How did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

I started to write—poems at first—in junior high, 7th or 8th grade. I had a series of teachers who taught poetry and encouraged writing, and I found that writing things down, and turning my daily experience and my emotions into stories or poems, was enormously satisfying. E.M. Forster wrote, “How do I know what I think until I see what I say?” That rings true for me: writing—even when I’m inventing characters and events I’ve never experienced—is a way of sorting out and understanding my thoughts.

What do you like most about the work you do?

I love those moments when the writing is going well, and I feel entirely lost in a story; I’m talking to the characters, moving through the world with them, and thinking about what they’ll say and do next.

What do you like least?

Um: the other moments—and there are many of them—when the writing is *not* going well, and I’m crossing things out and thinking about what might be in the refrigerator.

You’ve written books for both adults and for teens. Do you feel there’s a big difference in how you approach the different audiences?

For me, there’s very little difference. I often write about teenage characters even when I’m writing for adults. The main distinction, I think:  adult readers don’t object when the writer goes off on a tangent and the narrative wanders; kid readers more often prefer books in which the plot ticks along at a smartish pace—with not as much wandering about.

In The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls, your characters are in a book club with their moms. Have you been in a mother-daughter book club or another type of book club before? If so, did that have an influence on the story you wanted to write?

I wish I had been! I don’t think my daughters ever invited me. There was probably a mother-daughter book club in the neighborhood they didn’t tell me about.  I *am* in a book club, though—we’ve been meeting once a month for 23 years.

Adrienne and the other girls in the group aren’t really friends, and they don’t want to be in a group with their moms. How did you decide to create a book club that starts with conflict?

One of the more interesting ways to define characters and plot, I think, is to put a group of people together who don’t particularly *want* to be together. Then you can figure out how they’ll react. To me it seemed natural to start a book about a book club by quickly establishing that the members of the group didn’t want to be members.

As the girls meet during the summer, they read five books that they will discuss later in their 11th grade AP English class. How did you choose the books the girls would read?

This was hard. There were so many choices. First I decided that they should read books written by female authors. Then I decided that, since the events in the book take place in summer, they should be choosing from a “recommended” list created by their 11th grade English teacher: books that would be interesting to discuss in an informal group and/or during a class.

Why do you think Adrienne is so willing to do the things CeeCee asks her to do even though she doesn’t think she should?

Oh, Adrienne. Sometimes I wanted to shake her. But I also identify with her feeling that she doesn’t know who she is—that while other people are striding confidently through the world, completely sure of themselves, she’s a shapeless blob, an amoeba. She’s attracted to CeeCee because CeeCee radiates confidence, and Adrienne wishes she could have some of that attitude and confidence for herself.

What main issues brought up in The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls do you think would make for good discussion in a real-life mother-daughter book club?

Oooh, let’s see. How about:

—Can books change people’s lives or make them better human beings? Or are they designed for escapist fun?

—Can a book that you don’t enjoy still be a good book? An important book? How can you tell?

—Adrienne’s mother is “open to questions” on any topic, but Adrienne begins to feel they don’t know each other. How can mothers and daughters best talk to and relate to each other at different ages/stages?

—Do CeeCee and Jill and Wallis and Adrienne benefit by being members of a book club?  In what ways?

Is there anything else you’d like to say to readers at Mother Daughter Book Club.com?

Summer is almost here. Hit the library. Head to the bookstore. It’s time to open the covers of a good book and dive on in.

Jessica Maria Tuccelli

Here is a A conversation with Jessica Maria Tuccelli, author of Glow. You may also be interested in my review of her book.

Glow is steeped in the geography and folklore of northeast Georgia and Southern Appalachia, yet you were raised in New York City. Why did you decide to set your novel in this region, and how did you come to learn about this part of the world?

JMT: It was an adventure: I’d written the first chapter of Glow, but I didn’t yet have a setting. The world of Glow is an unconventional one, meaning ghosts inhabit the landscape just as easily as living beings, sometimes the two even being interchangeable. I needed an environment that could support and evoke that. My husband and I drove from Manhattan down the east coast, and when we arrived in Northeastern Georgia, I knew I had found the ideal surroundings for my story. The forest was wet and lush and fertile with spooky pockets of light and dark, and exotic flowers the likes of which I’d never seen before in the United States. There were mountains, hidden coves, cataracts, and cavernous gorges, the perfect playground for my characters, the perfect place to befriend a ghost. The confluence and clash of cultures lured me as well—Cherokee, African-American, Scotch-Irish—with such deep-rooted histories, yet still vibrantly alive.

In Glow, you write mainly in the voices of people of color (both African-American and Native American). Is it challenging to write characters that are culturally and ethnically so different from you?  What inspired you to do so?

JMT: I don’t think of myself as writing in the voices of “people of color.” I write the voices of people. I write in the voice of a character who exists in a given time period, grappling with her or his circumstances. And I don’t see myself as different from my characters, which is not to say I am my characters, but they all do come from my imagination.

