Book Review: Yellowface by RF Kuang

Sometimes you read a novel so entertainingly over-the-top and unhinged, you just have to compliment the author for being so creative and having a wild imagination. And at the same time, you can totally see this scenario playing out in the real world. Thus, I give you my review of R. F. Kuang’s very clever and intriguing novel Yellowface.

When they both went to Yale, protagonist June Hayward and Athena Liu knew each other but they weren’t exactly besties. Years after graduation June and Athena’s lives have greatly diverged. While at Yale, June and Athena were both aspiring writers. June’s first novel sold a pittance and plans to release the novel in paperback was axed. Now June has a lowly job tutoring spoiled rich kids. Her writing career has been extinguished or at least has been put on the back burner.

Athena’s writing career, on the other hand, is white hot. Her debut book is a hit with both the critics and the reading public. Athena has just signed a major deal with Netflix. She is a media darling (it helps Athena is gorgeous) and she’s totally living large. And not surprisingly, June is pea green with envy and quite bitter over Athena’s success.

As Yellowface begins, June and Athena have met up again and the two are hanging out at Athena’s posh apartment after a night of drinking and revelry. Athena decides to make a post-drinking snack of pancakes. Athena starts to choke while eating a pancake. Despite June calling 911 (and her own efforts) Athena dies right in front of her. However, June’s attempt at heroics is quickly dashed when she finds a manuscript Athena had been working on. Athena used a typewriter so the manuscript is already in hard copy form. June steals the manuscript and takes it home with her.

Once home in her shabby apartment, June reads the manuscript. She finds out Athena was writing about Chinese labor workers in Britain during World War I. June realizes she has a great book on her hands and with a few edits she polishes up the manuscript even further. And then June comes up with a rather devious idea. She’s going to try to get Athena’s manuscript published under her own name. This could be June’s ticket to literary success. And Athena’s dead so it shouldn’t really matter, right? Right?

June sends the manuscript under her own name to her publisher. Her publisher loves it and the book, now named The Last Call, gets published. Only, it is published under the name Juniper Song. June’s full name is actually Juniper Song Hayward (yes, her parents were hippies), and because Juniper Song sounds rather Asian, it is perceived the book will sell if the author is deemed Asian. June, of course, is very, very Caucasian.

June’s book garners her a six-figure deal, and becomes a huge best-seller. Now June is getting a lot of accolades and is reaching literary success that just a year ago, she could only dream of. Now she’s the author the media wants to profile, and June believes she’s hit the jackpot. And she hopes she can keep this momentum going as she tries to work on another book while also doing the media circuit. Goodbye poverty and obscurity. Hello riches and fame.

However, it isn’t long before the validation of the book and June’s credibility is questioned. Online, people are starting to pick at her story, her statements to the press, and her public appearances at book events. These comments are brutal, and they begin to hinder June’s attempts at writing another book, which pisses off her publisher. Then one anonymous social media account accuses June of plagiarism (pretty accurate if you ask me). June begins to get terrified. She tries to everything to in her power to stave off the onslaught of outrage and social media cancellation. She panics and is paranoid. She even thinks she sees Athena stalking her. Is it Athena’s ghost? Did Athena fake her own death?

It isn’t long before June is figured out, and she gets hoodwinked into confessing her literary misdeeds by an editorial assistant from her publisher. This editorial assistant threatens to write a tell-all book about and it shakes June to her core. This prompts June to make a stab at writing her own memoir as a way of absolving her sins. But things get even further out of control for her. Does June get punished in the end? Or does she somehow go on totally unscathed? Hmm.

Though June is all together awful, I could not put Yellowface down. I kept reading it, totally caught up in June’s wrongdoing, and how it affected her and other people in her orbit. And as odious as June is other characters aren’t exactly noble themselves. Even Athena isn’t so perfect. As entertaining and gripping as Yellowface is, it also asks an important questions. Who gets to tell the stories? Can only Asian people write the stories of Asian people? Can a white person write about something out of his or her race, and treat the topic with grace and open-mindedness? Well, white people who aren’t named June Hayward maybe. And why in the 21st century, are people of color still seen as tokens? And let’s not forget an Asian author, R. F. Kuang wrote from the perspective of a white woman.

