Friday Reads: Courtney Summers

This past week, I read three books by the same author: Courtney Summers. She writes raw and real YA contemporary (with one notable exception) in which the characters aren't always likable—in fact, sometimes they're downright unpleasant—and yet you still care tremendously about what happens to them. Not an easy task! But jumping back a little, I first experienced Summers' talent back in January, when a friend recommended the author's debut, Cracked up to Be. She said elements of my own work-in-progress reminded her of this book, so I immediately ordered a copy to check it out. I really enjoyed it. The main character, Parker Fadley, has basically self-destructed. She was cheerleading captain, a great student, an all-around popular girl (despite not always being that nice—something Summers examines in more than one book), and now she's in a downward spiral, drinking too much, on suicide watch. Why? As the back cover copy says, "Something horrible has happened, and it just might be her fault."

Parker is not a nice person. She's angry and spiteful and sarcastic and downright MEAN. But Summers also gives you glimpses into the hurt, scared girl beneath the tough outer persona. For me, those glimpses were the main reason I couldn't put the book down. Something had gone terribly wrong in this girl's life, and not only did I want to find out what it was, I also wanted, and needed, to see her find some relief.

That's a theme that runs through all of Summers' books, as it turns out. I read Some Girls Are, Fall for Anything, and This Is Not a Test over a period of about four days total last weekend and at the start of this week, and while I definitely enjoyed some of them more than others, I came out of that reading spree really admiring Summers' work.

My favorite of those three was Fall for Anything. It's about a girl, Eddie, whose father has just committed suicide. No one saw it coming, and Eddie can't stop looking for a reason why. Her relationships are suffering, too. Her mom is almost catatonic with grief, and her best friend, Milo, feels sidelined as Eddie gets more and more obsessed with solving the mystery of her dad's suicide. When Eddie meets Culler Evans, a former photography student of her father's, they join forces to look for clues based on her father's final photos. But not all questions have answers, and not everything is what it seems...

Eddie's grief and desperation were so real. Each action she took felt like the natural next step for someone who's been sucker-punched by life, who feels adrift and unsupported even while not accepting support from people who care. Even when I started to get that "something's not right" feeling in my gut, I was 100% with the character in her need to believe that she could figure things out. I couldn't put this one down.

I similarly couldn't put down Some Girls Are and This Is Not a Test, even if I didn't enjoy the reading experience quite as much. With Some Girls Are, the reason was sheer brutality. The book was "Mean Girls" on steroids. Regina is best friends with the meanest, most popular girl in school—until she gets caught doing something she shouldn't be doing (and didn't really do) and is unceremoniously booted from the clique. Now unpopular, she is forced to face the fact that as Anna's best friend, she basically alienated everyone else in the school. She spread terrible rumors about people. Got them in trouble. Made people hurt the way she is now hurting. And now that she's on the receiving end of Anna's malice, no one wants to come to her aid.

This book was...well, I already said brutal. Regina takes an emotional battering (and at one point, is actually beat up by her former "friends"). She hits back, too. As desperate and unhappy as she is, she's not a nice person. Just because she knows she's not nice, doesn't mean she knows how to suddenly make it better. She's in survival mode. Attack mode. This is an angry book. From calculating, powerful Anna to her vengeful new sidekick Kara to Regina's raw, nothing-left-to-lose lashing out, these are not characters you want to mess with. I raced through this book, and I felt a little bruised, afterward.

Ditto This Is Not a Test, which is brutal in an entirely different way. The story takes place during a zombie outbreak. This is not a spoiler; it happens in the first chapter and the rest of the book is the characters attempting to survive. However, it was a surprise to me when I got to that page, because I had no idea the book was going to be about zombies. (Yay for not looking at what a book is about before picking it up!) Long story short, I don't do well with zombies. Ghosts, vampires, werewolves, other scary things...okay. Zombies freak me out. I don't know exactly why.

That said, this is only half a zombie book. Most of the story takes place with a group of teens hiding in their old high school. They're barricaded in, scared out of their minds, and so it becomes about the interpersonal relationships and power struggles between them, even as the world ends outside. That's what helped me get through this book—because I wanted to find out what happened to the main character, Sloane, even as I wasn't sure I really wanted to read more about zombies. The kicker is: Sloane was going to kill herself the morning the zombies appeared. Now she is fighting to live, but not sure she wants to.

Each of Summers' books has protagonists dealing with major issues, from death to depression to bullying and beyond. And, none of the books ends with the characters having figured everything out and resolved their issues. Maybe they've figured out what direction to go in, but they've barely started down that road by the final pages. I think that's part of what makes Summers' stories so raw and real. There are no neat tie-ups, no happy conclusions. You get a little bit of hope, but the pain's far from gone.

In short, I'd highly recommend Courtney Summers' work. Just...maybe don't read these books all at once, like I did. If you do, be prepared to need some light, happy reading after. :)

~Kathryn

Intimate and Distant: Liss Fain Dance's "The Water is Clear and Still"

I love seeing dance up close. So close you can see and hear each breath. So close you see individual beads of sweat. I love to see muscles twitching and engaging. From a distance—from a seat in a large auditorium, watching dancers on a traditional proscenium stage—I know the dancers are breathing and sweating and that their muscles are twitching. But there's something different about being so close you can almost experience each of those things alongside the dancers. This past Thursday, I attended a performance by Liss Fain Dance, a San Francisco–based company visiting Brooklyn for two showings of its hour-long piece "The Water is Clear and Still." The show was held in DUMBO's powerHouse Arena, a bookstore, gallery, and performance space. I didn't know anything about the company going in, but I was intrigued by the unusual setting, and by the fact that the audience was encouraged to wander between the piece's sculpture installations, around the perimeter of the dance space, to see the dancers from different angles and vantage points.

In terms of visual interest, "The Water is Clear and Still" didn't disappoint. Because I was standing on the same level as the dancers, rather than sitting and watching them from afar, the piece felt incredibly intimate. Yes, the six dancers and one actor who made up the cast occupied a defined performance space, but I could travel with them around the room. I chose who and what I wanted to see in any given moment. And my perspective in viewing the choreography was constantly shifting. I had dancers moving in my immediate foreground, close enough to touch. Through their stretching limbs and suspended shapes, I could see other dancers moving; audience members on the other side of the room experienced the opposite. In one dizzying and effective moment, the lighting design on the floor began to move—and because I was standing there, too, I suddenly felt like part of the piece. Not once during the evening did I find myself without something arresting to see.

