Mind of My Mind might be my favorite novel by Octavia Butler. Or it might be Wild Seed. I need to reread both in the first quarter of 2022. Not to say that one or the other is the best or even my favorite but to enjoy the stories and the writing.
As I recommit to finishing my own novels I need the strength of Octavia Butler. I need her voice. Reading interviews with her might be just what I need as I work through the 16 NowNow recommended techniques for finding your voice.
Actually, I should read the four book Patternist series.
Confession … I hate the book Clay’s Ark. It depresses me. How does Clay’s Ark even belong to the same series as three of my all time favorite books?
But what if I read Clay’s Ark with my writer’s awareness on high? By that I mean read the novel for more than story, try to see all the craft behind and beyond the story that I dislike.
How is the tale constructed? Does the book do what Octavia Butler wanted it to do? So many reasons to read and reread them all.
An aside: I met Octavia Butler back in 2005 at the University of Louisville’s 20th Century Lit Conference. I was on campus for class and learned that she was going to speak. PLUS I was backer #62 for the Kickstarter project of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower: The Opera by Toshi Reagon. According to the creator, “In 2017/18 Parable did 19 shows on 4 continents. About 10,000 people saw the show.”
Buy all four Octavia Butler Patternist Series Books
*** To look forward to: a TV series based on Octavia Butler’s Dawn directed by Ava DuVernay and Victoria Mahoney for Amazon.