I also loved how Yellowface exposes the flaws of the publishing industry, the unhinged world of social media, and the jealousy of the writing community. Whether you’re familiar with this world, or just love a book that will keep you riveted, Yellowface lives up to the hype. I highly recommend it.

Author! Author!: An Interview with Suzette Mullen

A contributor to the New York Times “Modern Love” series and a writing coach, Suzette Mullen seemed to have it all. She was married to a successful man, and her adult sons were happy and thriving. She even had a vacation home! But something under the surface was amiss in Suzette’s life. She soon realized she was deeply in love with her best friend-a women-for two decades. But she wondered if she acted on those feelings how would they tear up the life she had known so well.

Suzette shares her story about coming out and being her true self in her upcoming memoir “The Only Way Through is Out” published by University of Wisconsin Press, and will be released on February 13, 2024.

Suzette was kind enough to grant me an interview where she discusses her book, her life, and helping others embrace their true selves. Enjoy!

Many people realize from a young age they are gay, but you didn’t realize this until you were older. How did you deal with coming out at mid-life and how did it affect your life? 

This is exactly the story I share in my memoir THE ONLY WAY THROUGH IT OUT! Coming out at any age has its own set of challenges. My coming-out challenge was that I had an entire established identity and life rooted in the heterosexual paradigm—a husband, two young adult children, colleagues, friends, and extended family who knew me as straight. The cost of coming out, of living authentically, was “blowing up” that life and potentially hurting people I loved. I had to decide whether I had the stomach and courage to leave behind the safe, comfortable life I knew to step into an unknown future. Life on the other side of that very tough decision feels very different, personally and professionally. Change was—and is—hard and life-giving. Finally stepping into the fullness of who I am feels incredible. I may have thrown a bomb into my life and my family’s ecosystem, but nothing was destroyed. It all just looks differently now. Everyone appears to be thriving in their own way.

What emotions did you go through? What fears did you have? 

So many emotions and fears! First I had to learn to trust what I was hearing and feeling inside myself. Was I really gay or was I simply experiencing a one-off attraction to a female friend? At the time I was questioning my sexuality, I hadn’t even kissed a woman. Seriously, who risks everything for a life they’ve been living only in their head? Especially someone like me who had been conditioned to play it safe. I also felt a sense of relief once I came to terms with my sexual identity. So much of my past suddenly made sense, as if the scales had fallen from my eyes. But despite that clarity, I still wrestled with fear: Even if coming out and leaving my marriage was the “right thing” to do, could I actually do it? Could I do life as a single woman—as a lesbian!—and start over in my mid-fifties? I had been with my husband since I was twenty-two. And what about the people who mattered the most to me: my sons, my sister, my mom, my close friends. Would I lose them? For months, I struggled with these questions and fears. I sought advice from friends, worked with a therapist. But finally, I had to decide whose voice to listen to … and the answer was my own. 

How did you navigate going through a divorce at mid-life and starting over? 

First, I want to acknowledge that I enjoyed significant privilege in my starting-over journey: financial security, marketable job skills, and a generally supportive ex-husband. I don’t want to minimize the challenges of divorce and starting over when you don’t have these advantages. But what I can speak to are the fears and doubts many people have as they contemplate starting over—at any age. Somehow as a society we have adopted the mindset that once you’ve made your bed, you have to lie in it, and as a consequence, many of us stay stuck in unsatisfying personal and professional lives. You don’t have to stay stuck. You don’t have to lie in that bed. You are more capable than you think. People called me brave for starting over in my mid-fifties. But I didn’t feel brave. However, ultimately, I didn’t give over my agency to fear and doubt. I didn’t let fear stop me from taking the first step and the next and the next. And on those days when fear and doubt threatened to overcome me, I called out for help and the universe responded. Friends took me in. Unexpected possibilities opened up. Synchronicities unfolded. It turns out I did have what I needed to start over. 

