I’m amazed by how surprising, even unpredictable, it is who does or does not consider themselves shy. And each person who claims shyness defines it differently. Even psychologists can’t agree on what shyness is; some call it a personality trait, synonymous with introversion, or introversion’s dark side, and some see it as the warning sign of a mental illness. Millions of children and adults are medicated for social anxiety disorder – a disorder that’s only existed since the 1990s. Is shyness a flaw to overcome? Is it a gift? Does it stem from fear, from a preference for solicitude, or, as Freud claimed, from narcissism? Do we embrace it or try to beat it down, and how does it affect the decisions we make, the directions our lives take?

I will be looking for new and previously published work. There’s no deadline yet, and you don’t need to write anything before contacting me. Please just let me know if you may be interested in contributing, and let me know briefly what you have in mind.

In October, 2008, I was interviewed about ghostwriting for Shelagh Rogers’ CBC show, The Next Chapter. You can listen here.

My first novel, Cricket in a Fist, was published by Goose Lane Editions in the spring of 2008.

QUILL & QUIRE STARRED REVIEW:

Mothers and daughters, guilt and anger, holding onto the past or abandoning it completely – these are the themes that course through Naomi K. Lewis’s stellar debut novel. The book, which is based on Lewis’s short story “The Guiding Light,” tells the tale of four generations of women in one family, their relationships with one another, and the history that has forced each of them to adopt coping strategies that tear the family apart.

After witnessing her father’s death as a young girl, Ginny (the third generation) becomes prone to accidents herself, and grows up to be an unlikable, self-absorbed woman who is forever trying to shock her seemingly cold mother, Tamar, with her outlandish behaviour. Ginny’s own daughters, Agatha and Jasmine, don’t seem to mean that much to her, and after a bout of temporary amnesia brought on by a head injury, she realizes that she no longer has any feelings for her children, her husband, or her life in general. She abandons them to start anew as a self-help guru, shilling a theory called “willing amnesia,” whereby subscribers “forget” all of the aspects of their lives that they find burdensome. The effect of her abandonment on her daughters, each of whom blames herself for Ginny’s accident and subsequent desertion, is profound.

Lewis (who grew up in Ottawa, where most of the action takes place) uses Agatha as her primary narrator, but seamlessly shifts from one character’s voice to another’s. In the Jasmine sections, she captures with ease the indignant attitude and expletive-riddled language of a 14-year-old girl. It is only the eldest woman, Oma Esther, who is never given a voice of her own: her story of surviving two years in Auschwitz, where she lost her husband and sister, is relayed by Tamar, though to no less moving effect.

The emotional and psychological action in the novel is so rich and intricate that the reader is carried along through decades of storyline (and often back again) without so much as a hiccup. This is a wonderfully well-rounded story with true-to-life characters, emotions, and situations, making it an impressive first effort by an obviously talented writer.

Reviewed by Dory Cerny (from the March 2008 issue)

Mark Leslie, for Mini Book Expo

Q&A with the LPG’s Fiery First Fiction campaign

January 7, 2010 - February 5, 2010: Creative Writing Level 1, Mount Royal University

In the spring, I’ll be teaching Creative Writing Level 2, and Grammar and Style for Creative Writers - dates to be announced.