WHAT THE LADY WANTS is like GONE WITH THE WIND meets the North... a BB B&B Book Review

by Lia Mack

When guest author Renee Rosen sent me her newest novel WHAT THE LADY WANTS as a thank you, I was touched. 

A free book for me? How sweet! 

I wasn't sure when I'd get around to reading it as my own editor is tapping fingers, waiting for me to send back my manuscript, and I already had 4 books in my currently-reading-pile. But when I saw the cover - with it's opulent texture and lovely font - I added it to the pile right away. Then, when I had a free moment, I sat down and opened the book to page one. 

Page one sucked me right in. Renee Rosen's writing voice is vibrant as well as sensual. It draws the reader in in a way that, before you know it, you're elbow deep into the book and you're not sure where the time went. 

WHAT THE LADY WANTS starts off with a hot-as-fire attraction between the main characters amidst the Great Chicago Fire. Being the snob reader I am - and always pressed for time - I wasn't interested in a history lesson and had planned on skipping ahead, but Renee Rosen's historical fiction didn't read as a one. Her characters are so alive on the page, it was like I was there, running with the main character, Delia, trying to find her way through a town ablaze. That, and the scene reminded me so much of Scarlet O'Hara and Rhett Butler trapped in the fiery ball of Atlanta. 

And just like GONE WITH THE WIND, WHAT THE LADY WANTS takes on the task of rebuilding. Only rebuilding to the lavish degree. Gowns, balls, elite gatherings. I kept thinking, "WHAT THE LADY WANTS is like GONE WITH THE WIND meets the North." I half expected Delia to invite Miss Scarlet O'Hara over for tea and the latest town gossip. However, the Great Chicago fire was in 1871, just on the brink of the industrial revolution. 

Only, it was the revolution of shopping - oddly enough - that WHAT THE LADY WANTS is focused on. I'm not a big shopper myself, but now that I have seen the evolution first hand through the eyes of Rosen's characters - Marshall Field specifically - I see how his vision of giving the lady what she wants is quintessentially the very reason we have shops and malls and "experiences" as we do today. No one thought the way he did and no one valued a lady's opinion like he did either. Not back then.  

One reviewer stated that there are contemporary elements to this story that set it apart from other historical fictions, but I disagree that these elements are truly "contemporary." Rather, they are honest. And it is with this honesty that Renee Rosen sets this historical fiction apart from others as she doesn't skip over nor hide these so-called "contemporary" elements that have only been a part of the human experience since the beginning of time. I won't spoil it though -- you'll just have to read the book for yourself!

I actually cried toward the end. You  will come to love Renee Rosen's characters so much that you don't want to watch when tragedy strikes. Thankfully you get to cheer along with them when they triumph over all! And the love. Ah, the love... I'm a sucker for Love ;)

Bottom Line: 

WHAT THE LADY WANTS is a grand and magnificent story with characters you'll love to the end.

The fact that I read this book and this book alone until the end makes it 5 stars. I don't usually stay with one book, one voice, one story line unless it's engaging enough to keep me in the mood for more.

So, 5 stars, Renne! 

I'm inspired so much, I think I'll be planning a trip to Chicago some time in the future so I can see all the buildings from the book - especially the Lady's Half Mile. 

Can't wait for your next novel :)

 

10 Books to Read this Summer... part I

Not too long ago, my high school science teacher and friend on Facebook asked that I make her a "Top 10 Summer Reading List." I instantly said yes and then realized: even after 20 years, she's still giving me homework ;)...

Of course, while compiling my list, I realized I have a varied taste in books. And I think it an important part of being a writer: to read widely and out of your genre/comfort zone. So, this is for you, Ms. Pat! A summer reading list just in time for the Summer Solstice, which is a varied list of books that will make your summer interesting, entertaining, and dare I say, educational. 

Here's the first installment - 4 books to get you started.  

10 Books to Read this Summer (part I)... aka, the first 4...

Every Day Is A Good Day

by Wilma Mankiller

My One Square Inch of Alaska

by Sharon Short

Sweet Salt Air

by Barbara Delinsky

American Gypsy

by Oksana Marafioti

If you have any good books you'd like to share, comment below. And especially add a link to your own book if you've got a good one out!

