Month: March 2013

Friday Fictioneers Marches On

/ unspywriter / Leave a comment

Friday Fictioneers LogoWe’re approaching the end of March already. My, how the year speeds by, and here I am with a weekend more or less free of literary conference/workshop pursuits. Don’t worry, that changes next weekend with the annual Tom Wolfe Lecture Seminar at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA.

And March is defying all mythology of coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb. It came in like a lion, behaved like a lamb for a few days, then dumped a spring snow storm on us at the beginning of this week. All gone now, though it was pretty. Annoying but pretty.

I have a stack of recently purchased books to read and taxes to do, but what’s that compared to Friday Fictioneers? And apparently snow-pocalyses in March put me in a dystopian frame of mind for this week’s story, “Doom and Gloom.” If you don’t see the link on the title, scroll to the top of the page, click on the Friday Fictioneers tab, then select the title from the drop-down list. I cleaned up the web site a bit this morning, so you don’t have to scroll through so many stories.

Let’s cross our fingers for Spring’s quick arrival so we can enjoy some perfect weather before we start complaining about how hot it is.

And if you missed Wednesday’s short post about a recorded interview with me at The Bookcast about my book, Spy Flash, click here to have a listen. Yes, you’ll get to hear what I sound like and note that I used “um” and said “exactly” too many times! If you’re an indie author needing some publicity for your work, check out The Bookcast.

#VaBook – Gone but Not Forgotten

/ unspywriter / Leave a comment

Virginia Festival of the Book is aptly named, but after this, my third year of attendance, I think it more apt to title it “Virginia Festival of the Book–and Writers and Readers.” Though considerably less populated than the 12,000-person AWP Conference just two weeks before, the enthusiasm about books and their authors was just as intense. In truth, you don’t get many “readers” at AWP, but #VaBook (its Twitter hashtag) is the rare opportunity for writers and readers to mingle. In some cases, you’re a writer for one panel’s presentation then a reader for another. It’s a great showcase for writers across the country who have or whose books have Virginia roots.

My festival started on Wednesday evening with “The Ties That Bind: Family in Fiction.” Authors Wendy Shang, Lydia Netzer, Camisha Jones, Mollie Cox Bryant, and Cliff Garstang combined a discussion of this year’s The Big Read book, Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, with their own works. I read that book before it was a best-seller on the recommendation of a co-worker, who is Asian and said it was as if Tan had written the friend’s biography. I found it a fascinating glimpse into a culture I knew little about, but the sometimes bizarre behavior of mothers was something I completely understood. The authors on the panel compared and contrasted how Tan used family to their use of family in their own works.

Thursday’s only session for me was “Fiction: The Art and Craft of Short Stories,” which I wanted to attend because I keep trying to convince myself there’s a future for short stories (why I’ve published three volumes of them). The panel members–Robert Day, Cliff Garstang, E. J. Levy, and Kurt Rheinheimer–are convinced the short story is undergoing a revival. Their various definitions of a short story were compelling:

“A short story is a piece of geography that spawns a character.” (Rheinheimer)

“A short story is a bomb going off.” (Levy)

“A short story focuses on a moment in time with a zoom lens.” (Garstang)

“A short story is a piece of prose fiction that has something wrong with it.” (Day)

The latter was intended to show that even short stories are never finished in the sense of revision and rewriting. The panel went on to discuss the writers who influenced them, the how and why of linked short stories, first person versus third person, and if an MFA helps your progression as a writer.

Friday was a full day for me, beginning with “Fiction: Forbidden Attraction.” Authors Maryanne O’Hara, Erika Robuck, Margaret Wrinkle, and Bill Roorbach discussed how they used captivation in each of their novels or were captivated themselves by the subjects they wrote about. In Robuck’s case, a photo of a young, Cuban girl on a dock where Hemingway hauled in his fishing catch prompted her to write Hemingway’s Girl. For Wrinkle, it was literal captivation–a novel about the taboo topic of slave breeding in the ante-bellum south. A wonderful discussion and great insights.

Next was “Fiction: Parallel Stories,” featuring authors whose novels involved two different but related timelines. I particularly wanted to attend this panel because a novel I have in rough draft involves stories in the present and in the World War II era. Dana Sachs, Tara Conklin, and Sarah McCoy discussed what compelled them to construct their works this way and the joy–and pitfalls–of research.

“Fiction: Journeys” was a panel on novels featuring road trips or metaphorical journeys by Sharon Short, Sheri Reynolds, Kathleen McCleary, and Kimberly Brock. They discussed the apparently insignificant germs of thought that inspired them, and the chemistry among these authors during discussion was fascinating and hilarious.

