In 2009 Arbab, a tall, slim, thirty-five-year-old man, was driving a pickup truck in North Darfur province, part of a rebel convoy that had crossed into Sudan from Chad. Aside from a small circle in the windshield through which to see the road, his vehicle was covered in mud, making for a stark contrast with his perfectly […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/online/2024/02/10/darfur-the-new-massacres/
“Slut” and “whore” evince, like piped exhaust, the running engine of Mean Girls. Early in the original film, our protagonist and narrator and new girl, Cady Heron, is recruited by two classmates, Janis and Damian, into a revenge plot against “the Plastics,” a trio of popular girls perched, in four-inch pumps, at the tippy-top of […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/online/2024/02/10/tired-of-pink-mean-girls/
Last fall, Lauren Michele Jackson reviewed Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster Barbie for the NYR Online. With the publication this morning of “Tired of Pink,” her disquisition on Mean Girls and mean girls past and present, she has begun to assemble a corpus on twenty-first century femininity. As she writes, the filmmakers seem to believe that “every generation deserves its Mean Girls,” but this […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/online/2024/02/10/hold-up-lauren-michele-jackson/
Running As Fast As I Can follows a teenage boy living in an abusive home who runs away trying to find someplace safe, and people he can call family. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Obviously, all good fiction starts in some reality. When I founded Good Samaritan Home 22 years ago, my intent was to help men and women coming back from prison restart their lives. But the one constant theme I heard was they all came from broken and often abusive homes.
Although not as intense, my experiences growing up were similar to theirs. I think Daniel said it best, “I shared space with people called family. We had the same address, ate at the same table, even had the same last name, but we were strangers. We all lived alone together.” I believe this emotional isolation within families can be as destructive as any physical abuse—and I wrote Daniel’s story through that lens. That’s why I call this “everyone’s story.” I believe there are many people who come from the same haunted background as me. We just hide it better than my Good Samaritan Home residents.
The bottom line is everyone is looking for a second chance. It was that theme that I tried to convey through all the characters in my book.
Your novel brings the characters to life, all the pain and hurt, as well as the moments of joy. What was your writing process to ensure you captured the essence of the characters?
I started with a very rough outline 10 years ago, but the actual story evolved and grew as I wrote it. Or more accurately, as the characters revealed themselves. Initially, the primary characters such as Daniel, Elizabeth, and Kate, were two-dimensional, flat, without any real personality. Beta readers couldn’t feel them, and therefore, they couldn’t identify with them. Part of the problem was my background. My academic training, and especially my years as a journalist, taught me to present the facts—who, what, when, where, and how. Never introduce emotion into a story. That’s fine for a research paper, but it doesn’t read well as a novel. Finally, my editor suggested—more like demanded—that I allow my emotions to come out in the characters—to show them as real people who struggled with insecurities, doubts, and fears through their actions. That made a significant difference in the emotional intensity of the story. But it was when I applied that same approach to all the supporting characters, like Doc Samuels, Ruthie, Sister Rose, James and Elijah, Daniel’s three kids, and especially Charles, that’s when the story really came alive. But that was no easy process. It took seven years and more than twenty drafts, adding 50,000 words to the manuscript, I might add.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Initially, it was a story of a boy growing up in a dysfunctional family, but that soon evolved into sexual abuse as the church sex scandals came to light. The common thread seemed to be vulnerable kids in broken families looking for adult attention. They were easy prey—just like Daniel. But what we never knew was what happened to these kids afterward. How do they function normally as adults when they have been so damaged as children? I call it “broken from birth.”
It’s like Somerset Maugham’s character Philip Carey in Of Human Bondage. He was born with a club foot, and he spent the rest of his life struggling to be normal—physically and emotionally. And that was Daniel. He was born with an emotional club foot, from a mother and father who ignored him and a pastor who abused him. He limped through the rest of his life, and the insecurities, and especially the false sense of shame and guilt that always accompanies child sexual abuse, affected every relationship, every choice he made.
That internal struggle led Daniel into a world he never imagined possible, like destructive relationships, depression, poverty, homelessness, and addiction. However, the key theme that arises out of all this is second chances. But not some simplistic just-say-no, come-to-Jesus solution that seems made for television. Real life is messy, with a lot of mistakes, and lots of do-overs. Too many of us have started so far behind, and with so few tools, we don’t know how to start over. All we know to do is to go back to the same destructive relationships, making the same wrong choices over and over. But the key theme here is that we keep trying, keep starting over, and never quit running.