Inspiration is elusive. I write out of drive and a visceral need to create, a need to understand the human condition, a need to understand others and myself, a need to connect to others in and outside of my community. What infuriates and ignites me is intolerance. My mother is Italian and Catholic and my father was an American Jew, and as a young girl and as a teenager, I was often on the receiving end of racial hatred and violence. At home, I struggled with being a “half and half,” a misfit who did not fit into either parent’s community. In GLOW, two of my main characters are “mixed race,” and struggle with their sense of identity and belonging. Figuring where we fit into society—racially, culturally, sexually, who we are and what we stand for despite preconceived cultural concepts and oppressions—is one of the themes I explore in Glow.

As you were completing your work on this novel, you gave birth to your first child. Did this impact your view of the story or change your approach to the final stages of the writing process?

JMT: Polishing certain scenes became physically and unbearably painful because I was no longer seeing through the eyes of the daughters fighting for freedom, but as the mothers with a visceral and instinctual imperative to protect their children from the demons and bullies of the world.

Glow covers a large span of time—from Andrew Jackson’s expulsion of the Cherokee to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. What kind of research did you do to get a detailed historical understanding of each period?

JMT: I read the history books one would expect of someone writing a historical fiction. I also read what people were reading at the time: Life Magazine, Harper’s Weekly, cookbooks and newspapers, especially the obituaries; I listened to oral histories and the music of the period, and even went up in a 1929 biplane for my barnstormer scene to get the experience of what that must have been like. But I would say what made it all come alive for me were the people I met in my travels through the Georgia mountains, in particular Robert Murray, who was Appalachian born and raised, who was a living encyclopedia and the curator of the Foxfire Museum in Mountain City, which is dedicated to preserving the traditional folkways of the Southern Appalachian people. He showed me how to hem a hog, gird a tree, make weave rope out of dog hobble, amongst many other skills of simple living. For me it’s not so much about understanding the facts of the period, but connecting to the experience of being in that period, of surviving and thriving under certain conditions and then making it personal.

What would you say is the overriding theme that unites the many different threads of Glow?

JMT: Glow takes place over four generations. It begins just prior to the Trail of Tears and ends just before the US entry into World War II. From one holocaust to another, linking two moments in history that people don’t generally consider in one breath. It’s the story of mothers and daughters, misfits, identity, friendships, betrayals, and love. It speaks to the power of companionship. And human connections that prevail against forces of history that no one can escape. At its core, it’s about mother love in the most primitive sense of it, as in one’s primal need for a mother, and also the lengths to which a mother will go to protect her child.

Q: You’re a graduate of MIT. How did you make the leap from that sort of atmosphere to the world of literature?

JMT: Science is investigation, observation, creativity, and the use of imagination. For me, there is an easy logic in going from MIT to writing. The difference, of course, is that a scientist is working on a new theory of physics, and the writer is working on inventing the physicist who is working on the new theory of physics.

When did you start telling stories?

JMT: When I was a child, my best friend, Darice, lived miles away. So we wrote each other letters. We pretended we were twins and our parents had sent Darice on holiday to visit a quirky old aunt in Paris. Neither of us had ever been to Paris, but Darice gleaned what she could from the Encyclopedia Britannica while I filled my letters with the antics of our fictitious brother who was busy in our basement blowing up things with his new chemistry set. In this way, Darice and I would be a little less lonely. It was my first foray into storytelling.

For me, it is a most intimate of experiences, sharing my imaginary world with someone. It’s a way of connecting to my fellow human being.

How did you go about crafting such an intricate plot?

JMT: My background is in film and theatre, and my strength is improvisation, which is the method to my madness, as the saying goes. I basically arose every morning, allowed a voice to come into my head, and wrote down what it had to say. If nothing came, I would pose a question to one of my characters. The key was to leave my desk with the scene unfinished, so that I had something to come back to the next day. My first mentor gave this advice to me, and it fuels my writing engine. It does make for a wild and unbridled first draft, but that kind of freedom is crucial to my process. When I was a little girl, my grandmother took me to the Uffizi in Firenze. As we passed a series of four unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo, the guide told us that Michelangelo believed the sculptures existed within the marble and his job was to reveal them. I like to think of a first draft like that marble, where the narrative is within the draft, and one must actively, thoughtfully, chip away and reveal it.

What was it like writing from not one, but several very unique perspectives?

JMT: Natural. Prior to writing Glow, I had been working for many years in film and theatre, most recently crafting one-woman shows; so multiple voices came naturally to me. Also, my ear is drawn to the nuances of language. The music, the beauty or ugliness of words, the cadences and tropes—these are my toys and my tools. The challenge for me was writing beyond dialogue. Subtext is the lifeblood of a script, and the actress and her connection to her inner life feed those unsaid words.

Do you have any particular authors or favorite novels that have played a prominent role in your reading life?

JMT: Most definitely. Toni Morrison for her use of language, her themes of mother love and identity, and her daring with language and the narrative form, especially in the Bluest Eye. Alice Walker for her entire oeuvre. Edward P. Jones for The Known World, one of my favorite novels, a masterpiece in storytelling. I especially enjoy experimental writing, including Finnegan’s Wake, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, most of Gertrude Stein, and all of William Faulkner. For magical realism, Gabriel García Márquez. For the art of detail, Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. For her eloquent and powerful short stories, Flannery O’Conner. For economy and potent images, the poets Victoria Redel, Billy Collins and T.S Eliot.

