Distinguished writer reads excerpts from her novel

      
By Katie Botkin
   Argonaut Staff

      

      
Distinguished visiting writer Melanie Rae
      Thon read from "Sweethearts," her upcoming novel, drawing
      in the audience with her voice and blue eyes and captivating
      them with her words.

      


      "You can go home, anytime the scenes I sign scare you,"
      she said, telling the story of two children's crime spree as
      seen through the eyes of their deaf aunt.

      


      In the story, the two kids waylay an old pediatrician, stopping
      him in his truck and smashing his window. "Through the spiderweb
      of cracked glass, the boy and man see each other, broken,"
      Thon read. The boy and his sister steal $17, a bottle of Demerol
      and the doctor's wedding ring. The doctor goes as a patient to
      the hospital.

      


      The story is set in Montana, and to write it, Thon went to Montana
      and did her research.  

      
Research, she says, is important. She handled
      and shot a gun so her characters could. She visited the Montana
      State Penitentiary, where the boy character, Flint, would eventually
      wind up.  

      


      She told how the tour and history of the prison affected her
      story. In reality, there was a riot in the penitentiary several
      years ago in maximum security, and prisoners murdered five of
      their fellow inmates. In her fictional tale, this would not really
      affect Flint directly,  (he wouldn't be in maximum security)
      but she thought the story should be included anyway.

      


      "A storyteller must follow compassion where it leads him,"
      Thon said quoting Norman McClain, whom she said has influenced
      her. The riot scene, in the book, lasted less than three pages,
      she said, but it was important to include to bring out the feelings
      of her character.

      


      After the reading, which took place on Wednesday in the UI Law
      School courtroom, her listeners discussed her work among themselves.
      One said he felt as if he were in the book.

      


      Thon has received grants, awards and critical acclaim. She has
      two novels out currently and two collections of short stories,
      "Girls in the Grass," and "First, Body."

      


      She teaches at the University of Utah and this week taught a
      graduate fiction workshop at UI. 

      Thon's advice to student writers who want to get published: "Forget
      trying to get stuff published and just write what you want."

      	

      
 

      
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