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Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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In Sunshine or in Shadow
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In Plain Sight
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Me too!!! Can't we just start discussing it already! *imagine this said with unbearably whining voice* ;-)"
Now! Don't make me send you to bed without dessert!
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I hope that's the case! I hope it's not something more fundamental I fail to deliver on first perusal.
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No, not a thing wrong with the delivery there. ;-) I think it's like Juthi wrote: the details and all the nuances, the things that can be found between the lines get better and better with every re-read, when the reader isn't hurrying to solve the mystery (both the mystery-mystery and the mystery of the romance). I think that has been pretty much established during our chapter-by-chapter discussions on your books. Some of us have been reading the book maybe the fifth or the sixth time, but are still able to make new discoveries throughout the story. :-)
I believe it could even have something to do with things happening in reader's life between the first read and the re-read (and the re-re-read and the re-re-re-read...). The way we see things differently after "life happens to us". Something that makes us appreciate a quality artwork when we see it. It's the same thing with the paintings I adore. I know them through and through, every brush stroke, every shade of color, every line and scribble, but every time I get to see a beloved painting like that, I seem to enjoy and appreciate it even more than the last time. And I still seem to find something new and magical about it. Even if the painting in question is hanging on my bedroom wall and I see it several times a day. :-) It's the same with your books.
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Me too!!! Can't we just start discussing it already! *imagine this said with unbearably whining voi..."
Ooooh, that is loooooow. To blackmail with dessert. Low and effective. ;-)
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..."
I know! I don't mess around! ;-D
Johanna wrote: "Josh wrote: "Juthi wrote: "Josh wrote: "Alan wrote: "Loved In Plain Sight. How so many emotions can be drawn out of me in such a few pages still boggles my mind. I won't spoil it as many haven't re..."Exactly like that! :-)
Johanna wrote: "Josh wrote: "Juthi wrote: "Josh wrote: "Alan wrote: "Loved In Plain Sight. How so many emotions can be drawn out of me in such a few pages still boggles my mind. I won't spoil it as many haven't re..."Well said, Johana, just like that.
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Like your other work, I did appreciate this story even more on the re-read. I especially appreciated the humor playing on those other books and plays with mad southern families. It's a story with a lot going on, both guys coping with their relationships to their fathers, Austin looking at a possible career change, Jeff deciding whose team he's on, and your signature not-totally-conclusive ending. The mystery ends up really in the background. This one's even more up in the air than usual, and yet I'm hopeful for these guys.
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For me, it's because my first read is relentless, at least for your work. I'm driven through the story, loving it, noticing but not necessarily savoring all the details. But your stories have a lot of depth, subtlety, and substance, and I think that's why they fare so well on the re-reads.
Josh wrote: "Alan wrote: "Loved In Plain Sight. How so many emotions can be drawn out of me in such a few pages still boggles my mind. I won't spoil it as many haven't read it yet so all I'll say is I think I w..."I think people always have a their own expectation when they read a story. Your stories certainly contain surprises, even if they are subtle ones. Personaliy, I tend to read a story a lot quicker first time, just cos I want to know "what's going to happen" and "whodunit", in 2nd read, I would be able to get more from the nuanced words.
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Hm. Well, I guess I really should understand this given my own penchant for skipping to the ending if the story or series gets too tense. :-D
Josh wrote: "thelastaerie wrote: "Josh wrote: "Alan wrote: "Loved In Plain Sight. How so many emotions can be drawn out of me in such a few pages still boggles my mind. I won't spoil it as many haven't read it ..."I try to train myself to not doing that, it feels like cheating ;). But sometimes the tension is so high, I have to check..
thelastaerie wrote: "I think people always have a their own expectation when they read a story. Your stories certainly contain surprises, even if they are subtle ones. Personaliy, I tend to read a story a lot quicker first time, just cos I want to know "what's going to happen" and "whodunit", in 2nd read, I would be able to get more from the nuanced words."What she said.
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Alan wrote earlier that the story drew many different emotions out of him in only a few pages — and I can totally agree with him. I don't know why this surprises me every time I read a new Josh Lanyon short story. One would think that I already know by now that this is the case, because Josh has written so many of my favorite short stories. This particular one felt a lot like a roller coaster ride. Or rather like a bungee jump.
I really ejoyed this story, it really brought home the feeling of having lost something so valuable and not even realizing it until it is too late. I cried a lot while reading this one. It hit close to home for me.
