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BOLETO author/reader Discussion
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Don't wait!!
Very excited about this book and discussion. =)
Looking very forward to reading this book and discussing!!
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I have been reading and enjoying the story.
Just getting started, can't wait for the discussion!
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Alyson, I am very much looking forward to having you here with us!
What's been the most exciting part of the release of BOLETO for you so far?
Hi Alyson thank you for doing this with us!! I'm almost to part 3 but what I want to comment and ask about is the writing style. I've never read a book like this before -it feels like a friend sat down to tell me a story. I think it is the lack of quotation marks and I'm wondering if that is how you wrote and planned it or if that was an editing decision later? Either way I love it!! Ok off to bed to hopefully finish!!
Welcome, Alyson! Thank you so much for your time and for the book. I have really enjoyed reading it. =)
Hi Alyson,I have a question about the way landscape impacts your fiction. You moved to Wyoming about 16 years ago after being raised in Virginia and later teaching in Michigan. How did the move west influence your writing? What is it about the Western landscape and its people that draw you to them?
Thanks for participating in this discussion here at Goodreads!
David
Lori wrote: "Hey everyone, I will be at work tomorrow when Alyson officially joins us, so I wanted to take a moment and thank her for taking some time out out of her schedule to spend here with us!!Alyson, I ..." Hello, Lori, and everyone. It's a real thrill for me to be part of this discussion on Goodreads. Thank you, thank you!
And to answer Lori's question: The most exciting part of the book release for me so far has been meeting booksellers and individual readers. I've been very, very lucky to attend events from North Carolina to California. The bookstores have been remarkable--so different, so energetic, so tied in to their communities. And the readers have been so thoughtful and passionate. I work in isolation most of the time. So actually talking to people about characters like Will and the filly is a treat for me.
Shannon wrote: "Hi Alyson thank you for doing this with us!! I'm almost to part 3 but what I want to comment and ask about is the writing style. I've never read a book like this before -it feels like a friend sat ..."Shannon: Your observation is more articulate that almost anything I could say about the book. I *do* want the style to allow a reader to "fall into" the book as if they are falling into a flowing stream. I really wanted to see if I could weave lots of smaller stories into a larger compelling story in some way. The decision not to use quotation marks (a first for me) was linked, in my mind, to the lean and austere Western world Will lives in. But your connection--the way you see that as part of the book's stylistic flow--is a better explanation than mine! Just goes to show that readers are more discerning than writers most of the time.
David wrote: "Hi Alyson,I have a question about the way landscape impacts your fiction. You moved to Wyoming about 16 years ago after being raised in Virginia and later teaching in Michigan. How did the move ..."David, That's a great question. There's no doubt that I am deeply affected by landscapes. I grew up in a beautiful (if relatively isolated) part of Virginia, and that Appalachian landscape and culture influenced my early books. The move West has resulted in several changes in my work. First, the landscapes (and skyscapes) out here are so large it's impossible not to be affected by the sheer scale of the world. Also, the landscapes can be harsh and downright dangerous (if still gorgeous) in the way Eastern landscapes rarely are. The mountains and plains and deserts of the West humble us...and they humble me. And that relative "loss of control" has definitely influenced my work and they way I think about human character. Finally, I think living in Wyoming has pared down my style some--hopefully in a good way. I feel as though I choose words more carefully now, probably because I live in a part of America where folks do that--choose their words with care. I've tried to make Will that sort of young man.
Hi Alyson,I'd love to hear about what authors have influenced you over the years. Also, how do you see your work w/in the context of other contemporary fiction authors who write about the West?
Thanks!
Michael
What Are you writing about now?will you stay with the western theme.also interested. In knowing what horse was most special to you?
Alyson,I love the way you have Will talk to the horses. It really fascinates me. Could you tell us the type of research you did for the book. Thanks!
Donna =)
Welcome, Alyson!I have to admit, it took me a little while to get used to not seeing quotes, but your story is engaging, and I really like the format. I was wondering how long it took you to go from inspiration to finished product, and do you usually see the whole story in your mind from the beginning, or do you start with just a small idea and build as you write?
