Five with Elaine Soloway

Our next guest in Pilcrow Lit Fest's "Five with..." interview series is a wonderful woman I've had the pleasure of both reading with and introducing at the Fixx Reading Series (see photo-- she arrived in a "Girls Rock" t-shirt she picked up at a NOW convention and I begged her to do part of her reading bearing the gorgeous tattoo on her upper arm). If you don't now her/her work, then you, my friends, are missing out. Plus, she named one of my favorite songs ever as an ideal Pilcrow theme song, so there's that, too. Everyone, please welcome Elaine Soloway.

1. What are you working on now?

As we chat, I'm finishing up Draft 2 of a 200-page fiction (one more draft to go) titled She's Not The One. It's a coming-of-middle-age novel about a woman who's knocked off track when she encounters people and places more alluring than her husband and suburban lifestyle. It's a fictional tale that includes names and places familiar to Chicagoans, as well as others from the writer's imagination.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

Catching up with friends. In this case: Elizabeth Crane, Charles Blackstone, Leah Jones, Katie Schwartz, and The Amy Guth; as well as authors I've enjoyed but have never met in person; i.e. Wendy McClure and Jonathan Messinger. Discovering writers who are brand new to me is another bonus.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

Oops, make this an important part of #2. I'm lacking in the knowledge of small presses, and hope to use the festival as an opportunity to meet publishers, agents, and other dream-makers. And, as someone under five feet, anything related to "small" wins my heart.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not.

Could you place a call to Jill Soloway, author of Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants? Maybe she'll listen to you and hop a flight from L.A. While you're on the phone, give a ring to Faith Soloway in Boston, author of musical comedies Jesus Has Two Mommies and Miss Folk America (check out YouTube for hilarious snippets here and here, for example).

If you can't convince those two to participate, maybe some of their writing buddies, like Hillary Carlip, A La Cart, The Secret Lives of Grocery Shoppers; Brett Paesel, Mommies Who Drink; and Sarah Thyre, Dark At The Roots would pretend to be my daughters.

And just for me: invite the most wonderful, Anne Tyler.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

Feeling Good by Nina Simone. Says it all.