The Divining Wand

The dream goal of most authors is being able to describe their book in one sentence — a sentence that piques interest — and Leah Stewart (The Myth of You and Me, Body of a Girl) has been able to do that with her third novel, Husband and Wife,:

A young mother discovers that her husband’s novel about infidelity might be drawn from real life.

And from this, along with a bit more, come glowing reviews:

“Stewart (The Myth of You and Me) creates a crisis of faith where adult reality collides with youthful dreams, “the people we were and the people…we always thought we should be.” The writing is tactile, elemental, even comical, providing readers with a situation that could so easily be their own. Highly recommended.” —Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal *Starred Review*

“An unflinching look at what happens when one’s identity is shattered, and “what-ifs” and past choices come back to haunt the present. . . . . Stewart’s graceful prose and easy storytelling pull the reader into caring about what happens to the struggling heroine while exploring the many gray areas of life and marriage.” —Publisher’s Weekly

The Divining Wand has scheduled a presentation/review of Husband and Wife for Monday, September 13, 2010. In the meantime, though, let’s meet the author through her “official” bio:

The recipient of a 2010 NEA Literature Fellowship, Leah teaches in the University of Cincinnati’s creative writing program, and lives in Cincinnati with her husband and two children.

And now here’s Leah upclose and personal:

Q: How would you describe your life in 8 words?
A: Kids, teaching, music, reading, writing, TV, eating, sleep.

Q: What is your motto or maxim?
A: Everything I think of is stupid, so I don’t want to say it. Maybe that’s my motto: Don’t say stupid things.

Q: How would you describe perfect happiness?
A: Enjoying whatever you’re doing at the moment, with no thoughts of your to-do list.

Q: What’s your greatest fear?
A: Losing one of my kids.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A: Without my kids: the cottage on Kauai where my husband and I honeymooned. With my kids: Disneyworld.

Q: With whom in history do you most identify?
A: I’ve always been partial to women who defied whatever the gender norms of the time were. Women who went to war, suffragettes, Jane Austen and George Eliot, Hilary Clinton. I remember really admiring Abigail Adams, way back in elementary school when I read her biography.

Q: Which living person do you most admire?
A: There are so many writers who fit the bill I don’t think I can pick just one. In music: Neko Case. In TV: Joss Whedon.

Q: What are your most overused words or phrases?
A: In speech: “Does that make sense?” In writing: it.

Q: If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A: Singing well. The tragedy of my life is my inability to sing.

Q: What is your greatest achievement?
A: Managing to finish a novel three times.

Q: What’s your greatest flaw?
A: Bossiness.

Q: What’s your best quality?
A: Well, I think I’m a pretty good writer.

Q: What do you regret most?
A: All the time I wasted before I had kids.

Q: If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A: If I can’t think of an answer, does that mean I’m way too pleased with myself?

Q: What trait is most noticeable about you?
A: I talk a lot.

Q: Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A: Maybe my most noticeable trait is that I don’t like to give just one answer: Elizabeth Bennett, Dorothea Brooke, Meg Murry, Buffy, Starbuck (the second one), Veronica Mars. I could probably go on.

Q: Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A: So many of the books I read don’t have straight-up villains, I’m thinking of TV again. I’ll go with Angel from BTVS, when he turned evil.

Q: If you could meet any athlete, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A: Neither my husband nor my mother can understand this, but I have an almost complete lack of interest in sports. I did watch the Olympics. I could meet Evan Lysacek and say, “Hey, good skating.”

Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
A: Can I list three? Late or sloppy student work, everyone in my family yelling at me at once, use of the word “I” where it should be “me.”

Q: What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A: When I’m not making up my own world, I’d just as soon be lost in someone else’s, so reading, watching TV, and going to movies. I’ve also become addicted to a dance class called Rhythm & Motion at the Cincinnati Ballet.

Q: What’s your fantasy profession?
A: Singer!

Q: What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A: Humor, intelligence both intellectual and emotional, reliability.

Q: If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A: Chocolate (so predictable!)

Q: What are your 5 favorite songs?
A: At this moment:
“Skinny Love” by Bon Iver
“Swim Until You Can’t See Land” by Frightened Rabbit
“Don’t Forget Me” by Neko Case
“Marry Song” by Band of Horses
“L.E.S. Artistes” by Santogold

Q: What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A: Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Middlemarch, by George Eliot
Jesus’ Son, by Denis Johnson
Eva Moves the Furniture, by Margot Livesey
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

To keep up with talented Leah Stewart, please follow her on Twitter and become a friend on Facebook.