In this essay, K. L. Glanville, author of 2108: Eyes Open,shares her thoughts on how science fiction can stimulate discussions about morals and beliefs that take place in the here and now. I’ve experienced this in book club meetings myself, as club members discussed the ethics of using imagined medical technologies to prolong human life. Read on to find out more about what Glanville has to say. Then check out the description of her book below the essay and leave a comment by midnight (PST), Monday, April 23 for a chance to win a copy (U.S. and Canadian addresses only please).

Science-Fiction—More Than Just the Imagination?

By K.L. Glanville

I don’t pretend to be an expert on sci-fi by any stretch of the imagination. Yet I still decided to write a futuristic novel. What can I say? Maybe I was a bit presumptuous. I’m simply an author who wanted to have fun writing a novel that takes place in the future. I did have a lot of fun writing 2108: Eyes Open, and I hope you’ll agree with me that the story turned out quite exciting.

In writing 2108: Eyes Open, I wanted this futuristic story to be somewhat plausible, even if it was outlandish and wild. I wanted the technology and issues in my story to be something close to what could possibly happen. I’m not saying that it will happen, but I researched a variety of subjects for the writing of this book. I researched future technology predictions, current cutting edge technology, genetic alteration, GMO’s, futuristic architecture, what people think about aliens, and all sorts of other rabbit trails. There is validity in the saying that truth can be a whole lot stranger than fiction!

As I dove into these topics and later reflected on the resulting story that sprang from it, I began to realize firsthand how the sci-fi genre is used to flesh out possible ramifications of emerging issues in society. Take for instance transhumanism. A big word, I know. It was a new word for me! Transhumanism is basically the pursuit of enhancing humanity genetically and technologically. It would include things like bionic enhancements and mixing animal and human DNA to give humans some enhanced and more animalistic abilities (like seeing in the dark). There are immense ethical issues related to transhumanism that have only begun to be discussed.

After I wrote my book, I realized I had, among other things, offered a commentary on the possible effects of pursuing the limits of transhumanism. The sci-fi genre isn’t just about seeing how far the author’s imagination can go. It can be used as a springboard to explore possible implications of issues and technologies that are emerging now. Reading sci-fi books with your children can be a great way to introduce discussions on ethical issues and ramifications of various thoughts and technologies.

I hope that when you pick up a copy of my new book, 2108: Eyes Open, both you and your child will enjoy a wild ridethrough the story . . . as well as be stimulated to think and discuss!

From K. L. Glanville about her book: 2108: Eyes Open is a fun, intense, a bit romantic and adventurous coming of age story about Jewel Peara, where she learns about the lives of other people and beings sharing the planet in the year 2108. Here’s an introduction of the story in her own words:
“It’s the year 2108. I just turned 16. That means I can access the autopilot on my Aerokopa. So now, I can both fly and scope the Dat-X at the same time. But what good is that when I don’t even have a date to my best friend’s party of the century? Okay, well, one of the Holdouts offered to go with me . . . but there’s NO WAY I’m going with one of them! And then there are the Trollers docked at the quay. They’re most likely spies working with the Aliens, bringing nothing but trouble. But with this visit, they may even bring war. It would be treason to talk to them, let alone . . . befriend one. But what’s a curious girl to do? Did I tell you I have a propensity for trouble?”

Glanville is touring a few other blogs in the coming days. If you’d like to check her out in other places, here’s where you can find her:

Wednesday, April 11: Chapter by Chapter (book review & giveaway)
Thursday, April 12: Beautiful Blank Pages (author interview & giveaway), Adriana Ryan’s Blog (author interview & giveaway), Book Journey (book review)
Friday, April 13: My Guilty Obsession (book review & character interview with Jewel)
Saturday, April 14: The Children’s and Teen’s Book Connection (author interview)
Sunday, April 15: Stiletto Story Time (book review & giveaway)
Monday, April 16: Young Adult Books–What We’re Reading (book review)

Joanne Rocklin, Photo by Gerry Nelson

Yesterday I reviewed Joanne Rocklin’s great book for 8 to 12 year olds, The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook. I’m also offering a giveaway, which you can enter to win by commenting on the review post. Today, Rocklin talks about the healing power of stories and the role storytelling plays in our lives. Here’s what she has to say:

My new book, The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook, is about a family, a cat, pizza, Secret Loves, city gardens, wishes, wild theories, and about mourning the death of a father. But mainly, it is about stories. Probably all of my novels have been about our need for stories.

In my humble opinion, stories are what make us human. (As Oona, the main character of my book says about her Gramma Dee, “She means just the opposite of humble, like ‘smart’ or ‘terrific’ opinion. Believe me, she wouldn’t give her opinion if she thought it were wrong.”) O.K. Oona’s right. I really, really, really believe stories make us human. Dogs and cats and goldfish can’t tell stories.

