J.A. Jablonski

Dreading Time in Fiction

by J.A. Jablonski | Jan 17, 2024 | Writing

Left: swirling red sky with sun or moon masked by clouds. Right: Thoughtful woman with hand face ponders

“I find myself skimming where before I slowed and marinated in it all.”

Most of my creative mutuals know how deeply I regard American author, Ursula K. Le Guin. I’ve read much of her work, though I prefer her later fiction, poetry, and non-fiction essays. She is one of our modern masters in the ways of imagining, creating, and storytelling. Her writing is muscular and rich. Her storytelling is focused, her world building expansive. There is deep intent to what she does, and a deep commitment to the craft of it. [1]

Craft and narrative intent and impact are forefront for me as I write these days. The necessary matter of time plays into both concerns. Time in terms of the writing of stories but time, too, in terms of the capability and interest of the people at the receiving end of a story-making artist’s creations.

Social Media’s Impact

Black and white photo of VHS videos on store shelves In a recent Bluesky thread, Ann Leckie, author of the Hugo award-winning Ancillary Justice, commented on the shift in “straightforward narration/exposition” noting that “young readers aren’t used to it.” [2, 3] It’s the impact of social media there to my mind and the generational shift in the content and approach found now in high school and college literary education. Younger educators and their younger readers haven’t learned how to read literature where a story is told via longer narration and description. I saw this already some years back when, as an assistant bookstore manager and VHS was the format for the day, I was regularly asked by students “where the videos for all the books were.” It goes beyond the Which is better, book or movie? trope. The movie is the book for many.

Add to this the more recent “movies should only be 90 minutes long” vibe on social media. That inability for the viewing or reading mind to purely be with something. Instead there is a need for action and for someone or something to tell me how to feel, how to think, how I should be impacted by the experience. [4]

SHIFTS IN AUTHORIAL INTENT

Cover of Ancillary Justice shows small spaceships hovering over and beside a large space tanker After reading Leckie’s thread, I picked up Ancillary Justice. I’ll be reading her entire Imperial Radch trilogy this winter as I turn to my SF project, looking to study her approach to world building (as well as reviewing Le Guin, Becky Chambers, H.G. Parry, Ada Palmer, and N.K. Jemisin for the same reason). Leckie’s narration, blended with her precise style of exposition, is more heavily detailed and drawn out than I remember from my first reading some eight years ago. Then, almost immediately absorbed by the story, Leckie’s method was less visible to me. This time, though, it is visible, and I find myself resisting. They’re intriguing, the details, but also a bit much; not too rich, simply much. I find myself skimming where before I slowed and marinated in it all. And I fret for this, that I have become somehow altered by social media as well.

Of course I turn my eyes to my own writing and question the how of my doings there. When, or more simply am I taking too long to tell the tale? And should that be my concern? Mindful of Leckie’s observations, how much do I owe a reader by way of time?

OLD TIMEY EDGE CUTTING

I recall a recent conversation with a one-time professorial colleague. He and I were on the forefront of our then department’s creation of online education programs. The software was still in the making then—no Zoom, no Teams, no digital classroom management systems. As part of that nascent educational advance I worked with colleagues from the Carnegie Mellon software development team, with the videographers, and with our own faculty to develop best practices. My lectures and group discussions were recorded live in my classrooms; foundational content presentations in my office. A single class time typically ran 1.5 to 2 hours. That was the norm, for us the instructors and for our students. Were I teaching now, I cannot imagine creating a video clip longer than 5 minutes, 10 at most. And I cannot but wonder how I could now convey the complexity and intellectual depth of my 2 subject areas (information organization and literary analysis and criticism) in so brief a time frame.

There is that need for speed in the reader or viewer now and, unfortunately to my mind, the need to see the information or content but not to be faced with (or forced to?) the deeper engagement that pushes the development of specific applied intellectual skills or critical thinking abilities.

Left: human hand with drippings of paint-colored paints. Center: people dancing on a stage illuminated in shades of blue. Right: Wide paint brushes with several different colors of paint on them

I find myself in envy of visual artists; the look-at-arts of painting, drawing, print making, textile design, photography, dance, etc. Their work hits, has an immediate or near-immediate impact. The work of a word-artist is no less risky but the impact can be—how to say this?—refused or denied because it requires a different kind of engagement; one demanding time.

ENDPOINT NEW POINT

I have no summary here, no grand solution to offer. It embarrasses me to admit I am relieved I am no longer an active academic; I no longer know how I would teach my areas of expertise given the technology of the current higher education environment.

As a writer, though, I do have and will take power. I will look to my mentor, Le Guin. I will heed her counsel to take the time, to go deep, to shape and construct sentence and story. As a lifelong writing instructor and author of professional, academic, and technical publications, I know what does and does not work in the practical sense. As a person now writing in the realms of imagination, I must needs summon the courage to disregard the current existential dread about narrative style and its conception in the marketplace. I am author not vendor and my readers are that, readers, not consumers. I respect what I am and am doing, and I respect them too.