Book Giveaway: The Divining Wand is giving away two copies of Katharine Davis’s A Slender Thread in a random drawing of comments left only on this specific post, Katharine Davis and A Slender Thread. Comments left on other posts during the week will not be eligible. The deadline is tonight at 7:00 p.m. EDT with the winners to be announced here in tomorrow’s post. If you enter, please return tomorrow to see if you’re a winner.

Tanya Egan Gibson debuted with her first novel, How to Buy a Love of Reading, in May, 2009 to the following praise:

“Brimming with literary allusions, commentary on the rich and famous, and the necessary ingredients for a successful novel, Gibson’s ingenious debut succeeds on many levels.” __Booklist

The book was released in paperback late last month and here’s a brief synopsis:

Literary references abound in Tanya Egan Gibson’s debut novel, How to Buy a Love of Reading. Filled with social commentary and dark humor, the book features a young woman, Carley, who has never read a book she liked, so her parents hire a novelist to write a book just for her. This novel-in-a-novel as well as Gibson’s clever depiction of Carley’s own life and social circle brim with wit and intelligence.

How to Buy a Love of Reading explores the power of books in our lives.

Intrigued? The Divining Wand has scheduled a presentation/review of How to Buy a Love of Reading for Tuesday, September 7, 2010, however — as is the custom — let’s first meet the author through her “official” bio:

Tanya Egan Gibson’s debut novel, HOW TO BUY A LOVE OF READING, was published by Dutton in May 2009. An alum of Squaw Valley Community of Writers, she is mother to a five-year-old girl who produces countless construction-paper “books” that she insists Mommy “get published” and a two-year-old boy who thinks books are for throwing (though he also has Goodnight Moon memorized), and wife to the most patient man in the universe.

Now it’s time for Tanya to speak for herself by revealing:

Q: How would you describe your life in 8 words?
A: Love-filled tangle of children, husband, and stories.

Q: What is your motto or maxim?
A: “Don’t think, just do.”

Q: How would you describe perfect happiness?
A: Seeing the love in my children’s eyes when they do something sweet and random, like stroke my cheek with a chubby little hand.

Q: What’s your greatest fear?
A: Anything bad happening to my husband or children.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A: Any warm beach, watching waves crash.

Q: With whom in history do you most identify?
A: Despite my best efforts, I can’t come up with an answer for this one. Best I can do is tell you who fascinates me: F. Scott Fitzgerald. I’ve read so many biographies about him, Zoe, and their contemporaries.

Q: Which living person do you most admire?
A: Joss Whedon (creator of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, DOLLHOUSE, et. al.)

Q: What are your most overused words or phrases?
A: “Actually,” and “Welcome to my world”

Q: If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A: I’d love to know how to sew and design clothing.

Q: What is your greatest achievement?
A: Motherhood. It’s by the far the hardest but most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. That my children are kind, gentle little people makes me unbelievably happy.

Q: What’s your greatest flaw?
A: I’m inclined to want to question/change rules.

Q: What’s your best quality?
A: I’m passionate about everything important to me–my family, my friends, my writing, everyone else’s writing.

Q: What do you regret most?
A: I can’t ignore mean people.

Q: If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A: I’d think it could be fun to be The Statue of Liberty for a while. The things she must see! (I figure her giant eyes give her the ability to see everything in lower Manhattan, not to mention all those folks on the ferries.)

Q: What trait is most noticeable about you?
A: I’m physically demonstrative and don’t like to “blend.” I hug. I talk with my hands. I wear clothing that can verge on costume-y: leather trench coats, shiny things, etc. I own a skirt trimmed with feathers.

Q: Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A: Are you going to think I’m a total sap if I say Mr. Darcy? Oh, I don’t care. Mr. Darcy it is.

Q: Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A: Spike, from BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Wait, did I need to pick someone from a book? I hope not.

Q: If you could meet any athlete, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A: Johnny Weir, a U.S. figure skater known for his big personality and sometimes eccentric behavior and costumes. I’d tell him how much I respect his being true to himself.

Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
A: Bad manners. I don’t mean using the wrong fork or putting your elbows on the table. I mean people being pushy, inconsiderate, or rude.

Q: What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A: Reading.

Q: What’s your fantasy profession?
A: I’d love to be an Imagineer (a person who design rides and attractions for theme parks).