How did your career as a writing coach help you write your memoir? What advice would you give to others wanting to write a memoir? 

As a writer, I saw how valuable it was to have someone by my side to provide feedback and accountability, and to support me when the doubt demons inevitably whispered in my ear. As a writing and book coach, I went through a rigorous training process to further develop my understanding of craft and storytelling, as well as my knowledge of the publishing landscape. This training, as well as my ongoing work with writers, gave me the tools I needed to write a book I am proud of and land a book deal with a publisher who valued my story. The advice I’d give to people wanting to write a memoir comes from my own writing journey:

• Writing a memoir is an act of bravery. It’s vulnerable and scary. Make sure you take care of yourself and have a support system in place as you dig into your past, especially if you are writing about trauma.
• Be patient. Meaningful memoirs aren’t written in thirty days, despite what you might have heard on the internet!
• Your story is not the things that happened to you; it’s the meaning you make of those events. Keep digging until you discover the real story you were meant to tell.
• Get support. No one writes a book alone. Support can come in many forms: a writing partner, a writing group, or a writing coach. 
• Finally, your story matters. I hope you’ll write it. Someone out there needs to read it.

How do you hope your experience and your memoir will inspire and help others in the LGBTQ+ community? 

Every day I see people in online LGBTQ+ support groups who can’t imagine how they are going to come out or if they have already come out, how they will possibly get through the messy middle. I hope my memoir will help these folx feel seen, understood, and less alone, and feel hope that it’s possible to get to the other side of the struggle and create a thriving life. I hope my story will inspire them to find the courage to live their “one wild and precious life,”  as poet Mary Oliver so eloquently stated. To not waste their one wild and precious life living a life that isn’t truly their own. Yes, there is a cost to authenticity, and the cost is worth it. Finally, I’m proof positive that it’s never too late for a new beginning. It’s never too late to live authentically and write a new story for yourself.

Any future projects you want to tell us about? 

Yes! I’ve launched a mentorship and community exclusively for LGBTQ+ memoir and nonfiction writers called WRITE YOURSELF OUT where writers find accountability, professional support in a judgment-free zone, and a step-by-step process that meets them wherever they are in the journey from idea to publication. I’m loving the energy of this community and the growth I’m seeing in my writers, and I invite anyone who might be interested in joining the mentorship to please reach out. I’m also at the early stages of outlining my next book, which will be a memoir about how to hold grief and joy together after a big leap. What I’ve discovered is that when you are living authentically in your personal life it spills over to your professional life. That certainly has been the case for me. I’m thriving professionally in my sixties more than in any other decade of my life. Another reminder that it’s never too late!

I Read It So You Don’t Have To: Sociable by Rebecca Harrington

In Sociable by Rebecca Harrington, Elinor Tomlinson has graduated from college a few years ago with a degree in journalism. So far, her degree is pretty useless. Instead of writing, she’s a nanny for a couple of spoiled bratty kids. She’s also living with her boyfriend, Mike, who also studied journalism. Their apartment is a total dump. They sleep on a foam pad instead of a regular bed, and their shower spits out water all over the place.

Mike wants to write long, involved “think pieces” that have some depth. He abhors listicles and click bait articles that are so prevalent in the age of digital media. It isn’t long before Mike gets a job with Memo Points Daily, which he believes will give him the chance to write the substantial articles he desires.

Elinor, on the other hand, gets a job at the newly launched journalism.ly, a Buzzfeed-type digital media site. And this is when Mike decides to dump Elinor, and her life goes a bit into a tailspin.

When Elinor starts her job at Journalism.ly, she isn’t given an guidance or pertinent training. There appears to be no editorial guidelines or an editorial calendar. Apparently, Elinor and her co-workers are supposed to write pieces that go “viral.”