_____________________________

AUTHOR BIO

J.A. Jablonski has been a university professor and researcher, academic and special librarian, information technology consultant, writing instructor, technical writer, book and database indexer as well as a graphic designer, award-winning display window and exhibits designer, fictional letter writer, live-action role playing actor and theater designer, sewist, and utterly amateur gardener, occasional poet. Jude’s current incarnation is fiction writer; they write in three different genres (mystery, speculative SF, and magical realism) while working to keep one foot in the academic scene by researching material culture in utopian fiction.

Jude’s current projects include a character-driven, ensemble cast academic mystery series set on a small college campus located in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin; an SF novel about competing factions of socio-anthropologists; a collection of stories, poems, and illustrations on the nature of the Muse; and a magical realism tale about a synesthesic young person who meets a one-eyed peer with unusual abilities.

If you have a question or comment for me, drop me a line via my Contact page. You can see a wider view of my creative world on my Instagram page.

How to cite this post

Jablonski, J.A. (2024, Jan 16). Dreading Time in Fiction Writing. Blog post. J.A. Jablonski (website).
https://jajablonski.com/2024/01/17/dreading-time/

IMAGE CREDITS

Header image

- “A picture of a sunset with clouds in the sky.” Photo by Serhii Tyaglovsky via Unsplash
- “Woman with head resting on hand.” Photo by Niklas Hamann via Unsplash

“Video Store | Astoria, Oregon.” Photo by Sean Benesh via Unsplash.

Cover of Ann Leckie’s book, Ancillary Justice. From Leckie’s website page.

Triptych image

- Hand with paint spread onto fingers. Photo by Alexander Grey via Unsplash.
- People dancing on stage under shades of blue light. Photo by note thanun via Unsplash.
- Paintbrushes with many colored paints, drying. Phto by RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist via Unsplash.

NOTES

[1] The Marginalian is a website created and curated by Maria Popova, a modern person of letters. Popova holds Le Guin in considerable regard and often writes about her. This link connects to all the entries on Popova’s site about Le Guin.

Also of interest may be John Plotz’s lengthy and wide ranging 2015 conversation with Le Guin. Citation: Plotz, John. (15 June, 2015). “The Story’s Where I Go: An Interview with Ursula K. Le Guin.” Public Books (website). Le Guin’s website is here.

[2] Ancillary Justice is Book 1 of Leckie’s Imperial Radch trilogy. Books 2 and 3 are titled Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy. Leckie’s website is here.

[3] Bluesky is not yet (but soon will be) a public platform. If you are on it, Leckie’s comments can be found in this thread begun by author C.L. Polk. Meanwhile, here is the text of the 3 posts I referenced.
(Note: IMO = ‘in my opinion’)

“I feel like, when you do something a reader might trip over, it helps to tell them up front that this is going to happen. So, right up front, “Here is some EXPOSITION I am going to do this from time to time” and then it becomes a part of the pattern the reader expects. IMO.”

“Some of the problem (also my IMO) is that straightforward narration/exposition has been out of style for long enough that younger readers aren’t used to it. Also long enough that it’s maybe not in our ears enough that we can just naturally do it so it works.”

“My take is usually…to try to let readers know from the start what I’m going to be doing (more or less, obviously) and then they’ll follow me or not. Maybe start a new trend!”

[4] Granted, this complaint is usually made in response to the superhero franchises, blockbuster shoot-em-ups or space operas, and their oft-intended male adolescent audience. The issue, I think, is that these types of movies and their redundant remakes dominate the market. There are movies for people who like to time-soak in character, story, and place, but those films are less frequently made.

ARTIST | Kenneth Patrick Schweiger

by J.A. Jablonski | Feb 21, 2023 | Interview

Left: paintbrushes in tin can; center: artist schweiger at work on painting; right: self portrait of Schweiger

“We understand in this painting what is round, flat, or soft.

We get a tactile sense of the textures, how they feel, by studying the painting.“

Earlier this Fall while touring the Minneapolis Institute of Art I came upon Kenneth Schweiger painting a copy of Henri Lehmann’s Portrait of Clémentine (Mrs. Alphonse) Karr, 1845. I’ve seen people doing this in other art museums but in this case was struck by the quality of Schweiger’s work and his ease in talking about it. I wanted to hear more about his creative way of thinking and the practical logistics of what he does so I asked him if we might continue our conversation in an interview here.

BIO

Kenneth Patrick Schweiger is a Fine Artist in St. Paul, MN (USA). He also serves as an Instructor at The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Art in nearby Minneapolis. Schweiger attended DePaul University in Chicago, IL. After graduation, he lived in Tokyo, pursuing his interests in Japanese art and culture.

JAPAN

JAJ: I am intrigued by your fascination with the art of Japan. What first drew you to Japan after your studies at DePaul?

