Francesca Lia Block examines love in the time of global warming

Francesca Lia Block is the real thing, a real writer. She doesn’t talk about it; she does it. She can’t even recall how many books she’s written. She doesn’t cloister herself, either, in some vaunted space; she inspires other writers by teaching them.

And she breaks out of the narrow confines of publisher-imposed categorization. Though her popular Weetzie Bat series is considered “young adult,” one sophisticated top-level KCRW producer ran down the hall to shake her hand because she’s such a fan. (There’s far more evidence than that that she’s a crossover.)

Even if you haven’t read any of Block’s books, you may have heard news of her appealing to her fans last year to help her avoid foreclosure. (She fought Bank of America and managed to keep her house).

Block came to KCRW to talk about her new book, “Love in the Time of Global Warming.“Come on, admit it, you’ve often wondered what would happen when the big one hits. Read what this LA-native imagines will happen in this excerpt, and hear her describe a bit of it: