Alison Gaylin, bestselling author of the Brenna Spector series, has a new standalone, What Remains of Me, on sale tomorrow! This utterly thrilling work of psychological suspense traces two high-profile Hollywood murders separated by over three decades and focuses in on the tight-lipped woman convicted of the first and the primary suspect of the second. Let's just say the case may not be as clear cut as it first appears…
Alison was gracious enough to visit us here at LLF and share her own story of library love. So without further ado…enjoy!
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When I was growing up, my local library was a refuge for me – and not just because of the hours I spent there alone, poring over everything from Judy Blume novels to rock star biographies to the true crime books I came to be obsessed with. I also loved the library for its activities. Since I was an only and often bored child, my mom signed me up for several of the kids’ classes offered by the library over the summer – one-or-two day workshops in poetry writing, pottery, terrarium-building, you name it.
At first, I was skeptical (classes over the summer?) But I was a fast convert. It could have been the subject matter, which was so much more interesting than anything going on at my regular school. It could have been the enthusiasm of both the teachers and my fellow participants, which again, made the workshops feel more like adventure than education. But really, I think it was the library itself. The smell of books in their protective covers, the softness of my footfalls as I made my way to the back room in which the classes were held, the smiles of the librarians as I passed. It was all so familiar and in such a warm, wonderful way. If a building could be a friend, my local library was it.
So when the head of the children’s department from my own local library asked me to lead a teen writing workshop a few years back, I said yes right away. I could revisit those times. I could help these kids experience the same feeling I once had, escaping from the day-to-day, learning something new… and that’s when reality set in. Teens today are different. Their phones in tow at all times, they are in constant communication and therefore constantly distracted. What use did they have for a voluntary writing class in a library, of all places? At least, that’s the way I was thinking as I prepared the writing exercises for the two-hour class. Do they notice the smell of library the way I used to, I thought. Do they appreciate the silence, or do headphones keep them from experiencing silence at all, ever?
Would I have to beg for their attention, to pluck headphones out of ears and physically take phones away like a real teacher in a real school? My spirits sank at the thought. But once I arrived at the library and climbed the stairs to the room where the workshop would be held, I knew that I needn’t have worried.
My students sat around a table, notebooks at the ready, phones nowhere in sight. And throughout the two-hour-long workshop, they were engaged, active, asking lots of questions, pencils moving fast over their notebook pages as they worked on their assignments. The time went by as quickly as I remembered during the library classes of my childhood. And thinking about it later, I realized something: Whether their parents had pushed them into taking the writing course or not didn’t matter. Once they walked through those library doors, they really wanted to be there. Just like me. Some things never change.
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Thanks again to Alison for joining in on the library love fest. The book goes on sale tomorrow, February 23, so be sure to grab a copy from your favorite bookstore or website, or hop on over to your local library and check it out!
-Chris
