Afraid to See The Hunger Games
I know I’m going to see it. Probably this weekend. But I’m afraid. The book disturbed me so much when I first read it that I’m reluctant to put myself through that again. That’s the main reason why I’m afraid to go: true pure cowardice.
The second reason is my fear of erasure. When I see a film version of a book I love, it superimposes images over the powerful, individual ones I have imagined, and they are erased forever. I can’t find my… Continue reading
Losing Tempers, Mine and Hers
I’m revising a scene today in which Gaia loses her temper. I don’t like losing my temper. It makes me unjust and unable to think clearly. I fight not to say hurtful things I’ll regret and yet I also want to be honest about my rage. In the moment, I want to lash out, and since only people I love have the ability to truly make me furious, they’re my targets.
Since I don’t like myself when I’m in a flare of anger, I don’t like… Continue reading
The Inchoate, Fragile, and Strange
Starting a new book is an exciting time of discovery, but also a solitary one, at least for me. I’ve had several kind friends ask me lately what I’m working on. It feels impolite to say I can’t really talk about it, like I’m holding out or I don’t trust them, but distrust is not why I don’t talk about my ideas.
The problem is that the ideas themselves are so fragile and shifting that by trying to summarize them into something coherent, I’m changing what they are.… Continue reading
Boys in Packs
A perk of writing from home is being here when my son comes home from half-days of school with his high school friends. I’m usually in the other room, out of the fray, but I like to pop into the kitchen to say “Hi!” It’s not a bad idea to know who is in my house.
I can’t help noticing certain things about teenage boys in packs:
They tend buy provisions on the way over in case the house is short on key foodstuffs: grape pop, root beer,… Continue reading
Doubling Up
Novels on the Dock
I usually work on one book at a time, but now something else is happening and I feel like I’m cheating on myself. It’s the strangest thing. I recently started a novel I’ll call Rainy Roof, and it completely engrossed me. I loved the character and the weirdness of it, and it was challenging to write. My agent asked me for pages, so I sent him the opening chapters. Then, the anticipation that I’d get feedback soon made me pause,… Continue reading
The Last Map
I put the final touches on the map for Promised last week. It’s funny, because on paper it doesn’t look like I did much, but the thought process and the designing were actually rather involved. I began with the original, oversized map from Birthmarked and took a trip down to Staples to make 11×18” copies of it in pieces to tape together. The taping part reminded me of grade school, when I first delighted in matching up edges so lines across ripped pages looked continuous, healed.
Then… Continue reading
Ari & Milo, my serial novel, is now up on Wattpad! I drew illustrations to go with each chapter, and best of all, it’s free! Because of problematic themes, this novel is for mature readers age 17+.
Book Trailer for Promised