"The Water is Clear and Still" was inspired by a short story collection by Jamaica Kincaid, At the Bottom of the River. Throughout the piece, an actress circled the space, reciting fragments from Kincaid's stories. She was as much a part of the sound score as the music, and I have to confess that there were times when I heard her voice as nothing more than that: sound, rather than words. Because the movement was abstract and didn't directly relate to what was being spoken, it was hard to focus on both. Aside from a section set to Kincaid's "Girl," in which the actress interacted with and manipulated the dancers directly, I heard individual images rather than a clear through-line. Was this frustrating? A little, and probably mostly because I'm a writer. I would have loved to have seen even more connection between the text and the choreography.

Director/choreographer Liss Fain is lucky to have a group of incredibly talented performers at her disposal. Each dancer's technical ability and strong focus worked well not only for the challenging contemporary choreography Fain created, but also for the overall dreamlike aesthetic of the piece. While I wouldn't say I came away from the evening with a clear sense of what differentiates Fain's movement from other technique-driven contemporary dance companies out there, certain movement motifs in this piece did stick with me. Dancers pounding their breasts in unison. Pulling their arms apart, as if drawing back a bow. Promenading slowly in back attitude, wrists circling. The performers were powerful, present movers. Shannon Kurashige in particular kept catching my eye with her precision and control. She danced with complete confidence and wasn't afraid to let go and move with abandon.

Would I recommend this company's work? Definitely! The dancers are skilled and deserve an audience, and the conceptual design of this show made for a fascinating viewing experience. I'm interested to see what else Fain might have up her sleeve. If the company returns to New York—or if you're based on the west coast—consider checking them out. (Go here for more information on Liss Fain Dance.)

~Kathryn

Friday Reads: "Lovely, Dark and Deep" by Amy McNamara

Y'all. This book. THIS BOOK. I finished it on Wednesday night, in bed, late. Had to stay up until I read the last page. Haven't yet been able to pick up a new book. I'm still living with these characters, still recovering from and savoring the journey this book took me on. It was intense and emotional and beautiful. So sad. And so uplifting. And so raw and real.

I want my writing to do to a reader what this book did to me.

Lovely, Dark and Deep is about a girl's slow and painful recovery after a tragedy. Wren has moved from her busy life with her mom in Manhattan to a cold, isolated existence with her dad in the Maine woods. She's pulled away from the friends she had before, pushed away the people who say that she should be moving beyond her grief by now, months after the night that changed her life forever. She spent three months after the car accident that killed her boyfriend not speaking at all, and she still retreats into a deep, comforting silence whenever the world gets too hard, too intrusive, too real.

The book follows Wren through this painful first winter after the accident, as she wavers between wanting to hide forever and being slowly pulled out of her shell of grief by new friends and people who care about her. When she meets Cal, a guy who's facing a struggle of his own, they start to find solace in each other—but she has to decide whether opening up again is worth the possibility of pain that relationships bring.

The language in this book was so evocative and beautiful. Amy McNamara is a poet, and it shows in her prose. Every word counts. The writing in Lovely, Dark and Deep perfectly portrays Wren's emotional state. When she's far away, retreating, being silent, you feel that muffled grief in every sentence. When her pain pierces the surface, you feel that, too. I'm not exaggerating when I say I read most of this book with a tightness in my chest, almost like I was experiencing Wren's emotions along with her. It's part of the reason why I couldn't put it down—I needed the emotional relief I hoped was coming for Wren.

I also have to mention the setting. I saw, so vividly, the world Wren lived in, especially the woods where she runs—woods that are, in the words of Robert Frost that she only partially remembers, "lovely, dark and deep." Snow blankets those woods like grief blankets Wren. The ground is often rocky and treacherous. Icy snow cuts at Wren's ankles. I'm working on a book in which setting is hugely important, as well, and I read McNamara's book almost like a master-class in physical description and emotional resonance.

Have I gushed enough yet? Do you need to hear more about Cal, the kind, stubborn (and cute) love interest dealing with a loss that's the same as and also different from Wren's? Should I mention that for all the sadness in this book, it's also filled with hope?

Needless to say: Read Lovely, Dark and Deep. I know I'll be thinking about it for a long time to come.

~Kathryn

Venturing Outside the Comfort Zone

So, I'm leading a writing workshop tonight at Postmark Cafe in Park Slope. And I'm excited! I'm also a little nervous. But mostly excited! The workshop is part of an ongoing series of events my church has been hosting. I was enlisted in January by the event coordinator to lead "something to do with writing," topic/structure of my choice. When she asked me, I was flattered and interested. Then, after I said yes, the nerves set in. This will be my first real workshop — the first I'm leading on my own. I was a TA in grad school, and ended up lead-teaching half a semester of undergrad Shakespeare when the professor had some health issues, but it's been two and a half years since that last teaching experience. I'm feeling a little rusty.

Another element that makes this both really interesting and a little nerve-wracking is that the workshop isn't entirely about writing. I'm expecting a mix of writers and non-writers. My primary goal won't be to improve the participants' writing. (Though obviously, that would be a nice side-effect!) Instead, I'm using a writing exercise to launch reflection and group discussion. I'm hoping that everyone will jump into the free-writing portion, with my guidance, and then will be willing to share what they wrote and talk about what everyone else wrote. I'm hoping, in short, not to hear crickets chirp when I'm done with the introduction and explanation portion of the evening.

So what is my workshop about? I'm going to use Joe Brainerd's I Remember as a jumping-off point for people to write their own "I remember..." stories. It's not an uncommon workshop idea. I had variations on this assignment in two different workshops in grad school, and both times, the results were really interesting and useful to me as a writer. However, because tonight's workshop has the church connection, we'll specifically look at memories related to spirituality/church/faith. I want to find commonalities and discussion points among people's memories about the turning points in their spiritual journeys, whatever those might be. Questions, concerns, and realizations. Ups, downs, and in-betweens. Certainties and doubts.

I have my lesson plan. I've made handouts. (What writing workshop is complete without handouts?) I've got my notes on what I want to be sure to say, and I've got an idea for what I'll write during the free-writing time, so I don't draw a blank when I'm trying to inspire everyone else to write. I have a handful of extra pens and a stack of notebook paper. I think I'm ready!

I have no idea how many people to expect. It's a one-time thing, and it's a Tuesday, and people have lives. I have my fingers crossed for enough people that I won't feel like I'm talking to tumbleweeds, but not so many that it doesn't feel personal. I don't know quite what that number is; I guess I'll find out. And I hope they're talkative, but not so talkative that they don't write. And I hope I'm ready to think on my feet, because I know from past teaching experiences that I'll have to!

