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Allison Larkin

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You are here: Home / 100 Things / This, however, is something to put up with

This, however, is something to put up with

September 25, 2008 Filed Under: 100 Things


# 24 – I wear the ugliest sweater known to man when I write.

When I saw Wonder Boys for the first time and got to the part where Michael Douglas wears that raggedy pink chenille robe while he’s writing, I almost died, because I do something very similar.

I bought the ugliest sweater known to man used from a thrift shop that sold clothes by the pound when I was in college. It was my “smoking sweater.” I bought it the sweater because I didn’t want to get my winter coat all stinky when Lady and I smoked Swisher Sweets on the dorm balcony. We took turns spitting over the railing, and thought being cigar smoking, lugie hocking girls made us so bad-assed.

I haven’t smoked a crappy cigar, or any cigar for that matter, in years and years and years and years. But the sweater gets lots of use. As soon as it gets cold around here, I throw my writing sweater on when I work.

It’s ESPRIT, probably circa 1988, made from acrylic yarn, about 5 sizes too big, and scratchy as all hell, but it’s really really warm. I guess it’s my security blanket or something. I’ve actually never really thought much about why I’m so attracted to my writing sweater. Maybe it reminds me of good times with Lady. Maybe it feels like my lifeline back to me when I’m spending time hanging out in someone else’s head. Maybe it’s a statement to myself that it doesn’t matter what I look like while I’m writing. Or maybe, I like it just because I like it.

On Tuesday, when my husband came home from work, I was wearing the sweater, which falls halfway to my knees, a pair of black and white running shorts, and big fluffy pink socks with black flip-flops. “Oh sweetie,” J said laughing, “Nice outfit.”

But damn, if I didn’t get some awesome work done on my April book on Tuesday. There’s magic in that sweater, I tell you.

#25 – I clean up real nice, I swear.

9 Comments

Comments

  1. nancypearlwannabe says

    September 25, 2008 at 5:27 pm

    Wow, maybe I need a smoking sweater! I haven’t smoke a clove cigarette for about 10 years, but just the scent of them brings me back to college evenings outside the library…

    Reply
  2. Noelle says

    September 25, 2008 at 6:50 pm

    I haven’t thought about Esprit in years. That was my favorite place to buy clothes for about a year sometime in the late 80’s.

    And I have a hoodie that I wear at work almost every day. But it doesn’t have the same charm at all.

    Reply
  3. The Modern Gal says

    September 25, 2008 at 11:40 pm

    Oh man, whatever happened to Esprit?

    I have to be absolutely comfortable to do my best writing, so I can support your sweater.

    Reply
  4. Mickey says

    September 26, 2008 at 3:15 pm

    I went through a cigar phase when I was 18-19. There is no clothing associated with it, though.

    Maybe I need a writing sweater.

    Reply
  5. Courtney says

    September 27, 2008 at 3:41 pm

    Wow, that is one ugly sweater! But I’m glad it brings you so much joy.

    Reply
  6. My home - My life says

    September 29, 2008 at 8:33 pm

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    Reply
  7. Wendy says

    September 30, 2008 at 12:26 am

    Can I borrow your sweater?? Maybe I’ll get some good writing ideas too. LOL.
    Thanks for stopping by my blog. Actually, maybe we could trade – my summer sandals for your sweater? Hmmmmmmm? O.K. maybe not.

    Reply
  8. Buzzings of a Queen Bee! says

    September 30, 2008 at 2:14 am

    That is awesome! I love that you have a sweater that you always wear, it is very comforting somehow. I bet you just love to curl up in it and work. Thanks for coming to visit me today, it is so nice to meet you! :)
    Carrie

    Reply
  9. Melissa says

    October 1, 2008 at 1:11 pm

    Thanks for coming by my blog. I adore your blog! I will be a regular visitor.

    Anyways, I have sweater that kinda reminds me of yours ~ it’s a little itchy, but oh so warm. I don’t wear it to write in though. I work in pj’s ~ as a matter of fact I live in pj’s.

    ~Falling leaves~
    Melissa

    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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