Finally it’s here! We’re only one week out from the 5th annual AJC-Decatur Book Festival. This will be the last DBF 101 entry, so let’s review some FAQs. Instead of a final exam, we want you to feel prepped for an awesome weekend at the festival! If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment here or email info@decaturbookfestival.com .

Planning?

• Take the time to make a personal schedule. Find a few events that you want to attend on the schedule
• Having trouble choosing an event? On the authors page you can search for your favorite authors by name or book title. Or, you can search for different authors that would possibly pique your interest by browsing the list of genres.

How do I get to and around the festival?

• MARTA! The Decatur MARTA station is right in the middle of the festival grounds – it couldn’t be any more convenient. Plan your route at itsmarta.com
• All events are within walking distance from each other. Keep a copy of the AJC-DBF printed program on hand for quick map reference.

What should I expect once I’m there?

• Expect a relaxed, happy atmosphere with people of all ages. Everyone’s welcome - all events are free and open to the public.

This week we got a fantastic opportunity to chat on Twitter with bestselling author Cassandra Clare, about her new Infernal Devices series, London, and naked men cooking eggs. Check it out here, but remember to start from the bottom and work your way up!

DBF: Sunday 1:15 PM at the Decatur Presbyterian Church–we will see you there!

CC: I’m really looking forward to going. Decatur Book Festival, Sunday Sep 5, 1:15pm, right?

DBF: Thanks for spending time with us this afternoon. We will be seeing you in a couple of weeks! Watch those window peepers!

DBF: Ha! Pants! Well, there are a lot of people here eager to meet you, and good coffeehouses too.

CC: I like to write in coffee shops when the alternative is writing at home alone b/c it reminds me that there are other people alive out there! Also is an incentive to put on pants.

DBF: Speaking of breakfast: you like to write in coffee shops from time to time. Any qualities you like best in those places?

CC: Warlocks on the loose. Actually, not so much on the loose as naked, making eggs in their houses.

DBF: If that naked egg-making guy has a spiral-eyed cat, and a rack of spices that look more like crushed skulls, something is up!

CC: There was a naked man in there, making eggs.

DBF: Fewer people peeking through the blinds, I suppose, in an urban environment. Or so we think!

CC: There are definitely urban fantasy books set in the suburbs - like @hollyblack ’s Tithe - but a city offers much more opportunities for magic in some ways because cities are so *anonymous.* No one in NYC takes a second look at something weird

DBF: Right–Urban Fantasy is way more . . . interesting? But way more kids live in suburban areas. Just a curious observation . . .

CC: I guess that’s why they don’t call it Suburban Fantasy I don’t know, it might be an interesting experiment.

DBF: I am curious how your all books wd be different if the characters lived in more suburban areas . . .

CC: Highgate Cemetary - so eerie and beautiful.

DBF: Any spots in Historic London that have made an impression on you?

CC: Favorite places in London . . . Borough Market. The view from Blackfriars Bridge. Best restaurant: the Anchor & Hope.

DBF: Care to share some favorite places in London & other areas around it?

CC : So many! I started visiting 2ice a year in 2008. I just got back from a trip to Yorkshire to research for Clockwork Prince.

DBF: So, for ID, any trips to London to do research?

CC: I always wanted to write a steampunk Victorian fantasy - I actually had that idea b/4 the idea for TMI, but I didn’t get the idea for making them prequels to the TMI books till after City of Bones. Then it fell into place.

DBF: When did you know you were going to take off in this new series direction? While working on Mortal Instruments? Before?

CC: Promotional stuff aside from just having massive NERVES. But I am really excited 4 people to read the new book.

DBF: So, new experience for you, plus a new (well, prequel) series! How does that feel right now?

CC: I’ve been to Atlanta — went to Dragoncon - just never signed there

DBF: Any reason you have not been to Atlanta yet?

CC: I’m looking forward to signing in Atlanta! I’ve never done that before. And there are some great authors coming.

DBF: Hi Cassie! We’re glad you’re coming to the festival! Anything you’re looking forward to?

Bhumika here, a not so lowly, down-trodden, or put upon intern for the AJC Decatur Book Festival Presented by DeKalb Medical. I was recently given the spectacular opportunity of emailing Dr. Cuthbert Soup’s publicist with questions I wanted to ask Dr. Soup. Dr. Soup, in case you didn’t already know, is the writer of A Whole Nother Story. A Whole Nother Story is about the Cheeseman family who are on the run from super secret agents.

After a long semester of heavy historical treatises, I wanted something light, and A Whole Nother Story is light, funny, and adorable. The mother of the Cheesemen children was killed by secret agents trying to steal Mr. Cheeseman’s mysterious invention. Their psychic dog, Pinky, warms them when these agents are close. The family moves from place to place and changes identities frequently in order to stay a step ahead of these murderous enemies. Along the way, the Cheesemens help a few people out who later come in handy when they’re in trouble.

