Virginia Pye talks about Her Indie Next Pick, River of Dust, working on two novels at once, and so much more

Oh yes, this is book tour season for me, but that doesn't mean I don't want to give support and showcase other great writers, and that includes  the great Virginia Pye. Her short stories are award-winning and has been awarded fellowships to the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Acadia Summer Arts Program.  I'm totally honored that she's also become a friend, and I'm thrilled to have her here. Thank you, Virginia.


What sparked the idea for this novel? What was the research like and did anything about it surprise you?

I come to the territory of my novel through my father. He was born and raised in China as the son of missionaries. He then went on to become a prominent political scientist specializing in China and the author over twenty books on Asia. In the house where I grew up, our living room was an elegant shrine of Chinese objects and furniture--a rug decorated with cherry blossoms from Shanxi Province; a small, white Ming vase; and brown-tinged photos of my grandparents and father when we he was still quite small. Each of these objects eventually found their way into River of Dust. The feeling of an exotic country at an earlier time must have seeped into me.

When my parents were aging and needed to move out of their home, I ended up going through my grandfather’s papers. He was one of the first missionaries back in Shanxi Province after the Boxer Rebellion. He helped build roads, schools and a hospital. And he was a Christian zealot. He died when my father was only five and I always felt a mix of pride and shame about him. But as I read the yellowed, onion-skin pages of his journals, I found him to be a sensitive, poetic man who clearly loved and relished the Chinese countryside and peasanty.

His descriptions of the beauty of that unspoiled, desolate landscape somehow mixed in mind with the sensations that the Chinese objects in my parents’ living room had always stirred in me. The atmospheric elements of River of Dust came together: an earlier time, a strange setting, a poisonous zealotry, but also a pure love. Then, as you said, I had to do a little research, but not a lot. Mostly, the China in my novel is one of my own making and impressionistic in nature.

You've taken every mother's most terrible fear--her child being taken--and transformed it into something very new, by having the child kidnapped by Mongol bandits. Set against this backdrop is also the story of Christian missionaries in China. How does one inform the other?

Right from the start of the novel, we see the contrast between the upright, Christian misisonaries and the wild-seeming natives of China. Of course, such characterizations are cliché and, for the story to succeed, it needs to go forward and disprove, or at least explore, those assumptions. Without giving too much away, I wanted to see what would happen if the outward appearances started to crumble. The whole notion of civilized vs. uncivilized falls apart when you look at the larger human motivations of love and revenge.

I love that the novel is populated by ghost and memories. Why do you think the unseen world impacts the seen one so deeply?

I think we live on different levels of consciousness at once. I don’t remember all my dreams, nor do I do a good job of writing them down, but I know that they stay with me during the day and throughout the years. Ghosts, too, can hover around for years. I tend to say that I don’t believe in them, but in my heart-of-hearts I can’t quite believe they don’t exist. Maybe that’s because I have strong ancestors on both sides of my family: people who left their mark and demanded the world’s attention when they were alive. I don’t know what to do with that after their deaths.

My parents have passed away now, but I swear they’re still here. I built a little shrine to them on top of my bookshelf and I glance up there when I walk into my study. I say good morning and occasionally ask their advice. I keep them here with me. And why not? History, and the people who went before us, have so much to teach us. Everything has been figured out before and we’re constantly reinventing the wheel, so why not study the past and keep those ghosts alive. We’re smarter when we allow them to speak to us.

On another note, I recently heard Jeanette Winterson describe what novels can do. She said they can ask questions, not answer them. I thought that was supremely humble, given how wise she is. But it’s a relief that we’re not out to answer life’s conundrums, but instead to listen closely to the hints and currents and lessons that swirl around us, especially from the past. Then, at least, the questions we ask can be more informed.  

What's your writing life like? How has publication changed that life? And how do you write? Do you plan things out like John Irving or do you let the story unfold organically--if there is such a thing!

I find myself writing everyday now and I think I have for sometime. I’m vague about it because I try not to guilt-trip myself if I don’t. But when I’m working on a book, I don’t want to be away from it for long. I take my son to school, meet a good friend for a walk with the dog, and then hit by desk by nine. I write better and more clearly in the morning. I’ve become less persnickety over the years and now write whenever and wherever I can. I think I’m just so grateful to have gained confidence as a writer. I like the process more than ever and feel incredibly lucky to spend my days this way.

Though it’s my debut, River of Dust is actually my sixth novel. Each of the earlier books was written organically and took years to complete. I outlined River of Dust and wrote the first draft in less than a month. That’s unheard, not just for me, but for every writer I’ve ever met. Yet, something magical happened to create this book. I worked with a wonderful editor and writer, Nancy Zafris, and we tore up my previous manuscript and reconceived it as River of Dust. I then went at the new manuscript with a pent-up vigor that I’d never felt before. I was totally possessed and needed to get the story told. I made changes along the way in the original outline. Many things surprised me in the actual telling, but I also had this outline to follow, so I felt well-grounded. I would love to be so lucky again with a future book.

What's obsessing you now and why?

Right now I’m working on two previous novel manuscripts. I go back and forth between them like a bad mother setting up two daughters for a lifetime of rivalry. I can’t quite decide which is the stronger, more beautiful, and more promising one. And then there’s my manuscript of short stories that I tinker with as well. It really might be my favorite.

I read a lot of contemporary fiction. I want to see what other people are obsessing about. I heard Lauren Groff say recently that for every 1,000 books she reads, she writes one. That seems a steep ratio for me, but my study is piled high with novels that I’m either reading or about to read. So, in answer to your question, I’m obsessing on how to keep doing what I’m doing and to do it better. It still feels nearly impossible to write a good book. To write a great book would be…well, worth obsessing over.