Q: What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A: Kindness, independent thinking, humor.

Q: If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A: Cheese! CheddarSwissHavartiiMuensterBrieManchegoHumboltFogMozzarellaFetaBleuSt.AndreJack! I love all cheese!

Q: What are your 5 favorite songs?
A: As of today: “Stepping Out” (Joe Jackson), “Lifetime Piling Up” (Talking Heads), “Every Breath You Take” (Sting), “Don’t You Forget About Me” (Simple Minds), “Bring Me To Life” (Evanescence)

Q: What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A: After trying and trying, I really can’t winnow it down to fewer than six! Please forgive my inability to comply with directions. (This particular weakness is related to my answer to the “Greatest Flaw” question above.)

Here are the 6: Bel Canto (Ann Patchett), The Confessions of Max Tivoli (Andrew Sean Greer), The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald), Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut), Waterland (Graham Swift), The Keep (Jennifer Egan).

Embodying the three personal qualities most important to her — kindness, independent thinking, humor –, Tanya Egan Gibson also possesses a passionate nature that’s difficult to resist. Discover that for yourself by becoming a follower on Twitter and her friend on Facebook.

Book Giveaway: This week Kate Ledger has graciously offered two “signed” copies of Remedies to the winners of a random drawing from comments left on this specific post, Kate Ledger and Remedies. A comment left on any other post during the week will not be eligible. The deadline for this contest is tonight at 7:00 p.m. EDT and the winners will be announced here in tomorrow’s post. IF you do enter, please return tomorrow to possibly claim your book.

Last August Kate Ledger made her fiction debut with Remedies — a novel that earned critical raves, including this Starred Review from Publishers Weekly:

“Ledger’s accomplished debut offers a compelling view of married life through the prism of unacknowledged grief. Baltimore physician Simon Bear is a confident, magnanimous man with an inflated view of himself and his abilities. His wife, Emily, a star public relations executive, handles corporate crises with an ease, but can’t find a way to connect with their moody adolescent daughter, Jamie. While the Bears outwardly appear an enviably successful couple, neither Simon nor Emily has ever resolved the tragic and early death of their firstborn. Simon buries himself in work and with all-consuming hobbies (his latest is winemaking). Emily, too, is consumed by work, though she’s privately devastated about her shortcomings as a mother and tempted by another man. Jamie, meanwhile, presses her mother’s buttons, knowing she can never make up for the loss of the dead brother she never knew. Ledger follows the trajectory from achievement to failure with rare insight, suggesting that it is through Jamie that Simon and Emily can find redemption. An impressive portrait of a family in crisis, executed with finesse and assurance.”

Last week the Trade Paperback edition of Remedies was released and has been selected as an Indie Next List Notable book, August 2010. The Divining Wand has scheduled a full presentation/review of the novel for Monday, August 23, 2010, however — in the meantime — let’s meet the author through her “official” bio:

Kate Ledger grew up in Philadelphia, PA, and graduated from Akiba Hebrew Academy and the University of Pennsylvania. She received a Master of Fine Arts degree in fiction from the University of Arizona. For several years, she worked as the senior writer at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. As a freelance writer, she has published articles in Self, Health, and other national magazines. She lives in St. Paul, MN, with her husband and children.

And now to get to know the “real” Kate by what she reveals:

Q: How would you describe your life in 8 words?
A: Started slowly, seemed to speed up, now races.

Q: What is your motto or maxim?
A: Do the right thing.

Q: How would you describe perfect happiness?
A: When my kids’ funny expressions and silly antics make me laugh. That’s good stuff.

Q: What’s your greatest fear?
A: Not knowing the answer.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A: Hanging out with my husband, wherever that might be. We have a good time together.

Q: With whom in history do you most identify?
A: This is such an interesting question, and I don’t know who I identify with. But if I could go back in time, one person I’d like to meet and hang around with for a while is Nellie Bly, the reporter who traveled the world in 80 days and did investigative reporting inside an insane asylum by pretending to be a patient who needed to be committed.

Q: Which living person do you most admire?
A: My daughter, at age seven, is pretty incredible.

Q: What are your most overused words or phrases?

A: Like. For a while I was actively trying to exorcise it from my speech, but it was like impossible.

Q: If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A: Fluency in every language on the planet.

Q: What’s your greatest flaw?
A: Indecisiveness.

Q: What’s your best quality?
A: Sensitivity.

