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Allison Larkin

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You are here: Home / writing / Mrs. Larkin is my mother-in-law.

Mrs. Larkin is my mother-in-law.

October 14, 2008 Filed Under: writing

On Friday, I went to a junior high school about an hour south of here to discuss Bathtub Mary with a group of 8th graders who’d spent the week studying it in class. It was amazing. It’s wonderful to have friends and family say they like your story, but it’s another thing to have 43 8th graders show up for an optional meeting after school in the library on a beautiful, sunny Friday to ask questions about it. This, I believe, is probably more of a testament to their amazing teacher than it is to my writing, but it still felt like the highest compliment I’ve ever received.

These kids were so enthusiastic about their questions. They wanted to know so much more about the characters. What was Margie’s mom’s name? How did Blake meet Bart? How did Blake get AIDS? Who was the vandal? Did Margie’s mom know she kept the Mary in the weeds? What happens to Margie next? Was any of the story about me or people I know?

By the time I was halfway through answering one question, a hand would pop up with another one. 8th grade was the year I started to lose all enthusiasm for school, so I couldn’t quite wrap my brain around theirs. They were fantastic, thoughtful, intelligent kids, and it was an honor to spend an hour talking with them.

It was completely bizarre to see a xeroxed test with questions about my story and my name right up at the top. It was also completely bizarre to have all these kids calling me Mrs. Larkin, because even though I’m headed toward the 5 year mark on my marriage, I am just Allie to everyone I know. But it was completely amazing to be even a small part of their learning process.

7 Comments

Comments

  1. Melissa says

    October 15, 2008 at 11:58 am

    What a great experience! To hear the kids were so involved.

    ~Peaches~
    Melissa

    Reply
  2. Howling Hill says

    October 15, 2008 at 12:02 pm

    Since I became aware there is a “Ms.” option I’ve insisted on being Ms. Howling Hill. I didn’t want to be Miss and I didn’t want to be Mrs. I wanted to be Ms. because of the anonymity of it and because it made my feminist heart skip a beat.

    But this year I’ve asked the babies to call me Mrs. Hill. It’s weird even to me and even weirder to those who know me. But Hill is my last name and not Wolf’s so when I’m called Mrs. Hill it reminds me of my grandmother, my only living grandparent.

    I’m not going to have kids so I’ll never be a grandmother. While skipping out on the whole mother thing is fine with me I do have sadness about missing out on grandmotherhood. My grandmothers both mean the world to me so there’s a part of me that wants to be Nana to someone. But it’s hard to be a grandmother if you’re not a mother. Mrs. Hill is as close as I can get.

    Reply
  3. nancypearlwannabe says

    October 15, 2008 at 12:22 pm

    Aww, yay! Respectful 8th graders are a very powerful thing. It sounds like you had fun and I am super impressed that there are quizzes being taken about your story.

    Reply
  4. Noelle says

    October 15, 2008 at 3:31 pm

    I can’t wrap my head around being called Miss, Ms. or Mrs. I’m just “Noelle.” Now I want to write a story to see what the test would look like!

    Reply
  5. Allie says

    October 15, 2008 at 4:19 pm

    M- Thanks!

    HH – If I could skip right to grandmother, I would do it in a heartbeat!

    NPW – They were super respectful. I remember feeling a little more on the too cool for school side of things at that age.

    N – That should be some kind of blog challenge.

    Reply
  6. Mickey says

    October 17, 2008 at 6:46 pm

    That’s just awesome.

    Good for those kids and good for you!

    Reply
  7. The Modern Gal says

    October 18, 2008 at 7:14 pm

    Oh, I’m so glad that it turned out well. Congratulations!

    I’ve still got the link to Bathtub Mary and I’m waiting for a good cozy day to curl up with it. Can’t wait!

    Reply

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Allison Larkin

allielarkinwrites

Internationally bestselling author of three novels as Allie Larkin and THE PEOPLE WE KEEP. Look for HOME OF THE AMERICAN CIRCUS @gallerybooks May 2025

“Larkin abandons the typical story arc in favor “Larkin abandons the typical story arc in favor of a more naturally flowing up-and-down journey that basks in beautiful moments like a slice-of-life story. Whether it’s banter at the bar Freya’s working or a leaking roof that is simply one more thing than she can possibly handle right now, the characters and their experiences are so real and pure that their joys and sorrows are amplified tenfold.” 

