I was honored to be invited back to read for The Writers’ Block, a weekly podcast produced by KQED and distributed through NPR. The show has featured some of the best writers around, including a few of my personal faves like Charlie Anders, Kate Braverman, Junot Diaz, Stephen Elliott, Janet Fitch, Mary Gaitskill, Miranda July, Stefanie Kalem, Jonathan Lethem, Beth Lisick, Kelly Lydick, Armistead Maupin, Edie Meidav, Katia Noyes, Kaya Oakes, MG Roberts, Jonathan Safran Foer, George Saunders, David Sedaris, Bucky Sinister, K.M. Soehnlein, Amy Tan, and Michelle Tea.

Whew! That was a mouthful.

Check out the current episode, featuring none other than yours truly reading an excerpt from Beautiful.

Hey look! It’s me and my book in the Barnes & Noble in Emeryville, CA.  I’m stoked that it’s shelved next to Frank Portman’s fabulous new book Andromeda Klein (although the person who shelved them apparently needs an alphabet refresher because, the last time I checked, R does not come before P.)

Brian and I popped in to the store before seeing the movie “Precious,” based on one of my all-time favorite books, Push by Sapphire.  All I can say is Wow.  I don’t think I was breathing for most of the film.  If you’ve read the book, then you’re prepared for how disturbing and painful it is.  But there’s something about seeing it on the big screen that makes it hurts even more.  I guess when you’re reading, your mind has a certain freedom to imagine a scene however it wants or needs to.  I think when I read Push, I was more focused on the narrator’s emotional experience rather than visualizing all of the horrible things she described.  But watching a movie, you have no choice.  It’s in your face and you’re forced to look at it.

Not that I’m saying you shouldn’t see the film.  Not at all.  Just be prepared.  Believe me, as much as it hurt to watch, it was done artfully and tastefully.  There is nothing gratuitous about the violence; it needed to be shown because it is Precious’s reality.  It would have been wrong to sugarcoat it to make it more palatable.  That would be a disservice to her and her story.

I was really moved by how many families were there.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many parents and teen children at a movie together.  As I was leaving, I overheard the teen girl in front of me say “I’m so glad you’re my mom” as she put her arm around her mother and nuzzled her head on her shoulder.  The mom squeezed her back, and I saw the tears in her eyes as she whispered, “I love you, baby,” and I almost lost it.

I could start pontificating about the social and political power and responsibility of art and artists, but I’ll spare you.  Let me just say that, leaving that movie, I felt like I was part of a profound shared cultural experience, that I was surrounded by a few hundred people whose lives had just been changed.  I walked out of that theatre, one of many strangers whose hearts had just been opened a little wider.  And I am grateful.

I was honored when Terra McVoy, author of Pure and fellow Simon Pulse author, asked to interview me for her blog.

Her questions were some of the toughest and thought-provoking I’ve been asked so far.

Thanks, Terra, for the excellent mental exercise!

A Beautiful Interview with Amy Reed

Last month an amazing book burst onto the shelves, inspiring reviewers to use adjectives such as “raw,” “stark,” “gritty,” “disquieting,” “riveting,” “powerful,” and “intense.” And it is all of those things (plus a few more thrown in), make no mistake. But it is also smartly crafted and keenly written, which makes it even more unusual and entrancing.

I decided to try to get to know the brain behind the book, and asked Amy Reed some really hard questions about her really hard (but really worthwhile) novel, Beautiful. Here’s what she had to say . . .

[Read more…] about Interview with YA author Terra McVoy

You’re a published author! Yay! How does it feel to know that your book is finally on the shelves of bookstores, ready for a reader to pick up?

I’m feeling a whole bunch of emotions. Mostly, I’m just really excited and grateful to have this opportunity. It’s amazing to work so hard on something, to put my heart and soul into it, then have it actually out there in the world. It’s validating, to say the least. It’s a huge honor. But it’s also kind of scary. Because Beautiful is such a personal book, I’m extra sensitive to negative feedback. So far, the response has been really positive, but who knows what’ll happen.

Have you always wanted to be an author? When did you begin writing?

[Read more…] about Author of the Month Interview on Harmony Book Reviews