It's Saturday on a long weekend. I hope that you all get some down time to enjoy!

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Q&A with Elliot Keenan

Hi Everyone! I am excited to be here today to bring you a guest post from Elliot Keenan! :)
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What genre do you write and why?

Memoir and lyric essay, mostly, but I also branch out into poetry and lately I’ve been writing a fiction piece. I like to sample different genres, and use whatever form is most conducive to the story I want to tell. I would say my single favorite form is lyric essay because I feel like I have the most freedom when I write that way.

Tell us about your latest book.

On Being Insane is a memoir that focuses on my years as a college undergraduate while going through a series of psychiatric hospitalizations. That said, it also dives into my childhood, giving insight into what it’s like to grow up with an autism diagnosis. I think the major theme of the book is the importance of neurodiversity.

Who are your favourite authors?

One of my favorite writers is Maggie Nelson. I fell in love with her work after reading her book Bluets. I also really like the work of Kay Redfield Jamison, whose memoir An Unquiet Mind was a major inspiration for On Being Insane. And, of course, I have to mention John Elder Robison, who is not only an excellent memoirist but a passionate advocate for autistic people who I have had the pleasure of meeting several times now.

What advice do you have for other writers?

Be truthful to the story you’re telling; be brave (especially if you’re writing memoir!); and be almost-recklessly bold. But not quite recklessly. It’s a fine line, one that I mostly dealt with in the editing process – but when you’re churning out the first draft, I say you should put it all to the page.

What's your favourite quote about writing/for writers?

What kind of writer am I? With all this love and no words for it? — Anne Sexton

Where can people find out more about you and your writing?

I have a Tumblr blog (professorprettyboy.tumblr.com), which is one of the best ways to connect with me.

Who is your favorite character in your book and why?

 My favorite character is the speaker’s mentor, Dr. Pinball, who is all at once an absent-minded professor and a sage-like figure dispensing timeless wisdom. He’s kind of a good-hearted goofball.

How long did it take you to write your book?

 I wrote the entire book in about a year.

Who designed the cover?

 The cover is actually derived from a painting I did myself!

What are you currently reading?

 NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman – a book I should have read long ago!

When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?

 I love tabletop games, like Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and Settlers of Catan. I also will be spending a good deal of time studying from now on, since I’m in a psychology PhD program at UCLA.

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 Thank you! 

Happy Reading!

Thanksgiving

Photo Credit

For those of you celebrating, I hope you have a great day! I am thankful for many things this year-especially you! Thanks for your continued support of He Said Books or Me.
 
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Top Ten Books I'm Thankful For (Happy Thanksgiving week in the USA!)

Hi Everyone! Just stopping by to share with you my Top Ten Books I'm Thankful For (Happy Thanksgiving week in the USA!).

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It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn @ The Book Date. I learned about this meme from Lori at Palmer's Page Turners. Thank you for sharing this fun meme! 

What I Just Finished Reading

What I'm Currently Reading

Nothing! I know, I need to get cracking.

What I am Reading Next

TBD!

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Waiting on Wednesday

Hi Everyone! Stopping by to let you know about another fun book! :) 

You Do You
Author: Sarah Knight
Release Date: Today! 
 
Summary from Goodreads:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck and Get Your Sh*t Together comes more straight talk about how to stand up for who you are and what you really want, need, and deserve--showing when it's okay to be selfish, why it's pointless to be perfect, and how to be "difficult."

Being yourself should be easy, yet too many of us struggle to live on other people's terms instead of our own. Rather than feeling large and in charge, we feel little and belittled.

Sound familiar? Bestselling "anti-guru" Sarah Knight has three simple words for you:

YOU DO YOU. 

