Kristin Bair O'Keeffe: Writer. Mom. Teacher. Traveler.

WRITERHEAD: My New Blog & Web Site

As of today, April 1, 2011, my blog and web site are up and running! Ready for visitors!

Visit: www.kristinbairokeeffe.com OR www.writerhead.com

See you there!

New Website and Blog Are A'Coming!

Hey y'all. I know, I know...it looks like I'm neglecting this blog once again. And I suppose I am, but now it's for a terrific reason. I'm putting together a brand-spanking-new website and blog!

I am so excited about this. I want to reveal it all to you today...but can't. Still a secret.

So hold tight and keep checking in. Sometime in the next few weeks I'll be directing you to a new blog.

Whoo-hoo!

2011: My Three Non-Resolutionary Words

Today (the delightful 1.1.11) I'm giving a nod to Chris Brogan and Susan Murphy (a.k.a. SuzeMuse) for sharing the New Year's non-resolution these-are-not-goals 3-word strategy. I love the idea of setting forth three words that don't represent specific goals, but that express the energy and direction of all I want to accomplish in 2011.

So with no more than a few moments of thought behind my three words, here goes:  

TAKE ROOT-- (yeah, two words, I know...but one thought) -- Since receiving news of our recent repatriation from China to the U.S. (way back in late summer 2009), I've disengaged...a lot. I had to; for me, there was no other way to move my family from one side of the world to another AND manage all the emotional, geographical, physical, financial, and career changes that accompanied it. But as my family slowly begins to take root in our new town and our old-new country, I'm feeling the urge to once again reach out and engage...take root myself.

 THRIVE -- "to grow vigorously : flourish : to gain in wealth or possessions : prosper : to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstances" (pretty self-explanatory, yeah?)

CONSTRUCT -- Just what it implies. I'm a'building this year. Dreaming. Drawing. Seeing. Constructing. Inhabiting. Taking risks. Changing the skyline. Inviting. Sharing what gets built.

And you? Three words?

THIRSTY: Celebrating the One-Year Anniversary

At this time last year, I was celebrating the publication of my novel THIRSTY. I was still living in China, but was in the U.S. promoting the book...joyfully running from event to event. It's hard to believe an entire year has gone by.

I had big plans for this anniversary (balloons, giveaways, blog posts, etc.), but instead I've spent the month of October repatriating to the United States after almost 5 years in China. There's been little time for anything else.

But in the few moments between plane rides and packing and trying to get our two-year-old settled into a routine, I've been quietly re-celebrating the fact that my novel THIRSTY is out in the world for readers to find.

If you've found it and read it, thanks. If not, check it out here or here.

Now...back to the repatriation thing.

Expat in China: 10 of My Favorite Blog Posts from 2009

You know what I'm thinking after re-reading my blog posts from the last 4.5 years? Good gracious Mavis...I've been in China for a good long time. I've seen a lot. I've done a lot. I've explored a lot. And now? Some days I feel like I know something about China; other days I'm pretty sure I don't have a clue.

Either way, here are 10 of my favorite posts from 2009. (If you haven't read my favorite posts from 2006, 2007, or 2008, check them out.)

• "Iron Goddess: A Tea Ceremony"

• "How to Launch a Debut Novel (In the U.S.) from Shanghai, China"

• "The New Website for THIRSTY Has Launched" (Over a year later, and I still love this website. Check it out here.)

• "Got a Dirty Pan? SHOUT it out!" (Still shaking my head at this one.)

• "Baby + Book Deal = Joy, Triumph, Exhaustion, Awe, Amazement, Exhaustion" (If you read any of the posts, read this one. It's the whole story.)

• "The Big, BIG Dog: Old China vs New China" (Still shaking my head at this one, too.)

• "How (Not) to Talk to Adoptive Families, Part I" (This isn't one of my "favorite" posts, but it's one my most important posts. If you're interested, I've continued on with this series. You can find the others under the "Adoption" category on the blog.)

• "Publication Day! It's Here! October 1, 2009!" (Another uber-amazing day. The publication of my novel THIRSTY.)

• "Boys Against Girls: Toy Store Triumphs In Gender Petrification" (climbing onto my soapbox...)

• "They Freed the Plum Pudding!" (Thank goodness.)

Expat in China: 10 of My Favorite Blog Posts from 2008

I've only got three days left in Shanghai...the clock is a'ticking. The house is packed up and our things are (almost) on a boat headed for the United States. Life is changing, and as it does, I'm looking back over my time here in China.

Here are 10 of my favorite posts from 2008. (If you haven't read my favorites from 2006 and 2007, click here and here.)

• "Learning to Speak Chinese: The Totally Inappropriate But Hilarious Way I Learn to Say 'My Grampa's Dead'"

• "Dream: Magic and Invisible"

• "New Shoes...from my ayi" (Yep...these are the shoes...there in the picture!)