Regardless of how it goes, I'm eager to share something that I'm passionate about — writing — in a new context. I'm grateful for the opportunity to try something new and to step outside my comfort zone, both in terms of leading a workshop, period, and in terms of the writing portion of the workshop being a means to an end, rather than the end itself. And who knows — maybe it will go so well that people will want to do it again! Fingers crossed...

Any advice from the peanut gallery for tonight?

~Kathryn :)

Friday Reads: "The Diviners" by Libba Bray

So, as promised last week, I am devoting today's post to Libba Bray's epic historical paranormal YA novel The Diviners. Here's the first thing you have to know about this book: I LOVED IT. The other thing you should know before jumping in is that it's long. My friend Michael, who reviewed the book for io9.com (read her excellent review here!), recommended it to me as both a fabulous read, and as a doorstop. Basically, not an easy standing-in-the-subway read, unless you have strong wrists.

This book is so worth the potential wrist pain. It's a jazz-age murder mystery/ghost story with a creepy and horrifying villain and a cast of characters from all walks of life who make 1920s NYC come to life. Teens with paranormal powers go to speakeasies and the Ziegfield Follies and flee from bad guys in crank-powered automobiles. Hair gets bobbed, money gets pinched at Grand Central Station, and slimy reporters flirt with the feisty blonde ingenue. The period-appropriate slang is pos-i-tute-ly the cat's pajamas. Also, there's a hint of a broader government conspiracy having to do with paranormal powers and World War I.

Enticed yet?

Here's the basic synopsis: Aspiring flapper Evie O'Neill has been sent from her sleepy hometown in Ohio to Manhattan after a party trick — she can "read" objects and learn secrets about the people who own them — turns her into a pariah. Not that she minds going to New York City to live her dreams. She moves in with her Uncle Will, who runs the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult (also known as the Museum of Creepy Crawlies). Not long after she arrives, intending to take the city by storm, a murderer hits the streets of New York, leaving gruesome and supernaturally significant crime scenes in his wake. Evie's uncle is consulted, given his knowledge of the occult, and Evie decides she can help by using her power to see if she can learn anything from the objects worn by the deceased. Unfortunately, what she discovers is that they're not dealing with any ordinary serial killer.

The main thrust of the story is finding out who's committing the murders, and why. But the book also looks at an array of characters' lives, from a Harlem numbers-runner who wants to be a poet to a Ziegfield chorus girl on the run from a troubled past. They each get sections told from their point of view — and the kicker is, almost every featured character has a supernatural power of their own. Of course, they all think they're alone in having a terrible (though sometimes useful) secret. How all of their powers fit together seems to be where Bray is heading in Book Two, and beyond — and I CAN'T WAIT.

If you like historical fiction, or mysteries, or ghost stories, or breathtakingly lovely writing, or just really good books filled with characters that jump off the page and stick with you, you won't regret picking up this book.

Enough gushing! Anyone else read anything good recently? I want to hear about it!

~Kathryn

Friday Reads: "Imaginary Girls" and "Bossypants"

It's Friday! Even though I have big plans this weekend ... to get lots of work done and organize my taxes, Friday feels, as always, like a relief. Another week checked off. It also means it's time for Friday Reads! That title up there is a little misleading. What I'm actually reading TODAY is The Diviners by Libba Bray, a supernatural mystery set in 1920s NYC. However, that book is incredibly long, and I'm less than halfway through, so I am going to talk about it next week, once I finish it. (But rest assured, I'm enjoying it! Creepy and fascinating and funny!)

Instead, I have to talk about what I read since last week's post. I finished Nova Ren Suma's Imaginary Girls on the airplane on my way to visit my family last weekend. I couldn't put it down, even though my plan for our early morning flight to Tennessee was to sleep and sleep some more. Not that it's a page-turner in the same way as other recent reads, like Gone Girl, or like The Diviners, but the story propels you forward, getting more and more claustrophobic and uncertain, until you, like the drowned girl in the first chapter, can't breathe.

Drowned girl, you ask? Okay, let's start at the beginning. Imaginary Girls is the story of two sisters: Chloe and her older sister Ruby, who has a mysterious hold over everyone in their small upstate New York town, from the men she uses to her bosses at work to Chloe herself. Their mother is a drunk who couldn't take care of them, and their fathers both left, and so Ruby basically raised Chloe. They're inseparable. The book opens with Chloe swimming out into the reservoir on the edge of town, after Ruby tells a crowd at a party about Chloe's swimming prowess. In the middle of the reservoir, scared and alone, Chloe finds a boat. With a dead girl in it.

She's sent off to live with her dad and his new wife in Pennsylvania, where two years pass. Then Ruby comes back for her. New life forgotten, Chloe runs back to Ruby, where she finds that things in town haven't changed at all. Ruby still has men wrapped around her little finger. Their mother still hangs out at the same bar. And ... the dead girl is still alive. And no one but Chloe seems to know that she shouldn't be.

I don't want to spoil anything else, because Imaginary Girls takes you so many places after that initial revelation. Is it a ghost story? Is Chloe slowly losing her mind? Is Ruby responsible? Are there bigger forces at work? What I will say is that the relationship between the two sisters is intense and powerful. The writing is lyrical and beautiful and perfectly fits the moody content of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even while it was completely unsettling. Highly recommend!

On the flight home, I read Tina Fey's memoir, Bossypants (recommended by Ghenet after I posted about A Girl Named Zippy). As I expected, I liked it! Fey's writing is so similar to her performance persona that it felt familiar, but it was also nice to learn more about her life and what led her to her current stardom. I also loved the chapters that felt more like personal essay than memoir—meditations on beauty, weight, and the challenges of being a woman in a "man's profession" (comedy). The chapter "The Mother's Prayer for Its Daughter" in particular was a funny, thoughtful, heartfelt meditation on motherhood and on growing up.

This book definitely made me laugh throughout! If I were to have any criticism, it would be that I wish I'd gotten to spend more time with her before she hit the public eye. A large portion of the book takes place during her "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock" days. While the behind-the-scenes info is fascinating, I loved her recollection of her childhood so much that I wish she'd devoted more chapters to her youth. Also, she barely mentions Mean Girls, and it made me curious as to why that didn't get its own chapter. Basically, as a loose collection of chronological essays, this is a great book, but as a memoir, I felt like it had holes! But that could just be my take. I definitely recommend this one.

