One Helluva Week

 

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Been a rough week, right? I'm not getting political because no one cares what my views are, I don't want to hear criticisms for my views, and I don't care what anyone else thinks; how I vote is private. All I'm going to say is that I'm exhausted from the turmoil and tuning into the news through the day to see what tragedy has now happened or is expected to happen. 

With all that, it's hard to think of what to blog about, so let's take current events in contemporary books. I wonder how many authors are writing, or will write, about the Covid-19 pandemic. Not me. Nor will I read any books about it because I'm living it and really, going on a year of lockdown and/or limited movement in public spaces, dealing with selfish people hoarding, the foot dragging of officials, and the devastating economic results, I want to forget this as soon as possible. It's like writing off a losing season when I was on my high school track team. Or my beloved Patriots missing the playoffs- I just want to put it in the rearview mirror. Now I did write a book (FYI looking for an editor or agent...) called the Frankenstein Vendetta which has a scene where the monster comes across a town dying from the plague- but it's set in the 1700's when those things happened more frequently, and I wrote this before the Covid pandemic.

I'm not going to read or write about coups either because I don't write politically based novels anyway, and I'm still scared/angry/disgusted/shocked etc. over the treasonous events in our Capitol. I can't imagine any story line in this whole nightmare of death, destruction, treason, and upheaval that would make me want to write or read about it. No doubt someone can, but this is too close to home for me. It's different when it's Tom Cruise taking on shadowy government figures because that's fake.

Honestly, I rarely write novels based on current events. A lot of my friends do, whether fiction or non-fiction. By the time the books come out in droves, I've already noted and moved on. If vampires are the hottest thing, I write anti-vampire or avoid it all completely. I like going against the grain, the expected.

In general I don't write about a lot of 'hot button' contemporary issues because either I don't feel I'm in a position to, i.e. diversity, gender, or social justice, and being white, straight, and middle class, I feel that there would be outrage. And if you know me, you know I don't do hand-wringing or angsty novels, I'm more of a humourous or snarky writer, although I do have non-humorous novels. I don't even write about issues that my family has faced- death by cancer, mental illness, alcoholism, bullying, etc., preferring to choose historical, mythical, fantastical, or romantic subjects which are far removed from my life.

So I hope you're safe, taking care of yourself, and taking a break from the stress and strain of these days.

Char

Good Intentions

I deliberated quite a few hours over whether to write about the Dr. Suess controversy- several authors felt part of a mural was racist. People have a right, and I think, an obligation, to be upset over racism in any form.

Especially when the racism is deliberate.

But was Theodore Geisel's illustration deliberately racist?

At the risk of getting vilified by everyone on Twitter and some in the book world, I don't believe the intent was there.

And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, the book at the center of the controversy, has a depiction of an Asian man with chopsticks, pointed hat and slanted eyes. Yes, it's a stereotype. Yes, it should not be among the illustrations featured. But the book was written, according to the very authors whose boycott led to the cancellation of the celebration, over 80 years ago.

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Are we to start scrubbing our artistic history?

How much literature and other art, would survive?

Movies- made in China- by Chinese directors, actors, producers, etc. have used this same depiction; I have seen it. Should we ban those movies? Are they to be labeled racist traitors for their uses of the image?

I think it comes down to intent. Dr Suess had many wonderful titles promoting acceptance and diversity, like The Sneetches. His books promoted not only diversity, but conservation and inclusion. The Washington Post quoted the three authors:

"The career of Ted Geisel, writing as Dr. Seuss, is a story of growth, from accepting the baser racial stereotypes of the times in his early career, to challenging those divisive impulses with work that delighted his readers and changed the times. It was our hope that the administration of the new Seuss-ian institution would be able to take inspiration from Mr. Geisel’s journey and find creative ways to allow children of all backgrounds to feel welcomed (or, at the very least, provide context for this hurtful painting)."

The museum easily could have added a small sign as suggested by the authors and the celebration of a man who wrote wonderful stories for children, and grew- as the authors stated, would not have been cancelled. I think everyone lost out.