And yet, I’ve always wished my adopted cats could share their histories, sad as they may have been. I just wanted to know. I wanted to know so badly I decided to write a book about a girl who tells her little brother that cats have nine lives and their own ailing cat, Zook, is working on his fifth life. She tells him the stories of Zook’s past lives, of Miraculo, who saved a kingdom, and Jewel The Ghost Cat, and Mud who fought a monster. Even though Zook is at the vet, Oona says, he’ll come home as good as new. He’s still got four more lives to go! And Fred believes her.

The stories Oona tells, and the story Fred tells, too, help them both experience the powers of the imagination, the joyous release that telling wonderful whoppers provide. Story-telling and story-receiving are just plain fun, especially when times are hard and spirits need uplifting.

For Oona it is also a chance to tell her father’s stories, to remember him and say good-bye in the telling. And to proudly make the tales her own, as she adds details from her own life, as all storytellers do. Some of those details she hadn’t thought were important, until she put them into her story. Oona even provides an eight-point theory of storytelling. Point Six: “It doesn’t have to be a totally happy ending,” as long as that ending comes with some understanding and a bit of hope. Or a good laugh.

But some stories are almost impossible to tell, and Oona knows this very well. As she gains compassion and understands more of her world, she’s finally able to trust enough to share the details of one particular story, rather than keeping it all inside.

And that’s the humanizing aspect of stories, in my humble opinion. Whether we are the story-teller or the story-receiver, mother or daughter, sister or brother, friend or foe, it’s in the sharing of stories that we discover, and reveal, our own true selves.

Joanne Rocklin's grandson reading to her dog

Yesterday I featured a review of Cristina Alger’s book The Darlings. Today, Alger is here to talk about the influence her mom has been on her love of telling stories.

My mother and I have been reading together for as long as I can remember. As a child, I had an endless appetite for stories, which she was always happy to indulge. My bedroom was crammed with books, and on the weekends, we would spend many a happy Saturday at a local library or bookstore.

As my mother tells it, I was born talking. As soon as I was able, I began to tell stories of my own. I’m not sure if she thought of this or if I demanded it, but early on my mother began to record them in a spiral ring notebook. She would sit beside me as I took my nightly bath; I would talk, and she would listen. In between hair washing and scrubbing, she would write my stories down.

I wrote constantly in high school and in college; poetry, short stories, essays, journal entries. When I graduated, though, I embarked on a career in finance and writing fell by the wayside. I continued to read for pleasure, and Mom and I would often exchange and discuss books. But as much as she and my friends encouraged me, I just couldn’t find the time in my busy schedule to write.

I began working on The Darlings as a side project, something I did purely for the joy of writing itself. I was working as a corporate lawyer and was in desperate need of a creative release. I never imagined at first that anyone but me would read it. Eventually, I (rather nervously) asked my mom—who always quietly encouraged me to write and express myself creatively—if she would take a look. Her face lit up with happiness.

Mom proved to be a wonderfully thoughtful editor. As the book developed, I went back to her time and time again, and she was always willing to read, critique and discuss it. When I told her that I was thinking about leaving the law to pursue writing full time, she didn’t miss a beat. She helped me work through the logistics (how much money had I saved? What would I do about healthcare?). She listened as I endlessly weighed the pro’s and con’s. Many parents would have been disappointed or unsupportive if their child decided to leave a job at a prestigious law firm to do something as unpredictable and unstable as writing.  But mom wanted me to follow my heart.

I dedicated The Darlings to my mom. I am certain it would not exist were it not for her love, support and counsel. Seeing a copy of it on her shelf is incredibly rewarding for me. But it is my collection of “early works”—the stories she transcribed into a spiral ring notebook—that really holds a place of honor in her bedroom. She keeps them tucked away in a drawer with her other “important” documents: passport, birth certificates, deeds. It was our first collaboration, and now that I am writing once again, it won’t be our last.

Yesterday I posted a review of Meredith Zeitlin’s new book, Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters. Today, she’s here to talk about the writing life and her spunky heroine, Kelsey Finkelstein.

How did you know you wanted to be a writer?

MZ: I’ve always just been one, really—since I was very little. I come from a family of writers and readers, and books were always everywhere. It sort of came naturally, I think. But my aunt Rhea (Kohan) is a novelist, and her books are hilarious. She definitely inspired me to try my hand at an actual book.

Why do you like to write fiction for young adults?

MZ: I guess I’m sort of a young adult myself, still; I’m a person who spends a great deal of time in PJ pants, watching cartoons and dyeing my hair crazy colors, after all. And I have never forgotten how it feels to be that age, and all the insecurities and excitements that go with it. I still feel them! I connect to tweens and teens really easily out in the real world—better than I do with a lot of “grown-ups,” if you want to know the truth. And while I love books in general, there’s something about literature that’s both nostalgic for adults and relatable for kids that’s really appealing to me.

What do you like best about being a writer?

MZ: Honestly, I just love putting words together. Making crisp or crunchy sentences that will maybe make someone else laugh, or think, or disagree… It’s so satisfying when you get it right.

What do you find most difficult?

MZ: Actually sitting down and doing it. I am the world’s worst procrastinator!

