The Mercy of Thin Air: A Novel
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Last summer, River Jordan and I met at the author party before the Book Group Expo kicked off. We might have met earlier in the evening had we not glued ourselves to the respective small groups we formed upon entering the room...
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Last summer, River Jordan and I met at the author party before the Book Group Expo kicked off. We might have met earlier in the evening had we not glued ourselves to the respective small groups we formed upon entering the room that night. Someone eventually finessed an introduction between us and several writers who happened to be from the South. A self-proclaimed introvert, River butter-voiced the crowd at our panel the following day. She may not enjoy the spotlight, but it likes her. So does the crowd. We met again at the Pulpwood Queens Girlfriend Weekend in January. River was asked to take the lead in an improv skit, and I, too, was recruited as a player. (Fear has a way of sealing a bond.) She was funny and fabulous in her big blonde bouffant wig and hot pink beads. This is a talented woman. I recently read her novel, THE MESSENGER OF MAGNOLIA STREET, just out in paperback. Its the kind of book that makes you pause during and after, makes you consider what you think about life and your connections to people and time itself. Many writers are endlessly fascinated with how other writers' brains work, and many readers tend to be curious as well. So for your pleasure, here is a peek inside the mind of River Jordan. A: My honest to the bone first answer is, That its real. I find it a living, breathing story. Readers tell me they feel mysteriously as if they are inside the story. Everything else about the writing of it (the story behind the story behind the story) is in the Dear Reader letter featured in the paperback. Thats a deeply personal answer, all true, and longer than anything you want to read right now. Q: Assuming you have any writing rituals (which you should certainly describe), what purpose do they serve? A: Writing ritual? Being locked up in a room where meals are left outside the door and you cant come out and play until the novel is finished is the best writing ritual I can think of. Beyond that, I prefer quiet, either the wonderful people in my house gone fishing or sleeping--I need all the extra room for my mind to enter the worlds I write about and sometimes they require a lot of space. A: The ones that come with smoke and fire and wont let go. I have others that I deem intelligent pieces, crafty little ideas, you know, clever writing, snappy plots--but they dont stick around. I have to be caught in an undertow of story and pulled under. Q: Are your characters under your complete control, or do they have minds of their own? A: Honey, Im not under my complete control, much less my characters. A: Sixth grade when my teacher accused me of copying a writing assignment and when she discovered that I had indeed creatively conjured the piece and officially declared me a writer. I received the title at that moment like someone being knighted by the Queen and held onto it for dear life. Q: What books have inspired you as a writer? A: More than words at the youngest of ages there was just this sensitivity to life, a keen awareness of the preciousness of minutes. My grandmothers hands as she was rolling out dumplings, the plopping sound of my fathers cane pole in the creek while fishing, the laughter of my cousins as we outran a thunderstorm across dry, black fields, with lighting streaking at our backs. Later, all the works Ive read from Faulkner to Hemingway to Gabriel Garcia Marquez to Samuel Becket and Chekhov to Rick Bragg and every wonderful writer in between including Ms. Ronlyn Domingue. A: To keep from dying while Im still living. To illuminate some facet of the universal human experience common to every heart. To capture a piece of what it is to say we were here. Q: How does literature make a difference these days, assuming it does? A: I think in some of its finest forms, other than simply entertaining us (and I love to be entertained), it helps us to better understand a corner of the world, of history, and of each other. That because of a set of words we hold and read we are able to relate to a horror, a love or a passion that was foreign to us or just beyond our reach. Elie Wisels NIGHT,
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