Christopher Meeks and Libby Fischer Hellman On Writing

I am by temperament a traditionalist.  For some reason, I have always appreciated and been fascinated by the past - especially what happened during my life when I was still too young to understand what I was living through.  Heck, I've been that way since I was six years old and started pestering my father with questions about World War II (which ended three years before I was born).

But I do admire writers who are adjusting to today's do-it-yourself environment in constructive and creative ways.  Be it Facebook, GoodReads, YouTube, or several other similar tools available to them, some writers are embracing the new technology rather than being thrown off stride by it.  As a result, I have discovered many a writer the existence of which I would never otherwise have become aware.  And I love their work.

Christopher Meeks and Libby Hellman are two examples that readily come to mind.  Both have begun to create YouTube videos on the subject of writing as a way of addressing students, readers, and fellow writers.  In this rather chaotic world of publishing, writers like Chris and Libby are making their presence felt in ways that would not have been possible even a few years ago.  And even though I know I do not aspire to actually be a writer myself, I find their videos interesting and can't wait to see what's next.

First up is a video Chris has titled "Writing Life -- The Habit of Writing."





This is Libby's introduction to a series of writing videos that she calls "Writing Lite."  This segment is about "building suspense."





And, finally, this is an earlier video from Chris in which he is very much in the tongue-in-cheek mode: "3 Surefire Tips to Be a Great Writer."

A Chance to Win

Much to the chagrin of Major League Baseball and baseball coaches at every level, the sport has pretty much been abandoned by the black youth of America's inner cities.  This is not a new problem, and Major League executives have thrown a lot of money at the problem in recent years by building youth ballparks and providing equipment to teams willing to give the sport a shot. 

But, as Jonathan Schuppe points out in A Chance to Win, largely due to peer pressure, black kids are still reluctant to take up the game.  They consider it a "white" sport and by huge margins give their attention to basketball and football instead.  Schuppe points out, too, that baseball is a sport whose skills are most often passed on directly from father to son.  This is a huge handicap in an environment in which fathers are, more often than not, not living in the same home as their children - and are unlikely to have learned the game from their own fathers, in the first place.

Rodney Mason, a Newark kid now in his forties, knew early on that he was good at baseball.  He was a prized pitcher on his high school team, and had the potential to parley his baseball skills into a bright future for himself.  Unfortunately, Rodney was also pretty good at dealing drugs from a local street corner - but, as Rodney would eventually learn, a "pretty good" drug dealer does not stay out of trouble forever. 

Although Rodney's drug dealing always did have the potential for  getting him killed, his undoing actually came at the hands of a rival who targeted Rodney for a drive-by shooting because of their dispute over a woman.  Rodney survived the shooting but woke up paralyzed from the waist down.  His baseball-playing days might have been over - but Rodney was soon back out on the street dealing drugs from his wheelchair. 

Jonathan Schuppe

Then, when the city of Newark decided to clean up the old ball field across the street from Rodney's apartment, he decided to get involved.  He hoped that baseball, the only thing he was ever exceptional at in his life, could save him before it was too late.  He hoped to use baseball to save a few of the neighborhood kids from the street life that had crippled him - and in the process to turn his own life around.  But it would not be easy - and A Chance to Win explains why.

Over the course of a couple of seasons, the book closely follows "Coach Rock," two of his better players, and the father of two other players as they struggle mightily to turn their hopes into reality.  For all of them, it turns out to be a case of "two steps forward and one step back."  Life might be stacked against the Newark Eagles, but baseball gives them a chance to make the most of their potential rather than simply succumbing to the city's street life.  Theirs is a touching story with a message of hope.  Baseball is their "chance to win."

(Review Copy provided by Publisher)

Z: A Novel About Zelda Fitzgerald

Most fans of classic American literature, especially fans of F. Scott Fitzgerald, know at least a few basic facts about Zelda Sayre, the Alabama beauty who became his wife at the end of World War I.  As famous during their lifetime for their high-living lifestyle as for the fiction Fitzgerald produced, the pair considered themselves to be the epitome of the “Jazz Age.”  Whatever else might be said about them, Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald were two of a kind, and they and their marriage crashed and burned in relative short order. 

