Laurie Halse Anderson's Blog, page 19

Happy Birthday to my favorite (and my local) bookstore, River's End Bookstore in Oswego, NY. This week is the store's 13th birthday, which they are celebrating by unveiling their e-commerce site.

The owners of the store, Bill Reilly and Mindy Ostrow, have made a tremendous difference to the culture of Oswego and to the feel of downtown.

Support your local independent booksellers!!

It is hard for me to think about anything except for the struggles of the Japanese people right now.

Helllllllooooooo Women's History Month!

The fantabulous dames over at readergirlz have designated March as Risk-Taking Month. On the last day of February (Loyalty Month) they featured Independent Dames; What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution. But given the subject matter, I think we can celebrate it in both February and March!

You can read the short essay that I wrote about the book. Then hop into the conversation; do you think women's contributions are still being marginalized today the way they were during the American Revolution?

This October I'll be turning 50 years old. I am using this as my excuse for just about anything and everything these days.

One of the things I decided around New Year's was to give myself permission to exercise as much as I want all year. I adore working out but often allow other commitments to get in the way. Not in 2011!

Here's what I've accomplished so far.

Running 145 miles

Biking 99 miles

Walking 27 miles

Elliptical 21 miles

Swimming 11 miles

Rowing 9 miles

A couple of weeks ago I started lifting weights again, too, and am doing that 3 days a week now.

My blood pressure is low, my resting heart rate has dropped, and the pants that didn't fit after Christmas fit great again.

Need some inspiration? Here you go.

Yes, it is still below freezing outside.

But that is the SUN SHINING, people!!! We haven't seen that in these parts for MONTHS!!!

Look – evidence!

I was talking to some friends last weekend about how much pain reviews can cause. Even the good ones can hurt because writers are mostly neurotic and we will find the phrase or the one word that is less than complimentary and then we obsess about that word until we've driven ourselves into a right, old funk.

And then I received word about my latest review from England.

I will never whine about a review again. Ever. Because after this one? I'm never going to read another review. I'm just going to reread these incredible words that Melvin Burgess, one the most significant YA authors in UK, wrote about my book. I might set them to music. Or turn them into an epic saga-length, ego-soothing poem.

It does not get any better than this. (Review originally published in the The Observer, Sunday 30 January 2011. )

"There is a great deal of dross written in teenage fiction, nearly all of which seems to end up on my desk. But from time to time, you come across a book that reminds you just why this is such an exciting – and exacting – field.

Wintergirls has many of the obsessions of current teen fiction, including the use of repetition and formatting to convey the state of mind of Lia, the protagonist, and the incredibly intense interior dialogue – so private, so shut off from the outside world, and which makes this particular novel so startling and memorable.

The plot is familiar enough. Our heroine, Lia, already ill, is sent on a vicious downward spiral into anorexia and self-harm by the news that her ex-best friend, Cassie, has died alone in a motel room. The desperation and self-hatred this triggers are set against Lia's cleverness at hiding it from her separated parents, busy mum (Dr Marrigan), selfish father (Professor Overbrook) and well-meaning but unimaginative stepmother, Jennifer.

Meanwhile, the vengeful ghost of Cassie comes to haunt Lia and does her utmost to convince Lia to follow her all the way to self-destruction.

Lia's fragile efforts to find a way out of her nightmare seem doomed to failure, but there is hope. There is love – complicated, but genuine, from both parents and stepmother, while her relationship with her little stepsister, Emma, is simple and guileless.

The novel sets a terrific dramatic pace. As soon as we realise that Cassie phoned Lia 33 times the night she died, and that Lia failed to pick up, the danger Lia faces is plain. But it is the raw stylistic power that makes this so memorable. Those clever word games are used to powerful effect, from the endless repetitions of Lia's self-hating mantras to the crossed-out words that give the lie to her own thoughts.

The true nature of anorexia is made painfully clear. Lia starves herself because it is the only control she has over her disintegrating personality; anyway, why feed something so hateful? She cuts herself not to cause pain, but to let the pain – and the dirt – out. The dirt in this case is, of course, herself. As with the plotting, this fractured and utterly convincing interior monologue is intercut with the rather bored face she presents to the world around her.

And yet, throughout, there is the feeling that if somehow you could only reach in and talk to this girl, you could save her life. It's an exhausting novel to read: brilliant, intoxicating, full of drama, love and, like all the best books of this kind, hope. It would be rare to find a novel in mainstream adult fiction prepared to pull out the dramatic stops this far, and difficult to imagine one in recent years that was prepared to be so bold stylistically. It's a book that will be around for many years. It may not be an original piece, as these tricks have been pulled before in teen fiction. Yet it pulls them off with more skill and effect than anything I have ever read."

Thank you, Mr. Burgess. Thank you very much indeed.

UK cover                                                                                       US cover

I feel like my blogging skills have gotten a bit rusty since the book tour. Sorry about that, friends. I promise to try harder.

Sometimes the problem is that the kind of thoughts that I want to put into a blog post feel like they will need hours of writing and shaping, and then I'll have to find the right photo to go with them, or maybe a video, or maybe I ought compose an original tune for piano and mandolin, which means that first I'll have to learn to play both instruments, and….

You get my drift.

This is the same kind of game my brain plays with me when it comes to my own writing. I hesitate to put any words down somedays because I can see all the things I need to do before I set the words down that will make those words shiny and perfect.

Bollocks.

The critical step of writing – any kind of writing – is to pluck the words from your forehead and set them down on paper or screen. Write, don't think. Just get it down. I am going to try to walk my own talk on this blog in an effort to knock the rust off my brain and encourage the words to flow again.

So.

What kind of day is today? It's a laundry day, a tying-up-loose-ends day. Trace Adkins on the stereo. And Big & Rich. Scaring the dogs as I sing along at the top of my lungs. Packing for this weekend's writer's conference. Planning a date with my husband. Wishing it was time to go to the gym. Ready to plant seeds in my soul.

How about you?

I am coming to New York City!!

On Sunday, March 20 at 4pm, I'll be speaking at Symphony Space.

I am VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!!!!! (so excited, I find myself pounding the caps lock and spitting out exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!)

It gets better.

I will be chatting with the One, the Only, Maureen Johnson, who is a great writer and quite possibly the funniest woman in the world.

This is a ticketed event, so you'll want to buy your tickets as soon as possible. Bring your book club. Bring your mom. Dad. Bring the whole family!!!

And also….

Please bring some ibufrofen and bags of ice. And a few bananas. I wouldn't mind a bagel, either.

WHY?

Because that morning I will be running (i.e. shuffling with great purpose) the New York City Half-Marathon. So, no, I will not be demonstrating any tap dancing routines at Symphony Space. But come anyway. We're going to have a blast.

I am still playing catch-up with a few things (not helped by this morning's -25 temperature), but am getting to the bottom of my to-do list.

Here's a Big Item.

WINTERGIRLS is now available in the United Kingdom!!!

Here's a book trailer I made for our friends across the pond.

It is such an honor and so much fun to watch videos based on my books! Here are two based on Catalyst.

(Why are we thinking about Catalyst right now? It's anxiety time for high school seniors trying to figure out their paths to college. I send all of you big hugs and virtual cups of chamomile tea.)