I have a tumblr now. I’m going to try and update it five days a week with pictures and text and short daily life stuff. I’m going to use this space to talk mostly about my writing process.

I know, life is so complicated. But you can handle it.

Anyway, I decided to put the book I just finished writing away in the drawer for a long while. Not forever, just for now. I love so much of it, in particular the characters and also how it captures a specific moment in time in New York City, which is so dramatically different now than it was ten years ago. I wrote some scenes in there I had been dreaming of writing. There’s a value to the book, and I feel I grew as a writer while writing it, but I think it needs to take a little nap right now.

And there’s something else that I want to start! Which I’ve been thinking about for months and months, and almost started it last fall but I felt like I had to finish this book first. And now I have, so now I get to play around with this new project. I’ve been listening really close to my brain in the early morning right when I wake up to see if I can hear the character talking, and in the last few days I’ve heard a few whispers. I’ve started taking some notes. I am optimistic.

But I only get to work on it full-time after I finish my diary, which is probably going to take me about a month to type up and do a first round of edits on. Weirdly it’s going to be pretty close to a full-length book. It covers 60 days, give or take and there’s going to be about 1000 words a day. I was thinking when I started writing it, it would end up being about 50 pages, but as I go through the process of transferring it from paper to computer I’m definitely adding things in, little moments from my past that connect to the present, so it’s going to be much, much longer than I expected. It might be the first time I’ve accidentally written a book.

So basically my brain is still buzzing around over here, even though I’ve been a little under the weather since Mardi Gras. Man, I had a blast, I truly did, but I am really glad that it’s over because I just want to focus on my work again. I need to put a little order to my chaos.

Also I’m getting pretty excited about the book launch for THE MIDDLESTEINS, based solely on the book cover, because holy mother of god did you see it? LOOK AT IT. Is it my best hardcover design ever? It might be.

I try not to get to excited about these kinds of things. So much can happen during the launch process. But it’s nice to know, at the very least, my book is going to be handsome and smart-looking, the kind of thing that will look good on your shelf, your nightstand, propped up in front of you at your favorite cafe.

Soon this book will be a physical object, and knowing that gives me great comfort every damn day of my life.

(02/26/12) | 1 Comment »