Laura Lee's Blog, page 4
March 22, 2012
Interview on Writing
An interview I did with the blog Wayward Things has just been posted.
It covers a lot of topics including researching non-fiction, the writing process, my favorite authors and my approach to theology as well as what music I would put under the end credits of the movie version of Angel if there ever were such a thing.
It covers a lot of topics including researching non-fiction, the writing process, my favorite authors and my approach to theology as well as what music I would put under the end credits of the movie version of Angel if there ever were such a thing.
March 16, 2012
Broke is Beautiful in China Too
I just received word that Broke is Beautiful has been published in China and I've received a request to do interviews with two Chinese publications. How interesting.
March 14, 2012
The Purpose of Epigrams
I initially posted this on my Tumblr blog, but I thought it might be of interest to Goodreads followers as it is related to the novel Angel and to fiction writing in general.
A couple of days ago I had the pleasure of attending the Plymouth Book Club in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the Plymouth United Church of Christ. I met some great people and we had a wonderful discussion of the novel Angel.
One of the questions that I was asked had to do with the epigrams that begin each of Angel’s chapters. Some people don’t like them and tend to skip them, which doesn’t bother me, and shouldn’t impact the understanding of the story much.
So why put them there?
I gave an answer to the question, but not a very good one. Rather than explaining why they were there, I talked about the process of finding them and deciding which illustrations to use. After the fact, I thought about this question a bit more and I have come up with a better answer.
This phenomenon is called Treppenwitz in German and l’esprit de l’escalier in French. Both expressions refer to finding the perfect rejoinder or answer the moment the other person has left the room. Writers are the masters of Treppenwitz. In fact, I have a theory that a large portion of literature is made up of the things writers thought of later and wished they had said at the time. They have their characters say it instead.
It can be difficult as a writer to articulate why you wrote something the way you did. This is not because you don’t know why you did it. Rather it is because finding the right words and style is more a matter of feeling than intellect.
I put the epigrams there because I felt they belonged there. That’s the short answer.
The longer answer, now that I have analyzed it, is this:
The novel Angel was inspired by Mount Rainier in Seattle. The mountain provides the spiritual center of the story. It was the image that I kept going back to in order to find the right feel for the events of the story. In the book club meeting we talked about some of the things the mountain represents in Angel.
It symbolizes the church and is tied into an internal church debate about whether or not to repair a crumbling steeple. The steeple is a man made mountain, designed to remind us of our smallness and humility in relation to divine forces.
It is also a symbol of natural forces that are of a scope that does not allow them be controlled through human will (as is the attraction the character Paul feels toward Ian).
The mountain also symbolizes the relationship of the protagonists. I consciously thought of Ian and Paul as being like the mountain, where heaven and earth meet, so Ian is earthy and Paul has his head a bit in the clouds. This shaped the characters and what makes them compatible.
The mountain symbolizes beauty and the fear that sometimes accompanies our experience of beauty. (Our experience of the mountain is one of of “beauty and terror” as the author Bruce Barcott wrote.) Thus as Paul discovers his attraction to Ian’s natural beauty, he is forced to face his fears. And like the dormant volcano that is Mount Rainier, the relationship has the potential to be destructive in the future.
The cycle of destruction and renewal that a volcano represents also ties into a theme of resurrection that is a subtext of the novel. It comes into the novel through Paul’s discussion of the mass with Ian, Ian’s participation in communion, and the new life direction that each finds through his relation to the other. (At the cost of the death of a previous way of existence.)
Finally, a volcano, so seemingly solid, is a reminder that everything beautiful is transitory and therefore we should remember to cherish it.
The mountain informed the story for me from the beginning and infuses every aspect of the story. It is the breath of the story. So I wanted it to remain a poetic presence. In the body of the narrative itself, however, I did not want to constantly refer to the mountain. Ian and Paul’s story is their story, not a metaphor.
