Book Review: That Summer

 

This book surprised me.  I began reading it thinking it was going to be a lighthearted story about the friendship formed between two women with very little superficially in common: the homemaker and the career woman. I was on board for that story but after the first few chapters, it became suddenly clear that this is something much deeper.

I don't really want to give away the twist because I enjoyed it so much. It still is about the roles of women and how they confine, but it's also a bit of a domestic thriller that has you rooting for both women even as they start on seemingly opposite sides of the dilemma.

Daisy and Dianna are three-dimensional characters, as are a few of the ones on the periphery, and the ending manages to be quite satisfying while it is unable to bring complete closure to what remains a complex tragedy.

Book Review: The Last Memory of You

 

I've been listening to audiobooks pretty exclusively lately and I'd definitely suggest listening to this one. it takes about an hour and the voice actor really brings it to life. It felt like an episode of Black Mirror.

Have you ever wished you could erase all memory of an ex from your brain. I certainly have! In this story of the not so distant future, they have the technology and the main character faces an ethical dilemma when she runs into an ex who has no memory of her.  

Years ago, I read Cochran's novel Eddie and Sunny, which was a different genre, but had the same solid writing skills.

I highly recommend listening to this fast-paced, sexy sci-fi.

Book Review: Hello Beautiful

 

I read that this was a modern day Little Women, but beyond the four sisters being the focus, I didn't really catch the parallels.

I enjoyed the story more than the characters, who came across a little two-dimensional and made the story feel a bit like a fairy-tale.

The four sisters are close as they grow up, but when two of them have a falling out, the oldest sister moves away and has no contact with the others for twenty years. A sickness causes them to get back in touch and it's like no time has passed, which makes it all the more heartbreaking that so much time was wasted being angry.

Publishing Announcement

 

I'm so excited to announce that  I'll be joining Type Eighteen Books who will be publishing two new titles in the spring. To make sure you get all the updates, please join my mailing list.

I'm a hybrid author. My debut novel,  Monsoon Season, was traditionally published along with A Long Thaw, which I later rereleased on my own. Finding Charlie, was chosen for publication by KindleScout. Most recently,  I released my fourth book, Blood & Water.

The next two books are a prequel and sequel in the same genre I usually write: women's fiction/family life/literary. We're working on getting the covers finalized and I look forward to sharing those soon. Until then, you can check out my Q&A with Type Eighteen Books.
 

How-to writing guide buyers: beware

Today, in my twitter feed, I read a comment that “The biggest lesson most writers need to learn is to avoid editing as you write.”

Now, I consider myself an edit-as-I-go writer, so this made me curious. I clicked on the link and read this woman’s advice on writing. I see she’s qualified that the statement is for most writers, but this just makes me wonder where she gets her data from. Was there a study? Perhaps she explains that in one of the several how-to books she’s selling on the subject.

Here’s the thing: writing advice is so valuable. I love to listen to different writers share their different approaches for what works for them. It’s inspiring and it always reminds me how many different paths there are to a similar goal.

The problem with writing advice is that often it’s delivered as if it’s coming from an expert who is letting you in on an absolute secret about the definitive correct way to do it.

My advice is that before you take advice (even mine), do two things: 1. consider the source and 2. decide if the advice rings true for you.

If you’re a big fan of Stephen King and you’re interested in learning how to write the kind of books he writes in the way he writes them, you might want to read On Writing. There are other helpful manuals written by other kinds of writers. Find one that’s right for you.

Not everyone writes like Stephen King or Charles Bukowski or Earnest Hemingway or Anne Lamott or Ray Bradbury or Sol Stein. Not everyone wants to. I’m sure each one of those authors has helpful nuggets of wisdom to share and I think new writers should be open to all of it, but skeptical when it doesn’t resonate.

The one-size-fits-all advice is something I see more and more as writers are pressured to create content for blogs that will strengthen their “platform”. I don’t think it’s helpful and I’m especially dismayed by how-to book writers claiming to be experts so they can make money off newbie writers. I think it’s exploitative.

Writers who make it through the gauntlet to publishing should absolutely share what worked for them with writers coming up after them. The stories are as fascinating as they are diverse. Some writers get an MFA while others are self-taught. Some writers plot everything out on color-coded note cards while others begin writing without any idea where their characters will take them. Some writers work in seclusion while others rely on supportive writers groups. Some edit only when their first draft is complete while others edit as they’re writing.

The more of these stories you hear, the clearer it becomes that there are many different ways to do it.  I think, especially for new writers, the biggest lesson to learn is which advice to take and which advice to ignore.

Interview with Jeanne Felfe

 

 I did a series of author interviews for another website long ago and I've decided to repost them now that the other site is no longer active so they'll continue to be accessible on the internet. I always found it reassuring to hear from different writers the way that there really isn't just one way to be a writer. I think that kind of reassurance is evergreen so please enjoy this one from 2018:

Jeanne Felfe is a women’s fiction author whose debut novel came out in 2016. Always curious how other writers make the journey, I asked her a few questions about writing, publishing and her support system. Here are her answers.

When did you start writing?

I actually have a notebook from Junior High that contains some of my writing, so back at least that far. However, I didn’t write seriously until around 2012. I “played” at writing, but would start and then stop for months at a time.

When did you decide to pursue publication?

The Art of Healing began its life as a short story for a Writers Digest contest in 2003. A friend mentioned Camp Nano in July 2013, the day before it started, and I decided to turn that short story into a novel, even though I knew two weeks of that month were already booked. Although I didn’t write 50K words, I did make it to 21K, which was the most I’d ever written on a single story. The writing bug caught hold that time and hasn’t let go. It took me three years to complete The Art of Healing, and I published it in June 2016, knowing absolutely nothing about pre-launch and marketing. I knew half-way through that I would publish my first book as an Indie author – it just felt right.

Describe your book. Who is your audience?

The Art of Healing is a blended Women’s Fiction/Love story. Although the love story is central, it’s not a true romance. And though it has a satisfying end, it’s not the ending one might expect. The main female character, pediatric nurse Julianne Garvoli, has fooled herself into thinking her life is perfect – that it’s her dream life. Until she comes home one day to learn that her perfect life is anything but perfect. The main male character, photographer Jokob O’Callaghan, is definitely living his dream life, with his wife Keara. They travel the country in an RV creating works of art from his sunrise/sunset photos, and her poetry. When his life is shattered, he hides behind his work. A chance meeting between Julianne and Jokob in St. Louis at one of his art shows opens the door to a possible future together that neither really wants due to their brokenness. In spite of themselves, they find themselves falling in love. But life may have other plans for them.

The ideal audience is a reader who enjoys a deeply emotional journey through pain and healing. A story of growth and forgiveness, and of learning that we all deserve a second chance at love.

The Art of Healing was a quarter-finalist in the Booklife Prize 2017 Contest, where the judge said, “…This satisfying novel has a traditional romance plot, but infuses it with a depth and introspection that keeps the story fresh. No space is wasted on tangents, and the plot comes to a gratifying climax.”

Do you consider genre before you start writing or after the book is complete?

I should, but don’t. When a story floats into my head, I don’t question what it is, I simply write it. However, most of my stories revolve around strong female characters, and fit into some sub-category of Women’s Fiction. That said, I also write short stories, many of which have won contests and been published in several anthologies. My short stories range from humor to horrific, and just about everything in between, including a couple of fantasy. I’m never sure where the ideas come from, but they are usually a flash of a character or scene, and I follow wherever the stories lead.

Do you have a critique group or support network? Do you let people read early drafts?

I am truly blessed to belong to Saturday Writers, a chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild (MWG), and began serving on the board in January 2017. I also served on the MWG board for the 2017-2018 session. Saturday Writers is my writing home and I belong to two novel critique groups made up of several of its members. I can’t imagine trying to write a novel without their support. These two groups (one made up of six women), along with a tightly knit Facebook group, are the only ones I allow to see early drafts because I trust them completely to be honest without destroying me. That wasn’t the case early on when I received some critiques from writers who were not kind, nor supportive but were rather demeaning. I quit writing for a while because of that feedback. Now I am selective. My FB critique group has been writing together since 2014 when we participated in short story workshop together.
Learning which feedback to take from any particular critique partner is something all writers must figure out. Many beginning writers will take anyone’s feedback and make changes that may not serve the story, perhaps changing the voice beyond what truly works.

What are you working on next?

I am so excited to be working on my second novel, The Things We Do Not Speak Of. One day I had a flash that a teenage boy, Daniel, the pastor’s son, had disappeared. When I asked what happened, the voice of fourteen year old Cadey Farmer, a Somali Muslim refugee came through as if she were sitting in my kitchen telling me her story. I ran with it, not truly knowing where it would lead. I knew the beginning and the end, and I knew what had happened to Cadey and Daniel. The rest comes to me in flashes of conversation (how I usually write) between the various characters. I am trying something different. Cadey’s voice came to me in 1st person. There are multiple other point of view characters, all in 3rd person (but all with their own chapters and/or scenes – it’s not omniscient, but rather deep POV for each character). I’ve never read a novel that does this, and it probably breaks a bunch of rules, but all my critique partners tell me it works this way.

The story is a blend of coming of age, family drama, small town bigotry, religious clashes, and mystery, all rolled into one. After the Farmer family moves from Atlanta, where they settled six years earlier after escaping Somalia, to (fictional) Savannah Falls, South Carolina, young Cadey makes a decision that rocks her family, and rattles the townsfolk. Her decision sets up a collision course, forcing a change in deeply held beliefs on all sides. The story dives headlong into generations of racism and prejudice, of small town rivalries, and hidden secrets.
I hope to finish it by the end of the summer and will then begin submitting. All three of my critique groups have been reading it as I write it, so by the time I finish it will have had over ten sets of eyes on it.

For more information, check out Jeannefelfe.com.

Interview with Tricia Drammeh

 I did a series of author interviews for another website long ago and I've decided to repost them now that the other site is no longer active so they'll continue to be accessible on the internet. I always found it reassuring to hear from different writers the way that there really isn't just one way to be a writer. I think that kind of reassurance is evergreen so please enjoy this one from 2018:

Tricia Drammeh is an author who writes in many genres: YA, fantasy, paranormal, romance, and women’s fiction. I asked her to share her thoughts on craft and publishing.

Do you decide on genre before you start writing? Does your audience shift or is there crossover?

I usually have some idea of genre, though there have been times I’ve been surprised by the outcome. For example, with Better than Perfect, I had originally intended to write a romance. It turned out to be Women’s Fiction, as the story focused more on the main character’s non-romantic relationships and her evolution as a person.

I would say my audience is broken down into two types of readers, though there is some crossover. There are the readers who fell in love with Better than Perfect and who wish I’d write more Women’s Fiction. Then there are my readers who love young adult fiction with a bit of fantasy. My writing has been all over the place in terms of genre, so I can’t really say I have a large, hardcore fan base who will read everything I write, though there are a few readers who fall into that category.

What do you do when you get stuck in the writing process?

In cases where I have a deadline, I push through and force myself to write through the hard stuff. Without a deadline, I have a tendency to abandon projects, sometimes for months.

How many books have you written? How long does it typically take?

I have written nine full-length novels and one non-fiction book. When I began writing, I could complete a novel in about two months. Now, it takes much longer. I’m not a fast writer and I like to edit as I go.

What is your biggest challenge of self-publishing? What’s the best part?

Like many authors I’ve spoken with, my biggest challenge has been promotion and marketing. I feel very uncomfortable with self-promotion. The best part about self-publishing is having control of the publication process. I choose the book cover, the editor, and the publication date. It’s very empowering.

What are you working on next?

I just finished writing a short story for an anthology being published in June. My next project will be revisions on The Coven, a paranormal story for teens.

If you’d like more information about Tricia, check out her website.