LAURA FLYNN!
Wow.
This has been a busy week for me. I have been out working events every day and every night. So I am sorry if this is late.
Let’s see, what is coming up this week that is fun and exciting . . .
Next Wednesday we are hosting Laura Flynn at Dupont. You might remember Laura from the Oscars a few years back when she was a little too skinny and wore that crazy dress? I used to love watching her on Twin Peaks. I grew up watching that show and as a hormonal teen nothing was better than Laura Flynn Boyle on my TV every week. I am really looking forward to asking her about working with Johnny Knoxville and her relationship with Jack—What? You mean the Laura Flynn that is coming is not that Laura Flynn? There are two Laura Flynns? Really? Well that is even better isn’t it . . .
This Laura Flynn is a San Francisco native who is now living in the frozen north of Minnesota. This is her first book and is based on her own life story. Sometimes we call those memoirs, but that makes me think of someone at the end of days whom has nothing left to do. Not the case in this book. This book is the story of Laura Flynn growing up with a mother that suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
Some of us can understand the struggles of growing up with crazy parents (my mom reads my blog, so I am not going to say anything out loud, but listen for the wink) but in this case, Laura’s mother was actually crazy. Given the situation, you might think she would be severely damaged as an adult, wear a Rolling Stones T-shirt and jeans to an award ceremony, stop eating and then start dating Jack Nicholson. But not THIS Laura Flynn!
This one decided to work through her childhood issue by putting pen to paper. She must be doing okay, because she teaches writing at the University of Minnesota, has a family, a house, snow boots and a heavy parka. (I am guessing on those last things because she lives in Snow Country)
I have been reading sections of the book online and have been struck by how beautifully the images are conjured up. How quick the dialog is and how gut-wrenching the whole story is. I heard the other night from a fiction writer that dialog in a story should always reveal something about the character that is speaking. I liked that but I wondered how that worked in real life. It must, because the discussions between Laura and her mother are sweet and telling.
By now, you might all know how I feel about author’s first books. I love them. I like a bands first CD too, there is just something strong, raw and powerful about a first work. Some authors work for years to get that first story published. It is normally something that has been stewing in their guts as far back as they can remember. They had to shop it around to 20 different agents and those agents had to push to sell it to 10 different publishers. Then they get signed to a three-book deal and they are obligated to churn out another Masterpiece in a year and a half. And you thought your job was hard.
All that being said, I wanted to thank Alan Drew for coming out to read from his First book, Gardens of Water. To all of you that didn’t come out to support him and hear his talk about the reasons of how this book came about and about living in Istanbul during and after the 1999 earthquake, shame on you. You missed a lovely talk with a very lovely man. And I am not just saying that because he signed my book.
So! Get off your duffs on Wednesday night, March 5th and come hear Laura Flynn (Not Boyle) at Dupont. I promise you wont regret it. It will make your mother seem less crazy.
This has been a busy week for me. I have been out working events every day and every night. So I am sorry if this is late.
Let’s see, what is coming up this week that is fun and exciting . . .
Next Wednesday we are hosting Laura Flynn at Dupont. You might remember Laura from the Oscars a few years back when she was a little too skinny and wore that crazy dress? I used to love watching her on Twin Peaks. I grew up watching that show and as a hormonal teen nothing was better than Laura Flynn Boyle on my TV every week. I am really looking forward to asking her about working with Johnny Knoxville and her relationship with Jack—What? You mean the Laura Flynn that is coming is not that Laura Flynn? There are two Laura Flynns? Really? Well that is even better isn’t it . . .
This Laura Flynn is a San Francisco native who is now living in the frozen north of Minnesota. This is her first book and is based on her own life story. Sometimes we call those memoirs, but that makes me think of someone at the end of days whom has nothing left to do. Not the case in this book. This book is the story of Laura Flynn growing up with a mother that suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
Some of us can understand the struggles of growing up with crazy parents (my mom reads my blog, so I am not going to say anything out loud, but listen for the wink) but in this case, Laura’s mother was actually crazy. Given the situation, you might think she would be severely damaged as an adult, wear a Rolling Stones T-shirt and jeans to an award ceremony, stop eating and then start dating Jack Nicholson. But not THIS Laura Flynn!
This one decided to work through her childhood issue by putting pen to paper. She must be doing okay, because she teaches writing at the University of Minnesota, has a family, a house, snow boots and a heavy parka. (I am guessing on those last things because she lives in Snow Country)
I have been reading sections of the book online and have been struck by how beautifully the images are conjured up. How quick the dialog is and how gut-wrenching the whole story is. I heard the other night from a fiction writer that dialog in a story should always reveal something about the character that is speaking. I liked that but I wondered how that worked in real life. It must, because the discussions between Laura and her mother are sweet and telling.
By now, you might all know how I feel about author’s first books. I love them. I like a bands first CD too, there is just something strong, raw and powerful about a first work. Some authors work for years to get that first story published. It is normally something that has been stewing in their guts as far back as they can remember. They had to shop it around to 20 different agents and those agents had to push to sell it to 10 different publishers. Then they get signed to a three-book deal and they are obligated to churn out another Masterpiece in a year and a half. And you thought your job was hard.
All that being said, I wanted to thank Alan Drew for coming out to read from his First book, Gardens of Water. To all of you that didn’t come out to support him and hear his talk about the reasons of how this book came about and about living in Istanbul during and after the 1999 earthquake, shame on you. You missed a lovely talk with a very lovely man. And I am not just saying that because he signed my book.
So! Get off your duffs on Wednesday night, March 5th and come hear Laura Flynn (Not Boyle) at Dupont. I promise you wont regret it. It will make your mother seem less crazy.
0 Comments:
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home