Q: What is your greatest achievement?
A: The year I finished writing “Remedies” was a tremendous year. My husband and I moved across the country with our family to a new city for his new job. Our daughter was three years old, and I was nursing twin babies. I was writing freelance articles for magazines and also desperately trying to finish the novel I’d been writing for several years. Even now, I can’t quite say how we got through that year, but we did. And the book sold and the babies weaned, so it all worked out.

Q: What do you regret most?
A:Never getting enough sleep.

Q: If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A: House cats seem to have it pretty good, a little purring, a lot of napping.

Q: What trait is most noticeable about you?
A: Many people tell me I look like someone they know, a cousin or a childhood friend.

Q: Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A: Atticus Finch

Q: Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A: Iago. So very bad. But if we’re talking villains who eventually get rehabilitated, I’d have to say The Grinch.

Q: If you could meet any athlete, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A: Apolo Ohno. “How you doin’?”

Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
A: People who are rude for no good reason.

Q: What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A: Pottery. I used to be a member of a potter’s guild. I haven’t thrown in a few years, but I miss it terribly.

Q: What’s your fantasy profession?
A: I have about twenty. I fantasize about them every time I have a hard day writing. Opera singer…. architect…fashion designer…Queen of England.

Q: What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A: Kindness, cleverness, humor.

Q: If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A: Ugh. Only one thing? That sounds like a nightmare. Brown rice, maybe. Keep it simple.

Q: What are your 5 favorite songs?
A: Reelin’ in the Years–Steely Dan
Tangled Up in Blue–Bob Dylan
Mr. Tambourine Man–Bob Dylan
Suzanne–Leonard Cohen
Country Roads–John Denver

Q: What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A: The list changes, of course, because you’re never the same person when you read again, and what each book means to you is always changing, but right now my five faves are:
Mrs. Dalloway–Virginia Woolf
The Things They Carried–Tim O’Brien
The Corrections–Jonathan Franzen
American Pastoral–Philip Roth
Song of Solomon–Toni Morrison

Fascinating in her breadth of knowledge and interests, while being down-to-earth with humor and friendliness, Kate Ledger is an author to watch by following her on Twitter and becoming a fan of Remedies: A Novel, by Kate Ledger on Facebook

[Note: This week Kate Ledger and Sarah Pekkanen (The Opposite of Me) are two of the featured writers on Author Buzz. For a chance to win a copy of their respective novels, read the "Dear Reader" letters from Kate and Sarah.]

Book Giveaway: This week Julie Buxbaum has graciously offered two “signed” copies of After You to the winners of a random drawing from comments left on this specific post, Julie Buxbaum and After You. A comment on any other post during this week will not be eligible. The deadline for this contest is tonight at 7:00 p.m. EDT and the winners will be announced here in tomorrow’s post. IF you do enter, please return tomorrow to possibly claim your book.

In her moving and compelling debut, Real Life & Liars, Kristina Riggle focused on a family coming to terms with change, and change remains the theme in her second novel, The Life You’ve Imagined, being released on August 17, 2010.

However this storyline revolves around friends who either need or desire change. Consider the book’s description:

Is the life you’re living all you imagined? Have you ever asked yourself, “What if??” Here, four women face the decisions of their lifetimes in this stirring and unforgettable novel of love, loss, friendship, and family.

Kristina Riggle’s The Life You’ve Imagined takes a provocative look at the choices we make—and the courage we must have to change.

Selected by independent booksellers as an IndieNext “Notable” Pick for September 2010, The Life You’ve Imagined is scheduled to be presented/reviewed by The Divining Wand on Monday, August 16, 2010. In the meantime, let’s meet the author through her “official” flap jacket bio: 


Kristina Riggle is a freelance journalist, a published short story writer, and coeditor for fiction at the e-zine Literary Mama. She lives and writes in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her husband, two kids, and dog.

And now it’s time to reveal more about the real Kristina:

Q: How would you describe your life in 8 words?
A: I write and take care of my kids.

Oh, did you mean a list of words? Well, this eight-word sentence sums it up. Though I sometimes also do laundry.

Q: What is your motto or maxim?
A: “Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” Groucho Marx

Q: How would you describe perfect happiness?
A: Contentment in my children’s health and happiness. There’s no simpler joy, and therefore nothing so fine.

Q: What’s your greatest fear?
A: See above. Any threat to my children. The actual fears are too scary to type out.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A: In Charlevoix, Michigan, on a beach. Or maybe Venice, Siena, or Rome. I visited Italy in 2000 and I sometimes feel homesick for it. Is that possible, to be homesick for someplace I visited for ten days, ten years ago?