• "Saving Face in China (a story of my ayi, an orange-zesty dessert, and a trash can on Anfu Rd."

• "Title #1: My Driver Has Lost His Marbles; Title #2: A Breach in Driver Etiquette; Title #3: Yet Another Cultural Sideswipe?"

• "We're Adopting a Baby! Another Grand Adventure" (This was the first time I shared the news of our adoption.)

• "The Coffeecake Chronicles: Day 3: Vietnam, Friday, September 26, Before We Go to the Orphanage" (In the months leading up to our adoption...before we had decided on a name for her, we called Tully "Coffeecake." Thus, there's a whole series on the blog called "The Coffeecake Chronicles." I wrote this particular post on the morning before we went to the orphanage to be with our daughter for the first time. Pretty special day.)

• "Tulliver's Travels: In Wonder and Awe" (This is mushy, gushy, mumma-love post. 2008 was such a great year.)

• "Writing: On Process: Writing?" (After becoming a mom, when does the writing bug bite?)

• "Writing: On Process: BIG, BIG NEWS!" (Did I tell you what a great year 2008 was? I did. Oh, good.)

Big, Sad, Happy, Crazy News...We're Leaving China

Okay, folks, here's the scoop.

After spending 4 1/2 years in Shanghai, China, we are repatriating. We'll be moving back to the United States at the beginning of October.

Wow...did I just say that out loud? Cause you know, saying it out loud makes it real.

Let's listen again.

After spending 4 1/2 years in Shanghai, China, we are repatriating. We'll be moving back to the United States at the beginning of October.

Holy cannoli.

I said it out loud. It must be true.

How do I feel?

Damn good question with no easy answers. To help clarify the three main emotions I've been experiencing since making this life-changing, boom-da-da-boom-da-da-boom-da-da-boom decision, I drew a few pictures. Let's see if this helps us sort it out:

I'm happy. Very happy. I can't wait to have family and U.S. pals within hugging distance. Get ready...I'll be hugging BIG!

I'm so so sad. I'm gonna miss many things like Mr. Chen (our driver), the Chicken Man, my writing pals, my writing students, lots of very special friends, Out Loud! (the reading series I run), kick-ass jiaozi (dumplings), an incredibly diverse multi-cultural life, easy access to tropical paradises (i.e., Borneo), having an ayi to clean up every single mess my two-year-old makes, my daughter's bilingual school, the monks at the Longhua Temple, the view of the Pearl Tower from my 23rd floor apt, and...and...and...

Oh me gosh. Y'all know that moving is crazy even if you're only moving a few blocks down the street, but moving to the other side of the world is even crazier. It's a completely insane journey that (as you can see) is already making me just a wee bit loony. And guess what? I'm only going to get loonier. 

Sooooo...anyway...I imagine I'll be doing a lot of writing in the next 6 or so weeks about China and change and all the crazy stuff that happens during this process. Pop in often to witness the happy-sad-loony tales (a.k.a. the yippee-boohoo-OMG tales) of my next around-the-world move.

Slow Simmer or Fast Boil: My Take On "20 Under 40"

Whaaaaaaat? You haven’t heard?

A few weeks ago, The New Yorker published its “20 Under 40” list of American writers to watch. You know, the 20 wrinkle-free writers (out of the plethora of American writers) that “capture the inventiveness and the vitality of contemporary American fiction.”

Hhhmm.

This list, as expected, has sent many folks in the writing/publishing world into a mad tizzy. 

Why?

Politically Correct Answer: The politics surrounding which writers were included, why they were included, which writers weren’t included, who is or is not an “American” writer, who did the choosing, etc. are sketchy. (Aren’t all politics?)

Non-Politically Correct Answer: The New Yorker is a snobby, elitist, stroke-your-own publication that prefers one type of risk-free fiction.

Out of curiosity I picked up a copy of the “20 Under 40” issue of The New Yorker and read stories by eight of the chosen writers. (Stories by the remaining writers will be published in upcoming issues, I believe.) Some—like Jonathan Safran Foer whose novel Exremely Loud, Incredibly Close I absolutely love—I was already familiar with. Others I’d never heard of before.

Some I liked.

Some bored me.

Others simply weren't my kind of story.

Since I’ve been jetlagged and unable to accomplish much other than reading (and staring mindlessly into space at all hours of the night), I’ve also been monitoring the hubbub surrounding the publication of this list.

And yowza…it is quite the hubbub. (Nothin’ like a good hubbub, I always say.)

Who's talking about it?

"Who's not?" might be an easier question to answer, but here are some of my favorite responses:

• Steve Almond's friendly-writer-hand-reaching-out-to-support-other-(non-New-Yorker-list)-writers in The Rumpus

• Dzanc Books’ indie-geared alternative “20 Under 40” list

• Gina Frangello’s thoughtful exploration at The Nervous Breakdown

• The Millions impromptu list (which includes, thank you, Kiran Desai)

• Lee Siegel’s lament in The New York Observer over the transition of “writer” from “vocation” to “profession”

• And perhaps the most hope-giving, well-rounded response of all was Robert McCrum’s reminder in The Observer that Walt Whitman (yes, THE Walt Whitman) self-published his first collection of poetry when he was 36 and that his “creative leap forward” didn’t come to fruition until even later than that.

[As always, I believe much truth comes out in the comments sections. Be sure to read the comments sections at each of the above posts to get a feel for how strongly readers/writers feel about this whole thing.]

What do I make of it all?

• It’s human nature to organize things. To compartmentalize. To categorize. We do it in closets, on bookshelves, on iTunes, with friends, with family, with our interior lives. And we all do it differently.

• The New Yorker is an elitist publication with its rather perfect snout in the air. Even so, I enjoy it. (That said, I often skip the fiction & only read the nonfiction.)

• I’ll bet that folks at The New Yorker knew that by publishing this particular list they were stirring a bubbling brew, and I imagine that right now they’re all sitting in an air-conditioned room with great art on the wall, laughing and drinking chai, happy that they’ve once again gotten the larger reading/writing world worked into a frenzy & talking about all the fabulous writers who weren’t included on the list.

• And finally (and most importantly, I think), this hubbub has got me thinking about gestation—about how long it takes any given writer to discover and harness her voice, understand story, live a life, practice writing, know humans a bit, tell the truth, get her ducks in a row, etc.

For some writers, it’s a fast boil.

For others, it’s sloooooooow simmer.

But in the end, it doesn’t really matter, does it?

The New Yorker can create its preferred-youngsters list, Steve Almond can make us all laugh and cry about it (thank god), Dzanc can create a kick-ass alternative list, The Nervous Breakdown can explore the intricacies and implications of all lists, the rest of us can Twitter about it, Facebook about it, and maybe even have a quick bathroom-stall sob about the fact that we’re not included on THE list—or, um, any list, for that matter—BECAUSE no matter what, we writers are going to shut ourselves in our offices/coffee shops/cars/tingzijians, dive into writerhead, and write.

It’s what we do.

What we’re driven to do.

In other words, who gives a crap? We're all going to write anyway.

So, writers, two questions for you:

1. Who are your favorite writers (American or not)? Living. Writing & publishing now. Any age at all.
2. Are you a fast boil or a slow simmer?

___

Photos Courtesy of:

Storm: prozac1 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Elephants: Tim Seed / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Books: healingdream / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Writing, "Expating," A Question For Me, A Question For You

WRITING

Every day I wake up with two thoughts:

• Tully (my 2-year-old)--love, love, love

• my novel--this story that has consumed me for 3+ years now...the one that has REALLY consumed me (gulp, gulp, gulp) in the past 8 months...the one that I cannot stop working on, thinking about, writing, tweaking, dreaming about, etc. I walk down the street in Shanghai watching the recycling guy, snapping shots of the chicken man, trying my damnedest not to get plowed down by one of the gazillion totally insane drivers on the road...but the whole time I'm thinking, "Now...what is M going to do when S does this? How long will she stay in that tree? (Yes, I have a character who spends a good bit of time in a tree...but for a good reason...love.)

EXPATING

A new friend recently asked me, "Do you love China?

Wow...I thought...what a question. A complicated, layered question that deserves some real thought. (Perhaps it should fall in the "QUESTIONS THAT CAME UP FOR ME THIS WEEK" category.)

This is a question that might be better directed at travelers...folks who spend three weeks touring all of China's hotspots (Beijing, Xian, Chengdu, Hainan, Shanghai, etc.)...not necessarily folks that LIVE IN China.

But then again, why not ask us/me this question?

So...

I'll get back to you on it.

QUESTIONS THAT CAME UP FOR ME THIS WEEK:

• What do you have faith in? (See this weird, cool, driven guy's current adventure...you'll see why I'm asking myself this.)

And you? Yes, you. What do you have faith in?

Happiness Is...

• When the pull tab on the milk container opens flawlessly. (Don't need a knife to finish the job and am not covered with milk.)

• Delicious organic blueberries on my cereal. (Thanks Fields in Shanghai.) Yum!

• When the Indiana University Alumni Magazine highlights my novel Thirsty. Whoop! Whoop! (Go Hoosiers!)

• The "Author Mama Proudest Moments Celebration" over at Christina Katz's website!!!

• Last Sunday's hugely successful Out Loud! reading at the Glamour Bar in Shanghai. (Here's a pic of me with the featured readers Steve Thomas and Barb Shaya. Of all the writing-related things I do, uniting good writers with a live and lively audience is one of the ones I love best.)

Those are my 5 happy things of today. What are yours?