It's been a good week for reading! Hope you're enjoying the same book luck as I have been.

Until next time,

Kathryn

Family Time and Travels

You may have noticed that I was supposed to post yesterday, and didn't. Or, more likely, you have no idea when I plan to post and simply come here whenever I share a post on Facebook or Twitter. Regardless, this week, Wednesday is the new Tuesday! Justin and I spent the weekend in Tennessee with my family. The main reason we went was to meet our new nephew. He didn't disappoint! I dare you to tell me this isn't the absolute cutest five-week-old you've ever seen:

Unlike our last visit to Nashville over Christmas, when we saw a movie and did a few touristy things and ate at every delicious restaurant in the city in just six days, this trip was completely calm and quiet. We mostly got up, watched some TV, got dressed, and went to my brother and sister-in-law's house to hang out with baby Turner. Where he mostly did this:

We also got to give him a bath, whereupon he made possibly my favorite face ever:

Except for the time he made this face:

In short, it was a lovely weekend, and I got my baby-cuddling fix, and I'm bummed that we can't see Turner (and the rest of my family) more often. One of the few things I dislike about living in Brooklyn is how far away my family is (and how expensive plane tickets are!!). But thanks to the wonders of modern technology, we've already video-chatted with Turner a few times. Hopefully he'll eventually start to recognize his Aunt Kat and Uncle Justin, despite our distance.

Yesterday, back at home, it was back to work as usual. Not only do I have some freelance deadlines to meet this week, I'm hoping to finish revising my novel within the next month. I've heard back from all of my brilliant beta readers and they've given me a lot to chew on. Now I just have to implement those changes! I'm really happy with how this book is turning out, and it's a relief to know that other people have enjoyed it, too. I'm confident that if I dig in, I can make it the best it can be.

And maybe by the time Turner is a teenager, it will have been published. :p

Now, back to it. See you on Friday!

~Kathryn

Friday Reads: "Under the Never Sky" by Veronica Rossi

Today's Friday Reads will be short-n-sweet, because I am back to revising my own book and I can't wait to dive into it this morning! But I didn't want to skip the important job of book blogging. (Heaven knows there aren't enough book bloggers out there...) :p I only read one book this week. Luckily, it was a good one: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. I've been hearing about this book for a while, especially from the members of my Wednesday night writer's group. It's a Young Adult novel set in a distant future after a catastrophic event, the Unity, has basically destroyed the environment. I'm not entirely clear whether the Unity was a war or a weather-gone-wild situation, but this is the first book in a trilogy, so it's possible more will be explained! Regardless, much of humanity has been living cooped up in giant climate-controlled pods, spending most of their lives in the Realms (a next-next-next-next-etc generation Internet accessed via an eyepiece and the user's brain) and hearing scary stories about the savages who live in the destroyed world outside.

The plot gets rolling when Aria, a teen living in the pod Reverie, sneaks into a storm-damaged, off-limits dome with a few friends. She just wants to get information on her mother, who's a geneticist working at another pod, Bliss, but the boys she's with have more sinister plans. This scene sets into motion a chain of events that lead to her getting thrown out of Reverie into the "Death Shop" outside, where she expects to die within minutes.

Spoiler: She doesn't die. (She is the protagonist, after all!) She is rescued by a "savage" named Peregrine who has the ability to see in the dark and scent "tempers," or people's emotions, and who is facing struggles of his own within his tribe. They form an unlikely alliance, and as they help each other, they learn more about themselves and form a strong bond. And that's all I'll say, so as not to spoil anything else!

I liked this book, but I will confess that it took me about a third of it to really become invested in the characters and the world. I've read a lot of dystopian stories in the past few years, and this wasn't one of the ones that grabbed me from page one. Once Aria and Peregrine began to care about each other, rather than being two completely separate people sharing the same experience, I cared more about both of them. By the end, I was rooting for them for real, rather than just reading about them.

Would I recommend Under the Never Sky? I would! I really enjoyed the second half of it, and I am eager to pick up Book Two, Through the Ever Night, which just came out this month. And maybe you'll be more gripped from the get-go than I was. Also, maybe it won't bug you that Peregrine's nickname is "Perry," which sounds like the exact opposite of a tortured hunter/tracker/tribe leader with amazingly evolved senses and made me think of Perry the Platypus from "Phineas and Ferb." (Perry. The tortured hunter/tracker/tribe leader with amazingly evolved senses ... and a fedora. Heh.)

Have you read Under the Never Sky? Were you wild about it? What's your favorite teen dystopian book/series?

Happy reading,

Kathryn

Why I Heart New York—Part 2

After last week's New York-y post, I got inspired to do another! You're getting a Part 2 because I encountered something else I'd never seen before that I had to share, and because after writing about loving New York in the snow, I got plenty of it! (Of course, it's almost gone now, but it was beautiful on Saturday...) But before getting to those things, I have to digress a little. It's Valentine's Day on Thursday, and while I didn't want to do a lovey-dovey post, I have to mention my own little love story. After all, one of the reasons I heart New York is that I met my husband here!

Four years ago today, we went on our first date. That date almost didn't happen. We were set up by two acquaintances, and Justin wasn't sure he even wanted to contact me. Neither of us really thought a setup would work, but I was willing to give it a go, so I e-mailed him first. We made dinner plans for Bacchus, in Brooklyn. Then, on our big date day, I woke up feeling so sick. I ended up meeting him dosed up with cold medicine, and with a definite "cold voice." Not quite the first impression I was going for! (He made up for it by getting a bad case of poison ivy shortly thereafter, causing us to postpone our second date for almost three weeks. I thought he was blowing me off—who gets poison ivy in New York? Luckily, it was a good second date, complete with a perfect kiss at the bus stop in the snow...which is a story for another post.)

So, happy dating anniversary, Justin! I'm so glad my low energy, foggy head, and snotty cold voice didn't scare you off, and that you gave me another chance. (And that I gave you another chance after the poison ivy excuse...) It's been an amazing four years with you!

*Ahem*

Now on to the non-mushy portion of the post!

*     *     *

In the late fall, I joined a Wednesday evening "Write Night" that meets at the midtown Panera. The restaurant is right around the corner from the beautiful New York Public Library, and depending on which subway I take there and back, I either walk past the front facade of the library, or past the lovely Bryant Park. In general, midtown isn't my favorite part of the city, but you can't argue with this:

Last week, I happened to walk to Panera via 41st Street, and I saw something I hadn't noticed before. Because 41st Street comes right up to the front of the library, this block is known as Library Way. And, if you look down between Madison Avenue and Fifth, you'll see reading-themed plaques embedded in the sidewalk. I think my walk took three times as long as usual, because I had to stop to read them all! Here are a few of my favorites:

If you're a book lover, and you find yourself in this part of Manhattan, walk down Library Way! You won't regret it.

As for snowstorm Nemo (how's that for a segue?), it wasn't nearly as bad in our area as predicted, but we still got some lovely snow. On Saturday, Justin and I bundled up and headed to Prospect Park to see what was going on. I think every child in our neighborhood was out sledding! Next year, we'll be prepared with sleds of our own.

We headed from there into the Ravine, a wooded part of the park I love because its hilly trails can make you forget you're in a major metropolitan park. Though we could still hear the laughter and squeals of the sledders and snowball fighters, there were a few times we were the only people on our trail! And the snow was gorgeous.

Now that it's a little warmer and what little snow is left on the ground has turned black and slushy, I'm pretty much ready for spring to come. Still, it was so great to get a proper snowstorm this year! It makes those sub-freezing, sleety, windy, gray NYC winter days a little more worth it.

And on that note, this long post comes to an end. :)

~Kathryn

Snowy Friday Reads: "Gone Girl" and "Bird by Bird"

If the weather forecasters are correct, New York City's about to get a whole lot of snow. I don't mind—we haven't had much snow yet this winter, we didn't get much last winter, and I missed the 2010 day-after-Christmas "Snowmageddon" the year before because we were in Tennessee for the holidays. So I feel due a good snow accumulation. Depending on how it looks tomorrow, I may even convince my husband to go out and frolic in it! Snow days with no responsibilities (and no power outages) are fabulous! Plus, I have plenty of unread books. I always think of books when major snow is predicted because of a story my mom loves to tell from when I was a kid. I was a serious reader, and I LOVED going to the library. When I was 10, we had one of the biggest blizzards ever on record for the area—several feet of snow in my hometown, which was normally lucky to get a few inches each winter. To me and my brother and sister, it was heaven. Sledding, snowmen, and snowball fights outside, a fire in the fireplace and hot cocoa inside, and NO SCHOOL.

But in the lead-up to the storm, as everyone was buying every last roll of toilet paper and jug of water and can of soup from the local grocery stores, I had another, more important request for my mom: "We have to go to the library! I don't have enough books!!" Not that I didn't have anything at all to read; I had shelves and shelves of books. But I had added up the unread books on my shelves, and the days we were expected to be snowed in, and I knew I had a serious problem on my hands.

My mom took me to the library, and I loaded up. My mom understood things like that.

Right now, I have six or seven books in my "to-read" stack, plus a few I've been wanting to reread, so I think I'll be set whatever Blizzard Nemo throws our way! So in the meantime, let's talk about current reads.

After I finished A Girl Named Zippy, I read through some back issues of Writer's Digest. Then, because I was in a "thoughts on writing" mood, I picked up Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird. My mom gave me this book in college, when I was majoring in English literature (and dance performance and choreography) and taking my first formal courses in creative writing. I had no idea at the time what kind of writer I wanted to be—my short stories and poems from college are all over the place, and some are trying so hard to be something literary and important that it makes me smile and cringe, both, to read them now. But I knew I wanted to write, somehow, and so I was given Bird by Bird.

The book is Lamott's meditation on writing practices that work, not only in terms of getting something reasonably good down on the page, but also in terms of not driving yourself crazy getting there. The title comes from something her father, also a writer, said to her 10-year-old brother when he was struggling with an overwhelming homework assignment, a long report on birds. "Just take it bird by bird," Lamott's father said, and this is the primary bit of advice she returns through in her book on writing.

One of her main concepts is the idea of breaking down a large project into small chunks that are manageable, so that you can have a sense of accomplishment each writing day and not get overwhelmed by everything that's ahead. She talks about looking at each day or hour's writing through a one-inch picture frame: focus on a single scene, a single moment of character development, a single memory you have to get down, and let your writing flow from there. She also keeps going back to the idea that your first draft isn't supposed to be perfect—it's the time when you let your characters run wild and you overdescribe and underdevelop and basically figure things out as you go, without stopping the stream of creativity. I didn't truly get this concept until first-drafting my current book. Because I stopped self-editing and just let myself write until I reached the end, I finished my first draft in 10 weeks last year, and then dug in to revise it and make it better.

I stopped halfway through Bird by Bird on Wednesday, and will get back to it soon, because of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I'd had this book on hold at the library for about two months, after having SO MANY people tell me I had to read it, and I finally got the e-mail that my copy was ready! So I ran to pick it up. I'm sure Anne Lamott would understand.

I'm only halfway through, so you can rest assured I won't spoil the mystery in any way, but this book is really fantastic. It's the story of an unhappy wife gone missing, presumed dead. It's the story of a supremely miserable marriage, a disillusioned and bitter husband, and what happens when two people stop talking to each other about anything that really matters. It's the story of both before and after Nick and Amy Dunne's five-year anniversary—the day she disappears and Nick can't or won't explain his whereabouts. It's completely suspenseful and I stayed up too late last night reading it and it's all I can do not to toss all my work aside for the day and curl up on the couch with it now!

If you're in the northeast U.S., what's your snow-day reading plan? If you're somewhere warmer and sunnier, what's on your book list for the weekend?

~Kathryn

Why I Heart New York

One of my favorite things about living in New York City is how the most amazing sights and experiences are just around the corner. I've lived in Brooklyn for more than eight years, and even in areas of Brooklyn and Manhattan where I spend a lot of time, I'll still walk down a block I've never walked down before and encounter something entirely new. Or the light will hit something just right and I'll have this moment of "Wow—I live here!" Case in point: On my daily walk to the R train, I pass The Grand Prospect Hall, an event space built in 1892 that has housed vaudeville shows, early motion pictures, masquerade balls, a Prohibition-era speakeasy, and countless movie shoots over the years. Today, it's a wedding venue, party space, concert hall—and fulfiller of dreams, according to this amazing commercial. I haven't yet been inside, but I'm keeping an eye out for open-to-the-public events this year!

Another example: I have been taking dance classes at the same Lower Manhattan dance studio since 2006. Last year, I happened to walk down a street two blocks to the north of the one I usually take, and I saw this for the first time:

The African Burial Ground National Monument is a site with remains of several hundred Africans—free and enslaved—buried in the 17th and 18th centuries. It's this elegant, imposing, quiet, sacred space surrounded by Lower Manhattan's bankers and politicians and tourists and general bustle, and it's beautiful.

