Maybe I’m
old-fashioned, but I like to read paper books and news that smudges your fingers
and is damp on the sidewalk after the rain. The print needs to be gray to the
point of vanishing like invisible ink, and the paper needs unrolling and
recycling. God help me, sometimes the newspaper arrives inside a plastic bag.
I’m eco in many ways, but this is my literary sin.
These days, with fewer
subscriptions, newspapers are often thin enough to need an Ensure supplement,
but even so, you never know what inspiration you’ll find between the pages.
Besides, what would we put in front of the litter box if not for a newspaper?
Reading the Star Tribune’s Science and Health section (which is sadly no longer
inside the Star Tribune) offered random scientific data to plump my alien
character from my debut novel, The Levitation Game. Did you know birds have a
molecule behind their eyes that may allow them to see the Earth’s magnetic
field? Thanks to a timely article about the mystery of bird migration, my
character, Dob-Dec, became fascinated by how Earth’s avians navigate long
distances, and don’t get him started on those eye molecules. I don’t read many
nonfiction books, but I love birds, and reading Jennifer Ackerman’s The Genius
of Birds also feathered the nest of my alien character. Weird, right? Before
writing and publishing my novel, I worried I couldn’t create an alien genius
like I imagined otherworldly visitors to be. So, I created a slightly dim-witted
alien that is still smarter than most humans, and a bird book helped me do it.
Birds are so intelligent! Who knew that being a bird brain was a compliment?
Now, I’m writing a book about green witches, and scientific newspaper articles
about iconic Sequoia trees, green burial, and the symbiosis between plants and
humans are all fodder for my tree-hugging Coven. Please bring back the Science
and Health section! Sigh.
“The proud man counts his newspaper clippings, the
humble man his blessings.” ~ Fulton J. Sheen
I have happy news this month. My
short story, Default 666, is an honorable mention in the 93rd Annual Writer's
Digest Competition! There were 3,571 entries from 44 countries. You can find it
in the Scared to Death Anthology available on Amazon. Plus, my latest Goodreads
giveaway is in full swing until September 1st. So far, over 2,500 people are
fighting (or maybe just marginally hoping) to win one of ten signed print copies
of The Levitation Game!
“If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're misinformed.”
— Mark Twain
— Mark Twain
