Friday, July 27, 2012

Entry # 80 - "A Special Reflection for Belle"

August 1, 2003 - July 24, 2012
This week we lost our dear sweet Sheltie, Belle, after a two year struggle with kidney disease.  She was the perfect companion for our writing life. A Brilliant Girl! She was quiet, curious, wise and kind.  Her best furry friend was a cat.  They spoke a language that we human friends couldn't share.  I believe they spoke softly with great wisdom about their world. The cat continues to search everywhere for her.  Although I explained it all - at least the parts I understand - about life and death, the cat is sad and cries for her, as we do. 

Belle brought a finely tuned structure to our household; we timed her walks around her needs, but those walks helped us to get in touch with parts of the outside world and our inner world that we might have missed without her.  She always kept an eye on where we were. Her herding instincts were strong and she watched our lives with interest and concern. But I think it was her kindness that let her love us. And I know it was our kindness for her - that allowed us to let her go. It was difficult and necessary.  But her herding instincts remained intact even at the end. She raised her head and counted her people before she relaxed that last time.
Sweet Belle

I am reminded of the second to last stanza of Naomi Shihab Nye's poem. "Kindness" and I truly hope and pray that she won't mind if I use it here.
"Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, 
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing. 
You must wake up with sorrow. 
You must speak to it till your voice catches the thread of all sorrows 
and you see the size of the cloth."



And this picture is one of my favorites. 
Sweet Belle on a lovely spring afternoon when she felt better. This is how I will remember her best. This was our Belle.  


Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Entry # 79 - "WRITERS TALK" - Val Muller - Author of Corgi Capers Series


Background Notes:    Val Muller is a teacher and writer living in Virginia. Her first novel, Corgi Capers: Deceit on Dorset Drive, is the first in a mystery series for middle-grade readers starring fifth-grader Adam Hollinger and his two corgis. 



You can find out more about the Corgi Capers series at www.CorgiCapers.com. Book Two is due out in October through Dancing With Bear publishing. She also writes short stories for adults, with a horror novel forthcoming. Find out more at www.ValMuller.com, where she also blogs. She lives in Virginia with her two dogs, Leia and Yoda, and her husband.  
Jan:     Thanks for the interview, Val. You’ve described yourself as an English teacher by day, and a writer by night.  When did you decide to lead this double life and how’s it working out for you?

Val:     I’ve wanted to be a writer since I could first hold a pencil. I didn’t take myself seriously until a few years ago, when I decided to read and write as much as possible. I was teaching high school, but I wasn’t happy with my life. I actually had a dream in which I met my grandfather (he died before I was born), who told me if I wanted to be a writer, all I had to do was… write! It was a life-changing dream. I woke up feeling refreshed and full of hope. You can read about it in more depth on my blog. 
  
Jan:     You've written for kids and for ‘grown ups’ so I wondered which you prefer and why? How similar and how different is this process for you?
Val:     Writing for kids is easier, with novels between 30,000 and 50,000 words. The story lines are less complicated and can be written quickly—within a month or two (at least the first draft!). When I write a novel, I like writing the first draft within a compressed period of time so that I can juggle the storylines, characters, and main plot. It’s also fun to put myself back into the mind of a kid. But I like writing for adults because I can add things like sarcasm and allusions that would be too complicated for a children’s chapter book. Right now I’m working on a young adult work, which I think nicely balances the two—it keeps the imaginative quality of children’s fiction with some of the nuances of adult literature.  

Jan:     Your latest book, Corgi Capers: Deceit on Dorset Drive, is written for young readers aged 8-12 and features your own thinly disguised Welsh Corgis, Yoda and Leia.  Sounds like a great summer read for families looking for high interest books for their kids.   What inspired you to feature your own dogs as major characters for this book?

Val:     When I first started walking my puppies around the neighborhood, they were kid magnets. The kids in the neighborhood asked me what my dogs did while I was at work. When I didn’t have an answer, they came up with their own very imaginative ones. It reminded me about the magic of being a kid, and I realized that it was a topic that would interest kids. When I wrote Corgi Capers, I incorporated multiple points of view, including that of the corgis, who communicate while their people are away.