Journalism.ly publishes really puerile eye-rollers about things only coffee drinkers know, and other such dreck. We’re not exactly dealing with The Atlantic here. But hey, if these articles go viral, then the powers that be at Journalism.ly are happy. Journalism integrity? What’s that?

Inspired by her break up with Mike, Elinor decides to write about the end of their relationship. Despite coming across like a snotty teenager, and lack of a punchy writing style, Elinor’s article gains traction, and you guessed it, it goes viral. It goes viral, and Elinor even gets invited to a local news show to talk about her article. My sympathies to the people who interviewed this charmless no-talent hack.

And then? Well, nothing much happens in Sociable. Elinor shows no growth and for the most part remains the vapid, entitled twit. In fact, most of those in her circle are completely without dimension and show no maturity. And to me, Elinor is one of the least “writerly” writer I’ve come across. She shows no curiosity beyond her own little world and doesn’t seem to have much use for reading anything other than her social media feeds. Everyone speaks in “uptalk” and uses the word “like” far too often. And when Elinor calls herself an influencer after her article goes viral, I wanted to chuck this book across the room. I’ve been working on this blog for nearly a decade, and I don’t call myself an influencer.

While reading Sociable, I kept wondering if it was a parody. The book kept portraying Millennials as tired tropes, self-absorbed, entitled, and obsessed with social media. If I was a Millennial, I’d be insulted. Sociable is not not written well-enough to be considered parody.

Plus, though Sociable is written mostly from Elinor’s point of view in third person, there are times when its written from other characters’ points of view, and there are times when it addressing the ready. The flow of this book is so disjointed.

And though Harrington may want Elinor to be a character to root for, we can’t. Elinor is too much a ditz and a downer. She’s shallow, judgmental, and refuses to grow up. No lesson is learned. No development is gained.

This book is called Sociable. Well, call me Anti-Sociable.

Book Review: Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham

All readers have a treasured book. And I’m sure many readers have wanted to live in the pages of their favorite book. What is it like to hang out with characters and situations who hold dear to your heart? Eamon Buckley and his friends are about to find out. And it may not be a wonderful as they hope for. New author, Jonathan Edward Durham explores this premise in his book Winterset Hollow.

Eamon gets a chance to visit the former home of one of his favorite authors, Edward Addington. Addington’s book, Winterset Hollow, is beloved by Eamon (and many others) for its tale of bravery, friendship, and love. Eamon had a very difficult childhood and Winterset Hollow and it’s fantastical characters was a place of solace for him.

Eamon brings his friends Mark and Caroline to the island where the late Addington’s house lies, and it just happens to be on Barley Day, which is a pretty big deal in the Winterset Hollow world.

Once Eamon, Mark, and Caroline reach the island and Addington’s home, they are in for a surprise. They end up meeting the characters of Winterset Hollow. Initially, the three are delighted. Who could imagine such an outcome?

As Eamon, Mark, and Caroline meet these characters, and explore Addington’s home, they realize that coming to the island wasn’t exactly a good idea. And they learn Addington’s world isn’t exactly as delightful as originally thought. Things get really, really messy. And before you know it, these three are fighting for their lives in a tale with many twists and turns, including one that stuns Eamon.

As much as the premise was interesting, I found the writing to be overwrought and florid, with long run-on sentences that were nearly as long as paragraphs. I think this took away from the flow of the book, which have been served with a lot of editing.

Still, I’m going to give Durham some credit for writing a novel with a creative storyline. Perhaps, with time his writing will become sharper and more cohesive. He just needs more practice and a really good editor.

Barbara Ehrenreich: A Tribute

“No job, no matter how lowly, is truly ‘unskilled.'”-Barbara Ehrenreich from the book Nickel an Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

On September 1st, we lost one of my favorite writers, Barbara Ehrenreich. Best known for her seminal book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, Ehrenreich was also an activist, journalist, and all-around bad ass muckraker. Her work encouraged us to look at a host of societal ills and ask ourselves, “What can we do?”

