LJ Cohen is joining us today to talk about her novel, A Litany for a Broken World Here’s the publisher’s description:
A young girl’s disastrous first foray through the multiverse cleaves her from her family and abandons her in a homeless encampment, adrift in a world and a body not her own.
A doctor struggling with grief volunteers for the annual Boston homeless census and is confronted by the impossible and her deeply buried childhood trauma.
A lonely, disaffected seer, rejected by those he seeks to help, is drawn from his home by a desperate call across the world walls.
When the three strangers, each broken in some way, are pulled into a conflict between those with the ability to travel the multiverse and the organization seeking to exploit them, they must risk everything that matters to heal the fractured places in themselves and throughout reality.
What’s LJ’s favorite bit?
i followed a trail of wrong to you
It wasn’t until long after I had finished drafting LITANY FOR A BROKEN WORLD and was well into revisions that I saw its parallels to The Wizard of Oz. Somehow, I had not realized this even as I was writing the character of Poplar – a small terrier mix dog. Like Toto, she is brave and plucky. Unlike Toto, for reasons she has not yet divulged, Poplar is able to telepathically communicate with some of the characters who share the story with her.
While I didn’t have pets growing up, throughout my adult life, I have been adopted by various dogs. Most came to me through canine rescue organizations. Some as puppies, others as adult dogs. I like to think I have a decent grasp on how they process the world and Poplar is definitely a blend of all the pups I have ever shared my home with. Including Mya, the hound/border collie mix we lost to cancer just a few weeks ago.
While Poplar is not a main protagonist, she is the essential heart of this story. Her earnest soul brings comfort and lightness to each of the characters with whom she interacts. (Except for the antagonist, but that’s to be expected.) And because she is incapable of lying or manipulating her feelings, she can be direct in a way her human companions cannot.
The bit of dialogue I quoted at the top of this post is from Reina Vettel’s POV when she meets Poplar for the first time.
The dog’s mindvoice had the feel and cadence of a bark, but the meaning was as clear as if it had somehow learned to speak aloud. She focused on sending her own thoughts directly to the dog. ::How is this possible?::
Poplar stiffened. ::ow! no shout!::
“Sorry,” Reina whispered. Did all the animals in this strange world communicate like this?
::not from this place::
::No, I’m not. I don’t know how I got here.::
The dog shook its head in a very human gesture of frustration. ::thorne and me come from another where::
“Wait. Are you…trapped? Like me?” The thought of another Traveler here should have brought her relief. Instead it was muted by horror. What if she’d landed in an animal? It was shocking enough to have woken up in a stranger’s body, but at least it was the same kind of being she’d left behind.
Poplar stared at Reina with the pink of a tongue lolling out of its mouth. The voice in her mind was laughing. ::dog i was before dog i am still:: The laughter faded. ::trapped though wrong smells wrong everything:: The dog hung its head. ::i followed a trail of wrong to you::
Poplar wasn’t any part of Litany’s initial planning. I certainly didn’t start out thinking that the story needed a talking dog. Especially not a story with themes of memory, identity, trauma, and repair. But once Poplar did show up, I knew that I couldn’t write the book without her. She enabled me to add a dash of humor and sweetness to an otherwise intense narrative. And somehow, like every dog who has shared my life, she became intertwined with the lives of her fellow characters. They each became clearer and more alive once she was there.
I often say we don’t deserve dogs. Perhaps there is even enough scientific evidence to question which of us domesticated the other. Regardless, I am grateful for Poplar. She is a gift this story gave me and a way to honor all of my past canine companions.
Poplar is my favorite bit of LITANY FOR A BROKEN WORLD.
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BIO:
LJ Cohen is the author of eight novels across the science fiction and fantasy genres and was among the first wave of indie writers to qualify for SFWA membership. DERELICT, the first book in her Halcyone Space series, was named a Library Journal self-e select title and book of the year in 2014. Her ninth novel, LITANY FOR A BROKEN WORLD is available now.
A retired physical therapist, LJ uses her clinical knowledge and skills to injure characters. She serves on the board of Broad Universe as well as several local non-profits in her community. In addition to her creative work as a writer and role as a community organizer, she is also a potter and fiber artist. She lives on a homestead farm in central MA and is extremely proud of her tractor riding and tree pruning skills.
