Please Do Not Feed the Distractions
Hint: Reading and research are not distractions but binging on Tootsie Rolls is.
Dear Readers,
Where did this week go? Several times I sat down to write you and then I got distracted by something shiny and suddenly the week was gone. I’m afraid, dear readers, that next week may be a repeat: On Monday I am taking my mom to UCI for another test. (She’s fine, but this is all related to some ongoing health stuff that requires monitoring.) Tuesday I am meeting with my 909 Books partner Mark to talk business before my sister Sara and I take Mom to see Hadestown for her birthday. Wednesday I am having lunch with RM Ambrose, and while talking about writing can be wonderful, it doesn’t stand in for the real thing. Thursday is free and clear and Friday, for 100 Rejections Club, we are holding a write-in at Back to the Grind so I should be able to spend those two days being productive.
As for all the shiny things that got my attention this week? For one, I talked with Gayle Brandeis, who I have known for going on twenty-seven years, about her life as a bookseller and what she’s been up to. Gayle and her husband Michael own Secret World Books in Highland Park, Illinois. She is also the author of several novels, a memoir, and a collection of essays, a writing guide, and two collections of poetry. While she was still an Inland Empire resident, she was Inlandia Literary Laureate. We’ve remained friends all this time in spite of all the things that could get in the way.
Yesterday, my favorite poetry podcast featured her viral poem “The plum you’re going to eat next summer” so I have to share that here. Click the image to listen to Slowdown host Maggie Smith read Gayle’s poem.
It’s occurred to me that there are so many authors who own bookstores: Louise Erdrich, Ann Patchett, Ryan Holiday, Judy Blume, and Gayle, to name just a few. What would make a writer give up so much of their time in the service of readers? A subject for a future post! Meanwhile, if you’re in the market for a new book, and inclined toward supporting indie booksellers, set your Bookshop to Secret World Books.
Other shiny things this week: I got my copy edits back for Clay Bodies and after accepting and rejecting all the edits, I have been going back through and addressing the comments from the copy editor noting places of redundancy and finding that I need to do some heavy rewriting on a couple of chapters. This sent me down the research rabbit hole once again. I’ve also been working on a new project: a novel based on some of the material that didn’t make into the memoir. It’s juicy stuff involving rum runners, dead bodies on the beach, and suspected infidelities. I’ve been researching the real-life people involved to be sure that even when I fictionalize them that I’ve gotten core details right. Writing a novel is a totally new endeavor for me, so I am also using reading as research. War and Peace is coming along. I’ve also been reading Tod Goldberg’s Only Way Out and just finished The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I’ve never formally studied fiction writing, and would appreciate some pointers on how to tackle POV and tense.
I also went through a box of materials that the current owner of the Keeler family home in South Gate sent me a while back and took photos of everything so I can refer to it without pulling everything out. Some of the materials are very fragile. One piece of particular interest is this table of clays and fluxes (at least I think that’s what they are) and the outcomes, presumably created by Rufus. What do the decimals mean? What was he trying to do? Next time you pick up your coffee mug, think about the science involved in figuring out the precise mixture of clay and flux, the heat of the kiln, and the men and women who figured this shit out just through trial and error.
Also, I keep playing with prototypes of book covers in Canva, to see what I like and what feels good for the book. I think I’ve settled on no subtitle, just Clay Bodies: A Memoir. And I really, really love this image of Rufus on the beach. What do you think?
Oooh. I love this cover!
Fantastic cover, score!