I knew that the bird meant me harm, I knew I should run, but my limbs were leaden, my entire body paralyzed. A dream from the night before appeared like smoke, a shifting ghostly vision that faded even as I struggled to keep it intact: a giant bird flying against a gray, cold sky and me, watching from below, as the bird approached.

It was 11:32 a.m., day 15 of my period of self-imposed isolation and canned food consumption. While reading, here are the questions Conklin hopes readers ask themselves: 'What do I want my community to look like? How can I help make that happen? How can I be a better neighbor, family member, friend? And: hmm… where did I put that can of chickpeas?' Read a preview of 'Community Board' But then the shock of neon pink makes it clear that this novel is entirely modern,' she said.īelow, find an excerpt of the novel. I think the toile style lends a sort of nostalgic timelessness to the images, which perfectly reflects some of the book’s historical ideas: that today’s problems aren’t new, people with different opinions have always had trouble getting along. 'The drawings are taken directly from scenes in the story. I desperately needed something to make me laugh, so I wrote 'Community Board,'' she said.Ĭonklin said she 'absolutely loved' seeing the cover, which TODAY is previewing exclusively. Writing it was basically how I stopped myself from going quietly insane during quarantine, home schooling, isolation, fear, rapid tests. 'Once COVID hit, however, the book’s purpose shifted from fun puzzle to personal survival. It also seemed like a fun writerly puzzle to construct a book in the form of an online message board,' she said. 'The original inspiration came from my local NextDoor neighborhood site, which contains more daily drama, humor and absurdity than most novels I’ve read. Speaking to TODAY, Conklin said the novel was inspired by watching drama unfold on her town's online community board.

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