There are some NYC sights I never get tired of seeing. The Statue of Liberty. Lower Manhattan lit up at night from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (or Brooklyn Bridge Park). New York City with a dusting of snow (at least until people begin walking their dogs in it). I love standing between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges in DUMBO and feeling lost in the woods in Prospect Park. I love riding in the front car in the subway and watching the tunnel appear ahead of us, out of the darkness. Basically, I heart this city, and whenever I get frustrated with a delayed subway ride or the crush of tourists in Soho or the bitter February cold or the miserable August heat or the average rent in our lovely neighborhood—I picture all the things I love. I turn a corner and see something new. And I'm so happy to be here.

My husband and I like to go on NYC "adventures." We've taken a tourist boat cruise around the tip of Lower Manhattan, gone to the botanic gardens in Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Staten Island, toured the abandoned Atlantic Avenue rail tunnel, checked out dozens of museums, visited the Bronx Zoo, and done so much more. I can't wait to see what adventures 2013 will bring, and I can't wait to share them here. (Spoiler—Justin's never been to Coney Island, so that's on this year's list!)

What's your favorite NYC spot or activity? Any hidden gems I should know about?

~Kathryn

Friday Reads: "A Girl Named Zippy" by Haven Kimmel

It's Friday! Time for another installment of "Scenes from Kathryn's bookshelf" (otherwise known as Friday Reads). I realized earlier this week that I've read only Young Adult novels so far this year, so I thought it might be time to switch things up. My friend Cassie recently loaned me A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel, which I'd had recommended to me many times and had never read. I started it on Wednesday, and I'm so glad I did!

A Girl Named Zippy is a memoir of Kimmel's childhood in a tiny town in Indiana, mostly set in the 1970s. While the descriptions of small-town life are touching and amusing, what I'm really loving about this book is Kimmel's voice. She captures so perfectly the concerns and worries and joys and frustrations of her childhood self. The voice makes the scenes she's remembering come alive. You can absolutely hear how every member of her family sounds, how her various friends and enemies sound, and how Kimmel herself viewed the world as a child. As a reader, you care about even the smallest, oddest things, because "Zippy" (Kimmel's nickname as a child, because of how fast she ran) cares immensely about them.

And it's funny! There's the chapter where Zippy's older sister convinces her she was adopted—and her mom confirms it, telling her about the time she traded a bottomless velvet bag to buy Zippy from traveling gypsies. Zippy believes it hook, line, and sinker. And then there's the chapter where, in order to get back at a crotchety neighbor who complains about Zippy's family's two dogs barking, Zippy's dad somehow gets everyone in town to bring their crated dogs to his property for the night—and sits a caged raccoon down right in the middle of things. The chaos that ensues, and the neighbor's response in the morning, are just so perfect.

Reading this book is reminding me how much I enjoy a well-written, entertaining memoir. I haven't read one in a while; I took a literature class in grad school called "The Uses of Memory" in which we read a lot of memoirs and fiction dealing with the idea of memory, and that's probably the last time (spring 2009) I really dug into the memoir genre. So, I'm taking recommendations! Have you read a memoir lately that you've just loved? It doesn't have to be funny, although funny helps. :) Tell me about it in the comments!

~Kathryn

Dance Break!

So, a few weeks into this blog, it's definitely time to talk about what I do with my days besides sit at my computer and write. Here's a hint:

I've been a dancer since I was three. I put it that way (rather than just saying "I started dancing at three") because I knew almost immediately that dance was going to be a big part of my life. I was hooked pretty much from the first lace-up of tap shoes, the first sequin-covered tutu, the first squint out into a full house through stage lights. I studied it all growing up: ballet, tap, jazz, and modern. (Okay, not quite "it all." No hip hop or ballroom. Only so many hours in a busy kid's week.) I was in a regional ballet company in high school. In college, I shifted my focus to modern/contemporary dance, and I haven't looked back since.

When I first moved to New York, grown-up rent-paying desk job acquired, I thought dance would probably be downgraded to a hobby. I wouldn't give up taking classes, but I wasn't going to make a career out of it either. What I didn't realize is that in NYC, there are SO MANY opportunities to perform, if you're willing to look for them and put in some time networking. I've been lucky to perform with friends from college who now choreograph, with teachers whose dance classes I take on a weekly basis, and with dancers I've met through various shows. It's all on a pickup, project-by-project basis—I don't dance full time with one company or choreographer—but that's actually how I like it. It gives me stretches of time where I'm rehearsing and really focused on dance, and then stretches of time where I can focus on writing.

Of course, I don't just jump onstage after not dancing for months. I take three or four dance classes a week, as well as a yoga class or two. I have teachers whose classes I love because they're so comfortable they're like home, and teachers whose classes I enjoy because the movement style challenges me to get outside of that comfort zone. I tend to dance in the afternoons, and it's become the perfect way for me to break up all the sitting and writing. I'm able to find new energy while also giving my writing brain a break. There are never enough hours in the week to dance as much as I'd like to, write as much as I want to, earn money, and spend time with the people I want to spend time with, but I do my best.

Here's one more photo, from a performance I did this past October. The piece was choreographed by my friend Stéphanie Landouer, and it was lovely to dance—and the opportunity came along exactly when I needed my stage fix, after a few months off.

I don't have any shows slated for 2013 yet...but as with everything else this year, my plan is to work hard, be patient, and see what opportunities arise! (Sound familiar?) In the meantime, I'll still be dancing.

~Kathryn

Friday Reads: Cassandra Clare (Or: The Sweet, Sweet Torture of Book Series)

I started reading Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series over Thanksgiving. I'd had my eye on it for a while, and had some birthday Barnes & Noble money, so I bought Book One, City of Bones. My sister caught me reading it, went upstairs to her bedroom at my parents' house, and brought down Book Two in the series. "You'll need this," she said. "The first one starts out a little slow, but once it gets going, you won't want to stop." She was right. I devoured Book Two on the flights home, raced to the library in Brooklyn to pick up Book Three, and devoured that. I felt breathless. It was a glorious I can't stop reading, I'm scared to turn the page, what if something happens to the characters in two pages that will finally resolve some of the craziness, I have to know! kind of experience. And the romance! Cassandra Clare is a master at throwing obstacles between her romantic leads, and I have been sucked in wholeheartedly. 