What question didn't I ask that I should have?

How about why we write? It can start out as a way to deal with loneliness and alienation when we’re young, and then eventually, it becomes a lifeline to other people and a way to populate our lives with the most interesting folks we ever hoped to know. I had good friends when I was a teenager, but I also relied on books, more than music, to keep me company. I went around with a paperback copy of Denise Levertov’s poetry in my back pocket. This spring I moderated a panel for the Virginia Festival of the Book on literary biography and one of the panelists was Levertov’s biographer. I felt so privileged to share that passion with her. Not to mention all the amazing authors who I’m getting to know through the publication of River of Dust. The more we stick at writing, the less it remains a solitary, lonely pursuit. Instead, with each new project, I feel I’ve joined a guild.

And Caroline, I think it’s high time we crowned you as our Guild Master—our inspiration for diligence, hard work and total fun at what we do. You are masterful at bringing other writers along with you and into each other’s company, and I, for one, am crazy grateful. 

Amy Sue Nathan talks about The Glass Wives, being a debut author, having books in actual bookstores and so much more

I'm currently on booktour and more than a little crazed, but I wanted to give attention to the wonderful Amy Sue Nathan and her wonderful debut. Nothing is more exciting than a debut--the promise! The Beginning of a career! So go on out and buy Amy's book--and thank you, Amy for being here.


What's it like being a debut author? 

It’s exhilarating and—you know it’s coming—it’s exhausting. It was exhilarating to write a book, to create something out of nothing but the thoughts and words bouncing around in my head (and I do mean bouncing). I still find it amazing that an idea of mine can be 300 pages long! The publishing process has been fascinating as well, just learning how it all works, how it’s all changing, and figuring how I fit in with all of it.  The exhaustion is part wonderment, part worry, part TCB—just taking care of the business of life while all the book stuff is going on.  

How did The Glass Wives Spark? 

A few years after getting divorced, my ex-husband died. I knew it was not an ordinary scenario, but writing about my own family and our own experiences was not something I wanted to do. I’d lived it, and did not want to relive it. Plus, I truly believe the real story of our lives at that time belongs to my children and that it wasn’t mine to tell. Yet, I realized that the nugget of truth—divorced mom with a dead ex-husband—could be taken in a number of directions, and it didn’t have to be a memoir or even “based on a true story” to harbor emotional truths and tell an honest story.  To quote my friend, author Lydia Netzer: “There’s a difference between CRAFT and CONFESSION.”  

Did anything surprise you during the writing?

What surprised me the most was how the act of writing fiction could just yank me out of myself and plunk me right into a fictional world. I’d see, hear, taste, and smell it as I wrote. The sensations were vivid and visceral and time would often just fly by as I wrote. That’s another reason that the “taking care of business” part of writing and publishing can sometimes add to worry, because no matter how hard I try, I can’t be two places at once, even if that just means in my office, writing and the in the kitchen, cooking. 

What is your writing life like? 

It’s haphazardly structured. You see, I’m a real creature of habit who doesn’t always have the option of sticking to a schedule. So I work on going with the flow, using what I know best about myself.  I write best if I start early in the day (I started answering these questions at 5:30 am). I can finish a project in the afternoon or evening, but I can’t start one. On the days I have my way, which aren’t many, I write fiction until noon or one o’clock, eat lunch, and then work on writing essays, blog posts, interviews, etc. I can do techie stuff at night like formatting or research. I also tend to write in big chunks when I can, spending ten hours on a Saturday or Sunday just writing, and then catching up on something else on Monday. I think (I hope) it all evens out in the end.

Do you outline or use story structure or do you wait for the Muse?

When I wrote The Glass Wives, I outlined as I went along. Meaning, I wrote for the day, and then outlined what I needed to write next.  That got me through every draft of the book, and there were at least six full drafts. I have a few books “under the bed” as they say, and those are ones I consider practice books and those are ones I “just wrote.” They came during the waiting periods for The Glass Wives, while waiting for either my agent or editor feedback. Now, with my current WIP, I’m using an outline.  I liked mapping out the story ahead of time. I’ll admit that I kept going in and changing things, and as I write, things change, but it seems to give me the basis for what I need without me having to constantly ask myself what’s next.  Maybe like having a really good assistant? I don’t know, I don’t have one of those!

What's obsessing you now?

I think as a debut author my obsession is getting the word out about my book when there are so many good books out there vying for attention.  Sometimes I also obsess about perception, but really need to stop doing that. I know it’s sometimes hard for people to understand that having a book published isn’t just a tick mark on my bucket list. It’s not just something I wanted to accomplish by the time I turned fifty (I’m forty-nine). My deep desire is to be a “working author” and just write books until I can’t write them anymore is, and always has been, a priority. 

What question didn't I ask that I should have?  

Since the springboard for the novel was in truth, many people ask how my kids feel about the book.  My kids, who are twenty-one and eighteen, knew all along that I was writing a book about a divorced mom whose ex-husband died.  They got how that was almost “too good to pass up” as a starting point to a story.  My daughter read the book and then totally got how it’s fiction, which put her at ease.  After that, I stopped caring if neighbors or friends or family thought it was our story, because my daughter knew it wasn’t. She did call me out on an action of hers that I used in the book. “Hey, I know where you got that!” And she loved it because it worked, because it was used in context with the book and not at all how it had happened in real life.  My son is not a big reader, but I think that the fact that he trusts me, coupled with the fact that his sister read the book, puts him at ease. And they’re both really excited about the whole “getting published and having books in actual bookstores” thing. They’re proud of me and that’s really cool. 