Dr. Soup, in his extraordinary story about the Cheesemans, addresses many concerns children sometimes face, like the difficulties of making a new friend, the struggles which come from moving, and the sadness of the loss of a close family member. As I read, I found myself asking a few questions,and thankfully, I was able to get my questions answered. They range from inquiries into his education, into his eating habits as well as about his book and his writing habits. Here are the responses to my questions.

• Dr. Soup, what are you a doctor of?

I am a doctor of the utmost importance as I hold a Ph.D. in Unsolicited Advice.

• Where did you get your doctorate?

My doctorate was issued by the highly esteemed Southwestern North Dakota State University, where I also played quarterback for the SWNDSU Fighting Paperclips. Go Clips!

• What is your favorite recipe?

My favorite recipe is, without a doubt, the one for my mother’s famous Spam chowder. Unfortunately, because it is a closely guarded family secret, I am unable at this time to reveal the secret ingredient that gives this dish its special ham-like flavor.

• What do you think of breakfast? What did you eat for breakfast?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, or so it would have you believe. Therefore, you should always eat something that makes you happy.

Unfortunately, because I have a severe allergy to all circular foods, I am unable to eat many of the things that most people enjoy for breakfast. These would include: Cheerios, Fruit Loops, bagels, doughnuts, English muffins, pizza and most types of cookies.

This morning, my breakfast consisted of two slices of rectangular wheat toast and two rather shapeless scrambled eggs.

• What books are on your reading list?

I am currently reading a very fascinating book called “How to Catch Up on Your Reading.” It’s six hundred pages long so I have had to put the rest of my reading list on hold for now.

• What is your favorite book from your childhood?

I have many favorite books from my childhood but I cannot think one that captured my imagination quite like Treasure Island.

• Where do you get your inspiration? Why did you write A Whole Nother Story?

Inspiration is a funny thing, like dogs wearing sweaters or Jell-O with fruit floating in it.

My inspiration for A Whole Nother Story was the result of a trip to my friendly neighborhood bookstore. And when I say friendly, I mean a little too friendly. They hug you on the way in. Creepy, to say the least.

Anyway, while perusing the bookstore aisles (and dodging the overly familiar sales staff) I spotted, high upon one of the shelves, a very conspicuous empty slot. Needless to say I was appalled and I decided right there and then that someone needed to write something immediately in order to fill that awful black hole of booklessness. That person, I decided, should be Nathaniel Hawthorne. Then I remembered that Nathaniel Hawthorne is dead. I realized then that it would be up to me to plug up that awful void between War and Peace and Wig Making for Dummies. The result is A Whole Nother Story. Perhaps I’ll tell it to you sometime.

• You play with names in A Whole Nother Story. Why? Do you have multiple names?

I suppose it could be said that I have multiple names being that my full name is Cuthbert Hubert Egbert Soup and my real last name is Schoupenstein, which was shortened when my family immigrated to America from Vienna at the height of the Great Sausage Famine. I don’t mind the fact that they chose to shorten my family name but to be honest it makes my cousin, Minestrone, absolutely livid.

• Is A Whole Nother Story based on true events?

I’m glad you asked me that question because if I had asked you, it might have resulted in some serious confusion. Yes, the story is based on actual events. In fact, if I had to estimate, I’d say that 95% of the story is absolutely 37% true. The rest is based on my interpretation of certain Beatles lyrics.

• What events from the story mirror your life? Did you move much as a child? Did super secret agents ever chase you?

Though I was never chased by secret agents, my father was in the army so we were constantly having to move because he was a deserter.

Also, like the Cheesemans, I have a psychic dog. Mine growls at bad guys on TV. He also growls at horses, whether they are bad or not. Trying to watch a Western with bad guys riding horses can make for a very long evening.

• Where is your favorite place to work?

Unlike most writers today I do not use a computer. I write the old fashioned way: on the walls of caves. Unlike computers, caves rarely crash. The lighting may not always be ideal and the air can get a bit stuffy but, still, it is my favorite place to work.

• What advice would you offer to aspiring writers? What writing rules do you live by?

To young writers I will say this. I truly believe that everyone could become a better writer and would have a lot more fun doing it if they began to look at words as they would a lump of clay. When working a shapeless blob of clay into a vase, a bowl, a bust of Beethoven, an exact replica of Michelangelo’s David, a dog, a cat or the always reliable snake, the process involves adding, taking away, rearranging and shaping until the clay conforms to the vision you had for it in your mind.

Remember, working with words is like working with clay, not marble. If you make a mistake working with marble, you could end up with a headless dog or a one-eyed Beethoven. (By the way, both excellent names for rock bands.) But with clay there are no mistakes, only the ongoing process toward your vision. Having a firm grasp of the English language is like having a limitless supply of clay and with it you can sculpt anything.

• Are you excited about the AJC Decatur Book Festival ?