Some blame Zelda for what happened to them; some blame Scott.  The truth, however, is that both of them enthusiastically embraced the lifestyle that would ultimately be their ruin.  Therese Anne Fowler’s new book, Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, uses Zelda’s voice and perspective to tell their story.   And what a story it is.

The novel opens in Zelda’s hometown of Montgomery, Alabama.  It is June of 1918 and Zelda is only 26 days from her eighteenth birthday.  Beautiful, and part of a wealthy and respected Alabama family, Zelda already has more than her fair share of suitors.  But it is Lt. Scott Fitzgerald, a “Yankee interloper” stationed at nearby Camp Sheridan, who will win her heart.

Zelda, never having traveled far from home, was stunned by the lifestyle she and Scott assumed immediately following their marriage.  But, as Fowler vividly portrays in the novel, that lifestyle would ultimately cost them their health, their sanity, and their very lives.  Theirs was definitely not a marriage made in heaven, but for many, it represents the classic Jazz Age marriage.

Therese Anne Fowler

Therese Anne Fowler breathes new life into the stereotypical image that most have of Zelda Fitzgerald - although, sadly enough, much of the Zelda Fitzgerald stereotype seems to have been true. Zelda, a budding feminist, wanted more out of life than just being the silent, compliant wife that her husband demanded she be.  As much of a rebel Fitzgerald was regarding his own behavior, he required his wife to perform her “wifely duties” in the most conservative manner possible.  Her role, as he saw it, was to support him in his efforts; everything else was secondary.  This proved to be the wedge that would ultimately ruin their marriage.

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald is an eye-opener that will be appreciated by fans of historical fiction as well as by those who more specifically enjoy reading novels about authors and their books.

(Review Copy provided by Publisher)

The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius

The Spark is one of those rare books that had me wanting to talk about it for a week after I finished it.  It tells such a remarkable story of parental love, never giving up on a child, and achieving the seemingly impossible, that it stayed on my mind for days.  

Ten years ago, when he was two, Jacob Barnett was diagnosed as being autistic, greatly shocking his parents who had watched their “normal” child’s development deteriorate over the short course of his life.  By that point, Jake had withdrawn into his own world and, refusing to talk, he was content to sit quietly and stare at the shadows on the walls of his home.  Soon, the “experts” had given up on Jake despite his mother’s belief that she would eventually be able to “mainstream” her son.  When Kristine Barnett was told that Jake would probably never even learn to tie his own shoes, much less learn to read, she realized that she had to follow her own instincts.  She was Jake’s only hope. 

Today, Jake’s IQ cannot even be precisely measured because it is literally off the chart (it is said, however, to be higher than that of Albert Einstein).  This is a boy who taught himself calculus in two weeks so that he would be ready to take another class in which he was interested.  By the time he was nine years old, Jake was doing astrophysical research so original that he was thought of in terms of winning a Nobel Prize for the work.  And, perhaps most beautiful of all, Jake Barnett seems to be a natural teacher, with all the patience and ability in the world.  He loves tutoring high school and college students as much as they enjoy learning from a kid.

Kristine Barnett

And none of it would have happened without his mother’s intervention.  The Barnetts are not wealthy people – in fact, they sometimes struggled to feed and house their family.  But Kristine and her very supportive husband were willing to spend every dime they had on their children - and on other kids like Jake.  Kristine expanded her tiny daycare facility into a free program for autistic children at which each child was allowed and encouraged to pursue their own specific interests and talents – and Kristine was always able to identify those talents for each child.  The daycare she started in 1996, Acorn Hill Academy, has morphed into Jacob’s Place, a successful Indiana charitable community center for children with special needs, including autism. 

Kristine and Michael Barnett seem to be doing wonderful work for the people in their community.  Perhaps their story will inspire other parents not to rely only on the experts who might give up on their children too soon.  Parents are the best advocates of their children.  If Kristine Barnett had not believed so, Jake’s wonderful mind might have been lost forever to his autism. 

The Barnett family’s story is one readers will not soon forget.