We have winners for the book giveaways!

Winner of the print edition of IS THIS TOMORROW:  Jessica
WInner of the audio book: Melissa Sarno


THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

Lian Dolan talks about Elizabeth the First Wife, Shakespearean subplots and break-up lines, writing, not slipping behind technologically, and so much more

Lian Dolan is hilarious. That's what you have to know first. But she's more than that, of course. She's a bestselling writer and award-winning broadcaster. She crated Satellite Sisters, a nationally syndicated radio show with her four real life sisters, which reached a million listeners a week and won 9 Gracie Allen Awards for Excellence in Women's Media. (Note: I am on it this week!) She produces the Chaos Chronicles, a humor blog and podcast about modern motherhood which was developed as a half-hour sitcom for Nickelodeon, with Lian writing the script. She contributes to Oprah.com as a parenting expert, to makinglifebetter.com as a family expert, and she's also written columns for O, the Oprah Magazine and Working Mother Magazine. Her debut, Helen of Pasadena was a Los Angeles Times Bestseller, nominated for Best Fiction by the Southern California Independent Booksellers. Following that is the whipsmart Elizabeth the First Wife, which tackles reinvention, love, and finding yourself--all with a delicious soupcon of Shakespeare. Thank you so much, Lian for everything!  

What sparked the book? 

I wanted to explore the idea of finding and asserting your true self as an adult within the context of your family. I know a lot of people, myself included, who are confident, respected professionals in their every day lives and then Thanksgiving rolls around and they revert to awkward 13 year-olds when confronted by their opinionated parents or finger-wagging aunt. What’s wrong with us? Why are we one person in the real world and a very different person in our own families? So I wanted to take a look at that dilemma through the eyes of a contemporary woman, someone who otherwise has her act together. But that sounds pretty heavy and I like to write with a sense of fun, so I threw in the Shakespeare, the romance and a stray dog. 

The structure of the book is just inspired. You have the main story line, about Elizabeth, whose whole sort of staid life earthquakes when three very different men come into her life,  then there is the story of the production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but you also have these hilariously witty asides on relationships based on Shakespearean principals about why a modern woman would or wouldn't want a Shakespearean hero, and you outline the power couples, like the Macbeths, complete with their best and worst moments, turn-ons and turn-offs, and why they work as a couple, and you do it in a fresh and funny way, so that both our modern time--and Shakespeare’s Elizabethan time, seem new. How did you manage to keep all these wheels spinning?

I wanted to tackle a Shakespearean subplot because his work is so universal and still so relevant. Also, I think it’s possible to become completely swept up in Shakespeare in a romantic, highly impractical way, as if reading Shakespeare was enough of life, so that you didn’t really even have to go out and live your own life. And that seemed to fit my main character Elizabeth Lancaster, a professor at a community college who’s a little stuck in her quiet life. 

Initially, I set out to have Elizabeth solve some age-old academic quandary around the writing of Midsummer. And I did months and months of research looking for the right mystery she could solve. What I didn’t realize when I started is that there are a zillion Shakespearean scholars and enthusiasts with blogs and articles and discussion groups online. There was literally no way I was going to create a “new” question they hadn’t already discussed with great authority. (Much greater than mine, I might add!) So I went the complete opposite way: Bridget Jones meets The Bard. Elizabeth’s “research” became a contemporary relationship book based on the work of William Shakespeare. The idea popped into my head in the shower one day, as the perfect solution to my writerly dilemma. I hopped out of the shower, soaking wet, and searched the Internet to see if any such book existed. I was shocked to find nothing. Nada. Now even a tweet in that category.  That’s when I knew I was onto something, combining pop culture, contemporary relationships and the work of William Shakespeare. 

As far as keeping the wheels spinning, I did have to finish the main manuscript completely before I started the book-within-a –book material. It was a completely different style of writing and thinking. I tried writing some of the material as I wrote the prose and I couldn’t even get a sentence down! So I banged out the prose first and then turned to the more magazine-style writing. It was pretty grueling actually! Like writing an entirely different book after you finished the first one. I’m not sure I’ll do that again. But I’m happy with the results. 

I also want to ask you about the great lines from Shakespeare and your advice on how to use them. How’d you go about choosing them? 

There is literally not a subject you can conceive of- lust, jealousy, love at first sight, broken hearts, bad boyfriends, dog ownership, unrequited passion- about which Shakespeare hasn’t written a dozen great lines. It’s an embarrassment of riches.  And the Internet makes reviewing all that material fairly accessible. As I was writing, I’d have the thought, “This would be a good spot for a quote.” Or “Let’s see if I can do a whole riff on break-up lines” and I’d Google “Shakespearean Break-up lines” and I’d sift through the choices.  I tried to use the lines sparingly, so that they really stood out when I did.  I think it would be easy to go overboard because Shakespeare is literally human quote machine. 

What I also find ingenious is that while you are entertaining us and making us laugh, you're also talking about Shakespearean drama and imparting a great deal of knowledge, too.  So where does your love and knowledge of Shakespeare come from? Did you go back and do some rereading while writing the novel?

I grew up in Connecticut near a town called Stratford which is home to an ‘official’ Shakespearean Theater, so from elementary school through high school, seeing a play was an annual field trip. And I can still remember the discussion about The Taming of the Shrew in my 8^th grade English class with my groovy, feminist teacher. I think that early exposure gave me an interest and a comfort level with the material. Let’s face it, the first few Shakespeare plays you see, you barely have any idea of what’s happening. But the more read and watch, the more you understand. 