Q; With whom in history do you most identify?
A: I’m bad at this. Most of my history education has been lousy. All boring crap about dates and the names of generals. However, I will say I recently read THE LOST SUMMER OF LOUISA MAY ALCOTT by Kelly O’Connor McNees, and I adored it. I also remember reading a kid-friendly biography of Louisa when I was little – already wanting to be an author someday – so I’ll go with Louisa May Alcott. I wanted to be Jo in Little Women. Who didn’t?

Q: Which living person do you most admire?
A: I’m terrible with these questions. Real people are so flawed and complex, and I’ve never been one to hold up an individual as a beacon. I really admire my parents. They’re both so strong in different ways.

Q: What are your most overused words or phrases?
A: Had to ask my husband this. He said I have a fondness for fancy words in casual conversation, but we couldn’t pick out a certain one. Maybe “draconian” is a good example. I think he’s poked fun at me for using that one. But it’s a great word!

Q; If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A: Oh, I’d love to be a talented dancer! I love dancing, and it’s the perfect exercise: a tough workout and most excellent fun. I have danced, once in amateur theater, but I wouldn’t say I’m a natural dancer, far from it. I have to work so hard on the simplest steps.

Q: What is your greatest achievement?
A: My kids and my books. That’s the boring-but-true answer.

Q: What’s your greatest flaw?
A: I talk too much. And I try too hard to be liked by everyone.

Q: What’s your best quality?
A: I’m a great communicator. And I’m nice. (Ha.)

Q: What do you regret most?
A: I remember one woman unloading with a really racist remark in my presence. I gaped at her, horrified, and she back-pedaled (poorly). But I still wish I’d been forceful and really called her out. I shudder to think that she’d assumed she was safe to say that kind of thing around me.

Q: If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A: I don’t want to be any other person, I like who I am just fine. A thing, eh? That’s fanciful. Ummm….a cello because it’s curvy with a pretty voice.

Q: What trait is most noticeable about you?
A: That I talk too much, see above. According to my husband, it’s my cute butt, but that’s what I get for asking him.

Q: Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A: Frodo Baggins in Lord of the Rings. You don’t have to be big and strong to save the world.

Q: Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A: Ever see Christopher Walken in “Balls of Fury”? He takes an already funny movie and sends it into giddy spasms of hilarity.
Runner up: Mr. Burns from The Simpsons.

Q: If you could meet any athlete, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A: Billie Jean King, and I’d say thanks for winning the Battle of the Sexes. A generation of female athletes owes her a debt. Not that I’m an athlete. But I could have been. And my sister is. (She played a sport in every season in high school.)

Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
A: Rudeness. Courtesy costs so little and makes life better for everyone.

Q: What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A: I love to sing! And like I said above, I wish I could dance. I’ve done a teensy bit of community theater and I’d love to do more someday.

Q: What’s your fantasy profession?
A: Psychologist. Or anthropologist. I love science, just not so much the math. And all that…precision. My high school chemistry labs never once came out right.
Or maybe Broadway star, as long as we’re talking fantasy, here. (See above).

Q: What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A: Compassion, determination and a sense of humor.

Q: If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A: Gosh, I’d get sick of anything after like, a day. But I’m being too literal. So, sushi. Mmmm, wasabi.

Q: What are your 5 favorite songs?
A: Here are five of my favorite songs. I have lots of favorites, and these shift depending on the day.
Cabaret, from the show (Liza Minelli, especially)
Sweet Child O’Mine, Guns-n-Roses
Ghost in the House, Allison Krauss
That’s Not My Name, Ting Tings
Haven’t Met You Yet, Michael Buble

Q: What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A: Catch-22, Joseph Heller
Breathing Lessons, Anne Tyler
How I Became a Famous Novelist, Steve Hely
Notes on a Scandal, Zoe Heller
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Whether serious or funny, Kristina Riggle has a charming way of being any and every women. Enjoy her company by following along on Twitter and becoming a friend/fan on Facebook.

Book Giveaway: The Divining Wand is giving away one copy of Alicia Bessette’s Simply from Scratch in a random drawing to anyone who comments only on this specific post, Presenting Debutante Alicia Bessette and Simply from Scratch. Comments left on other posts during the week will not be eligible. The deadline is tonight at 7:00 p.m. EDT with the winner to be announced here in tomorrow’s post. If you enter, please return tomorrow to possibly claim your book.