Tell us two interesting things that readers may not know about you.

MZ: Hmmm. Well, I’m a voiceover artist in my “real life,” so you might’ve heard me on commercials before you ever heard of my book—I’ve been doing that for almost a decade now. (You can check out www.mzspeaks.com if you’re interested in seeing my reels.) “The Music Man”—the original version, obv—is my very favorite movie musical. I love horseback riding. I can juggle. What else? I could easily live on ice cream. I’m learning to play guitar. (I’m not very good.) Oh—I have a pink flatscreen TV! It rules. Is that too many?

In Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters, Kelsey is determined to change her image when she becomes a freshman. Do you think it’s hard for teens to change the way others perceive them?

MZ: I think it’s hard for anyone to change how he or she is perceived, really. What might make it even harder for teens, though, is that they’re still in the process of actually forming that first “not a kid anymore” version of themselves. How do they change something that is still so tenuous, especially when everyone around them is doing it, too? At the same time, it’s also a chance to try lots of different hats on—which can be exciting and confusing. I think the truth is, the only person who is REALLY noticing those big changes at that time in your life… is yourself. And you’re really the one you’re trying so hard to impress, even though it seems the other way around. You just don’t realize it til it’s all over, do you?

What do you think is particularly challenging for teens making the transition from middle school to high school?

MZ: I think the biggest change is going from being kings of middle school to getting stuck on the lowest rung on the high school totem pole. Kids who are used to being in charge simply by virtue of their age, no matter what their social standing, are suddenly the babies again, and that’s a scary position to be in. Feeling insecure can lead teens to make some choices in an attempt to solidify their position in a new place. Sometimes those are beneficial choices… but sometimes they aren’t.

Kelsey suffers quite a few embarrassing moments, yet she keeps her sense of humor through it all. Did you always imagine she would be so resilient?

MZ: Well, Kelsey is based on me and my experiences, so I guess the answer has to be yes, simply because that’s what I’m like. But a more complex answer is that I wanted her to be an example for young readers—to see that it’s okay to get knocked down, and that sometimes it can make you stronger.  It’s really important and so incredibly hard to achieve high self esteem at any age, but especially for tweens and teens. The pressure is enormous to fit in and succeed and look a certain way… I certainly struggled with it myself. Even Kelsey spends a lot of time with a million thoughts in her head, doubting her choices and (especially after the incident with Sam at the party) thinking bad things about herself. Kels is really lucky to have a supportive network of people in her life, which helps her keep her chin up and keep trying. I purposefully gave her a lot of obstacles so that readers could see her come out the other side, no matter how hard it was for her to do it. I think that any way I—or any writer—can get the message to teens that it’s okay to make mistakes, that NO ONE is perfect, that everything can be a learning experience… is worth exploring.

What do you think is an important issue brought up in the book that book club members may want to talk about?

MZ: Well, I hope there are a few!   I think the various character relationships are really important, especially how some of them change over the course of the book—particularly within Kelsey’s group of friends. Another issue that’s come up a lot is the amount of “bad stuff” in the book—drinking, sex, peer pressure, etc. These are all important things for moms and daughters to try to talk about, however uncomfortable it might be. Do the daughters think the portrayal of a typical high school was realistic? Are the moms surprised/relieved/horrified by their answers? What about the different ways those elements are responded to by Kelsey and her friends? Which girl has the “right” idea?

Do you have anything else to add for readers at Mother Daughter Book Club. com?

MZ: Thank you so much for checking out this interview, and hopefully the book as well! The main reason I wrote this book, ultimately, was to put another character out in the world that would make some girl somewhere think: “Ok. I’m not the only one. I don’t have to be perfect, and I can still totally get through this high school craziness.” And I think that girl’s mom would want her to get that message, too.

www.kelseyfinkelstein.com

@zeitlingeist on Twitter

www.facebook.com/FRESHMANYEARBOOK

Yesterday, I featured a review of Pesi Dinnerstein’s book A Cluttered Life. Today, I’m featuring an essay she wrote about clutter and the need to create borders, something different from boundaries. Dinnerstein, also known as Paulette Plonchak, has also written selections for the best-selling series Small Miracles, by Yitta Halberstam and Judith Leventhal, and has contributed to several textbooks and an anthology of short stories.

She recently retired as a full-time faculty member of the City University of New York, where she taught language skills for close to thirty years. Dinnerstein has been an aspiring author and self-acknowledged clutterer for many years, and has spent the better part of her life trying to get organized and out from under. Despite heroic efforts, she acknowledges that she has not yet succeeded; but she continues to push onward, and hopes that her journey will inspire others to keep trying as well.

For more information visit: www.aclutteredlife.com or www.sealpress.com.

Pesi Dinnerstein

MY CLUTTERED WORLD:  A Land Without Borders

by Pesi Dinnerstein

My first introduction to the complex question of borders came when I was about six years old and asked my father where he was from.

“Well . . . ” he began slowly—and I knew right away that the answer was not going to be an easy “Brooklyn” or “the Bronx,” like that of my friends’ parents—“I was born in what was sometimes Czechoslovakia and sometimes Hungary.”

