Heather Duffy Stone's Blog, page 2
September 29, 2012
The red leaves are still on the trees, fall is still with us
A friend sent me this quote a few weeks ago from the Gospel of Thomas (I know nothing about Thomas or the Gnostic Gospels so this quote stands alone for me). This was near the beginning of my time here, and it's been holding space in my mind ever since...
"If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you.If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you."
I think, I hope, that each one of us has had moments or long stretches of time where this quote embodies our thoughts or feelings. For me, it's exactly right now. I'm nearing the end of my time here, at this particular first phase in this journey and so of course I'm wondering or recalling what I came here for and if I found it or achieved it and if there is anything I am supposed to be doing before I go. I don't know and I don't know are the answers but I also am not sure I care...
What I mean is, this experience has been deeply important, even if I can't define exactly why yet. None of us, or at least mostly none of us, ever take time to breathe. We don't take time to stop and to take care of ourselves and I hope I have done those things. Simply giving ourselves the space for breath and movement, and not just in the practice of yoga but in life, is such an easy thing to do and yet it can feel paralyzing. I feel a lot of pride and gratitude in having given myself that...
And yet, of course, there is the absolute insane restlessness that I feel too. What will I do next? Where will I live? Where will I work? Am I going to let myself have this year as I intended to have it, or will the anxiety of pushing toward the next thing and settling in to the next impossible to imagine phase be too all consuming? I am going back to New York for a few days before I move into the next month on Lake Champlain in the all familiar fall of apple pies and clear cold nights. And I'm scared of New York, I can't seem to leave it. It's a break-up and I keep going back to him over and over and I don't want to leave but I know it's the best thing for me. Though I can't help but think that it's the leaving that I need to bring forth what is within me... do you ever feel that way?
( I don't know if that question is rhetorical or not, I'd love if you answered it, but I certainly can't... and speaking of, thank you to those of you who are reading and especially those of you who are sending me gorgeous messages and comments. The love feels good.)
"If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you.If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you."
I think, I hope, that each one of us has had moments or long stretches of time where this quote embodies our thoughts or feelings. For me, it's exactly right now. I'm nearing the end of my time here, at this particular first phase in this journey and so of course I'm wondering or recalling what I came here for and if I found it or achieved it and if there is anything I am supposed to be doing before I go. I don't know and I don't know are the answers but I also am not sure I care...
What I mean is, this experience has been deeply important, even if I can't define exactly why yet. None of us, or at least mostly none of us, ever take time to breathe. We don't take time to stop and to take care of ourselves and I hope I have done those things. Simply giving ourselves the space for breath and movement, and not just in the practice of yoga but in life, is such an easy thing to do and yet it can feel paralyzing. I feel a lot of pride and gratitude in having given myself that...
And yet, of course, there is the absolute insane restlessness that I feel too. What will I do next? Where will I live? Where will I work? Am I going to let myself have this year as I intended to have it, or will the anxiety of pushing toward the next thing and settling in to the next impossible to imagine phase be too all consuming? I am going back to New York for a few days before I move into the next month on Lake Champlain in the all familiar fall of apple pies and clear cold nights. And I'm scared of New York, I can't seem to leave it. It's a break-up and I keep going back to him over and over and I don't want to leave but I know it's the best thing for me. Though I can't help but think that it's the leaving that I need to bring forth what is within me... do you ever feel that way?
( I don't know if that question is rhetorical or not, I'd love if you answered it, but I certainly can't... and speaking of, thank you to those of you who are reading and especially those of you who are sending me gorgeous messages and comments. The love feels good.)
September 22, 2012
Still looking for trustful surrender (and I ate chocolate today)
I'm not really sure what I'm doing. But there is a new moon and it is the first day of fall, so I suppose these things are natural. That is what I'll believe tonight. I spent the morning painting the walls in someone else's home today. I didn't mind doing it at all. In fact, I found it incredibly meditative and almost therapeutic. But, inevitably, as I cut across the fields to lunch, paint on my palms and in my hair, I couldn't help thinking, wow, I have nothing to paint, no kitchen in which to bake apple pie when I leave here, no shelf on which to place these new books, no refrigerator on which to tape a photo... all of this is on purpose of course. I created this space. But. It feels very strange. So I keep going back to this word I've been spending time with.