Julie Buxbaum (After You, The Opposite of Love) knows life’s universal truths and explores them with deft insight and heartfelt honesty in both of her novels. Debuting with The Opposite of Love — earning a Starred Review from Library Journal –, she followed with After You in fall, 2009. Released in Paperback last month, here’s a brief overview of that second novel:

The complexities of friendship. The unraveling of a neglected marriage. And the redemptive power of literature…Julie Buxbaum, the acclaimed author of The Opposite of Love, delivers a powerful, gloriously written novel about love, family, and the secrets we hide from each other, and ourselves.

The Divining Wand has scheduled a full presentation/review of After You for Monday, August 9, 2010. In the meantime let’s meet this author through her “official” bio:

Julie Buxbaum is the author of The Opposite of Love and After You. Her work has been translated into eighteen languages, and The Opposite of Love has been optioned to film with Anne Hathaway set to star. Julie is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School. She currently lives in London where After You is set.

Now here’s Julie revealed:

Q: How would you describe your life in 8 words?
A: Blessed. Fulfilling. Silly, exhausting, and sometimes ridiculous. Happy.

Q: What is your motto or maxim?
A:I wish I was organized enough to have a motto.

Q: How would you describe perfect happiness?
A: Making my daughter giggle. Should I up the ante? How about making my daughter giggle on the day I reached number one on the New York Times Bestseller list while vacationing on an exotic island wearing shorts that fit in high school.

Q: What’s your greatest fear?
A: Something happening to the people I love.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A: Wherever my family is, but if they happened to be on a sandy beach in Kauai I wouldn’t complain.

Q: With whom in history do you most identify?
A: Wonder Woman. Wait, she wasn’t a historical figure?

Q: Which living person do you most admire?
A: I’m a big fan of the work of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And I have a major writer crush on Nora Ephron.

Q: What are your most overused words or phrases?
A: Since moving to London, I use the word lovely way too often.

Q: If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A: To dress myself. And to sleep ten hours a night. (I guess that’s less a talent and more a superpower.)

Q: What is your greatest achievement?
A: Being able to call myself a novelist.

Q: What’s your greatest flaw?
A: Anxiety. It can consume me, if I’m not careful.

Q: What’s your best quality?
A: I’m ferociously loyal. There are few things I wouldn’t do for the people I love.

Q: What do you regret most?
A: When I don’t take the time to appreciate my life.

Q: If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A: I am not sure I would want to be anyone or anything else permanently, but I would like a sneak peak into pretty much anyone else’s mind from time to time. I think that’s probably why I write. I’m intensely curious about everyone else’s inner life.

Q: What trait is most noticeable about you?
A: My upper lip disappears when I smile, which is often.

Q: Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A: Am I cheating if I say Wonder Woman again? Okay, how about Nancy Drew?

Q: Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A: Gargamel, because it takes a certain amount of evil to hate Smurfs.

Q: If you could meet any athlete, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A: The Williams sisters, and I would tell them they rock.

Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
A: When my baby is crying and people ask me if she is hungry.

Q: What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A: Reading, of course.

Q: What’s your fantasy profession?
A: Other than what I do now? Writing for Grey’s Anatomy.

Q: What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A:Kindness, humor, loyalty.

Q: If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A: Mashed potatoes. Mountains of them.

Q: What are your 5 favorite songs?
A: Anna Begins, The Counting Crows
She Talks to Angels, Black Crowes
Hallelujah, (I’m partial to the Jeff Buckley version)
Crazy Love, Van Morrison
Tangled up in Blue, Bob Dylan

Q: What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A: The Secret Garden, Francis Hodgson Burnett
Gilead, Marilynne Robinson
Immortality, Milan Kundera
Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky

Charming, funny, and very wise, enjoy more of Julie Buxbaum by following her on Twitter, becoming a friend/fan on Facebook, and visiting her recent creation, julie has writer’s blog.

Book Giveaway: The Divining Wand is giving away one copy of Claire Cook’s Seven Year Switch in a random drawing to anyone who comments only on this specific post, Claire Cook and Seven Year Switch. Comments left on other posts during the week will not be eligible. The deadline is tonight at 7:00 p.m. EDT with the winner to be announced here in tomorrow’s’s post. If you enter, please return tomorrow to possibly claim your book.

