The Magic of Writing May 28, 2009

“So tell me about your current writing project.”

“What’s your next book about?”

Nothing breaks me out into a cold sweat faster than statements and questions like these. Why?

Superstition.

Normally I don’t subscribe to the nonsense of superstitions. However, I am a bit quirky when it comes to talking about my current and future writing projects. A dreadful feeling falls across me when I discuss what I haven’t finished. I’m certain that discussing works in progress jinxes them.

I heard author Silas House say that writing is a supernatural thing. I believe this. It’s a lot of hard work plus a little magic.

Magic transforms the writer’s words, gives them substance, imbues them with meaning. That transubstantiation is the completion of the spell. If you talk about your writing before the spell is complete, it loses its power.

So, if I seem evasive when you ask me about my next book, don’t dig. I’m trying to retain the mystery and the magic of the process. Believe me, the book will be better for it!

Plumb Alley Day May 22, 2009

Visit my tent at Abingdon’s Plumb Alley Day, Saturday, May 23, all day. I’ll be somewhere in the vicinity of Hurt & Associates and 159 W. Main Street.

Taylor Books – Author Meet-n-Greet May 18, 2009

I’ll be at Taylor Books in Charleston, WV, on Thursday, May 21, from 10 AM to 2 PM.

Tell your friends and family in the area to come chat with the author of St. Peter’s Monsters.

Accents Radio Show – a reading of my poem “Anoint Me” May 17, 2009

Listen to the recording of Frank X. Walker’s interview on Accents http://www.katerinaklemer.com/audio/accents_051509.mp3. Also listen for my poem, Anoint Me, to be read. It starts at about 1 min 26 seconds into the recording. This is WRFL Lexington.

Video Book Trailer for St. Peter’s Monsters May 14, 2009

Video Book Trailer for St. Peter’s Monsters.

Neva’s Poem to be read on WRFL-FM Lexington May 15 May 11, 2009

Listen to Accents every Friday @ 2pm EST on WRFL 88.1 FM Lexington or stream live from wrfl.fm.

This Friday, May 15, they’ll be reading a poem of mine, “Anoint Me.”

Also, the guest that day will be poet Frank X. Walker.

Katerina Stoykova-Klemer is the host.

Let me know what you think!

How much of your book is real? Autobiographical elements in fiction. May 11, 2009

Sometimes people who read my first novel — St. Peter’s Monsters — come back to me wanting to know if part of the book, or all of it, is real.

“Is the character Wren based on you?” they ask.  “Who is Peter, really?” “Where is Pawpaw Ridge?”

Initially I found these inquiries hurtful. Don’t they think I have enough imagination to come up with an intriguing story and realistic characters? Now I’ve come to realize that readers don’t mean to offend me when they ask these kinds of questions. In fact, I’ve wondered the same thing about authors of my favorite fiction.

When I read a Rita Mae Brown story and recognize part of Charlottesville, it’s exciting to me. I can say, “Hey, I’ve been there or I’ve done that!” The same thing happens when I read a Lee Smith book and identify with a meal she’s described or a saying that’s unique to Southwest Virginia.  All writers incorporate some of their life experiences into their work.

When we become immersed in a good book and develop a relationship with its characters, then part of us wants it to be real. To believe that the book is based on real people and events makes it more satisfying, somehow. The reader begins to take ownership of the story.

“How much of your book is real?” Now when a curious reader questions me, I smile. The question shows me that I’ve expressed in my writing some universal element. I’ve connected with another human being.

What could be better?

For more information about St. Peter’s Monsters and where to buy it, visit www.nevabryan.com.

Where You Can Find St. Peter’s Monsters May 2, 2009

St. Peter’s Monsters is available at independent booksellers, including Wise County Historical Society, Wise, VA; Zazzy’Z, Abingdon, VA; Cozy Corner, Whitesburg, KY; Binding Time Cafe, Martinsville, VA; Joseph Beth, Lexington, KY; Appalachian Arts Center, Wardell, VA; and Tales of the Lonesome Pine Bookstore, Big Stone Gap, VA.

It is available on-line at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, and Target, as well as in some stores in these chains. It is available through nevabryan.com.

You may order a signed copy via snailmail. Send $14.00 (plus .70 tax if in VA) plus $3.99 for shipping and handling to: Brighid Editions, PO Box 1428, Saint Paul, VA 24283.

Books are always available during the author’s appearances. See her calendar for an event near you.

Publication Date: February 2009

Price: $14.00

Length: 294 pages

Cover Style: 6″X9″ Color Trade Paperback

ISBN: 978-0-615-26391-5

LCCN:  2008910946

St. Peter’s Monsters is the story of Peter Sullivan, a homesick college student teetering on the edge of alcoholism. He discovers bigger monsters than the bottle when a mysterious young woman enters his life. Wren has fled Peter’s beloved Appalachian hills and now he must find out why she is keeping secrets about her past.

As they turn to each other for comfort, they are linked together in a chain of love, tragedy, and murder . . . a chain that binds them when they find themselves back in the haunted shadows of the Virginia coalfields.