I first “met” today’s guest author, Amy Sue Nathan, when she interviewed me for her blog, Women’s Fiction Writers. I was on a layover at a packed, noisy airport, standing in a coffee line as we spoke by phone, but Amy somehow made that impossible interview so good that Ballantine bound it into The Four Ms. Bradwells paperback. We met in person at the Tribune Lit Fest a couple months later, and what struck me there, too, was her determination. She was writing a novel, The Glass Wives. And now here it is–just out yesterday from St. Martin’s Press! RT Book Reviews calls it “a poignant reflection of forgiveness and the complicated definition of family,” and says, “the plot and characters are heart-warming and the ending is inspiring and thought-provoking.” – Meg
Ten years ago I was newly divorced and sipping on a brand new life. This was a time for trying new things. I was about to turn forty, and a friend invited me to a kumbaya, life-coaching, find-yourself party at a yoga studio, run by a friend of hers. So NOT my thing. How I did not want to go, but I wanted to be supportive. It wasn’t going to be about me, and I was good with that. Plus, what excuse did I have for not going?
I don’t remember details of that day except that it was, as many things were, not about me. Then, the instructor asked us to close our eyes and picture our futures. Well, I couldn’t really picture anyone else’s future, could I? I was forced to think about myself even though I was there for the support of a friend. Every time the instructor had us image ourselves doing what we loved to do, working at what brought us joy, in any scene with people we liked, in the sun on a mountain, next to a river. In every non-planned scene, in every picture in my mind, I had a laptop, and I was writing.
I didn’t own a laptop and I hadn’t written anything at all, in years.
Closing my eyes at a yoga studio while not doing yoga, and picturing my future, changed all that. After that day I borrowed a laptop from a friend. I didn’t do anything with it. Then one day someone suggested blogging. I started blogging and then publishing essays and stories a year later, right around the time I started writing my first novel, The Glass Wives.
You remember where you put your keys once you stop looking and recall the name of a great movie after you’ve watched reality TV, right? When I’m focused on something else or someone else, which I often am, is when ideas hit me about how to solve problems in my stories and in real life. Plot points and bits of dialogue pop in to my head when I have soap in my eyes in the shower. New characters introduce themselves to me as I’m driving (they’re usually polite passengers). When I don’t feel like writing I don’t sit in front of the computer, I go grocery shopping or tackle my household to-do list. When my brain is busy the muse gets jealous and pokes in her head.
Stepping away from myself always leads me back. But sometimes closing my eyes is the only way I can see the right path. – Amy
