Steph Post's Blog, page 18
December 27, 2017
Lightwood on Writer Types List
Many thanks to the folks over at the Writer Types podcast for sharing Lightwood as a one of the "Best Reads of 2017." If you're not already listening to this awesome podcast which features interviews with some of the best authors in the business, you need to get on it right now. Cheers and Happy Reading!
December 22, 2017
Book Bites: Erica Wright, author of All the Bayou Stories End with Drowned
Book Bites: Short and Sweet Interview for Readers on the Go
Today, I have a interview for you with a crime writer/poet: Erica Wright. I've spoken with Wright previously about her most recent crime novel, The Granite Moth, but today Wright is stopping by to answer a few questions about her most recent poetry collection, the haunting, breathtaking All the Bayou Stories End with Drowned . Cheers!
"Wright's lyricism, the fantastic juxtapositions in her diction and imagery all give us an alternate vision of our national moment. Equal parts surreal, sinister, and sincere, this is a place you definitely want to visit. It might just be the kind of place you need to live in."—Jaswinder Bolina
What drew you to the genre you write in?
When I was evacuated from my building on September 11th, I had a copy of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets in my bag. It was the only classwork I thought to bring along because I naively assumed I would be returning to downtown Manhattan later that day. During the weeks I was displaced, there was a lot of waiting involved. Normally fast-paced New York City slowed to a crawl. Trains being stopped for bomb search squads. Long lines at the post office. Simple errands stretched to a whole afternoon. So I read and re-read Eliot and found comfort in lines like “Go, go, go said the bird: human kind / Cannot bear very much reality.”
The book as a whole, I’ll admit, was beyond my comprehension level but I still got so much out of its images and phrases. I became a poetry addict. In the months that followed, I read Anna Akhmatova, W. S. Merwin, Rita Dove. There was no real method to my reading list. Whatever someone recommended, I picked up. Eventually I started imitating my favorites, but it took me a few years before I found my own style, before I felt confident enough to say that I was actually writing poems, not just messing around.
Are there any writers you’re jealous of?
As a writer, I want to promote other writers as much as possible. There’s usually one poetry collection each year I sort of reserve for myself, though. I may post about it on social media, but I probably won’t review it or conduct an interview with the author because I just want to enjoy it, no strings attached. Does that count as jealousy? I sort of jealousy hoard it? I’m picturing myself as Golem here in case you need a visual. With that one book, I enjoy the poems without trying to articulate why. I suppose you could say that I read as a reader as a opposed to a writer. In 2015, it was Ada Limón’s Bright Dead Things. In 2016, Camille Rankine’s Incorrect Merciful Impulses. In 2017, Gabrielle Calvocoressi’s Rocket Fantastic. Next year? I’m not sure. Beth Bachmann has a new collection out in the fall, I believe, and I love her work.
Have you ever given up on a writing project?
I believe in the practice novel, that you have to write 70,000 words or so that you think will be a book but actually has more in common with training wheels. I have one of those about a whiskey taster whose sister goes missing. The year I lived in Gainesville, I tried to write a play about echolocation inspired by the annual Bat Festival in nearby Lubee. I imagined it as a serious drama, but let’s be real honest about that idea—it was going to be camp at best.
Did All the Bayou Stories End with Drowned have any alternate titles?
This book had the same title from the very beginning, but my first collection of poems—Instructions for Killing the Jackal—went through many incarnations. The only one I can remember is Throwing Matches Around, which I still love. But it’s a phrase from the Patty Griffin song “Icicles,” and I didn’t want to run into any copyright issues. Her lyric is “There's always someone throwing matches around,” and isn’t that true? How does Patty Griffin walk around with all that talent inside her? Shouldn’t it be visible under her skin, a sort of beacon for the rest of us to see?
What piece of your own writing are you most proud of?
Honestly? This book. The poems in All the Bayou Stories End with Drowned are my most honest. I’m embarrassed to say more.
Today, I have a interview for you with a crime writer/poet: Erica Wright. I've spoken with Wright previously about her most recent crime novel, The Granite Moth, but today Wright is stopping by to answer a few questions about her most recent poetry collection, the haunting, breathtaking All the Bayou Stories End with Drowned . Cheers!
"Wright's lyricism, the fantastic juxtapositions in her diction and imagery all give us an alternate vision of our national moment. Equal parts surreal, sinister, and sincere, this is a place you definitely want to visit. It might just be the kind of place you need to live in."—Jaswinder BolinaWhat drew you to the genre you write in?
When I was evacuated from my building on September 11th, I had a copy of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets in my bag. It was the only classwork I thought to bring along because I naively assumed I would be returning to downtown Manhattan later that day. During the weeks I was displaced, there was a lot of waiting involved. Normally fast-paced New York City slowed to a crawl. Trains being stopped for bomb search squads. Long lines at the post office. Simple errands stretched to a whole afternoon. So I read and re-read Eliot and found comfort in lines like “Go, go, go said the bird: human kind / Cannot bear very much reality.”
The book as a whole, I’ll admit, was beyond my comprehension level but I still got so much out of its images and phrases. I became a poetry addict. In the months that followed, I read Anna Akhmatova, W. S. Merwin, Rita Dove. There was no real method to my reading list. Whatever someone recommended, I picked up. Eventually I started imitating my favorites, but it took me a few years before I found my own style, before I felt confident enough to say that I was actually writing poems, not just messing around.
Are there any writers you’re jealous of?
