In love with Iowa

Well, I'm here. If you saw the new Star Trek movie, you may remember an early scene where young Jim is speeding down roads flanked by wide cornfields, being chased by a cop. Patchwork fields for miles to see, big red barns, grain and corn silos and water towers - that is rural Iowa and that's what I remember from flying in from Chicago.It was dusk and the light was gentle. Sawyer was waiting to pick me up at Cedar Rapids (yes, it does sound like the setting of a soap opera) and drive me through to my home for the next three months in Iowa City.

There is a fabulous mix of fun people on the International Writing Program - 35 in total, plus the teaching staff. Alice, from Melbourne is into young adult books too (Melbourne), Osman from Sierra Leone who has given me some fabulous advice about writing for teenagers, and Millicent from Jamaica who is in love with the Flight of the Conchords. I spoke a little with Maung from Myanmar because he is the editor of a children's magazine, and the first thing Dragica of Switzerland said to me was:
"You are Kathy, ja? My son vants me to take you home vith me."
"I'm sure I'm a bit old for your son," I said.
"He's 32," she said. "And he likes older voman."

I'm not in the Iowa House Hotel where most of the other people are being housed. I'm staying in the College Green House - a period house which was built in 1890, which is only a 20-minute walk to the International Writing Program at Shambaugh House.

I'm not disappointed with anything yet. I have the most amazing view of the College Green, and the walk into town (where the good cafes are) is going to be good for me. There's a cute little yoga joint right around the corner from where I live. Can you believe that? My landlady seems happy to show me around. She took me through the Summit District Heritage Walk and the Farmer's Market on my first weekend, where I bought caramel (pronouned carrrrr-mel) pecan rolls from an Amish man ... she even brought me a piece of homemade apple spice cake this evening. How good is that? And she took me to Kalona, which is an Amish community, complete with horses and carts, and bakeries with the most amazing fruit pies and yeasty buns. Have you spotted the recurring theme in this paragraph? I'm not going to starve here.

Check out this parody video called Amish Paradise by Weird Al.

If you need a laugh

It normally takes me a couple of weeks to knock off a book but if it's funny and the characters are great, I'll manage it in a couple of hours. Stop in the name of pants! is the latest in the Confessions of Georgia Nicholson series by Louise Rennison, and once again I fell in love with Georgia's diaries about the activities of her psychotic cat Angus, sister Libby, pseudo-love interests Robbie the sex-god, Dave the Laugh and Italian hunk Masimo.

The dialogue is fabuloso. Georgia would probably say it is a mixture of maturiosity and craposity. I don't think I've grown up because I find these books hilarious. The only disappointment was getting to the end and thinking I have to wait for eons for the next installment. The good news is that Angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging has just been made into a movie.

Adventure, thrills and spills

They're plot driven, pacy reads, with an emphasis on action, rather than relationships between characters. Reading them is a lot like watching an action thriller. The detail is in the stunts and the gadgets. You normally can't help but like the main character in each one, because they're often orphaned or alone, or separate from others in some way. They are everyman, ordinary characters in lots of ways, but they always have a few understated talents that make them extraordinary.

I've enjoyed the Alex Rider books by Anthony Horowitz and the Cherub series by Robert Muchamore. The Charles Higson series Young Bond looks popular too, as does the Zac Power spy series for younger readers. It's interesting that primarily adult writers have started to write YA series recently. Who has read the new YA series by James Patterson, Chris Ryan and Andy McNab for instance? What do you think of them?

Twilight Saga Rocks

I just finished reading the four books in the Twilight saga by Stephanie Meyer. Talk about blown away! I was very sceptical about whether I would enjoy books about vampire romance, but Bella, Edward and Jacob were so full of passion and intensity that it was impossible to not get drawn into their love story.

It reminded me a lot of Wuthering Heights, so it didn't surprise me that it's one of Bella's favourite books, and that she even quotes from it. Breaking Dawn arrived on request at the library before I had read the other three, so I borrowed a bestseller copy of Twilight, and then was so desperate to read the next two that I trawled through four shops before finding a place that hadn't sold out.

These books may be about teenagers but they're not just for teenagers. Everyone will remember the hunger, the restraint, the isolation and fear connected with teenage love. The only problem might be that you don't want to put each book down and you never want the series to end. The good news - apparently her follow-on book called The Host is very different, but just as enthralling.