Of course I’m excited about the festival. If it’s anything at all like the Renaissance festival I attended a couple of weeks ago, I can’t wait to see authors jousting.

SCVNGR? What is that—monster talk? Nope, it’s a hot new game and DBF is the first to host it in Atlanta. It’s a modernized, technophied version of a scavenger hunt. You game?

How does SCVNGR work?

• It’s an interactive challenge that takes you on an exciting adventure into the wilds of Decatur. Racing along with other festival-goers, SCVNGR sends you on quests with photo challenges, funny trivia questions, and a map to a good time with your friends and family.

How do I play?

• It’s easy - SCVNGR works by sending clues to your mobile phone. Everyone is welcome to play either via text or by simply downloading the SCVNGR app for Android or iPhone.
• A special AJC-DBF version of the game will be accessible throughout the festival starting on Saturday morning and concluding Sunday evening.
• SCVNGR creates a custom made “trek” for anyone within a square mile of the heart of downtown Decatur, and sends you “challenges” to complete. You get points for each challenge you accomplish. SCVNGR keeps an electronic tally updating live every time someone scores, keeping the competition hot.
• Prizes for different point levels will be awarded at the conclusion of the weekend. Prizes include t-Shirts, gift certificates, posters, and even an iPad.
• Look to the festival website and the AJC-DBF Program soon for more information on how to download this application to your phone, or how to play via text. Or check out the SCVNGR site for a demo.

Critically acclaimed author and Atlanta native Susan Rebecca White joined us for an interview on Facebook last week, and wow! did we cover a lot of territory.  This witty and warm writer can spin a yarn like nobody’s business, plumb the depths of the great human questions, and describe food that will make you feel starved even if you’re stuffed!  It’s no wonder she’s a rising star in New South literature.

Read on to learn about  Susan’s thoughts on writing plus the books Susan loves, the quirky facts she’s uncovered about Atlanta, and what she’s looking forward to most at the Decatur Book Festival.

DBF: Hello Susan, Thanks for joining us this week! 2010 has seen you coast to coast with your book tour for A Soft Place to Land, the story of two sisters whose relationship is defined by tragedy in their childhood.

Since you’re a hometown girl and back in town working on your third novel, let’s start with talking about Atlanta. In A Soft Place to Land and Bound South it features as the backdrop for the story. What have you discovered about Atlanta–both the actual city and your perspective on the city–in writing about it? Will we see Atlanta in your new novel?

Susan Rebecca White: Hi DBF! So excited to be doing this with you, and so excited about the upcoming festival. And super, super excited that at the festival I’m speaking with the ever lovely Joshilyn Jackson about the importance of place in fiction. (1:15–2pm Sunday, Decatur High School.)

I consider myself a character driven writer, meaning my job when writing a book is to figure out the ins and outs of my characters’ lives and psyches, and then allow that knowledge to dictate the twists and turns of the story. But I suppose I’m also a place-driven author, as Atlanta pretty much serves as a character in my first novel, BOUND SOUTH. (And somewhat so in SOFT PLACE, too.)

From the time I was a one-year old baby until I left for college at 18, I lived in the same house in Atlanta, in Buckhead, attending private schools from pre-K thru senior year. Consequently I got to know a very specific world with its own rites and rituals. (”Curious cultural ritual” a California reviewer once wrote…) As most kids do, I assumed that the world I grew up in was representative of the larger world: that everyone lived in big houses furnished with antiques where the mommies drove carpool and made dinners of chicken plus two vegetables while the daddies left for The Office every weekday morning, dressed in suit and tie, to do work that was both important and mysterious.

For the most part, the mommies and daddies in the big houses were white, and the ladies who cleaned the houses were black. In school we learned about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. I was rightly taught to be horrified by the legacy of racism in the South, but it wasn’t until much later that I thought to question why our private school class was made up almost exclusively of kids who looked like me. (Nor did I think to question why grown men spoke of Varsity chilidogs with religious fervor, or why my mother neither drove on the highway nor pumped her own gas.)

Part of my quest as a writer has been to make sense of the world that I come from, the world that in so many ways was nurturing, but was also a world where image meant everything, and where certain questions were not to be asked. There were a lot of beautiful exteriors covering much more messy and complicated interiors. In my writing I started asking the questions: What is the cost (psychic and actual) of keeping those beautiful houses running? And who really does the work to keep the toilets cleaned and the grass mowed? What pressures did the daddies going to The Office feel? What pressures did their children feel?

The question of how to live so that “your insides match your outsides” is not specific to the South, but I think that the South–at least the privileged world that I was raised in–struggles mightily with this issue.

I have a tendency to go on and on, so I’m going to change the direction of my answer just slightly and answer with a couple of bullet points about what specifically I learned about Atlanta by writing Bound South and A Soft Place to Land:

1) Oakland Cemetery is full, but if you want to be buried there you can sometimes find a plot for sell on E-bay.

