Germany, Emerson may be seated next to you on your commute some day soon. I just finished a fun video interview for my book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, with the lovely sisters Davina and Samantha who run Books on the Run Germany, the German chapter of Books on the Move Global. They interview authors and run a mobile library in Germany. For the mobile library, they leave books on the public transit system in Germany for people to find, read, and then return to any German public transit system for others to find and read.
My book will be part of their transit program next month. Our video interview as well as a separate video of me reading a passage of the book will all be available soon. Stay tuned!
Thanks to Davina and Samantha for being such wonderful hosts. I have a feeling that Emerson will find herself in Germany in a future book. After all, Germany invented the movable-type printing press and printed the first book in history, the Gutenberg Bible, two copies of which are at the Morgan Library here in New York City. I sense some kismet and synchronicity coming on…
There’s no feeling quite like getting a box of your books delivered to your door. Yesterday I got to experience this feeling first-hand, and it is amazing. I looked at my box of Emerson Page books, now bound for reviewers, and thought about all of the time, effort, and love that I poured into every speck of the them. My heart flooded with gratitude for all of the encouragement and love that I’ve received from friends and mentors during this long and winding road to publication. Though we’ve come so far, this is really just beginning. We have many books ahead of us. Many stories to tell, people to meet, and places to travel together. I can’t wait to share this with all of you.
I’m so honored to be a part of the #ShatteringStigmas series on the wonderful book blog It Starts at Midnight. I’ve been following Shannon’s excellent writing, and when I saw that she was doing a program around erasing the stigma of mental illness, I wanted to share the story behind the story of the mental health plotline in my book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters. Shannon gave me the chance to do that, and it is one of the first times that I am speaking about my own struggles and the healing process of writing my book. I hope you’ll check out the story on Shannon’s site. There is an excerpt of it below.
“The wound is the place where the light enters you.” ~Rumi
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” ~Leonard Cohen
These two quotes gave me the title for my young adult book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters. But what the title doesn’t tell you is that there was a long and winding road, often painful and treacherous, that brought me to Emerson. For me, she’s not just a character derived from my imagination. She is the manifestation of a journey that showed me that we are stronger, braver, and more courageous than any of us can ever imagine. To me, she is the very definition of life.
In the five years leading up to when I first put pen to paper to write her story, I had been struggling with the effects of PTSD. On September 5, 2009, one of my neighbors in New York City blew up her gas stove. She had been cooking, oil spilled, and rather than shut off the gas, she just ran out of the building. I was in my apartment on the fourth floor. I had just gotten out of the shower and noticed that the radiator in my kitchen was hot and making a ticking sound. I looked down at the floor around the radiator and saw the tiles heaving up and down. Something was terribly wrong, but I didn’t know what. I grabbed my keys (which now seems completely futile) and went out of my apartment to knock on my neighbor’s door downstairs. They had been doing construction on that apartment and I thought that may be causing the tile and radiator issue. I was wrong. Very, very wrong.
The second I walked out of my apartment, I was consumed by an unending cloud of black smoke. Read more…
My pup, Phineas, who sat next to me the whole time while I read Why Dinoaurs Matter.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a paleontologist and go on digs to find dinosaurs. For my first expedition, I took my mother’s pie plates and dug a giant hole in my backyard. I was about 7 or 8. I was convinced that our hump-shaped rock outcropping that popped about 4 feet or so out of the ground was the headstone for a dinosaur. On my expedition, I proudly found the skeleton of a mouse, but sadly there was no dinosaur. (The pie plates didn’t survive either.) Nevertheless, I was determined to become a scientist, and entered the University of Pennsylvania’s engineering school after wining prizes such as the Rensselaer Medal when I was in high school. My idea was to invent tools and technology that would make my expeditions more efficient.
Sadly, my perfect scenario of becoming a paleontologist and dinosaur hunter didn’t come to pass. (Or at least it hasn’t yet.) I didn’t do well at Penn my first semester. I went to see my physics professor to get some extra help. After a grand total of 2 minutes, he told me I had no mind for science and math generally, and especially not for physics or calculus. Sadly, I believed him. I left his office hours dejected and in tears. I walked back to my dorm with all of my dreams lying in a wake behind me, shattered to pieces. No one had ever told me I couldn’t learn something, and this ugly exchange was a devastating cut to me when I already felt extraordinarily out-of-place at Penn for many other reasons. I changed my school within the University and my major the next day.
(This story does have a happy ending: I took both calculus and physics at a local college years later just to prove to myself that the professor was wrong about me. I got a perfect score on every test. Even though he may be a genius physicist, he was entirely wrong about my mental capacity for physics and calculus.)