In high school, I also loved going into New York City in the summer to see the Shakespeare in the Park with friends because that was a whole happening, from waiting in line for the tickets to seeing great actors on stage in an outdoor setting with a raucous audience. By college, I eagerly signed up for a full-year class, reading a dozen plays and even playing Hamlet in our in-class production. 

But a lifelong fascination with the Bard was cemented during my junior year abroad in Athens. I had the opportunity to see an amazing Royal Shakespeare Company/Peter Hall production of Coriolanus with Ian Mckellen in the title role. The production was staged in the ancient amphitheater on the Acropolis. There was no need for a set really because it was the ancient amphitheater on the Acropolis! Just the words, the acting and the lighting but with Shakespeare, you don’t need any more.  It was ‘mind-blowing’ to steal a phrase from the book. Just one of those experiences that connected me to thousands of years of theater, words and the whole human experiences in a single night. Made me a life-long believer in the power of the Bard. 

Even still, I felt like I was starting from scratch when doing the research for the book. I spent a long weekend in Ashland at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, seeing plays and taking a backstage tour. My younger son was reading Midsummer at the time—the starter Shakespeare comedy, so I read along with him and decided that play would work perfectly for my concept. I went to a bunch of lectures by Shakespearean scholars at local colleges on related topics. Did you know you could find PhD theses online? I read a few of those that related to Elizabethan England.  And, of course, I watched Ten Things I Hate About You again, all in the name of research. 

What I love about your books is your eye for the telling detail, both in Pasadena and in Oregon.  Do you think about place as a character in itself?

Yes, absolutely yes. I’ve always been drawn to books, movies and TV shows that have a real sense of place. I’m not a big fan of the “generic midwestern city” as a setting.  When I immerse myself in a book or movie, I like to feel that I get to know the place almost as well as the characters. Pasadena has been my home for twenty years and has a rich cultural and intellectual heritage to draw upon. The city is awash in tradition and civic pride, but also dynamic and evolving. Oregon has a special place in my heart, having lived in Portland for five years and spending a lot of time in Central Oregon for vacation. It’s quirky, charming and the complete opposite of Pasadena in many ways.  I hope readers want to go to both Pasadena and Ashland after reading the book. 

What’s obsessing you now and why?
Digitizing my life. I feel like I slipping behind, technologically speaking. Like I’ve kept up for the first decade of this revolution, but now I’m kind of over it and just want to keep my current version on iTunes. I’m tired of upgrading my software, but I don’t want to be that dinosaur that can’t figure out how to get the pictures out of the camera. So, I’m re-committing to digitizing. After the book tour, of course. 

Win a copy of the audiobook or a print edition of IS THIS TOMORROW plus Voice artist Xe Sands talks about Going Public In Shorts, an audio story collection, preparing to read an audiobook, what books she won't do, what's obsessing her

Xe Sands is a voice artist and an audiobook reader--and she's also completely sublime. She's read The Vanishers by Heidi Julavits, The Art Forget by B.A. Shapiro and Is This Tomorrow by me! Publishers Weekly and Audiofile Magazine rave about her, and so do I. The first time I heard her read a section of my novel, I felt my hands shaking. But more than that, she's a blast to talk with--thoughtful, funny, smart, warm. I'm incredibly honored to have her here. Make sure you check out her amazing website, too, And to celebrate the launch of IS THIS TOMORROW, we're having a giveaway of both the print edition and the audiobook edition. To enter, post a comment about how you remember or think about the 1950s!  The winner will be chosen on the 11th! Thank you so much, Xe! You're just the best.

Being a voice artist seems to be like one of the all-time coolest jobs on the planet. How does one become such a lucky person?

LOL! Well I certainly think it is. I mean, I get to play with dragons and lost children and bereft mothers and passionate lovers all day and whisper their stories into the ears of others. It's pretty amazing. 

As to how you get this lucky? That is a simple question with a complicated answer. First, be in love with telling stories (not in love with how you sound telling them). If you truly love it, find a coach/audiobook director who leads workshops in your area (or travel to them) and work with them on how to hone that love of storytelling into an effective relationship with listeners. Finally, when you feel ready, reach out to publishers and other narrators. And never ever stop learning about, working at and loving what you do.

When you read a book aloud, is the experience different for you than when you read it on the page? And when you read a book on the page for pleasure, do you have to shut out that part of your brain that would tell you how to read it aloud, or is that a given? In recording an audiobook, is the process start to finish, or will you take breaks or do it over the course of a week?

There is a difference between how a book feels when I read it on the page vs. aloud in the studio. When prepping a book for recording, even though I'm beginning to connect with the characters, there is a much deeper level of connection that happens once I'm actually telling their story, thinking their thoughts and voicing their words. Now when I read for pleasure, my job always initially gets in the way - a damn nuisance! Always takes a page or so of me reading it aloud in my head before I forget all about that and just allow myself to get lost in the experience of the story. 

As for the recording process, it's definitely one of many breaks over several days. For most projects, the ratio averages out to 2 hours of recording for every hour you eventually hear, so for a 300 page book that is just butter to narrate, it would take a solid 20 hours to record. I can usually record for 4-5 hours per day without losing vocal integrity, so a typical book takes me about 4-5 days to do the initial recording. 

How do you prepare for reading an audiobook? What's the whole process like? I want to say that I really was grateful for the way you incorporated me in the project and let me in on what you were doing. Do you find you become friends with the authors whose works you read?