2) If you call the World of Coca-Cola and ask for a list of the tropical flavors that Coca-Cola produces, a very friendly women will list them all for you, as if she has just been sitting around waiting for your call.

3) When using the nickname “Co-Cola” for Coke, you still capitalize. (Thanks NY copyeditor!)?4) New York copy editors will insist that you spell cornbread as two words: corn bread. But you have God on your side and you will prevail. (Joke, joke, but you will prevail!)

5)Religion is more a part of day-to-day life in the South than it is anywhere else in the US.

6) Atlantans are very loyal to their local institutions: Coke, Krispy Kreme, and the Varsity.

7) There are many, many Louise Parkers out there.

8 ) All Saints Episcopal church has seven stained glass windows designed by Tiffany Studios.

9) Contrary to popular belief, Southern women often become less conventional as they get older.

10) Even in 2010, there are still eccentrics in the South. Thank God.

Reader: Susan, I loved Bound South but was left wondering….will Louise come back and tell us what happens when she delves into whether she has a tie to Missy? And how do you suggest “wannabe” writers etch out time to write between work and family?

Susan Rebecca White: ??About Louise and her family’s connection to Missy: In my mind they are related, though I think there’s ambivalence in the text. But my sense is that Louise is going to back very slowly away from the familial tie, because she is not sure how involved she wants to be with Missy and her mama. That is probably not the world’s most generous response, but I think it’s pretty human. And I did want to show by the end of the book that though Missy is going to have a tough, tough, road, she has also developed deeper inner resources, and a deeper connection to the family that actually stuck around. Her daddy bolted, and the Parkers–to a certain extent–never really brought much but trouble to the Meadows, but R.D. and Mama are solid, and they are going to stay in the trenches with Missy and help her raise that baby.

It is sooo hard to get in writing time between work and family! If you want to write, however, you have to make it a priority. First thing: Unplug from the internet. (Oh the irony that I’m writing that advice in this format!) What I would do is set a goal for yourself. Decide to write 1,000 words a day 5 times a week and then stick to it. It doesn’t matter if what you write is bad. It will get better once you go back and edit. But just get in the habit of sitting down and creating a story on the page. Writing does require that other things are sacrificed, however. Maybe start feeding your family Chick-fil-A more often for dinner? ?;)

DBF: In A Soft Place to Land, the story is mostly told from Ruthie’s perspective. How did you decide to use her voice more than or over Julia’s.

Susan Rebecca White: In answer to your question about choosing to write from Ruthie’s perspective rather than Julia’s, gosh, I don’t know if I ever consciously chose that or not. The story just seemed to me to be Ruthie’s from the very beginning. But you know what else it was? Ruthie was more guarded, more self-protective, put up more of a wall around herself, whereas Julia was more out there, more forthcoming. You see that in the excerpts from Julia’s memoir. So with Ruthie, the question was, how can I show who this guarded girl is when she probably wouldn’t be “spilling” her troubles to people who happened to have picked up “her” book? The third person worked really well for me for this particular character. I stuck very close to Ruthie’s point of view, so you could see what she was perceiving, but she never actually introduces herself and says, “Hi I’m Ruthie and boy do I have a story to tell you.” She’s way more private than that, and yet, if you observe her closely, she will reveal her secret self, almost inadvertently. Even though Julia was dealt a bad hand after her parents died, I wasn’t as worried about her ultimately. I knew she would survive. I knew her writing would get her through. It was Ruthie I needed to follow.

Jessica Handler: Are you a list-keeper for research for your books, or what’s your favorite method of keeping up with great stuff, or deciding what you need to know?

Susan Rebecca White: Jessica: you helped remind me to use my old diaries and journals as “research” into the mind of my younger self. Even though my books aren’t really autobiographical, it was still incredibly helpful to look back at my thoughts when I was 15 and 16 and 17 and see how I saw the world during those stages. ??Now to your question: I’m not a list-keeper for researcher. I think I need to be more organized about how I do research, honestly. Especially for my new book, which kinda sorta counts as historical fiction. Right now I’m just watching every movie I can from the 1950’s (when the new book takes place) and reading tons of books that were written then and looking at things like NY subway maps of that era. Actually, recently I found out that the New York transit system has a museum in Brooklyn Heights, so next time I’m up in NY I’ll visit that so I can know for sure what the inside of a subway car looked like in, say, 1957. But as you can probably tell by the way I’m answering this question, I’m quite rambling and discursive in the way I go about everything: from writing to research. I just follow a scent and see where it leads me, then follow another scent. At the end I try to clean it all up.

Reader: I am proud to know a writer who not only endured but prevailed in her quest to educate the world about cornbread–it is one word, not two. Next topic: Sugar in cornbread? I should hope not. Thanks for your writing and for your attention to detail in setting time and place.