“You see,” he went on, in his charming accent—which was neither completely Czechoslovakian nor Hungarian—“I was born in a border town, and the border kept changing. Sometimes, it would be Czechoslovakia, and then it would change hands and become Hungary, and then…”

This was obviously not a simple concept. And, over the years, it’s only grown more complicated. In fact, I would have to say that I’ve now developed a real issue with borders. Maybe it’s in my genes.

This is not to be confused with the issue of boundaries—which I also have, but that’s not for now. In my mind, boundary issues tend to be more psychological and relationship-oriented. At the moment, however, it’s borders that I’m trying to deal with.

The problem is that I don’t have any to speak of. Things tend to spill over from one area of my life to another. Whether it’s piles merging with other piles, one errand running overtime into the next, projects overlapping projects—there’s rarely a divider or breathing space between anything in my life. Even my mind feels as overcrowded and unstructured as my surroundings and my schedule.

In Clutterers Anonymous (yes, there really is such a program—see Chapter Six of A Cluttered Life), there are four things a member has to do every day in order to be considered abstinent. From the moment I heard this, the first two immediately made sense: Put back whatever you take out; and throw away one item a day. But the second two called for a bit more reflection: Wash your dishes every night; make your bed in the morning.

There are so many things that would make my house feel neater, I thought—what’s so special about those two? Then, I realized that in addition to maintaining order, these activities create important borders. We don’t bring the day into the night (no dirty dishes), and we don’t bring the night into the day (no unmade bed). And we accomplish this in each case by taking one concrete action.

It sounds so simple and so wise—but I met with enormous resistance when I tried to apply these basic principles to my unruly life. Structure often feels oppressive to me, and I chafe against systems and rules.

But one day, as I was working on my piles, I stared out the window in search of a little distraction. There sat my vegetable garden in full bloom. It’s only a tiny patch behind my small apartment, but it was overflowing with collard greens and cabbage, romaine lettuce, herbs, green tomatoes about to turn red—all the joys of a backyard harvest. And all in the space of a narrow patio.

Suddenly, I realized that it was only possible because each was contained in its own small pot or raised bed. This tiny garden was bursting with life because it adhered to its own boundaries. The parsley stayed in its container, and the garlic chives in theirs. The basil didn’t mingle with the arugula, and even the zucchini and cucumbers maintained a healthy distance.

And, with this observation, my attitude immediately began to shift. If all these vegetables stay within their own borders while they’re growing, they can break free at the end and join together to create one wild and glorious salad. A little restraint at the beginning for the sake of a great feast later—I could definitely live with that.

So, now, instead of organizing my piles, I think of it as pruning and weeding my crops. And rather than focusing on the restrictions it imposes, I’m looking forward to the freedom it will eventually bring.

Amazing what a little tweak in imagery can do.

Michaela MacColl has written two novels for young readers that feature historical figures: Beryl Markham in Promise the Night and Queen Victoria in  Prisoners in the Palace: How Princess Victoria Became Queen with the Help of Her Maid, a Reporter, and a Scoundrel. Recently I had a chance to ask her a few questions about Promise the Night, and here she offers us insight on how she approaches research and builds characters for her novels. (Note: Read my review of Promise the Night and enter to win a copy of that book as well as Prisoners in the Palace.)

What did you know about Beryl Markham before you wrote Promise the Night?

MM: I knew nothing! My mother started taking flying lessons when I was in college. When she got her license, I bought her a copy of West with the Night, Markham’s wonderful memoir. It had just been reissued. 20 years later, I was looking for a new project. Mom suggested Beryl Markham. I read the memoir and was hooked within 10 pages.

What kind of research did you conduct before you started to write?

MM: All my books center on a famous person—so my process is the same at the start of each project. I find biographies, ideally more than one. Each biographer has to have a unique slant on his/her subject – so I like to note the variation. I read about the whole life. Then I concentrate on the childhood years. This is absolutely necessary when my subject is someone highly biographed, like Queen Victoria or Emily Dickinson. With Beryl – there are exactly two memoirs. The first makes her out to be a fascinating saint, the other concentrates on her flaws.

Of course, I relied on her memoir and the memoirs of other young women who grew up in the highlands above Nairobi. The best of these was Elspeth Huxley’s Flame Trees of Thika. My character Dos, is based loosely on Huxley.

Did you find it difficult to write about a real person in a fictional way?

MM: I probably should say yes, but the fact is, NO! After I’ve done my research, I find that I have a clear picture of my main character – what she cares about, what she might say and most importantly, how she will grow up. I find it much harder to flesh out the other characters.

In Promise the Night, you tell the story of Beryl’s childhood in Africa, but you insert notes about her later flight as the first person to fly solo from England to North America. Why did you decide to tell the story this way?

I wanted to write about Beryl when she was young (she’s ten when the story begins and thirteen at the end). In 1913 there weren’t any airplanes in Africa. She might have seen one during the war, but there’s no documentation for that. In her memoir, she mentions seeing a plane for the first time when she is in her 20’s.

