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church; and El Centro, which serves the local Hispanic population. Peggy compiled the oral histories of 20 residents in Transylvania Memories. And Tim has served on Brevard’s planning board and promoted peaceful conflict resolutions through a a foreign-policy group.
Highland Books offers a large selection Fair Trade gift items from Ten Thousand Villages, many gifts, cards, gifts, books of local interest, bargain books, and bestsellers. Tim said that they don’t have a live shop pet, but proudly gestures a white squirrel on the shelf – which holds a miniature copy of Megan’s book – as their pet. Highland Books ‘shop pet’ is actually papier mache art by Marcia Brennan, one of the top local artists at #7 Gallery in downtown Brevard.
Store pet — a papier mache white squirrel by local artist Marcia Brennan.
Straight from their website: “At Highland Books in Brevard, one couple encourages community members to explore the world around them — whether they travel far away or decide to stick around.”
Highland Books
277 N. Broad St.
Brevard, NC 28712
www.facebook.com/pages/Highland-Books/119789764739283
The Silkie
Children Welcome
Megan’s first trilogy
Highlands Books, Brevard, NC
BACKROADS BOOKSTORES, literary ramblings from sea to shining sea.
Brevard North Carolina is the county seat of Transylvania County with a population of about 7,500 and an elevation as just over 2,200 feetabove sea level. The vibrant little town is situated at the entrance to the Pisgah National Forest. The area is well known for white squirrels who “took up residence after a carnival trunk overturned” allowing them to escape into the wild. Did I say the people of Brevard enjoy a story? It is the home of Brevard College and Brevard Music Center. Moms Mabley was born here in 1894. The official dog is the West Highland White Terrier and the official rooster is the Silkie.
I spend a good amount of time in Cashiers, North Carolina which sits proudly at the crossroads of U.S. Route 64 and North Carolina Highway 107. It is a world away from chaos. U.S Route 64 stretches from Whale Bone Junction, North Carolina to Teec Nos Pos, Arizona. I’ve found several Backroads Bookstores in communities along the western mountains section of Route 64: Hendersonville, Brevard, Highlands, and Franklin. And it is just a short detour to Tryon, Sylva and Waynesville, each sporting a vital bookshop.
Highlands Books in Brevard was started in 1976 by Tim and Peggy Hansen who had a romantic idea that they would start bookstores all over the mountains. They saw themselves as the “Johnny Appleseeds of bookstores.” But Brevard had different plans for the Hansens. The natural beauty and small-town friendliness captured their hearts and they are still running Highlands Books in Brevard in 2015. Their two daughters were born in Brevard — Lena in 1979 and Megan in 1982 — and grew up in the bookstore. both daughters became booklovers and writers. Lena, who works for a sustainable energy policy organization in Colorado, is co-author of the book Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era. And her younger sister, Megan, is an accomplished author of YA novels.
The store eagerly awaits Megan Hansen Shepherd’s book launch for her fourth Young Adult novel, The Cage, on May 26, 2015. Megan has published a trilogy; Madman’s Daughter, Her Dark Curiosity and A Cold Legacy. The Cage is the first of another trilogy published by Balzer + Bray.
Peggy and Tim Hansen
The Hansens are deeply involved in community projects involving the schools, library, local authors, reading groups. They are particularly pleased to have helped collect books to create a library for an after school tutoring program.They also give their time to the Free Clinic of Transylvania County; the missions at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church; and El Centro, which serves the local Hispanic population. Peggy compiled the oral histories of 20 residents in Transylvania Memories. And Tim has served on Brevard’s planning board and promoted peaceful conflict resolutions through a a foreign-policy group.
Highlands Books offers a large selection Fair Trade gift items from Ten Thousand Villages, many gifts, cards, gifts, books of local interest, bargain books, and bestsellers. They don’t have a shop pet but Tim claims the white stone squirrel on the shelf, which holds a miniature copy of Megan’s book, as their pet.
Store Pet, stone white squirrel.
Straight from their website: “At Highland Books in Brevard, one couple encourages community members to explore the world around them — whether they travel far away or decide to stick around.”
Highland Books
277 N. Broad St.
Brevard, NC 28712
www.facebook.com/pages/Highland-Books/119789764739283
The Silkie
Children Welcome
Megan’s first trilogy
May 18, 2015
City Lights Bookstore, Sylva NC
BACKROADS BOOKSTORES, literary ramblings from sea to shining sea.