Susan Rebecca White: Amen! And believe me, the struggle with the copy editors over that one was ongoing. They kept “correcting” it, and I kept having to go back and re-correct cornbread so it was spelled as God intended. Speaking of the intentions of God: I feel sure that the Divine One did not mean for there to be sugar in cornbread, and I am sure that no such bastardization exists in heaven.

I was on a road trip with my friend Todd Johnson and we stopped at a famous bbq place in AL (I won’t name it to protect the guilty) and there was SUGAR in the cornbread muffins. I couldn’t believe it. Really couldn’t. What I do believe in is cooking cornbread in a cast iron skillet, and before pouring in the batter melting a quarter cup of butter in there so the batter kind of fries in the butter as you pour it in.

YUM. Must go fix cornbread. Another southernism, eh? That you fix food as oppose to make it.

DBF: We recently asked our community members which books they love in honor of National Book Lovers Day (though, we’re not really sure if there is officially such a day. It was reported on the ’50s station, so we thought we’d go with it). ??Which books do you love? As a writer, what do you hope people love/appreciate in your work? Or rather, which of your loves drive your writing?

Susan Rebecca White: I think a 50’s station is a fairly reliable news source…;)

Favorite books:

ALL THE KING’S MEN (Robert Penn Warren): rocked my world when I was a wee 18 year old.

CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES (John Kennedy Toole): Makes me laugh out loud EVERY TIME I READ IT. Atlanta’s Theatrical Outfit, btw, is staging a production of it opening Aug. 12.

JAZZ (Toni Morrison): I love the line about how it’s good for grown people to whisper to each other under the covers.

SUPPER OF THE LAMB: bizarre-o cookbook/theology text that surprised and delighted me, and changed the way I cut onions forever.

ELLEN FOSTER & HUCK FINN: author Kaye Gibbons wrote ELLEN FOSTER in response to reading HUCK FINN. Really illuminating to read the two books side by side.

SOUTHERN FAMILY (Gail Godwin): massive ambitious book that tackles about a million themes really well.

THE TASTE OF COUNTRY COOKING (Edna Lewis): priceless recording of farm life in an autonomous community of freed slaves.

THE ART OF SIMPLE FOOD: Alice Water’s cookbook, detailed instruction, no-fail recipes, sound food philosophy.

THE HABIT OF BEING (Flannery O’Connor): collected letters of FO’C–she was so fierce and funny and stubborn and dedicated. Reading her letters really gives you insight into what she was up to while writing her stories.

A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND: excellent collection of Flannery O’Connor stories. Nobody does the short story better, with startling but inevitable endings.?collected

stories of JOHN CHEEVER: Mad Men on the page.

My love of food and cooking definitely drives my writing. Also, I’m just very interested in how damn complicated people are. How we rationalize our foolish decisions, how we want things that are bad for us, how we fake seeming happy…all of that stuff makes for interesting characters. I also just like to make things explode on the page: Let Caroline Parker get caught in flagrante with her theater teacher; let Missy steal Louise Parker’s bird; let Missy and Charles run off to Durham together; let Phil and Naomi’s plane crash; let Julia and Ruthie be split up; let Julia be sent to a pseudo Christian (in reality sadistic) rehab…

Joshilyn Jackson: Hey Susan! Looking forward to seeing you at Decatur…should be fun. Other than US, what sessions are you excited about? ??I want to hear Melanie Sumner. I LOVED her new book, GHOST OF MILAGRO CREEK. I have never read Lev Grossman, but I want to hear him and get a signed copy of his new book THE MAGICIANS—his stuff sounds fantastic and RIGHT up my alley. ??On Saturday, I kinda want to begin drinking inappropriately early and get a team for the scavenger hunt. ??My husband will bring the kids out as some of their faves— Ridley Pearson and Dr. Cuthbert Soup–are coming. Also my newly 13 year old son wants to go to the TEEN PANEL on VAMPIRES V/S WEREWOLVES. Very tough debate, that should be!

Susan Rebecca White: Hola Joshilyn!! Can’t wait to see you Sunday, and Saturday night, for the inappropriately early drinking before scavenger hunting…

Well, if I weren’t on a panel with you I’d be first in line to see you in action. For anyone reading this who hasn’t yet seen Joshilyn on stage, get you to the Decatur High School auditorium on Sunday, stat. Joshilyn’s theater background really comes through when she is doing book events: she’s funny and fresh and poignant and thoroughly entertaining. And she does not mumble and she has interesting things to say! Plus, her novels are sooooo good. Her first, Gods in Alabama, and her most recent, Backseat Saints, are told in concurrent time and work together as a pair in a really smart and satisfying way. They don’t have to be read together, but it’s kind of like reading Huck Finn and Ellen Foster together–adds to the experience of each to do so.

