Last night I went to see my amazing writer-friend Pam Rosenthal reading as her alter ego Molly Weatherfield. I’d read Carrie’s Story, but I’d forgotten the genius of Pam’s use of first person. She writes vividly, passionately and intimately, skillfully using her topic (which she affectionately called elegant porn) to illustrate a young woman’s complex inner world as she takes a journey into a sexual underworld.
Carrie’s Story, and the follow-up, Safe Word are not romance. They are thoughtful, intriguing, skillfully rendered journeys into the mysteries of sexuality, motivation, connection and meaning. As in life, those journeys are not always pretty. And yet Carrie remains a complex figure, intellectually honest while extending to the absolute limits of her emotional vulnerability.
Those who prefer to stay firmly in the realm of historical romance, but still want to experience Pam’s lovely prose, should check out her rita nominated and rita winning Pam books.
Oh yes, going on as I was about Pam, I forgot to check in about The Project. All I have to say can be summed up in this picture:
Yes. Adult beverage time, baby. And I just happened to have some strawberries soaking in chocolate vodka for the occasion…