Literary Birthday – 7 October – Paula McLain

Happy Birthday, Paula McLain, born on 7 October 1965.

Paula McLain Quotes

1. I always keep at it, because I have to. Writing is completely part of who I am. Even if I never published another book, I would keep at it—because it feeds my life and makes it richer.
2. Not everyone out in a storm wants to be saved.
3. Books could be an incredible adventure. I stayed under my blanket and barely moved, and no one would have guessed how my mind raced and my heart soared with stories.
4. Happiness is so awfully complicated, but freedom isn’t. You’re either tied down or you’re not.
5. When I was nineteen, I submitted a poem to Cosmopolitan Magazine, and it was accepted. They sent me a check for twenty-five dollars, and I felt so pleased and proud to have it, I almost couldn’t cash it. The poem, as I remember it, was quite terrible—but feeling like a real author, that was pretty amazing. I took my first creative writing class when I was 24, then went onto to get a graduate degree in poetry. I’ve sort of never looked back from there.
6. I’ve found my sweet spot as a writer. I’m terrified but incredibly excited to do something slightly beyond my reach… I really want to write the best book I’m physically and intellectually capable of writing.

Paula McLain is an American author known for historical fiction, literary suspense, memoir, and poetry. She is best known for her novel The Paris Wife, a fictionalised account of Ernest Hemingway’s first marriage. McLain is also the author of two collections of poetry and the memoir Like Family: Growing Up in Other People’s Houses. Her novels include A Ticket to Ride, Circling the Sun, Love And Ruin, When The Stars Go Dark, and Skylark. She received an MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan. She has been a resident of Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony. She has also received fellowships from the Ohio Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Follow her on Instagram.

Photograph: Author’s Website

by Amanda Patterson
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