You know, I haven’t read Melanie Sumner’s new book yet but I’m so glad to have the recommendation. She’s published by Algonquin, yes? They put out such kickass novels. (And apologies if she’s published by someone else this time around–her novel is still kickass, I’m sure.) The very first time I was paid for my writing was when a story of mine was selected for Atlanta magazine’s summer fiction issue. And guess who else was in said issue? Melanie Sumner. So I feel she and I have a connection…

There are so many folks I’m looking forward to seeing at this year’s DBF. I’m probably most excited about seeing Marshall Chapman perform at Eddie’s Attic. Marshall is a self-described debutante gone bad, a six foot plus woman with big hair, pearls, and dirty jeans. She’s got a husky voice that sounds like she’s smoked a million cigarettes, and when she speaks you think she’s talking straight to you. She’s funny and irreverent and sexy and wild. Makes you feel like the world is full of possibility and heartache.

Also excited to hear my good buddy Jessica Handler’s panel on social networking. I’m interested in the topic, but also, Jessica has such a great “radio” voice, authoritative and melodic at the same time, I just enjoy listening to her. Patti Callahan Henry and Jack Riggs are doing a panel together, and I have a feeling Jack might be SINGING. Must check that out. I once had dinner with Joyce Maynard in San Francisco. She’s the author who went to live with J.D. Salinger when she was 19 and then later wrote a tell-all book about the experience. The folks from Theatrical Outfit who are adapting A Confederacy of Dunces are doing a panel. I’m interested in that. So many others: Natasha Trethewey, Rehta Grimsley Johnson, Emily Giffin, ALAN DEUTSCHMAN!!…

DBF: In your last reply you write that you “love to make things explode on the page.” In providing examples for explosions you use the word “let” followed by a character’s action or event: ” Let Caroline Parker get caught in flagrante with her theater teacher; let Phil and Naomi’s plane crash; let Julia and Ruthie be split up.”??What guides the “making” v. the” letting” in a story. Have you ever found yourself struggling for creative authority with your characters?

Susan Rebecca White: In terms of “letting” things happen to my characters, as opposed to “making” them happen—I guess “letting” implies a certain inevitability. If you let something happen to a character, it means that thing SHOULD happen. That the story calls for it, and the way the characters have been developed support it. If you “make” something happen, it can feel forced, like you can see the hands of the author cranking the story forward. You want the story to feel organic, natural, like you’ve let loose real people and are now watching what is to become of them. Also, letting implies that you are allowing real consequences to happen to your characters. You let them get hurt. You don’t protect them from real life, because otherwise, they won’t be real…

Alan Deutschmann: Hey Susan, would you like to tell everyone about the wonderful aromas wafting through our house at this moment from the local pastured grass-fed organic short ribs that I’ve been braising (and about the great sides you’ve been fixing)? And are you going to be done blogging in time to eat it with me, or can I help myself to an extra portion…

Susan Rebecca White: Your short ribs smell divine. A mix of sweet onions caramelizing and umami. Sides are stone ground grits and lady peas. Drink is beer. It would be a perfect evening had I not been bitten 10 dozen times by mosquitoes while sitting on the front porch reading Zora Neale Hurston’s MULES AND MEN.

Good Lord I’m southern.

Next up in our mini-interview series–Cassie Clare  on Twitter!

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Chelsea Rathburn is a co-coordinator for the Poetry Track of the AJC Decatur Book Festival sponsored by Dekalb Medical, and she is a featured poet on Poetry Daily (poems.com). The Shifting Line, her first collection of poetry won the 2005 Richard Wilbur Award, and she’s been featured in many journals like The Atlantic Monthly, The Hudson Review, and many more. She’s been writing since she was 6 years old, and she received an MFA from the University of Arkansas. Poetry is this woman’s passion. We asked her a few questions about her Poetry Daily feature and her work with the AJC DBF, and here’s what she said.

• Are you excited about being featured on Poetry Daily?

Yes, I visit Poetry Daily several times a week to read new poems, so I’m really excited to have a poem on the site

• What is the poem being featured? What is the poem about?

The poem is called “The Fallen Thing,” and it’s about traveling with my father, who was an air traffic controller and also a flight instructor, to the site of a small plane crash. I was a teenager, and the copilot was a friend of my father’s; we had been flying with him many times.  There was the shock and devastation of seeing the wreckage, such as it was (the largest piece was a buckle from one of the seatbelts), and there was the devastation of seeing my father seeing the wreckage.

• As a coordinator for the AJC DBF Poetry Track, what excites you the most about the festival this year? Who are some of the poets on the track? What excites you about these poets?

