Tomorrow, May 25, we’ll be discussing Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan at Arden Dimick Library at 10:30AM. Please join us!

Here’s an interview with Jennifer Egan about her writing process. You can find longer interviews with her on YouTube.

Hey everyone! I wanted to let you all know that I’ll be at BayCon starting late Saturday afternoon (May 25th) through Monday (May 27th). You can find me in the Dealer Room doing Tarot Readings, or on the following panels:

A Dramatic Reading, Sat 8PM, Synergy 1

A reading of what? I don’t know. They won’t tell me. I am afraid.

The Stars Are Right!, Sun 1PM, May 26

In which we discuss feminist and otherwise progressive takes on the Lovecraftian Mythos as well as its resurgence in popularity in general.

I hope to see you there!

In this month’s book club, we are reading Manhattan Beach. We will be discussing Manhattan Beach at Arden Dimick Library on Saturday, May 25th at 10:30 AM.

Jennifer Egan spent years researching this novel. However, her characters are fictional, and the Naval Yard did not employ any women divers during WWII. For those interested in the history behind the story, here are a few links.

First of all, Brooklyn Navy Yard has a whole website devoted to Manhattan Beach readers who want history. It’s full of information and pictures.

There’s more about the city at Bklyner.com.

Did you find yourself wondering what Charlotte Russe is? It turns out that it means one of two desserts. The first is a fancy concoction, popular in the Victorian Era. But the second is a simple treat, consisting of sponge cake with whipped cream on top. This is the version discussed in the book.  It’s very difficult to find this latter version of Charlotte Russe’s these days – perhaps they’ve been edged out by cupcakes, which are basically the same thing (a little cake with a sweet topping)?

Last month I posted about The Tower, a tarot card that is looming large in my midlife as I struggle with multiple life transitions. As a woman in my mid-forties, I find that I’m not alone in struggling not only with changes happening right now but with the realization that major changes inevitably lie ahead.

In the major arcana, the next two cards are The Star and The Moon. Both are cards that involve intuition. After The Tower, we have an opportunity to rebuild our lives, but that requires a lot of thought. We have to be able to dream big, but we also have to avoid being misled by illusion. The Star is a hopeful card, and the Moon card is full of foreboding, but both represent a mind that is searching for answers, and that needs to find them on an intuitive, emotional level rather than just a list of facts.

In applying The Tower, The Star, and the Moon to my health issues, I see the following:

1. The Tower: my level of energy and mobility have sharply decreased, forcing major changes in how I live my life, as well as major changes in my relationships.
2. The Star and The Moon: maybe I’ll be all better if I just wait this out, maybe I don’t REALLY have to change anything, maybe I’ll be cured in some instantaneous, easy, one-step fashion if I just wait. One the other hand, maybe things will never get better and I might as well just eat cake and take opioids all day until I die because no amount of self-care or medical care will fix anything.

We arrive at The Sun when we are able to move out of denial and apprehension and see truly. Rachel Pollack describes this card as showing an “active, energized” state in comparison to the dreamy Star and Moon. The sun traditionally represents knowledge, but after the Tower the person has been reborn into a state of what Pollack calls “childish simplicity.” This is the state that lets one accept help and take naps without guilt but also allows one to do their physical therapy in hopes of future improvement. It signifies the kind of joy and happiness that can only come from clarity.

While I’m a long way from The Sun card, I can see it from here, which is a good thing. I hope you are all visited by this state of joy!

This May, we are reading Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan. This book has been described as a straightforward historical novel about a woman who grows up in the late Depression and becomes a diver in the Brooklyn Naval Yard during WWII. It’s also a crime novel, as the disappearance of her father is very gradually explored.

Manhattan Beach was praised by most critics and was chosen as the 2018 New York City “One Read” book. The author’s previous book, Welcome to the Goon Squad, won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 2011.

We will be discussing Manhattan Beach at Arden Dimick Library on Saturday, May 25th at 10:30 AM. You can also leave comments below!

It’s May, and May is the busiest time in my house with the exception of October. My husband participates in Bike Month, which is a big thing here, so he rides fifty miles a day. My daughter’s school and theater program wind down which means events and a new wave of auditions. And of course, we have….

Linden and I will be at Baycon from Saturday May 25th – Monday May 27th. We are both panelists and I’ll be in the Variety Show. I’ll be posting our schedules later this month.

Big news: I’ll be running a Tarot table and doing readings all through Baycon. Details to follow!

Other news:

I made a thing! My article about the Brontes and the supernatural is up on Clarkesworld magazine. Click on the link to read.