Feed the Beast, Seymour

I used to think that journalism was a dying trade, killed off by the Internet. But you know what? I've decided that the Interwebs need writers now more than ever. It's like a new era of pulp fiction.

As I recently discovered, pulp fiction got its name from the extremely low-rent paper used to print the penny magazines and scandalous tabloid newspapers in the early part of the 20th century.
More importantly, the appetite for these publications was voracious and to fill each magazine required 65,000 words per issue. So if there were 150 or so of those mags printed weekly, biweekly, or monthly, the math would add up to over 195 million words needed each year just to keep the public happy. Know who used to feed that beast in the Depression? Ernest Hemingway.
Now take a spin around your favorite websites. Would you go back if they weren't updated regularly? Of course not. There's a new form of pulp fiction in town. It's a beast that continually needs to be fed, and it will take a lot more than 195 million words to keep this monster happy.
The only problem is, you get paid peanuts for online work. Because anyone with a keyboard and a blog is now seen as a serious journalist, writers are a dime a dozen. The value of the written word has been taken down to the lowest common denominator.
As the monster Internet keeps growing, my only hope is that better writing will still stand out, and that the best among the writers will be valued for their talent. After all, not every painter is a Picasso, and not every singer is a Cee Lo.
Meanwhile, I'll keep feeding the beast along with my fellow former journalists. Brother, can you spare a dime?

Pack Your (Book) Bags for Vacation

It's been so chilly where I am this spring that summer seems very far away and one warm day can make me act giddy.

We're thisclose to Memorial Day and summer vacation, so let's pack up the woolies and start planning our reading list.

I guarantee you'll have trouble deciding among all of the great books coming out this summer. Here are just a few of the ones I'm looking forward to:

• Big Girl Panties, by Stephanie Evanovich
  You'll almost want to buy this for the title alone, but I predict this will be the frothy beach book that everyone will read this summer. It's an escapist tale of a "fluffy girl" named Holly who found solace in food while taking care of her dying husband. Trying to find her way back to the land of the living, Holly meets a trainer who finds her to be quite a challenge. And then the sparks fly. (July 9 from HarperCollins)
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman
  I've been waiting for a new novel from Gaiman for a long time, and this "fairy tale for adults" promises to bewitch readers. It's described by the publisher as a "harrowing tale of mystery and survival, memory and magic." Yes, please. Also, as an aside, if you aren't following Gaiman on Twitter (@neilhimself), you're missing some very witty writing. (June 18 from HarperCollins)
• The Redeemer, by Jo Nesbo
  If you want to know what I'm doing for the Memorial Day holiday, here it is. I've told you many many times how gripping and thrilling Nesbo's books are, and this one promises to keep up the exciting pace. Infamous policeman Harry Hole is once again on the trail of a killer, this time a professional assassin who doesn't plan to be caught. (May 21 from Knopf Doubleday)
• Steal the Menu, by Raymond Sokolov
  The former New York Times food editor, Sokolov has seen it all, eaten it all, and is now writing about it all. In the vein of Ruth Reichl at her best, he gives us inside stories of a 40-year career that many of us would envy. (May 14 from Knopf Doubleday)
• Lookaway, Lookaway, by Wilton Barnhardt
  I'm almost rubbing my hands in glee over this one, since it takes place practically in my backyard. This is a satirical look at the moneyed class in Charlotte, N.C., featuring the banking world, the Junior League set, and even my beloved Mint Museum. Can. Not. Wait.  (Aug. 20 from St. Martin's Press)
• The Truth, by Michael Palin
  I'm convinced there is no end to Palin's talents - Monty Python-ite, accomplished travel guide, novelist. His latest book combines a bit of all three, as he writes about an author on a journey to discover the truth about his latest topic, a humanitarian in India that may just be too good to be...well, you get it. (Aug. 13 from St. Martin's Press)
• Shorecliff, by Ursula DeYoung
  If you think family vacations can be trying, wait until you read about this family's summer-long getaway in 1928 at Shorecliff, a Maine mansion. Cousins, uncles, and aunts intrigue, plot, scheme, and argue their way through the dog days. (July 23 from Little, Brown & Company)
• Snow Hunters, by Paul Yoon
  I do have a fascination with North Korea, as you may have guessed from two recent reviews. So I am anticipating this novel of a North Korean defector who, rather than taking the normal path to the south or to China, decides to move to a small coastal town in Brazil. The people he meets, and the second chance he is given, change him even more than he anticipated. (Aug. 6 from Simon & Schuster)
• The Gravity of Birds, by Tracy Guzeman
  Two people are hired to price and sell a painting by a famous reclusive artist. As they work on the project, they discover dark secrets about the two sisters in the painting, and how the artist himself kept the sisters apart, while also drawing them together. (Aug. 6 by Simon & Schuster)
• Freud's Mistress, by Karen Mack
  Minna Bernays is a former lady's companion who is looking for work, unsuccessfully, in Vienna. Frustrated in her search, she ends up living with her sister Martha and her husband, Sigmund Freud. Martha declares Freud's work to be disgusting and embarrassing, but Minna finds it to be fascinating. In this fictionalized account of an actual event, Minna becomes Freud's mistress, and finds herself caught up in more than just a betrayal of her sister. (July 9 from Amy Einhorn)