Jan:     You have a second Corgi Capers book, The Sorceress of Stoney Brook in the editing stage.  When will it be out and do you have another Corgi Capers book on the drawing board? 

Val:     The second book will be released in early October. It’s Halloween-themed, so it’s great timing! There is a third book in planning stages. I think I’m going to tackle that one during November (NANOWRIMO—National Novel Writing Month).
 
My newest adult novel "For Whom My Heart Beats Eternal” (Rebel Ink Press) is a young adult novel that explores time travel. In this time-travel romance with a sci-fi twist, Anna, a young graduate student, has found her intellectual soul mate. She and Dr. Thomas Wellesley, forty years her senior, have been working on sensitive research on applied time travel. He is her favorite part of the day and she’ll stop at nothing to please him. Modest and humble, she even ignores the requests of college suitors in favor of extended time in the research lab.


When a rival professor follows the pair into the lab and threatens their research and their safety, Dr. Wellesley does everything in his power to protect Anna from harm. But in his effort to protect her, he inadvertently sends her back in time. Forty years back in time, to be exact—to a time when a young, passionate student named Tommy Wellesley is just embarking on his first degree in physics. And it’ll be up to young Tommy to see her safely back to her own time. If he can bear to lose her.  Available on Amazon (for Kindle) and  in other electronic formats.

Jan:     Your ‘grown up’ short stories seem to fall into a pattern regarding publications and titles that deal with phobias, zombies, supernatural and similar topics. I’m thinking here about stories like: “Next of Kin” in Wicked East Press’s Chained in the Attic Anthology (forthcoming), “Zombies of the Caribbean” in Christmas is Dead: A Zombie Anthology, “The Prophet on the Sand” in Shroud 10: The Quarterly Journal of Dark Fiction and Art (Vol 3).  So can you tell our readers more about this genre and what inspired you to write these stories? 
Val:     I’ve always been sort of paranoid yet strangely drawn to darker topics. As a kid, I always had to have my younger sister go upstairs before me to turn on the lights and make sure there were no monsters or ghosts around. I couldn’t have my closet door ajar, and the scariest holiday for me was Easter because I always imagined a giant, humanoid Easter bunny sneaking into my room! My imagination was fed by my father, who made up all kinds of stories, including the fact that my real father was the beast from the 1980’s television show Beauty and the Beast. 

 I believed him and lived under the fear that Vincent, the beast, was eventually coming for me to reclaim his kin. He also told me that my mother (who looks like the woman on the Sun-Maid raisin logo) was eventually going to return to her old life of picking raisins. I lived in perpetual fear that my mom would one day leave to go pick grapes and never return!  

The list of stories he told me goes on and on… my dad didn’t realize until much later that I took him seriously, but I’m glad for all the stories. One of my professors describes him as “a writer’s goldmine.” 

Jan:     You mentioned that you grew up in cold haunted New England and have moved up and down the East Coast before finding the right balance in Northern Virginia. When did you realize that you longed to be a writer and how has that information shaped your life?   How did your early experiences shape your choice of fictional focus and your writing life? 
Val:     I guess I addressed these questions in the previous response!

Jan:     Like many writers, you actually hold down two full-time jobs what with teaching and writing.  How do you manage it all?  Describe your creative process? 
Val:     I live for the summers because I have time to market and social network, as well as write. During the school year, I have to manage my time more efficiently. My husband leaves for work early, so I get up with him. I write between 5 and 7:15 a.m. —that way, writing gets the freshest part of me before I get tainted by the rest of the day. When I get home from work, I don’t always have energy to write, so I spend an hour or so researching markets, promo opportunities, networking, blogging, and updating my websites.  
Jan:     What’s your take on the need for writers to connect to social media?  Does the payoff seem to justify the time spent?  For writers exploring their options and with time constraints, which form of social media is essential to a writer and which forms suck up too much time, in your opinion? 