That part of the mural will be replaced, but I think of all the children and even adults who lost out on a wonderful day with many planned activities. There are some who want to ban Dr. Suess altogether, and that makes me sad. He was human, and we all are on a journey of growth. Who among us can say we always got it right?

Char

You Are What You Write, Aren't You?

I'm trying to be thoughtful and careful with this post. I know some people are going to read it the wrong way, and be offended, but I'm opening this subject up for discussion, because it needs to be heard.

I recently had a publishing professional look at my middle grade manuscript. It's historical fiction, set in 1939-41 Berlin, at the zoo. The main character, Tomas Durr, is a young German boy, fourteen years old. The premise is based on actual events; with the backing of Hermann Goring (second-in-command to Hitler, creator of the Gestapo, and Nazi party leader), the director of the Berlin Zoo, Lutz Heck, and his brother, Heinz Heck, director of the Munich Zoo, embarked on a program to 'resurrect' (by faulty eugenics), extinct animals. Tomas and his family are fictional, but the Heck brothers and Goring, are of course real. Through the novel, Tomas discovers that animals are 'discarded' if they aren't perfect, paralleling the genocide of the Jews. The horrors of war-forcing children to join the Jugend (Nazi Youth) at ten years old, turning in family and/or friends for suspected treason, the increasingly desperate conditions, etc. are other situations that arise. This is not a Holocaust novel; the disappearance of the Jews is mentioned, not delved into. I've researched for historical accuracy to make the character of Tomas Durr acceptable.

Upon sitting for my critique, I was asked, "Are you German or Jewish?"

?

"If you aren't, that's problematic." It is because, in the movement to increase diversity, it seems that some in  the publishing world only consider authors whose ethnicity (or psychology or economics or experience, etc.) matches that of their characters to write the story.

I'm German (and Swedish), but if I wasn't, am I 'unqualified' to write a story which was my 'creation?' Will I have to give up my storylines to others because they 'match' the character and I don't?

I understand the need for diversity and the need for marginalized voices to be heard. But, if no one from that background writes the story or it is the brainchild of someone who is different from the character, should we kill the story? Take the story away from them?

Following this logic, I can only write female, German/Swedish/Christian/middle class stories set in Long Island, Connecticut, or New Jersey. No male point of view. No outer space. No science, crime, foreign shores, or even one of a set of twins story- because that doesn't match me. There goes my middle grade animal adventure story series, Evolution Revolution: Simple Machines/Simple Plans/ Simple Lessons- because I'm not a squirrel. I don't live in the woods. I don't know what it's like to fight off a fox, an owl, or construction machines. What about Blonde OPS? I'm not a hacker. but should I have learned to be, rather than research about it so my voice is 'authentic' enough? Where does one draw the line; at picture books? Unless it's scholarly, biographies might be suspect, and we can go on from there.

Won't this narrow our perspective, further dividing us? Can you imagine if Kathryn Stockett's  The Help was submitted under these guidelines? A white woman writing about the lives of black women. What about Shakespeare? No Romeo and Juliet, because he can't speak for women. Scratch Uncle Tom's Cabin because Harriet Beecher Stowe was not a Southern plantation overseer, nor an enslaved black man. Rudyard Kipling could not have written Kim, a story about young Indian boy- because Kipling was educated, white, upper class English. Think of all the stories that would be swept away if everyone adhered by this rule.

I support diversity and the promotion of marginalized voices, but instead of dismissing those authors who are vastly different from their characters and losing a vital story, if the voice is authentic, I think it should be heard. If I was writing about the Holocaust, I should use due diligence gathering my facts, and have someone who knows about the Holocaust read it for authenticity. During my elementary and middle school years, I lived in Bay Shore, Long Island. I had two best friends; Damari Colon, who was Puerto Rican, and Vicky Johnson, who was black. The schools and neighborhoods were culturally diverse. Does this give me any qualifications to include characters of different ethnicities, religions, economics, etc. in my stories? And if I don't include diverse characters because some would argue I'm not 'qualified,' then my writing becomes exactly like me- and I become guilty of writing with a narrow world view, which then becomes fodder for others to accuse me, rightly so, but from I situation I am forced into, of writing only from a caucasian point of view. How can both sides be accommodated?

