Unless it’s in service to a story, I avoid deep thought. But avoidance only stretches so far; when it became time to write a think piece on why I wrote that particular book (hiding inside a marriage, traumatic brain injuries, coma, emotional abuse, rageful words—stop me!), the murky connective tissues of linking why I write any novel, in particular, confronted … Read more
Woman (me, for instance) weeks (months?) getting ready for a book launch (or any event): Buy a new dress.Return dress.Decide to wear an edgy jagged-hem blouse.Realize anyone using the word ‘blouse’ is too old for edgy. Buy pants.Wonder what the ‘young’ word for pants is.Google.End up teary seeing choices of pants ‘types’ and future as, with … Read more
No family is without fault; few parents can be labeled good or bad. Both Priscilla Gilman and E. Dolores Johnson demonstrated that truth with extraordinary openness in their memoirs—for which we can all be grateful. Truth-telling is hard. The Critic’s Daughter by Priscilla Gilman Gilman captures the nuances of a family—her remarkable father with fine-grained … Read more
(first published in 2011) Originally, I tried to resist writing this 9especially after my plea against categorizing authors.) Plus, so many of us hide our age in this world of never-get-old, unearthing this information, even in our Googlized world, was difficult. But when, along with the plethora of lists of writers under 40, I was faced … Read more
I grew up with the idea that the size of my body was the most important thing in the world—and that my body was always too large. When I look back at pictures, I see me at normal, chubby, and large—but at no time did I ever see myself as anything but too big … Read more