The epigrams at the beginning of the chapter, however, ask the reader to back up for a moment and view the intimate and personal events of the story in light of universal truths, the types of truths that are difficult to articulate, but which can be discovered and felt by contemplating nature. It asks the reader to connect the specific to something that is, like Mount Rainier, larger than the story and its characters.
This is what I would have said at the book club if I’d been able to go off in a corner and write my reply. That might be a good way to interview authors in general, really.
A couple of days ago I had the pleasure of attending the Plymouth Book Club in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the Plymouth United Church of Christ. I met some great people and we had a wonderful discussion of the novel Angel.
One of the questions that I was asked had to do with the epigrams that begin each of Angel’s chapters. Some people don’t like them and tend to skip them, which doesn’t bother me, and shouldn’t impact the understanding of the story much.
So why put them there?
I gave an answer to the question, but not a very good one. Rather than explaining why they were there, I talked about the process of finding them and deciding which illustrations to use. After the fact, I thought about this question a bit more and I have come up with a better answer.
This phenomenon is called Treppenwitz in German and l’esprit de l’escalier in French. Both expressions refer to finding the perfect rejoinder or answer the moment the other person has left the room. Writers are the masters of Treppenwitz. In fact, I have a theory that a large portion of literature is made up of the things writers thought of later and wished they had said at the time. They have their characters say it instead.
It can be difficult as a writer to articulate why you wrote something the way you did. This is not because you don’t know why you did it. Rather it is because finding the right words and style is more a matter of feeling than intellect.
I put the epigrams there because I felt they belonged there. That’s the short answer.
The longer answer, now that I have analyzed it, is this:
The novel Angel was inspired by Mount Rainier in Seattle. The mountain provides the spiritual center of the story. It was the image that I kept going back to in order to find the right feel for the events of the story. In the book club meeting we talked about some of the things the mountain represents in Angel.
It symbolizes the church and is tied into an internal church debate about whether or not to repair a crumbling steeple. The steeple is a man made mountain, designed to remind us of our smallness and humility in relation to divine forces.
It is also a symbol of natural forces that are of a scope that does not allow them be controlled through human will (as is the attraction the character Paul feels toward Ian).
The mountain also symbolizes the relationship of the protagonists. I consciously thought of Ian and Paul as being like the mountain, where heaven and earth meet, so Ian is earthy and Paul has his head a bit in the clouds. This shaped the characters and what makes them compatible.
The mountain symbolizes beauty and the fear that sometimes accompanies our experience of beauty. (Our experience of the mountain is one of of “beauty and terror” as the author Bruce Barcott wrote.) Thus as Paul discovers his attraction to Ian’s natural beauty, he is forced to face his fears. And like the dormant volcano that is Mount Rainier, the relationship has the potential to be destructive in the future.
The cycle of destruction and renewal that a volcano represents also ties into a theme of resurrection that is a subtext of the novel. It comes into the novel through Paul’s discussion of the mass with Ian, Ian’s participation in communion, and the new life direction that each finds through his relation to the other. (At the cost of the death of a previous way of existence.)
Finally, a volcano, so seemingly solid, is a reminder that everything beautiful is transitory and therefore we should remember to cherish it.
The mountain informed the story for me from the beginning and infuses every aspect of the story. It is the breath of the story. So I wanted it to remain a poetic presence. In the body of the narrative itself, however, I did not want to constantly refer to the mountain. Ian and Paul’s story is their story, not a metaphor.
The epigrams at the beginning of the chapter, however, ask the reader to back up for a moment and view the intimate and personal events of the story in light of universal truths, the types of truths that are difficult to articulate, but which can be discovered and felt by contemplating nature. It asks the reader to connect the specific to something that is, like Mount Rainier, larger than the story and its characters.
This is what I would have said at the book club if I’d been able to go off in a corner and write my reply. That might be a good way to interview authors in general, really.