However, kids are going to come to this book because she is a famous flyer! And her flight from the UK to North America is without doubt the most dramatic thing that she ever did. So I had to find a way to combine the two stories. I decided that her fascinating childhood was what made the flight possible. Each vignette as an adult, (deciding to fly, learning from her mistakes in the air, the preparation for her flight, etc.) relates to the chapter it precedes. For example, I paired the chapter where her father dares her to ride a wild horse with the story of how a Lord dares her to fly the Atlantic.

Beryl tells a lot of her own story in her memoir, West with the Night. How do you feel Promise the Night provides something different for readers?

MM: West With the Night offers a young reader the most tantalizing glimpses of her childhood. I took the hints and expanded them into a larger story. Hopefully it’s more satisfying. And I would be very pleased if a reader then turns to the librarian and asks for the memoir.

What fascinates you the most about Beryl?

MM: I adore her. She’s so matter-of-fact, even as she runs headlong into danger. She knows what she wants and sets out to earn it. She wasn’t afraid of hard work. And most of all, with the exception of the few people she admires, she does not care what people think of her. I’m sure she made enemies, but I think I would have been proud to be her friend.

Is there anything from the book you think makes a particularly good issue for book clubs to discuss?

MM: I think the issue of race permeates the novel. In Beryl’s mind, she is choosing between the Nandi tribe and the society of other British colonists. She is shocked when her father says the Nandi are “excellent specimens.” Another topic might be the issue of female friendships and why Beryl finds it so hard to form them.

There is a discussion guide on my website if you are interested: http://www.michaelamaccoll.com/librarians.php

Is there anything else you would like to say to readers at Mother Daughter Book Club. com?

MM: This novel was a risky one to write. Beryl Markham isn’t well-known to contemporary audiences which made it a hard sell. The shifting viewpoint between Beryl the child and Beryl the adult pilot also makes it hard to categorize the book. I’m so grateful that Chronicle Books embraced my vision. I hope you do too!

Yesterday, I reviewed Melissa Kantor’s book, The Darlings in Love. Today, I’m thrilled to feature Melissa’s great essay on first kisses, both experiencing them and writing about them. Plus, Melissa is giving away two copies of The Darlings in Love to readers at Mother Daughter Book Club. com. Just leave a comment here with a memory of your first kiss or thoughts of first kisses in general and you’ll be entered to win. Comment before midnight (Pacific Standard Time) on Wednesday, January 25 to be eligible. Addresses in the U.S. and Canada only please. (Please note: the giveaway is closed. Congratulations to Caryn and Kimberly on winning.)

Why I Love to Write A first Kiss

My first kiss was such a debacle that when I blogged about it (http://melissakantorauthor.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-first-kiss-and-most-embarrassing.html), complete strangers wrote in to express their sympathy.

Luckily, though my first kiss was a train wreck, later first kisses (that is, the first kisses I had with the boys who followed that first boy) were not. In fact, when I think back on the Greatest Moments of my life, there are definitely a couple of first kisses that make the Top Ten. Unlike most other memorable experiences—including college graduation (terrifying) a wedding (expensive, stressful) and childbirth (painful/messy)—first kisses have absolutely no down side. After days, weeks, months or even years of back and forth, maybes and maybe nots, suddenly…you know. First kisses are question and answer, taking off and coming home. Time stops during a first kiss even as it races forward. You step back and (if it’s a good first kiss), you find you are grinning in spite of yourself. They are the ultimate Yes!

Sadly, if all your dreams come true and you find yourself happily married to a wonderful man, first kisses are no longer a part of your life. But given that they’re one of life’s greatest pleasures (not to mention free of charge and calories), what’s a girl to do?

It’s a conundrum I’ve resolved by living vicariously through my characters. My books are all about teenage girls, and each of these girls is someone I like and relate to. Sadly, despite my very real affection for these girls, I have to beat them up. Constantly. No sooner do I create them than I give them a crush who doesn’t like them back, parents who are getting divorced or a best friend they’re not speaking to. What we call plot is really sadism—your character wants something and you won’t let her have it.

Which is where first kisses come in. After humiliating, disappointing and generally destroying my characters, I feel I owe them something. And what could be a better reward for all she’s suffered than a perfect, spine-tingling, heart-stopping first kiss. She sees him across a stage, a dance floor, a rec room a…well, you get the idea. Their eyes lock. They cross the space that separates them. And then…sparks fly.

For them and for me, it’s a perfect moment. If you’re a mother, maybe all your first kisses are behind you. If you’re a daughter, maybe all your first kisses are ahead of you. Regardless, isn’t it nice that you can both enjoy reading first kisses as much as we writers enjoy writing them?

To read the first chapter of The Breakup Bible (it’s got a yummy first kiss in it), go to: http://www.melissakantor.com/breakupbible.html .

To tell me about your first kiss (or to read about mine), go to http://www.melissakantor.com and click on my blog.

To read the first chapter of The Darlings in Love (there’s no kiss in the first chapter, but the book’s got two), go to http://www.melissakantor.com/darlingsinlove.html.

