Christi, Author at Christi Craig

February 25, 2015February 23, 2015

Q&A with Judy Strick, Author of Kingdom Come, CA

A powdery pink glow infused the garage, and the door to the house closed behind me. To my utter astonishment, all the things I thought had been shipped off to the Salvation Army shimmered before me, resurrected from my past. the room was filled with quivering echoes of my childhood…. ~ from KINGDOM COME, CA

Judy Strick’s debut novel, KINGDOM COME, CA is a story about uncovering a past thought to be carefully stowed away, in both the literal and figurative sense.

When a new family moves into an old abandoned house near recluse, Ruby Wellman, Ruby isn’t pleased. And when the neighbor’s son makes a strange connection with her, one that pulls at her memories, she is even more unsettled. Set in Southern California, KINGDOM COME, CA is steeped in landscape and mysticism and speaks to what happens when we finally let go of the past that grips us.

I’m honored to host Judy Strick today to talk about her book. And, there’s a book giveaway! Drop your name in the comments at the end of the post for a chance to win.

CC: On your website, you write that inspiration for Kingdom Come, Ca arose out of an incident with a “wandering print” (a cool story in itself, by the way). How did you decide on the story’s setting?

JS: I have a thing for small towns. I lived in Rapid City SD when I was very young. I harbor vividly strong memories of small town life, although perhaps it was not even a small town in those days. But that’s the way I remember it. Memory is slippery. As a child I visited Kanab Utah, and recalled it as the perfect archetypal small town until I went back as an adult to find it nothing at all like I remembered: what I found was a non-descript stuccoed town of very little charm; Perhaps at this moment in time it’s changed and is charming. Who knows?

CC: The strange connection between the protagonist, Ruby Wellman, and six-year old Finn is immediate, intense, and unmistakeable. And, it opens the story up to two plot lines–that of Ruby as she wrestles with her past and of Finn as he struggles with his own secrets. When you set out to write the novel, who came to you first, Ruby or Finn?

JS: Ruby was there first. She lived in Van Nuys, Ca and like the current Ruby, was scarred in an accident. Ruby #1 was so badly damaged that she wore a burkah- Finn was in my mind, somewhere. When Ruby #2 moved to Kingdom Come, Finn showed up, of his own accord, with his sea-glass green eyes.

CC: Your creative career has passed through several mediums: from art, children’s books, and screenwriting to novels and short stories. Do you still dabble in art or other genres?

JS: I tend to be somewhat obsessive-compulsive about what I’m working on. When I stopped being an artist I walked away cold. I never even doodle any more. I wish I had walked away as easily from lousy relationships, as I do from work that no longer works.

CC: What are you reading these days?

JS: I’m almost finished with Rick Bragg’s biography Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story. It’s wonderfully written, and a fascinating study of “The Killer,” and even more so of the Southern roots of rock ‘n roll.

CC: What piece of writing advice do you turn to most?

JS: To just keep doing it and doing it and doing it until you finally figure out what the hell it is you’re doing. I worked on KINGDOM COME, CA, for four years. It taught me so much, to keep pushing, and going for perfection, as you define it.

Judy Strick is a native of Southern California. She holds an MFA from Otis Art Institute, and in a former lifetime was a fine artist and then a toy designer. She studied screenwriting at AFI and fiction writing at UCLA, and has spent the last 10 years honing her novelistic skills. Kingdom Come, CA is her debut novel. She lives in Los Angeles with her 2.5 dogs.

Visit www.judystrick.com, where you can download (for free) her new short story series Living on the Fault Line: Tales from L. A.

Don’t forget: drop your name in the comments by noon on Tuesday, March 3rd, for a chance to win a copy of KINGDOM COME, CA, courtesy of Darlene Chan PR.

February 18, 2015February 18, 2015

#AmReading #AmListening on these cold, cold days.

With frost overtaking the window pane and the thermometer reading single digits, this is a good time to curl up with a book.

I’ve mentioned before how I love reading with my kids. Partly because it draws them in, and there’s comfort, for example, at the end of a day when my seventh-grade son leans against my shoulder, caught up in the pages of a good book. But reading with both my kids also introduces me to stories I might otherwise miss.

Which means, I actually have three books in open circulation right now: one for my daughter, one for son, and one for me–all of which are hard to put down when it’s time for dinner or for bed.

#AmReading with Her

Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes.

“The next day I keep thinking about all Mama Ya-Ya has told me. ‘Signs everywhere. Pay attention.’