I first became familiar with Ehrenreich when I read her books Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class and The Worst Years of Our Lives: Irreverent Notes from a Decade of Greed back in the 1990s. Finally someone was giving a voice to how many of us were feeling in the wake of the Reagan Bush years. A lot of us were pissed off over the erosion of women’s rights, the lack of a proper response to the AIDS crisis, corporate malfeasance and greed, and the growing chasm between the haves and the have nots. Ehrenreich understood our frustration and anger.

As mentioned, Nickel and Dimed is probably one of Ehrenreich’s best known works. In this iconic book, Ehrenreich went undercover as a low wage worker at various jobs. She wondered how anyone could make it on such little pay. Guess what? Many of them couldn’t. Nickel and Dimed shed a light on the difficult jobs many people do that keep our live going, but are never paid properly.

Ehrenreich didn’t ignore the plight of the professional, educated class either. Her book Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream focused on white collar workers who thought they did everything right but were falling down the career ladder. As someone who spent time in the low wage trenches and in so-called lofty office jobs, I totally related to the work woes Ehrenreich wrote about in both Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch.

Ehrenreich came to her career in an honest way. She was raised by two hardworking parents who told her to never vote for a Republican and never cross a picket line. She studied physics and later graduated with a degree in chemistry from Reed College. She later achieved a Ph.D from Rockefeller University.

After she received her education, Ehrenreich worked many jobs-analyst at the Bureau of the Budget in New York City and with the Health Policy Advisory Center. She was a professor at State University of New York at Old Westbury. She worked in healthcare related research and was an advocate for women’s causes.

Ehrenreich was also a freelance writer, having her articles published in The Nation, Mother Jones, The New York Times Book Review, The New Republic, Salon, The New York Times, and Ms. These articles often focused on social and political issues.

Personally, Ehrenreich was married and divorced two times. She was the mother of Rosa Brooks, who is a law professor and journalist, and Ben Ehrenreich, who is a journalist and novelist.

However, Ehrenreich is probably best known for her books, especially Nickel and Dimed, which is often assigned in college courses. Her books focused on a wealth of topics including the America workplace, women’s issues, politics, and health. Her last book Had I Known: Collected Essays was published in 2020 and I reviewed it last year.

I was fortunate to have seen Barbara Ehrenreich at several book discussions here in Milwaukee, the last for her book Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking has Undermined America. I was fortunate to have met her and have her sign my copy, and she couldn’t have been more welcoming and kind.

I’m in deep grief over the death of Barbara Ehrenreich, and I am so glad we have her books, which make us think and inspire us to action. I’m sure Ms. Ehrenreich is muckraking somewhere in the universe making it a better place.

Book Review: Goodbye to All That-Writers on Loving and Leaving New York Edited by Sari Botton

New York City has always been seen as a magical place by creative people, including writers. And countless writers have made their way to the Big Apple. Many of them have found their fortunes, but they also found quite a few challenges.

This conundrum is examined in the book Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York edited by Sari Botton.

Inspired by an essay of the same name by Joan Didion, this collection of essays takes both an enthusiastic and critical look of New York. Most remembrances take place from the 1970s through the 1990s. The writers moved from cities, suburbia, and small towns. They wanted to find success both professionally and personally. But they also describe in touching detail about their setbacks and struggles. These include tales about money troubles, crime, career woes and love gone wrong.

The writers include such notables as Roxane Gay, Dani Shapiro, Meghan Daum, and Cheryl Strayed.

Every essay reminded me why New York is such a beacon to creative people. New York is the ultimate place to be a writer and Goodbye to All That reminds me why.

We Interrupt This Blog For This Special Announcement

If you have a child in your life who adores animals and loves reading then this child is going to be over the moon over author Pop Jamison’s Skwerdlock series. Skwerdlock is a whimsical character who delights and encourages young readers. The latest book in the Skwerdlock series is Never Take a Skwerdlock to the Doctor.