KS: I visited Nagasaki the summer between my 2nd and 3rd year in high school. It was my first international travel experience and the influence was profound. I took a Japanese Language class at DePaul initially as a graduation requirement. After the first semester, I was excited and motivated to continue pursuing art and Japanese.

Growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese culture permeated our sources of electronic entertainment in the United States. Nintendo and Super Maria, Sega and Sonic the Hedgehog, Voltron. These cultural exports were tremendously inspiring. It was not until my teens and early 20s that I was able to connect them with the country of Japan.

Cover of Mangajin: Basic Japanese through Comics I also grew up reading and enjoying Marvel and DC comics—particularly X-Men and Batman—as Saturday morning and after school cartoons showcased these characters. When deciding my career goals, I had an inkling that it was to write stories via comics. Comics, and now graphic novels show a tremendous visual experience. Pictorial compositions explain the words; the words explain the pictures. It was a glorious calligraphy of shape and line.

At DePaul, while I floundered to declare a major, the university newspaper accepted an illustration in my freshman year. I drew comics for four years there under the mentorship of an illustrator named Brian Troyan and an editor named Will Moss. Will Moss is now an editor at Marvel Comics. While drawing comics and studying Japanese, a textbook entitled Mangajin’s Basic Japanese through Comics delivered a decisive, life course altering impact. [1] I read this glorious text over and over during my college summers, when not driving a forklift at my summer work gig. In this Rosetta Stone-like manual, Japanese and English were placed side by side with comics. Words I understood and attractive pictures set alongside words I was struggling to understand. It was a door-opening portal whose rewards plunged me into a new world of cultural norms, and expectations. The art forms, the pictorial language had the savor of childhood nostalgia and yet was more.

JAJ: In a 2022 interview you said of the art you saw in Japan that “There was a mysterious quality about that work that I wanted to participate in and be part of.” [2] Can you speak more about that quality and what and how “being a part of it” means?

KS: I am fascinated by the woodblock print designs of the Edo period. The Great Wave over Kanagawa, from Hokusai’s 36 views of Mt. Fuji is a stellar example. [3] The compositions are magnificent. The shapes, colors, and tonal masses are balanced. The line work is exquisite. I find them to be poetic representations of life at that time.

My residence in Japan was permitted by a work visa acquired through an English teaching corporation. I worked at elementary and junior high schools in the Bunkyo ward as an Assistant Learning Teacher supporting English teachers and providing native examples. I was riding the subway in Tokyo in 2007 and noticed an ad campaign by the metropolitan government entitled Edo Shigusa or Old Tokyo’s Manners. [4]

It depicted passengers on a streetcar sliding over to make room for another to sit down. There were multiple versions, people turning their umbrellas while passing on a crowded sidewalk, etc. The style looked like a Hokusai print. Yet the characters mingled period dress with cell phones, suits, and ties—it was a seamless blend of past and present. I had to find the artist. His name is Yamaguchi Akira, and he is a contemporary fine artist working in Tokyo, and represented by Mizuma Art Gallery near Shinjuku. [5] Seeking out his art shows in galleries put me in pursuit of this mysterious quality. I think it may be a canon of pictorial forms in Japan.

JAJ: You recently co-lead a Small Group Journey on the “Textile and Traditional Arts of Japan” that saw you visiting several cities. The itinerary was fairly elaborate! [6] What was your role? Did you help plan the tour?

KS: My role was in assisting the founder of Tanpopo Journeys, Koshiki Yonemura, with guiding guests on the workshop visits, translating language and cultural questions, and navigating the train system.

Koshiki had been my boss at a Japanese noodle restaurant in Lowertown Saint Paul called Tanpopo Noodle Shop. She, her husband Ben, her mother, and brother Ira, as well as an incredible, tightly knit team of kitchen and serving staff operated Tanpopo at a standard of excellence that drew me back multiple times to eat delicious soba and udon noodles.

After about the 3rd visit, I had to turn in an application and worked as a server there. I served evenings from Thurs ~ Saturday, which connected me to the Lowertown Arts Community. We would finish our shift at 9 or 10pm, slurp an amazing bowl of udon, and walk over to Saturday night jazz at the Black Dog Cafe. Concert musicians played together on that stage from around the metro area, nation, and internationally, for tips! One beer, live music, and a community of working artists formed a very constructive artistic environment.

In a simple way, I was maintaining a connection to Japan. But I felt that if I was to grow beyond teaching English, and wanted to produce higher quality artwork, I needed help. At around 2011/12, I began taking a night class in northeast Minneapolis in a studio called the Atelier. [7] The content of the class was pure drawing. We arrived, set up an object to draw, and worked on one drawing for 14 weeks. I left with blurry eyes, frustration, and a growing ability to draw well. It fed my soul, and was to become a pathway to full time study of classical methods of drawing and painting.

THE ATELIER

JAJ: You mention in your Artist Statement that your work draws on the atelier tradition. What is it about the atelier approach that calls to you as an artist? And further, how do you translate that tradition to your students?

