What Would Be YOUR Mash-Up?

      Tonight there was book-selling (by everyone). There was stalking (by me). And there was salivating (by me, again).

       Here are some of the writers who were there:

Cathi LaMarche--memoir-writer extraordinaire

Marcia Gaye--she writes memoir pieces, she writes romance, she writes poetry.
(And everything she does she does well.)

 

 

 

Doyle Suit--a more humble, a more generous writer, you'll never find.

Margo Dill--She has a new picture book out.

       A large group of local authors (65, I think) gathered together tonight in O'Fallon, Missouri. I sat a few feet across from an author named Shannon Yarbrough. His book cover intrigued me.

      Yarbrough's novel is a mash-up. Emily Dickinson meets Frankenstein. Okay, they don't literally meet each other... but you get the idea.

      Here is one Amazon review of Dickinstein: 

There's something about a book that doesn't live up to your expectations - especially when that book and its author have expectations of their own that blow yours out of the water.

I originally heard of Shannon Yarbrough's Dickinstein: Emily Dickinson - Mad Scientist from Jerry Wheeler of Out In Print: Queer Book Reviews. He ranked it as one of his top 13 for 2013. Intrigued, I marked it as a To Read on Goodreads. Surprisingly, Mr. Yarbrough contacted me, offering me a copy of the book for an honest review. So note to self: you never know who's looking at what you post!

Other than watching the movie Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, I've had little experience with the monster mash-ups released over the last few years. While they seemed right up my alley, I just hadn't gotten around to reading them yet. I envisioned campy, tongue-in-cheek narrative where, in a fit of machismo, Mr. Darcy pulls out a weed whacker and goes to town on a bunch of the walking dead. That's what I expected from Yarbrough's Dickinstein, too. Well, not so much Mr. Darcy, but maybe Emily Dickinson running around like Madeline Kahn at the end of Young Frankenstein. Instead, what I got was a thoughtful, intelligent, and beautiful exploration of life and death, and faith and science.

In the book, a young Emily Dickinson receives a copy of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and is fascinated by its premise. She decides to make a machine of her own - a "second life apparatus" as she calls it - to bring back the small, dead creatures she finds in her regular walks through nature. Successful with her experiments, she confides in a few close acquaintances. A couple of these confidants suggest that, with the help of her device, she might bring back a human being, something she'd not really considered before. This was her gift to nature; she'd not given much thought to playing God. But when a close friend dies unexpectedly, she finds herself willing to do anything to save them.

Yarbrough wrote Dickinson like he knew the woman - intelligent, witty, peculiar, and reclusive. I could easily envision the Dickinson in this novel as the prolific woman of letters history has shown her to be. Her love of nature, her fascination with death, her idiosyncrasies - they are all deftly handled by Yarbrough in his eloquent and poetic prose. His writing made me feel as if I was one of the fortunate few that Dickinson let in to her small circle of friends, walking the garden paths of the Dickinson Homestead with her and exploring the town of Amherst, Massachusetts by her side. It had the feel of a very private memoir. And each time I opened its pages, I felt as if I'd been given admission to her personal world. Dickinson's joys and fears, her insecurities and secret desires all played out beautifully on its pages.

Not satisfied with one style of prose, Mr. Yarbrough threw in a second, something more in the vein of Shelley's Frankenstein. I was surprised when he went all gothic on me for several chapters toward the end of the book as the plan to bring a human being back to life unfolded. It felt as if he was channeling one of the romantics for several thousand words. Then he finished the novel by returning to the quieter, more contemplative style from earlier in the book.


     I kept gazing at that book until I could stand it no longer. I had to buy a copy.

      What would be your mash-up? Twisted minds want to know.

They're a Brick! House!

         Okay, I admit it. Disco is my favorite driving music. It keeps me awake and alert and energized.

       In fact, in the September issue of Sasee magazine, a story of mine ("Still Dancing") is going to appear. It chronicles my horrific unbelievable past attempts at dancing.

                                                         These are plates. Don't you think any food
                                                  placed on it would boogie-oogie-oogie right off?