“The Skwerdlock is always fun to be with, and is always curious and excited to try new things. The Skerdlock watches everything you do and then likes to try it all. Because of that, the Skwerdlock is a great friend to have around.

The Skwerdlock would never do anything to hurt anyone or to cause any problems. But sometimes, just being a Skwerdlock means that strange things can happen when a Skwerdlock is nearby. This little story is a friendly reminder of what can happen when a Skwerdlock is around.

But, mostly, the Skwerdlock is just an excuse to curl up in the recliner or sofa with your favorite early reader or listener and smile together.

And, if the illustrations seem a bit “amateurish”, that’s something Pops and the Skwerdlock have done intentionally. They both love really nice illustrations, but they also want to remind your young storytellers they don’t have to be “perfect” to create a really good story.

Just remember, ‘Never Take A Skwerdlock to the Doctor!'”

Pops Jamison’s first name is John and he’s been writing for children for nearly sixty years, much of it inspired by his daughter Tricia.

As a writer, Pop’s goals include making kids laugh, love reading and tell “just good stories.” Ultimately, Skwerdlock is a true blue friend to everyone he meets.

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“Author! Author!” An Interview with Rotaru Arthur Cristian

Author Bio

“My name is Rotaru Arthur Cristian and I am a 20 years old student at the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, Romania.

I was always very fond of writing and especially reading a lot of stuff on a lot of topics, which allowed me to deepen my knowledge in many different areas of life. One of my favorites was the self-improvement one and this was the beginning of ‘How to get the most out of life’.”

1. What inspired you to write a book?

The main thing that inspired me to write this book was primarily… reading other books. After reading many self-improvement manuscripts and taking notes after each one of them, I realized that even most of them had very good content (especially older ones), none of them was “complete”. Each dived into one aspect or another of this whole “improvement” area, but if you wanted the whole package you had to read the whole library.

2. Please describe your book.

“How To Get the Most Out of Life: The ABC of a Negotiator” is a self-improvement book which has the purpose of helping anyone who wants a positive change in his/her life.

The first thing that should be clarified about it is probably the title, more precisely the word “negotiator”. This book is giving a new meaning to this word, and this is probably the first thing that differentiates it from other books in the same area.

The manuscript goes through the main strategies of negotiation, and then it dives into a bit more advanced topics like body language and specific phrasing and signals.

As stated in the book, it is the maximum amount of useful information in the least amount of pages possible.

My goal while writing this book was to put together all the essential subjects of all the books that I read, thus creating a “beginner guide” to a better life.

Of course, after reading it you may want to deepen your knowledge in one of the subjects treated in my book by reading others which are more concentrated on that specific subject, but nevertheless I think that “How to get the most out of life” is the best starting point in being a better “you”.

3. What is your writing background and experience?

I was fond of writing ever since I was a kid, when I was creating small pieces of poetry and stories, but choosing a math/informatics high school and then following the courses of a cybernetics university didn’t give me the chance to truly cultivate this passion. However, it allowed me to better understand economy and people in general which lead me to write this specific book.

4. What challenges did you face writing this book? How did you deal with them?

I tried to get some feedback on my manuscript but because I am not famous yet it proved pretty hard to find people willing to read it. However, I managed to convince some people (including some directors and university teachers) and their response was very positive. It really boosted my confidence because apart from some minor constructive feedback, most of them were very fascinated.

Probably as any other author, I had my personal challenges while writing my manuscript, but probably the one that took me the most time to solve was the riddle. Yes, this book contains a well thought riddle that is for the smart and curious ones.

5. What has been the response to your book? What do want people to get from your book?

Being a relatively short book, I would love if people could get everything out of it. However, I know that is unlikely to happen, so I guess the core idea that I want people to be stuck with after reading my book is that every person can improve his/her life, no matter their background and social/financial status.