Alicia Bessette may well have one of the most highly anticipated debuts of the season with Simply From Scratch being released on August 5, 2010. And critical praise from these bestselling authors only heightens the excitement. Consider:

“A love-letter of a novel. There’s enough warmth here to fill your house on the coldest night. You’ll wish you knew these people, this world.”
—Justin Cronin, bestselling author of The Passage

“This story of a young widow edging warily back into the world is full of vivid characters and grace. Imbued with hope but blessedly lacking in sentimentality, it is a fresh, stirring take on the devastation of grief and the holiness of friendship.” 
—Marisa de los Santos, bestselling author of Love Walked In

“In her wise and delightfully fresh debut, Alicia Bessette has composed a tender song that rises through the clouds of loss and grief until it bursts into a joyous celebration of the human heart. To read this story is to embrace life.”
—Beth Hoffman, bestselling author of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

Also this debut novel, recently released in Germany as Weiss der Himmel von dir, is on the Spiegel Bestseller list!

The Divining Wand has scheduled a full presentation/review of Simply From Scratch for Monday, August 2, 2010 yet — in the meantime — let’s meet the author through her “official” bio:

Alicia Bessette was born and raised in central Massachusetts and graduated from La Salle University in Philadelphia. A pianist and freelance writer, she and her husband, novelist Matthew Quick, live near Philadelphia with their adopted racing greyhound, Stella. Simply From Scratch is Alicia’s first novel.

And now here is Alicia revealed:

Q: How would you describe your life in 8 words?
A: Appreciation for beauty and humor. Willingness to engage.

Q: What is your motto or maxim?
A: Listen, try, take the high road. Taped to my desk is the quote, “What we play is life,” attributed to Louis Armstrong.

Q: How would you describe perfect happiness?
A: World peace (which for me includes the protection of beautiful places and the creatures living there).

Q: What’s your greatest fear?
A: Crowds and hospitals are tied for number one. A close second: moths.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A: Southern France. Land of my ancestors! I’ve never been.

Q: With whom in history do you most identify?
A: Nobody really stands out, actually. I suppose I can relate in some small way to quite a few figures.

Q: Which living person do you most admire?
A: Someone I know: Matt; someone I don’t know: Greg Mortensen

Q: What are your most overused words or phrases
A: I have a bit of a dirty mouth, but I’m trying to clean it.

Q: If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A: Cooking without needing to follow a recipe. Also, being able to sing and play piano at the same time.

Q: What is your greatest achievement?
A: I’ve made some major life choices that were unpopular, but intensely right for me.

Q: What’s your greatest flaw?
A: I’m sensitive.

Q: What’s your best quality?
A: I’m sensitive.

Q: What do you regret most?
A: Not living abroad for a semester in college. I hope to have my semester abroad yet.

Q: If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A: I’d love to be a very large, soaring bird (provided I could eat vegetarian). Or, it would be cool to be the Loch Ness monster. I’m kind of obsessed with the Loch Ness monster.

Q: What trait is most noticeable about you?
A: A physical trait? My scar from open heart surgery, which I had as a child to correct a valve defect.

Q: Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A: Anne Shirley, Amber Appleton, and Maude (from Harold and Maude).

Q: Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A: Heath Ledger’s Joker.

Q: If you could meet any athlete, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A: I admire Hannah Teter and her charity work.

Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
A: Snobbery. And stickers on fruit.

Q: What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A: Hiking mountains, playing piano, meditating, reading, watching movies, being outside, and listening to beautiful music (especially live).

Q: What’s your fantasy profession?
A: Concert pianist or large animal veterinarian. Wildlife photographer would be cool too.

Q: What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A: Sincerity, artistry, humanity.

Q: If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A: Brownies, hands down.

Q: What are your 5 favorite songs?
A: For someone who craves music like it’s oxygen, answering this question is impossible. Impossible! Instead, could I offer some songs off the “soundtrack” to Simply From Scratch? They’re all performed by Gladys Knight and the Pips:
“Didn’t You Know (You’d Have To Cry Sometime)”
“Every Little Bit Hurts”
“Every Beat of My Heart”
“All I Need Is Time”
“Neither One of Us (Wants to be the First to Say Goodbye)”
For more information on the connection between Simply From Scratch and songs by Gladys Knight and the Pips, please visit the Divining Wand on Tuesday, July 27, and read my guest post.