Pratipaksa. Essentially, stepping away from a situation in order to be able to see more clearly from another standpoint. I am all Pratipaksa on this first day of fall.
Also, A very important side note. I'd like to cut any comparisons to Elizabeth Gilbert off at the pass... just to be safe. Taking a year off, leaving New York, going to an ashram (albeit in Pennsylvania, not India, just to begin the many differences), writing a book-- all I'm afraid could invite unwelcome comparisons. So let me just say this: I do not have a bajillion dollar advance to write said book (in fact, I'll be thrilled if it sells at all), my travels and my book are not intertwined, Im writing a novel about a character who is not me, no self-help involved, a much younger boyfriend did not lead me to the ashram, Italy is not part of this story, and if I fall in love in a tropical paradise and sail off into the sunset at the end of this blog I will give you $100.
September 14, 2012
Seven days and one dessert
There is a sense of overwhelming discomfort I feel when people name me as a "writer"... it happens when I tell people I write, but for me there is a huge leap between the action and the title. Or maybe it's the title I'm uncomfortable with altogether. And then, when I'm introduced as such, do I need to justify it? I often say well no, actually, I'm a School Counselor. But now I can't say that... no, actually, I'm a person who likes to write and hopes to publish another book someday (okay, sooner than later) and I used to be a School Counselor, but I quit my job this summer and I'm not sure what I'll do next...
Or maybe I should just say sure, yes I'm a writer, and leave it at that.
This is one of the many hundreds of thoughts I've over-processed in the past seven days, while I've been in this completely unreal beautiful place
I am doing many things here, and I find that I don't want to go in to too much of what and why. I am spending time studying the philosophy of yoga and meditation, both the intellectual study, the physical practice, the lifestyle understanding. There is so much more to all of this than the Vinyasa Flow I've fallen in love with over the past few years, and while I feel fairly certain what I'm doing will enhance my physical practice (holy core work) the unexpected has been how much I have been thinking about my work as a counselor, and how deeply the study I am immersed in here will, I think, inform that work. So here's to being without expectations.
I am in a situation where I am meeting new people at each meal, settling in to time with people about whom I know nothing, and wondering how deeply to delve into their lives or let them into mine. My intention in being here, in this time, is of course to write, but it's also to take an inward focus, to step back from the safety of routine, and to learn the ever-illusive state of non-attachment in which yoga is so deeply rooted. But in the meantime, I have done two things that I have intended to do for months. I fixed the holes in my sweaters!
And I stopped stream-of-conscious-rambling and finally set out to begin plotting this novel that has been filling pages and pages and my brain. Good ole' index card plotting.
I have been without coffee, without wine, without my family and my best friends, without the morning routine of the G train and black coffee from Sage General Store and the hometown sounds of the B63 bus groaning down fifth avenue and the endless lines out my office door during Drop-Add. I miss these things in an almost physical way and I wonder what things will look like in October when I step out of this world (maybe almost exactly the same); but I've also been with sunrise yoga and Kale that is, I mean it, still warm from the garden in the sunlight, and the most beautiful walks. In fact this morning, coming around this pond, I thought, you don't have to decide anything right now. In fact, make sure to make no decisions. At least this week. Here's to making no decisions.
Or maybe I should just say sure, yes I'm a writer, and leave it at that.
This is one of the many hundreds of thoughts I've over-processed in the past seven days, while I've been in this completely unreal beautiful place
I am doing many things here, and I find that I don't want to go in to too much of what and why. I am spending time studying the philosophy of yoga and meditation, both the intellectual study, the physical practice, the lifestyle understanding. There is so much more to all of this than the Vinyasa Flow I've fallen in love with over the past few years, and while I feel fairly certain what I'm doing will enhance my physical practice (holy core work) the unexpected has been how much I have been thinking about my work as a counselor, and how deeply the study I am immersed in here will, I think, inform that work. So here's to being without expectations.
I am in a situation where I am meeting new people at each meal, settling in to time with people about whom I know nothing, and wondering how deeply to delve into their lives or let them into mine. My intention in being here, in this time, is of course to write, but it's also to take an inward focus, to step back from the safety of routine, and to learn the ever-illusive state of non-attachment in which yoga is so deeply rooted. But in the meantime, I have done two things that I have intended to do for months. I fixed the holes in my sweaters!