And I do. Noticing that the flowers on the way to school seem thirsty. Noticing that our school is old and crumbling, but it always feels brand-new ’cause the blackboard changes. Chalk–red, blue, white, and green–is powerful, sending me signals.”

This book, “a deeply emotional story about transformation and a celebration of resilience, friendship, and family–as only love can define it,” is about twelve-year old Lanesha who lives with her caretaker, Mama Ya-Ya, in the Ninth Ward the year hurricane Katrina hits.

My daughter and I read Sugar by Rhodes first, which was such a great story that she immediately wanted to move on to next book on Rhodes’ publication list. We’re still in the beginning chapters of Ninth Ward, but my daughter asks lots of questions (always a good sign). She studies every page as I read out loud, and I can tell she’s turning the words into pictures. She doesn’t like it one bit when I have to close the cover for the night.

#AmReading with Him

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

lightning-thief

“Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal. I know, I know. It was rude. But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man….”

Here’s my confession: I love the chapter titles, like “Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants” or “I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom,” perfect hooks for a middle school reader.

I also have to confess that I cannot pronounce the word “pinochle” (which comes up several times in a series of chapters) to save my life.

pee-NAH-co-lee. No wait…
pee-NOH-clee.
Dang it.
pee-NU-cal.
PEE-KNUCKLE!
Gah!

Stumbling over that word each and every time earns me plenty of heavy sighs from Mr. Seventh-grade smarty pants. Later, I get the “geez mom” whenever I fumble through the name of a hero (which I am also quite good at). I thought I knew Greek mythology. He thought I would eventually know pinochle. What we’re both sure of is that this book is a page turner, and my reading it aloud is as entertaining–or at least almost as endearing–as the story of young Percy Jackson fumbling his way through a hero’s quest to save the world. Right? …hello?

#AmListening Myself

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

“‘And now I got a question for you,’ Glory said.

Before she asked, Lizzie knew that Glory’s question would mirror her own. It was a question many people thought about–slaves who watched as they went around in their better, but not quite good clothes and softer, but not quite soft feet, northern whites as they sat at the dining table and chose decorum over curiosity, wives who pretended to be asleep when their husband rose from their beds or never came to bed at all.

Did they love them? She couldn’t speak for the others. She could only speak for herself.”

I’ve had this book on my TBR list for a long time, and I’m sorry I didn’t pick it up sooner. Since I have several books in the queue right now but really wanted to read this one now, I decided to check out the audio version of Wench from the library. I’m only half way through. But Robynne Young’s reading of the novel brings to life this heartrending story about a young slave who becomes the master’s mistress, who uses her position to win favors for herself, her children, the other slaves, and who slowly understands the reality of her standing in a flawed and perverse society.

I can’t say enough about this one.

About all three, really.

What are you reading (or listening to) these days?

February 11, 2015February 9, 2015

Being Mindful in Life and Writing

On a whim last week and in search of a quote, I opened up my copy of Dinty W. Moore’s The Mindful Writer: Noble Truths of the Writing Life. I wasn’t working on anything writing related, not really; I was typing up the biweekly newsletter for my day job, which is all university-this and accessibility-that. But something about the title of the book pulled at me.

All over campus, and across the state, things are in a bit of an upheaval. To say the least. I went in search of sage advice for the week, something that might distract us all from the heat of the moment. In truth, I was in search of my own relief.

I didn’t find a quote for the newsletter (it’s hard to mix work and writing sometimes). But I found several passages that shifted my line of vision just enough, reminders about perspective and focus.

From page 23:

[A]n awareness of all things–not just lush farmland in the early summer, but crowded city streets, jarring suburban shopping centers, even those most unpleasant places, like airports–will open us up as writers, and help us to see the story or poem or play or monologue or memoir in everyone and everything.

To see the story in everything. I love that.

And then this from page 19:

Every writer does well to step away from the desk at regular intervals, to confront life where it is most tangible, most urgent: not on the page, but out in the world.

But even in these cases, it is only what you see, what you hear, what strikes you as important and significant, that you can write about.

Tell the story that only you can tell.

Why I didn’t just google “quote of the day” right off the bat is a mystery. The audience for Moore’s book is primarily writers. I knew that. But, in the end it was clear: the pages are full of what’s good, what’s important. They touch on pursuing what we can control versus letting go of what we can’t.

Have you read Dinty Moore’s book? Have you stepped away from your desk today?