Melissa Kantor

Mary Corbett wrote National Guard 101: A Handbook for Spouses to help others navigate the ins and outs of being married to someone in the National Guard. Corbett says she was inspired to write the book after her own experiences left her feeling confused about what her husband was doing and what her role was.Part of the book description says National Guard 101 “covers a broad range of topics, from practical knowledge about the history of the National Guard and understanding rank to softer subjects like social life in the Guard and family programs. Corbett  also details the benefits and assistance resources available to Guard families and guides readers through the process of setting up a Personal Assistance League (PAL) to provide support during deployment.”

The release of Corbett’s book is especially appropriate, as this week marked the 37tth anniversary of the founding of the National Guard. Here’s an interview where Corbett talks about the Guard and her book.

Most people are familiar with the four branches of the United States Armed Services: Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force. Can you explain to our readers how the National Guard fits into our military?

MC: Across all branches, military members belong either to the active component or the reserve component. The United States National Guard (USNG) and the United States Army Reserve (USAR) are reserve components of the U.S. Army. The National Guard serves a dual mission: providing each state with trained and equipped units to protect life and property, and providing the nation with units that are ready to defend the United States at home and abroad. Each state has its own National Guard, under the control of the Governor (although the President of the United States can request the services of the Guard). Members of the Guard typically serve part-time, except when they are activated to full-time duty. The National Guard is the oldest component of the United States Armed Forces and will celebrate its 375th birthday on December 13, 2011.

What prompted you to write National Guard 101: A Handbook for Spouses?

MC: I married my husband — a long time member of the Minnesota National Guard — in 2000. Although I had family members who had served in the military, I had zero experience with military protocol or culture. The only thing I knew about the National Guard, at that time, was “one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer.” After moving to Georgia in 2001, followed by my husband’s deployment to Guantanamo in 2002, I realized that although I had never considered myself one, I was, indeed, a military wife. I spent a lot of time searching the internet looking for information to help me understand my role as a Guard spouse. I found that much of the information available was targeted toward active-duty spouses who lived on military bases with a completely different lifestyle. I felt there was definitely a need for a book for National Guard spouses. So I wrote it. National Guard 101 is the only book written specifically for the 162,000 Guard spouses.

Can you explain the differences between being a guardsman and being enlisted in one of the four active military branches?

MC: Guardsmen typically serve the military on a part-time basis and maintain civilian employment. Members of the active component typically serve full-time, military careers. When a Guardsman is activated, they become full-time military personnel and are indistinguishable from their active duty counterparts. They receive the same pay and benefits as active duty soldiers. When they are deactivated, they return to part-time service. It’s also worth nothing that, on average, members of the National Guard are older than their active component counterparts.

How is being a guard spouse different from being an active component spouse?

MC: From a family perspective, the lifestyle difference is night and day. National Guard members and their families live in civilian communities and may live far away from the armory where the soldier trains as well as military installations that provide services to active families. In other words, we don’t live on post. We don’t shop at the Post Exchange regularly. We don‘t have the built-in support structure of other military families close at hand. Often, we can be the only military family in our community. Our soldiers have full-time civilian careers that they must manage. It is challenging in a best-case scenario, but when our soldiers are deployed, our lives are affected in a way that is distinct to the citizen-soldier.

How common is deployment for National Guardsman?

MC: Most National Guard families have experience with long-term, overseas deployments. In 2011, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey, Jr. stated that “Every Guard brigade has deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, and over 300,000 Guardsmen have deployed in this war.” Since 9/11, virtually every unit of the National Guard — a force the size of the entire active Army — has served on active duty for one or more of the deployments at home or abroad. The last time that the entire National Guard had been mobilized was for World War II.

Do National Guard families face special challenges during deployments?

MC: Because we don’t live on post, it’s likely that our local communities lack familiarity with military experiences, which makes it hard when our soldiers are deployed for long periods of time. While the military provides consistent resources to connect families to military resources during deployments — Family Readiness Groups and Family Assistance Centers — it’s really up to us to figure out how to get the support we need to cover down while our soldier is gone. Fortunately, friends, neighbors, and community members are ready and willing to help Guard families.

What is the biggest obstacle a Guard spouse faces during deployment?

MC: Sometimes, WE are our own biggest obstacle. A lot of Guard spouses aren’t used to asking for help and don’t like to do it. My book tells the reader how to find the right person to “do the asking” for them. The end goal is a Personal Assistance League (PAL) made up of friends, family, and community members who are ready, willing, and eager to help throughout the duration of a deployment. A PAL is a robust and official support system with members who are doing small things occasionally. All of this piecemeal assistance adds up to consistent, steadfast assistance.

What is your favorite part about being a National Guard spouse?

MC: I like that I can live in a regular civilian community but also be a part of our great military. I also love attending social events such as annual holiday parties, family day events, and formal banquets and dining outs.

Mary Corbett is a professional writer and National Guard wife. She has appeared on The Today Show, Fox News Channel, local television affiliates, and nationally syndicated radio. Her first book, The List: 7 Ways to Tell if He’s Going to Marry You in 30 Days or Less was published in 2005. Corbett lives in Alpharetta, Georgia, with her husband Major Jon Roscoe, ARNG, and their children Holly and William. Visit her website www.marycorbett.com.