AWP recap + “Emergency Exit” published this month
Still bouncing back after AWP, but I had a great time in LA. So many things happened that made me grateful to be there, not least of which being that it’s always lovely meeting apt contributors in real life (this year, I met Kendra Fortmeyer, who is such a sweetheart), plus talking in person with writers and editors I’d only spoken to online (Cal Morgan, Jamie Mortara, Ray Shea, Kelly Luce), meeting new writers and hearing about their novels and comics and poems (Erin Judge, Mel Wells, Emily Carr), and seeing so many friends who are often quite far away (too many friends to name, but special thanks to Simeon Berry, who I see all the time, but who still accompanied me to Santa Monica and didn’t even get slightly miffed when we got stranded there, even though it was totally my fault—Sim, you’re a genuine trouper).
The guy who drove us to Santa Monica was hilarious. Once he found out we were writers, he said, “Yeah? Like what? Scripts? TV shows? Treatments?”
“No, no,” Sim said. “We’re literary.”
“Oh yeah? Like Hemingway when he was broke?”
“Carissa does some of that. And I write poetry, which has even less value.”
NB: Sim loves writing poems and does it very, very well. He also loves self-deprecation.
The driver wanted to hear about what I wrote, because “Everybody says they want novels. But nobody wants novels! Novels are too long! Filmmakers want short stories and novellas!” (Honest. This man truly said that.)
So, I told him about “Hacking and Packing,” and it reminded him of The Machinist, which Sim hadn’t seen, so I was explaining that it’s not really clear how reliable anything is in the film, but the stakes are high because of the plot, e.g., “There’s this kid who has a seizure and he starts foaming at the mouth,” which was when the driver said, “That happens in your story?”
“No. That happens in The Machinist.”
“I don’t want to hear about that! I’ve already seen it! I want to hear about your stuff!”
I was equally charmed and totally thrown off my his demands, so I told him about “Emergency Exit,” which is about a flight attendant who has sex with passengers while she’s at work (i.e., while the plane’s in the air). She does it because she’s trying to stop comparing herself to her coworker—and here’s where he stops me.
“That sounds great! I can see that! Like somebody takes a selfie for a souvenir, and then the jealous husband finds out, and then the jealous husband shows up on the plane, and then everybody gets in on the act! And there’s got to be some lesbian stuff.”
“Oh, I’ve got that covered. There’s plenty of lesbian stuff.”
Lesbian stuff. If I were said to have a brand, that might be it.
Speaking of “Emergency Exit,” I’m thrilled to say it’s due out from Working Titles this month! I got to spend some time with Emily Wojcik-Thurston, MR’s Managing Editor, at AWP, and she was super excited so I got super excited all over again. Cover art coming very soon. Keep your eyes peeled.