Michael wrote: "Hi Alyson,I'd love to hear about what authors have influenced you over the years. Also, how do you see your work w/in the context of other contemporary fiction authors who write about the West?
..."Michael--Good questions. The earliest influences in my writing life were Southern writers who made me realize I could write (or try to write) fiction that reflected the complex, rural world I grew up in. Flannery O'Connor. Eudora Welty. Carson McCullers. Katherine Anne Porter. These women were very important to me and remain influential. I read widely and indiscriminately as a young person (classics, comic books, historical romances, whatever I could find in the library). But those writers helped me "hear" a way forward with their characters and their lyrical sentences.
I'm not quite sure how I see my own work in the context of the contemporary West. I am very aware of the work of Annie Proulx. It's great stuff--fierce and lyrical and unsentimental. And it's impossible to write about men and horses and not have some awareness of (and deep admiration for) Cormac McCarthy. Wallace Stegner is someone I read long before I moved West. He's just a major American figure, in my opinion. Willa Cather. Kent Haruf. Ivan Doig. Thomas Savage. Richard Ford. Maile Meloy. Jim Harrison. James Welch. Leslie Marmon Silko. Larry Watson. There's a raft of wonderful, important work set in the West. What I hope to do is to deepen the conversation. What's that conversation about? It's mostly about independence, freedom, large dreams, and exploitations of all kinds. I guess I hope Will and the fill feel like "true" Western types in that sense.
April wrote: "Welcome, Alyson!I have to admit, it took me a little while to get used to not seeing quotes, but your story is engaging, and I really like the format. I was wondering how long it took you to go ..."Hello, April. The choice not to use quotation marks was a new one for me. I think I was trying to pare my prose down to reflect how focused and pared-down I see Will as a young man. But the choice has been a challenge for some readers, I guess.
This book came together very quickly for me. I think that's because I saw the young man who is the inspiration for Will about seven years before I began the book, so (unbeknownst to my conscious mind) the story was kind of stewing in the stew pot for a long time. I usually work pretty carefully with a story--whether it's long or short--moving ahead scene by scene. I don't use outlines, except for novels, and I usually don't stick to the outlines I make up. But BOLETO came to me all in one piece, more or less. I had to decide how to get from the Testerman Ranch to the Estancia Flora, and I had to decide which characters would be central to Will as he made choices in his life. But the end was in my mind from the beginning.
Rhonda Lomazow wrote: "What Are you writing about now?will you stay with the western theme.also interested. In knowing what horse was most special to you?"Hey, Rhonda. What am I writing about now? I'm almost afraid to say. I'm pretty superstitious about work that's in progress. I'm always afraid it will fly away from me like a frightened bird. And it's done that before. So all I can really say it that I have a couple of projects going--one set in Wyoming and one not. I'll know more about how they're going at the end of the summer. :)Which horse was the most special? If you're talking about the novel, the filly means a lot to me. She's beautiful and full of promise but she needs care and nurturing--and that appeals to me. (I'm a mother...like many of you are.) I'm also a big fan of Hawk. He's the perfect companion horse from my point of view--no-nonsense, skilled at lots of things, strong, patient, not perfect to look at but perfect to live with. Does that make sense?
Donna wrote: "Alyson,I love the way you have Will talk to the horses. It really fascinates me. Could you tell us the type of research you did for the book. Thanks!
Donna =)"Hello, Donna. For BOLETO, I didn't have to do much research. I love research. And I've done a lot of it for short stories (especially in GHOSTS OF WYOMING) and novels (like the Korean War scenes in SNOW, ASHES). But I grew up with horses, I enjoy watching people work with horses, so much of what happens in BOLETO is stuff I "know" in my bones in some ways.
What I don't know as much about is polo. So I had to do some research on that part of the novel. And I still feel like I'm walking a tighrope there. I keep praying I got most of the details right. I did some reading. I did some eavesdropping. I watching some polo training. But, like Will, I'm in a different world when I'm on the estancia, if that makes sense.
Hi alyson I understand completely about keeping your new writing private till its officially born.I also loved the filly being a mom and also having a new puppy love the nuturing aspect.
