What is the title of the book?
The Rainbow Sweater and My Mother
Where did the idea come from for the book?
i have had many unusual encounters with strangers, wondrous synchronicities with acquaintances and complex relationships with those i let my heart to. often, it is the encounters, the synchronicities that reassure me during the various trials i have faced. they have fostered a strong belief in a kind of karma---the Buddhist idea that we 'deserve' each other---that we are born to our mothers because our mothers deserve us, and vice versa, and so forth, with all of the people we must interact with. (our history teacher deserves us, we deserve our brother). my personal take on that definition of karma is that we can glean from even our worst enemies and transgressors even as we glean from those we admire, those who support and love us. and ultimately, that life takes care of us so long as we are in earnest (so gleaning) striving for good. it is this idea, or belief that has kept me sane and forward-moving and perhaps by showing how i came to believe in such a 'karma' it may enable a reader to decide they do not need a net, tether or harness, that they are who controls their fate, and that inside of them resides every answer they could seek.
What genre does your book fall under?
it is a memoir, or rather two memoirs in a single volume. the first examines karma, love, LSD, and perseverance, and the second confronts complicity, daughterhood, abuse, justice and independence.
What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
i think the girl from Juno could play me, since people note a similarity there. Daniel Day Lewis could be the bike mechanic, Phillip Seymour Hoffman could play Cello. there is no actor who could successfully do my husband Brian any justice. so i might hire him to play himself.
What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?girl uses spirituality, psychedelics and poetry to unravel the shroud about her true self.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
nine months or so to write the first book, an additional four months to write the second.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?(see answer to first question)
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
the setting (Cleveland) and various mentions of members of the small press/underground poetry scene.
Is your book self-published or represented by an agency?
i published this on my own as a Green Panda Press work. i really wanted this book to be entirely the way i designed it, and, i felt a strong urgency to get it out there and read. so for the sake of not wasting time and not wanting to make compromises, it became a DIY.
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for the purpose of the chain i have tagged Steven B. Smith, Cleveland poet and artist, long-time publisher of the famed ArtCrimes anthologies, and author of Criminal, along with John Swain, Louisville poet and author of Prominences and White Vases. Their answers will be posted to their blog on 2/13/13.
check out John Swain's answers here.
check out Smith's answers here.