And I stopped stream-of-conscious-rambling and finally set out to begin plotting this novel that has been filling pages and pages and my brain. Good ole' index card plotting.
I have been without coffee, without wine, without my family and my best friends, without the morning routine of the G train and black coffee from Sage General Store and the hometown sounds of the B63 bus groaning down fifth avenue and the endless lines out my office door during Drop-Add. I miss these things in an almost physical way and I wonder what things will look like in October when I step out of this world (maybe almost exactly the same); but I've also been with sunrise yoga and Kale that is, I mean it, still warm from the garden in the sunlight, and the most beautiful walks. In fact this morning, coming around this pond, I thought, you don't have to decide anything right now. In fact, make sure to make no decisions. At least this week. Here's to making no decisions.
September 6, 2012
Packing... again
I've been staying with my friend Lena this week, in a neighborhood wedged between Carroll Gardens and Red Hook in Brooklyn. I woke up this morning and went out into the foggy humid air to get breakfast and found myself suddenly and completely swarmed by first day of school madness-- scooters and strollers, nannies and moms, dads and crossing guards, new shoes and new headbands and while I usually love this energy, am usually in the center of this energy, I couldn't wait to get my coffee and muffin and back to the safety of someone else's apartment.
And here is what I have to contend with
a month of living rolled and tucked inside this suitcase. I sit still as I can in front of the turning fan, wondering what I'll find besides cooler mountain air at the end of this day. Because in a few hours I board a bus at Port Authority (sort of perfect that it's a bus, a little bit of Greyhound nostalgia for 1993 journeys up and down New England) and I have little expectation about what I'll find at the other end besides some peace and some retreat at the American ashram where I'll live until October.
I am missing so many faces and voices that I haven't even left yet but I'm giddy, too, with my own kind of first day and anticipation.
And here is what I have to contend with
a month of living rolled and tucked inside this suitcase. I sit still as I can in front of the turning fan, wondering what I'll find besides cooler mountain air at the end of this day. Because in a few hours I board a bus at Port Authority (sort of perfect that it's a bus, a little bit of Greyhound nostalgia for 1993 journeys up and down New England) and I have little expectation about what I'll find at the other end besides some peace and some retreat at the American ashram where I'll live until October.
I am missing so many faces and voices that I haven't even left yet but I'm giddy, too, with my own kind of first day and anticipation.
September 3, 2012
The latest beginning
I am afraid of many, many things. Though as I get older and I live through more of them, I realize there isn't so much to be afraid of. Uncertainty, though, still has its own brand of terror for me. And yet I am beginning a year of it-- a year without a job or a home of my own or a plan or health insurance-- but in the moments when I stop to think about what's ahead of me or imagine what I can't picture or wonder how irresponsible I have become, I'm reminded that this uncertainty is something that I've been dreaming about since I can remember. And at least part of me felt brave enough to take the proverbial leap. So I'm leaping and, it seems, coming back to this blog to write all about it.
Though it has been more than three years since I last wrote here, all of these posts and stories are of course still just sitting patiently in inter-space and it only seemed fair that I come back and, something. What is it about crossroads, transitions, beginnings, that inspire us to reflect, and reflect in public no less? I don't have the answer. But I know that I left my job in June, my apartment, uprooted my roots, and in three days I'll leave Brooklyn, all to begin a year of new beginnings without a certain end in place or even an exact destination.
For a month at least I'll be at a place called the Himalayan Institute, without caffeine, but with morning meditation, yoga, service, and hiking trails blanketed in morning fog, apparently. And that from there I'll go places like Vermont and New Mexico, Oregon and South Carolina and that I'll finish writing a book, I hope, that starts like this...
He had been driving since Charleston, West Virginia and the back of his thighs were numb. Between his hands on the wheel and his right foot on the gas, his body floated invisible and weightless and the sun rose over corn fields and low mountains on either side of him. He’d lived everywhere but the two-lane thruways of New England still filled him with the nostalgia of other people’s histories.
And I will finally learn to stand on my head, because I'll stop being terrified of upside-down. And I'll write about it here. And maybe you'll check in with me. Because I'm not going back to school tomorrow, and that feels impossible and free and uncertain and sad and inspired, and some of the leaves are blowing off of the trees, and even turning red in southern Vermont, but I'm not going back to school.