Alyson wrote: "Donna wrote: "Alyson,I love the way you have Will talk to the horses. It really fascinates me. Could you tell us the type of research you did for the book. Thanks!
Donna =)"Hello, Donna. For..."
Yes, it makes sense. Thanks you. =)
Rhonda Lomazow wrote: "Hi alyson I understand completely about keeping your new writing private till its officially born.I also loved the filly being a mom and also having a new puppy love the nuturing aspect."I think a lot of "tough" ranchers and farmers are actually good nurturers, Rhonda. What do you think? They have to maintain a little distance from the animals they will sell for food. Horses are different. They become part of our families, like dogs do...part of the social mix that allowed our species to advance. But the best ranchers and farmers I know treat all of the animals they deal with honorably. Is everyone like that? No. And it's too bad.
I agree to be a farmer or rancher should make you a good nurterer whether growing food or animals to grow something. You need that gene
Just wanted to pop in and see how the discussion was going... I haven't had a chance to start the book yet, but I'm curling up with it tonight after work and I absolutely can't wait. :) Thanks for taking the time to chat and hang out with us Alyson!
Mod
Alyson, when do you find your writing to be most productive? Are you an early morning writer, or a late nighter? Are you the kind who carries a notepad around with you to capture every thought that crosses your mind?
I've always been curious to know when and how inspiration hits....
Lori wrote: "Loving the questions so far, guys! Alyson, when do you find your writing to be most productive? Are you an early morning writer, or a late nighter? Are you the kind who carries a notepad around w..."
Lori, I'm an early morning writer. The perfect day for me would be to get up early, exercise (it seems to focus my mind), then go into my study to work. This is particularly true if I'm doing a first draft of a story or a novel. I get pretty wound-up when I'm doing new work, so I need to get right to it and try my best for a couple of hours. I also like to read poetry before I begin a day at the desk. It cheers me up to fall into another writer's language.
if I'm revising something, I can work on it all day--and it feels great. (First drafts are the toughest for me.) I'll usually knock off late in the day to do chores or cook dinner or whatever. My teaching schedule messes with this ideal world quite a bit, but I just go to Plan B and then Plan C to get the work done.
I do carry notebooks with me. And I'm lucky I had one on hand when Will and the filly came to me. BOLETO was an exception for me. It's not a book I saw coming toward me. So it did strike like lightning. But I'm more of a perspiration rather than inspiration writer, so I had to be ready. (I think a steady routine and steady commitment to work keeps writers ready.) I had the notebook. Then I had to decide if I had the gumption to spend many, many months with Will and the filly, knowing that I might fail to make the story work. I took the plunge. And, in the end, their story came to me fairly smoothly. That's not usually the case, I swear.
Finally had time to read again...just starting part III. Can't wait to see what's next!
April wrote: "Finally had time to read again...just starting part III. Can't wait to see what's next!" April--Things change a lot in Part 3. I'll be interested in what, and everyone else, thinks of Will in California.
Mod
Would you mind talking a bit about the publishing process of your novels? How long does it typically take from time of acceptance by a publisher for you to get through the edits and see the finished product?
Do you think you've found a good fit with Graywolf?
Lori wrote: "Alyson, I noticed that 4 out of the 6 books you have written were published through Graywolf Press. Would you mind talking a bit about the publishing process of your novels? How long does it typi..."
Lori--First, the easy answer. Yes. I have found a great fit with Graywolf. They are smaller and intensely committed to literary work in all genres. They give every book on their list lots of support. I have an editor (who actually edits) and a very active publicist. It's a dream situation for me as someone who has published several story collections and who writes books that can be very different from one another.
With Graywolf, the publishing process is straightforward. They take an option on my next book with the right of first refusal. They read the manuscript and make an offer, or not. They may want significant revisions. (That happened with SNOW, ASHES.) Or they may request more moderate revisions. (GHOSTS OF WYOMING, GRAVEYARD OF THE ATLANTIC, BOLETO.) Once a book is accepted, Graywolf decides when they'd like to publish it. The cycle has been, for me, 18 months to 2 years. Graywolf is a non-profit outfit with a small staff. They publish 27-30 books a year, a mix of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. It's important to them that the list for each season have a kind of balance.
