P.S.’s Comments (group member since Feb 02, 2011)

P.S.’s comments from the Q&A with P.S. Baber group.

Debbie wrote: "I really need to email you! For some reason you've been on my mind the past few days (enter Twilight Zone music here). Well, it's because I have some questions for you outside of the Cassie book. I..."

Sure thing. You can send me a message on goodreads, or email me at p.s.baber@gmail.com. You can also chat with me on facebook if you prefer.

psb

To celebrate ForeWord Magazine’s recent selection of “Cassie Draws the Universe” as a finalist for the 2010 Book of the Year Award in Literary Fiction, I’m offering a special deal exclusively through Goodreads. From March 18 to April 18, any Goodreads member may purchase an ebook copy of “Cassie” for the price of $1.99 directly from goodreads.com. This is by far the lowest price you will find for any version of this novel anywhere. Remember, this deal will only last until April 18, 2011, so get your copy today.

Just follow the link below and click “read.” You will have the opportunity to read a preview and then purchase a download if you desire.

Link: http://www.goodreads.com/ebooks/downl...

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Just found out that Cassie Draws the Universe has been named a finalist for the 2010 ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Award in the category of Literary Fiction. If I understand correctly, winners will be announced in June. Thanks to everyone who has supported "Cassie" so far!

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Debbie wrote: "Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! I love Goodreads for many reasons, and this is one of them. It's fantastic that Goodreads authors are so willing to interact with their reader..."

Thanks Debbie. :)

Dear Members,

I really enjoyed having the opportunity to answer the questions you all posted in this group this past week. Although the window for posting questions technically ended yesterday, I'm going to leave the group open to serve as a forum for readers to continue posting questions and comments related to Cassie Draws the Universe. I will try my best to check in periodically to answer any questions directed toward me. I also hope you will all consider starting your own threads on here to discuss the book in greater depth amongst yourselves. Thanks again for joining and I look forward to answering your questions in the future and watching this group continue to evolve over time.

psb

Aline wrote: ""Perhaps someday I’ll write a best-seller, and then I’ll be able to write as much as I would like. :) "

I hope it for you!
Thanks a lot for answering my questions."

Thanks Aline!

Debbie wrote: "Your answer is perfect! It helped define a few things I wondered about while reading the book. Thank you for taking the time to reply!

P.S. I take it you managed to get home safely during the ho..."

Thanks Debbie. Yes, we got home alright, though we had to drive a rental car home instead of taking the plane we had originally booked. I always love my time in FL. (Especially the food). :)

Debbie wrote: "Dear P.S.
I hope I'm putting this Q&A in the right place! :)
I was so intriqued by the strange bond between Cassie and Amy. Two completley different teens...yet drawn together in what appeared to..."

Hi Debbie. Thanks for the thoughtful question. I attempted to write Cassie and Amy as mirror reflections of one another. On a surface level they are polar opposites, but on closer inspection (hopefully,) more similarities than differences emerge. Amy is herself an outsider, though by choice. She seeks to find someone who understands her despair—a despair she struggles against and seeks to overcome. (Symbolically, perhaps, attempting to overcome her own despair by defeating it in others). Her core value is genuineness. She is intelligent, but does not flaunt her intelligence. She also carries a bit of a messiah complex. Given those qualities, I think she would naturally gravitate toward someone like Cassie. For her part, Cassie is obviously a conflicted character. She embraces her despair and nihilistic tendencies in the same way that Amy pushes them away. But there’s something that stops her from cutting herself entirely off from the rest of the world. Amy seeks to redeem this. Initially what brings these girls together is a shared loneliness. Though again, both are alone for different reasons. (Apparent reasons for one, hidden reasons for the other). Their friendship begins as they make the choice to be alone together. In the end, their relationship blossoms into something much more powerful, though whether this is rooted in unconditional love or self-interest or something else entirely is ultimately a question I would leave to each reader.

Not sure if that answers your question, Debbie. If I swung and missed, let me know and I’ll try to give you a better answer. :)

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Aline wrote: "Hello P.S. and thanks for answering our questions!
I would like to ask you two questions:
1. Was the book "Cassie Draws the Universe" inspired to you by one of your own experiences?
2. What deci..."

Hi Aline. Thanks for the questions.

1.A lot of Cassie Draws the Universe was influenced by my own experiences growing up in rural Kansas. Like Cassie, I went to a consolidated K-12 school in a small Kansas town. The classroom scenes are an amalgam of imaginary and actual experiences I had as a student in Kansas and also as a high school teacher in Florida. Cassie’s nameless hometown is modeled after a particular small town in Kansas (which shall remain nameless), her house is modeled after a house along a highway I drove by every day, the grain elevator is modeled after an abandoned grain elevator near the house I grew up in. Etc.

2.Reading good literature always inspires me to write my own. I’m not sure why. That inspiration seems very natural to me and I personally don’t understand how other people can read good literature and NOT be inspired to start writing immediately. Most of my life has been a struggle NOT to write. If I had my way, I would spend half my hours reading and the other half writing. Unfortunately, the exigencies of living don’t really allow me that luxury. Perhaps someday I’ll write a best-seller, and then I’ll be able to write as much as I would like. :)

Nicolle wrote: "Hiya P.S, I adored reading your book and would like to know which authors or particular book inspired you to write?"

Hi Nicolle. Thanks so much for the kind words. I'm really glad you enjoyed Cassie. I can't say there's one particular book or author that has inspired me to write. I've always loved books. I love the transformative power of literature. I love reading something that leaves me feeling like a different person when I reach the words, "The End." When exposed to literature like that, I find that I want to emulate it, and I guess that's what made me want to write a book like Cassie Draws the Universe. A VERY brief, non-exhaustive list of works that I have found personally "transformative" would include Moby Dick, The Scarlet Letter, Slaughterhouse V, Grendel, The Crying of Lot 49, Lost in the Funhouse, and the poetry of T.S. Eliot and Wallace Stevens. The list could go on, of course, but those are the ones that spring to mind immediately.

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Hey all,

For the rest of this week I'll be here (in the Cassie Draws the Universe Q & A Group) responding regularly to any and all questions I receive, so please feel free to post any questions or comments related to Cassie Draws the Universe (or anything else, for that matter) and I'll answer them as soon as I can.

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Thank you for choosing to join this group. I will be on here regularly starting March 5, 2011, to start the discussion, but feel free to start a topic, leave a message, or ask a question before then.

psb