That said, the one subtle theme that emerged was that our salvation often comes from unexpected sources. All the people who helped Daniel learn to walk normally were broken in their own way—like Doc Samuels, Elijah, James, Sunshine and Mellow, even Father Webber. And the one person who was most instrumental in helping Daniel through his greatest crisis was Charles. Daniel said it best. “I had degrees in both psychology and theology, but this guy who could barely read, and who’s been in prison all his life, knew more about forgiveness than me.” I remind myself of this periodically with the men and women I deal with at Good Samaritan Home. No matter how damaged they may be, no matter what crime they may have committed, they are still part of God’s fallen creation, and I can still learn something from them. Maybe that’s why I sometimes tell people I feel safer in prison with these guys than I ever did in a church board meeting when I was a pastor. In prison, everyone admits they are a sinner. In church, we just hide it better.
What is the next book you’re working on, and when can your fans expect it out?
It’s called Requiem. It means a Mass of remembrance for the dead. In Running As Fast As I Can, there is a 30-year gap between the last chapter and the epilogue. Requiem is the story about what happens to all the remaining characters. Spoiler alert—a main character dies tragically at the end of Running. How do the remaining characters adapt—or not adapt—to that death? But this time I am looking at bringing in a political thriller element as Daniel finds evidence that this death may not have been accidental. And that leads him all the way to Washington for his answers. But I still want to maintain the same intense emotional storyline of Running As Fast As I Can. This time, however, I don’t plan on spending ten years writing it. I hope to have it completed in a year.
Author Links: Goodreads | Twitter | TikTok | Facebook | Instagram | Website | Good Samaritan Home | Amazon
Growing up in the mill slums surrounding Pittsburgh, all that Daniel Robinson ever wanted was a family who loved him. Instead, he was ignored by a mother who hid in her room praying to an unseen God, and a drunk for a father who used everyone as a punching bag.
He thought he found love in college with Elizabeth. But she dropped him as soon as someone “with better prospects” came along. Daniel spends the next ten years wandering the country throughout the turbulent 1960’s, desperate to find someone who didn’t care about money and would love him as he is. While traveling he gets caught up in the hippie drug invasion in San Francisco, racial violence in Cleveland and Detroit, and especially a deadly anti-war protest at Kent State.
Ultimately, he does find that love in Ruthie, a salt-of-the earth Ohio farm girl and her family who welcome him as one of their own. Marriage is expected—until Elizabeth resurfaces and seduces Daniel with false promises of love.
Daniel loses Ruthie, his job, and nearly loses his mind over what he has done to Ruthie. He again goes on the road, but he is only going through the motions—what he calls “a dead man walking.” Daniel loses hope he will ever be happy—until he meets Kate Fitzgerald, who was running from her own demons. Together they get a second chance at love and the family they both want.
Daniel is now determined, with Kate’s love and support, that his new family will be different than the abusive home he came from, but can he ever run far enough to leave behind his haunted past? Because of his experiences with street people, he is offered a job helping men coming from prison. When asked to find housing for Charles Vickers, a black man who spent twenty years in prison for a rape Daniel is convinced he never committed, he and Kate open their own home to him. This enrages the community, especially when a local girl disappears. Violence erupts—with Daniel as the focus of their rage. Should he stay and fight for Charles—and put his family at risk, or run away again?
Daniel’s story, with its harrowing social themes, conveyed through an intense personal odyssey, bridges the gap between literary and commercial fiction. It would be enjoyed by readers who were moved by the heartbreaking, yet hopeful narratives of Forrest Gump and Where the Crawdads Sing. RUNNING AS FAST AS I CAN vividly portrays a traumatic period in our history, while grappling with intense emotional and social issues we still face today.