Honestly, I’m excited every year, but this year we have some great events planned. I love being involved with DBF because it’s an opportunity to showcase well-known poets as well as some exceptional writers and performers that Atlanta audiences may not be familiar with… yet. This year’s line-up includes Deborah Ager, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Kurt Brown, Jim Murphy, Kimiko Hahn, Sabrina Orah Mark and Evie Shockley – just to name a few. Thomas Lux, Ellen Bryant Voigt, and Georgia’s poet laureate David Bottoms are going to be reading some poems and having a conversation about poetry that should be a lot of fun; Ellen is also giving a craft talk on her new book, The Art of Syntax. David Kirby and Barbara Hamby are presenting a panel on humor and poetry, with readings from their new anthology Seriously Funny; several area poets who appear in the anthology, including Kevin Young, will be reading. On top of all of this there will be a full slate of readings from Atlanta poets on the Poetry Atlanta stage at Java Monkey, not to mention poets such as Natasha Trethewey and Paul Guest who are presenting work from memoirs.

• Is there anything in particular you want to tell the readers of the DBF blog?

Yes, I’m going to be co-leading a workshop at the DBF Writers’ Conference with Jim May. It’s called “Joining the Conversation: Poets and Poems in Dialogue,” and it will look at some of the ways that poets are in conversation with other poets and poems – sometimes those conversations are friendly; sometimes they are disputes or corrections of an earlier work.

Jim and I happen to be married, and we’re frequently in dialogue with each other in our work, tackling similar subjects or themes. In fact, the poem on Poetry Daily was written in response to one Jim wrote about a small plane crash. (His, in turn, alludes to Auden’s marvelous poem “Musee de Beaux Arts.”) When I first read Jim’s poem, which is better than mine, I suddenly had a very clear memory of walking around the crash site; I began working on the poem immediately.

This idea about poets in conversation is a personal passion for both of us, and I think the workshop will be both interesting and inspiring. Registration is free.

With the festival just 3 weeks away, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty details, directions, and logistics. Let’s go over exactly how you’ll get to the festival. Take notes, because we wouldn’t want you to get lost…

So, where do I park?

• We highly recommend that you take advantage of Atlanta’s public transit system! The Decatur MARTA station couldn’t be any more convenient; located on Church Street, the station is right in the heart of the festival grounds. Take a look at www.itsmarta.com to plan your route.
• If you do decide to drive, there are plenty of decks, metered spaces, and private paid lots to be found. Just remember that if you park illegally, your car will be booted or towed.
• For a more comprehensive list of directions from the interstate, and from other parts of Atlanta, check out the festival website

Where are the venues, and how will I find them?

• All weekend, you’ll find that authors will be speaking at different venues in downtown Decatur.
• The venues include: First Baptist Church, Decatur Presbyterian Church, Decatur Library, Decatur City Hall, Holiday Inn, Eddie’s Attic, Decatur High School, The Old Courthouse, Twain’s, Agnes Scott College’s Presser Hall, Cooks Warehouse, The Children’s Stage on the plaza, and The Methodist Chapel.
• All of these locations are within walking distance from each other.
• Booksellers will be located in and around each of these venues so that you may purchase a book to be signed. All author signings will be directly following their readings, in the same location.
• For a map of the venues, look for the 2010 AJC-DBF program, which will be in local libraries and bookstores early next week.

It’s impossible to read an Emily Giffin book and not talk about, even debate it afterwards with your friends.  This week, readers had a chance to talk about the book with the author herself on Facebook.  Take a coffee break and delight in this insider’s look into Giffin’s writing process and her view on a number of her character’s choices.

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t read Heart of the Matter yet, skip the last paragraph in Emily’s answer to the first question.

Bring your book club or best gal pals to see Emily on Saturday, September 4, at 11:15.

Reader Question: First, I am certainly a fan of your books and suggest them to all my friends. However, I just have to ask, why infidelity?

I understand that it is a routine occurance these days, albeit highly unfortunately. I’m just having a hard time understanding why it seems that you condone it. In my opinion, and of course everyone is entitled to their own, I think that cheating is a zero tolerance, unforgiveable act.

But, your books disagree. Darcy has made amends with Dex and Rachel, April continued to stay married to her adulterous husband, Ellen and Andy made it work, and, although Heart of the Matter certainly does not have a definite ending, Tessa seems to forgive Nick.

It kind of bothers me that an author of your popularity status would choose to seemingly say to her masses, “It’s ok as long as you’re in love.” Is this what you intended for your readers to take away from your books?

Emily Giffin: Yes, several of my books have covered the subject of infidelity but I do not feel that they are books about “cheating.”

I think infidelity is used to explore other issues… “Something Borrowed” was about a flawed, toxic friendship and a girl learning to find herself and take risks and follow her heart. In “Love the One You’re With”, Claudia runs into an ex and wonders if she made the right choice for her life. It is about getting over the past–the “one who got away”–and why we pick certain people to share our lives with. How one relationship is almost always a reaction to the one before it.

Do we settle if we choose someone for something other than heart-thudding love? Some would say yes. Others no. I think Ellen fell in love with a family–I think she loved Andy for reasons far deeper than the lust and passion she had for Leo. I think she ended up in the right place.

