Memoirous

Okemos held a Pride event this past weekend. Not sure why it isn’t in June, but nice that things get spread out a bit. Apparently it was the first one. There was a pop-up library which I though was ultra-cool, since libraries are now on the front line in some of these culture wars. Also there was a proud dog contest. The dog that had the most rainbow scarves on, I’m guessing. They were all cute. There was a bubble machine and a DJ emceeing dance tunes. A couple kids were break dancing like crazy. Overall, it was a family event. Waaaaay smaller than anything in Chicago and—of course—no gun shots or shootings! Speaking of Pride: 2 of the folks from Story Studio Novel in a Year class that I participated in in 2021 have LGBT+ YA novels out. James Klise who teaches the class has an interesting totally Chicago book that just released about Chicago in 1930s gangster times. The dialogue and euphemisms are SWELL. There are (so far, not quite done) tense moments in the story, but mostly I’...

In 2021 I took a course at Story Studio --the highly selective Novel in a Year with James Klise. One of  the workshoppers got a book contract and her new novel is due out this year. Good luck Maxine, Max, you hardly need luck, but fingers crossed for your writing path! PUBLICATION AUG 22, 2023 Cold Girls Eighteen-year-old Rory Quinn-Morelli doesn’t want to die; she wants refuge from reality for even a minute: the reality where she survived the car crash eight months ago, and her best friend, Liv, didn’t. Yet her exasperating mother won’t believe the Xanax incident was an accident, and her therapist is making it increasingly hard to maintain the detached, impenetrable “cold girl” façade she adopted from Liv. After she unintentionally reconnects with Liv’s parents, Rory must decide: will she keep Liv’s and her secrets inside, or will she finally allow herself to break? And if she breaks, what will she unearth amid the pieces? For publicity or ARC requests, please contact publicity@no...

This class has been one of the best things ever! And, I’ve done a lot of conferences and workshops.  https://www.storystudiochicago.org/advanced-writing-programs-at-storystudio-chicago/novel-in-a-year-ya-middle-grade-with-jame-klise/ I think it was the right things at the right time. First applying in a pandemic and then getting the grant from the city of Chicago. Then, Story Studio threw in a scholarship, making the whole thing obtainable. I, again, am taking this one payment at a time. But, the thing that has been so helpful is the peer workshoppers themselves. They are sooo supportive. We are actually a community, though remote. We do daily meetups online via Zoom to write together. This gets me out of bed in the a.m. (a two-hour time difference between Pacific and Central time) and accountable. If even just to chat for 15 minutes before making tea and getting started, I can check in and not feel so alone. Writing is a solitary task. There’s a quote attributed to Willia...

  So to start this new year . . . 2021.   I applied for a grant from the City of Chicago, deadline Dec. 1—but, first, in order to get the money I needed a project, which propelled me into researching possibilities. Since there was/is a pandemic, I couldn’t apply for residencies or conferences. As a mid-level (at best) writer/author I didn’t want to do seminars, especially of basics. I’ve been a part of OCWW, SCBWI for the past ten to fifteen years—and wanted to go beyond what those organizations offered. The grant was specific: monies couldn’t go to a graduate program. As a Chicago resident I’ve been aware of and actually visited Story Studio  (coincidentally up the street from where I lived). Lived. I was also contemplating some left turns. Story Studio Novel-in-a-Year class for YA/MG with James Klise  seemed perfect. The class was selective; I had to apply at once and still not know if I made it in by the deadline for the grant. Well, I got into the cla...