Though I now have a wonderful career as a writer, author, and business leader for a technology company, I have never lost my first love for science. I still regularly read scientific journals, publications, and books. One that I have I been looking forward to for months, Why Dinosaurs Matter by Dr. Kenneth Lacovara, has finally been released and it’s even more spectacular than I had hoped it would be. Laced with dry, laugh-out-loud humor and poetic prose that weaves together our history with that of the dinosaurs, this book was the indulgent dive into the world of dinosaurs that I wanted and needed. It took me back to that day in the backyard with the pie plates and the dirt and my determination to discover something magical and mysterious. It ignited in me my child-like wonder about dinosaurs and science. I’ll admit that I hugged the book when it was done. It’s a delicious tale of survival, triumph, adaptation, struggle, and eventual loss that draws me into expertly crafted novels. Except this is real. This is science, however fantastical it may seem.
The book was so good that it prompted me to Google Dr. Lacovara and see what he’s up to these days. I know him mostly from his landmark discovery of Dreadnoughtus in the early 2000s. He’s now the Dean of Rowan University’s School of Earth & Environment and Director of the Jean & Ric Edelman Fossil Park in New Jersey, just outside of Philadelphia. Believe it or not, New Jersey is the place to be in the U.S. when it comes to finding dinosaur remains. I’ve been so close to the dinosaurs my entire life. They’ve been right here beneath my feet.
The older I get, the more I realize just how full-circle life is. Rowan University’s Fossil Park will become a one-of-a-kind center for STEM education, and it will include a museum, laboratories, and learning spaces thanks to Dr. Lacovara and his dedicated team. They have a volunteer program as well as community dig days. Perhaps I’ll be able to realize a piece of that dream of digging around in the dirt after all, this time armed with tools a bit more sturdy than pie plates.
“People who avoid risks are rewarded with their safety. People who take the risks are rewarded with adventures.” ~Andy Crouch, improvisor and Director of Education at the Hideout Theatre
Everyday we have this choice: to stay safe or to have an adventure. My friends often comment to me that my superpower is that I have absolutely no fear of rejection, and therefore have lots of adventures. I think that’s mostly true. Professionally, I have zero fear of rejection. In my personal life, I’ve got a little more trepidation. (I’d do well to start injecting a little more bravery into my personal life. That’s a story for a later post.)
I have been rewarded in my life with many adventures that have had varying degrees of success. I’m grateful for all of them, even for the ones in which I failed magnificently, because they led me to even more adventures. I think that’s really the point of it all: to go out into the world, and I mean as far out there as you can possible get, and see what you find. That’s what I’m doing, and then subsequently what the characters in my books are doing.
Now that my full-time job is squared away and my first book is less than a month from publication, I’m plotting out the adventures that my characters and I will have in this coming year. And it’s going to be one hell of an adventurous year. Stay tuned…
“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” ~Leonardo da Vinci
Inspired by a recent post on the Two Drops of Ink blog, this idea of the play between painting and poetry speaks loudly to me. I paint with paper through collage work. Whenever I’m stuck in my writing world, or just looking for a new medium to use a different part of my brain for a while, I turn to collage work. I’ve never been much of a visual artist, or at least I wasn’t until I started to do collage work. There is something so satisfying about cutting up tiny bits of paper and reconfiguring them as a way of painting a canvas. Art does have a story, and stories do have an art to them. I’m fortunate in my case that I love art as much as I love books, and I’m immensely happy that my book about Emerson Page honors this connection between all art mediums. Ultimately art in any form expresses what we feel and know in our hearts and souls. And by expressing and sharing those feelings, a part of us lives on far beyond our years.
My heart is overflowing. I read these reviews while I was in Bed Bath and Beyond. I started bawling right there in the pots and pans aisle. If you’re writing something now, and you’re not quite sure if you should keep going, this is the sign you’re looking for: don’t give up. The world needs your story as much as it’s ever needed any story.
