fiction with a dark edge
How I visualize Dread If you have followed this blog for a while, you know I've written a lot about mortality, finding purpose in life, and the intersection of those with art. I also find engaging in written dialogue to be a fruitful way to explore difficult topics. I'm back to share an interesting challenge... Continue Reading →
Everywhere you turn this time of year you find a top this-or-that list: books, movies, political disasters. I wasn't thinking about lists or the new year when I sat down a few days ago for my morning writing session. What emerged was a contemplation, in the form of a list, of why I pursue the... Continue Reading →
*Actually, more like five-ish. That headline is unabashed click-bait. Maybe readers will supply the other 495-ish. Before we get started, why is having reasons to get out of bed important? Because having a purpose keeps you young. And who doesn't want that? Barbara Bradley Hagerty, in a recent KQED Forum interview about her new book,... Continue Reading →
Readers often ask fiction writers the tiresome question: “Which part of your story is true?” The correct answer is: “The whole thing.” After all, if a story doesn't express a Greater Truth, why bother telling it? That said, I understand the urge to parse a story for “facts.” Coming from a journalism background, I’m sensitive... Continue Reading →
After twenty-four years of getting nostalgic every time I hear Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” because I listened to it the morning after my husband proposed, I discover the song is about a break-up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqDq3eyTGck It seems the heart knows no logic. Or perhaps it’s the ear or the body’s musical core that are immune to... Continue Reading →
AUDREY KALMAN 