February 10, 2012
Top Ten Sex Positive Books
I would like to thank Shall Write for including Angel on its list of the Top Ten Sex Positive Books.
"Angel by Laura Lee is a novel that talks about desire and love as being independent of but naturally intertwined with sexual intimacy. Lee’s handling of characterization makes a sexual relationship that some might call unnatural feel like the most natural thing in the world."
"Angel by Laura Lee is a novel that talks about desire and love as being independent of but naturally intertwined with sexual intimacy. Lee’s handling of characterization makes a sexual relationship that some might call unnatural feel like the most natural thing in the world."
January 21, 2012
Shall Write Calls Angel Best Ebook of 2011
Thank you to the review site Shall Write for naming Angel the "Best ebook of 2011."
"The best ebook I’ve read this year was Angel by Laura Lee. It told a story that, at first glance, seems as impossible as Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain seemed. Lee manages to talk about religion without being preachy, about homosexuality without being political, and about life’s stages without being condescending. It’s an amazing read and one that I would highly recommend."
"The best ebook I’ve read this year was Angel by Laura Lee. It told a story that, at first glance, seems as impossible as Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain seemed. Lee manages to talk about religion without being preachy, about homosexuality without being political, and about life’s stages without being condescending. It’s an amazing read and one that I would highly recommend."
November 29, 2011
Latest Review of Angel
Top 2 Bottom Reviews had a nice review of Angel:
The beauty of this story is that it is unconventional in every way. It tackles several controversial themes including intergenerational relationships, homosexuality within religion, and the fluidity of sexual orientation. Initially Paul does not consider himself gay or even bisexual. I was impressed by the manner in which he discovered that love is love, and when this blessing occurs within one’s life, it truly is a gift from God... I was moved to tears throughout the story, and it reminded me of Brokeback Mountain. This is not to say that it is a light or easy read. It is heartbreaking actually, but very poignant. Ian is my favorite character. He is so flawed and yet so beautiful. He’s cute and charming and self-effacing. I understood how Paul fell in love with him. I think I fell in love with Ian myself...Of course, the villain in the story is homophobia, and it’s truly ugly. This aspect alone makes the book an emotional challenge. This is an amazing debut novel—well written and edited, inspiring, uplifting, and thought-provoking. I don’t hesitate to recommend it highly...Angel is a powerful story, one of the best reads I’ve enjoyed this year.
The beauty of this story is that it is unconventional in every way. It tackles several controversial themes including intergenerational relationships, homosexuality within religion, and the fluidity of sexual orientation. Initially Paul does not consider himself gay or even bisexual. I was impressed by the manner in which he discovered that love is love, and when this blessing occurs within one’s life, it truly is a gift from God... I was moved to tears throughout the story, and it reminded me of Brokeback Mountain. This is not to say that it is a light or easy read. It is heartbreaking actually, but very poignant. Ian is my favorite character. He is so flawed and yet so beautiful. He’s cute and charming and self-effacing. I understood how Paul fell in love with him. I think I fell in love with Ian myself...Of course, the villain in the story is homophobia, and it’s truly ugly. This aspect alone makes the book an emotional challenge. This is an amazing debut novel—well written and edited, inspiring, uplifting, and thought-provoking. I don’t hesitate to recommend it highly...Angel is a powerful story, one of the best reads I’ve enjoyed this year.
November 14, 2011
Ask Me Anything in My Dreamspinner Group Meet the Author Thread
Yesterday was had a nice talk in the Dreamspinner Group forum, where they launched a "meet the author" category.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/7...
Even though the official time is over, I hope you will join the conversation, especially if you've read the book. The only catch is that you have to join the Dreamspinner Press group to be able to post in the forum, but it's easy and free so why not?
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/7...
Even though the official time is over, I hope you will join the conversation, especially if you've read the book. The only catch is that you have to join the Dreamspinner Press group to be able to post in the forum, but it's easy and free so why not?