Even if some readers may consider that the things I taught in the book are not suited for their lifestyle (which is highly unlikely), I want them to know that there is always a way to get better. Maybe not my way, but a way.

6. What advice would you give to other writers? What advice were you given?

I think the most important advice that I can give to other writers is to never tell anyone about your manuscript until it is finished. People usually try to come up with new ideas which “fits better” and that is natural, but this is why you want to shape it the way you want, and after that you can ask others for opinions. Personally, I wasn’t given any -personal- advice before writing, because nobody knew I was doing it.

7. What are your future writing plans?

In the future I want to write a few more books on topics that I love and to get my book in front of as many people as possible.

“Author!Author!” An Interview With Children’s Author Brett Fleishman

Brett Fleishman loves to make children laugh and one way he does this is through his books for children of all ages. His books mix whimsical word play with creative illustrations, jokes, and puzzles.

Brett’s latest creations include the following:

1. Toilet Trouble (for beginners)

2. Take a Hike! (for intermediate readers)

3. Bedtime Story (for advanced readers)

Brett was kind enough to grant me an interview and here it is. Enjoy!

1. How long have you been writing? What inspired you to write?

I started writing children’s poetry four years ago.  Prior to that, I had never written a poem.  In fact, up until then, I didn’t know the creative side of my brain existed!  Unfortunately, it was a stressful personal situation, going through the early stages of a divorce that inspired me to write.  At that time, I was desperately looking for a way to escape from the anxiety around the divorce.  Writing children’s poetry was that escape.  I guess everything happens for a reason.

2. Why do focus on books for children?

Because I am a kid at heart.  And I relate to children incredibly well.  I’m not convinced my maturity level is too much higher than a 12-year old’s.  So it’s a perfectly natural target audience for me.  I was always the class clown / goofball growing up.  I kind of still am?

3. Describe your latest books?

My latest three books, which will be released on Nov 8 through amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and indiebound.org, are designed for beginner (grades K-2), intermediate (grades 3-5), and advanced (grades 5-7) readers, respectively.  Each book is the second volume in a series of books I am writing for each of these three reading levels.  Each book contains a collection of humorous poems with bright, colorful illustrations.  The intermediate and advanced books are humorous, but also very educational since many of the poems employ word plays (puns and idioms).  In the appendices of these books, I include a section that explains what puns and idioms are, and then explain, poem by poem, how the puns and idioms were used in the poems.  Educators and parents seem to really appreciate this aspect of my books.

4. What challenges do you face as a writer?

Finding the time to write is my biggest challenge.  While I would absolutely love for this to become my full-time job, right now, unfortunately, it’s not.  I have an M.B.A. in finance and work in the investment industry.  (I’m guessing there aren’t too many investment poets out there.)  I also spend a lot of time with my two sons and play competitive tennis.  So carving out time to write is my biggest challenge, for sure.

5. What are the reactions to your books?

Generally speaking, the feedback has been extremely positive.  I have had a lot of parents and educators tell me that my poetry is very high-quality.  They like the fact that my poems are not only designed to make children laugh, but also to make children think.  For me, that’s what makes writing poetry so much fun. 

6. What advice would you give to other writers?

I would give other writers the same advice I give myself:  Don’t get frustrated.  Don’t give up.  Believe in what you do.  This is a very tough industry to break into.  I like to read about all of the super-famous authors who were rejected time after time after time before finally being recognized for their work.  If you aren’t persistent and confident in yourself, you aren’t going to last in this business very long.

7. What are your future plans?

For Thanksgiving?  Or for Christmas?  Or for New Year’s?  Oh, you mean future plans as a writer?  Ah, right…   So once these three books are published in November, I will have finished publishing six books in a little more than a year.  I’m proud of that, but I’m also exhausted?  My first six books all contain collections of poems.  But I’ve also written a handful of fairly long poems that I am planning to publish as standalone books.  One of them, which is called ‘Chasing Santa Claus,’ I am planning to publish in late 2019.  I have hundreds of unpublished poems still, so after ‘Chasing Santa Claus,’ I am planning to publish many more beginner, intermediate, and advanced children’s poetry books starting in 2020 — and continuing on for the next decade (or two).