The Atelier tradition in America goes back to the Boston School, a group of American painters in the late 19th century that traveled to Paris to study oil painting. Painters like William Paxton, and Thomas Eakins made the transatlantic journey to study in the ateliers (French for workshop) of renowned French artists like Jean-Léon Gérôme, Léon Bonnat, Alexandre Cabanel, and William Bougeureau (see the “Carpet Merchants” at the Minneapolis Institute of Art). [8]

This teacher to student transmission of knowledge includes intense study of classical sculpture via cast drawing and cast painting. Along with learning to see, daily drawing and painting from a live model, as well as still life painting develops a student’s ability to see visual information and translate it accurately onto paper or canvas.

JAJ: This may seem like an odd question, more likely an ignorant one! When I read up about the atelier tradition certain aspects of it struck me as almost rigid. It’s not copying per se, but there it seems there is a creatively finite quality to realism. Does it seem that way to you?

KS: This is an excellent question that is hotly debated. I chose the atelier tradition because it has equipped me with the tools to develop my artistic vision and a method to express it. When I lived in Tokyo, and intuitively tried to sketch either from life on the street or from examples in books, I could not replicate the lines and shapes. Not only that, I could not see or figure out the gap between the two. It was humbling! I needed the guidance of a skilled teacher to first open my eyes. And it wasn’t solely a function of my eyeballs, but also a development of the mind, heart, and hand to a more subtle, sophisticated translation of what we think we see. When that understanding unfolds onto paper or canvas, this can be described as the language of art.

The thread of human figurative art that weaves through Ancient Egypt, Greece, Roman art, the Italian Renaissance, and the French Salon are irresistible. The best of it is so profoundly beautiful, and the paragons of this tradition are steeped in learning from our predecessors. The more I make copies of past great work; the more I appreciate its wonder. I would make a musical analogy, great piano and violin players are encouraged to practice scales and learn Mozart before attempting to compose a symphony. I feel a similar way about drawing from Michaelangelo or Cabanel.

THE PORTRAIT OF CLEMENTINE

JAJ: Henri Lehmann’s Portrait of Clementine is a dramatic painting and stands out among the other works in the MIA gallery. Were you looking for something in particular when you saw her? Or was there something about her specifically that made you want to paint her? [9]

KS: The Portrait of Clementine is a world class masterpiece of oil painting. It is strikingly naturalistic; as if a woman put on a dress, styled her hair, and sat down on the other side of the window. It is also composed expertly—the perspective, light source, and arrangement of light and dark shapes are well balanced. The oval frame echoes the shapes within the portrait.

Lastly, the technical layering of colors is done with a deep and thorough understanding of oil paint. There are subtle green color notes within the forehead that could not have been painted directly on the surface layers. They emerge from within gently giving dimension to the forms of the brow, eye socket. There are bright orange/red accents within the shadows at the nostril, and upper lip. This leads me to believe that some of the underpainted layers are being allowed to show through a semi opaque veil.

JAJ: How long have you been working on this painting? Do you have to be in the museum in front of her or can you work on it in your personal studio?

KS: I began painting on Clementine in August of 2021. I did a grisaille or grey scale painting to prepare the canvas in my studio. [10] From there, all color work was done in front of the painting at the museum.

JAJ: At one point when we were talking in the museum, you pointed to Clementine’s forearm, just below her bracelet. You spoke of the softness of the color along the line of light and Lehmann’s careful brushstrokes. You wanted to capture that. As a writer I would compare that to reading a certain author and noticing a specific quality in their writing that I might want to imitate or echo. Is this what you meant by “capturing?” Is it a matter just of technique or something else, something more? What or how do you think when you “capture?”

KS: Yes absolutely! Ted Seth Jacobs, an American painter, once said he does not teach technique when drawing. He asks students to carefully express what they understand about a person’s face or body in a drawing, and technique is born from that search.

I wanted to catch a glimpse of Lehmann’s form sense. He expressed an idea about the sensual quality of her arm, skin, hair, and dress, and said it in paint. We understand in this painting what is round, flat, or soft. We get a tactile sense of the textures, how they feel, by studying the painting. We also feel the presence of a specific person in this picture.

Kenneth Schweiger can be found online here:

- Instagram
- Website
- Artist Statement
- YouTube Interview: THE ARTIST STOOL | KENNETH SCHWEIGER | PAINTER (January 31, 2022)
- Studio & Contact Info

If you have a question or comment for me, drop me a line via my Contact page.

ABOUT ten toes interviews

Ten Toes Inverviews is an intermittent column in which I talk with creatives of all sorts. The interviews are collaborative. Read more about them here. (I am looking for people to interview. Please drop me a line via my Contact page with your ideas.)

How to cite this post

Jablonski, J.A. (2023; Feb 21). Ten Toe Interview: Kenneth Patrick Schweiger. Blog post. J.A. Jablonski (website). https://jajablonski.com/2023/02/21/interview-kenneth-patrick-schweiger

IMAGE CREDITS

Portrait of Kenneth Schweiger. Image provided by Mr. Schweiger.

