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Laura Scalzo

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

https://www.laurascalzo.com

Twitter

Laura_Scalzo

Genre

Fiction, Historical Fiction

Member Since

October 2018

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/laurascalzo

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I’ve lived in Washington, DC, for one year in Cicada Years which is seventeen by traditional count. Our family arrived shortly before Brood X and here it is, back again already. And here I am, still in the swoon and sway of the wonder of this magnificent city. There’s so much to say about DC, it’s impossible to pick one thing but I’ll try. Come for the Cherry Blossoms, it is not overrated, it is astonishing. Astonishing not just to see the sights at the Tidal Basin, but also to witness the simple yet nearly incomprehensible act of regeneration and beauty. There is no space to be jaded, the awe is real and on every face you encounter. If you can’t come for the Cherry Blossoms, come another time. Stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial wit I’ve lived in Washington, DC, for one year in Cicada Years which is seventeen by traditional count. Our family arrived shortly before Brood X and here it is, back again already. And here I am, still in the swoon and sway of the wonder of this magnificent city. There’s so much to say about DC, it’s impossible to pick one thing but I’ll try. Come for the Cherry Blossoms, it is not overrated, it is astonishing. Astonishing not just to see the sights at the Tidal Basin, but also to witness the simple yet nearly incomprehensible act of regeneration and beauty. There is no space to be jaded, the awe is real and on every face you encounter. If you can’t come for the Cherry Blossoms, come another time. Stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with travelers from around the world. No matter if it’s day or night, whether it’s crowded or just you and a few others, you will feel a kind of collective kinship. Before I moved to DC, I didn’t think blocks of stone could speak to me so thoroughly, but they can and do. They say let’s not forget, let’s work toward something better, let’s be in this together.

When I was quite young, my mom let me play with her old college typewriter. It came attached to the inside of its own little suitcase, which was interesting enough, but even better was the rough surface of the body, the smooth keys, the transfer of the shapes of steel-cast letters through the inky ribbon to the page. I couldn’t read or write but I aspired to become a lightning speed typist, guessing I’d need it someday. Fifty words a minute gets you a temp job in early ‘80s New York City. Not lightning speed, the bare minimum actually, but I managed it. Many years past then, I finally figured out how to turn type into stories and books. I had always known that was the endgame, but was a long time lost on how to get there.

If we’d met when I was elementary school age, I’d ask you to be my pen pal. I loved writing and receiving letters, I loved stationary and stamps and checking the mailbox or better, the post office a mile down the road from our cottage on Chautauqua Lake. I still love all these things. Write me, I’ll write you back.

In high school I wrote notes to my friends during class, ballpoint pen on ruled tablet paper folded into a triangle like a you fold a flag. I wrote notes when I didn’t have a novel propped open inside whatever textbook I was supposed to be looking at. I really should have paid more attention, but as my son says, I’m glad I skipped all those Spanish classes and read all those books, they’re really coming in handy now. (Acorn. Oak.). I did manage my way to Syracuse University and got to major in English and boy did I love that. Reading books, yes, that’s for me. In fact, my favorite thing in the world is and forever has been reading on the cottage porch at Chautauqua in the afternoon when the house is quiet and the sun is starting to slant toward the horizon and there’s a breeze coming up off the lake.

My first novel, THE SPEED OF LIGHT IN AIR, WATER, AND GLASS is a love letter to the District of Columbia and my answer to the question as to what all these monuments mean. The story begins with a vision I had of a boy asleep at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Why was he there? Why was he sleeping? This indelible mind picture took me to the Secret War in Laos and to the inside of the CIA, among many other places. My imagination delivered the truth of things and the truth of things delivered the fiction. This is my experience as a writer.

My scrappy reading and writing habits have come in handy. I wrote THE SPEED OF LIGHT with every spare minute I had at the time and in the most unlikely places. You could find me camped out, possibly on the floor, my laptop balanced on my knees, almost anywhere. A lot of that book was written at the Rockville Ice Rink during the kids’ skating lessons or hockey practice. Later I realized the rink is just a few miles as the crow flies from the graves of Scott and Zelda ...more

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Combine Editions
Laura Scalzo’s books

Average rating: 4.52 · 98 ratings · 46 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	American Arcadia 4.66 avg rating — 71 ratings — published 2023 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Speed of Light in Air, Water, and Glass 4.15 avg rating — 27 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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4 posts
Laura Scalzo's Blog

Q&A w/Deborah Kalb

Laura Scalzo is the author of the new novel American Arcadia. She also has written the novel The Speed of Light in Air, Water, and Glass. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Q: What inspired you to write American Arcadia, and how did you create your characters Mina and Chry?

A: I wanted to write about transcendence. When I tell people this, they ask me what I mean by it, what I think transcendence is, Read more of this blog post »

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Published on June 15, 2023 08:18

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Laura Scalzo rated a book it was amazing Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 19, 2026 11:54AM · like
Laura Scalzo rated a book really liked it Flashlight by Susan Choi (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 06, 2026 12:52PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Flashlight by Susan Choi. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Flashlight by Susan Choi <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Laura Scalzo has read More Punk Than the Public Library: The Adventures of a Little Free Punk Rock Bookstore by J Hunter Bennett	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 20, 2026 06:23AM · like
Laura Scalzo rated a book it was amazing Heart the Lover by Lily King (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Laura Scalzo and 125 other people liked Robin's review of 2025 on Goodreads: "What. A. Year. We are living in a dumpster fire of an era, folks. It's insane, and I'm just grateful that we have books and a literary community here on Goodreads, even if the people running this site are determined to make it less user friendly every" Read more of this review »
Jan 19, 2026 04:29PM · see review
Laura Scalzo liked Robert J's review of The American Game: History and Hope in the Country of Lacrosse: " S. L. Price has done it AGAIN! “The American Game…Lacrosse” is his most recent literary sports triumph; a master class in sports journalism, a solid technical tutorial and an honest evocative - sometimes troubling - study of a rapidly rising American" Read more of this review »
Dec 09, 2025 02:07PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The American Game by S.L. Price. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The American Game by S.L. Price <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Laura Scalzo and 1827 other people liked Robin's review of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead: "Oh, YES. Literary, quirky, snarky, noir. Asks the same questions that Dostoevsky asks in Crime and Punishment - who has the right to live? who has the right to kill? and what's the difference between a poacher and a hunter, anyway? (that last question" Read more of this review »
Dec 05, 2025 03:55PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Laura Scalzo rated a book it was amazing A Woman in Pink by Megan A Schikora	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Laura Scalzo rated a book it was amazing The Great Grown-Up Game of Make-Believe (Autumn House Press Fiction Prize) by Lauren D. Woods (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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