        Tomorrow, some local writers are going to be guests at a private event, featuring Gloria Gaynor, the queen of I Will Survive. Cathi LaMarche, Alice Muschany, Lynn Obermoeller, and Linda O'Connell will be dancing under the disco ball--and they each have a story of theirs published in an anthology about surviving.

                                                      This is the cover of the anthology inspired
                                                     by Gloria Gaynor's song "I Will Survive."

         Please send them congratulations and if you're older-than-mud "seasoned" enough to remember the disco era, give them your best dancing advice...

         ...'Cause they don't need no stinkin' writing advice. They're solid writers. Each of them is a Brick! House! of writing skills.

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Lose

       When I get something accepted for publication, I shout it from the rooftop. When I get something rejected, I do the same. (As  a back-up singer in a Joni Mitchell tune sang, "Man, the chick is twisted. Crazy. Scooby-shooby...Flip city.") Getting a "no" from an editor means that at least I'm sending out pieces.

       Three writing friends--Lynn Obermoeller, Cathi LaMarche and Linda O'Connell--have stories in the Gloria Gaynor collection entitled We Will Survive. Because I love the song, I submitted something...and got a quick "no thanks." But hey, at least I tried.

      So Lynn, Linda and Cathi won that round. I lost.



Isn't this a great cover? I've read Lynn and Linda's stories
(at least the rough draft) and they're wonderful tales.

 

 

             Today I drew a name from the thousands  hundreds handful of followers that I have who left a comment for my book give-away. The drawing was handled by the well-known SODAD--Society of Dust and Doghair. The names were written carefully on slips of paper (see below) before being folded and "stirred." 

       And the winner is....Kathy M. Kathy, when you finish celebrating your wedding anniversary and put the camera down long enough to send me your address, I'll send you the book. (If you want, I'll even have Linda and myself sign it...to you,  or just a general notation, or to someone else if you'd like to "regift" it later. Let me know.)

         And especially for Val with her steeljaw trap of a memory--anyone can jump in, however: There are two song references in this post. With one of them, I gave you the artist. Do you know the song? The other one is the title of this post. Do you know either the singer or the song? 

        What's a win or a loss you've experienced recently?


Heartwarming Tales. Tales That Inspire. Tales That Move.

     

Jake and Elwood--a sculpture in an airport...Chicago?
I'm not sure where I was when I snapped this picture.

The Blues Brothers--the original movie and the soundtrack--move me. I laugh, I dance in my seat, I sing along (much to the dismay of anyone within earshot).

On sale now is the Chicken Soup for the Soul's anthology for writers. There is a story of mine in this collection, as well as one by Cathi LaMarche, a Missouri writer. Cathi's story, "Complementary Attraction," is the most heartwarming story I've read in a long time. It's the kind of tale--so well crafted--that you imagine the perfect ending, you hope it will conclude that way and when you read the last line, you realize LaMarche has done it...she's brought you to an extremely satisfying end. (And as she's doing it, she paints a detailed picture of the risk we take when we share our writing with others.) 

My story includes something Donna Volkenannt did. If that has piqued your interest, you'll have to buy a copy of the book to find out what part Donna plays.

What kind of music makes you move? What are some of the movies on your "list of the funniest films"?

 

Donna Volkenannt: MY Inspiration

        Yesterday I got my copies of Chicken Soup for the Soul Inspiration for Writers.

      Cathi LaMarche has a story in this collection. I won't give away too many details of her tale, but I will say I was yearning for a particular ending, and shazam! It finished just the way I wanted it to...it ended up being a combination memoir and fairy-tale-come-true. Cathi is one lucky lady. (You'll have to buy the book and read the story to find out why she is so fortunate in my eyes...)

      Donna Volkenannt is in the book as well. Donna had an integral role in my story and she's mentioned by name...several times. She pushed inspired me to do something that--without her prodding--I probably wouldn't have done. (It happened several years ago...way before I joined my critique group. Donna probably doesn't even remember or realize how she helped me.)

Donna Volkenannt--at one of her book signings in December 2012

     And hey! The WWWPs are mentioned (in my bio) as well. They have the label of "infamous." Perhaps "notorious" would be more apropos?

     Buy a copy of the book. It's one that every writer should have...