Sylva is the county seat of Jackson County in the Plott Balsam Mountains of Western North Carolina at 2,057 feet above sea level with a population of about 2,500. The Jackson County Courthouse is sited dramatically atop a hill at the end of Main Street. The Courthouse was recently expanded to create the new Jackson County Library. Nearby Colleges are Southwest Community College and Western Carolina University which is the home of writer, Ron Rash.
I spend a good amount of time in Cashiers, North Carolina which sits proudly at the crossroads of U.S. Route 64 and North Carolina Highway 107. It is a world away from chaos. U.S Route 64 stretches from Whale Bone Junction, North Carolina to Teec Nos Pos, Arizona. I’ve found several Backroads Bookstores in communities along the western mountains section of Route 64: Hendersonville, Brevard, Highlands, and Franklin. And it is just a short detour to Tryon, Sylva and Waynesville, each sporting a vital bookshop.
Cedric and Rowena Shop Cats.
Chris Wilcox is the current owner of City Lights Bookstore having bought it in 2010 from Joyce Moore, who he credits as building City Lights into a beloved community institution. Chris is a life-long Cullowee Valley native, save for a brief foray as a ski-bum and paramedic in Utah. Upon returning in 1997 Chris joined the City Lights family where Joyce gave him his start and trained him in the trade. Chris has a vibrant staff and two shop cats Cedric and Rowena.
City Lights Bookstore has been selling new and used books, gifts, journals and maps since 1984 when it was started by local story teller and writer Gary Carden. Their goal has always been to share the literature of the Southern Appalachian region with the world and the world of books with their community. City Lights Bookstore recently celebrated it’s 30th Anniversary.
When I rambled into City Lights they were preparing for Liars’ Night, an event featuring Kim Michele Richardson author of Liar’s Bench, and Jamie Mason author of Monday’s Lies. Maybe it is just the spirit of City Lights, but I have never been to an author event which was as fun as Liars’ Night. Kim and Jamie are old friends, who have supported one another on their writer’s journey. Occassionally they will tour together, and truly, they should always tour together. They have seen each others work to publication and comment on the other’s writing as much as their own. Kim started reading from her work but threw up her hands claiming that she’s no good at reading her book, so Jamie took over and read for her. Refreshments included food referenced in their books such as crackerjacks and elderberry wine. They conducted haphazard raffles and played a Liars’ game where they each made bold statements and the audience guessed whether it was a lie or the truth. I was the lucky recipient of a goodie bag because I guessed truth that Jamie has a cocktail named after her in a pub outside of London. The Jamie is a Rhubarb Whisky Sour. Or was it whether Kim has surgery without anesthesia, while riding in a limo with Elvis?
Between the books, the staff, the various community events and the adjacent cafe, City Lights Bookstore is a great destination in Sylva, North Carolina.
City Lights Bookstore. 3 E. Jackson. Sylva, NC. 828-586-9499
Jackson County Courthouse and Library
Community Event Room
Authors Jamie Mason on the left and Kim Richardson on the right.
I won a prize for guessing the lies.
April 20, 2015
Rewriting Hell
Ruby Clyde in the Hill Country of Texas
I had reworked my novel, RUBY CLYDE, (final title pending) so many times I no longer knew what remained in the book. My weekly writers’ group patiently weighed in for a year, while I worked with an independent free-lance editor. Only then did I submit the manuscript to agents and several showed interest. The one I signed with gently suggested certain improvements, which I worked on before she submitted the manuscript to publishing houses. I was fortunate enough to begin talking to editors, and they suggested several more changes. Most of which I found valuable. Then, the first pass at Farrar, Straus and Giroux failed at acquisitions. There was a problem with my comedy about a little girl who’s mother is on death row. Certain changes were proposed but since the changes were so large, so integral to the story, I got in bed and hid under the pillow until receiving the most amazing email from my oldest son. It worked. I got up and rewrote, yet again, and FSG bought the book. I am certain that I will rework the novel even more, with an editor that I have grown to trust. It won’t be easy but I believe it can be done. I’m sharing my son’s message here:
Mama,
I tried to call you a couple times but I guess you are busy. This is basically what I would say on the call, and we can talk more later.
