Sara Dobie Bauer's Blog, page 26

In Memory of Barney Schwind

Barney Schwind is dead: the man known across the Toledo area as “The TV Repair Man.” He wasn’t known to me as that. I called him “Papa.”

Saturday night, October 5, Papa passed on. For years, we watched him lose weight, lose his appetite. We watched him physically shrink, the man he used to be shed like clothing on the floor. Yet, despite old age and dementia, he was still Papa, who loved gin and tonics, always had Tic Tacs in his pocket, and did magic tricks with pieces of tissue paper.

Papa n...

“Two Dates” Featured in Sliptongue Magazine

My short story, “Two Dates,” has just been published by Sliptongue Magazine. Read an excerpt below, and follow the LINK for the full story. Warning: MATURE CONTENT.

Two Dates (excerpt)

by Sara Dobie Bauer

“Can I help you gentlemen?”

The ginger stood, and God, was he tall. She leaned her upper body back and gave him a funny look.

“We’re very sorry to interrupt your …” He pointed his finger toward the crowd of women. “Uh …”

“Blow job workshop.”

The ginger closed his dark blue eyes and said, “Right. Ye...

Back in Black

When I was a depressive teenager, my parents hated the black I wore—even my hair. I remember I once snuck out of the house with black eyeliner on, and when my mom finally noticed, she freaked. Granted, I probably looked like a raccoon. That black eyeliner was the first makeup I ever wore.

As an adult, I look back and laugh, because now, those things that made me creepy and “troubled” as a teen have become my trademark. I wear black eyeliner every day, usually paired with dark purple lipstick....

Something about a Ghost

This is not me. But it’s kind of how I feel right now.

Two months.

94,000 words.

Blood. Sweat. A lot of listening to Amanda Palmer.

And folks, we have a completed novel.

I present … to no one but myself (for now) … Something about a Ghost.

Buy hey, until I’m ready to send the manuscript to first readers, listen to the song I listened to while writing the final scene.

And remember: “If I love you, it’s not because a ghost made me do it, but because you did.”

Everything Ends

As I near the completion of another novel (Something about a Ghost), my feelings are mixed. I’m excited at the prospect of completing a new project—a land speed record for me, a novel in two months. This year, every novel I write finishes faster. In time, I might be Ray Bradbury, locked away in a basement, writing Fahrenheit 451 in four days.

Each time I finish a novel, there is a forty-eight hour period of celebration. Following the celebration comes the depression, the mourning. By completi...

Why Don’t I Like Ernest Hemingway?

I finished reading The Paris Wife recently for my prison book club. The Paris Wife is the story of Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley, and her experience as his spouse while living as a member of The Lost Generation in Paris. The book was excellent: beautifully written, honest, and terribly tragic (as we all know how their relationship ends …). Because of The Paris Wife, I decided it was time to revisit Ernest Hemingway. And God help me.

I decided to pick up The Sun Also Rises, because the bull fi...

The Soundtrack to “Life without Harry”

Do you listen to music when you create? As a writer, I must say I do not, but I know Stephen King has a penchant for hard rock and metal bands when he writes. What about painters? Sculptors? Dancers don’t count, because you obviously listen to music when you create.

Artists out there: what does music mean to you?

I only ask because I’d like to know I’m not alone. See, every time I start a new book, I slowly develop the movie soundtrack. I’m a geek, right? Like, totally, but for real: every book...

I’m a Princess

The Narrows, Zion National Park.

Our last week was spent hiking and camping, immersed in nature. Joined by two of our best pals from out east, Jake and I trekked through Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, and the Grand Canyon. We survived two nights of camping at Zion, the first of which involved a bear scare (turned out to be nothing). The second night, the apocalypse descended by way of a thunderstorm that could wake Rip Van Winkle. There was very little showering, less sleep, and miles—hours...

So What if I Want to Show My Boobs?

I’ve never considered the flashing of breasts to be criminal. If the police at Ohio University, circa 2001, considered the flashing of breasts criminal, I would probably still be in prison. For the next ten years. But I learned something new this past Saturday on the Salt River: showing your boobs in public is, in fact, a ticketed offense—and the cops were ready and waiting.

In the defense of the young ladies flashing their goods, it was “Mardi Gras Weekend” on the Salt River, and by God, what...

The Longings of Wayward Girls by Karen Brown

You can’t judge a book by its cover. Unless the book is The Longings of Wayward Girls. The cover is mysterious, beautiful, and it pulls you in. So does the book—even more so than the brilliant cover.

Deviant things always happen in the suburbs, right? So in Wayward Girls, it’s a perfect New England summer when Sadie’s trouble begins. She is a precocious only child on the edge of adolescence—on the edge of becoming a woman, although she’s already curious about “womanly things:” boys, in particu...