"Ostriches" by Lisa Williams Kline
– Let’s change the subject.
We are not the only ones experiencing the creeping water.
Lisa Williams Kline is the author of two novels for adults, Between the Sky and the Sea, and Ladies’ Day, as well as an essay collection entitled The Ruby Mirror and a short story collection entitled Take Me. Her stories and essays have appeared in Literary Mama, Skirt, Sasee, Carolina Woman, moonShine review, The Press 53 Awards Anthology, Sand Hills Literary Magazine, and Idol Talk, among others. She is also the author of ten novels and a novella for young readers. She lives in Davidson with her veterinarian husband, a cat who can open doors, and a sweet chihuahua who has played Bruiser Woods in Legally Blonde: The Musical.
Author’s Talk
Lisa Williams Kline
There is a lyric from the song “Nonstop” in the life-changing musical Hamilton, asking why Hamilton writes as though he’s “running out of time” that has begun spooling through my mind these days. Hamilton was indeed running out of time – his life was cut horribly short by a senseless duel.
I would never dream of pretending to be a writer of Alexander Hamilton’s stature, yet I do understand that urgency. I just turned 69. I don’t know how much more time I have to keep writing. I started late – I didn’t have the confidence to try writing fiction until I was nearly 40, even though becoming a writer was a treasured dream even when I was a little girl. Writing is a lot better than some other vocations, like dancing, where retirement at a fairly early age is nearly required. But how long will my brain keep working? How long will I continue to be able to create characters, to tell stories, to build plots? Will I ever hone my craft enough? How long will people want to read what I write? Any day, that time may be up.
It's funny, every time I write anything, essay or novel, I end up thinking, “But that wasn’t really what I wanted to say. It didn’t come out at all the way I envisioned it. I need to try again.” And so I try, again and again. Time is getting short, and I have to keep trying to get it right.
Consequently. I scribble down ideas in the middle of the night. I neglect my housework.
And whenever Randell gives us a prompt, my mind starts to churn.—Lisa Williams Kline
Forgive me. My most recent novels, historical romantic fiction Between the Sky and the Sea (Dragonblade) and contemporary women’s fiction Ladies’ Day (CamCat Books), are available wherever books are sold. You can find me on my website, www.lisawilliamskline.com and follow me on Instagram at @lisawilliamskline
