I wrote about the Inaugural Virtual Coffee Chat with Nick Walker on November 30 at 5pm Eastern in the last blog, but wanted to remind you since Thanksgiving happened in between, and now the whole series is scheduled through February, and I have them all in one place on a new Events Page on my website, so here it is! The authors I will be in conversation with in order of appearance are Nick Walker (11/30 at 5pm), Sari Botton (12/14 at 5pm), Sonya Huber (1/9 at 6pm), Joanne Limburg (1/16 at 3pm), William Lessard (1/23 at 6pm), Sharon Mesmer (1/30 at 6pm), Bijal Shah (2/8 at 4pm) and Ilana Masad (2/27 at 5pm). A truly spectacular line up of authors with unique voices and whose work and lives are not linear or easy to categorize, which is of course why I love them. You really don't want to miss this series! We will be reading from our books, interviewing each other and taking questions from those around the virtual table. Reserve your seat! All the Virtual Coffee Chats are free, but you do need to register in advance and space is limited, so I encourage you to register for the ones you know you want to attend as soon as possible. The authors all blurbed THE MORTALITY SHOT, and I asked them to do so because I love their writing. If you want to see all the nice things they said, you can see them in front of the book or if you don't have a book yet, click here! In more fabulous writerly conversation news, wonderful author Kris Faatz asked me to speak with her about our work and our quite circuitous paths towards writing books in mid-life, and you can read more about that and register to hear us in conversation over at her virtual house on 12/12 here! Some of you who could not attend asked if we had recorded the book launch at Buunni, and yes John did shoot and edit this video of me reading from THE MORTALITY SHOT at the launch, Enjoy! The Publications section on my website is revamped, so you can get links to all the recent essays I have written and interviews about THE MORTALITY SHOT. They include an interview with Bijal Shah on her Book Therapy Site, This is 59 on Oldster with Sari Botton and Yoga, Writing and the Liberation of Autism for Women Writers, Women's Books. AND ... excited to announce THE ARCHIVE OF SHADOW/TEXT is now available!
This radio show, Shadow/Text created with composer, vocalist and sound artist, Viv Corringham, comprising 22 years of my stage texts read in whole or part in 22 hours by Viv and me, including dialogs, and field recordings, all edited by Viv, and for the most recent text Respairation, a group of actors from 5 different locations...is archived in full on the Radio Art Zone site and now streamable!
And of course...THE MORTALITY SHOT is now out in the world and I think we can safely say it is Launched...but my goodness, book promotion is exhausting and ironically has kept me from working on my memoir, and I apologize to you, too, if it's been a bit of a lot to receive all these newsletters, etc...I have been moved by the reviews folks have posted online on Goodreads and Amazon and such. I hope more readers continue to post their reviews in these places, since I don't know how many traditional reviews the book will receive, since it's hybrid and we didn't know to ask reviewers months before it was launched and etc...(though of course if anyone reads this and does do reviews or podcasts or whathaveyou, please do get in touch if interested in helping me put the word out!)...and while I am whirling with all these thoughts and concerns...
....this image of a protostar is posted from the Webb telescope and I take a breath...and realize the scope of creation and how small this is in that perspective, but also that I am so glad that for those who have read this book it appears to be providing solace and even refuge during this time of such seemingly endless loss and grief and shifting sands...I am deeply moved that my description of both fictional and non-fictional loss and healing in prose and play text is having this impact...but still here, oh my goodness, a protostar...and I can only hope to point to such a thing...
SO... I THANK ALL OF YOU who have read the book, written about it, told me what it meant to you, showed up at book launches and the reading of the play or wished me well from afar...I hope you have a wonderful end of the year and whatever holidays you celebrate are joyful. I am kind of fried, and I imagine many of you are, too, so I also hope for all of us good rest as well as connection and whatever balance works for you. As an autistic person, I need to respect my need for solitude, which is as important as connection, and in fact no connection can happen if I don't have time to chill out by myself. I used to feel guilty about that, but now I know I am wired this way, I can call the dogs off. And I hope for you, too, no matter what neurotype, you care for yourself as well as others...and in the midst of the swirl and whirl of holiday season find your own joyful, healing, silent night.
This was at the beginning of the reading of Respairation or you have to unmute yourself at Brick Aux on Nov. 13, I was introducing the actors, from left to right, Eva van Dok, Stephanie Willing, Mia Anderson, Alyssa Simon and Julia Brothers. It was a truly special afternoon to be back in a theater space again and hear my play happen in one space in real time with an audience.
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