April Lindner

Hawk Hill--our fond nickname for Saint Joseph's University--has burst into blossom just in time for the last few days of class.  This is the crazy busy time of year, with huge stacks of papers and journals to be graded, high-stakes faculty meetings to attend, and many loose ends to be tied up. It's also time to give out course evaluations and wait awkwardly in the hallway while the students fill them out. Summer--when I will be finishing my Greek novel draft 2.0 and polishing my poetry-collection-in-progress--is so close I can almost taste it.   Greek Sweets

Jesse Malin at Drew's While I was writing my novel Catherine , I listened obsessively to the music of Jesse Malin.  At first, my interest in the guy was casual; I'd seen him play a couple of times at Light of Day, a yearly concert that benefits research against Parkinson's Disease.  Also, he had recorded a song--"Broken Radio"--with Bruce Springsteen, and as a huge Springsteen fan, I always pay at least passing attention to musicians who interest Bruce. But over time, my appreciation of Jesse became more intense.  For one thing, he's a vibrant performer.  For another, he writes the kind of song that's all too rare these days--rock and roll that manages to be smart and edgy yet unironically, full-heartedly romantic. And then there were the parallels between Jesse's life and that of Hence, one of the key characters in Catherine --Heathcliff in my retelling of Wuthering Heights.  Like Hence, Jesse Malin had a first act as...

Last night my editor sent back notes on my third novel.  I love this part of the writing process.  I read through the manuscript, seeing how my editor has reacted to each page, and the process starts to feel more social, more collaborative.  Less lonely. Best of all, the really difficult invention work is more or less done.  Now I get to play with sentences, cutting out all the extra, unnecessary words and phrases, polishing what's left behind.  The poet side of my personality loves this part of writing--this moment when every single word counts. I also appreciate the chance to spend more time with my characters.  It's as though I've moved away to another state, and now I get to fly back for an extended visit.