Though it has been more than three years since I last wrote here, all of these posts and stories are of course still just sitting patiently in inter-space and it only seemed fair that I come back and, something. What is it about crossroads, transitions, beginnings, that inspire us to reflect, and reflect in public no less? I don't have the answer. But I know that I left my job in June, my apartment, uprooted my roots, and in three days I'll leave Brooklyn, all to begin a year of new beginnings without a certain end in place or even an exact destination.
For a month at least I'll be at a place called the Himalayan Institute, without caffeine, but with morning meditation, yoga, service, and hiking trails blanketed in morning fog, apparently. And that from there I'll go places like Vermont and New Mexico, Oregon and South Carolina and that I'll finish writing a book, I hope, that starts like this...
He had been driving since Charleston, West Virginia and the back of his thighs were numb. Between his hands on the wheel and his right foot on the gas, his body floated invisible and weightless and the sun rose over corn fields and low mountains on either side of him. He’d lived everywhere but the two-lane thruways of New England still filled him with the nostalgia of other people’s histories.
And I will finally learn to stand on my head, because I'll stop being terrified of upside-down. And I'll write about it here. And maybe you'll check in with me. Because I'm not going back to school tomorrow, and that feels impossible and free and uncertain and sad and inspired, and some of the leaves are blowing off of the trees, and even turning red in southern Vermont, but I'm not going back to school.
July 23, 2009
Summer Debut Authors
Once again I find myself playing catch-up on Debut author interviews... these six ladies are bringing you books about beauty pageants and mystery, faeries and time travel, family and loss. Whatever your reading desires, I'm certain you can find them in this list, and the Same 5 Questions...
I have a bit of a writer crush on Sarah Ockler. She is one of the nicest people in the world. She is funny and she is a WRITER. I mean it. Twenty boy Summer is the kind of book I want to read (and write). Buy it here.
1. What is your preferred writing brain food?
Coffee. Not really a food but if they sold it in chewables, I'd be all over it! I also love chocolate dipped in peanut butter, but that tends to make a mess of things on the keyboard.
2. What is the soundtrack to your debut novel?
California Stars by Wilco. That pretty much says it all for Anna and Frankie and their summer of twenty boys!
3. Describe your perfect writing space.
I love my current writing space - it's perfect! I finally got my own home office this year, and my favorite husband built me a desk to go with my shelves. I love being surrounded by books -- all of my old favorites and an ever-growing collection of YA titles -- it inspires me. I also have pictures of my loved ones, trips I've taken, and my collection of sea glass. I just need a few more photos and a funky purple carpet, and I'll be all set! Okay, so I wouldn't say no to an ocean or mountain view, but that's just not going to happen in Buffalo, NY. :-)
4. Tell us about one of the secondary characters in your debut novel. How did he/she come to life?
Jayne Perino, Frankie and Matt's mom. She's not related to the main character, Anna, but the families are so close that Anna calls her Aunt Jayne. She was one of my favorite and most difficult characters to develop. Her teenage son dies, and her grief is so impossible and raw and at times all-encompassing, yet somehow, she finds a way to get out of bed each day. And though her mothering took a back seat in the months following her son's death, she truly loves her daughter Frankie, and I love how she tries so hard to come back into Frankie and Anna's lives on their California trip. Aunt Jayne came to life in my mind through many broken-hearted moms I've met over the years; all who have loved and lost and still found a way to keep going. We only get to see a small part of Aunt Jayne in TWENTY BOY SUMMER, through the eyes of Anna, but it's an important part and I loved writing her character.
5. What did/will you do on your launch day?
I don't know yet. Is that bad? I hope to be in NYC, but as long as I'm with my husband, I'll be good. :-) Maybe a little celebratory ice cream and champagne, wherever we are!
I'm especially excited about Mandy Hubbard's Prada and Prejudice right now because I get to meet Mandy this weekend, and do a signing with her... she came all the way from Washington! Also, you may know this already, but Abigail Breslin is reading Mandy's book right now.
1. Diet Coke. Lots and lots of Diet Coke. Gummy Bears or Blowpops when I remember to pick them up!
2. I can't list all the songs without making it obvious what happens later, but in the opening chapter, "SEE YOU AGAIN" by Miley Cyrus fits my character. One of the lines in the song is: "The last time I freaked out, i just kept looking down, I st-st-stuttered when you asked me what I'm thinking bout, felt like I couldn't breathe, you asked what's wrong with me, my best friend leslie said-- oh she's just bieng Miley."
