How do I love Jenna Blum? Let me count the ways…
She’s a brilliant writer, full-stop — itself a ceaseless source of joy and inspiration (for me, for any author). She’s an indefatigable champion for writers, walking the proverbial walk by always showing up, being ever willing to shine a light on fellow scribblers, and advancing our collective cause (this may sound like a minor thing but believe me, it isn’t). And she’s a special human being: she clearly sees the ways our world weighs on us and is always trying to lighten the load, with her art, her advocacy, her spirit.
There is, in short, no one else I’d have rather spent time with to virtually launch my forthcoming collection This Kind of Man. Jenna and I go way back (to when we were both unpublished authors, sharing MS doc drafts) and I’ve watched her awesome trajectory with pride and relief — a sense that sometimes the good gals really do win.
It was wonderful to be in conversation with my friend who, as cofounder/CEO of A Mighty Blaze, is a seasoned interlocutor. This also was not our first rodeo; we’ve locked horns to talk shop many times, including when she was the 1455 StoryFest Keynote. Enjoy our past exchanges here, here, and here. Jenna is based in Boston, teaching at Grub Street Writers, where she has been running master fiction and novel workshops for over 20 years; she earned her M.A. in Creative Writing from Boston University and was the fiction editor for AGNI Literary Magazine. For more information about Jenna and to share her real-time adventures, please follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The ostensible purpose of our conversation was to chat about the themes and topics I explore in This Kind of Man, but inevitably we talked about puppies, Boston, the literary community, and how to make America kind again. So, while I invite you to learn more about my book and spread the word (also pre-order your copies here), I hope you enjoy seeing Jenna in action or, if this is your first exposure to her greatness, I’m happy to facilitate the connection!
(More about the book, my books, and me, here!)