Oh I'm so glad to hear that, Caroline! When reaching out to an author, it is always my hope to make them as comfortable as possible, and feel as included as they'd like to be. And these connections made with the authors whose work I'm privileged to record is one of the great blessings of my job. Working with you was an absolute joy and honor. 

As for my preparation process, in an ideal situation, it goes a bit like this: receive the text from the publisher, read through and mark up any questions I have for the author or publisher, let the book just sit in the back of my mind for a day or so - just digesting the characters/world/plot/arc. Usually, I'll read bits and pieces aloud as I go, to get a feel for how the characters feel, how the narrative flows, etc. Then after a healthy dose of procrastination that first day (which I experience before every artistic undertaking, narration or otherwise), it's finally time to get behind the mic and act as a conduit for the author's intent.  

Is there any book you won't or can't do--either because it doesn't speak to your strengths or the book just didn't strike you? How do you choose your projects? Do you have to love or at least like a book in order to narrate it successfully?

Oh gracious, yes, but more because there are some lines I just will not cross in terms of what I will put myself through. I joke that I'm a "method narrator," but what that means is that I really live the story as I narrate it. So there are some plot devices and particular themes I will not willingly put myself through psychologically. There have also been a (very) few instances in which I felt I could not ethically support the content I was asked to narrate, and a few occasions in which I've previewed the text and realized I just didn't have the appropriate command of whatever accents or languages were involved, or just wasn't the right match vocally, and have voiced that to the publisher. 

As for how I choose my projects...well, they often choose me. Most often, we are offered work from publishers. But there are times, such as with IS THIS TOMORROW, when we hear of a book and voice our strong desire to narrate it, and are fortunate enough to be trusted with that particular project. 

And oh what a good and difficult question...do I have to love or at least like a book to narrate it successfully. Here's what has to be there for me: a connection, however small. There has to be that moment when the characters become real to me, where their struggles/joy/pain/angst is suddenly my struggle, my joy, my pain, etc. And I've found that, regardless of the overall story or theme or genre, there is always that moment. Always. I just have to be open to it. And once that connection happens, it's far easier to open up as a conduit for their story to flow through as the author intended. 

When you're narrating, is there ever a moment when you really, really want to change a line of text because you know it would sound better? I imagine audiobook narration is a lot like being an actor, where you're making choices all the time. Do you map all of this out ahead?

LOL! Why yes, yes there are such moments. I think this is mostly due to the difference between how phrasing flows on the page, and how it flows when spoken aloud. I find this happens significantly less with works from authors who read their text aloud as they go. Then the musicality of spoken language is full incorporated into the written text and it translates more seamlessly into audio. 

And yes, audiobook narration is an acting art, as well as a storytelling one. You are making choices in delivery, but if you're truly connected to the text, the choices are there, waiting for you to key into them - they are present in the author's intent. I don't tend to map delivery choices out ahead of time. I tend to head into the booth and just let it come out how it wants/needs to come out and then step back and listen and feel how the performance affects me as a listener. 

Whom do you listen to and admire as far as audiobook narrators? 

There are so many that I admire, who are such talented storytellers that it's hard to list just a few. But I'll throw out there that I could listen to Barbara Rosenblat, Bianca Amato, Robin Sachs or Jim Dale read me anything, anything at all. 

What's obsessing you now and why? 

Ha! What a question...how did you know that there is always something obsessing me?

At the  moment, I'm completely obsessed with creation and coordination of an ambitious philanthropic project, Going Public...in Shorts. Last fall, I approached fellow narrators about putting together an audio story collection in celebration of June Is Audiobook Month (JIAM) 2013. Over 30 agreed to join me, and on June 1st, we will begin offering Going Public...in Shorts in serialized format, 1-2 per day. Each narrator recorded a short piece from the public domain, including the work of Chekhov, Twain, Chopin, Poe, Lovecraft, Fitzgerald, Joyce, Wilde and many others, even Lincoln’s pivotal Second Inaugural Address. As a "Thank you!" to listeners, folks can listen online for free for one week after the story releases. Stories will also be available for download purchase via Downpour, with all proceeds going to the Reach Out and Read literacy advocacy organization. And I have to say that I've been blown away buy the support of my fellow narrators, our publishing partner, Blackstone, and the blogging community in bringing this ambitious and amazing project to fruition. For more info, please visit the Spoken Freely page. 

As for other obsessions unrelated to the narration side of my life...oh yes. My teen just had a birthday and as some know, I have, over the years, backed myself into an obsessive corner with ever increasingly elaborate cakes. This year, it was Supernatural themed, featuring a '67 Chevy Impala made of cake and chocolate, a pie baked INSIDE the cake, screenshot panels, and an audio track of Chuck's Impala monologue from Swan Song. 

What question didn't I ask that I should have?

None that I can think of :) But if you think of any, feel free!

Sarah Stonich talks about Vacationland, sense of place, asking for reviews, and more. Plus, enter to win 1 of 4 copies of Sarah's book

How you can resist a novel with a name like Vacationland? (Says the owner of the blog Carolineleavitville...) I couldn't and I found this book irresistible Sarah is the author of the acclaimed novels, These Granite Islands, The Ice Chorus, and the memoir Shelter. And in honor of the publication of Vacationland, we have four books to giveaway, winner to be announced  Saturday, May 11! Just post a comment and remember to check back to see if you won! You can contact me through the blog to get me your address and I'll make sure the book is sent right out to you. 

I'm always interested in how books sparked. What gave you the idea for Vacationland. Great title, by the way.

