 Red Room Writer Profile
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Veronica Chater's Blog
January 7, 2010
- I remember the day I first met my neighbor George, about eight years ago. It was the annual neighborhood block party, and he was marching around the cul-de-sac in his khaki shorts and worn-out Keds looking for someone who would talk politics with him. I noticed that his white hair was uncombed and his glasses smudged and his boney limbs dusted with dirt from his vegetable garden, but he looked ...
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November 17, 2009
- Okay, this takes the cake. . . (or the pizza in this case). What happens on pizza night when a writer’s head if full of all the things going on in her life: 1: researching and writing a novel that takes place in the 16th century 2: moving house (almost everything is in boxes in the living room)3: choosing paint colors/tile/stone for the new house4: preparing the old house for renters to move in ...
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October 22, 2009
- Since publishing my memoir, I've been asked by a few writers involved in writing their own memoirs for some helpful tips. Strangely, I always feel presumptuous in giving out advice, probably because what works for me might not work for someone else. For instance, when Tina Brown interviewed Philip Roth (check it out on the Publisher's Marketplace website), she asked if he writes a "vomit ...
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September 3, 2009
- How to interpret the parting words of your children on their first day of school: Child number one: Daniel, 15, known for his street-art sensibility and well-honed edge of sarcasm, wearing candy-red Vans, black Levi's ‘Slim Straights,’ inside-out Nike t-shirt (he scorns logos), knit cap, and fashion-free backpack, his shoulders slouched, his iPod in his front pocket, his hands shoved deep ...
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July 9, 2009
- Publishing a book can get you into some pretty unusual circumstances. Because my memoir is about losing my Catholic faith, a friend asked me to be a curator for the first ever Atheist Film Festival in San Francisco, which he was producing at the historic Roxie Theater at the end of June. Mind you, I'd never declared myself an atheist, or even an agnostic. The only declaration I'd made of any kind ...
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June 9, 2009
- Overheard: my son Kyle (12) giving a lesson on the Greek myths to Max, Jonah, and Cameron. All are in 6th grade, but Kyle goes to a different school.(Over wrestling noises and shouting.) Kyle: Shut up you guys! Let me finish my story! So Athena versed Poseidon for the island of Athens. And Zeus told them each they had to bring a gift, and whoever’s gift was best would win the island. And ...
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May 4, 2009
- Wow. I am experiencing quite a boost in book sales from my townspeeps, and it’s pretty darn awesome. This really happened: Last week I took a walk across Berkeley to drop some letters off at the post office, return some videos, and pick up some bagels. On the main drag, I passed a friend who had just left Pegasus book store carrying two copies of my book, one for herself and one as a gift, and ...
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April 25, 2009
- Selected Journal Writings April 24thConversation between me and my oldest son in the car as I'm driving him to school: Me: “I’m going to the library this afternoon. Do you want me to pick up any books for you?” Daniel (15): “I hate books. When I graduate from high school I will never read another book again as long as I live.” Me: “You may think you hate books, but you really ...
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April 7, 2009
- Titles! Just when you think you have the perfect one, you’re thrown into doubt by your children’s disagreement over it. This is the third time since I completed my novel that this highly contentious topic has evolved into a battle between my boys over which is the REAL title (since mine is obviously not), and who is my champion for having come up with it. I suppose I could prevent these ...
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March 12, 2009
- When you have five 11 year old boys lounging around your living room on a rainy Friday night, you sense the energy of potential—for fun, for trouble, for innumerable spontaneous antics. On such a night, not a moment should be wasted. What do you want do? the question circulates. I don't know. What do you want to do?My idea is to get them in the kitchen to help me bake cookies. Wouldn’t that ...
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March 2, 2009
- Book readings. The month of February was my month to get out and do a lot of them. And do a lot of them I did. At least to me it was a lot. Six in all, not including my interview on NPR’s Forum. In one of my previous blogs I promised to write about my “ride” through the landscape of book writing and promotion, so let me just tell you about last month. My memoir, WAITING FOR THE APOCALYPSE, ...
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February 13, 2009
- Hi all, if you're near a radio or computer this morning I'm going to be interviewed on "Forum," at KQED, San Francisco, 88.5 FM at 10:00 AM PST. This is an hour long show that includes call-ins. If you're not near a radio in the Bay Area, you can hear it streamed live on the Forum website.Thanks!
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February 2, 2009
- Hurray! Today is the official birthday of my memoir, Waiting for the Apocalypse (W.W. Norton). The book is no longer a nagging idea within my own sequestered mind, but a physical thing that people can hold in their hands, open, turn the pages of, and read. Inside the covers is the story of my life between the ages of 10 and 17, and the lives of my parents and ten siblings. What an adventure! What ...
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January 25, 2009
- A writer’s got to make a living. . . even a writer with a book coming out. So when Wondertime, a parenting magazine published by the Disney corporation, called to ask me to write for them, I was seriously gung-ho. I mean, at first I was a little hesitant, partly because my boys are at an age when they don't like to be written about, and partly because I'm not the kind of parent that should be ...
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January 11, 2009
- So imagine this: The club is packed. Standing room only. Stuffy, unbreathable air. Candlelit tables. The sounds of clinking glass, talking, and laughter. All these people have come to hear four authors read their work for Opium's Literary Death Match. They're lining the walls, sitting on the floor, perched on the bar. I squeeze through the crowd to greet friends that have come to the reading. It ...
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