By Leslie Lindsay
After reading Mary Laura Philpott’s forthcoming, highly-anticipated memoir-in-essays, BOMB SHELTER (April 12, Atria Books), I knew I had to talk with her. Seriously, this woman is funny. She ‘gets’ it. She’s a writer and mother of teenagers/college-aged kids and we share some similar Southern-isms, like ‘oh my word,’ and ‘bless your heart,’ and ‘what in Sam Hill is this?’ But she’s thoughtful and deep and there’s a great conversation about structure, turtles, doing hard things.
Come eavesdrop on our conversation HERE.
Some exciting news:
I’ll be on writing retreat/workshop mode next week…in Guatemala! This is exciting because it combines several of my favorite things: writing, travel, gorgeous places, and a gathering of like-minded individuals. I’ll miss my family (and routine) terribly, but I this will be the creative re-set I crave.
I just took a fabulous online flash workshop with the lovely and talented Kathy Fish. The Art of Flash catapulted many ideas and pieces. If this is a genre that interests, I encourage you to check it out.
After nearly a decade of bringing great authors and their books right here, every Wednesday, I am shifting my focus a bit.
You can find all of my bookish suggestions, reviews, and more on Instagram in 2022, where I’ll be sharing reels and blurbs about books, what I’m reading, and even writing.
Here’s a glimpse of what you might have missed on Instagram:
Psst! You can share this on Twitter, too. Tweet
Keep scrolling to learn more:
Memoir-on-Submission:
MODEL HOME: Motherhood, Madness & Memory is ‘making the rounds’ with publishing houses. This book has been in my heart for years. It’s about my mother’s devolve into psychosis when I was 10; the body, mind, houses and homes (she was an interior decorator), our estrangement, breaking the cycle, her suicide, my complex grief.
It’s time for this story to make its way into the world.
Learn more about MODEL HOME in this Psychology Today Q&A with Caroline Leavitt.
~Represented by Catalyst Literary Management~
New Project:
I’m working on a new book/project and just completed a 50-page proposal, which is a huge accomplishment in and of itself. It has something to do with this photo. I’m innately interested in exploring ancestral stories and how they connect to the present generation, along with intergenerational trauma, resilience, and more.
Writing Prompt:
I don’t know who these children are. But they spoke to me from the confines of this 1920s frame at an antique store in Northfield, Minnesota. There are so many stories that are calling me here. The longevity (and ethics) of photography, the old house we used to live in…were these children even from this town or did they just ‘appear’ in the corners of the store by a dealer? Are they siblings or cousins? Each question generates about 100 stories. What does it do for you?
Author Interviews:
I’m grateful for this essay with Read Her Like an Open Book, which goes into some detail about the authors I’ve hosted over the years as well as my writerly journey. You might like this post I shared in December 2021 about an end-of-an-era
Occasionally, I’ll have an author interview published in a literary journal. I’ll be sure to share that with you, too.
Here are a couple to whet your appetite:
- In conversation with Siri Hustvedt, author of MOTHERS, FATHERS, & OTHERS (Simon & Schuster, December 2021) This interview originally appeared in The Rumpus February 21, 2022.
- In conversation with Dr. Galit Atlas, author of EMOTIONAL INHERITANCE (Little, Brown Spark, January 25 2022), Hippocampus Magazine
- “A Conversation with Donald Antrim, author of ONE FRIDAY IN APRIL: A Story of Suicide & Survival, Hippocampus Magazine.
- “A Conversation with Laraine Herring, author of A CONSTELLATION OF GHOSTS: A Speculative Memoir,” Hippocampus Magazine.
- Coming soon: A conversation with Kim Adrian, author of TWENTY-SEVENTH LETTER OF THE ALPHABET to appear in The Florida Review. This one is unique from a structure and theme perspective.
- Coming soon: In Conversation with Maud Newton, author of the highly-anticipated ANCESTOR TROUBLE, to appear in Hippocampus Magazine, likely in May.
I’ll be sharing my published interviews here, on Wednesdays, after they’ve ‘gone live’ with their various publications. On Fridays, I’ll share any recent published fiction in this space as well.
There’s more to this newsletter. Keep scrolling.
ICYMI: This piece was published recently in Flash Frog Literary. It’s from the new project.
I have more flash coming from The Tiny Journal in May and an essay about my memoir-on-submission in Levitate Literary Journal, so keep an eye out for those pieces.
Also–did you know I dabble in photography? Several pieces have been published in journals and more forthcoming from Invisible City, the MFA magazine of San Francisco and also Memoir Magazine.
I was recently accepted to the Kenyon Review Summer Writer’s Workshop and will be working on CNF with Terese Marie Mailhot, which will be a thrill and honor.
I’m also busy visiting local bookstores, checking out cool towns, architecture, snapping photos, and you know…all kinds of goodness that brings me joy.
What I’m reading:
Joyce Maynard’s AT HOME IN THE WORLD, about so many things: her relationship with her mother, father, sister, writing, home, her marriage, but also: a love affair with J.D. Salinger. It’s clear-eyed and beautifully written.
What I’m listening to:
My inner voice and intuition. You know how sometimes the universe just ‘calls’ you? Well, that’s happening. Sometimes the world brings you things–you’re destined for and there’s something like that right now in my life. Also, in yoga, there’s a mudra about focus, patience, self-confidence, and intuition. It’s about mindfulness. I’m trying to keep all of that at the forefront.
In the meantime, catch me on:
Reviewing books and talking about them with others on-line and in-person is one small way to engage with & support the literary community.
. Thank you for letting me guide you on your bookish journey.
Don’t be a stranger! Let’s walk this bookish path together.
Find me on Instagram, and Twitter. See what I’m reading on Bookshop.org. Find my reviews on GoodReads. I’m also a Zibby Books Ambassador.
Learn more about me HERE.
Leslie A. Lindsay| Writer & Creative 