Out of Breath in Creations Magazine

I was so happy this morning to see a wonderful review of Out of Breath in Creations Magazine.

The reviewer, Erica Settino, writes:

Out Of Breath far surpasses the industry standard for young adult literature, and introduces an exciting and rare form of thought-provoking subject matter into mainstream storytelling. Blair Richmond fuses an undoubtedly honed craft with vivid description, emotional characterization and development, and the subtler, yet ever-present gift of metaphor. This is what brings her voice to life.

This review was first published in This Dish is Veg.



 

Writing about running

My main character Kat is a runner.

An amazing runner.

I'm an Oregonian and we love our runners. Like the great one, Prefontaine.

Many people have asked if I'm some Olympic athlete writing incognito.

I wish.

I'm a runner but not of Olympian standards. It's a hobby. A lifestyle. An excuse to procrastinate when I'm trying to write.

But for the purposes of this blog, let's assume that I am an Olympic athlete.

With great hair.

Long legs.

Arms that don't waddle.

The endurance of a gazelle.

….. or not. But that's the fun of writing fiction. In Out of Breath, I could envision being Kat, crossing the finish line of a nose-bleeding, foot freezing mountain race. It was fun to be a competitive runner for a while, even if it was only in character.

Lithia Park

Following closely on my last post -- where in the world is Lithia -- I seek to further confuse you by introducing you to Lithia Park.

And Lithia Park does actually exist.

It's a long and meandering park that closely follows a creek as it begins its long journey to the sea.

Right about now, the park is thick with tourists so I avoid it. I like it best when it's just me and the water and the occasional deer.

Where in the world is Lithia?

Readers of Out of Breath have often emailed me wondering where in the world is the little bucolic town of Lithia, Oregon.

I'll save you some searching on Google Maps and tell you right now that Lithia doesn't exist.

At least not as Lithia.

But if you visit a little town named Ashland, down near the California border, I'm quite certain you'll see the resemblances.

Ashland is home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and is situated at the edge of the Klamath National Forest -- the perfect refuge for ghosts and vampires and lots of other creepy residents! And there are so many hiking trails up in those hills that I don't think I will ever see them all.

The lovely town of Ashland, Oregon

So if you want to see the town that inspired Lithia, drop by Ashland.