I really like the title too,  and in fact it sort of inspired the tone of the book, in that most of us have been someplace that considers itself  ‘vacationland’ in some sense, whether it’s a resort or ski chalet, theme park, or summer camp. Also, I liked the idea that Vacationland could be anywhere at all, which is where fiction best takes place. 

I loved the way you linked the stories. How was this different than writing your previous novels? What made you decide to structure the book this way?

I had a few stories written, and was inspired by the thought of a guest register at a resort - what stories might have played out in the various cabins these guests are checked into? How one might flip pages back in time and even forward, when some of the names would pop up over and over and others only once. 

Your sense of place is so indelible, tactile and every other great adjective I can think of.  How do you think place defines character--and acts as a character in itself?

I think characters’ reactions to their surroundings can reveal an awful lot about them, and in that sense place is as much a character in my work as those that breathe and talk. As a failed painter, I like the idea of trying to conjure images, a place, with words.

Tell us about Fishing with Rayanne?

Shhh… Fishing With RayAnne isn’t written by me, rather my nom de plume, Ava Finch. 

But since I know the plot… RayAnne Dahl is a thirty-something fishing pro that accidentally lands in the driver’s seat of the first all-female fishing-talk show on public television. 

What's obsessing you now and why?

Book tour is obsessing me – I’ve taken time from my work (I’m only writing about two hours a day right now) and the rest of the time I’m doing an amateurish  job at playing tireless promoter and social media hack. I love blog tours because I can do them in my jammies. 

What question didn't I ask that I should have?

Where can readers post reviews of Vacationland?  

Why, so glad you asked, Caroline. Because it’s so very helpful for the authors to get reviews – even the tepid ones – it changes the online algorithms of “if you liked ____ you’ll love ____” etc.: GoodReads, Library thing, Shelfari, Amazon and B&N are all great places, as well as your blogs.  Writers adore bloggers.   

And I would add--tell your local indies if you love the book! 

Erika Robuck talks about Zelda Fitzgerald in Call Me Zelda, where that fictional nurse comes from, and so much more

Erika Robuck is an amazing story in herself. She self-published her first novel, Receive Me Falling, but her second novel, Hemingway's Girl was picked up by Nal/Penguin and became a Target Emerging Author Pick, a Vero Beach bestseller, and it's been sold in two foreign markets to date. Call Me Zelda, about a period of time in the life of Zelda Fitzgerald is gripping, smart, and yes, heartbreaking. I'm thrilled to have her here. Thank you, Erika!

 Why Zelda? And why now? What do you think she has to say to modern readers?

Hemingway actually led me to Zelda. While I researched HEMINGWAY’S GIRL, I read over and over again how much Hemingway disliked Zelda. Knowing that Hemingway didn’t always have the healthiest views of women, I wanted to learn more about her on my own. I found her life and struggles fascinating and relevant today, particularly to women looking for balance in their business, creative, and domestic lives. I’m also sympathetic to Zelda’s difficulties, and want to show the particular pain of mental illness, demonstrate how it affects families, and explore opportunities for healing.

What was the research like? Did anything surprise you?

So much in the research surprised me. I was shocked to learn that F. Scott Fitzgerald hid Zelda’s diaries because he wanted their life to be “his material,” and that he used some of her writings (even personal letters) in his fiction. I was shocked how devoted Scott and Zelda were to each other in spite of seemingly insurmountable odds. I was surprised what an accomplished artist Zelda was, and how many notable triumphs she had in her life after Scott’s death.

How do you want readers to see Zelda?

I want readers to appreciate Zelda’s unique genius and talent, and sympathize with her struggles with mental illness.

What's your writing life like?

I spend four to five months researching a time period and subject, and then about a year writing the novel. I immerse myself in a character, time, and place as much as possible, and allow the characters to haunt me. I write every day, chasing the time when the words come faster than I can type, when I feel the character guiding me, when I lose track of time and space. I’m always chasing that high.

What's obsessing you now and why?

The poet Edna St. Vincent Millay is my current obsession. I was led to her while doing Fitzgerald research. Two of Scott’s Princeton friends were in love with her, and I have always admired her poetry. She is a fickle muse, and I’m forever wrestling her. I’m confident that my struggles writing about her have been a help to my process because of how she entranced and toyed with so many while she was alive. My novel about her comes out in 2014.

What question didn't I ask that I should have?

You should have asked where I got the idea for my fictional nurse, Anna, the protagonist of CALL ME ZELDA. In the biographies about Zelda, there was often mention of a nurse—a nurse who stayed with Zelda at the Fitzgerald’s house in Maryland, a nurse who escorted Zelda on the train to her art showing who had to sedate her, a nurse Scott accused of helping Zelda submit her novel to his editor without his approval, a character in a short story by Scott... This could have been many different women or one. I chose to make this shadow person my point of view character, give her a life of her own, and allow her to tell us Zelda’s story.

Liz Rosenberg talks about the laws of gravity, what we owe the people we love, education issues, and so much more

Two families torn apart by a terrible decision. In her new novel, The Laws of Gravity, Liz Rosenberg gets at what we do for love, and why. And I'm not the only one who loved it.

"The Laws of Gravity is a heart wrenching and honest exploration of family love and betrayal. A real page turner right up to its beautiful last page." – Ann Hood, author of The Red Thread andThe Knitting Club

“The Laws of Gravity is an unflinching portrayal of that place where fear and family collide. Part medical drama and part family saga, it reminds a reader of how easily the ties that bind can fray. Heartbreaking." – Chris Bohjalian, bestselling author of Midwives and The Sandcastle Girls

Honored to have Liz here. Thank you, Liz.