I wrote BOLETO quickly. It usually takes me at least 3 years to complete a book and another 2 years to see it published. The cycle this time was about 3 years. I don't know if that will ever happen again. Will and the filly just brought their story to me, wave after wave.
The publishing industy is changing a lot, almost from week to week. I don't know what the future will look like, but Graywolf is nimble enough to survive the changes. The big houses? There will probably be huge changes there. Higher overhead. Huge lists. Bigger advances for authors. We probably all ought to hold onto our hats over the next couple of years.
Mod
How much say, if any, do you have in the cover images for your novels? I really like the cover that BOLETO was given. It's striking yet extremely simple and clean....
Lori wrote: "I have to agree that from a reader/reviewer standpoint, Graywolf is leaps and bounds above their peers. The attention and love they have for each individual author and novel is touching and addicti..."That's another fine question, Lori. And one that's near and dear to many writers. I really like the cover, and I'm glad you do too!
Early in the process, Graywolf allows me to suggest specific art (photographs or paintings or whatever), specific artists, colors, design elements--anything I might think is important for a cover. Then, after a designer is selected and given time to develop several covers, I'm typically given 4 to 6 cover options to consider. I register my opinions, and we go from there. (We typically agree, just so you know.) I had a couple of great options with BOLETO, but all of the ones I liked (and the Graywolf staff liked them, too) featured some version of the horses and Western sky that are on the book. The designer read BOLETO, and I think he really "got" the book with that design. He's the same designer who did the cover of GHOSTS OF WYOMING, which is another winner in my opinion.
I will say that I was pretty insistent about having a horse on the cover. I'm not usually that specific. But I was this time--and Graywolf agreed. But we wanted something fresh. I'm really pleased with how the book looks.
Mod
So, what are you reading right now, Alyson? Which authors are sitting on your bed side table vying for your attention?
Lori wrote: "I agree, the cover to GHOSTS OF WYOMING is striking as well.So, what are you reading right now, Alyson? Which authors are sitting on your bed side table vying for your attention?"
Oh, wow, Lori. The stack is so wonderfully tall and tottering!
Right now, I'm reading SONG OF THE LARK by Willa Cather. And CANADA by Richard Ford. Oddly enough, I don't have a crime novel cracked open this weekend, but I'll fix that soon, I'm sure.
If I don't include the books I need to read to prepare for conferences and workshops...and if I don't count the books I'll read for a contest I'm judging, I still have quite a few treats in my future. Ron Rash's story collection BURNING BRIGHT. Lydia Davis's translation of MADAME BOVARY. (I've read the novel twice, but Davis's translation is supposed to be remarkable.) Tracy K. Smith's LIFE ON MARS. Daniel Kahneman's THINKING, FAST AND SLOW. I like to read books one or two at a time--but there are always books of poems, novels, some nonfiction, and bloody crime fiction waiting for my attention.
How about you?
Hey Alyson,Since so many of your books involve Wyoming, I was wondering if you considered yourself a regional writer, or if you thought defining your work that way is too limiting?
Hi Alyson,My question is similar to Michael's...
I've read modern Western writers like Cormac McCarthy, Annie Proulx, and Jim Harrison, but BOLETO is the first Western I've read where I was really struck by how much it engages contemporary, 21st century America. It seems like other writers treat the Western with a lot of myth and nostalgia. Was it your intent when you were writing the book to talk about today and tomorrow's West? I'm also curious as to what you think the future of Western writing is? How do you see the genre developing?
I'm a few pages away from being done! I just want to agree that I love Graywolf. I have read a few books they have published and they are so wonderful and interesting! I want to ask about your ranching experience is it something you grew up with, came to as an adult or just observe? From the writing it seems like an insiders experience!!
Alyson, Do you have a character(s) in "Boleto" that is a favorite? Do any of them still talk to you? And, how did you feel when you had written the last word? Many authors say they feel a sense of loss or finality. Was that your experience? Thank you!
Kevin wrote: "Hey Alyson,Since so many of your books involve Wyoming, I was wondering if you considered yourself a regional writer, or if you thought defining your work that way is too limiting?"