As a writer, I want to promote other writers as much as possible. There’s usually one poetry collection each year I sort of reserve for myself, though. I may post about it on social media, but I probably won’t review it or conduct an interview with the author because I just want to enjoy it, no strings attached. Does that count as jealousy? I sort of jealousy hoard it? I’m picturing myself as Golem here in case you need a visual. With that one book, I enjoy the poems without trying to articulate why. I suppose you could say that I read as a reader as a opposed to a writer. In 2015, it was Ada Limón’s Bright Dead Things. In 2016, Camille Rankine’s Incorrect Merciful Impulses. In 2017, Gabrielle Calvocoressi’s Rocket Fantastic. Next year? I’m not sure. Beth Bachmann has a new collection out in the fall, I believe, and I love her work.
Have you ever given up on a writing project?
I believe in the practice novel, that you have to write 70,000 words or so that you think will be a book but actually has more in common with training wheels. I have one of those about a whiskey taster whose sister goes missing. The year I lived in Gainesville, I tried to write a play about echolocation inspired by the annual Bat Festival in nearby Lubee. I imagined it as a serious drama, but let’s be real honest about that idea—it was going to be camp at best.
Did All the Bayou Stories End with Drowned have any alternate titles?
This book had the same title from the very beginning, but my first collection of poems—Instructions for Killing the Jackal—went through many incarnations. The only one I can remember is Throwing Matches Around, which I still love. But it’s a phrase from the Patty Griffin song “Icicles,” and I didn’t want to run into any copyright issues. Her lyric is “There's always someone throwing matches around,” and isn’t that true? How does Patty Griffin walk around with all that talent inside her? Shouldn’t it be visible under her skin, a sort of beacon for the rest of us to see?
What piece of your own writing are you most proud of?
Honestly? This book. The poems in All the Bayou Stories End with Drowned are my most honest. I’m embarrassed to say more.
December 18, 2017
Best of the Best, Books
There are a lot of end of the year book lists going around (I've been honored to be on a few myself), but I've decided to do something a bit different this year. Usually I put out my "spectacular, amazing, add a few more adjectives to just how fantastic it is end of the year book list," but this has been a strange year, to say the least, so it seems fitting to change it up a bit. Perhaps because of all the stress (both in the world and in my own life), nostalgia has been creeping around the fringes of everything I've read this year. From starting the year out by re-reading the entire Harry Potter series, to spending months buried in Victorian and Edwardian literature, 2017 was about so much more than catching up on the next hot debut. Over at my "31 Days of Bookmas" post, I've been calling out fantastic books published in 2017, but on this list I'd like to showcase my "Best of the Best": the books that, regardless of whether they came out this year or five years ago, dug their hooks into me and refused to let go. Enjoy... and Happy Reading.
Best of the Best, Books
Best of the Best, Books
Lightwood in Spinetingler Magazine
I'm honored to say that Lightwood made not one, but two of the "Read & Appreciated 2017" lists over at Spinetingler Magazine. Many thanks to Paul J. Garth and Kent Gowran for including me on their lists and for writing such wonderful reviews of Lightwood. Cheers!
"Post has a style that is lyrical and direct at the same time, and her novel about the Cannon family of Florida and the bonds of blood hits every chord just right." -Kent Gowran
But the plot, though damn good, isn’t what makes this book special. It’s the air of dread Post fills the room with. The haunted Florida countryside sweats inside these pages, and Sister Tulah comes alive in ways that suggest more than a hint of cosmic-horror. -Paul J. Garth
"Post has a style that is lyrical and direct at the same time, and her novel about the Cannon family of Florida and the bonds of blood hits every chord just right." -Kent Gowran
But the plot, though damn good, isn’t what makes this book special. It’s the air of dread Post fills the room with. The haunted Florida countryside sweats inside these pages, and Sister Tulah comes alive in ways that suggest more than a hint of cosmic-horror. -Paul J. Garth
December 15, 2017
December 11, 2017
Lightwood on The Coil's Best Books of 2017 List
So many thanks to The Coil (Alternating Current Press) and Leah Angstman for including Lightwood in their "Best Books of 2017" List! Here's a snippet....
"Steph Post is the queen of Southern noir in a category largely dominated by men. She’s one of the standout voices of tough characters, thrilling crime sprees, and badass women in the genre, and Lightwood is no exception."
"Steph Post is the queen of Southern noir in a category largely dominated by men. She’s one of the standout voices of tough characters, thrilling crime sprees, and badass women in the genre, and Lightwood is no exception."
Lightwood on Bookriot's List
Many thanks to Bookriot (and Liberty Hardy) for including Lightwood in their "30 Books from the Beginning of the Year that Deserve Another Look" list!
December 6, 2017
Author Burnout...
Authors- feeling a little burned out by all the book promotion? This week I'm over at LitReactor writing about how to avoid the feeling of exhaustion and how to make promoting your work (sorta' kinda') fun. Enjoy!
10 Tips for Authors to Avoid Book Promotion Burnout LitReactor
10 Tips for Authors to Avoid Book Promotion Burnout LitReactor
December 1, 2017
31 Days of Bookmas!
31 days in December means 31 days of book recommendations! Each day I'll add a new book to the list- what better way to deal with holiday stress (I mean, joy...) than by celebrating fantastic authors and their books? Hopefully this will help out with some holiday shopping as well.... A win-win for everyone! Many cheers and happy reading!
December 1st: Where the Sun Shines Out by Kevin Catalona
December 1st: Where the Sun Shines Out by Kevin Catalona