Welcome to the Writers' State

The O.Henry stamp, on sale now
from the USPS.

The South has a rich heritage of storytelling. As I once wrote on this blog: "After all, there are enough quirky characters, class tensions, long-rooted melancholies, traditions, religions, accents, and storytellers in the region to fill millions of volumes."
And while I recognize that Mississippi has created once of the richest gumbos of authors and books, I contend that my home state of North Carolina offers its own fertile ground for creativity.
I know most people first think of Thomas Wolfe, Maya Angelou, Jerry Bledsoe, or even William Sidney Porter (aka O.Henry) when they think of North Carolina writers.
But this state also has been home to Clyde Edgerton, David Brinkley, Doris Betts, Charles Kuralt, Edward R. Murrow, Jill McCorkle, Kaye Gibbons, Lee Smith, and even Zelda Fitzgerald. Zelda once spent an infamous spell in an Asheville institution.
It's almost one year to the day since Doris Betts died. I was lucky enough to meet her and to review some of her books. What an amazing woman. Read Souls Raised from the Dead. You won't be sorry.
North Carolina also has many famous sites that have been written about, towns that were the inspiration for fictional locations, and hidden gems that are of historical value for those who love literature. One of my favorites is a little-known garden and cemetery in Greensboro where O.Henry's parents and grandparents are buried.
Now there's an online database for all of us who are fascinated by this literary heritage. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has spent years researching locations of fictional towns and the hometowns of over 3,000 authors.
Recently featured in Our State magazine, the database is finally getting its due for all the hard work. And this will be an ongoing project for UNCG as the state continues to produce new authors, and to provide the backdrop for compelling reads.
If you'd like to peruse that database and its map of storytelling and storytellers, click here.
And if you need something to read, look up any of those authors I listed above. They have an incredible number of books ready to entice you.

Review + Author's Recipe: Family Affair

I've known Lee Woodruff for years through a cyber-friendship. We recently met "in real life" at a signing event for this new book. I'm thrilled that Lee agreed to provide a recipe for my book review, and to a quick interview that I've included at the bottom of this post.

Review: Those We Love Most

by Lee Woodruff

The blink of an eye. That saying may be a cliché, but as we learned from the news about Boston last week, it truly takes just a brief moment to change everything. And the ripples from a tragic event can shake the foundations of even the closest relationships.
When I hear about those awful events, and about the people that sometimes cause them, I think of the families, and how they must be coping - or not coping - with the aftermath.

Tragedy and family are at the core of this touching book, an examination of how we react and move on when all that we know is challenged.
One quick and painful mistake sends shockwaves through Maura Corrigan's family, shattering her carefully constructed façade of a perfect life.
The effects of that single event open a Pandora's box of secrets for Maura, her husband Pete, and even her parents, as they all struggle to recover from their grief and pain.
Far from a "heavy" tragic tale, though, Those We Love Most examines the struggles that families face, the way we knit our relationships back together after a roadblock knocks us apart, and how, in the end, we can emerge individually stronger and, perhaps, closer than before.
Woodruff is an unfortunate authority on this topic, having been through her own well-documented and difficult tragedies. But she writes with warmth and humor, offering the comfort of a close friend who holds your hand in dark hours, and makes you laugh when you truly need it.
Those We Love Most is now available in paperback from Hyperion/Voice.

Recipe: Lee Woodruff's Asparagus Artichoke Salad

My thanks to Lee Woodruff for providing this accompaniment to Those We Love Most. She says this is a spring salad recipe one could find on the Corrigan table at a family gathering. It is also a preferred one for Lee and her sisters.
Prep time: 10 minutes. Cook time: 12 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 large shallot, sliced thin (can sub a few thin slices of red onion or some sliced spring onion)
2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 pounds thick asparagus, rinsed, tough ends broken off and discarded (or saved for stock). Note: Thick asparagus spears are easier than thin to roast or grill without becoming too dry or over-cooked.
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
Salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 15-ounce jar of good quality marinated artichoke hearts, quartered or cut in half (depending on the size of the artichokes)
METHOD
Soak the sliced shallots in the lemon juice as you get ready to make the rest of the salad. To roast the asparagus, preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat the asparagus spears with 1 Tbsp of olive oil, and salt them well. Place in a single layer in a foil-lined roasting pan, and cook for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned and fork-tender. To grill the asparagus, prepare your charcoal or gas grill for high direct heat. Coat the asparagus with 1 Tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill them until nicely charred and fork tender, between 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the asparagus from the oven or grill and cut into bite-sized pieces. Put the asparagus and all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl and mix to combine. Add as much of the marinating liquid from the jarred artichokes as you like. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Yield: Serve 6-8 as a side dish.

An Interview with Lee Woodruff



Cathrine White Photography

Read Eat Think: You've written non-fiction before; did you have any reservations or concerns about moving into fiction?

Lee Woodruff: Not at all. This is exactly what I have always wanted to do - make up stories. And while writing fiction was more challenging than non-fiction, it was incredibly enjoyable for me to make up a story, create dialogue, and get the characters to play well together.

RET: Even though this book is fiction, it's usually the case that authors find their best stories in reality. What events or characters in your own life wove themselves into this book?

LW: Most authors I know use their own lives and experiences in some way to inform their writing. The premise of the book, that a teenager inadvertently hits a child while driving a car, is something that happened a few towns over in real life. I received a phone call that the child's parents, whom I didn't know, wanted to speak to me about his injuries as I had been through a traumatic brain injury with my husband. I never ended up talking to them but the phone call about the accident stayed with me. I thought about all the people that one random act would affect and then I began writing.

Some of the scenes in the hospital, the familiarity with loss and grieving...I drew on my own experiences for that.

RET: You've received a lot of praise for Those We Love Most. What is it like to read incredible quotes about your work like those you've received from Harlan Coben, Sue Monk Kidd, and Alice Hoffman?

LW: It's pretty freaking humbling. I'm still pinching myself.

RET: Tell me about your writing process - do you have a particular time of day that you like to write, or a particular place? Do you listen to music?

LW: Boy, do I wish I had a routine! Some day...

I can't wait to write every single day. Or almost. I think every writer needs to take sabbaticals where the creativity whip isn't at your back. Right now, with kids at home and a day job, I describe my non-existent writing routine as “writing in the margins of my life.” 

Most of this book and the one before it were written largely on planes and in hotel rooms. That’s my best place to write with no distraction. Having more of this time will be one of the bright sides of being an empty nester in a few years. I used to write with soap operas on in the background for company, believe it or not, but now after four kids my most blissful noise is..... silence.

RET: What are your favorite books?

LW: My MOST favorite of all time, and I wrote a blog about re-reading it 20 years later, is Wallace Stegner's Crossing to Safety. I loved Ian McEwan's Enduring Love, and Map of the World by Jane Hamilton. I love anything by Nora Ephron and David Sedaris. I have so many that I've started a list.

World Book Night: A Handmaid's Tale

I was thrilled to be selected to distribute free books this year for World Book Night, which will take place next week on April 23. And I was even more excited when I discovered that I would be able to give away one of my favorites: The Handmaid's Tale.