By now you're asking, so what are these books about? Here's the jacket copy from City of Bones:

When Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder. Much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with odd markings. This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons—and keeping the odd werewolves and vampires in line. It's also her first meeting with gorgeous, golden-haired Jace. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in an ordinary mundane like Clary? And how did she suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Book Three ended with a mini-resolution instead of a cliffhanger (there will be six books in total, so I guess she had to let us breathe at some point), and I took a much-needed break before Book Four. Everyone was in such a good spot at the end of Book Three! Without spoiling anything, let's just say that I knew Book Four would probably threaten everything that was good and beautiful in this series' world, and I didn't want to deal with it yet. But at Christmas, my sister couldn't put down her brand-new copy of Book Five, so I didn't resist for long. Book Four came home with me and was done before New Year's.

I'm currently reading Book Five, City of Lost Souls. I want to devour it, because by now we've been introduced to so many characters, and they're all so fleshed out and real and have love interests and families and hopes and dreams, and basically...where I stopped before bed last night, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM IS IN DANGER. Even the parents haven't been left unscathed. People are wounded and about to make major sacrifices and keeping secrets from each other, and Clary and Jace are...not quite as together as the reader (me, but probably every other person who's ever read this book) would like them to be.

So I want to know what happens next. I need to know. But I waited a few weeks to start this one and am trying to pace myself because I want this book to last. The next one doesn't come out until SEPTEMBER 2014. Cue the hyperventilation. I'm hoping and praying that Book Five will end in a way that's at least a little satisfying before my long wait for the final installment.

I haven't gotten this caught up in a series in a LONG time, but I can't be the only one. Have you read any series lately that you just can't put down even while wanting to make each book last as long as possible? Share them in the comments! I'm taking recommendations—especially if the series is already done, so I can read it start to finish. :)

Oh, and if you like epic Young Adult urban fantasy with major stakes and killer will-they-won't-they romance not only for the leads, but also for a lot of the supporting characters, read Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series. You won't regret it.

~Kathryn

What's Your Creative Schedule?

As a freelancer, I have the luxury of scheduling out my days myself. But that doesn't mean I work best just making up each day's plan as I go. The key word for me is "schedule." I'm pretty much a textbook Type A. I like to know what I have to accomplish each day and each week, and I like crossing things off the list as I get them done. Listmaking is what keeps me on track with freelance deadlines and personal writing goals—and it's how I know I can fit in the various dance and yoga classes I want to take each week.

At this point, I have a fairly set daily and weekly routine, but it took some trial and error to figure out worked best. In particular, after I finished grad school, it was hard to work out just where my writing fit in, once writing for school was no longer a primary "job." I didn't want to go back to a full-time office job, so I knew I had to take on as much freelance work as I could handle. At the same time, without school-related writing deadlines, I wasn't sure how to keep myself producing MY work.

I started out treating writing as a reward: if I get X hours of work done today, or if I finish Y task, I get to work on my novel this afternoon/evening. That was certainly motivation to work hard. After all, I wanted to be doing MY writing, and freelance work was the means to my desired end. Unfortunately, when money got tight, I squeezed in more work, pushing back my "writing for me" later and later. There were days when I'd prepare to write and be so, so tired of staring at my computer. There were days when I'd written so much already, for work, that my brain couldn't be creative anymore. After a while, I felt like I was running on this hamster wheel and couldn't keep up with it all. My writing was suffering, and I was feeling guilty about not giving it the attention it deserved.

Last year, I decided to change my schedule around. To try something new. I decided that working on my fiction writing was going to be my first order of business each morning. I'd get up, fix some coffee, and then write or revise for at least an hour. More, if my workload for the day was light (Or if I was on a roll and just couldn't stop!). Only after I spent some time doing MY writing would I transition to freelance work. If that meant working an hour later into the evening to get everything done, so be it.

I haven't looked back since. By starting each weekday with my novel-in-progress, I can be sure my brain is fresh and rested, not cluttered with the day's to-dos and worries. I'm writing faster, producing more. And, because I start the day thinking about my book, I then have it in the back of my mind all day long, working out issues and making notes for the next morning. I've come up with plot twists in the middle of an afternoon dance class, solved sticky character problems on the subway, and raced home to write just a few more paragraphs at the end of the day, all because I started the day in a creative place.

Above all, I feel like now I'm literally and metaphorically putting my writing first. I'm grateful for my freelance gigs, but in the long-term, I want to write novels. For a living. The simple act of changing my daily schedule around took me from feeling like writing is a hobby—a treat for after my real work is done—to feeling like writing IS my real work.

Do you have a certain writing routine, or a time of day that works best for your writing (or other art-making)? I know I'm lucky being able to create my own schedule, but I also know that what works for me isn't going to be what works for everyone else. Share your creative schedule in the comments!

Thanks for stopping by,

Kathryn :)

Friday Reads: Sara Zarr

Sometimes the right book falls into your hands at the right time. Sometimes you finally check out an author you've been planning to read for months, only to discover how relevant her work is to where you are right now. Such is the case for me and Sara Zarr. Zarr writes Young Adult contemporary (for my non-YA-writer readers, that means she writes books about teens that are set in the real world, present day). I'd had her on my to-read list for ages, but that list is really, really long and is constantly being added to. Basically, she stayed on my radar, and I knew I'd get to her eventually. (Anyone besides me have authors/books like this?)

Then Zarr happened to tweet about an upcoming title change for one of her novels, and I took notice. Why? Because the original title was Once Was Lost (it's being re-released as What We Lost). I thought, hm, that sounds like she took it from the hymn "Amazing Grace." I clicked the link to her blog. Sure enough, the book deals with a teen's crisis of faith (among many other issues) following the disappearance of a local girl, a girl she knows from her youth group. Why was this interesting to me? Because I'm finishing up revisions on a novel that also deals with a teen's relationship with her faith and God (among many other issues). And because I hope to, like Zarr, reach out to a wide array of readers, not just the Christian market. I knew I had to read this book, and soon.

I loved it and was inspired by it. The protagonist, Sam, is a pastor's daughter who finds her own needs on the sidelines while her family quietly falls apart; it seems like her father is there for everyone in the community but his own family. Sam questions God and the faith she grew up with without Zarr, the author, preaching either way. Zarr says on her website that she wanted to write about a teen who had faith that was sincere, but conflicted, and that's not far off from what I've been working on. Even though my character is dealing with different issues, I was able to take so much from how Zarr approached talking about faith, the conversations her characters had, the role it played in their lives and didn't play at other times, and the balance between the faith-based plotlines and the other elements of the story.