As soon as I read Josh's intro about the Rashomon element, I was itching to start right away. It's not exactly what I expected, but it's a rather suspenseful and intense read, plus the missing person urgency and the unknown - arrrgh. It's good that it's short, in a way, so I didn't skip any page on 1st read!
Well, your comments really makes me even more impatient to have it in my mailbox. It takes ages from the US to here... :(
I definitely agree about the re-reading.I remember someone saying that when we first go through a book, we as the readers are going in blind, we don't know what's going to happen and we usually only remember the bigger twists and turns when we finish. On the second run however, we already know what's going to happen so we have time to notice and enjoy the smaller details.
I think that pretty much sums up my experience with the re-reads, I'm finally able to take in the book as a whole without any of the anxiety. lol
Now I'm off to re-read In Plain Sight. Hopefully we'll have a full blown story discussion by then. : )
Alan wrote: "I definitely agree about the re-reading.I remember someone saying that when we first go through a book, we as the readers are going in blind, we don't know what's going to happen and we usually o..."
I agree - re-reading lets you savor the story slowly with more time to discover what you missed the first time. I am finding the listening to the audiobook intensifies this effect - hearing the charactors reveals nuances that I missed when reading the same lines.
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I couldn't agree more.
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Couldn't agree more with this either. ;-) I'll do the same thing tonight.
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Then there's the issue of (view spoiler) that is pertinent to this story, as it was in CUTYS. Lots to talk about, including the title. Who will be ready tomorrow?
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We are traveling back to the summer house today and since I didn't have time to re-read the story yesterday after all, I'll do it tonight. Hey, that would be a great way to entertain hubby in the car! To read it to him out loud! It's not that he could escape the vehicle or anything... ;-) I've been trying to get him to read Josh Lanyon, but I haven't succeeded yet. But, don't take that personally, Josh dear, hubby rarely reads books. Hmm... how come I've ended up with a man who doesn't read books, anyway?!
So, I'll jump in your lively discussion as soon as I can. :-)
And Karen, I had the same reaction to Josh's intro. I'm really glad he wrote those forewords and shared them with us. It gave a nice touch to the whole story.
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SO asked what I was laughing at. ;-D
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SO asked what I was laugh..."
:-)
Johanna wrote: "Sooooo... what exactly did you guys think about In Plain Sight? Any thoughts about Nash and Glen?Alan wrote earlier that the story drew many different emotions out of him in only a few pages — an..."
This was a lovely story. Like so much of Josh's work, it was a wonderfully elegant piece of craftsmanship and I appreciated the tight plotting in the story.
Insofar as my overall impression is concerned, I really enjoyed the meditation on wrong choices, missed chances, (view spoiler), and our tendency to show our regard for a person once he or she is gone, rather than doing so when it would have been appreciated the most. It was romantic, to be sure, but to me, that wasn't the essence of the story. I thought the core of "In Plain Sight" was an interesting and mature examination of loss -- the clarity that can come from evaluating the details of a life that has been lost (either permanently or temporarily, in the case of a person who is missing); the creeping fear that attends impending loss, especially when you work to prevent it; and the lengths to which we will go in order to prevent it. I'm glad I didn't wait for this to come out in ebook form.
I really loved In Plain Sight. This story also did something to me that no other story has done so far. It gave me a real deep unsettling fear for one of the characters. The buildup in this was really well done I think.I ended up really liking Nash by the end of the story, which was a huge relief because the opening describing his views on love completely made me think he was just a shallow guy and a "player". I think that it's just me though, I feel that view is overused, It just rubs me the wrong way when it keeps popping up in stories. I don't buy it.. and it made me dismiss Nash in the beginning there.
Having said that, On the first run through I immediately attached myself to Glen. I loved his demeanor especially his "not smile" smile. He was the vulnerable one for me and I wanted him to come out of this with the stars in his pocket. When I kept reading on I felt unsure on where this story was going. I certainly didn't think anything sinister at first, where could he have gone? The more I read the more disturbed I got, especially when Nash started the interviews.
(view spoiler)
I loved, loved, loved this story. This is definitely one of the hardest ones I've read. I'm not one to look for these darker types of themes but this was done impeccably well. Just perfect. These characters have transcended the pages. They have become real people to me.
I'm in awe. How I can get so involved in these characters within this short story is incredible. Josh is truly in a league of his own.