I first read Margaret Atwood's incredible novel in college. I remember thinking that it was beautifully written and disturbing...and that nothing like it could ever happen in reality.

Reading it again today, decades later, the book is chillingly familiar, with themes that resonate around our current culture and politics. In fact, The Handmaid's Tale almost feels too close for comfort when viewed against our society's debates about religion and its role in politics.
In the book's fictional realm of Gilead, a military coup has been staged by a right-wing, ultra-religious, homophobic cult that sees itself as the solution to social ills and "degradation." The coup starts with a terrorist attack, falsely blamed on Islamic militants. The attack kills the president and many members of Congress, so the Sons of Jacob take over, suspending the constitution and setting new religious and social rules as a way of "restoring order." The sexes are segregated, as are all non-white races, any child with a birth defect is made to "disappear," and homosexuality is punishable by death.
Part of that new theocracy, and the heart of the novel, involves removing the rights of all women and creating an ultra-conservative social agenda. Women are now forbidden to read, to hold jobs outside of the home, to vote, or to be in public view at all. And, as part of a plan to reverse the declining birth rate, some women who have proven to be fertile must now serve as concubines to high-ranking officials to help continue the line of "right thinking" people.
Offred is one of these "handmaids," assigned to The Commander to produce an heir for him and his wife, who is assumed to be (and is blamed for) being sterile. Offred is seen only to be a tool and nothing more; even her name is a derivation of The Commander's (of-Fred). Her spirit has been crushed by the subjugation of the totalitarian Sons of Jacob. Although Offred had children in her pre-revolution life, she doesn't appear to be able to become pregnant with The Commander.
With all of their livelihoods depending on a child, The Commander's wife insists that Offred have a relationship with Nick, the family chauffeur. With Nick, Offred learns that there is a resistance movement called Mayday, and that there could be hope for change in her world. The book ends uncertainly, as life often does, but an epilogue suggests a more positive future for Gilead.
I recently asked a few college-age young women if they had read The Handmaid's Tale, and was quite surprised that it no long appears on university required-reading lists. In fact, in an ironic twist that would be funny if it wasn't so frightening, Atwood's novel is often found on lists of banned books. Given that its themes are about censorship and controlling governments, that's a stunning statement.
So look for me on April 23 – I'll give you a free copy of this mind-altering and "subversive" text. Maybe it should be renamed The Cautionary's Tale.

An Ode to Scrabble

Last Saturday was National Scrabble Day. Yes, there is a National Scrabble Day.

As I have mentioned many times here before, I am a Scrabble player. And like with many other obsessions, admitting you have a problem is the first step. But can anything so right be so wrong? The answer, in a two-letter word, is no.
In my ongoing mission to recruit new members to my Scrabble cult club, I present to you a clever poem that will teach you all 101 two-letter words in the English language. Wait, let me amend that. There are 101 two-letter words in the Scrabble dictionary. Which is not at all the same as the Oxford English Dictionary. I have had many arguments about this in the past, and it is still the one thing I don't like about Scrabble. But I digress.
As anyone who has played the board game with any level of strategy can tell you, two-letter words are one of the keys to success. Well, that and memorizing all of the Z words.
David Bukszpan, author of Is That a Word?, is the creator of this ingenious poem, presented by Daily Beast here.
My favorite on the list (and the bane of my daughter's playing time) is Qi. That also happens to be the most popular of the two-letter words used in Scrabble. Mainly because it is one of the only ways you can use the stupid Q when you don't have a U.
So when you find yourself stuck with two vowels (AA, AE, OE) or a rare-ish letter (KA, KI, XI, ZA), you'll thank me for the reference.

Look for Me April 23

As I'm sure you've guessed, I am very excited to have been selected as a "giver" for World Book Night on April 23.
This is just a short post to share that excitement, and photos of the books I picked up yesterday. Look for me next week if you would like to receive The Handmaid's Tale.

The box I picked up at Barnes & Noble last night.

The fantastic certificate for Book Givers.

The most important part - the books.
 

Love that they are all imprinted with World Book Night.

Nice inscription inside each book, too.