That is definitely the person Callie is in chapter 1!
3. My perfect writing space is my office at home, on a day when it's completley pouring outside so I don't want to be out there (sunny days are just horrid for writing) and no one is around to interupt me, and I have lots of soda and candy.
4. Victoria is a middle-aged Duchess, and the mother to Callie's love interest. It wasn't until the very last round of editing that I really came to understand her--and it was due to a seemingly unrelated plot change! I can't say much without spoiling it, but I hope readers will get to know Victoria in a whole new light by the end of the novel.
5.I'm going to drive around to bookstores and look for my book, and maybe sign some stock if they will let me and not kick me out of the store. :-)
Cynthia Liu has not one but TWO books coming out this year. And she is in charge of the amazing Author's Now site... Paris Pan Takes the Dare is available here.
1. What is your preferred writing brain food?
Diet Dr. Pepper and Snickers bars (together!).
2. What is the soundtrack to your debut middle grade novel PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE?
A Simple Plan's "Welcome to my Life"
"Unwritten" by Natasha Beddingfield
"This One's for the Girls" by Martina McBride
"Man, I feel like a Woman" by Shania Twain
3. Describe your perfect writing space.
I can write practically anywhere. But I always dream of a cabin in Maine, snow outside, and Bambi-esque deer outside my window.
4. Tell us about one of the secondary characters in your debut novel. How did he/she come to life?
Mayo is the embodiment of every mean-girl I ever did meet in elementary school and junior high. She does just enough to break people down without other people noticing.
5. What did you do on your launch day?
I wanted to bring PARIS PAN out in a way that really fit the book and who I am as an author. It's called Take the Dare: Show You Care. As a result of the PARIS PAN launch party, we raised $15,000 for a Title I school in Tulakes Oklahoma. The party rocks on at www.cynthealiu.com. Latecomers are always welcome!
I have a bit of a writer crush on Sarah Ockler. She is one of the nicest people in the world. She is funny and she is a WRITER. I mean it. Twenty boy Summer is the kind of book I want to read (and write). Buy it here.
1. What is your preferred writing brain food?
Coffee. Not really a food but if they sold it in chewables, I'd be all over it! I also love chocolate dipped in peanut butter, but that tends to make a mess of things on the keyboard.
2. What is the soundtrack to your debut novel?
California Stars by Wilco. That pretty much says it all for Anna and Frankie and their summer of twenty boys!
3. Describe your perfect writing space.
I love my current writing space - it's perfect! I finally got my own home office this year, and my favorite husband built me a desk to go with my shelves. I love being surrounded by books -- all of my old favorites and an ever-growing collection of YA titles -- it inspires me. I also have pictures of my loved ones, trips I've taken, and my collection of sea glass. I just need a few more photos and a funky purple carpet, and I'll be all set! Okay, so I wouldn't say no to an ocean or mountain view, but that's just not going to happen in Buffalo, NY. :-)
4. Tell us about one of the secondary characters in your debut novel. How did he/she come to life?
Jayne Perino, Frankie and Matt's mom. She's not related to the main character, Anna, but the families are so close that Anna calls her Aunt Jayne. She was one of my favorite and most difficult characters to develop. Her teenage son dies, and her grief is so impossible and raw and at times all-encompassing, yet somehow, she finds a way to get out of bed each day. And though her mothering took a back seat in the months following her son's death, she truly loves her daughter Frankie, and I love how she tries so hard to come back into Frankie and Anna's lives on their California trip. Aunt Jayne came to life in my mind through many broken-hearted moms I've met over the years; all who have loved and lost and still found a way to keep going. We only get to see a small part of Aunt Jayne in TWENTY BOY SUMMER, through the eyes of Anna, but it's an important part and I loved writing her character.
5. What did/will you do on your launch day?
I don't know yet. Is that bad? I hope to be in NYC, but as long as I'm with my husband, I'll be good. :-) Maybe a little celebratory ice cream and champagne, wherever we are!
I'm especially excited about Mandy Hubbard's Prada and Prejudice right now because I get to meet Mandy this weekend, and do a signing with her... she came all the way from Washington! Also, you may know this already, but Abigail Breslin is reading Mandy's book right now.
