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And This Happened Where? 1/12/2011 11:45:09 AM
The bike rumbled up to the curb in downtown Athens, announcing his arrival like a lion advancing on new territory. Goddamn, but it was hot. He was used to hot places. Not that he had ever learned to like them. Rural Indiana, where he grew up; Parris Island; the bottom of hell—he always ended up in places where sweat was part of the dress code. The sidewalk was thick with college kids; they kept the place going, from what he had heard. College towns were a handy place to hang for a while. Nobody asked too many questions. If anything, people encouraged a come-as-you-are attitude. The casualness appealed to him. Conforming would never work out—ask any Marine... Stepping to the curb, he attempted to blend in with the crowds of backpacks and portable CD players. He felt staring eyes as he moved among them. Girls mostly. Girls always looked at him. He wasn’t the typical fare, with hair as long as theirs and the scruffy beard. On most days it led to the Jesus remark before lunch. He didn’t care, but sometimes he wanted to lean into their probing, dewy eyes and whisper, “Yeah, just think what your old man would do if you brought me home.” He liked college towns, but he wasn’t interested in college girls. Despite their glances, they weren’t really looking for a guy like him either.
That’s a sneak peek from Chapter Two of BEAUTIFUL DISASTER, newly released from Penguin Group. It introduces Flynn and a setting that is the heart of this novel, Athens, Georgia. From unsuspecting first draft readers, to fellow bloggers, to my editor, it’s the question I’ve been asked most: “Why Athens, Georgia?” The short answer is that Mia and Flynn’s story could take place in any college town, but it’s the one I could convey in meticulous detail. Like I said, it’s the short answer.
Unfinished business, haunting, evocative, didactic, the inside of a pinball machine stuck on tilt; in my mind, each affords an apt recollection of Athens. I’d like to tell you that every reminiscence falls neatly into boxes marked fond and fun. But that would be a lie. For all its frivolity and vigor, some of my unhappiest memories are also tied to Athens, and I’m sure this influenced my decision. A novel’s setting is its stage, and from it a writer needs to draw on a breadth of emotions. Whether it was the catalyst or cattle prod, Athens is that place for me.
For this reason, and a myriad of others, the setting was a natural fit for BEAUTIFUL DISASTER, which chronicles the love story between Mia and Flynn. And to answer the second most asked question: no, there’s nothing autobiographical about it. Well, almost nothing. A man who might fit Flynn’s description—I’m sure I’ve tailored the memory—once tapped me on the shoulder, in downtown Athens, asking if he could buy me a beer. I said no, though, obviously, the incident had an impact, or so you’ll learn a bit further into Chapter Two. BEAUTIFUL DISASTER'S Southern setting plays host to the majority of the novel. However, you might be surprised to find that the Athens portion of the story spans a single year. Into that frame, a snapshot really, I forged a relationship that packed the punch of any famous photograph: V-J Day, the stark-eyed girl from Afghanistan, skyscraper workers having lunch, circa 1932. Each picture tells a poignant story and from this North Georgia venue I chose to tell mine. Athens was the perfect choice because in addition to haunting, didactic, and all the other descriptions people associate with the city and its inseparable university shadow, anything can happen here.
College towns are free from opinions while being equally inundated with them. It was a good canvas for me, an even better one for Flynn. Loner, drifter, heir apparent to mayhem, a man like him could be anybody in a place like that, and I took advantage. Because Flynn’s character is so elusive, I used what was real and tangible, anchoring him to the page. It was a precarious balance, something that challenged me when I removed Flynn from a setting that fit as smoothly as his rough exterior. I have no idea what readers will take from chapter to chapter. But when I look at BEAUTIFUL DISASTER, I see it in phases. Revisions were sparse in Athens while scenes from other settings took time—years in some cases. The novel draws to its conclusion in Maryland, just outside Washington D.C. The setting has no value here—not like Athens, it’s simply a means to an end. But by then it’s okay. By then what has happened between the characters, in that city, are so intertwined that the mood set in Athens transcends physical space, carrying through to the last word. The accompanying photograph is random, though it could not depict a more deliberate choice.