(Review Copy provided by Publisher)

There Are Reasons Noah Packed No Clothes

Richard Issych, the central character of There Are Reasons Noah Packed No Clothes, knows that he is not crazy.  He also believes that he would be better off dead than alive, but despite his best efforts to make that happen, he cannot seem to get the job done.  But when his latest attempt to end his life fails, and Richard wakes up among the “crazies,” he cannot help but feel a little superior to his fellow inmates.  His awareness that all the other patients are crazy has to mean that he is not like them.  Right?

Although he is only nineteen years old, Richard already considers himself to be one of life’s failures.  In fact, his latest failed suicide attempt proves again that he cannot do even that job correctly.  He has already tried – and failed – at everything: work, college, friends.  Now he just wants to go to sleep forever, and wonders why everyone can’t just leave him alone?

But much to his surprise (and that of his parents), Richard Issych will do some growing up while confined within the facility treating him for depression.  He is surrounded by, and must interact daily with, an assortment of people suffering from everything from schizophrenia to complete breaks with reality.  Some of those he meets are dangerous to themselves and others – and one or two of them are just dangerously innocent.  Despite the odds, Richard makes a friend or two, finds love of a sort, and best of all, discovers that he wants to live after all.

Robert Jacoby

Robert Jacoby’s portrayal of life inside a mental health facility walks a fine line between entertainment and insight.  Because it is largely seen from a patient’s point-of-view, the “truth” is often hidden between the lines, a style that Jacoby uses effectively right up to the end of the novel.  The ending, I admit, is still rather a mystery to me even after reading it three or four times, but that may very well be intentional.  Perhaps it is up to each of us to decide what really happened during the book’s final scene – and whether or not Richard is as sane as he thinks he is.

(Review Copy provided by Publisher)

Reconstructing Amelia

(Despite how it might appear, there are no spoilers in this review.  All the plot details I have mentioned are included on the book’s cover or as part of its publicity campaign.)

Kate Baron got a phone call one day that she never expected to get.  Her daughter, Amelia, is one of those kids parents never worry much about: academically gifted, popular, and with her head very much screwed on straight, she has a bright future.  But then it happens.  Someone from Amelia’s school calls Kate right in the middle of one of the most important business meetings of her career to tell her that her daughter has been suspended, effective immediately, by the school.  The sooner she picks Amelia up, the better - and no questions will be answered over the phone, thank you very much.

Under immense pressure to get to the school as soon as she can, Kate does not totally panic until she spots police officers, an ambulance, and fire trucks in front of the school.  Her mother’s instincts tell her that Amelia is in danger, and when she glimpses what appears to be a body on the ground surrounded by policemen, she rushes toward it.

The school’s theory is that Amelia, embarrassed to have been caught cheating, has jumped to her death from the school’s roof.  Kate reluctantly comes to believe that Amelia, despite having no reason to ever cheat on any kind of school exam, has indeed killed herself.  But then she gets a mysterious, anonymous text saying simply: “She didn’t jump.”  Now Kate intends to “reconstruct” her daughter’s last hours so that she can learn the truth.

Kimberly McCreight

Reconstructing Amelia is Kimberly McCreight’s debut novel, a novel that, judging from the major media campaign associated with it, its publisher highly believes in.  By using a series of texts, Facebook postings, and emails, the author is able to use both Amelia and her mother as first person narrators.  And as events of Amelia’s final few days unfold, both the reader and Kate will learn how little Kate really knew about what was going on in her daughter’s life.  Amelia’s world, although it was a typical teen setting in many ways, was more threatening and dangerous than most because of the sophistication and wealth of some of the students at the prestigious private school she attended.  Things are seldom as they seem there.

The novel does not work as well as one might expect because neither Amelia nor Kate are particularly realistic characters despite the horrible things that happen to them.  However, I do suspect that female readers of Reconstructing Amelia are likely to disagree with me, and that I might be well outside the book’s target audience.  Bottom line for me: this is an interesting debut novel that shows much promise for the author’s future works.  I will remember the name Kimberly McCreight.

(Review Copy provided by Publisher)