Flash forward a few weeks, and I've picked up the rest of Zarr's books. (She has four; you should also read How to Save a Life, Sweethearts, and Story of a Girl.) Story of a Girl is her first book, and the last one I read. I finished it last night. And while I was reading it for pleasure, because I was really enjoying her characters and her writing and how she depicted the world, I was amazed to open Story of a Girl and find that it also has themes that parallel the project I'm working on right now. Again, I made some notes while reading and then sat down with my own book to try to make the main character's backstory richer.

What's the moral of this post? Well, there are two: 1) If you like reading about teens who are smart and interesting and struggling to overcome tough situations from their past and present, and you like beautiful, evocative, lyrical writing, read Sara Zarr's work. And 2) you never know when the next book you pick up will be the exact thing you need to read exactly when you need to read it, and that's one of my favorite things about books.

Until next week, and happy reading,

~Kathryn

Bookshelf Shenanigans

Okay, "shenanigans" might be a strong word. But it's an awesome word! So let's talk books. Here is my bookshelf:

As you can see, it's packed to the gills. Books upon books upon books. (Plus random tchotchkes. And the "Orlando Bloom as Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean" action figure a friend gave me.) A stuffed bookshelf is a happy bookshelf. Do I wish it was a little better organized? Perhaps even alphabetized or divided by category? Yes. I do. But I've managed to keep my books from taking over the apartment, aside from a secondary book holding area near my desk. I feel like for a bookworm like me, that's a job well done. (My recently acquired library card helps contain the literary sprawl. As does the fact that I occasionally take books I'm never going to read again to live at my parents' house in Tennessee.)

In the coming months, you'll have the privilege of getting up close and personal with my bookshelf, as I start sharing some of my favorite reads. When I read something amazing—or even something that's problematic in an interesting way—you'll hear about it. I also want to look at my favorite rereads, those books I save for a rainy day (or week, or month) when I need something comfortable and perfect.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with some links about amazing bookshelves! As a kid, one of the primary reasons Beauty and the Beast was my favorite Disney movie was the Beast's library. In a slightly more realistic context, I fantasize about one day having floor-to-ceiling wall shelves complete with a ladder that wheels horizontally. But I'd be just as happy with most of these:

From Flavorwire, 30 Gorgeous and Innovative Bookshelves: http://www.flavorwire.com/287003/30-gorgeous-and-innovative-bookshelves

From Enpundit, 11 Amazing Bookshelves/Libraries: http://enpundit.com/amazing-libraries/

That's all for now! Thanks for reading.

~Kathryn

(p.s. -- I'm trying out different days for blogging, to see what works best with my schedule. I promise, I'll set a posting routine soon!)

My Word for 2013 Is...

In the spirit of starting off a new year and a new blog, I've been thinking a lot about what I want to accomplish in 2013. Aside from launching this blog, my main goals are to query my current book-in-progress for literary representation and to write a first draft of something new. I managed both of those things in 2012 (querying my first novel, which I've currently put aside to rethink in the future, and writing and revising a second novel), so I'm pretty confident that I can do both again. Go me! The problem is, as much as I love writing itself, I'm a very end goal-oriented person. In 2012, my ultimate goal was to get a literary agent. I... didn't accomplish that. And despite everything I have accomplished with my writing, I sometimes fall into the rut of beating myself up over not having "gotten there" yet.

That's why my word of 2013 is:

PATIENCE

I do think of myself as a patient person... when it comes to other people. Not so much when I'm looking at myself, my work, my own progress. I work hard, and I get discouraged when I don't see results as quickly as I'd like to. Especially by the end of 2012, more than two years and three full novel revisions post-grad school, I was struggling to stay patient with myself and with the fact that sometimes, getting published just takes time. More time than you want it to. It's just how it is.

(For the record, this doesn't just pertain to writing. Another of last year's resolutions was to master a handstand. A full year of solid yoga practice later, I'm significantly stronger, but still can't consistently kick up to handstand. This bugs me, but it isn't going to stop me from working at it.)

So, this year I really want to strive to be patient with myself and with the fact that my publishing journey will take exactly how long it is meant to take, and not a second less. I will try not to compare myself to other people who've gotten agents and book deals more quickly, who are "ahead" of me in what really isn't a race, even though it sometimes feels like it. I will try to stay present in the moment, to love what I'm doing right now, and to celebrate small milestones.

Do you have a word that's driving you in 2013? (I know at least some of you do; I got the idea from my friend Ghenet Myrthil's excellent blog, which you should all read.) Share it in the comments—I look forward to the inspiration!

~Kathryn

Here Goes Nothing...

Hello! Welcome to my new blog! I'm excited and nervous to start blogging, but it's also long overdue. I've been talking about launching my own blog for more than a year, but never got around to it. Well, in 2013, I'm not going to let myself get away with not getting around to it anymore.

What will I be talking about? Why should you stop by and read? (And I hope you will!)

The two main passions in my life are writing and dancing. I'm an aspiring novelist currently completing the second draft of my second manuscript. So, you can expect to hear a lot about the writing process, and then the querying process, and beyond—if all goes well this year! I've learned so much from reading other writers' blogs, and I hope that my process and goals and frustrations and dreams can resonate with other writers, as well. I also hope to get to know other writers who are in my same phase in the pre-publishing process, so please comment if something jumps out at you!

In the dance realm, I'm a freelance contemporary dancer as well as a freelance dance writer. So, you might hear about classes, rehearsals, and performances, as well as articles I'm working on that have struck a chord with me. (See some recent examples of my dance writing here, here, and here.)

As a writer and avid reader, I'll definitely be blogging about books. I haven't decided in what format yet—weekly, or when I finish something particularly awesome that warrants discussion and recommendation, or when I have issues with a book or character, or all of the above. But in 2012 I read 71 books (nine of which were rereads, two of which were full manuscripts written by friends) and some of them DEFINITELY need to be reread and blogged about this year. Not to mention all the incredible books out there waiting to be read for the first time!

On the "real life" front, I'm a Brooklyn-dweller married to a wonderful guy who doesn't mind the idea of being mentioned on my blog from time to time. We love to go on NYC adventures (Our favorite: The Atlantic Avenue rail tunnel, before the tours were shut down), but we also stay home and watch movies and cook and root for the next Iron Chef on the Food Network.

So, in a nutshell: Come to read about writing or books or dance, and stay for the food! Here's to a bloggy 2013. :)

~Kathryn