Alan wrote: "I really loved In Plain Sight. This story also did something to me that no other story has done so far. It gave me a real deep unsettling fear for one of the characters. The buildup in this was rea..."That is it exactly.
Alan wrote: "I really loved In Plain Sight. This story also did something to me that no other story has done so far. It gave me a real deep unsettling fear for one of the characters. The buildup in this was rea..."Oh yes, me too. I was so far inside Nash's head and heart, feeling all he was feeling, really scared. What an accomplishment that is, to convey the emotions so well, we are experencing them like they are our own.
Isn't it absolutely great that Josh manages to arouse such deep feelings and attachment to his characters even in a short number of pages? ;-)
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Yes, his "not smile" is a great detail! And what about the uncompromising line of his jaw, his one determined chin (page 152)! :-) The things he had to put up with his everyday life ((view spoiler)) in his community probably called for both the easy going attitude and determination. Although I had the impression that Glen didn't necessarily even realize all the prejudice around him. Or what do you guys think?
I'm not a big fan of what-if-thinking, but this story did make me mull over the fact how seemingly small things and fleeting moments can make all the difference in life -- the difference between life and death, even (page 151). And why does something bad, sad and dramatic has to happen before we realize how lucky we are?
The story also left me thinking about the unexpected things that seem to happen for a reason. When we look back in our lives, we all can name a few moments like that, right? When I look back in my own life I clearly recognize two or three turning points like that -- which didn't feel like major turning points at the time... or at least didn't feel like anything positive could ever come out of them.
I loved the part about Nash's toothbrush and how he had forgotten to pack it. And I mourned for the fact that he had a beautiful house in Virginia he rarely spent time in and that all his friends were also his work colleagues (page 152). I felt like maybe Glen was a victim of circumstances, being a gay cop living and working in a small town, but that Nash had somehow himself prevented his own happiness by being so busy working that he had forgotten to live. Because, the trouble is, we think we have time. Right?
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Now that the discussion has started, do we still need to attach spoiler alerts? Johanna and I tagged the same issue. : ) And that's the one I wanted to discuss, because as I've been re-reading, or listening to while re-reading, a lot of Josh's work in the past few months, I've become much more aware of how he, without fanfare or melodrama, addresses the insidiousness of homophobia in our culture. It was a major element in CUTYS and it's a major plot point in the AE books (Jake's fear of backlash and his self-hatred), and in this story just took my breath away.
I realized how much of the various characters suppositions about what happened to Glen was centered in their own predisposed ideas about what it is to be gay, about "gay behavior."* And it made me look at the way we carry certain perceptions and stereotypes that affect the way we perceive others. Josh brought this to heart as readers realize that Glen's very survival was threatened by what people considered likely simply based on his sexual orientation. Just scary and sad.
So what a beautiful story, one that leaves me wondering how these guys will make this work for them, but not whether they can do so. I'm sure they can.
* Linking back to Rashomon, where perceptions of how a samurai, wife, thief, or priest should behave influences both the viewer and the characters telling their own version of the story.
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Nah, we can stop using the spoiler tags, I think. :-)
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True. It's sad the way we tend to draw conclusions so fast based on (stereotypic) assumptions. And the way we more easily tend to draw negative conlusions than positive ones. This also makes me think of the way Nash at first focused on finding reasons why his and Glen's relationship could NOT work, rather than finding the ways to make it work.
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SO asked what I was laugh..."
Heh. I now have a great photo related to this... I'll post it next week, when I'll be home in front of my own dear computer. :-)
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Too slow and low key? No way. :-)
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Too slow and low key? No way. :-)"
I'm happy to be overruled on this point. :-)
Josh wrote:I do think though that my stories usually fare better on a re-read. I wonder why? I hear it a lot though, so it must be a common experience.
Do readers begin my stories with an expectation for something I just don't typically deliver on a first read? What would that be, I wonder?
The first book i read by you was Fatal Shadows, and i started it with no expectations (not having read anything else by you, or any reviews, etc.) and i was captivated from the first sentence. After Fatal Shadows, i made my way through your backlist, with very high expectations and all your stories more than delivered on that first read. I do tend to read very fast the first time i read something, and i don't usually re-read, but i've re-read many of your books several times by now, and as others here also said, wonderful details that i might have missed on that first reading, become clearer, and since it's a choice to take that time to re-read, everything is more focused. I also feel that with each re-read i love the stories more and more. They keep being new yet familiar.