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“Author! Author!” An Interview with A.R. Geiger

I first made A.R Geiger’s acquaintance when I joined Twitter. We connected as readers and writers, but I knew I had to follow her because of the inspiring things she writes that urges writers to keep going on no matter what hurdles or challenges they face. So I am very honored to have interviewed Ms. Geiger. She’s an absolute delight.

1. First, give me a brief bio about yourself, where you grew up,  education, where you live now, writing jobs, other jobs, like and dislikes, whatever you want to share.

 

 I’m a Jesus-loving traveler, a reader, and a mythology enthusiast! My bookshelves are always overcrowded. I believe that all books have something to teach us, whether they are truth or fiction, history or myth. My stories are my heart and soul. They stem from places I’ve visited and things I’ve seen. Airplanes are my happy place! I’ve backpacked through Southern Europe, eaten snails in France, bought books in Portugal, and lived in a castle on the beach in Scotland for four months. (I vacuumed the hallways every week. Apparently, this is called ‘hoovering’ in Europe.) I’ve ridden elephants in Cambodia, slept on buses and church floors, and fallen in love with cultures very different from my own. To quote Mary Anne Radmacher, “I am not the same for having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.

The places I’ve seen have

seriously influenced my work and the stories I tell. Words are my art supplies, and I am passionate about painting an honest, accurate picture of life in every sphere of society. I have been writing for five years, but I was making up stories long before I learned to put them down on paper.

 

2. When did you you start writing and why?

I have always been coming up with stories and writing many of them down, but I started writing seriously when I turned eighteen. I was on a trip that turned out to be very boring for me, and I needed a distraction! Thus, my novel was born, packed into the notes section of an iPod touch. Once I started, I was hooked, and I haven’t been able to stop since. I have too many stories in my head to let them all wither and die.

3. How does your Christian faith inspire and influence your writing?

God is very much the center of my writing and the center of my life. Without Him, I would have given up long ago. I pray every morning before I start writing, and He gives me the ideas and creativity that I need to continue! When I get stuck on a problem, my solution is always to take a break, get away, and ask God what He thinks. He always seems to always have a solution for me. When I was still living at home, I had a quote written on my wall next to my computer that read, “Have you asked the Master Storyteller?” It helped remind me who was really the master of my stories.

4. What do you write and why?

I write YA fantasy, most of it centered around Justice and the reality of Human Trafficking. This is an area of passion for me, as I have spent time studying and working with people escaping from it.

5. What challenges do you face as a writer? Describe a typical writing day. 

Time. The hardest challenge I have right now is fitting writing time in between two jobs. Writing has not begun to pay for me quite yet, and so my stories have to fit themselves into the bits and pieces of my day when I’m not working to make ends meet. Sometimes that means waking up early or staying up late, sometimes it means being very intentional with an hour. Somehow I’ve always managed to keep my stories going, even in my hardest seasons.

6. Who are your favorite writers and why?

Cornelia Funke. Her Inkworld series is one of the best fantasy trilogies on the market. Hands down. After that . . . hmmm. J.R.R Tolkien, Victor Hugo, Charles Dickens, John Flanagan, Brian Jacques, Charlotte Brontë. . . I could send you a list a mile long and still come up with other names. Words are my passion and books are my obsession.

7. What are your future plans? What do you aspire to?

My plans are a little shaky right now! But I would love to be a self-supporting author and do lots of traveling. My passion is to tell people’s stories and give a voice to those who have none. I’ve written one biography already, for a man who was a Vietnam war vet and a missionary. I’d love to do more! Right now, the difficulty is finding the time . . . I’ve got at least two others who would like me to write their stories! Someday.

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