News from Heidi

I met a wonderful young woman in Michigan last week. Her name is Kara. She read The Girl Who Fell From the Sky when Jessilynn of the wonderful McLean & Eakin books handed it to her. She rushed back to the bookstore soon after begging for anything else like The Girl . . . --Kara wasn't in town for the luncheon appearance I did last week, but I really wanted to meet her and thank her. So Jessilynn put in a call to her early on a summer Friday morning and Kara very graciously (and quickly) got herself in gear and came to the bookstore to say hello. She's a lovely young woman: smart, curious, and interested in the world beyond her immediate community. And she's writer--she showed me the journal she always carries with her (yes!) just in case she's got a good idea--and she showed me her second journal--it's one that she shares with her best friend. They each write in it and paste poems or quotes or whatever they want in the journal handing it back and forth when they see each other. "How do you decide who gets it when?" I asked. "Whoever needs it the most gets to have it," she said matter-of-factly. I was so delighted by this idea--first, because in the age of Facebook here were two young women writing still, not for public consumption but for themselves and each other; and second, because they are creating a beautiful record of their friendship. Jessilynn tells me that Kara was very excited to meet me. But truly, Kara, the pleasure was all mine! Thank you for coming by!

I really can't explain what a magical, wonderful time I had in Michigan this past week. The trip started with a reading in Suttons Bay at Brilliant Books. Bookstore owner Peter and his wife took us to a fabulous lunch at Martha's Table and then showed us around their wonderful bookstore. That evening was the reading with wine and cheese and the warmest crowd. I have video I promise to post soon. It was hard to leave Suttons Bay and in fact, the fun continued the next morning at Morsels (if you don't know what a Morsel is you should-delicious) in Traverse City where Peter brought me books to sign. (Thank you for getting up so early!) Then it was on to Petoskey. Wow! It was a luncheon crowd that had paid to come and it was sold out. I couldn't believe it. But Jessilynn Norcross and Matt Norcross of McLean & Eakin do nothing but a first-class event. It was so lovely--the room looked like it was set up for a wedding. I was delighted to meet Barbara S.--the first reader Jessilynn handed the book to in the area--and now a fan of The Girl (there's also teenage Kara, but I'll save that story for another post). About 16 of the folks at the luncheon were from the fabulous Red Cedar Writing Project--educators studying how to teach better teach writing to their students. They had studied The Girl . . . and had awesome questions. (More on that meeting that delightful group too. And there was a contingent of the Goodheart Book Club (I'm not sure that's the official name but they know who they are: Trina, Linda, Linda (not pictured) and *** (oh gosh darn it--I can't remember--please forgive my bad memory). And many many more. I enjoyed the time so much; I'm sure I went on for way too long, but I didn't want to let these folks go. Thank you to everyone who came out. You can be sure that I will return!

This is the place to be--no really it is. Read novelist Ann Patchett's New York Times essay about this place. If you're anywhere near please come join us: Brilliant Books, Suttons Bay, MI, Wednesday at 7pm; and a Luncheon hosted by McLean & Eakin, Thursday at Noon (reservations required).  I am so excited about this trip!

I'm at the Norman Mailer Writers' Colony for a writing residency and already good stuff is happening--well, the writing is still difficult, but I've met some wonderful folks--had breakfast with the lovely and amazing writer Anne LeClaire who I haven't seen since my time at Ragdale.  And to my very great delight I got to introduce and spend time with the great poet Sonia Sanchez, who at 75 is every bit of a powerhouse as she ever was--and a lovely, generous spirit. Now if we could just turn down the heat here like maybe high 80s instead of 100?

Writer Madison Smartt Bell has written a really fascinating article, "Ghosting History," about how The Girl Who Fell From the Sky speaks to our "post racial" society & how it fits into the tradition of great novels like Beloved, The Chaneysville Incident, and the memoir One Drop. I must admit that's some good company to keep!  Take a look here. (Unfortunately, only for subscribers.)

Yay! On October 7, the Danish version of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky will be released in Denmark by Forlaget Punktum. The very cool news is that I will be going to Denmark to do some appearances and help promote the book. The exact details of the trip will be set soon so check back for more info.

It's exciting! The Dutch version of the The Girl Who Fell From the Sky will be released soon. It's called: Het meisje dat vit de lucht viel. Here's the book cover! Isn't it cool?

I had the best time at ALA this weekend. I met some very lovely folks--librarians really are the best--but I also met writer Jay Varner whose debut, Nothing Left to Burn, comes out on Sept. 21. Check it out!

I nearly burst into tears when I spoke at the Gala Author Tea on Monday talking about how much libraries meant to me growing up. My apologies for getting so mushy--but really, my local library saved my life! It was a true sanctuary. Let us applaud librarians and the very important work they do!  (Photos: me reading on the Live Stage; PCC Librarian Alan Cordle & me (my mom's co-worker).)

First noted on the blog by writer John C. Ford: the Bravo TV show Work of Art challenged the artists to design a book cover. Doesn't the runner-up's Alice in Wonderland cover look a lot like Connie Gabbert's design for The Girl Who Fell From the Sky.  Mediabistro's GalleyCat has picked up on the book cover controversy. What do you think?

What's my guilty pleasure? Find out by listening to my NPR essay that ran yesterday on All Things Considered. And please, click "Recommend" on the NPR story page. No sign-in, no sign-up, anonymous and free! But it would be immensely helpful to me!