Unfortunately, I had to miss two other panels on Friday (“Science Fiction and Fantasy,” featuring the phenom Hugh Howey of Wool fame, and “Crime Wave: Friday Night Thrillers”) because I needed to go home and pack for an unexpected trip to Northern Virginia for a funeral. That also meant Saturday’s panels and the Book Fair I missed as well, but friendship supersedes all.

I was back Sunday in time for the only panel on which I was actually a participant–“The Magic of Words,” which was the launch event for the Blue Ridge Writers 2013 Anthology. My story, “Mourning,” appears in the anthology. Rita Mae Brown was the keynote speaker, and she gave an amazing off-the-cuff, quarter-hour dissertation on language. Fascinating. Then came the time for readings. I was fourth on the schedule, so enough time to work up a good set of nerves. Fortunately, Brown had been amusing as well instructive, so when I got a laugh out of her at the first comedic point in my reading, I relaxed. After the event, Brown came up to me and said, “Please tell me you’ll continue to write.” Yeah, floated a few inches above the ground all the way home.

I came away with a lot of good information and way too many books. Add them to the stack I brought home from AWP, and I’ll still be reading them by the end of the year. But that’s a good thing.

I can’t wait for #VaBook14! And who knows, maybe there’s a panel out there with my name on it!

A Festival of Friday Fictioneers!

/ unspywriter / Leave a comment

This weekend is the Virginia Festival of the Book–five days of books and their writers in the great Virginia town of Charlottesville. This is my third year to attend and my first to participate. I’ll be doing a reading from a story of mine, which appears in the Blue Ridge Writers 2013 anthology, on Sunday, and Rita Mae Brown will be in attendance. Gulp.

So, first time reading before an A-list author? Check.

Nerves? Check. Big time.

But the story, “Mourning,” is one of my favorites, and I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’ll keep telling myself that, and perhaps I’ll believe it by 1300 this Sunday.

Anyway, if you’re within driving distance of Charlottesville, VA, check out the remaining three days of the Virginia Festival of the Book here. I’ll wager you’ll find something you must see.

Friday Fictioneers LogoToday’s Friday Fictioneers photo prompt features one of my favorite things–a horse. I was a typical horse geek in my teens. On summer days I’d pack a lunch–for me and the horse–and ride as far as I could, eat lunch, then come back home. Some Sundays, my dad would saddle his horse, and he and I would “ride fence” to check where repairs needed to be made. Those times (and baseball games) made for some great father-daughter talks.

The first book I ever owned was Black Beauty–and it still makes me tear up. I almost had to walk out of War Horse until I figured out it would end happily. There was a time I preferred the company of my horse over any person. Sometimes I wish I still had a horse because they can still be better company than a lot of humans.

Though horses are not the smartest of mammals, they have excellent instinct, and today’s story, “Oh, the Humanity!,” captures how I always thought a horse would sound if they spoke human. As usual, if you can’t see the link on the title, scroll to the top of this page and click on the Friday Fictioneers tab. Then, you can select the story from the drop-down list.

The Title’s The Thing

/ unspywriter / 1 Comment

If you’re someone who struggles with a title for a story or novel–as I do on occasion–you relish the moments when just the right title comes to you. I have two WIPs, which have undergone numerous title changes until, finally, the right one “showed” up.

One of them started life in the rough draft as Who is Killing the Friends of Slobodan Milosevic? Yeah, a mouthful, and borrowed from the title of a wire-service story exploring the fact that by the year 2000 a long list of Milosevic’s political cronies and associates had been murdered. The novel idea arose then as well, but the long and unwieldy title was problematic. So, it became Tumbling Pigeons, after a species of bird in the Balkans, which responds to stress from a predator by ceasing flight and falling from the skies. Quite often, they don’t pull up in time and end up smashing themselves on the ground. This self-destructive behavior exemplified the latter part of Milosevic’s rule, but the connection was difficult to make. The next, and hopefully final title, came from a comment made by a local Balkan journalist, to the effect that the problems plaguing Milosevic after the invasion of Kosova were “self-inflicted wounds.” Self-Inflicted Wounds, then, became the title. 

It works on several levels and not just for the political situation in Serbia in 2000, but as well for characters in the work. The two main characters’ partnership–and marriage–is rocky because of issues of their own making. Other characters have made choices that will ultimately come back to slap them in the face. In fact, every hurt in this novel has been self-inflicted by a character. So, perfect title.

Another draft novel started out as The Game, as in the game of espionage, which is often portrayed as a chess match with global implications. It, too, is loosely based on actual events–to a mole in the FBI, selling secrets to the Russians is a game so he can prove how well he plays it. One main character is tired of the game and doesn’t want to play anymore, but his partner, and wife, keeps finding excuses to play on and on. Another character plays a game with another’s life, so perfect title, right?