Hey, Kevin--Two great questions. I'm going to try to give a short answer to the first one. And a more detailed answer to the second one in another post.
I'm a Southerner by birth, and the South I grew up in was very distinct as a region. (This was before television was everywhere...and long before the internet.) My first four books are mostly set in the South--Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky. But the settings are very different, so some readers aren't sure I was ever really a "Southern" writer. My most recent books are set in Wyoming, a place I have lived for 16 years. I'm fascinated by the American West. It's hard not to be. But am I regional writer? I write about regions, yet I bring what I know from other places to the West, and vice versa. So I sometimes steal a line from Richard Ford and say that I consider myself an "American writer," as varied and wandering as our nation as a whole. Does that seem odd?
Kevin wrote: "Hi Alyson,My question is similar to Michael's...
I've read modern Western writers like Cormac McCarthy, Annie Proulx, and Jim Harrison, but BOLETO is the first Western I've read where I was real..."
Yes. I love the writers you mention, but I am--slowly, slowly--trying to find ways to write about the 21st century American West that go beyond myth and nostalgia. My collection of stories, GHOSTS OF WYOMING, was an attempt to look both forward and backward over time...describing everyone from railroad workers (who get much less attention than cowboys) from the 19th century to oil and gas workers from the present day.
And BOLETO is my attempt to follow a contemporary young man who carries the heritage of the past (cowboy skills and knowledge) into an uncertain future. What will writing from the West look like in the next years? Folks like Maile Meloy and Manuel Munoz and Shann Ray have already begun to stake out new claims, using the setting of the West in new, fresh ways. That will continue to happen. And there will be, thankfully, more writing from what is now a fairly urban West--Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Denver, Las Vegas, etc. The West those people live in is very different from the West I occupy. That's a good thing. The myths, I hope, will continue to evolve and shift and fascinate and, maybe, torment us.
Shannon wrote: "I'm a few pages away from being done! I just want to agree that I love Graywolf. I have read a few books they have published and they are so wonderful and interesting! I want to ask about your ranc..."Shannon--I grew up on a farm in Virginia. We had horses (and ponies) and black Angus cattle and a few other critters. It's remarkable to me how much I absorbed of that life by just being in it. Some of that experience translates to Wyoming. Some of it doesn't. I love being outside, and I love asking people questions about how they rotate their cattle (something we never had to do), how they fence, what they feed at what seasons, etc. So I've asked a lot of questions since I've been in Wyoming, and I've watched people, and I've soaked up lots of experiences. I'm a real sponge, I guess. Most writers are. You have to watch us. We'll eavesdrop at every turn. :) I also visit friends' ranches on a regular basis. We I see on those trips works its way into my fiction, too.
Donna wrote: "Alyson, Do you have a character(s) in "Boleto" that is a favorite? Do any of them still talk to you? And, how did you feel when you had written the last word? Many authors say they feel a sense of ..."Tough question, Donna. Will and the filly are near and dear to me. So they'd have to be my favorites--both of them. Yet I loved writing about the veterinarian Art Slocum and the farrier Oliver Doak and many other folks in the book. I enjoyed trying to bring all of the characters in the novel to life, major and minor. I also have a soft spot for Will's mother. She's at the heart of the book, for me, in several ways.
Did I feel a sense of loss at the end? Yes. Just the way Will does. Finality? I felt that, too, though not in a devastating way. The story has reached its end point for me. The characters had had their say...and taken the actions they chose to take.
Are any of them still speaking to me? Sort of. Will is a minor character in a new story I wrote this spring. I keep wondering if other characters from Lost Cabin will do that...keep visiting me in my fiction. If they do, I'll be very happy about it.
Alyson wrote: "Donna wrote: "Alyson, Do you have a character(s) in "Boleto" that is a favorite? Do any of them still talk to you? And, how did you feel when you had written the last word? Many authors say they fe..."Thank you, Alyson. Your answers made me smile and I too hope to hear from other characters in the story again.
We have a great giveaway for you this month.
10 domestic copies of Alyson Hagy's Boleto - thanks to the ever generous Graywolf Press.
Alyson joins us on June 15th to begin the discussion, so get commenting to win your copy now!!!
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