What's the solution?

Char

A New Book, A New Step

My new book went public on September 30th as I had originally planned. A few bumps in the road, but for its first outing at the Collingswood Book Festival, Evolution Revolution: Simple Machines sold more than my other books (Blonde OPS, Beware the Little White Rabbit, Sirenz, Sirenz Back in Fashion) all put together! Kids (especially boys!) seemed very excited about the book.

It's always joyous to have kids excited over your book, but I'm especially ecstatic with the reception this book has gotten for two reasons. The first is that the main character is a boy and as boys tend to be more reluctant readers, I have reached my target audience. Girls, generally, will read across a broader range; they will read stories about boys (a la Harry Potter, Percy Jackson). Also, they will read adventure, magic, science, fashion, mythology, etc. Through my own sons, I see that most boys have a narrower focus. Few read books with girl protagonists, or about subjects like fashion, romance, relationships and subjects they might consider 'girly.' So I grabbed their attention with my premise on mixing science, adventure and animals.

The next reason I feel this book is a success is based on the interior illustration below:

In the original manuscript, I do not describe the boy, Collin, who teaches Jack the squirrel how to use simple machines and vocabulary. I didn't want that restriction because I wanted every boy to see himself as the main character.  However, when my illustrator and I started working together on this project, I asked her to make the boy a person of color. Not that I consider myself an expert on the lives of people of color, but because I'm a qualified 'people person.' I have a broad spectrum of people in my life through my writing, my church, my children, my community. With the increasing awareness to include a more diverse reflection of characters in novels, film, and other areas, I felt it was important to step up to the challenge and out of my routine characterization. 

There are some who might argue that I do not have the qualifications to write about characters from cultures and ethnic backgrounds different than my own. I would disagree in that my friendships and professional associations give me a starting basis. I fully admit I have much to learn, but judging from the wonder on the faces of the boys that thumbed through my book-and the smiles on the faces of the parents who then proceeded to buy the book, I think I have made a good start, but I ask your patience as I move forward. 

Char

No Judgment Here....

This is my meditation garden:

I don't really meditate; I usually go there to weed and clip when I'm so mad at everyone/someone/something that I need, for safety reasons, to be alone. It's a good thing because I have this:

And this:

(That's a statue of a boy reading, it represents my oldest who loves books. The other two are in there also).

Then there's this:

Hanging baskets of greenery!

And my gazing ball (unfortunately it doesn't tell me anything other than whether it's sunny or raining or snowing). But see this? This picture is kind of different.

Why? It's green, about to bloom, and is kept nicely fed and is almost center stage when you enter my garden.

It's a weed. Technically. People who spend most of the year and tons of money gardening rip this sucker out.

Yet it's here in my garden, in a visible spot of honor.

My son loves it. It produces purple flowers and when he saw it blooming, he squealed with happiness. Yank it out? Relegate it to the compost pile? Prevent butterflies and bumblebees from collecting and spreading pollen? Just because someone, somewhere, sometime labeled it a weed?

It is just as colorful as my store bought, expensive, coddled flowers. It provides something essential to a variety of beneficial insects, and does not attract the non-beneficial ones which move on to destroy the expensive, temperamental flowers.

My son loves it. I do not care who mis-labeled this plant because in their narrow world view it was a pest, but in my garden, I don't hold with that judgment. I've stopped by the side of the road and taken samples of plants for my garden that people spray to keep away. The beautiful hanging baskets? Filled with begonias AND an intrusive vine that grows everywhere. It's the only plant that can withstand the shade and forgotten waterings. Doesn't it look beautiful? How can you hate something cascading down like a leafy green waterfall?

I like diversity- in my plants, my friends, my books, my food (although I won't eat anything soggy).  So spare me your judgments. As my college social science teacher said, "Weeds are only mis-placed plants in Man's mind."

And they have a place in my garden.

Char