Except that’s it been used before, which is nothing new. Titles aren’t copyrighted and so can be reused. The Game is a TV show, a rapper, at least three other novels, and a Michael Douglas movie, a very popular Michael Douglas movie. The Game, then, wouldn’t stand out, but a replacement title didn’t present itself. Then, as I re-read The Art of War, as I often do, I came across a line I know I’ve read before, but because I had re-titling on my mind it jumped out at me: “All warfare is based on deception.” Just like that I had A War of Deception.

These were both situations where the novels had already been drafted, so finding a title to fit the plot and characters–a little easier. What about when a title pops into your head and you have nothing to attach it to? Writers should be so lucky, right?

Yesterday, because it was St. Patrick’s Day, I re-indulged in some Yeats, specifically his poem, “Easter, 1916.” I’d read the words before, though quite some time ago, and for some reason, one line stayed with me this time: “A terrible beauty is born.” In the context of the poem the beauty is the rebellion of the Irish against English rule; the “terrible” is the loss of life in the process.

It hit me as well that line needed to be the title of something I will write. Will write because I have nothing yet it fits. But I will.

The lesson from all this? Inspiration for a story or a novel can come from watching people, reading a book or a news story, or just about anything. Titles can come from inspiration, too, and when you least expect it.

Beware the Ides of Friday Fictioneers!

/ unspywriter / Leave a comment

Friday Fictioneers LogoActually, every month has “ides,” but the Ides of March William Shakespeare made famous when a soothsayer warns Caesar to beware them. In addition to March, the ides fall on the fifteenth of May, July, and October. The rest of the months, the ides fall on the thirteenth. I don’t know why; ask the Romans, who’d probably respond that the ides denote the approximate middle of a month. But, Gregorian or Julian calendar?

The photo prompts for Friday Fictioneers have featured incredible landscapes and beautiful examples of still life. Occasionally, the one picture will juxtapose two oddities, and those are sometimes the most thought-provoking. I think you’ll see that from today’s picture, which could be both a landscape and a still life. Those odd juxtapositions often send my brain into magical realism or speculative fiction mode. Today it went to an historical event (Yes, my parents were British, so for me it’s “an historical.”) and the paranormal, which should make for a great genre mash-up.

The story is “September Morning Forever,” and you can read it by clicking the link on the title. If you don’t see the link, then scroll to the top of the page, click on the Friday Fictioneers tab, then select the story from the drop-down menu.

And La Fheile Padraig Sona!

AWP13 – Day Three

/ unspywriter / 1 Comment

I didn’t read the description for the first session I chose for Saturday, “A Room of Their Own: How to Make the Most of (or Create) a Writer’s Workspace.” I thought it would be about how to organize your home office or writing area, but it was far more interesting than that. The unfortunate part about it was half the panel didn’t show up and hadn’t advised the moderator. She didn’t say it outright, but she hinted they were at AWP and just hadn’t bothered to show up. She was embarrassed and apologetic, but she filled in quite ably. I’m omitting the names of all the panel so I don’t further anyone’s embarrassment, but really?

The session was about establishing a space for writers to come have a place to write in peace. The two panelists discussed the virtues of doing this as a business (profit or non-profit), as a profession, or just as a community offering. One thing is for sure, I’ll never question my $52/year membership in Charlottesville’s WriterHouse again. Writer spaces in Boston and New York rent for $300 or more per quarter. Wow!

The “Women in Crime” panel was raucous and entertaining. Moderated by St. Martin’s Press editor Toni Margarita Plummer, the panel of Sophie Littlefield, Linda Rodriguez, and Nicole Peeler explained how they each came up with their unique, “kick-ass” female protagonists. For Littlefield it was divorce and the issue of how aging women are ignored by a society fixated on youth; for Rodriguez it was to highlight the issues of mixed-race native Americans fitting in the caucasian world; and for Peeler urban fantasy was a way to write powerful statements about gender inequality and sexuality using fiction. Very thought-provoking, and the Q&A about gender equality issues in publishing topped off a good session.

Again, I needed to read the session descriptions better because a few minutes into “Career Suicide,” I realized it was about switching teaching jobs, tenure vs. non-tenure, so I opted for lunch instead.

The week before the AWP Conference, VIDA–Women in Literary Arts–had released their analysis of work published in major literary and news magazines, an analysis which showed not only were the numbers worse for women this year than last year. Then, there was buzz at the conference that twenty-three of nearly 500 panels focused on women’s literary issues, while only one focused on men’s. One man tweeted, “Don’t we have issues, too?” (Yeah, don’t get me started.)

The VIDA panel offered a detailed breakdown of the statistics from its news release. For example, the numbers of men and women submitting are almost equal, with men having a one-percent advantage. The panel members were from two literary journals and a well-known, left-leaning political magazine that also has a literary section, mostly reviews and poetry. This is another situation where I’m not listing the names of the panel because one of the literary journal editors–a man–stood up and tried to justify that it was all right to pick more men than women because of quality. That got a bit of an uproar, and the gentleman opted to sit down without finishing. He proceeded to sit at the table and not participate in any further discussion. I rest my case.