Val:     I think social media is a necessary evil. It’s good to connect to other writers and share in their triumphs and frustrations. It’s also good to connect to readers and learn what resonates with them.  I recommend that whatever social media you choose, don’t let it consume you. Put aside an allotted amount of time, and don’t go beyond that. 

Also, don’t simply promo your work all the time. Readers want to know authors as human beings, too. Blog about everyday life and experiences, offer free short stories or serialize a longer work on a blog. Blogging has forced me to be more concise in my writing. I’ve also made a recent commitment to review one book per week and post the review on my blog. This has been essential in helping me to recognize elements that work well in writing, and I’ve already applied it to my own work. 
Jan:     What’s on your personal summer reading list?  What have you recently read that you loved and would recommend for kids and for adults? 
Val:     I have a mix of middle-grade, young adult, horror, and romance. Some books of note are The Book Thief, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and The Gunslinger. I also make a point to incorporate some indie and small press works in there as well. You can check out my blog every Monday for a new review.
 
Jan:     What advice would you give a writer aspiring to write about supernatural events, including zombies and alien time travelers?  I've recently had an email from a writer who raised this question to me. Where can he go for more tips and market information? 
  
Val:     I would warn that there is so much out there about zombies and aliens. Writers should bring something unique to the table. Be original, or have a strong human element—if a reader likes the main character (or hates the bad guy), she’ll be compelled to read on. Don’t rely on stereotypes to carry your work. 
I like to “cross” what I read with what I’m currently writing. For example, if I’m writing about a zombie, I would be reading a romance. That way, I’m not drawing from what I’m reading, and it keeps my writing fresh. 
Duotrope.com is a great site to start looking for markets. I always check out markets I’ve never heard of on places like Absolute Write Water Cooler or Preditors and Editors. 
 
Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:


Friday, July 20, 2012

Entry # 78 - "Tomatoes As Writing Metaphors"

June 2012 - My Tomato Plants Loaded with Abundance
How, you might ask, are tomatoes a useful topic for a writer's reflections? It seems to me that growing tomatoes is somewhat like writing.  Most writers, like gardeners, begin a project filled with excitement and hope for the possibilities of the pending results - whether it is a hope for produce or a story. Then the reality sets in - with problems to be solved - perhaps major plagues like - drought or plot inconsistencies or tomato blight, hungry squirrels or a character who is talking too much and taking over the story.

Metaphors begin with experiences, not words. Connecting the dots with metaphor involves a transformation, a creation, a metamorphosis of one thing into a new thing, a concept. Here with the tomato metaphor, we have a chance to create something out of nothing but an image that connects.

What seemed so promising...ALAS! Two Weeks Later
Nature is full of information that is not verbal, until we somehow find words to describe what our senses have observed. An image doesn’t have to be fancy or pretentious – it can be made up of the mundane details around you – but connected to the fanciful or complexity of layered meaning.

A metaphor is a bridge between two ideas that, at least on the surface, are not equivalent or related. 


Drought, Squirrels, Blight Did Their Work
The first draft and many subsequent drafts of a story are required before the idea or hope that the writer (or the gardener) had can become fully realized. (So I have hope for next year.)  

Flaubert was said to spend sometimes as much as a week writing a perfect single paragraph.


And This Was Salvaged From the Wreckage
-->Poet Donald Hall, poetry editor of the Paris Review said in a newspaper interview that it took him three-to-five years to get from his idea for a poem to the finished, published work.  
 
Or to speak in metaphor, as Annie Dillard did here:  
 
“When you write, you lay out a line of words. The line of the words is a miner’s pick, a woodcarver’s gouge, a surgeon’s probe. You wield it, and it digs a path you follow. Soon you find yourself deep in new territory. Is it a dead end, or have you located the real subject?  You will know tomorrow, or this time next year.”


And finally: 

“The trick of reason is to get the imagination to seize the actual world—if only from time to time.”           ----Annie Dillard from An American Childhood

Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:



Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Entry # 77 - "You Are Invited"

Scotland - Back Yard for Reading - Jan Bowman May 2012
Today - just a short post to remind and invite READERS to TALK about books they've read.  So what do you think about what you’re reading? Do you recommend it or not? Drop me an email and when I have enough replies, I'll schedule a posting. 