Mangajin’s Basic Japanese through Comics. Book cover. From Japanese Quizzes website.

“Edo Shigusa or Old Tokyo’s Manners.” From the Neko Jitablog. (2015-02-11).

Tanpopo Journeys Logo. From their Facebook page.

SOURCES | NOTES

[1] Mangajin’s basic Japanese through Comics : A Compilation of the First 24 Basic Japanese Columns from Mangajin Magazine. (1998). Weatherhill. ISBNS: 9780834804524 & 0834804522. WorldCat record.

[2] Episode 001 of “The Artist Stool” interview (YouTube, 2022).

[3] 36 views of Mt. Fuji. (1760–1849). This Wikipedia article displays the images.

[4] Edo Shigusa or Old Tokyo’s Manners. A 2015 article in the Japan Times cites a page from the “government-approved morals education textbook “Watashitachi no Doutoku” (“Our Morals”), for fifth- and sixth-graders, [that] describes behaviors said to be from the Edo Period.”

A search for that textbook brought up this interesting article: Unsriana, Linda & Ningrum, Rosita. (2018). “The Character Formation of Children in Japan: A Study of Japanese Children Textbook on Moral Education (Doutoku).” Lingua Cultura. 12. 363. 10.21512/lc.v12i4.4270. It can be read in full at this link.

[5] Yamaguchi Akira. Artist. His information page at the Mizuma Art Gallery.

[6] The latest itinerary for this tour can be found at this link.

[7] The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts. 1621 East Hennepin Avenue, Suite 280
Minneapolis, MN 55414. Website.

[8] More on the artists Schweiger mentions can be found here. The detail and quality of the information in these Wikipedia articles varies. Some, but not all, include links to collections that hold the artist’s work(s), exhibition catalogs, and external links to research articles and/or websites.

[9] A brief article on Henri Lehmann can be found on Wikipedia. More of his works can be seen at the ArtNet website here.

[10] As Schweiger notes, a grisaille is monochromatic painting in shades of gray. This article by Scott E. Bartner shows the step-by-step progression from a grisaille to a complete work. (“Working Up from a Grisaille.” (n.d.) Artists Network website.)

Ten Toes Interviews | An Upcoming Conversational Series

by J.A. Jablonski | Feb 17, 2023 | Interview

Robert Lous Stevenson lectures grandson & RLS portrait

“It’s a pleasant thing to be young and have ten toes, and you may lay to that.”

Robert Louis Stevenson. Treasure Island (1883)

Writers, artists, songwriters . . . all are often asked where do you get your ideas? I’ve talked about my methods in a post here. What truly fascinates me is that moment when the creative has the idea . . . what happens then? How do they think about it? Where do they go with it? In short, how does the creative person’s mind work when it is working—at the point of the idea and then in the follow through?

The notion of a child sitting and counting their toes—perhaps just discovering that they have ten toes—struck me as an amusing approach to take in talking with creative people: playful, curious, wandering wonderment.

The interviews are collaborative. My process is to ask what sorts of things the person might want to talk about, then create questions for them based on that. I send them the questions, they write back, and I perhaps send more questions, either for clarification or because something they said struck me. Once we agree the conversation is satisfactory on both sides, I’ll post it here.

My first interview will be with Kenneth Schweiger, a fine artist in St. Paul, MN (USA) and an instructor at The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Art in nearby Minneapolis. We are just finalizing our conversation.

Some folks I have lined up for Ten Toes Interviews in the coming months include:

- Marcelle Heath
  Author of Is That All There Is? (2022) and the creator/curator of Apparel for Authors on Instagram, a visual/text interview series on writers, fashion, and the public sphere.
- Bill Whitley
  Consulting Typographer, Craftsman, Writer
- Lou Host-Jablonski
  Architect (resource-efficient, ‘sustainable’ design and planning), Artist, Children’s museum exhibit designer, Writer, Sewist, Woodcraftsman, Musician (fiddle and bagpipes).
- Ali Bacon
  Writer of contemporary and historical fiction. Winner of ASLS Best Scottish Book of 2018 for her novel In The Blink of an Eye.
- Day Host-Jablonski
  Emergence Medic, Educator, Writer, Herbalist, Perfumier, Live-action role play actor.

I am looking for more people to interview. Please drop me a line via my Contact page with your ideas.

HOW TO CITE THIS POST

Jablonski, J.A. (2023, Feb 17). Ten Toes Interview | An Upcoming Conversational Series. Blog post. J.A. Jablonski (website). https://jajablonski.com/2023/02/17/ten-toes-interviews/

IMAGE CREDITS

“A Historical Lecture.” A sketch by Isobel Strong of her stepfather Robert Louis Stevenson entertaining her son Austin with a story. From the RLS Website.

Portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson (slightly modified). Photo taken by Charles L. Ritzmann. c. 1865. From the Berg Collection, New York Public Library (image id no. 484059). As noted on The Victorian Web.

Deanna Raybourn | Killers of a Certain Age

by J.A. Jablonski | Dec 26, 2022 | Book Review, Book Thoughts, Mystery

L: Author portrait of Deanna Raybourn; C: Cover of Killers of a Certain Age; R: Bourbon Street, New Orleans

“Killers of a Certain Age is sharp and breezy, dark humored and sometimes desperately funny.

It gives women their voice, their rage, and their utter competence.“

Oh my, I do hope Deanna Raybourn had as much fun writing Killers of a Certain Age (2022) as I did reading it. Focused and witty, Raybourn is utterly in command from the sly, initial author’s note to the final moments and summary remark. Killers is an out-of-the-park home run of a read. [1]

THE STORY

As always, I am interested in the how and how well of a tale, not a specific running through of events. But an overview of the story is needed. This from Raybourn’s website:

“Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that’s their secret weapon.

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.

When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they’ve been marked for death.

Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They’re about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman—and a killer—of a certain age.”

“It’s kill or be killed, but they’ve been at this a long time….” (from the cover)

I find thrillers stressful reading and usually avoid them. What drew me to Raybourn’s Killers was representation, pure and simple. (And that cover blurb that promised a witty telling!) I am of that same certain age and rarely do I find crime fiction about older women that isn’t of the cozy variety. Now I enjoy me a go-round with Ms. Marple as well as the next, but give her a fierce eye, strong friends of her own kind, and a reason for a little sex and serious revenge, well now, take my money!

Killers of a Certain Age is sharp and breezy, dark humored and sometimes desperately funny. It gives women their voice, their rage, and their utter competence.

CHARACTER, PLOT, & VOICE

I look for characters with heft. The main four women in Killers have solidity; initially a bit too 007 but their eventually revealed backstories flesh them out credibly. Secondary and even minor characters are sketched with sufficient verity. Raybourn tells you how people look with an easy swiftness. There seems to be a future tense cinematic awareness on her part but one can envision one’s own Billie, or Akiko, or Kevin by the way they move, their mannerisms, and the impact of their respective pasts.

The very real notion of what age does to a body, the female body in particular, is not shied away from. I can imagine that there are some who will find these “impossible old bitches” as Billie calls themselves at varous points implausible in terms of their ability to recover quickly enough from various injuries or overextension to save the day, themselves, or each other. That’s the grace of fiction and, in this case, Raybourn’s stylish speed and narrative flash. (Perhaps one can be inspired to higher levels of self care even if covert assassin is not our job title.)

The plot is patterned like a detailed tapestry, every move stitched, every knot tied just so. There is more than one moment that seems incredible, but the flow of the action sweeps you along with a complicit wink. Killers begs to be on the big screen (though I confess I dread that, fearing a glam casting and a male-gazing direction that would ruin all).

And the narrative voice burns with its focus. It is fierce though not always loud—in places it is almost gentle—but the telling is so en pointe, so confident, so almost joyous in its intent that as a reader you feel utterly held and challenged to keep up with the rush of considerable action.

A couple novels of crime & mystery, though utterly different in tone and style, have struck me with a comparable trifecta of well-balanced character, plot, and voice: Dorothy L. Sayers’ Gaudy Night (1935) and Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael’s Penance (1994). [2, 3] And a few have come near: Laurie King’s Touchstone (2008), Marco Carocari’s Blackout (2021), and Jill Paton Walsh’s A Presumption of Death (2002). [4, 5, 6] And, if I may dare to speak of a book I’ve only just begun, Fiona Erskine’s Phosphate Rocks (2021), looks to be shooting for a spot on my list of best crime books. [7]

Writing Hard, Writing Soft

What drives Killers is its vivid, urgent storytelling. I was with these women the entire way, gripped by the nape as it were, to see what they did, what they decided, and to be frank, how they killed and thought about killing, individually and collectively. This last, the very last—how the women thought about their “job”—while only intermittently mentioned was a bit tricky. Killers is meant to be an entertaining read not a discussion of ethics. In the end I think we want to believe we’d be as honorable.

The Sphinxes they’ve been named. Billie, the first person narrator of the present time chapters, is intellectual and ruthless, a natural leader. The remaining trio, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie, are less defined but they have their moments in terms of personality and the lethal precision of their respective skill sets. There are men, well-delineated and credible, one perhaps a tad idealized, but for the most part Raybourn keeps the focus on the women.

The Sphinxes are superb, meticulous planners but when things go awry—and we know they will—they are immediately inventive and cool under fire. And they trust and respect each other, not simply for their skills but for who they are and how they think and feel.

But there are grace notes to the story as well, moments of tenderness: when Cassandra Halliday, the women’s Museum mentor in their youth, confronts Billie and uses a painting to make her point; when one of the women recalls an old lover with sensual, tender intensity; when the notion of female solidarity is captured by the making sure hotel maids don’t have to clean up after their ‘work’ and the giving of a ginger drop by one of the old timers to a younger.

Writer as Exemplar

With any of the titles cited above I could imagine something different at certain points, usually having to do with a plot point or a certain aspect of a character. My tweaking in Killers would be only a matter of authorial style but it was a useful exercise to imagine how I might have approached a certain scene differently, useful to imagine why Raybourn made the choices she did.

I learned quite a bit from her re: terse visual description via point of view, practical sentence-to-sentence sequencing, and that notion of utterly trusting one’s reader to be a companion in the process. And while my own idiosyncrasy is to read simultaneously as reader and as writer, never did I feel Raybourn’s heavy hand as author. I like to think I heard her laughter though.

There is real work behind Killers’ blithe ferocity and it is truly impressive. They say the best actors are those who make it look easy, who don’t seem to be acting at all. If Killers of a Certain Age does make it to the cinema, Raybourn has given the cast gold to work with.

Author Bio

“New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Deanna Raybourn is a 6th-generation Texan with a degree in English and history from UTSA. Her novels have been nominated for numerous awards including the Edgar, RT Reviewers’ Choice, the Agatha, two Dilys Winns, and the Last Laugh. She launched a Victorian mystery series featuring intrepid butterfly-hunter Veronica Speedwell in 2015. This Edgar-nominated series is ongoing. Her first contemporary thriller, Killers of a Certain Age, chronicles the adventures of four female assassins who must band together against the organization that would rather see them dead than let them retire.” (From the author’s Press Kit)

Raybourn on Mastodon, Instagram, and Twitter

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ABOUT BOOK THOUGHTS

Book Thoughts is an intermittent column within my blog. The essays are both book reviews and book responses. I like to converse with and around the books I read.

How to cite this post

Jablonski, J.A. (2022, Dec 26). Deanna Raybourn|Killers of a Certain Age. Blog post. J.A. Jablonski (website).
https://jajablonski.com/2022/12/26/deanna-raybourn-killers

IMAGE CREDITS

Header image

- Left: Author Portrait of Deanna Raybourn (From her Press Kit)
- Center: Cover of Killers of a Certain Age (From Raybourn’s Press Kit)
- Right: Bourbon Street, New Orleans. Photo by David Reynolds on Unsplash

SOURCES

Disclaimer: As a Bookshop Affiliate (US only) I will earn a commission if you click through on a book title I’ve linked to and make a purchase.

[1] Raybourn, Deanna. (2022). Killers of a Certain Age. Berkley Books. For a complete listing of Raybourn’s’ books see her website.

[2] Sayers, Dorothy L. (1935). Gaudy Night. This link is to the 2012 Harper Paperbacks edition.

[3] Peters, Ellis. (1996). Brother Cadfael’s Penance. Mysterious Press.

[4] King, Laurie R. (2008). Touchstone. Bantam.

[5] Carocari, Marco. (2021). Blackout. Level Best Books.

[6] Walsh, Jill Paton. (2002). A Presumption of Death. St. Martins.

[7] Erskine, Fiona. (2021). Phosphate Rocks. Sandstone Press.

Apparel for Authors: Marcelle Heath Interviews Me

by J.A. Jablonski | Nov 1, 2022 | Creativity, Interview

Reversible Art Rob & JAJ standing on lake beach masked, & Jablonski author portait inset

“I am very conscious of the role of dress in creating my characters and in how storytelling can manifest itself via what and how characters wear clothing and/or present themselves.”

Author Marcelle Heath is the author of the recent Is That All There Is? (2022), a collection of short stories. [1] Her writing is rich, evocative, and well-crafted, her eye for detail, personality, and the dynamics of human interaction finely tuned.

Marcelle and I share a fascination with how people self-identify and self-express with dress; with the whole notion of clothing as an extension of self but also a product of creativity. She is the creator/curator of Apparel for Authors on Instagram, a visual/text interview series on writers, fashion, and the public sphere. [2] Recently she interviewed me and graciously gave permission for me to reprint that interview.

Her original IG version can be seen here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

How is clothing a reflection of you and/or your work?

When I write I wear whatever is loose and comfortable as I often work for long stretches. What I imagine myself wearing is rather different, however. It might be a banyan (18th-century men’s house robe) over an open-neck cotton shirt, waistcoat and walking skirt, or hakama (Japanese pleated, skirt-like trousers) with a linen shirt. I have patterns and fabric for these and hope to make them up this winter. When I attend a social or more formal event, I usually wear a modernish frock coat with a button-down shirt and jeans or layers of skirts with a long tunic or artist’s coat.

Owl Post Lady in frock coat and cowboy hat, lue haired editor lady with large sunglasses and small gold fedora, and Lady Larkin character with long brown curly hair, a corcheted lace caplet,. The last sits in front of a bookcase and ponders a globe

Do you write about clothing?

I am very conscious of the role of dress in creating my characters and in how storytelling can manifest itself via what and how characters wear clothing and/or present themselves. In my academic mystery WIP, characters usually don’t talk about dress explicitly but they are aware of clothing as an expression/extension of who they are. I include accessories and hairstyle in the notion of dress. And I need to see my characters move in order to write them. Clothing—color, fabric, how it fits (or doesn’t), how it drapes and moves—is an aspect of that.

The notion of creative play deeply informs and enhances all of my writing. I typically make props or costumes to accompany my writing and other imagination projects. In another universe altogether I write Dante’s Wardrobe, an artist’s blog I started in 2010. It includes clothing-related posts, some of which have to do with theatrical events, character creation, or my fictional character correspondences. Two examples: The Red Death Comes to the Midwest and A Costumed Affair.

2 closeups of J.A. Jablonski, a white person with white chin-length hair & wire-rim eyeglasses.

What did you wear for your author photo?

(Left) I am wearing my current favorite, a dark blue cotton man’s shirt with narrow gold stripes that I found at a thrift shop. The necklace was made by my sister using beads I collected. The pendant is something I found on the sidewalk. (Right) I have on a sky-blue linen tunic and waxed canvas hat, the band for which is a thrifted, thin leather belt cut to fit. Same necklace with matching earrings. I often wear different eyeglasses. And I am wearing a wig in both (I have partial alopecia).

What accessories do you wear?

Rings, many at a time, funky brooches, and artsy earrings. I prefer jewelry of sterling silver or stainless steel though I do have a few antique gold pins and rings that were given to me or I found in antique shops. As with my clothing, I want my accessories to have stories attached to them. Diamonds don’t appeal. I like color and they have none. I favor garnets and gemstones like jade, onyx, and lapis.

I’ve also sewn some caps out of fabrics I’ve recycled from various projects. I wear them when I write to keep my head warm.

Left - Sewn fabric caps, Right - white-skinned hand wearing silver-colored rings on three fingers

Do you have a favorite art work/artist that depicts dress in their work?

The design lines of clothing from the Western Edwardian era, male and female, really appeal to me. There is an ease and elegance there. I like the rich colors and textures of medieval fabrics. Frida Kahlo is a favorite for her sheer exuberance. I keep a small collection of books on clothing and design. Favorites include Art to Wear by Julie Schafler Dale [3], UnFashion by Tibor Kalman [4], and Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty by Andrew Bolton. [5] And I like to follow artists and historians or persons of dress, fashion, costume design, and clothing creation on social media.

Such as these persons on Instagram:

Emma Capponi, John Armstrong, Julia Bennet, VELES, Kate Strasdin IG avatars

Left to Right: Emma Capponi | John Armstrong | Julia Bennet | VELES | Kate Strasdin

How does your identity intersect with the way you dress?

As long as I can remember I’ve regarded myself as simply am and have always thought/felt that. This sense of identity changes, sometimes from day to day, even morning to afternoon. I dress as it pleases me. I favor more masculine lines these days though I have some winter sewing projects lined up that are more feminine in appearance. Either way, I combine notions and tend not to see garb in purely binary terms; rather, it’s a matter of line, texture, and color.

Right now I am most comfortable wearing men’s dress shirts with jeans and a fitted waistcoat. Menswear fits my shoulders and I like the clean lines and durability of jeans. Waistcoats complete the look, are just so damn cool and sexy as hell. I like the artistic potential of the Japanese haori and have a stash on my project table of colorful cotton prints, denims, dark earth-toned men’s deadstock wool suiting, and slubbed silks along with Folkwear’s haori pattern.

What considerations do you make when purchasing clothing?

Close up of JAJ in straw hat & green canvas jacket with oak leaf appliques I rarely purchase clothing new. I like garb that has a story, preferably a long and involved story. Most of what I wear is thrifted, hand-me-overs from siblings, sewn by me, or something I made or acquired 20 or 30 years ago. There were no such things as Tall Shops when I grew up, Even now most store-sold clothing designed for women is unappealing: the garments are often poorly made and their design is generic and assumes gender roles for the wearer. Big and tall men’s stores often have better made products but the overt modern “guy-ness” of the designs is boring for me.

I grew up in a family of 12 where our average height (men and women) is around 6’4”. Out of financial necessity, but also artistic preference, we all thrifted. And everyone sewed, even the gents. One of my brothers once sewed himself a camping tent when he couldn’t find one to accommodate his 6′ 8″ self.

How do you respond to dominant expectations of beauty?

I have never fit the mold. I was 5’10” when I was ten years old, 6’2” when I was twelve, and nearly 6’4” by twenty. I was athletic and had a little bit of beauty when younger though that has changed into an only occasional handsomeness.

What I do respond to is how others manifest themselves in terms of personal style and their own sense of body and appearance. I am not a follower of fashion per se but as a one time theater major, artist, historian, and writer, I am fascinated by clothing as art and as a self-making and self-identifying activity. People who grok that intrigue me, as much for their mindset about it as for the clothing they make, design, or wear.