Bloomington inspires novel

IU alumna Katie Nelson studied philosophy in the late 1990s. Now, at 32 years old, she’s writing a book.

The book will be about “walking a high wire fifty feet off the ground without a net and the resulting fear of falling off, but dreading the possibility of throwing yourself off just to get the damn thing over with,” Nelson said. “Fun stuff like that.”

The catch? Katie’s a fictional character — but an IU alum is behind her creation.
Michael Boggs, who graduated from IU in 1973, has just published his first novel, “From an Island in the Ocean.”

Primarily set in Bloomington during Katie’s college days, the novel contains settings many students would find familiar: Ballantine Hall, Showalter Fountain and Nick’s English Hut. Katie frequents the latter.

“In a large sense, it talks about what college students are going through, the angst they may have,” Boggs said.

The book begins with Katie, the main character, telling her mother and their waiter of her writing ambitions. She then reflects on her college experiences.

“Katie, she’s obviously got some similarities to me,” said Boggs, who began to study philosophy his sophomore year, just as Katie does in his book.

Boggs was rejected by 51 publishers — which he humorously references in the book’s satiric reviews at the start — but he was not deterred. After all, the author of best-seller “The Help” was turned down by 60 literary agents, Boggs noted.
And so, instead of following a traditional publishing route, Boggs decided to self-publish via Amazon.

“In 2010, Amazon, which is the largest retailer in the country, for the first time ever, they sold more e-books than printed books,” Boggs said.

Amazon prime members can borrow a free Kindle version of the novel for a month. Others can purchase the e-book for $3.95. Eventually, customers will be able to order a print version from CreateSpace, Amazon’s publishing service, Boggs said.

One of the main themes of the novel is “facticity,” Boggs said, which he defines as the weighty responsibility that comes with freedom. Katie must sort out her responsibility to herself and her mother.

“She doesn’t have to follow what her mother wants, to be a writer — what bothers her is freedom,” Boggs explained. “She knows she has the talent to be a writer, but she knows she doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to.”

Throughout the novel, Katie references and comments on the historical events of her time: the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Elian Gonzalez incident and the Columbine massacre, among many others.

Within the novel, Katie also writes several standalone short stories. Even so, Boggs stressed, Katie’s characters are intertwined with the larger story of her life.

“You don’t know when they’ll pop up, if they’re really fictional or not. … It’s kind of funny because the characters rebel at her for what she put them through,” Boggs said.

And, further blurring the lines of reality, Nelson actually has a real Twitter account. She can be followed at the account @Katieonanisland.

“I know Bloomington well,” Boggs said. “Katie says it’s the best decision she ever made, to go to IU.”