Remember that for one more week, HERE, THERE BE DRAGONS can be read for FREE over at the Simon & Schuster site here: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Here-There-Be-Dragons/James-A-Owen/Chronicles-of-the-Imaginarium-Geographica-The/9781416912279

For more about the MythSoc Award: http://www.mythsoc.org/awards/

Naturally, Julie is devastated. She’s been invoking Julia as muse and spiritual director and guardian angel and moral compass combined (and to top it all off, her initials happen to be J.C.  Hmmm..). And it turns out, at least by one account, that Julia doesn’t appreciate this effusive admiration and affection? How can it be!!!!

In the movie, the scene is short and the key tension unresolved. The conversation moves sideways. Julie whines to her long-suffering hubby, “She saved me!” to which he replies earnestly, “You saved yourself.” I found this exchange problematic: IMO, Julie was “saved” because she stepped up to a challenge that was big enough to draw her out of herself and into something greater.

But I left that scene with another nagging concern: what did Julia actually say about Julie and her blog?

Or (and here I am forced to admit that I, too, had become rather besotted with the divine Julia Child): Could Julia really have done such a thing?

So I was delighted to stumble across Russ Parsons’ account. “I was there,” he tells us. Parsons tells us that he was the first journalist to write about the Julie/Julia blog, at about the half-way point in the project.  He was friends with Julia Child, and so when he discovered Julie’s blog, he printed it up and gave her a copy. Here’s how he tells it:

She hadn't heard about it, but promised to have a look and get back to me. I didn't hear from her for several days, so eventually I called her up. "So Julia," I asked, "what do you think?"

There was a silence as she gathered her thoughts. Then in that familiar reedy voice she nailed the answer: "Well," she said, "she just doesn't seem very serious, does she?

"I worked very hard on that book. I tested and retested those recipes for eight years so that everybody could cook them. And many, many people have. I don't understand how she could have problems with them. She just must not be much of a cook."

She asked me not to quote her, and after thinking it over, I didn't, choosing a valued friendship over a couple of juicy paragraphs in a story. I'm still not sure it was the right call, but there you have it.

Yes, there you have it. One less little thing to keep me awake at night, wondering.

Read more from Russ Parsons at http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-calcook12-2009aug12,0,7986229.story?page=1

A book collaborator who drags her feet; another who carries the day.

The strain on your marriage because your book has become an obsession.

The phone call from your mother because she is trying to figure out exactly what it is that you do.

The juggling act of living your life while you are simultaneously typing book pages in your living room.

Those weird conversations withthat publisher who tells you your book is perfect and then tells you to do the whole thing over again.

That official-looking envelope and, inside, a letter saying your book has been accepted for publication.

The key interview that gets cancelled at the last minute.

The giggly thrill of seeing your picture in the paper.

Sounds like the story of my life. Or the tried-and-true plot of an inspirational movie. As it happens, it is both, only the movie isn’t the one I expected. It’s Julie & Julia.

My friend had raved about it. “Meryl Streep is amazing.” That’s a sure bet (as long as she isn’t trying to sing. Then, well, I have issues.). “It’s funny and moving.” Sounds good. ‘Well-written and thoughtful.” Okay, now you’ve got me.

The reviews were good, the subject interesting. I went expecting luscious food, historical texture, biographical insight. I got all that. I did love the movie.

But I got something more. What I didn’t expect to see up on the screen was the shock of recognition and this stratling discoery: Julie & Julia is as much a movie about being a writer as it is about being a cook. Or being Julia Child.

The real thread that circles the two main characters isn’t so much what cooking does as it is what writing does. And while I’ve seen quibbles about the film’s depiction of how to chop an onion or how to use a French tapered rolling pin or how to prepare bread for bruschetta, I can tell you that when it comes to what it looks like feels like smells like tastes like to be a writer, the film is perfect down to the last detail. The tremble when you hold that envelope. The hard little chair you sit in when you meet with your publisher. The triumphant fist in the air when you connect with a reader. The way you hold your breath through everything else you have to do in a day until the moment you can run free and write.

 There is another element that I found deeply honest and deeply moving. For both Julie and Julia, the element that makes the biggest difference is they have people in their lives who believe in their project—and their abilities—long before they do. They live with resonators who tell them with emphasis,  “You are a writer. You will finish. Your book will get published. This work will change the world.”

 Resonators. Encouragers. As Gertrude Stein said, “When you write a book, you need someone to say yes to it.” Not just at the end of the day. In the gray dawn of morning when you can hardly see straight and you sure don’t have the strength to do more than put one sentence in front of another.

Take away? In writing, as in cooking, there is often one, critical, irreplaceable ingredient. In writing, it is someone who understands what you are trying to do and says yes.

On the other hand, not everyone who knows how to host a dynamic radio show knows what to do when a guest is in the studio.

Enter Joy Curry, host of the morning show at WETN, 88.1 FM and wetn.org.  She's got a voice built for radio: lively, versatile, thoughtful, quick, sparkling. I talked with her on the air this morning, and she did everything right.

In setting things up, she kept in touch, answered messages promptly, gave sterling directions on where to meet and how to prepare.

When I arrived, she was warm and welcoming. She was ready to talk about my book, but even more, she had prepared music and introductory material that was beautiffully suited to the occasion and the topic.

On the air, she managed to walk that fine line between substantial content and light-hearted entertainment. And she made it all seem effortless. She was well-prepared and also open to new directions. She immediately found the heart of the topic and kept the conversation on track.

Hats off to Joy Curry and kudos to WETN.  Folks in the Chicago area: you have a real jewel in your midst. I feel blessed to have been a small part of it.

Check it out: http://www.wheaton.edu/wetn/AMshow/morning.htm

On April 9th, I had the pleasure of meeting with the Harrisonburg C. S. Lewis Society at their local Barnes & Noble. The group, founded by Will Vaus, was attentive and lively-- we had a terrific evening.

I enjoyed the fact that this Barnes & Noble did not shove the group off into a little side room, but provided comfortable chairs right in the store for my presentation and book signing. People could easily drift in and out of the conversation, and I appreciated the openness of the setting.

I was also glad that the first question following my talk wasn't a request for more details about the Inklings, but a plea for advice: how can writers today do what the Inklings did?  Bring part of a writing group has so many advantages, but it can be difficult to start and sustain a group that really works. I reminded them that the Inklings started small, established rituals and routines, met every single week, balanced support with criticism and advice, and were choosy about adding new members. Those components seem to make a big difference in the health and longevity of a group.

Copies of The Company They Keep, stacked and ready for signing.

Thanks to the Harrisonburg CSL Society for their warm hospitality. And kudos to Barnes & N oble for supporting writers, readers, and reading groups.