Monday, September 29, 2008

Why I wrote it

I didn’t want to write this book. During my treatment I was, of course, too sick and tired from the chemo to summon the energy to craft the experience into fiction. More importantly, though, I didn’t want to label myself a cancer survivor. I wanted to shed that identity as soon as I’d finished my treatment.

I’d been writing steadily for years, four of them in an MFA program. I felt I’d evolved as a writer. I was beyond the stage of writing only what I knew, only writing about material that came directly from my life. Writing about cancer treatment seemed like a step backwards.

I'd grown used to striving, in my fiction, for inertia, for narrative arcs, for epiphanies, to craft the conflicts, climaxes, and denouements that don’t exist in life. They certainly didn't exist in chemo suites and hospital waiting rooms.

But so many things caught me off-guard -- some astonished me, really -- the coldness of some people, the kindness of others; the lack of privacy; odd things people said when they found out I had cancer; the pink ribbon culture around breast cancer. I reacted by not reacting. I felt blank. Then, when I started writing about the experience, I found myself inventing a character who reacted to these things openly, in often hilarious, brutally honest ways. It was exhilerating.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

My novel

I'm excited to announce that my novel, Are You a Survivor, will be available for sale in December (Brown Street Press). Check out my bio up on their web site, www.brownstreetpress.com. Soon there will be a description of the book and other links, too. I'll have advance copies in mid to late October.

If you live in Massachusetts, I'll be doing some readings/signings around the Western Massachusetts area -- and maybe other parts of the state, too -- during October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Check this blog for details!

The book follows a woman's progress through treatment for breast cancer over a period of about six months. You can read one of them by clicking on this link to http://www.antigonishreview.com/bi-135/135-fiction-karen-malley.html (published under Karen Malley).

Thanks for stopping by!