I had a great time as a guest of authors Jade and Wilnona of the "And I Thought" series of books (actually more of a "literary brand" these days), discussing life, craft, the thrills of being an overachiever, and the extraordinary power of writing buddies who make sure you never give in, no matter how insanely punishing the publishing game gets. And of course, we talk a bit about the '80s aesthetic and my upcoming novel Once In a Lifetime, coming in 2022 from TouchPoint Press. Thanks for having me on, ladies.
Listen to our video podcast! These two women know how to have a good time during an interview. It's not surprising that their program got more than 27K views in its first month. They've recently sailed past the 800-interview mark and have won a shelf-full of awards.
One thing I love about their recent book, And I Thought ... Being Grown Up Was Easy is that it tackles the same underappreciated demographic that my own novel addresses: Women in their twenties trying to stake-out a name and a career and a love life for themselves in the world. Is it just me, or does the literary landscape not have enough heroines who are just out of college, trying to push their way through those first interviews or that inaugural, low-totem-pole job where you know you could kick every project's ass if someone would let you make a decent decision? Or those early relationships where your brain is trying double-extra hard to make that guy you're dating into the one you imagine he can be, when he's just... NOT.
It's that time of life when smart women have to walk on the brink of the fun party life they have loved and the rougher-knock, pay-your-dues kind of adult career path they know they need to finally take seriously. It's hard. You make a lot of desperate mistakes as you face that transition. We need more literature about that.
But anyway, listen to the show! It's on YouTube now, and will appear on the And I Thought Ladies site as of May 7. I'm excited that Wilnona and Jade have asked me back as part of an upcoming creative career event they're hosting in May, more info TBD.