So honored by this AP review of Home of the American Circus! 

https://apnews.com/article/home-american-circus-allison-larkin-book-review-79ea3d1fdb69ef16232a8dfb7d148ad6

#homeoftheamericancircus #booksbooksbooks
I’ve seen a bunch of references to Home of the A I’ve seen a bunch of references to Home of the American Circus as my second novel. It’s actually my 5th! Before The People We Keep, under the name Allie Larkin, I wrote three books: Stay, Why Can’t I Be You, and Swimming for Sunlight. Here they are in their various editions with some of their translations! (And @justjuliawhelan also narrated Stay and Why Can’t I Be You, if you’d like to listen!)

Fun fact: That gorgeous dog on the hardcover of Stay was actually our dog Argo, and I took that photo of him when @duttonbooks couldn’t find the perfect photo of a black German Shepherd. #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram
Pub Day Part One. The thing is, it’s really hard Pub Day Part One. The thing is, it’s really hard to be a creative person in the world, and the blessing, the salvation, the joy of it is the community around art: the writers who will call an emergency novel Zoom meeting when you’re stuck on a draft, the ones who roll up their sleeves and make sure your words are saying what you intend to say, the one who writes an interview to promote your book in the local paper, the reader who captures pictures of the event and makes a reel, the bookstore saints who plan a meal based on the story and serve blue and yellow cupcakes and sing happy birthday to your book on launch day, the readers who show up and get books signed and ask great questions and tell stories about their lives. That’s book magic. And thanks to @townecenterbks (especially Judy and Stacey although I know there are bookstore saints behind the scenes too) and @reneewritesnovels and @woolfmania and @cassandra.a.dunn and @lindalattelessons @aneedleinmybookstack and everyone who showed up to Read it and Eat, I will never ever forget the pub day for Home of the American Circus. You all made it so special. Thank you! I love you. I’m so grateful to be part of the community of writers and readers. ❤️🐘
@deborahblakeauthor RIGHT BACK AT YOU! ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I will be back on Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I will be back on the grid tomorrow! I love you all so much and I’m so grateful for your support! 😘😘😘 #homeoftheamericancircus
Well, here we are on the eve of Pub Day for Home o Well, here we are on the eve of Pub Day for Home of the American Circus! 

You know that classic bit of writing advice about how you’re supposed to write the book that scares you? Well, for a long time the thought of actually writing and sharing Home of the American Circus scared the heck out of me. I spent many many years collecting ideas for this book, terrified by the thought of how deep I’d have to dig to tell this story the right way. The book is firmly fiction, and the characters are all my imaginary friends, but the setting and themes are literally and figuratively close to home for me. Freya’s story isn’t mine, we have different life events and demographics, but I understand her sense of grief and loss and floundering and hope on a cellular level. And of all the characters I’ve ever written, the way her mind works is the closest to how I think and feel. It takes place in the town where I grew up. And I think when you read this book, you won’t know my life story, but you will know the tenor of my heart. I grew up as a kid with undiagnosed ADHD in a place where I didn’t fit, frantically trying to look normal, believing it was the only way anyone would love me. Always falling short, terrified of failure. And then in my early twenties, I dropped out of college and worked at a biker bar and made such a huge mess of my life that I was forced to build myself up again brick by brick—this time knowing that failure isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a person. That as long as you can find the strength to try again in one way or another, falling flat on your face is not the end of the world. And I learned that the only way to truly feel loved is to be yourself and see who’s up for loving you in your natural form. The people I keep taught me that. And even though it scared me, this was a book I needed to write, it’s the work I’m most proud of, with characters I love the most. So sharing it doesn’t feel like the end of the world at all. Just the end of the world where I have not shared this novel set in ny hometown with a character who has a heart like mine. #misheardlyrics #rem #homeoftheamericancircus #awkwardguitar #itstheendoftheworldasweknowitandifeelfine
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