The Writer Moderates, Take 2

Left to Right: April Boland, Cynthia Juniper, Mary James, Michelle Mock.

A few weeks ago BookWoman hosted us once again to hold a panel on sexual violence. The panel featured Cynthia Juniper, author of Principles of Recovery from Abuse, Mary James, author of Destiny and the Magic of LaGrimas Creek, and Michelle Mock, a survivor of sexual assault. The discussion was fantastic, in my opinion, and addressed many important subjects for survivors as well as the general public. The best part was being able to meet and offer resources to victims who came out to learn and share insight. Thanks again to Susan Post, the manager of BookWoman, the panelists, and everyone who came out to promote healing.

The panel went so well, in fact, that I accepted the opportunity to write another piece for The Good Life, this time on child abuse. I am so thankful for yet another chance to speak out and hopefully make a dent in an enormous problem.

NaNoWriMo Update

I have written 11,371 words this month. It is way short of the mark but it is 11,000+ words I didn't have before, so I am staying positive. I am traveling right now so have severely neglected the novel but I hope to get some work in at some point this week.

TSS Week 22

I haven't read Poe since junior high and so I decided to read his "best" short stories in keeping with my eerie October reads. Overall, I loved the collection. I was able to see just why Poe is such an icon. His work was chilling, but not graphic or scary enough to keep me, a total wuss, from reading it.

The Gold-Bug - *** stars, good introduction to Poe's work because only the very last lines were creepy.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue - ** stars, pretty gory, ridiculous plot....more I haven't read Poe since junior high and so I decided to read his "best" short stories in keeping with my eerie October reads. Overall, I loved the collection. I was able to see just why Poe is such an icon. His work was chilling, but not graphic or scary enough to keep me, a total wuss, from reading it. My favorites were "The Black Cat" and "The Masque of the Red Death."

I found this in the library by accident while looking at the novels of Amy Tan (Tamaro was close to Tan :). I noticed the title in Italian and picked it up. I'm so glad I did because it was fantastic!

"Rispondimi" contains three short novellas about desperation. The stories are sad but the writing itself is beautiful and real. I did not come away from the book depressed as you might think. It is a useful, touching portrait of human weakness, struggle and regret.

I have to ...more


I found Rispondimi in the library by accident while looking at the novels of Amy Tan (Tamaro was close to Tan :). I noticed the title in Italian and picked it up. I'm so glad I did because it was fantastic!

Rispondimi contains three short novellas about desperation. The stories are sad but the writing itself is beautiful and real. I did not come away from the book depressed as you might think. It is a useful, touching portrait of human weakness, struggle and regret.

I have to complain about the translation job. I was about to say that a native English speaker should have translated this work, until I saw the John Cullen is from New Orleans! Overall the translation didn't hinder the power of the stories, but it was done poorly. Example: Translating "coming of age" or "turning eighteen" as "I couldn't wait to reach my majority." I am aware of the literal translation that would lead to this but an English speaker should know better.

All in all, highly recommended!

The Writer Must Try Again

I joined up with NaNoWriMo for the first time this year. I was pretty excited about it but already, in week one, I have let my enthusiasm flag and my work slow. I had expected - somewhat unrealistically - that I would sit down and bang out the required words each night with no problem. *Snort* What I found was that sometimes I didn't know where to go, and because I perceive this novel as important to me (as opposed to a random idea I dreamed up specifically for NaNoWriMo), I hesitate to take any risks. This is problematic and I think that now that I am recognizing it, I can address it. After all, no one will hold me to what I write this month. The point is just to write! To experiment, to dream, to visualize, to evoke. I look forward to trying again.

So, I have not even broken 2,000 words on a day when I should have around 8,335, but I am hopeful. Maybe I will even throw a prayer or two up to St. Lucy.

Good luck to all NaNoWriMo'ers everywhere. We are all in this together! And it's a beautiful thing.

P.S. I excerpted the following from a pep talk email I received (as a NaNoWriMo member) from author Jonathan Stroud:

Getting that first draft out is a horribly hard grind, but that (perversely) is where the joy of it lies. There is nothing better for me, nothing more uniquely satisfying in the whole process of making a book, than the sensation at the end of each day—good or bad, productive or unproductive—when I look over and see a little fragile stack of written pages that weren't there that morning. A few hours earlier they didn't exist. And now they do. In a strange way this is more actively thrilling than even holding my finished, printed, book in my hands. It's where the magic lies. Alchemists tried for centuries to turn base metals into gold. Every time we sit down and put words on paper, we succeed where they failed. We're conjuring something out of nothing.

I have some exciting news to share :)

• My special report on sexual violence has been published in this month's issue of The Good Life Magazine. If you live in Austin or surrounding counties, you can get a free copy at most stores and restaurants. If not, you can still read it online!
  
  
• To celebrate this release, I am moderating another panel at BookWoman. It will take place this Friday at 7:00 pm and feature several important women - authors, activists and survivors who will share their insight into this terrible problem. The event is free so I hope that (once again) those of you in Austin will stop by, and/or share the info with your friends.
  
  Time: Friday, November 7, 2008 @ 7:00 p.m.
  Location: BookWoman
  Title of Event: "No More Shame" - A Panel on Sexual Violence
  
  Join authors Cynthia Juniper and Mary James, sexual assault survivor Michelle Mock and local writer April Boland to discuss a widespread problem facing women (and men) all over the world. Free copies of The Good Life Magazine (containing a feature story on sexual violence in Austin) will be available.
  

TSS Week 21

The Book of Lost Things reminded me of two stories I have encountered before: The Chronicles of Narnia and the film "Pan's Labyrinth." In reality, it is quite different than both, but there are strong commonalities:

• a child escaping from his early 20th century war-torn world into a fantasy land
  
  
• the fantasy land experiences all have deep philosophical meaning
  

I enjoyed Narnia (though I haven't finished it) and I enjoyed Pan's Labyrinth - likewise, I enjoyed The Book of Lost Things. I don't think it deserves all of the hype it has gotten, but it was a good read.

The book starts with an introduction to David, a 12-year-old English boy. In the first few chapters, his mother dies of an illness. Strangely enough, this remains my favorite part of the entire novel because of the way Connolly tackles the monster that is grief with the simplicity in which it presents itself to children.

Beyond that, David - a bookworm we can all love - finds himself losing touch with reality and delving into books, which eventually leads into this new fantasy world. Grimm's fairy tales have been culled for material, and Connolly's retellings are done well. In the same vein, the novel is quite dark... it is not a children's story. I found it to be a worthwhile statement on coming of age, loss and morality.