Write a couple of paragraphs if you would like to talk about a book.  Don't worry about being particularly academic.  This is not intended to be a formal review, unless you really long to write one, and in any case - write what you wish from your own impressions and reactions.  Then send an email to me. I will collect these, edit a bit, if necessary, before posting your comments on the first Tuesday of the month under the title: READERS TALK.  

Harper Lee is reported to have said, "Hope for the best and expect nothing and you'll never be disappointed." Send email to:  janbowmanwriter@gmail.com

Fifty + years ago To Kill A Mockingbird was published.  Isn't that amazing!
 And this 2010 book about the impact of this novel in our thinking looks interesting. Maybe I should put it on my reading list. Or if someone would like to talk about either book that would be cool!

I'm working on a new short story and must get back to it.
Remember:  "The writer has no function except to write...and stories usually come without conscious intention."  AND "Stories provide a beam of light on a selected small area and shows the reality with such clarity the reader thrills to new discovery in the familiar." (Not sure who said this - but it's in my inspiration notes) 

Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:



Friday, July 13, 2012

Entry # 76 - "What Does Good Fiction Do?"

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So what does good fiction do for a reader?  I recall a craft essay in the 2010 (29th edition) of Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market by Jack Smith, former co-editor of The Green Hills Literary Lantern, in which he writes about good fiction in the context of modern personal relationship fiction He interviewed a number of fellow journal editors and publishers. Smith sees the fiction world as divided right now - about what good fiction should do.

For example, on one side of the discussion he found Crazy Horse editor, Anthony Varallo, who takes the position that good fiction should “de-emphasize the larger themes of reference beyond the personal” and “stresses that the air of reality or believability is sufficient,” to produce good literature.  Ironically, I suppose this idea drives reality TV.

On the other side of the discussion, Smith quotes Robert L. Giron, EIC for Gival Press, who says “that he isn’t receiving enough fiction that moves beyond characters, their problems, and interpersonal relationships to establish a larger picture.”  He says that while many well-written manuscripts cover the social, personal aspects of life, they fail to develop the larger philosophical issues and tension sufficiently to be used in meaningful discussions. 

Well, Giron should know! After all, his publishing house features many books used by book groups for discussion. Giron says, “What makes serious fiction is what lives on after the technique of writing.”  
Reality Generates Large Questions - Novia Scotia  - May 2012
And when I read a novel or story, I'm inclined to ask myself:  Are there powerful images in my mind and emotions from it? Which is to say: Is it memorable? Does it tend to resonate in my thoughts long after I've finished the book?  I think we’ve all had the experience of reading a book, and perhaps we enjoyed it at the time, and yet a few weeks later, we really can’t remember much about it. 

Perhaps it helps if we remember that reality generates questions, and good fiction, too, should raise questions and generate strong images for readers.

While we all probably can agree that a good novel is about people, and what they do, not just about ideas, the finest fiction does seem to require, at its core, “a larger reason to be” that bravely digs into questions like: Why we’re here? Why do we live? And how do we respond to life’s complexity?
A Beautiful Reality - Jan Bowman - May 2012

  Maybe this is what some of us seek when we read. We want to know:  Will we find a way to survive long enough to learn from it - this business of being alive?


So What Does Good Fiction Do for YOU as a reader?


Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Entry # 75 - WRITERS TALK - Jennifer Brown Banks - Managing Editor for Coffeehouse for Writers


Jennifer Brown Banks, Managing Editor, Coffeehouse for Writers.

Jennifer is a veteran freelance writer, pro blogger, ghost writer, and creative strategist. She is a former Senior Editor for Mahogany Magazine. Her work has appeared extensively in print and online publications for more than a decade. When she’s not writing, she’s likely in pursuit of a good bargain sale.  Visit her at  http://penandprosper.blogspot.com/
Contact her at Gemsjen@yahoo.com

Jan:     Thank you for agreeing to an online interview about your work as a writer and blogger. As the former Senior Editor of Mahogany Magazine, what did you learn from that experience that drives your successful career as a freelance writer and notable blogger?