So, what sparked this particular book?

The seed of The Laws of Gravity was planted almost 30 years ago when I read a newspaper article about a cousin who had sued his cousin for a medical transplant and lost the case in court. After he died, they asked the surviving cousin how he felt. I had an immediate sense that there was a novel hidden in this-- one couldn't help but think about all the people involved; the family connections, the widow; the judge. But it took me this long to feel I was ready to write that story. 

Titles are terribly tricky. I worked on a draft I simply called "The Judge Novel." Then my publisher at some point, very naturally, came to me asking for a better title. I  jotted down 5 or 10 phrases that felt right, and The Laws of Gravity instantly felt the most right. I think of a title as an address for where a work lives. 

What do we owe to the people we love? 

I suppose the easy answer would be-- everything. And nothing. Love is not about debt, somehow, but about gifts. Lewis Hyde's wonderful book THE GIFT explains all that in marvelous detail. At one point in my novel the cranky old aunt says, Family is how we ought to treat everyone in the world, but don't. My own 9 year old daughter takes great comfort in knowing that we're all related. And as Auden reminds us, "We must love one another, or die."

What's your writing life like?

When I'm in the thick of a novel I try to write two pages a day.Every day. I take one day off. Some days I get lucky and write more.  I also write single space in order to trick myself. This 2 page rule I got from the novelist Larry Woiwode, by the way. And I do follow Hemingway's advice to stop while the writing is "hot"-- while you know what is tumbling up ahead. 

What's obsessing you now?

I think what's obsessing me right now are the problems with education. Especially all the testing we're doing. It all feels terribly torqued. We are valuing the wrong things, paying for things that don't matter and starving out the things that do. It's an insane time in education, really a terrible time to be a public school teacher. I can't imagine how they have the bravery to keep on doing it in the face of all these punishing changes and rules. 

Hmmm.. what question didn't you ask that you should have asked?  

Maybe you could have asked, what do you hope to accomplish in this novel? Because I would say, I hope this novel touches readers. Not in a simple, sentimental way, but at a deeper level. I threw in everything but the kitchen sink. Maybe I DID throw in a kitchen sink-- I know there's a kitchen counter, a very expensive one, that comes into play. I wanted to talk about love and redemption and family and loss and law and justice. I feel lucky I got to do that. And I'd like to be able to keep on writing books that matter to people. 

I love Apple! Ibooks is offering sneak peaks of "eagerly anticipated books" including mine!

The wonderful and amazing folks at Apple are offering sneak peak excerpts of "eagerly anticipated books" (up to four chapters) including mine, Is This Tomorrow. I'm so, so excited!

Leslie Lehr talks about What a Mother Knows, why the term "women's fiction" is totally annoying, writing through illness, why she used the music of The Doors in her novel, and so much more.

I first met Leslie Lehr because I was obsessed with tracking down her now-husband John Truby, the story structure guru. I wrote John a letter, wanting him to come to my UCLA writing class, knowing how busy he was. When he wrote me to accept, he told me it was because of Leslie, who said, "Are you kidding? You have to do that." How can you not love someone like that? Leslie and I email each other constantly and even though we're on opposite coasts, Leslie makes it feel like she lives next door.

Leslie's a prize-winning author, screenwriting and essayist.  Her new novel What a Mother Knows, about how far you might go to protect your child,  is out now (Go buy it. Go buy several copies.) And she is currently incognito as Chemo Chick in Karen Rinehart's breast cancer blog, Sick of Pink.  Thanks, Leslie. I'm honored to host you here.

Tell me about the back story of your novel?

Three things haunted me into writing this. First, my daughter started crying at night during middle school.  She rebuffed my attempts to console her, yet it went on for weeks and it was unbearable. I felt helpless. I would lie awake at night and listen and imagine the worst.  My mother said it was typical adolescent behavior, but my family has a history of depression, so I feared the worst. I took her to doctors, transferred her to a new school, but then I worried about her taking the bus near a liquor store - and all the things in LA that I tried to protect her from even while was working in the film industry. Sex, drugs, rock & roll.

            I wanted to lock her up until she turned twenty-one. I wrote an essay called Parenting Paranoia that Arianna Huffington excerpted in her book, On Becoming Fearless. But I was still afraid.

            Then I had jury duty on a manslaughter case where two mothers were suing the driver of a car that crashed into a sports bar and killed their sons. The boys were strangers sitting at adjacent tables, and complete opposites, yet we had to help put a dollar sign on the loss these women experienced. Of course, there was no right amount, but it couldn’t be zero, either. And so in the worst of what-ifs, I started worrying about my daughter and how far would I go to protect her.

You and I have talked about the odious term "women's fiction" and all the nonsense going on about whether a book is literary or commercial, and what that means. (You could say Fitzgerald, the darling of his age was commercial, now couldn't you?) Don't you feel a good book is a good book? Can you talk about that please?

            Since I’m a woman and write about women, I tend to be categorized as women’s fiction. I wish I’d used my initials, like AM Holmes when I first began writing, just to start with a clean slate.  Don’t you think it’s condescending to that there is no men’s fiction, but there is woman’s fiction, as if it has less value?

            As for the commercial versus literary conflict, this drove me so crazy that when I got my MFA, I ran a seminar comparing a bestseller to a prize-winning novel – I had the other students write the opening of The DaVinci Code as a literary novel and vice versa with a Pulitzer Prize winner. Of course commercial fiction tends to have a stronger narrative drive, more suspense to turn the page. But I love literary fiction because of the lush language and poetic description.