Johanna wrote: "Sooooo... what exactly did you guys think about In Plain Sight? Any thoughts about Nash and Glen?Alan wrote earlier that the story drew many different emotions out of him in only a few pages — an..."
Lol, yes, i'm always happily surprised by that too. I just read the story!!! finally! i can see how a bungee jump is appropriate here.
Salsera1974 wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Sooooo... what exactly did you guys think about In Plain Sight? Any thoughts about Nash and Glen?Alan wrote earlier that the story drew many different emotions out of him in only ..."
I completely agree. A good story always makes one think beyond what's on the page, beyond a particular world, and link to other experiences and memories.
Alan wrote: "I really loved In Plain Sight. This story also did something to me that no other story has done so far. It gave me a real deep unsettling fear for one of the characters. The buildup in this was rea..."Exactly so! I definitely could not have put this better myself. I was genuinely worried and kept telling myself that things will be ok, but then there was all this evidence to the contrary, and that sadness of Glen at the airport which combined with things we hear at the interviews and the passing time did not add up towards anything even remotely optimistic. By then i was completely there with Nash, trying to keep it together. It is amazing, always, how real everything feels in Josh's stories.
Josh wrote: "Thank you for these very kind comments. I was initially afraid the story was too slow and low key to really appeal, so it's great to know that its being appreciated."Never anything but perfect (heh, no pressure... ;-)) in many different ways, and always appreciated!
That scene at the airport was just heartbreaking...Thinking about those moments that seem small, and those decisions that we don't necessarily consider the consequences thereof, as Johanna was saying, it's interesing how sometimes one finds excuses that seem perfectly reasonable at the time, or even "blames" circumstances for something that happens in a certain way. The what-ifs and the could-haves are difficult...
I like the "raining"... does feel like that after reading the story, both in a good way (they found each other) and in a sad way, because it's so scary how homophobia influences some people's perceptions and their decisions (like giving up on Glen), but this also reverberates through real life, sadly enough. It reminded me of Fair Game too, where undisclosing the fact that someone's gay gives the FBI one less lead to follow that could have been crucial.
I've just read it, and I really enjoyed it! I kept urging Nash to go and check the lake.I'm glad you released it as an ebook, Josh, because I didn't buy the print collection of short stories but I wanted to read this one.
Johanna wrote: "No, not a thing wrong with the delivery there. ;-) I think it's like Juthi wrote: the details and all the nuances, the things that can be found between the lines get better and better with every re-read, when the reader isn't hurrying to solve the mystery (both the mystery-mystery and the mystery of the romance). I think that has been pretty much established during our chapter-by-chapter discussions on your books. Some of us have been reading the book maybe the fifth or the sixth time, but are still able to make new discoveries throughout the story. :-)I believe it could even have something to do with things happening in reader's life between the first read and the re-read (and the re-re-read and the re-re-re-read...). The way we see things differently after "life happens to us"...."
I do so agree, Johanna. I re-read books frequently, and always get something new out of them when I do. Even before I read through these comments I was already thinking that I wanted to re-read In Plain Sight (I nearly re-read it straight after finishing it), because I know that I was devouring it to find out what happened and so missing some of the nuances and subtleties which I always enjoy when re-reading Josh's work.
Alan wrote: "I really loved In Plain Sight. This story also did something to me that no other story has done so far. It gave me a real deep unsettling fear for one of the characters. The buildup in this was rea..."Yes, it's a good thing that I assumed that this was a romance and so there had to be some type of happy ending because I was really worried about Glen.
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I'm glad you released it as an ebook, Josh, because I didn't buy the print collection of short stories but ..."
Thanks, HJ. I was planning to keep it exclusive to print, but then I started thinking about the fact that I basically do the print for those readers who just don't like ebooks -- and that's a relatively small percentage. So why be stubborn? :-)
I'm glad the story is being enjoyed.
Q&A with Josh Lanyon
Books mentioned in this topic
In a Dark Wood (other topics)In Sunshine or in Shadow: Short Stories, Volume 1 (other topics)
In Plain Sight (other topics)
A Vintage Affair (other topics)
In Sunshine or in Shadow: Short Stories, Volume 1 (other topics)
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Me too!!! Can't we just start discussing it already! *imagine this said with unbearably whining voice* ;-)