Jennifer:     Good question.  I’d say primarily I learned how to deal with different creative personalities and how to multi-task.  

Jan:     You’ve said on your website blog that effective bloggers should cultivate dedicated readers and loyal fans.  What are the most important elements to building a strong reader fan base?

Jennifer:     Consistency, a unique “voice” and providing great take-away value for their readership.    

Jan:     You have blogged that time is a commodity that you invest toward furthering your writing career.  How much time should writers spend on blogging and social media in terms of the anticipated return?

Jennifer:     Jan, I think that would vary based upon their individual goals, time constraints, and the ability to juggle. But they should definitely blog minimally, once a week. Anything less is counterproductive.

Jan:     What was your greatest fear when you began your blog and how did you overcome it? 

Jennifer:   Not sure that I had one. I’ll have to get back to you on that one. :-)

Jan:    You’re self-described as a veteran freelance writer and relationship columnist.  What are your favorite topics for both freelance articles and columns?   And how do you generate ideas and find suitable markets for your work? 

Jennifer:     I’m blessed to have many creative passions and interests. I enjoy penning relationship pieces, I love business features, and book reviews are on my list as well. Ideas are typically not hard to come by, in that I have a very diverse professional background; I love to read, and have lived a “rich” life of sorts. I am often inspired by TV programs.

Jan:      You have been involved in developing specialized online classes geared to help writers improve their skills. What are some of the benefits from these experiences for busy writers?

Jennifer:     Glad you asked. I teach various online courses at Coffeehouse for Writer.com. The benefits to writers are the classes are flexible, affordable, and provide for one-on-one attention.

Jan:      When did you know that you wanted to be a writer and what fuels your writing passion? 

Jennifer:     My mom “guilted” me into it as a teenager. Now I consider it as honoring my “divine” gift.   

Jan:    If you could interview anyone on earth alive today, who would you love to interview and what would you want to know?

Jennifer:     Michelle Obama. More than I can say here. :-)

Jan:     What’s your next project and what excites you about it?

Jennifer:     I am ghost writing a book. Most all my creative projects excite me, because I love writing and sharing.

Jan:      If you could give advice to writers who are just beginning their writing career what would you urge them to put on their “To Do” list to prepare for success?

Jennifer:      Pray. Respect the craft. Work hard. Don’t personalize rejection. And be careful from whom you take advice. :-)
Contact her at Gemsjen@yahoo.com

Managing Editor, Coffeehouse for Writers
Columnist   http://www.technorati.com
Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:


Friday, July 6, 2012

Entry # 74 - "Some Thoughts on Summer Reading"

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Summer brings on thoughts of "Summer Reading" book lists gleaned from all those years that I taught high school students. I have pleasant memories of searching for books my students might enjoy, and in sharing my own excitement about new discoveries.  

Readers like to read, not only to escape, but also to learn new things, to get a sense of history, to imagine what another life might have been for them in a different time and place. Reading a good book relieves stress; I sleep better when I've followed the adventures and emotions of other lives. I also read to study interesting techniques that successful writers use. Most successful writers are avid readers. 

Author Jesse Lee Kercheval writes about what brings readers back to read a particular author or to even reread a beloved book.  She says that readers like to learn new things, but authentic,
interesting details also draw readers back.  She also says that writers have a responsibility to do enough research to build credibility.  

Kercheval says that the power of setting, that is the 'telling' details of time and place, which drives plot is essential, so that readers can connect, relate to and believe the truth of a story.  

Kercheval says, “Readers appreciate familiar things, sharply observed.”  Writers take the ordinary and describe it “lovingly, wittily, with great care” and this makes the experience or moment or person unforgettable.  A story or a novel benefits from having something in it that readers have never quite seen before, and that a reader or editor finds he/she can’t quite forget. Readers love it when a book has some telling detail, image or event that is both unusual and memorable.
  