1. Diet Coke. Lots and lots of Diet Coke. Gummy Bears or Blowpops when I remember to pick them up!
2. I can't list all the songs without making it obvious what happens later, but in the opening chapter, "SEE YOU AGAIN" by Miley Cyrus fits my character. One of the lines in the song is: "The last time I freaked out, i just kept looking down, I st-st-stuttered when you asked me what I'm thinking bout, felt like I couldn't breathe, you asked what's wrong with me, my best friend leslie said-- oh she's just bieng Miley."
That is definitely the person Callie is in chapter 1!
3. My perfect writing space is my office at home, on a day when it's completley pouring outside so I don't want to be out there (sunny days are just horrid for writing) and no one is around to interupt me, and I have lots of soda and candy.
4. Victoria is a middle-aged Duchess, and the mother to Callie's love interest. It wasn't until the very last round of editing that I really came to understand her--and it was due to a seemingly unrelated plot change! I can't say much without spoiling it, but I hope readers will get to know Victoria in a whole new light by the end of the novel.
5.I'm going to drive around to bookstores and look for my book, and maybe sign some stock if they will let me and not kick me out of the store. :-)
Cynthia Liu has not one but TWO books coming out this year. And she is in charge of the amazing Author's Now site... Paris Pan Takes the Dare is available here.
1. What is your preferred writing brain food?
Diet Dr. Pepper and Snickers bars (together!).
2. What is the soundtrack to your debut middle grade novel PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE?
A Simple Plan's "Welcome to my Life"
"Unwritten" by Natasha Beddingfield
"This One's for the Girls" by Martina McBride
"Man, I feel like a Woman" by Shania Twain
3. Describe your perfect writing space.
I can write practically anywhere. But I always dream of a cabin in Maine, snow outside, and Bambi-esque deer outside my window.
4. Tell us about one of the secondary characters in your debut novel. How did he/she come to life?
Mayo is the embodiment of every mean-girl I ever did meet in elementary school and junior high. She does just enough to break people down without other people noticing.
5. What did you do on your launch day?
I wanted to bring PARIS PAN out in a way that really fit the book and who I am as an author. It's called Take the Dare: Show You Care. As a result of the PARIS PAN launch party, we raised $15,000 for a Title I school in Tulakes Oklahoma. The party rocks on at www.cynthealiu.com. Latecomers are always welcome!
June 6, 2009
Leaving them behind
I am deep in the middle of my novel-in-progress, What He Left Behind, which means I have finally found a way to let the characters of TIWIWTTY go and spend time with some new characters in my head. On the page. It is exhilarating to be in a new book but, there is something devastating about leaving characters behind, not knowing where they ended up. I recently read a really wonderful book of poems called The Pajamaist by Matthew Zapruder. There is a series in here called 'Twenty Poems for Noelle' and I find such solace in reading them. I imagine this is *my* Noelle, a little bit grown up, and now I know where she is. I find relief in knowing that she is okay, that someone else loved her with the same sort of desperate sadness that she loved Parker. Is that silly? It does make me feel better. Here is one poem for Noelle, according to Matthew Zapruder.
Night, one hears sounds
under the pavement,
something is always
being repaired, under
the red painted table
that Aztec Camera
tape lies where it fell,
its label with drawings
in pencil of little flowers,
Noelle were you ever cool,
that is aware that somehow
not to be aware is the only
lasting form of awareness,
you live in Brooklyn,
a green hexagon
floats above your head, now
everyone sees it, my problem
is I would like to be there
some kind of preferably
gentle sorting without me.
Night, one hears sounds
under the pavement,
something is always
being repaired, under
the red painted table
that Aztec Camera
tape lies where it fell,
its label with drawings
in pencil of little flowers,
Noelle were you ever cool,
that is aware that somehow
not to be aware is the only
lasting form of awareness,
you live in Brooklyn,
a green hexagon
floats above your head, now
everyone sees it, my problem
is I would like to be there
some kind of preferably
gentle sorting without me.