However, VIDA showed that where the disparity is minor statistically and as an amalgam, specific publications have significant problems with gender equity in submissions and acceptances. One panel member told the women in the audience, “When an editor calls an wants an op-ed piece, don’t make an excuse, e.g., kids, making dinner, etc.; find a way to do it.”

“Master of None: Surviving and Thriving Without an MFA” featured a moderator and a panel of four successful, young authors (Rebecca Makkai, Samuel Park, Ru Freeman, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, and Ida Hattermer-Higgins, respectively) who had not gone the MFA route. In truth, though, all accept one did have a higher degree, usually in English or literature, but not writing. Because I’ve been going back and forth on whether to get an MFA–I’m pretty certain I don’t want to teach Freshman Comp–I opted to attend this session. All five on the panel had leveraged attendance at writer conferences and workshops, and the networking done there, into procuring agents and traditional publishing contracts.

A good panel, a practical discussion, but it didn’t really help me with my decision. That is all up to me.

I decided to skip the panel on Ray Bradbury, mainly because it was another situation where the convention center security had to control how many people could be in the room. That gave me time for a final walk-through of the Bookfair, where deals could be had.

And then it was over. The Bookfair closed, people started saying goodbye, and the convention center grew quiet. A few people began to speak of AWP14 in Seattle, WA. Yes, it’s that positive an experience–you start talking about next year as this year’s conference draws to a close.

Later this week, an interview with me about my AWP experience will appear on writer Jan Bowman’s blog. I’ll post a link to it under the About Me tab at the top of the page.

AWP13 – Day Two

/ unspywriter / 1 Comment

Boston’s snow today (eight to ten inches) was beautiful–from the inside looking out. I was ever so grateful that AWP is all in one building and I can walk to Hynes convention center, about a block and a half away from my hotel, entirely on sky-walks and through shopping malls. There’s something efficient about the states in the northern latitudes–by the time the snow stopped this afternoon, the roads and sidewalks were clear.

I started the morning off with “Purpose and the Practical in Historical Writing,” something of interest to me because I write the historical thriller, or so genre assigning says. The planned moderator Anne Keesey got held up by the bad weather, so Marshall Klimasewiski (Tyrants: Stories) managed the panel of Peter Ho Davies (The Welsh Girl), Emily Barton (Brookland), and Zachary Lazar (Sway). A great discussion of how they became interested in historical fiction, how to define it, and when to stop researching and write.

I slipped from the first session during the audience Q&A to head to a craft panel called “Art of the Ending,” or bringing your work to a successful conclusion. The room was already so full, the fire marshal once again wouldn’t allow anyone inside until some people left. That wasn’t happening, so I moved on to “This is Your Brain on Fiction.” This was an excellent discussion of how the human brain processes fiction. It turns out when a writer has done a good job, the brain reacts as if it’s seen something real. The moderator and panelists (Susan Hubbard, Brock Adams, Hillary Casavant, John Henry Fleming, and John King) gave their opinions on this, and where it was more for the neurologists in the room, it was food for thought. The brain just skips over cliches, for example, but describe something texturally, and it lights up.

As I walked to meet some writer friends for lunch, I passed Seamus Heaney in a hallway. He gave me a nod and a great Irish smile, and I think I kept my composure. I’m sure he nods politely to every middle-aged woman who gawps at him, but I’d like to think he saw the Irish in me. Still, it was the highlight of the day.

After lunch I dropped some things (translation–went shopping in the mall) off in my room and fully intended to head back for “Story Autopsy: How I Wrote a Novel in Three Days and Adapted It into a Movie,” but, well, I fell asleep. I did make it to “Style and Story: Balancing Form and Content in the Short Story.” The planned moderator, Jessica King, was also absent because of weather, but her replacement moderator never introduced himself. However, he did introduce the panel, Ted Sanders, Josh Cohen, and Susan Steinberg, all authors of short story collections and whose style has been deemed “experimental” by critics. The discussion of which comes first–form (chicken) or style (egg)–was lively and provocative, and each author read a bit from their work.

A little more shopping and it was back to the room to prep for tomorrow’s sessions:

0900 – 1015     A Room of Our Own: How to Make the Most of (or Create) a Writer’s Workspace
1030 – 1145     Women in Crime
1200 – 1315     Career Suicide
1330 – 1445     Numbers Trouble: Editors and Writers Speak to VIDA’s Count
1500 – 1615     Master of None: Surviving and Thriving without an MFA
1630 – 1745     Shadow Show: Writers and Teachers on the Influence of Ray Bradbury