Smart Girls. Pretty Girls. Slender Girls.
Why did I give Gaia a scarred face? Much as I would like to say my book is not about beauty, I don’t think there’s a girl alive in America today who can get away from the issue of beauty. Not for more than five minutes. I played volleyball poorly as a high school student, and one of my friends took a grainy, black-and-white photo of me in action. At the time I thought, oh, I look fat in that picture. When I saw… Continue reading
The Bell in the Woods
At my parents’ cabin, deep in the woods of Northern Minnesota, a cast iron bell was rung every evening to call us in for dinner. The distant sound came resonant and clear to us across the lake, or back in the raspberry patch, promising a gathering of cousins and the rote muttering of grace over hot food. We knew it was also my mother’s chance to count heads and account for everyone, so we would hurry back to keep her from growing anxious. A special bell figures… Continue reading
Erstwhile Teacher
When I taught high school English, I loved working with students. They would say amazing things and we were certain to laugh hard at something unexpected. On Mondays, we had Weekend Update, when each of us would tell highlights from our latest experiences, from track records and visits to non-custodial parents, to bike jousting and late night trips to the Vernon Diner. I reminded them I was a mandatory reporter, and if they told me anything that made me concerned for their health or safety, I… Continue reading
Real-Life Research
J-stroke. C-stroke. Muskeg. Some things we know by learning them first-hand, or first-foot as the case may be. The characters in Prized are deft canoers, and to write the water scenes, I drew from my paddling experiences in the BWCA, the Quetico, and the Lake Nipigon area in Canada. Generations of cousins in my clan have attended Camp Widjiwagan, where as teens we go for weeks on trail in remote wilderness. It does something to you. You never forget.
Today, on Tina’s… Continue reading
Risks
The United Kingdom cover of Prized has flowers, a salmon-pink color scheme, and the word “love” in the copy that’s part of the design of the woman’s face. In short, S&S UK is highlighting the romantic threads of the story, which I find to be a rather gutsy move. Readers attracted to the promise of a romance novel may well feel misled, but I hope they won’t ultimately be disappointed by the story. I’m glad my publisher has taken a chance on an innovative, risky approach with… Continue reading
‘Twas a Different Halloween
Driving through a powerless neighborhood last night, I found cars parked with their high beams on so little kids could trick-or-treat. People set up tables with lanterns in their driveways, and friends gathered around bonfires. My son attended a party illuminated entirely by candlelight and a sliver of cloudy moon. 800,000 homes in Connecticut remain without power—the worst outages in the state’s history–and we have been told it could be a week before the grid is again complete.
I’m visiting There’s A Book today… Continue reading