“A radiant adventure that will intrigue the young fantasy reader. From the very beginning, the story is both captivating and mystifying. There is a story beneath the story, an underground stream giving it momentum, a life source, a perpetual light waiting to be revealed. The young heroine is brilliant and inspiring. Her character grows and evolves with each turn of the page. Surrounded by a strong cast of supporting characters, Emerson is curious and bold, strong and vulnerable, loving and powerful. The narrative stretches the imagination, imparts hope and takes the reader on a grand, daring adventure. As you turn the last page and read the final words you are assured by an ageless truth – love conquers all. Being a book lover, I really appreciated the beautiful and eloquent words penned about books, and the power of the story held within them. “Books are magical.” Yes. Indeed. At times, “we feel as though they are written just for us.” I am certain that many young readers will relate to the heroine and feel that her story was written just for them. Emerson bravely follows the path set before her and lets her light shine.” ~Cheryl E. Rodriguez
“A refreshing new look at the YA genre. The book starts on a high note and doesn’t flag, not one bit. The story is different, something original and it is all go, all the way through. It is a fascinating story, well written and clearly, Ms. Avampato has a very inventive imagination. She clearly thought this story out and has produced a masterpiece, in my opinion, a tale of strength and adventure, a story with strong and well-developed characters. I defy any young adult not to enjoy this story and I defy them not to want more when the story is told. I certainly did; there are not many books that can pull me deep into them, but this one did and there was no letting go until the last page. Excellent story, I hope that this is the first of many.” ~Anne-Marie Reynolds
“Call me a cynic, but I’m not basing Verizon’s strategy on anything happening in Washington.” ~ Lowell McAdam, Verizon CEO, and the Bloomberg Live event Sooner Than You Think
Between reading the book Climate of Hope by Mike Bloomberg and Carl Pope and attending Cornell Tech’s opening on Roosevelt Island, it’s becoming clear to me that even though Washington seems unable to get out of its own way, individuals, cities, and businesses can and will make all the difference in this world. Washington will continue to spin for the foreseeable future, and while that’s incredibly unfortunate, it’s largely unimportant. With the exception of military action and international relations, cities, businesses, and each of us are the ones who will really make a difference for each other, not the federal government.
We’re already seeing so much evidence of this here in New York in our education system, infrastructure, and local economy. Cornell Tech, our tuition-free college program, and the reconstruction of LaGuardia airport and Penn Station are all examples of a city, a state, and individuals implementing solutions that improve quality of life. I feel very fortunate and proud to live here, and I’m excited to be a part of it. Rather than continuing to wring my hands about the fiasco in our federal government, I’m going to double down on doing the best I can with what I’ve got right where I am—through my city, my company, and my writing.
It’s with so much joy that I’m proud to share the first professional review of my book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters. Thank you to Readers’ Favorite and to writer Romuald Dzemo for this 5-star review across the board in the categories of Appearance, Plot, Development, Formatting, Marketability, and Overall Opinion. I am humbled and honored!
“This is a fascinating story deftly told, a tale of courage and a gritty investigation, featuring a young protagonist who will take readers by surprise. The plot is fast-paced and readers are pulled into an exciting world filled with mystery and exciting stuff. Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters features excellent writing, brimming with vivid descriptions and dialogues that are compelling as they enhance the different elements of the story. Here is a story that will enthrall both young adult readers and adults, a well-plotted story with powerful themes seamlessly woven into its fabric. Christa Avampato was able to win my heart from the very beginning of the story with a powerful hook, and managed to keep my eyes glued to the pages, unable to stop reading. The prose is excellent and seduces the reader right off the bat. This story is engaging. A huge success for a novel!”
On this day of remembrance, I’m reflecting on the power of our words as writers. In many ways, September 11th gave me the urgency to write. I wanted so much to be a writer all my life. Buried somewhere in the grief of that day and the many days that followed, something rose up and said, “You must do this now. Right now.” And so I began to write things down. Ideas and stories and reflections at my then very young age of 25.
I didn’t know where it would lead, but I felt that I needed to leave something behind, something that would survive long after me. It would be many more years before Emerson Page entered my mind, many more years until a life-threatening tragedy of a different kind would literally meet me at my doorstep and spur me to find and stand in my own light.
Watching how precious and fleeting life can be, for reasons completely out of our control and out of the realm of what we even imagine to be possible every morning, 9/11 brought into irrefutable focus that we have to live every day. To honor those we lost. To honor all of those forever impacted by it in countless and unchangeable ways. To not wait. To not let the days slip away but to grab them, hold them, and treasure them. To live out loud. That’s what they would have done. That’s what they would have wanted for all of us.
On this day of remembrance, I wish you peace and love and light. And I wish you the energy to embrace your passions that make this world so rich and vibrant. Your story, every story, matters. To someone, somewhere. Write it down so that others may know you even if you never get the chance to meet them. You never know what difference your words will make to someone who needs them. You may have just the magic they need to keep going in their own lives.
There’s no feeling quite like getting a box of your books delivered to your door. Yesterday I got to experience this feeling first-hand, and it is amazing. I looked at my box of Emerson Page books, now bound for reviewers, and thought about all of the time, effort, and love that I poured into every speck of the them. My heart flooded with gratitude for all of the encouragement and love that I’ve received from friends and mentors during this long and winding road to publication. Though we’ve come so far, this is really just beginning. We have many books ahead of us. Many stories to tell, people to meet, and places to travel together. I can’t wait to share this with all of you.
Christa Avampato 