It is an epic journey for love and forgiveness. Most important, it is a page-turner story that readers will identify with because it is, on some level, everyone’s story.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/02/10/emotional-isolation-within-families/
In Fortune Falls, readers follow a man who discovers a dead body and is forced to face his own regrets and a looming crisis threatening his family. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
My initial idea was to focus on a man who needed to face his own mortality. As I approached middle age, I realized how pertinent death was becoming, and yet was still so easy to deny and evade something so unavoidable and so universal and integral to life. The slot machine initially only represented that—it wasn’t telling a fortune, it was merely stating an obvious fact. Jason returning home and then mostly discounting his encounter with it exactly paralleled how we tend to live our lives. The reader will likely be shaking her or his fist and saying, “Why aren’t you dealing with this? Why aren’t you even questioning this?”
As the novel progressed and Jason continued to develop, I realized there are actually so many things in life we do not face or reconcile, and over time, that slot machine truly became the looming threat of inevitabilities that can disrupt or destroy our lives. It tells truths we do not want to face, and it does so in the random spin of fate.
There was a lot of time spent crafting the character traits in this novel. What was the most important factor for you to get right in your characters?
I very much try to write human characters, characters with flaws and regrets, characters who make mistakes. The challenge is to also try to make them relatable and sympathetic. Jason was especially challenging because he falls so far and his reactions become so extreme. It then became that much more important to make is attempt to change and be better as believable and realistic as possible. And, of course, it is up to the reader to decide just how much he actually achieved.
Secondary to that were the challenges of trying to make the supporting characters fully fleshed out and understandable within a 3rd person narrative limited to the main character. Jen is equally complex, but the reader doesn’t get the benefit of being in her head. They are further challenged by seeing her through the eyes of Jason, and Jason’s perspective is not always trustworthy. Nicholas, as well, needed to be written carefully considering the complexities of the situation and of the character. It’s a delicate subject, and one I wanted to portray authentically—but again, twisted within the perspectives and trauma that Jason is facing.
Are there any emotions or memories from your own life that you put into your characters’ lives?
To be honest, this story is the least personal to actual elements of my life. That said, it certainly does reflect upon past and present parts of my life. In many ways, I took my own fears, biases, regrets, and anxieties, put them into Jason, and cranked them up to eleven.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
I have just begun work on my 4th novel, tentatively titled Pawnbroken, about a man who owns and operates a pawn shop just outside downtown Milwaukee. He was extremely close to his brother who disappeared long ago. When a very unique chess set he had given to his brother as a gift shows up in his pawn shop, he decides to trace the object back and try to find out what happened to his brother.
I hope to have Pawnbroken available sometime in 2026.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
It begins when fate leads him to a mysterious ancient slot machine in an abandoned field that delivers a foreboding message. Soon after, he is traumatized by his discovery of a disturbing death.
What follows is a downward spiral of actions and events that break through the façade of Jason’s perfect life. That one death will uncover the guilt and regret of an unresolved past, introduce crises that threaten to tear his family apart, and attract external dangers that will put both him and his family at risk.
Meanwhile, a larger global threat awaits as the mysterious slot machine with its predictions of death and suffering looms over his neighborhood on an unmarked road in an abandoned field…waiting.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/02/10/the-looming-threat-of-inevitabilities/
Hunnie Bunny’s Christmas Wish follows a young bunny enjoying the first snow of the season who encounters a pair of cardinals, and together, they plan a tree decorating for all the animals of the forest. What was the inspiration for your story?
After writing the third book in the series, Hunnie Bunny’s Special Gift, which takes place in the fall with the characters preparing for winter, Hunnie Bunny wanted to tell a story about how the woodland animals would celebrate Christmas. It was important to show the true meaning of Christmas through her eyes and actions by decorating the tree with items from the woods and spending quality time with friends. Also, I wanted to include the possibility that wishes can come true during the holiday season.
If you were to write a spin-off about a side character, which would you pick?
I would choose Mrs. Owl for a spin-off book because she is wise and would offer counsel and support to the woodland animals who come to her for help. Also, children love owls and find them fascinating. (She will appear again in the book Hunnie Bunny’s Great Escape.)
What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?
When I was in college, I did a mini-term project with the head of the Creative Writing department. He gave me some advice that I have never forgotten: “After you write your first draft, put it aside for a few days and come back to it with a fresh set of eyes and perspective. Also, be prepared to edit and re-edit your work many times until you are confident that it has been completed to the best of your ability.”
What types of questions do you ask yourself when planning a new book?
In the Hunnie Bunny series, Hunnie Bunny has guided me on the journey for each book. I ask myself what Hunnie Bunny would do in a particular situation, what types of characters children like, and then Hunnie Bunny takes the story from there. For example, there are two books with new characters, a woodland fairy and a unicorn, which can ignite a child’s curiosity and imagination. Also, I want the books to be educational as well as entertaining, so I make sure that a lot of the content is factual whenever possible, and most of the books offer a moral lesson that parents can discuss with their children. This is important to me since Hunnie Bunny seems to have become a positive role model.
Author Links: Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/02/10/the-true-meaning-of-christmas/
Simply Put, Why Clear Messages Win and How to Design Them teaches readers how to improve their communication through simple and straightforward methods. What was the idea or spark that first set off the need to write this book?
I ran a marketing agency for ten years before recently selling it, and I joke that you can take the boy out of the marketing agency but can’t take the marketing out of the boy. I kept seeing amazing leaders and organizations with things to say and ideas to share, but who struggled to communicate in a way that lands. So I looked back at the work I did, my experience in the classroom as an adjunct, and through even my personal life as a user of the world to investigate how we can get better at that.
What is your background and experience in writing, and how did it help you write Simply Put?
Having first-hand experience in the field, as well as access to academic resources, shaped my entire perspective and process. This book is science-based, but it also draws deeply from real-world examples to illustrate the key ideas.
What is one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you were younger?
I often say that all advice is autobiographical. When people are giving advice, they are really talking to themselves in the past. Equipped with that lens, this bit of meta-advice makes all other pieces of advice more effective.
What is one thing that you hope readers take away from your book?
Just as the sender of a letter needs to pay the postage, when we’re communicating in our realms it’s our responsibility to own the literal and metaphorical cost of our message.
Author Links: Goodreads | Website | Amazon
Why do some messages work when others don’t? Why do some ideas break through, why do some slogans stick in your brain, and why do some leaders inspire change – when others don’t?
The answer is simple. Literally.
The most effective communicators in the world all structure their messages the same way, by designing for simplicity. But the problem is, simple is hard work. Our brains are programmed to complicate. Our world incentivizes more, more, more. It takes deliberate, intentional effort to communicate in a way that seems effortless.
In Simply Put, award-winning marketing entrepreneur Ben Guttmann unveils a five-part framework that allows anybody to communicate with clarity. With this book, you’ll be able to design messages that are beneficial, focused, salient, empathetic, and minimal – and that work.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/02/10/perspective-and-process/
Diana Townsend and David Hardie’s The Captain of the Black Swan is a captivating narrative that intertwines elements of friendship and adventure in a fantasy setting. The story introduces us to the Dittos, elusive, nature-bound creatures reminiscent of elves and fairies, who secretly coexist with humans. Set in the quaint town of Dawlish, the tale centers around Tom, a spirited and undaunted young Ditto. Despite his mysterious origins and lack of knowledge about his parents, Tom’s optimism and self-reliance shine through as defining traits.
The plot takes a turn with the advent of a destructive storm that damages the Ditto community, coinciding with the arrival of the Black Swan, a mystical flying ship. This event propels Tom into a series of adventures, particularly when signs point to the resurgence of the feared Granite-Gobblers. Tom, alongside his companions Dawlish and Lily, embarks on a mission to avert further calamity, embarking on a journey that tests their mettle and resourcefulness.
Townsend and Hardie, a sibling duo, have crafted a world rich in detail and imagination. Their passion for the story and characters is evident in the meticulous development of the narrative. The book excels in portraying the gradual maturation of its characters, as they navigate challenges, seek wisdom from elders, and ultimately learn to make their own decisions. The authors have created a vividly imagined world, replete with unique technology and magical elements, all conveyed through engaging storytelling that keeps the reader invested. The book’s illustrations, though few, are strategically placed to enhance key moments and aid in visualizing the story’s progression. While I feel that a greater number of illustrations might have enriched the experience, the narrative stands strong on its own, imparting meaningful life lessons and ensuring a pleasurable reading journey.
The Captain of the Black Swan is not just an engaging and well-paced tale but also a gateway into a fantastical world that promises to stir the imaginations of its readers. A highly recommended read for those who seek adventure and fantasy tales.
Pages: 258 | ASIN : B0CC6NQBTN
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/02/10/the-captain-of-the-black-swan/