As for HOTM–i think this book is mostly clearly about infidelity since this is the only story that involved a full-blown affair within marriage. But you know what? That happens. All the time. I know many people who have been touched by it.

Within days of the book being launched, dozens of women wrote to me, sharing their stories, talking about their marriages. In one instance, a facebook friend told me she had never told a soul about what SHE did, other than her husband.

She wrote that “we have a strong marriage today, 11 yrs later, because of ‘one more chance’”… It is a beautiful email that I will always cherish. I write about complicated, messy relationships. I write about love which is almost never completely rational.

There is no road map in life–no way we can compare our stories and lives to anyone else. Just individual people making decisions that are best for themselves, doing the best they can to right their mistakes, to be good people. You might not agree with my characters’ decisions–but I feel that I am always true to the characters. They all follow their own emotional logic–not what I want for them, in some cases.

In other words, I believe Rachel and Darcy would have reconciled–they were both in a good place, they had a two-plus decade friendship. Would I have done the same thing? I don’t know. I’ve never been there with my best friend… If I were Andy, would I have taken Ellen back? I don’t know… I do know that I would have asked her a million questions about what happened in NYC, but I don’t think Andy was that kind.

As for HOTM, I don’t think you can say that Tessa forgives Nick. Reread the last sentence–all we know is that she is going to TRY. She has two children with him, he confessed his unfaithfulness (as opposed to getting “caught”), and he loves his wife. More important, she loves him. There are many women who say they would not forgive and maybe this is the stronger stance–maybe it’s less noble, though, when we think about the virtues of forgiveness. I don’t know. I try not to judge. And I never, ever write a story in order to send a message, moral or otherwise. Thank you for the great question.

Reader Question: Can you give us any details about Valerie’s book? Will we see any characters from previous books in it? I love all of your books but I think “Love The One Your With” is my favorite. I just loved Andy and really connected with Ellen, maybe it’s because I was born and raised in Pittsburgh. Any plans to write a book about Andy’s brother?

Emily Giffin: I am not committed to doing a sequel about Valerie and not working on it currently. She just intrigues me and I’d like to know what happens to her after she calls Lion…. Maybe someday…. I always like the thought of revisiting my characters. It’s hard to say goodbye after I’m finished with a book.

[My sixth book] is just underway (few chapters in) and I’m not ready to talk about it… Haven’t even told my agent and editor what it’s about yet. I’m not sure why I’m so secretive in the beginning but it’s hard for me to share characters when I’m just getting to know them.

Next up in our mini-interview series–Susan Rebecca White on Facebook!

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National Book Award winner Jonathan Franzen will be giving the 2010 keynote address. The AJC-Decatur Book Festival is Franzen’s first stop on his international tour for his latest novel, Freedom.

This special event is free, but a ticket is required. You can pick up your ticket at any of the following locations around town:
Agnes Scott College
Charis Books
Blue Elephant Book Shop
Bound to Be Read
Eagle Eye Books
Little Shop of Stories.

The event will begin at 8pm on Friday, 9/3 at Agnes Scott College’s Presser Hall.

DBF 101 – Planning your Weekend

So, you’ve got the gist of what exactly the AJC-Decatur Book Festival is, and now you’re psyched. You also might be feeling a little overwhelmed –authors, parades, poetry slams, and so little time! Not to worry; today’s lesson is Planning Your Weekend: How to make the most of your time at the AJC-Decatur Book Festival.

Where do I even begin?

• Think about what interests you the most. Cooking? Business? Mystery novels? You can pick and choose which events you attend based on your specific tastes. Do some exploring on the festival website. You can view a list of author events by genre and find a few topics that pique your interest
• Figure out which specific authors you don’t want to miss. On the authors page you can search for your favorite authors by name or book title.
• Don’t feel like you have to stick to one theme. Jump from Sci-Fi to Romance in the same afternoon – just be sure to check out the schedule of events to make sure the events don’t overlap.
• In between readings wander through the Book Market and Street Fair. For a list of featured booths, take a look at the exhibitor page.
• Set aside time to play! The festival wide scavenger hunt will be going on all day on Saturday and Sunday. All you have to do is download the SCVNGR app to your mobile phone and go along with the clues the game sends you.
• Are you bringing little ones to the festival? Make sure to attend some of the very special children’s events going on Saturday and Sunday, including two parades.

• On Sunday at the conclusion of the festival, there will be a closing picnic. Plan to attend this tasteful finale and sample food from local restaurants and caterers.

• You’ll most likely need all this information in hand throughout the weekend.
Each year the festival distributes 200,000 full-color copies of the AJC-Decatur Book Festival Program. This will be your compass with author bios, schedules, and maps. You can pick up your copy in local bookstores and libraries starting August 16th. The program will also run in the AJC on Sunday August 29th.

There’s really no need to stress about planning the perfect weekend. Do your homework, and you’ll find that with a little preparation and guidance you can enjoy the festival to the fullest.