Claire Ess

True Ease in Writing comes from Art, not Chance,
As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance.
~Alexander Pope

Oh, how I inspire to dance! Let's just say I adore the written word (much less favorable about the spoken!)...and sometimes I can't sleep unless I write. I'm also a bit shy, actually QUITE, and I haven't gotten the balls quite yet to put in my latest work. I've always dreamed of finishing that book, THE BOOK, MY BOOK, but have only managed thousands of short stories. I only write poems when I've had a Chardonnay. I swear like a trooper and attempt ghastly writings when I've had a few whiskeys...drama in my life has definately contributed to my tone...and I embarrass myself for fun when reading my work aloud.

After the noise of the city for so many years, we moved to a Steven King-esque small town...so close to NYC, yet so far. However, we are on a lake and can finally take a deep breath without choking. Sadly enough, I have not yet encountered any Stepford wives, ghost-children, or small-town murderous cults...seems pretty bread and butter...although it does let the imagination go wild....

I've gone underground for my latest novel...I worked for FREE at at "gentleman's club" as a waitress for two weeks for the sake of research (although I must admit two things: (1) I never once witnessed a "gentleman" within the club's confines, and (2) I quite enjoyed myself, pretending to live and work on the "wild side"!!!)~~although I would never admit that to anyone that knows me personally!! (I would put a smiley emoticon here except I HATE emoticons!)...I love any first novel by an up and coming author, I love to be read to~~and I can never give up a book from my library.

And for the rest:

writing of course, having a drink and a laugh, dancing with my son, cozy pubs and outdoor cafes, flea markets, EBAY, big-eyed prints, mod decor, going out on our canoe, breathing in the smell of different countries, whiskey and cokes, vintage finds, mood lighting, cigarette holders, peep-toe heels, lippy, tattoos, sitting out on the lake near dark or dawn, sheepskin rugs, dirty motorcycle boots, peacock feathers, pumpkin spiced-lattes, vintage Playboy, amateur photography, staying up till sunrise with my husband, seeing my son laugh.

SOME FAVORITE AUTHORS:
Di Dante Alighieri, Faulkner, Frost, Huxley, Wharton, Burgess, Nabokov, Pirsig, Knowles, Coupland, Kafka, Bret Easton Ellis, Irvine Welsh, Bram Stoker, Ann Rice, Umberto Eco, T.S. Eliot, Patricia Kennealy, Chaucer, Joyce, Charlotte and Emily Bronte, Virginia Woolf, Edgar Alan Poe, Jane Austen, Machiavelli, Forster, Tennyson...autobiographies (NOT ghost-written!!), yada yada yada...

NEW OBSESSIONS: finding old diaries and letters at flea markets, ebay or similar, chihuahua motorcycle gear.