If you want to write, it helps if you are a reader and you know what you like to read.  You won’t be able to write for everyone, but you will write for some, if you remember what it is that all readers seek.

If you would like to talk about a book, send an email to me and I will collect these, edit a bit, if necessary, before posting your comments on the first Tuesday of each month, under the title, READERS TALK.  Send email to:   janbowmanwriter@gmail.com 


Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:


 

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Entry # 73 - READERS TALK BOOKS - John Irving's In One Person - Reviewed by Dorothy Nelson

Today I will try a new feature on this blog.  Starting today I invite READERS to TALK about books they've read.  If you would like to talk about a book, send an email to me and I will collect these, edit a bit, if necessary, before posting your comments on the first Tuesday of each month, under the title, READERS TALK.  Send email to:   janbowmanwriter@gmail.com 


I am convinced that the book in all of its many tangible forms, formats and varied genres is far from dead.  
I believe that as more interesting content is accessible to almost anyone who can read, and find a "brick & mortar" bookstore, a public library, or an online source, more people are reading and will read.  We won’t all read, enjoy, and recommend the same things, but readers are sprouting up everywhere.  So let’s explore that thought a bit here.  Let's TALK ABOUT BOOKS.

What do you read?  How often do you read? I ask friends and family to see what they’ll say. We might begin with questions like:  What was the last really good, or perhaps, great book that you read?   Or What are you reading right now?  Why did you select this book to read?  Or  - What book stopped time for you, in that you could not put it down and you were sad when it ended? 

So I’ve said a few words about this topic, and now I’ll toss it out there for a larger reading public.  In 300 words or so - write a note and email it to me about what you’re reading and why you are reading it.  This idea comes from a regular blog reader.
  
Recently I had an email from Dorothy Nelson from Tacoma, WA and she had read an earlier post in which I talked about what readers think of their books. So she sent a brief email about the book she just finished reading so she gets to be the first posting for this new series:
 
Hi Jan - I just finished reading John Irving's latest book, IN ONE PERSON. Here are some of my comments and if you think this is suitable for your blog please post it.

IN ONE PERSON,  is the first John Irving book that I have read, although, I admit, I have a copy of THE CIDER HOUSE RULES that's been lying on top of one of my book shelves for the last seven years. Now I'll finally read that too. Some things I know about John Irving are part of the book -- he loves wrestling, Shakespeare and opera.  And the bisexuality theme comes through. The book spans a lifetime and takes us through the eighties and nineties and the devastating AIDS epidemic. BUT there is sufficient humor, to be sure -- laugh out loud humor. Just imagine a small Vermont town's community playhouse filled with a family of actors, including a cross-dressing grandfather, two daughters (bossy and somewhere in their 40s), add a stepfather for the main character, Bill, to the mix and stir.  Now imagine one of the daughters saying "Daddy's not a dyke!" That would compel anyone to begin reading this novel immediately.

I must admit that somewhere in the middle of the book I grew tired of reading about Bill's mispronunciation of "penis" because he says it so that it sounds like "penith" and of course,  his obsession with that and other parts of the body, including: tits, vaginas, as well as his focus on the differences between people who are transsexual versus transgendered, seems over the top after a while. But just when you think you've seen it all, Irving introduces us to a new plot twist in this tale and we're off and running in another related direction. So the book held my interest. And I will read THE CIDER HOUSE RULES.

In my opinion John Irving is a very tidy author, in that he doesn't leave messy plot threads hanging. As I approached the ending, I found that all the loose ends came together -- nothing is left without some degree of resolution. And the ending does not let you off the hook.  You will connect and in my case, I admit that I shed some tears. This is a great read and belongs on a summer reading list.  Irving is a very fine contemporary author who has produced a blazing page turner.  Bravo Mr. Irving!!








So let's talk about what you think of what you’re reading. Do you recommend it or not? Drop me an email for the first Tuesday in August posting.   janbowmanwriter@gmail.com
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Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at: