tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4396875931357506685.post6737146213342731069..comments2024-02-10T02:12:10.516-08:00Comments on CAROLINELEAVITTVILLE: Melanie Benjamin talks about The Aviator's Wife, Anne Morrough Lindbergh, cults of celebrity, nonscientific researching and so much moreCarolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02724359857107668407noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4396875931357506685.post-40457433548623793642013-01-12T22:46:48.042-08:002013-01-12T22:46:48.042-08:00Well the reason why I was asking you did you remem...Well the reason why I was asking you did you remember my case because, I have already seen results. He called me on Jan 4th to wish me a happy birthday, and I called him on the 6th to wish him a happy birthday. We had a nice long conversation, and I expressed to him how he made me feel. He apologized over and over. Then after that conversation I didn’t hear from him until around the 8th of Feb. I started calling my phone, and I kept missing his calls because my phone was on silent. Well that third day of him not getting a response from me, he sent me a heartfelt email apologizing again, and saying how much he missed me and wanted to hold me in his arms. At the end of the email he stated that he loved me, in which he has never said those words to me. I still love him also, but its hard now to be with him because I will be moving 5 states away and I don't want to start something back up with him, knowing we can't be together. So I just want to thank you High - Dr madurai of maduraitemple@yahoo.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4396875931357506685.post-72440020931682781162013-01-07T05:29:57.441-08:002013-01-07T05:29:57.441-08:00I love your attitude about writing historical fict...I love your attitude about writing historical fiction. I agree...reading to point out the flaws is a terrible experience. (And one I sadly reside in when editing my own work.)<br /><br />I remember you showing the three photos of Alice and explaining how it drove your story. It was a revelation. And I applaud your bravery for shrugging off the nitpicky detractors. <br /><br />Thank you for the satisfying answer and wonderful books. I look forward to The Aviator's Wife. I put it on my book club's list and I can't wait to discuss it then.Nicole Amslerhttp://www.nicoleamsler.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4396875931357506685.post-28852875492530926612013-01-06T21:05:41.032-08:002013-01-06T21:05:41.032-08:00Nicole, I remember signing your Nook cover! I tel...Nicole, I remember signing your Nook cover! I tell people about that all the time! As far as dealing with critics, well, I've learned that there is a certain type of reader who doesn't really "get" historical fiction. That's the reader or critic who spends far too much time trying to figure out, line by line, what part is fiction and what part is fact. I think that's a sad way to read a book, actually. It's as if they simply cannot lose themselves in the book, for fear of giving some kind of authority to a left out detail or fudged fact. I'm the first to tell people not to use my books as research! But some people just don't seem to get this genre at all, and I've learned to accept this, shrug, and take solace in the many, many readers who do. The inclusion of the author letter at the end of the book, where the author takes the time to cover the major departures from the truth in the manuscript, does seem to help and satisfy a lot of people. This is fairly common these days. But that still puzzles me; I'm not sure why people care so much, when they know this is a novel, not a history book. As far as the era - it really varies with every book. Sometimes the era and location is very important to the book, and I decide to almost make it a character. I did that with ALICE I HAVE BEEN; Oxford and the Victorian era was very key to Alice's story, so I spent a lot of time on details. For THE AVIATOR'S WIFE, though, the drama was so intensely personal between these two people, Anne and Charles. That was the focus of the book, so the setting was less important; just enough to set the stage, make you think you were in the time period, but it didn't upstage the characters. As far as the timeline - I try to adhere to it, but am not above combining events in order to make the novel "read" better. For example, there is an early flight in THE AVIATOR'S WIFE that is a compilation of many Anne's and Charles's early flights; I combined some events that happened separately into one flight, for dramatic purpose and to move the plot along. So instead of writing 5 separate flight scenes of varying dramatic effect, I wrote one very dramatic one. I did imagine a flight, too, that there's no evidence that took place - but it was a perfect way to capture the attraction between these two sharing the one thing that they were always able to share - flight; this fictional scene did this much better and poignantly than trying to strictly adhere to the actual timeline of their courtship. And who's to say it didn't happen, just because neither Anne nor Charles wrote of it? They did try to avoid the spotlight, and so not everything they did is recorded; I rely on that little convenience quite a lot! And of course, in any historical novel, there are going to be parts of a life left unexplored, because you simply can't include everything, and still have a compelling, readable novel.Melanie Benjaminhttp://www.melaniebenjamin.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4396875931357506685.post-79953076070674430242013-01-06T15:42:22.476-08:002013-01-06T15:42:22.476-08:00Two of my favorite authors in one place! I remembe...Two of my favorite authors in one place! I remember braving the ice and snow (which I do NOT do) to see Melanie at Books and Co. in Dayton, OH so she could sign my Nook cover. The things we do for our favorite authors.<br /><br />Melanie, I am always in awe of the research you do and do not do on your historical books. How do you deal with critics who feel you got something wrong in one of your books? Are you concerned or upset--or do you just mark it up to the type of books you write? Do you have a rule of thumb about getting the era/timeline/etc. "right?"<br /><br />Thanks Caroline, for a great post. Arielle at the Book Doctor's turned me onto your books and I am a big fan.<br /><br />Keep writing!Nicole Amslerhttp://www.nicoleamsler.comnoreply@blogger.com