June 5, 2009
Debut Author Extravaganza
Last weekend authors, booksellers, writers, book lovers descended upon new York for the annual Book Expo America (fondly known as BEA). I did not take part in the festivities... mostly because I was still trying to recover from sleep lost at a beautiful Roman wedding and a New England tour of colleges, complete with three charter buses and 150 16 year olds (these are stories for another time). I did, however, get to have lunch with fellow debut authors Shani Petroff and Megan Crewe and it was perfect to come home to New York for eggs and bacon with some of the debut authors who have made this year what it is... and SPEAKING of debut authors. Here are four more to add to your list.
This cover rocks and Sarah Cross is quite amazing and Dull Boy, I know, is the next big thing in boy superheroes. Buy it here.
1. For Dull Boy it was a lot of green tea & chocolate. Other necessary fuel: good books & comics to stay inspired, and lots of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance sessions. ( http://marvelultimatealliance.marvel.... ) Destroying digital barrels while you pretend to be Wolverine is good for the soul.
2. I actually posted a Dull Boy playlist here: http://sarahcross.livejournal.com/906...
Top picks: "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath, "It's not my time" by 3 Doors Down, and "Umbrella" (any version will do).
3. Open, well lit, somewhat quiet, not freezing.
4. My general rule with secondary characters is to remember that *this* character could be someone's favorite. So I never want to give the secondary characters short shrift; I want them to be just as essential and interesting as the main character. They all have something at stake, too.
5. Stalk my book until I finally see it in the wild. And then maybe get ice cream.
Since she is already a New York Times Bestseller, Aprilynne Pike may need no introduction here. But there are still some things you may not know about her! Buy her book here.
1. What is your preferred writing brain food?
Has everyone else said chocolate already? How about salt and vinegar potato chips.:)
2. What is the soundtrack to your debut novel?
My children playing (and hopefully not screaming) in the back ground. I rarely listen to music while I write because I find myself typing the lyrics. LOL! I have, however, been listening to the Broadway musical Wicked a lot lately and find it very inspiring.
3. Describe your perfect writing space.
Comfy chair, nice light-colored desk, one cup of tea and one can of diet root beer at one hand, and a snack at the other. The door is closed and the overhead fan is one, giving me a nice light breeze. Mmmmmm . . . .
4. Tell us about one of the secondary characters in your debut novel. How did he/she come to life?
I have this secondary character named Chelsea and when I first started writing her I gave her the quirk of basically being very blunt and saying whatever came into her head. This was so fun and refreshing that in every scene I wrote with her it was like, "Hmmm, what would Chelsea say about this or that." And it became almost like a game. And now she is the character that som many of my readers relate to.
5. What did/will you do on your launch day?
I was on tour on my launch day so I didn't really have much control over my schedule, but I did go over to the Borders across from my hotel and saw my very first floor display! I also had a very lovely dessert at dinner that night!
Thanks!!!
I haven't read this one yet, but I can't wait to. Not only beacuse I've heard amazing things about it, but also because C. Lee Mackenzie is the kind of writing whose generosity and warmth makes you want to just know more about her.
Danielle Joseph and I are Flux-mates. But her first book, Shrinking Violet, came out with MTV this spring, joining the world just about the same time as her beautiful new daughter.
1. What is your preferred writing brain food?
Gimme chocolate!
2. What is the soundtrack to your debut novel?
I have a play list up on my web site, check it out, www.daniellejoseph.com
3. Describe your perfect writing space.
My office when it is very clean or my laptop on the coffee table in the family room.
4. Tell us about one of the secondary characters in your debut novel. How did he/she come to life? Audrey is Tere's best friend. She came to life early on because everyone needs a loyal best friend that you can just be yuorself with.
5. What did/will you do on your launch day? I plan to go to my local Borders and wave to my book on the shelf. It better be there:)!
This cover rocks and Sarah Cross is quite amazing and Dull Boy, I know, is the next big thing in boy superheroes. Buy it here.
1. For Dull Boy it was a lot of green tea & chocolate. Other necessary fuel: good books & comics to stay inspired, and lots of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance sessions. ( http://marvelultimatealliance.marvel.... ) Destroying digital barrels while you pretend to be Wolverine is good for the soul.
2. I actually posted a Dull Boy playlist here: http://sarahcross.livejournal.com/906...
Top picks: "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath, "It's not my time" by 3 Doors Down, and "Umbrella" (any version will do).
3. Open, well lit, somewhat quiet, not freezing.
4. My general rule with secondary characters is to remember that *this* character could be someone's favorite. So I never want to give the secondary characters short shrift; I want them to be just as essential and interesting as the main character. They all have something at stake, too.
5. Stalk my book until I finally see it in the wild. And then maybe get ice cream.
Since she is already a New York Times Bestseller, Aprilynne Pike may need no introduction here. But there are still some things you may not know about her! Buy her book here.
1. What is your preferred writing brain food?
Has everyone else said chocolate already? How about salt and vinegar potato chips.:)
2. What is the soundtrack to your debut novel?
My children playing (and hopefully not screaming) in the back ground. I rarely listen to music while I write because I find myself typing the lyrics. LOL! I have, however, been listening to the Broadway musical Wicked a lot lately and find it very inspiring.
3. Describe your perfect writing space.
Comfy chair, nice light-colored desk, one cup of tea and one can of diet root beer at one hand, and a snack at the other. The door is closed and the overhead fan is one, giving me a nice light breeze. Mmmmmm . . . .
4. Tell us about one of the secondary characters in your debut novel. How did he/she come to life?
I have this secondary character named Chelsea and when I first started writing her I gave her the quirk of basically being very blunt and saying whatever came into her head. This was so fun and refreshing that in every scene I wrote with her it was like, "Hmmm, what would Chelsea say about this or that." And it became almost like a game. And now she is the character that som many of my readers relate to.
5. What did/will you do on your launch day?
I was on tour on my launch day so I didn't really have much control over my schedule, but I did go over to the Borders across from my hotel and saw my very first floor display! I also had a very lovely dessert at dinner that night!
Thanks!!!
I haven't read this one yet, but I can't wait to. Not only beacuse I've heard amazing things about it, but also because C. Lee Mackenzie is the kind of writing whose generosity and warmth makes you want to just know more about her.
Danielle Joseph and I are Flux-mates. But her first book, Shrinking Violet, came out with MTV this spring, joining the world just about the same time as her beautiful new daughter.
1. What is your preferred writing brain food?
Gimme chocolate!
2. What is the soundtrack to your debut novel?
I have a play list up on my web site, check it out, www.daniellejoseph.com
3. Describe your perfect writing space.
My office when it is very clean or my laptop on the coffee table in the family room.
4. Tell us about one of the secondary characters in your debut novel. How did he/she come to life? Audrey is Tere's best friend. She came to life early on because everyone needs a loyal best friend that you can just be yuorself with.
5. What did/will you do on your launch day? I plan to go to my local Borders and wave to my book on the shelf. It better be there:)!
June 3, 2009
This Is What I'm thinking about right now
lying on this beach and writing stories in a notebook. With a pen.
Summer here I come.
May 13, 2009
Phoenix. The silver kind.
Cindy Pon's debut novel, Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia is getting a ton of attention and I'm so excited to interview her here. I haven't had the chance to read it yet, but I know she is a generous, dedicated, innovative writer and just check out this beautiful cover.
For Cindy, the same 5...
1. What is your preferred writing brain food?
pastries!
2. What is the soundtrack to your debut novel?
reality bites soundtrack.
3. Describe your perfect writing space.
lots of light. loads of shelves. a huge desk for writing and painting. ergonomically correct! a room with a view.
4. Tell us about one of the secondary characters in your debut novel. How did he/she come to life?
li rong. he's chen yong's little brother. i really love him as he makes me laugh. and is just a huge flirt, but has a good heart. he added the touch of lightness that we needed in a very difficult journey.
5. What did/will you do on your launch day?
gosh. i plan on holding a big contest on my blog. i'll probably be fretting and surfing aimlessly.
Buy Cindy's book here and visit her here.
For Cindy, the same 5...
1. What is your preferred writing brain food?
pastries!
2. What is the soundtrack to your debut novel?
reality bites soundtrack.
3. Describe your perfect writing space.
lots of light. loads of shelves. a huge desk for writing and painting. ergonomically correct! a room with a view.
4. Tell us about one of the secondary characters in your debut novel. How did he/she come to life?
li rong. he's chen yong's little brother. i really love him as he makes me laugh. and is just a huge flirt, but has a good heart. he added the touch of lightness that we needed in a very difficult journey.
5. What did/will you do on your launch day?
gosh. i plan on holding a big contest on my blog. i'll probably be fretting and surfing aimlessly.
Buy Cindy's book here and visit her here.
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