Happy Summer!! :)

Interview and Giveaway with Renee Rosen, author of "DOLLFACE"

Welcome back to the BB Writers Retreat series!

Today we have with us featured guest Renee Rosen, author of the debut novel  DOLLFACE: A Novel of the Roaring Twenties.  

Renee is here to speak with us today about her love for the craft of writing, as well as give away a signed copy of her debut novel! Be sure to comment below to enter to win :)

Renee Rosen, author of DOLLFACE

Lia Mack: Welcome to the BB Writers Retreat, Renee. Thank you so much for being our guest author today. 

Can you please start us off by telling us a little about yourself?

Renee Rosen: I grew up in Ohio and have lived in Chicago most of my adult life, except for a brief stint in New York City. I’m a former advertising copywriter who always had a novel in her desk drawer. Not surprising that I’m a history nerd and an avid reader, too. 

Lia Mack:  I think history nerds have a warm place in all our hearts...book worms too :) 

Ultimate question...Why do you write? 

Renee Rosen: I wish I could say that I have some earth-shattering message that needs to be conveyed or that I feel this intense need to express myself, but the simple truth is that I write because I can’t not write. I know that sounds ridiculous but my life just doesn’t feel right and it doesn’t work if I’m not writing.

Lia Mack:  I think you summed up the drive to write perfectly. 

Can you describe a bit how your venture into writing looked like?

Renee Rosen: I’ve always known I wanted to be writer and began working on my first novel when I was a teenager. It was horrible—truly shameful. It took me 17 years to get my first novel published back in 2007. And in between I had the great fortune to study with writers like Susan Minot, Carol Anshaw and Michael Cunningham. It was and continues to be a lot of hard work, but I find it extremely gratifying.

Lia Mack: How wonderful to be able to study the craft of writing with those great writers. 

Can you tell us a little about your debut novel DOLLFACE?
 
Renee Rosen: DOLLFACE is the story of a flapper who falls in love with two mobsters from rival gangs during Prohibition Chicago. Vera, the main character, is torn between two men whom she later realizes are both gangsters; one works for Capone and the other for Dion O’Banion and she is caught in the middle. Anyone watching Boardwalk Empire will find some familiar territory here as several of the characters in the HBO hit are also featured in DOLLFACE. One thing that I think separates DOLLFACE from other gangster novels is that this one is told from the woman’s point of view. We see how a couple of nice girls get sucked into the grim world of gangsters and how they grow and struggle to navigate their way through such historical events as The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Lia Mack: That is an exciting and complex perspective to write from. Truly sets the stage for an excellent read. 

What was the most challenging aspect of writing DOLLFACE?
 
Renee Rosen: Definitely nailing the time period and the voice. I really had to pay attention to historical details. For instance—there were no zippers in the Twenties and I really wanted to get the clothing right. Also, there’s a lot of wonderful slang that came out of the era and at one point I went way overboard with it. As one writer friend put it, it was starting to sound like something out of Guys and Dolls.

Lia Mack: It's an ecentric era to write about indeed, alive with unique visuals and details. Can't wait to read your novel and be transported back in time.

What are you working on now?
 
Renee Rosen: My new novel, out next November, is called WHAT THE LADY WANTS and it’s about Marshall Field (the retail tycoon) and his thirty-year illicit affair with his neighbor, Delia Caton. It starts in 1871 with the Great Chicago Fire and goes through the early 1900s. It covers the establishment of the world’s greatest department store, Marshall Field & Company, as well as the 1893 Columbian Exposition. I’m having a lot of fun with this book as well, though I have to say there’s a lot of tragedy involved with the Field’s family.

Lia Mack: How exciting. That's so great you've been able to use your love of history in your writing. 

What does your typical writing day look like?
 
Renee Rosen: Typical depends on what phase of writing I’m in. If I’m drafting (which is the hardest for me) I’ll get up in the morning, put on a gallon of coffee, answer some emails and sit down to write. I’ll write from about 10 until 2ish. If I’m revising and on deadline, like I am now, it’s a whole different ball game. I get up and start working and I’ll work until 5 or 6, take a break for dinner and then I’ll work from about 8 until I can’t see straight anymore! 

Lia Mack: Wow! That's dedication :)

Can you share a photo of what your writing space looks like?
 
Renee Rosen: Have laptop, will travel. In other words, I write all over the place (inside my home and other places, too) but this is my favorite writing chair.

"Have laptop, will travel."

Lia Mack: What are your thoughts on authors needing to build a platform?
 
Renee Rosen: I think it’s necessary to have an online presence and if you’re writing non-fiction or a memoir, platform is key. It’s less critical with fiction and if you do have a platform and you’re writing fiction, I think publishers think it’s a lucky strike extra. But ultimately for fiction, it comes down to the book, the story, the writing.

Lia Mack: If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself if you could speak to the aspiring writer you once were? 

Renee Rosen: I would have read more and I would have gotten involved with my local writing community sooner than I did.

Lia Mack: I think that's great advice, Renee. Thank you. And thank you so much for being our guest author today!

Where can BB readers go online to find you and your work?
 
Renee Rosen: Here’s all my scoop:
 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ReneeRosenAuthor
 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReneeRosen1
 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/412370.Renee_Rosen
 
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dollface-A-Novel-Roaring-Twenties/dp/0451419200
 
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dollface-renee-rosen/1116600431?ean=9780451419200
 
Indie Bound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780451419200

 

#BBSaturdayNightReads - 10/12/13

Marilyn did it. You do it. And we all love it.

Reading ;)

Saturday Night Reads at the BB B&B are just that: reading books on Saturday night. And lots of them!

So get comfy. Pour a glass of your favorite cab or grab a beer. And read. Anything and everything you love to read.

Just read.

And win ;)

Post what you're reading here on this Saturday Night Reads blog posts and enter for a chance to win something fun. Each week will be something different, so make sure you enter every Saturday!

You can also enter to win by posting on Twitter with the hashtag #BBSaturdayNightReads or on Facebook. 

Simply comment on the blog post each Saturday with what you're reading:

Title, author, what chapter your on...you can even tell us a bit about why you picked up the book in the first place and now why you can't seem to put it down!

Doors open at 8pm...Here's how it works:

1. Comment on the BB Saturday Night Reads blog post, facebook or twitter (that Saturday) with the hashtag #BBSaturdayNightReads. You can comment once for the night OR every hour to increase your chances to win! One entry per, person per hour, thanks!
   
   
2. In your blog comment, facebook post or twitter post, tell us what book you're reading - Title/Author - and a little bit about the book, story, characters, author, anything... What drew you to pick it up in the first place? What part are you at now? Is the writing good? Your favorite author? Does it suck? Are you hooked? Anything!

And maybe you'll win something ;)

This is, of course, in addition to the big win you'll already be enjoying by actually getting a chance to sit down and read.

 ;) 

Reading while Writing... "My One Square Inch of Alaska" by Sharon Short

When I read, I read for enjoyment and the craft of writing. In my "Reading While Writing" blog posts, I list and discuss the lessons I feel each book contained for me. Feel free to follow along and add your own lessons learned :)

I think I just read my favorite book.

Of course, I say this often after just finishing a book. But it's true this time ;)

This book was, in a word, lovely. It was packed with adventure, love, and beauty. If you want to read a great book, pick this one up. I mean it! I don't have a poker face, I don't lie. This book is that good.

What did I learn about it, in terms of the craft of writing?

Craft Lesson #1:

Don't color within the lines.

This author took an idea and ran with it, not looking back, not noticing the sideways looks. She just found inspiration and starting coloring and scribbling and I love what she did with the place.

I really enjoyed the time period the book was set in and the author did the perfect job of making sure I felt like I was there. 


Craft Lesson #2:

Have a unique attention grabbing cover.

This is why I picked up the book in the first place. As a women's fiction writer, I tend to lean towards the Barbara Delinsky type books with their covers beckoning me for another look. However, I couldn't not notice a dog outside a cute little camper in the middle of beautiful Alaska. Now that I've read the book, the cover is PERFECT for the story. I just wish I could visit the square inch with the characters.

Craft Lesson #3:

Don't shy away from hard subject  matter.

I won't spoil the book for anyone, but I will say that this book had a very heavy side to it. One that made the book, the adventure, the pain all worth while. When writing, we want to sugar coat things that aren't in the relm of pure love, happiness and all that jazz. But don't let that stop you. In the words of Stephen King, "This isn't church. This is writing. Tell the truth." And this book did just that with a topic that, yes, you'll need a box of tissues. But Sharon Short does it an a way that you feel enlightened by living through the storm with the characters' trauma.

Things happen. Life isn't always fair. But there are still ways to find the good in all the darkness.

And have fun doing it too.

:)

Reading While Writing...Cheap Cabernet, a Memoir

When I read, I read for enjoyment and the craft of writing. In my "Reading While Writing" blog posts, I list and discuss the lessons I feel each book contained for me. Feel free to follow along and add your own lessons learned :)

If your looking for a book that will stay alive in your memory for weeks, months, years to come, "Cheap Cabernet" is the perfect memoir for you.

The cover art is what caught my eye at first. Burgundy wineglass stains over the photo of two friends, as though you left your glass on the book after reading it last night...

Then I saw Iris Rainer Dart, author of "Beaches" was quoted on the cover also. That got me excited that "Cheap Cab" would be a good read, yet it also made me wary. Would "Cheap Cabernet" be a wonderfully, painful story too? But Cathie Beck didn't write a fictional novel. She wrote a memoir. Was I willing to read a wonderfully, painful TRUE LIFE story?

Although I'm a la la land purist by nature - I only go for sweet, happy endings - I decided to give "Cheap Cab" a try. An engrossing, page turning read, I'm glad I did.

Cheap Cabernet opens up with the placement of an newspaper advertisement for WOW - Women On the Way. Cathie Beck's unique idea to find friendship fast. I can't believe she had the thought/guts to do something so out of the ordinary, but thankfully, for Denise - her soon to be best friend - Cathie did.

What has stayed with me the most about this memoir wasn't so much Beck's history, past struggles, life. Although an insight into the woman Cathie became and just as interesting as any of our own journey's, what made "Cheap Cabernet" so powerful was the way in which the two women came into each others lives and how their friendship took hold at just the right moment. I agree with Beck when she writes, had it been at any other time in either of their lives, what they needed from each other - the magic - wouldn't have been there.

And what was needed was instinctual. Cathie needed a friend, someone she could hang out and cut loose with. Denise needed a friend, someone who didn't want to do anything but. Denise knew her expiration date was soon approaching. And instead of sitting around wasting away, she wanted to live it up as best she could while she still could. Cathie came along at just the right time.

Everyone deserves someone they can count on, especially in the thick dirt of life. Not everyone finds that someone.

For those lesser reviews that gave "Cheap Cabernet" one or two stars because, and I quote..."the characters weren't believable"... This is a Memoir, not a fictional story of two people in a fairy tale land. This is real life. Was. Is. However you want to look at it. This book is about two real women and their brief lives together. What makes Denise and Cathie seem "unbelievable" was that they lived it up to the limit at times when lesser people would have been much more practical and passed up the opportunity.

If you wonder what Cuba, hot tubs, and blenders have to do with living it up Denise and Cathie style, grab a copy and a glass of wine. A $6 Cabernet preferably.

Reading While Writing...The Hunger Games!

When I read, I read for enjoyment and the craft of writing. In my "Reading While Writing" blog posts, I list and discuss the lessons I feel each book contained for me. Feel free to follow along and add your own lessons learned :)

Craft lesson #1: come up with a KILLER idea!

And yes, PUN INTENDED :)

Okay, spoilers aside...this novel idea was excellent! I don't usually delve into YA (I couldn't get past page 2 of the first Twilight book, let alone attempt another...) I LOVE a book that brings to life a whole new way of looking at things. At life. And, with an odd slant that I find sad, the way things are in the world of The Hunger Games is basically how life is as we know it. Only we don't know it. Those who we unintentionally and unknowingly step on to have the kind of lifestyle we have, have the lifestyle akin to those in The Hunger Games. IMO...

However, as a craft lesson, the point is simple: come up with something catching, brilliant, exciting, and different from the whole gamut of what's out there already. And a whole new world to boot! I kept wanting their world to be more like our world, where cruelty of that kind wouldn't be tolerated and would, eventually, be overturned. But...Maybe that's the point of the series...I hope!

Craft Lesson #2: Don't misplace backstory...

This is the ONLY lesson I took from this book that came from something I felt the author/editors should have caught and fixed. The entire book aside from two spots of misplaced backstory was without flaw, so bravo! Not many books become so polished and, therefore, so wonderful to read. I mean, how else can one submerge themselves into a whole new world if they have to keep sidestepping crappy writing style and choppy flow (again, Twilight, gag me with a spoon)...

The backstory in The Hunger Games was vital, and plentiful. Hence, some spilled over the top. There were two spots where the backstory that would have been relevant and, therefore, better suited for somewhere in the beginning of the book, were placed so far inside the action at the back that it actually takes the reader (aka, me) OUT of the action.

I think there's a lesson to be learned from this for sure: know when to cut off your backstory and CUT IT OFF. Don't feel the reader needs to know something that isn't really all that crucial all the way near the end of the book that takes 2 pages to read through, thus circumventing the action that's taking place.

Kill it!

Or move it.

Either way, don't put backstory at the end of the book in the thick of things!

As a side note, if you can email me with the two misplaced backstory spots, you win a free copy of The Hunger Games!

The Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins is truly brilliant. Awesome. I loved her book! (yes, I am drinking a glass of wine while blogging...why do you ask? ;) I had to dedicate - read, HAD to - dedicated a whole weekend to ignoring housework and the kids to finish this novel. And, aside from a few pouty face moments, it was well worth it. Every minute of it.

A wonderful read!

I can't wait for the next!!

But...oye...first, I must fix my own chapter 18...where or where did that research I was sure I did go??!? Oh, the dread of redoing research in the thick of editing (hence, ceasing the action!)

Lesson learned...

;)

Reading While Writing... "The Opposite of Love" by Julie Buxbaum

When I read, I read for enjoyment and the craft of writing. In my "Reading While Writing" blog posts, I list and discuss the lessons I feel each book contained for me. Feel free to follow along and add your own lessons learned :)


craft lesson #1: cover art...Make sure the WHOLE title is visible!!!

Don't let the pic to the right fool you. You can't even see the words "the opposite of" on the book I have. They're yellow. On a white background! Looking at the book without squinting, the title just looks like "LOVE".

I'd never pick up a book titled "LOVE".

Why? What smart ass titles a book "LOVE"?... Like, what can they teach me about love that I already don't know?

But a book called, "the opposite of LOVE". Now that gets my attention. I know exactly what the opposite of love is - we all do. But how did this author pull it off? What kind of story line did they wrap around their meaning? I'd pick that book up in a heart beat. Thankfully I plucked this beauty from the online library tank. I'd never have touched it at a book store...LOVE...

It might not have to do with the exact craft of writing, but you can't sell your book if a reader can't read the title...so, a good lesson I learned from this book is...

#1: Make sure the WHOLE title is visible!!!

Someone needs to be fired...

Cover art aside, Julie Buxbaum wrote this contemporary fiction with brilliance. I loved it. I love her voice. Her writing style. Her main character. Aside from the font color snafu (I'm a HUGE font-freak), the book is a definite read. It's fun. It's light. It's heavy (but not too much). It hits right to the point. I wish I didn't borrow it from the library so I could pass it along to a fellow blog reader! It was that good, I'd give it away, knowing someone else would enjoy it just as much.

And it contains a great number of lessons to be learned too about the craft of writing. Just a few items that kept popping up on the radar. Not ones that would brake the bank, of course. But take home lessons nonetheless:


writing craft lesson #2: Use Contractions!

People do not talk like this. They do not, could not, should not, cannot, have not... Especially dialogue. When an author, like Buxhaum, so sparingly uses contractions in their work, it pulls the reader right out of the story. Why? The reader gets yanked because the flow of dialogue, the sound of inner dialogue is unnatural. It does not flow. It does not sound like real people are talking to each other, thinking in their head. Therefore, the illusion of fiction is broken. You need contractions. They are your friends. When wanting your readers to stay in the story, to feel part of the world you have created, you have to keep it real. Natural. You have to contract words! It is how people speak the English language. (See how this short paragraph with NO contractions is a bit painful to read? Try a whole book.) It was painful. Enough. To be. Annoying. (that, I borrowed from Buxbaum's writing style ;)


writing craft lesson #3: Diversify Big Statements

I don't want to give the book away, but a word like "disembowelment" can be overused if used more than - oh, let's say - three times in one book. It's a big word. It's a big statement. I get what the author was trying to get at, and I understand that the book was written in first person (therefore we get a lot of one-sided inner dialogue, and people tend to use the same words over and over again.) BUT. It wasn't even the point in the end. So why the overuse? I understand it was the journey... and that's important. However. A few differing words that mean the same thing could have been used. Or a few differing images. Not always the same shovel to the insides technique. Again. Annoying.


writing craft lesson #4: Keep Consistency in Your Characters!

If you, all of a sudden, decide that your MC should have this great nervous tick or start using this quirky self-soothing technique while you're writing chapter 25, MAKE SURE to go back and edit that quirk or tick INTO the rest of the book! A person going through an emotional battle has problems WHILE fixing themselves, their lives. Not AFTER they are whole and at peace. You don't, all of a sudden, create self-soothing techniques to help you get through your day. Not at the end of the book! How irritating. It was.

The MC developed a real quirky self-soothing technique that didn't present itself until chapter 25. Twenty-five! I'm trained in psychology, so I know, this is not the way it works. You need to keep your characters consistent from beginning to end. IF your MC is working through something and is a little, eh, odd, to start with, that's where the quirks live. At the beginning, while building your character through the early chapters.

Then, throughout the story-line, the MC grows, evolves more and more, and the quirks become less and less. Self-soothers, hearing voices, nervous ticks - whatever you want them to have. All these thing, they lessen and lessen over time until they gradually disappear by the end of the book. Maybe one little thing lingers, but that's it! Only one more time...and that's humorous ;)

But, OMG. Don't forget to include the tick/quirk you started all the way in chapter 25 back into the beginning of the book. And then keep it going all the way through. That's what's editing is all about. Going back through and making sure your characters are consistent. And evolve correctly.

OTHER THAN THAT (wow, there were more radar bleeps than I thought) the book was a keeper. On my next to read list will definitely be Buxbaum's new novel, "After You".

Only, what to read next...something different...any suggestions?

;)

Reading While Writing... "House Rules" by Jodi Picoult

When I read, I read for enjoyment and the craft of writing. In my "Reading While Writing" blog posts, I list and discuss the lessons I feel each book contained for me. Feel free to follow along and add your own lessons learned :)

Wow, what a fantastic book! I almost didn't finish it, knowing from past Jodi Picoult books that she doesn't always end the books the way I'd like them to live on in my mind. She's good for that life's a tragedy bit. However, I pushed on, hoping...praying...and phew! The book ended just as I would have it. I love a good book.

And long. 500 pages... My book started out being 100K like this one. Now I'm starting to think all my editing will benefit my readers as well as the tree population. (Although I'd love to have it printed only on recycled paper. But who knows if I'd have the option to make that choice in the end.) I'm starting to feel a clean cut, conscience story is the way to go. Because, although "House Rules" was 500 pages long, I didn't actually read all 500 pages. There was TONS of extraneous information that could have been deleted.

Take for instance all the back story. Jodi's good for it, but after reading all her work, you'd think she'd come up with a new system for disseminating it. It's always the same. A few paragraphs of the actual story then break - a few pages of back story, then break - a few pages of actual story, then break, a few paragraphs of back story, and so on and so on and so on and so on. It's so broken up - the actual story. But a little deviation from the norm would be nice. I'm just glad the book ended the way I wanted it to after investing so much time in reading it!

So, what did I learn from reading it?

To vary structure.

Jodi can get away with doing the same thing, writing in the same style, the same voice, over and over and over again. She's a bestseller. She's on the list. People know her name. We'll buy books just because we know she's a good story teller.

Yet...her structure. Pick up any three books of hers and they are all the same. Chapters in different character's POV's. Back story breaking up the action and the actual story ALL THE TIME. Yes, it's fun. Yes, it's genius. Yes, it's monotonous.

I've heard it a thousand times - vary, vary, vary. And I get it now. After flipping past pages and pages of bla bla bla that was starting to get on my nerves, I got it. Don't bore your reader. Change it up a little bit. So, you have your voice. Use it. But don't over do it.

Vary sentence structure.
Vary paragraph structure.
Vary chapter structure.
Vary story structure.

Don't get so bogged down in what works for you that you don't see that you're ALWAYS doing it the same way. Try something new. Never know when you might come up with a new winning system.

Vary, Vary, Vary!

Your readers will thank you.

:)

Reading While Writing...The Time Traveler's Wife

When I read, I read for enjoyment and the craft of writing. In my "Reading While Writing" blog posts, I list and discuss the lessons I feel each book contained for me. Feel free to follow along and add your own lessons learned :)

I never thought I'd say this...but I think I'd rather watch the movie than finish reading the book. I suffered past page 209 and I'm bored. I just can't stomach it anymore.

Writing craft lesson learned?
Too much of a 'new' thing is a bad thing.

At first, the new, interesting writing style of The Time Traveler's Wife was just that, interesting. Fresh. Something that I thought was well used for the first chapter. The jumbled dialogue being case in point. The fine, minute details running past like a stock market ticker, a second. But chapter after chapter after chapter. I just wanted it to streamline out into a more normal flow of character interaction and action.

And the minutia? Oh, dear lord. I might be the only person who feels this way, but that's okay with me. I'd rather watch the movie - which probably edits out about 60% of what's in the book - so I can just see the story and enjoy it. The book, to me, is not very enjoyable. Yes, it's a new, innovative idea. But that's about where I draw the line.

Lesson to take away?
If you want to dabble in something new - a new form of dialouge or flow or what have you - do it. Pave the way! But don't over do it. Don't fill every living page with it. Give a reader a break! Shed over to something familiar once in a while. Do it for movement, for action. Please don't do it on every page. It's not new and exciting anymore if you do it like that. It gets boring. Fast.

I'm bored. I'm done. I'm not at all interested in finishing it. How sad is that. Thankfully it's a library book.

Reading While Writing... Prodigal Summer

When I read, I read for the craft of writing. In my "Reading While Writing" blog posts, I like to talk about what each book and author taught me about the craft. Feel free to follow along and add your own lessons learned :)

My Aunt offered up her copy of Prodigal Summer to someone in the family. After reading the first few pages, this person passed it back. Said it wasn't her thing. Not being the snoopy sort, but seeing books being passed around, I jumped into the conversation and said I was in need of a read. I wanted to try it out. Please, can I have the book. Please, please, please....! ;)

Moth Love. Old Chestnuts. Predators...
I'm so glad I butted in and begged for the book ;) Reading it was like taking a life long walk in the woods... And I've been hankering for a leaf shaded hike. Now I just want to live in the woods and track my passions...

In the pages of Prodigal Summer speaks a deep admiration, understanding and love for all things natural, including the natural cycle of life - sex, creation, life, death - it's how everything comes around and goes around on this wonderful green lovin' Earth ;)

So I loved the book. Wish it didn't end. Want to remain friends with the characters forever...

But what did I learn of the craft while reading it? That a non-formulaic story line can be entertaining and successful and a breath of fresh air! Good writing, good characters, great story, unparalleled in so many respects...

You'll have to read it (if you haven't already) and tell me what you think!

The Nook, The Book, & The Hook

My husband and I just celebrated our anniversary. 11 years of blissful love...

Before the big day, my husband said I was going to like the gift he got for me. Many questions later, all I got out of him was that I had 14 days to decide if I liked it or not... and it's electronic...

When I opened my gift a few days later, after mentioning in passing conversation that I never wanted one of those reader thingies, that I love the feel of a real book in hand, I opened my gift - a Nook.

In all sincerity, I tried to act surprised, happy, and interested. He reminded me I had 14 days and if I didn't like it, we could return it. No hurt feelings. He's a guy. Enough said.

I went through the tutorial, almost, but I lost interest. He loves electronics and went about setting it up for me. And I did try to borrow some of his exuberance, yet walking around the house afterwards, seeing all my books strewn about on table tops, night stands, coffee tables, steps, in bathrooms, next to the pool, on the banister, I couldn't help but know in my heart of hearts that I was never going to fall in love with the Nook. It just didn't feel real.

My books, even the wide assortment I borrow from the library and have to give back after I've fallen in love with them, are like friends to me. I enjoy seeing books all around me, piled up, laying about.

And when I see any given one of them - like Real Cajun sitting on the table next to my laptop right now - I am instantly brought back into the past conversations we've had. And with each book, each friend, I have different conversations going on...

Real Cajun by Donald Link
Secrets to Happiness by Sarah Dunn
Effective Writing by Bruce Ross-Larson
Deeper by Megan Heart

These are the titles of my most current friends, and if you look into any of these books, you can see just how varied our conversations are! ;)

Point being, I love a real book. Love to lay them out, pile them high, anywhere along my path, so that in passing I'll see them again, maybe pick one up for a quick moment alone, maybe just daydream a bit about the story inside.

With the Nook, I just couldn't see myself able to do any of that. I'm a visual person. I need to have my books around me, in view. Or I feel I might loose out on that ongoing conversation, forget to pick up a good old friend that I haven't seen in a while because it's conveniently tucked away in some well organized list that I have to go find after turningg something on, recharging something.

It's just not real for me.

And that's what I said to the guy behind the counter when we went to return the Nook a few days later. Bored with it, I hadn't even registered it yet.

"But how do you know you're not going to like it if you don't even try?"

How do you explain to someone that I had already done so, in my head. I'm a writer. I can come up pretty quick whether or not a story line is going to work out. For me, I knew this one wouldn't.

"Most people who said they wouldn't like a reader LOVED it once they actually downloaded some books."

How do you explain to a sales person that you love FREE books from the library.

"But there are millions of free books that you can download into your NOOK!" This was said in a very my gosh, woman, aren't you stupid tone.

How do you explain that you don't CARE about those free books because you just want to happen upon a book at the library, book store, friends house, that looks good.

This was the hook that had caught my darling husband. He thought, frugal mama that I am, would love free books. And I do. I just don't want to have to do so on an electronic device that I have to charge, turn on, find my list, be bombarded with a list of a million books that I can read knowing full well I don't have enough time in my life to do so.

I just like what I like. I like real books.

"Wow. That's a shame." This, said not only by the Nook sales man behind the counter, but also three other Barnes & Nobles workers nearby, listening in on our conversation.

Steadfast in my opinion - I'm in my thirties, I've brought two children into this world sans medical intervention, I've been married for 11 years, I've seen the worst and best life can hand you, and I'm still ticking - I'm allowed to have one. No matter that it doesn't help add to your sales commission or that I'm the only person on earth who thinks this way. I don't doubt myself. I like real books!

And, I've studied advertising psychology. I'm impervious to sales hooks.

So I returned the Nook, purchased a real book, and went home happy. I know plenty of people that are in love with their reader, and I'm happy for them. Everyone deserves to be happy.

How about you?

Do you love the book? The Nook? Both? Or are you still on the fence?

What hooks you?

Maybe sometime in the future I'll try the Nook again, see if it's really the best thing going.
But for now, I see one of my books out of the corner of my eye - one of my friends - calling to me, its book cover my favorite shade of turquoise blue... And maybe after that, I'll look for a good Cajun recipe for dinner tonight inside one of my new friends.

:)