It's time to start putting your happiness first--and stop letting other people tell you what to do, how to do it, or why it can't be done. And don't panic! You can do it without losing friends and alienating people. Knight delivers her trademark no-bullsh*t advice about:

The Tyranny of "Just Because"
The social contract and how to amend it
Turning "flaws" into strengths--aka "mental redecorating"
Why it's not your job to be nice
Letting your freak flag fly
How to take risks, silence the doubters, and prove the haters wrong

Praise for Sarah Knight

"Genius." --Cosmopolitan

"Self-help to swear by." --Boston Globe

"Hilarious... truly practical." --Booklist

 
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Guest Post

Hi Everyone!

I am excited to bring you another fun guest post today! :) Please help me welcome Lori to the blog.

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 Choosing to Write about Sports

I want to say I don’t remember not reading. That seems like an essential thing for a writer to say, even if cliché. But it isn’t quite true. My first memory of reading is from 7^th grade when I read Gone with the Wind. Taking on the breadth and depth of that novel meant I had been quite practiced in the skill. Somewhere, somehow, with someone, I had gotten quite good at reading.

One of the series I remember eating up when I was in junior high was Choose Your Own Adventure. R.A. Montgomery’s Journey Under the Sea and Space and Beyond, as well as many others, fascinated me as a reader. When once I was an observer watching the book unfold as a movie in my imagination, I now had active participation in the story. Even when I “died,” I could go back and try again.

Fast forward three decades. A friend from graduate school and his publisher colleague were having authors rewrite classics, such as Treasure Island, as “Can You Survive” books. I was interested in writing one of these; however, time didn’t allow it.

A year later, I ran into the publisher again. This time, he asked me about writing “Choose to Win” sports books. Before my twins left for college, I had been a sports mom for about fifteen years. I loved watching my son and daughter participate in sports, from t-ball to soccer, hockey to cross country. Writing another sports book—my first documented the history of the Minnesota Wild, a National Hockey League team—seemed like a good fit.

I started Save the Season!, my hockey book, when my family went camping. I asked my son to name the boy main character; my daughter, the girl main character. Because I wanted to write what I know, the boy and girl were twins. The subplot in this story is sibling rivalry, to which many readers can probably relate. After writing scenes and choices, I’d read it aloud to the kids. They were engaged and excited to make a choice. I was thrilled.

Upon my return home, my editor wanted me to shift to the baseball book. I was never a baseball mom, but I have friends who are Minnesota Twins fanatics. I also knew the head coach of a baseball team in town. With these local experts, the Internet, and my editor, I knew I’d be able to write with authenticity.

The subplot in Out at Home dug deeper. In hearing more about the “window vs. mirror” in book publishing, how readers have been looking through windows at the world versus reading about their own lives and families as if looking into mirrors, I addressed a much more serious topic: foster care. I’ve been a teacher for over twenty years; foster care is something some students know. Focusing on the memory of a 1^st grader who kept showing up with dirty clothes on backwards, I began the story.

With Goal-Minded, it was important for me to reflect my community. Therefore, the main character is Somali. The subplot is about his wanting to be a writer because he’s not good at math. That strand is autobiographical.

The newly released Back to Pass, the football book, also addresses another serious issue: homelessness. Some readers look into mirrors and see pieces of their lives in print, while other readers unfamiliar with this life are at least experiencing it through words.

It’s challenging to write these kinds of books. For each choice, I had to write the correct answer, as well as the wrong answer. I color-coded my manuscript to keep track of the choices and to assist my editor in following along. He formatted the book and also created the books’ game. Now that four of these middle grade novels are in print, I’m hopeful that readers enjoy participating in the story as I once did, hopeful they’ll remember they’ve always been reading.

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Lisa M. Bolt Simons’ publications include over 25 nonfiction children's books, four middle grade novels, and the adult history book Faribault Woolen Mill: Loomed in the Land of Lakes. Both her fiction and nonfiction have been recognized with honors and awards. Originally from Colorado, she's lived in Mexico, Italy, and Japan. She's a teacher by day, a mom to boy/girl twins, and a wife to a guy who also loves to read. Her website is www.lisamboltsimons.com.

https://www.amazon.com/Back-Pass-Choose-Your-Football/dp/1940647274

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Thanks!
 
Happy Reading!