First of all, congratulations! Any answer other than rejection is great news! It really is. They are professionals, not coddlers, and they are clearly still very interested in the book. I understand you are probably feeling a little disappointed right now. It’s completely understandable to feel that way, and you shouldn’t suppress that feeling. But after you get over the initial hump, you will realize that the solution is really not as daunting as you probably think it is right now. As much as you tried to convince yourself it wouldn’t sell, a small part of you was still hoping– almost expecting– that they would buy it outright with no strings. But that’s unfortunately just not the world we live in.
Up to this point, you have been writing Ruby Clyde for you. And that’s a very free structure, with no one able to tell you what to do. But in that world, your audience is very small. Now, you need to write it for the world, and the first step in bringing it to the world is Farrar. It is likely that many at Farrar love the death penalty aspect of the plot, but at the end of the day, they are a business. And if there are political problems with writing about the death penalty that would interfere in the book’s chance at success, that is simply the reality. We all think it’s stupid. But that’s the reality.
When we made the documentary, the process of making it without ESPN was very different from the process of making it with ESPN. We had already pared it down to what we thought was the bare, glorious essentials. Every second mattered, every moment had meaning. And then ESPN wanted us to cut it in half, which, as I’ve said before, felt like I was the baby’s true mother standing before King Solomon. We gnashed our teeth and thought that it was impossible to do, that it would be a whole different story, a ruined documentary, if we cut it that much. We thought it would take ages and ages to get it anywhere close. But honestly, the daunting prospect in those first moments felt far worse than the actual editing process ended up being. And by cutting our baby in half, we expanded our audience from our circle of family and friends to millions and millions of people.
You see, we had attached meaning to every frame. And every frame seemed to be necessary to us, because it was. Just as it is for you and Ruby Clyde. But at the end of the day, we realized that what was truly important was no particular detail, just Kyle’s triumph over adversity. No plot point should be able to stand in the way of getting that message out. Similarly, Ruby Clyde herself is the heart and soul of your story. No plot point, even if it feels huge, is. That’s how you need to look at their death penalty issues, and the other details they mentioned.
As your agent mentioned, the issues Farrar has will likely be the issues other publishers will have. You cannot change the political reality of the book distribution world, at least not yet. For now, you are trying to get your first novel published, and frankly, that means you should be willing to tear up the floorboards if it means selling the house. I know it feels hard right now. The first cuts will be the hardest.
When you are up to it, talk to your agent, and possibly even your contact at Farrar if necessary. Try to determine, as specifically as possible, what all their roadblocks are. Then turn Ruby Clyde into a pile of notecards. Write each scene on the note card and display the whole novel in visual form on a cork board. Each scene or plot point where they have an issue, write in red what their issue is. Write below it why you wanted to have that plot point in the book in the first place, the deep reason you were really bringing it into the novel. Then write five alternative note cards to that scene. Talk to us for ideas, talk to your friends for suggestions. Shuffle up your book, chew it up, work it around, and find a new formulation that makes both you and them happy. Then go back and sell that book which at that point they will truly love. Remember, you don’t even need to rewrite it yet for them to buy it. Just re-outline. It really isn’t as bad as you are currently thinking. I promise, I’ve done it before.
Always remember mama: Even if Ruby Clyde was terrible (which it obviously isn’t), even if it was unreadable (which it obviously isn’t), even if you couldn’t even string three coherent words together (which you obviously can), even if you were a babbling idiot in some 19th century insane asylum somewhere (which I suppose we can’t rule out), even if ALL of that were true, Markham, Jesse, Pop, me, and many, many other people in this world still love you more than words can express. We are so happy for you. Call me when you get some time.
Alex
January 18, 2015
Some Families Never Get House Broken
Agent, Maria Carvainis
Editor, Claire Zion, NAL Accent/Penguin Group
336 pages
When I read ‘animal behaviorist’ and ‘dysfunctional family’ in the same sentence, I knew I was in for a good ride. What I didn’t expect was the complete control Sonja Yoerg had over this story. From the first page HOUSE BROKEN is like a bus leaving the station, better hop on and let the lady drive. The carefully crafted plot is tight and fast. Every piece serves the story. To paraphrase Chekhov: if you put a gun in the drawer in Act 1, you better use it by Act 3.
Yoerg weaves together the story of three generations of women: Geneva, a veterinarian and animal behaviorist; Helen, her alcoholic mother; and Ella her tempting- trouble teenage daughter. Yoerg’s close third person narrative alternates between each of these characters, and each character has a unique, authentic sound. I particularly like this choice for multiple characters. The close third point of view is more intimate than distant third without the restrictions of first person. For more discussions on this technique and other writers who use it well click here.