November 12, 2011
Join Me Tomorrow: Let's Talk Angel!
So here are all of the things I am doing tomorrow, and I hope you’ll be able to participate in some of it:
Early risers: listen to my interview tomorrow on Contours 8-9 AM on WNTI Public Radio http://www.wnti.org/ (I don’t think this is archived, so if you want to catch it, you’ll need to listen to the live stream.)
Then at 11 AM you can tune into Book and a Chat on Blog Talk Radio. The discussion is 1/2 hour long, and if you miss it, it will be archived.
Finally— and this is where I hope you’ll join in— from 1-6 PM on Goodreads in the Dreamspinner Press Group there will be a “meet the author” forum, you post your questions and I answer them. The thread will not be active until a few minutes before the conversation opens, so I can’t post it yet, but it will be in the Dreamspinner forum, and I would love all of the participation I can get.
Incidentally, it looks like I neglected to post here, but I have written another guest article on the site Book After Book.
The article is about using curiosity as a source of inspiration.
Early risers: listen to my interview tomorrow on Contours 8-9 AM on WNTI Public Radio http://www.wnti.org/ (I don’t think this is archived, so if you want to catch it, you’ll need to listen to the live stream.)
Then at 11 AM you can tune into Book and a Chat on Blog Talk Radio. The discussion is 1/2 hour long, and if you miss it, it will be archived.
Finally— and this is where I hope you’ll join in— from 1-6 PM on Goodreads in the Dreamspinner Press Group there will be a “meet the author” forum, you post your questions and I answer them. The thread will not be active until a few minutes before the conversation opens, so I can’t post it yet, but it will be in the Dreamspinner forum, and I would love all of the participation I can get.
Incidentally, it looks like I neglected to post here, but I have written another guest article on the site Book After Book.
The article is about using curiosity as a source of inspiration.
November 4, 2011
A Woman Writing As a Man: The Good Men Project
I have always enjoyed reading The Good Men Project and I am pleased to have an article of my own in the online magazine. You can read the whole article here. Here is a brief preview:
When you are sitting in front of your computer thinking, “What would a man do in this situation?” you are already a step removed from the character. Your character is not a representative of mankind, thinking man thoughts in a manly way. He’s Paul, and there are many unique things about him. Yes, his maleness is one, but he has a lot of notable personality quirks, any one of which may be much more defining in the given situation. He is introspective, spiritual; he shuts down when his emotions get too much for him; he doesn’t like spicy foods, and so on.
It’s like when I was first dating. I didn’t know what the whole thing was about, and I wanted to be better at it. So I got all these books that claimed they would help me figure men out. You know the ones, Mars and Venus and so on. You know what? They didn’t help because I wasn’t dating “men.” I was dating a specific man and the best way to relate to him was not to learn about males as a class and then extrapolate to him as an individual.
When you are sitting in front of your computer thinking, “What would a man do in this situation?” you are already a step removed from the character. Your character is not a representative of mankind, thinking man thoughts in a manly way. He’s Paul, and there are many unique things about him. Yes, his maleness is one, but he has a lot of notable personality quirks, any one of which may be much more defining in the given situation. He is introspective, spiritual; he shuts down when his emotions get too much for him; he doesn’t like spicy foods, and so on.
It’s like when I was first dating. I didn’t know what the whole thing was about, and I wanted to be better at it. So I got all these books that claimed they would help me figure men out. You know the ones, Mars and Venus and so on. You know what? They didn’t help because I wasn’t dating “men.” I was dating a specific man and the best way to relate to him was not to learn about males as a class and then extrapolate to him as an individual.
October 25, 2011
Join Me On Bi Talk Radio Tomorrow
I will be the guest on Bi Talk Radio tomorrow at 6 PM Eastern/5 PM Central time. You can follow this link to listen live: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bisocial...
It should also be archived afterwards.
It should also be archived afterwards.