            The Great Gatsby has both, your work has both, and that’s my goal as well. I spend a lot of time revising, because I love to play with words - I don’t write a book every year, so every sentence counts. I can spend a day on a paragraph. Yet I want to write a good book with a compelling plot, so I try to combine the two by writing beautiful prose in a page-turning story.

            What A Mother Knows began as a literary tour de force, with parallel tracks of the mother stalking her daughter alternating with how that came to be, how a woman who was working so hard to have it all…nearly lost it all. The story lines came together at the trial towards the end, which still happens. The very end remains the same as well. But it was so dark and angsty that I put it aside and wrote Wife Goes On. Then I came back to it with a fresh eye and restructured it to be the same story but with a single, more dynamic drive – the mother’s desperate search for her daughter.

            When you said you read What A Mother Knows in two days it cracked me up – so wonderful, and yet so ironic! The best sign of success for this book that has taken me years to get right is that you liked it so much you read it in two days. Ha!

What's incredible about you (among many things) is that in the midst of writing and now promoting your book, you got sick. I have to say that the year I got critically ill changed the way I thought about everything. How has illness changed you? is your writing different, as well?

            Fortunately, I’d just turned in the main draft when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. When I wondered if this would be my last book, I felt really grateful that this is the story I always wanted to write, that it says everything I believe to be important and true about mothers and daughters and unconditional love. 

            I was still in denial through the surgeries, but chemo definitely made it difficult to do much of anything. When it was time for final edits, my eyes were tearing so much it was hard to see, my nails were bleeding on the keyboard, and my brain was fuzzy. But the book release is a perfect distraction from feeling awful, and something to look forward to. And thank goodness for the Internet. I can’t tour as much as I’d like, but I can do book club visits all over the world via Skype.

            Time will tell if my writing is different. I have six more months of active treatment to go. I’ve always appreciated a blue sky, but I hope I don’t worry so much about the gray ones. I still worry about my daughters, though - that’s when I know I’m feeling better.

How difficult was it to write this novel, especially with a suicide in it?

Thank you for putting it like that - since no one dies of suicide in this book, most people would dismiss it as a suicide “attempt.” My belief is that even when a suicidal person recovers, there can be a lingering sense of betrayal or abandonment in those who would have been left behind. That’s what I wanted to explore here, how this unresolved emotion can effect how people behave. I share this legacy with Michelle, the main character, so I always wanted to explore it. When someone near me is really sad and says they don’t want to be alive – even if they are kidding - I tend to take it seriously. In What A Mother Knows, Michelle is fearful for her daughter. There is a fine line between paranoia and possibility.

You also write films. Do you think you use a different mindset to do that, or can you easily switch from one to the other?

I always visualize scenes in my head before I write them, whether it’s a book or a script. I tend to think of simpler stories, like romantic comedies, as scripts right away, but with a powerhouse story like What A Mother Knows, it had to start as a book. There are so may levels of connections between the characters, that it gave me more time to explore them even while upping the suspense. Now that every scene has played in my imagination, it reads like a movie, so I can’t wait to adapt it into a script.

What's your writing life like these days?

You’re looking at it!  Remember your earlier question about working during treatment for breast cancer? My critical facilities are recovering from chemo brain more quickly than my creative ones, so I’ve been working on shorter pieces, mostly essays. And I can finally read more than a magazine, so I’m back to my stack of novels, getting inspired for my next one. At the moment, I’m mostly consumed by major life questions, such as which wig I should wear to wear to my book launch party. Think I should go blonde?

What's obsessing you now and why?

Wedding shows, because I love the romance and the pretty dresses. Cooking shows, because I lost my taste buds during most of chemo. And of course, I am obsessed about my daughters. What a Mother Knows…is that she will do anything to protect her daughters.

What questions didn't I ask that I should have? 

Why did you use the music of the Doors?

            Before I moved from Ohio to go to college in Los Angeles, my friends warned me about the sex, drugs & rock ‘n roll scene – partly because of the Doors. Even now, decades after they broke up, the Doors are still considered the quintessential LA band. Lead singer/songwriter Jim Morrison exemplified the glamorous dark side.

            The character of Noah had to be both charismatic and talented, so it was natural to make him a disciple of Morrison, who began as a film student at UCLA known for his poetry as well as his tight leather pants. Morrison died of a heroin overdose in Paris at the age of 27. With Light My Fire, LA Woman, and The End, the Doors are still on every ‘Best Of’ list in rock and roll. They were among the many bands who played at a bar called The Cellar in Topanga Canyon. Since hippies still live in the canyon today, it’s easy to envision Jim Morrison cruising past the tie-dyed peace signs, writing “keep your hands on the wheel” in his ode to that bar, Roadhouse Blues.

            So Topanga Canyon, where the car accident in What A Mother Knows happens, is a real place that the main character of Michelle, an ‘LA Woman,’ drives through often. Jim Morrison’s lyrics are so compelling that it would be easy for a fan like Noah to use them as communication – and for an impressionable girl like Nikki to follow suit.

The music of the Doors helps make this a true LA tale.

What is it like to write love scenes knowing your daughters will read them?

Romance plays a key part in this story, so of course there has to be a love scene or two. The big seduction scene in this book is almost a fantasy, but if you skip it, the story won’t make sense. Writing it wasn’t the problem, but giving an early draft to my older daughter so she could make a book trailer for my website was a bit daunting. She hasn’t mentioned that scene. Thank goodness!  I hope both of my girls get lucky in love – some day.