I was impressed at the wide cast of characters beyond Geneva, Helen and Ella. It is difficult to create a realistic rambling family without confusing the reader but these extended families jump off the page, recognizable and lively. Further, this family drama is not filled with cliche monsters or victims, rather it is a nuanced, realistic portrayal of difficulties. And funny to boot.
December 4, 2014
Why We Do What We Do
Writing on the rails
Thank you Ellen Morris Prewitt for inviting me to join this conversation about writing. The idea is to answer four questions about writing and then tag other writers that I admire to do the same. (Don’t need to ask me twice to talk about writing.)
First let me tell you about Ellen.
This lady is o
ne of those people who stops you in your tracks. She is the favorite first cousin of my favorite first cousin and that makes her my favorite leap cousin. (Superlatives such as favorite have their own forms below the Mason Dixon Line: my favorite minister Anne Stevenson refers to many people as her best friend, and when she says this she absolutely means it. If you try to explain that, by definition, you can only have one best friend, you will get a blank stare.)
I was amazed to discover Ellen making audio recordings of her short stories in Cain’t Do Nothing With Love and putting them up on line with the suggestion that you make donations to named charities instead of paying for the story. Do yourself a favor. Go listen, just to hear her voice.
Ellen has also led a group of homeless souls in Memphis to publish their stories in the recently released book Writing Our Way Home: A Group Journey Out of Homelessness.
Here is Ellen in her own words:
My life has been shaped by two very early events: I was born into the racism of the civil rights South, and I carry the grief of my daddy being killed by a train. Much of my writing carefully picks at the nuances of racism, and many of my stories involve the child trying to understand the space left by a missing parent. . . . I have also been known to appear in public in costumes.
Check in with Ellen’s web page and blog: Ellen Morris Prewitt, My Very Southern Voice.
Eye Glasses as street art at The Study in New Haven.
The Questions:
What am I working on at the moment?
Distracted Driving which is a comedy about a teenager with cancer who thinks her father killed himself. What? Yeah, that’s what I’m writing.
What’s more, my book which is being marketed right now — Ruby Clyde, aka Pieces of Love — is a comedy about a little girl whose mother is on death row in Texas. Go figure.
I’m sure my beloved agent has a much more appealing way of pitching my work but that’s my elevator pitch (God help me if I ever have to make an elevator speech.)
My shorter work lately has been creative non-fiction –– personal essays, some of which have been published and can be found here on my website. I started writing personal non-fiction after a wrong-headed cousin publicly accused me of impersonating my grandmother (who died in 1976) to steal some mineral leases. My name is the same as my grandmother, so it is quite impossible for me to do business in any other name, furthermore most of our cousins had the same mineral lease which garnered us a whooping $11.00. The whole thing was deliciously bizarre. Even more, it was the last straw in the annals of my long and strange family. I cried Uncle. Then I wrote Rightful Heirs, about southern delusions of grandeur, which was quickly followed by another essay and then others. Being the youngest, I was a voiceless child. I never got a word in edgewise, but no more. It was my turn. I said Move Over David Sedaris, and then let loose with the truth about the whole damn clan. Oddly enough, the more I wrote, the more I loved them all. They probably won’t feel the same way. Let’s just say I’m waiting to get sued but truth is truth and a complete defense.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Voice. I recently attended a public conversation between Connie Britton and Kirsten Gillibrand which was an event promoting Senator Gillibrand’s wonderful new book Off the Sidelines. In speaking of her career as an actress Connie Britton said that before she could become successful — then she raised one hand to stop herself — back tracked and restated that before she could even get a job she had to find her voice, find what she could bring to the table that nobody else had. My work differs because it is my voice, 100%.
Why do I write what I do?
Sadly, I’m learning things now that I should have learned when I was 15 years old. Not sure what I was doing when I was 15, but it is probably best that I don’t remember. I call that time the “lost years of Corabel.”
I have written law, legal briefs, even for the US Supreme Court. I have written non-fiction, instructionals, journalism, book reviews and humor. I have tried to write what I perceived to be successful genres, molding myself into a form I wished to be – dabbling in literary, mystery and even romance. Oh dear.
In time, I found my voice and now I write from there. Writing is hard enough without flopping around.
My thoughts on voice from a personal essay Between He and I:
While I had found my long lost voice years before, dusted it off, practiced blurting out, making mistakes, being vulnerable, being in love with myself in this crazy world, I always became voiceless again around you and the spider. It seemed to be the only way to be with you. And why not revisit the technique that saved us? I’ll tell you why not, because to kill a voice once is bad enough, to kill a voice after you have found it again is an unforgivable sin.
How does my writing process work?
First, and foremost, I glue myself to the chair. I write every day. My friend, Rory Bourke, an excellent song writer, works everyday without excuse. He says you have to write through the bad stuff to get to the good. Besides, if I go too long without writing, I get rustier than the Tin Man so it’s just not worth it.
When I start a new work, I will have dwelt on various persistent ideas, itches, I call them. You live and observe — things get under your skin, things that cry out to be untangled. Reynolds Price said that when he wrote he was explaining the world back to God. I love that. Why not shoot for God as your audience?
I usually kick into high gear when I name a character. Who knew nouns were so energetic? Verbs in coats. I don’t mean that my characters walk in and take over or any of that juju, I just mean that naming is powerful, concrete and somehow mobile. Worlds begin to crack open, for me. That’s why I wrote this line in a play – when there’s a name change in the Bible you know that God is about to let it rip.
Shortly after the election of 2012 I sat down and wrote this beginning:
If mother reads me Charlottes Web one more time I’m going to puke. So don’t call me Charlotte, even though that is—as they say—my Christian Name: Call me Charlie, or call me nothing; I don’t much care. I’m going to do most of the talking anyway.
Here’s another beginning which shot my story off like a rocket:
My name is Ruby Clyde Henderson and I am not stupid. What’s more, I look like a boy. So when I want, I tell them my name is Clyde, and when I don’t want, it’s Ruby. Some don’t even believe I’m a girl. It’s funny, people tell you not to lie, but they hardly ever want to hear the truth. If you try to tell it, they call you a liar. Liar, liar, pants on fire. But if you lie, they believe you.
Eventually I get a good first draft. After that I edit and re-write endlessly. I work with my writer’s group, an independent editor, and my agent. I give it time because, the work has to rest and rise and be punched down and kneaded to come into it’s own. Let’s face it, there are many many times in writing a novel that I believe it is finished, done, nothing on earth could make it better — and that is simply because my mind has given out. It is extremely difficult to rework something I love, I think it can’t be done. That’s when I need to enlist the help of trusted, gifted readers. And guess what!?!?! It wasn’t finished. The problem, the better choice was right there under my nose the whole time.
Now that I have answered the four questions, I’d love to hear from these writers:
Tea House Wisdom—on the road in Virginia
I met Rita at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and immediately declared that she was my friend. To my great fortune, she agreed. Rita is a generous writer and person on every level who inspires our group to keep on writing . Her website is a fountain of wisdom on politics and the American worker, books, movies, and writing. On top of all that, she is an animal lover and I can’t wait for her upcoming novel Kylie’s Ark: The Making of a Veterinarian.
About Rita, from her web page:
Rita Welty Bourke has published over forty works of fiction and non-fiction in literary magazines including The North American Review, Cimarron Review, Louisiana Literature, Shenandoah, Witness, and the Black Warrior Review. One of her stories, Gunnison Beach, has been included in an anthology entitled Naked compiled by Susan Zakin. Five have been nominated for Pushcart prizes. Her essay entitled “The Larry Brown Discovery Tour,” originally published in The Chattahoochee Review, appears in the online journal The Smart Set. . . . .
Rita Bourke is married to the songwriter, Rory Bourke, and has three daughters: Allyson, Kelley, and Leslie. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Sonja Yoerg and I share the Maria Carvainis Agency . When I created my web page, my agent told me to look at Sonja, because she really had the internet thing going. Indeed, not only is she an excellent writer, Sonja has successfully worked her way into every corner of social media. They love her out there. Her debut novel, House Broken, will be released in January 2015. Links to her other writing can be found here.
About Sonja, from her web page:
I’m a first-generation American, raised in Stowe, Vermont–a wonderful place to be a child. My father taught skiing and tennis. My mother had been a school teacher and encouraged my sister, my brother and me to read and read and read. It stuck.
