8.06.2004
A little bogged down with deadlines these days. The deadline for the new book looms large, I turn in a short story for a crime fiction anthology on Monday, and I've also been juggling a personal writing project and thinking about the outline for the third Maceo Redfield novel. While I was on the road quite a few people asked if I planned to continue the series past book three, and my answer is "not right away". My goal is to keep the series fresh for both myself and for readers so I think a break, and a little distance, is the answer to that.
Just finished reading two books that were the perfect compliment to one another. The first was John Irving's A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR and the second was Ann Patchett's detailed account of her friendship with Lucy Grealy. The book TRUTH & BEAUTY is beautifully written and Patchett is honest about her co-dependency. Years ago I read Grealy's AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FACE and it stayed with me for months. At the age of nine Grealy was struck with a form of cancer that destroyed more than half of her face. Her subsequent years were filled with physical and emotional pain as she endured multiple surgeries and disappointments. Through it all she had a burning desire to write and she accomplished that goal through memoir, poetry and essays.
Patchett chronicles all of this in searing detail as she recounts their friendship through memories and letters. Both books, in very different ways, explore the "writing life" and what it means to sustain creativity and remain true to your own voice. TRUTH & BEAUTY is sad, and A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR is saturated with melancholy but both were just what I needed as I make the awkward, bumpy and terrifying transition to professional writer. Not complaining but just becoming acutely aware of my own responsibilties and fears. Writing to me has always been about escape, personal ideas and maintaining a place to retreat from the real world. Now I am learning to balance all of that with commerce. Not always easy but I can't think of many things that I would classify as easy, and certainly not anything worth this much thought and effort.
Hopefully, I'll get a chance to see A DOOR IN THE FLOOR this weekend. DOOR is the film adapation of the first third of A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR. Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger play the leads. They both seem perfect for the parts, especially Basinger, so I am eager to see what she did with the role.
Until next time. . .
Just finished reading two books that were the perfect compliment to one another. The first was John Irving's A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR and the second was Ann Patchett's detailed account of her friendship with Lucy Grealy. The book TRUTH & BEAUTY is beautifully written and Patchett is honest about her co-dependency. Years ago I read Grealy's AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FACE and it stayed with me for months. At the age of nine Grealy was struck with a form of cancer that destroyed more than half of her face. Her subsequent years were filled with physical and emotional pain as she endured multiple surgeries and disappointments. Through it all she had a burning desire to write and she accomplished that goal through memoir, poetry and essays.
Patchett chronicles all of this in searing detail as she recounts their friendship through memories and letters. Both books, in very different ways, explore the "writing life" and what it means to sustain creativity and remain true to your own voice. TRUTH & BEAUTY is sad, and A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR is saturated with melancholy but both were just what I needed as I make the awkward, bumpy and terrifying transition to professional writer. Not complaining but just becoming acutely aware of my own responsibilties and fears. Writing to me has always been about escape, personal ideas and maintaining a place to retreat from the real world. Now I am learning to balance all of that with commerce. Not always easy but I can't think of many things that I would classify as easy, and certainly not anything worth this much thought and effort.
Hopefully, I'll get a chance to see A DOOR IN THE FLOOR this weekend. DOOR is the film adapation of the first third of A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR. Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger play the leads. They both seem perfect for the parts, especially Basinger, so I am eager to see what she did with the role.
Until next time. . .