As a teenager, I waitressed at the Trapp Family Lodge to earn my college tuition. Maria Von Trapp gave me a cuckoo clock for my sixteenth birthday!
Elizabeth Green also shares my agent, the insightful Elizabeth Copps at MCA. I am looking forward to her upcoming novel – The Last Great American Bookstore. The summary and excerpt is wonderfully funny, as is her other writing. Here’s a taste.
About Elizabeth from her website:
Elizabeth Green is from Upstate New York. Her early years were spent singing all over her home state, showing roosters at the county fair, learning the drums and playing soccer (poorly) on the boys’ team. Somewhere in there, she managed to squeeze in fiction writing almost every day. She now lives in Philadelphia
Elizabeth loves to write about people and all of the fascinating goals and dreams that they have. It all comes down to this: in acting, there was no character worth portraying if that character didn’t have any desires. She has taken this to her fiction in a big way. What motivates people? How far are they willing to go? If there is a spark of that somewhere, there is a story worth telling right under the surface. It sounds simple, and that’s a good thing.
October 10, 2014
September 16, 2014
Launch Party — Writing Our Way Home
Writing Our Way Home: A Group Journey Out of Homelessness is ready to launch!
Come to Caritas Village in Memphis, TN on Saturday September 20th @ 1:00 and buy a book (or two!). Meet the authors. Enjoy readings of excerpts from the book. Get your book signed by your favorite author (or all of them!). Fifteen authors have written an informative, heart-rending, laugh-out-loud book about their journey before, during, and after homelessness.
Please come (and invite all your friends!). Help us celebrate this great achievement and make the book a huge success!
August 16, 2014
Subverting Impressionable Minds
Picture Me Gone
By Meg Rosoff
G.P. Putnam & Sons 2013
Agent, Catherine Clarke, UK; Zoe Pagnamenta, US
Meg Rosoff defies categorization. You will find her books on the young adult shelf, but that doesn’t confine her writing to any one age group. Meg Rosoff writes with muscle as if she is writing for adults, clear minded, sophisticated and unconventional. Even more, each book she writes is unique: there is no recognizable Rosoff brand.
Her latest book Picture Me Gone was a 2013 finalist for the National Book Award, Young People’s Literature.
How to begin to introduce this story? A father daughter road trip. A miniature Sherlock Holmes. A mystery, a coming of age story, a travelogue. Well, for starters, Mila doesn’t mind being named after a dead dog. She’s extremely observant—can read the details in a room. She and her father, Gil, are planning to travel from London to the States to visit Gil’s best friend Matthew. BUT, Matthew has disappeared, leaving his wife, young child and dog. Mila and Gil decide to go the States as planned so that they can find Matthew.
Mila is the only child of late-married academics. Theirs is a very gentle, respectful, happy family. The mystery of Matthew is not at all happy. The more Mila observes, the more she discovers secrets, tragedies and despair. Matthew’s American home is a perfect launching point for Mila’s observations. The subsequent road trip with her father through upstate New York is fresh and revealing through British eyes. The search for Matthew becomes less mysterious, turns soft and slows: the real story becomes Gil’s past with Matthew and Mila’s relationship with her father. The story is never predictable, simple, or trite. All the complexities of disappointing adults is faced head-on. When Mila and Gil board the plane for home, we know they have been on a significant journey.
Meg Rosoff is the author of How I Live Now, Just In Case, What I Was, The Bride’s Farewell, There is No Dog and Moose Baby. She has been uninvited to participate in a panel at a Christian school and has said that she loves subverting impressionable minds. Her website has the best meme ever, titled “Secrets of a Successful Writer.” You have to see it to believe it.
Meg Rosoff was born in Boston, previously worked in advertising and currently writes and lives in London with her husband and daughter.
More Information and Interviews:
Meg Rosoff’s Website
The New York Times: Vanishing Acts: ‘Picture Me Gone,’ by Meg Rosoff
National Book Foundation: Interview with Meg Rosoff, 2013 National Book Award Finalist, Young People’s Literature
The Guardian: Meg Rosoff: ‘Writing is a Kind of Alchemy’ – Interview
Barnes & Noble: A Conversation with Meg Rosoff, Author of How I Live Now (In Theaters Today!)
School Library Journal: Somewhere between Childhood and Adulthood | A Conversation With Meg Rosoff
National Headlines: Meg Rosoff Q&A: ‘I like subverting impressionable minds ‘