Q: What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A: Again: Impossible! I’d say three very formative books were Anne of Green Gables, Annie John, and She’s Come Undone. L.M. Montgomery gave me a love of headstrong, imaginative, earnest heroines. Jamaica Kindcaid taught me about verbs’ power and the potential potency of sensory details. And Wally Lamb’s writing is a lesson in creating fully realized, original characters, while building suspense and sympathy on every page.

I love Robert Cormier. Susan Cooper’s books are totally satisfying. I always dig Justin Cronin and Agatha Christie. Nevada Barr mysteries are awesome. The Art of Racing In The Rain made my heart swell. So did The Corrections and The Lovely Bones and Life of Pi. My favorite five fantastical novels are Watership Down, The Hobbit, A Wrinkle In Time, Frankenstein, and Dracula. I love to read far and wide!

To become even better acquainted with lovely, thoughtful and most talented Alicia Bessette, please follow her on Twitter and become a friend/fan on Facebook.

Announcement: The winners of Lauren Baratz-Logsted’s The Education of Bet are: Marcie Turner and Helen Joy. Congratulations.

Please email diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and your book will be sent out promptly.

AND

Book Giveaway: The Divining Wand is giving away one copy of Keetha DePriest Mosley’s Culinary Kudzu and one copy of More Culinary Kudzu in a random drawing to two separate individuals who comment only on this specific post, Keeth DePriest Mosley and Culinary Kudzu(s). Comments left on other posts during the week will not be eligible. The deadline is Friday, July 23, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. EDT with the winners to be announced here in Monday’s post. If you enter, please return Monday to possibly claim your book.

Bestselling author Claire Cook (Must Love Dogs, Life’s A Beach, and the rest in Bibliography) is celebrating the publication of her seventh book, Seven Year Switch — selected by US TODAY and The New York Times as their Top Summer Book Picks.

Publishers Weekly might have had the initial endorsement when beginning its review of the novel with, “Roll out your beach blanket for this sweet summer read about making mistakes and moving on.” The Divining Wand has scheduled a full presentation/review of Seven Year Switch for Monday, July 26, 2010. But, until then, let’s meet this “late starter” novelist by reading a shortened version of “official” bio:

Raised on Nancy Drew mysteries, Claire Cook has wanted to write ever since she was a little girl. She majored in theater and creative writing at Syracuse University and immersed herself in a number of artistic endeavors (copywriter, radio continuity director, garden designer, and dance and aerobics choreographer), yet somehow her dreams got pushed to the side for more real-life matters — like marriage, motherhood, and a teaching career. Decades passed, then one day she found herself parked in her minivan at 5 AM, waiting for her daughter to finish swim practice. She was struck with a now-or-never impulse and began writing on the spot. By the end of the season, she had a first draft. Her first novel, Ready to Fall, was published in 2000, when Cook was 45.

Upbeat, gregarious, and grateful for her success, Cook is an inspiration for aspiring writers and women in midlife transition. She tours indefatigably for her novels and genuinely enjoys speaking with fans. She also conducts frequent writing workshops, where she dispenses advice and encouragement in equal measure. “I’m extraordinarily lucky to spend my time doing what I love,” she has said on countless occasions. ” The workshops are a way to say thank you and open doors that I stumbled through to make it easier for writers coming up behind me.”

In fact Claire has spent this month book touring across the country (with only one event remaining on July 8th in Chatham, Massachusetts) but before she left to meet and greet fans, the author revealed:

Q. How would you describe your life in 8 words?
A. Finally living my dream and totally loving it.

Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. Karma is a boomerang – probably the truest thing one of my characters has ever said.

Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. Perfectly fleeting.

Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. That I’m still a bartender and I can’t remember where this drink should go. Oh, wait, that’s the recurring nightmare.

Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. Exactly where I am.

Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
A. P.T. Barnum. I’m a direct descendant, and btw, he did not say, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” He said, “There’s a customer born every minute.” I have updated that to, “There’s a reader born every minute.”

Q. Which living person do you most admire?
A. It’s a three-way tie between my husband and two kids. Aww.

Q. What are your most overused words or phrases
A. My literary agent recently told me it was Aww. I think she actually called it a verbal tic. That’s the kind of agent you want to have.

Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. I’d love to be a songwriter. I used to teach the Aerosmith kids, and right around the time my first novel came out, I had this great conversation with Steven Tyler. He wanted to know how I could write a whole novel, and I said that if I could say it in a song, I wouldn’t have to.

Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. Helping my two kids grow into people I both admire and want to hang out with.

Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. I can’t do anything halfway.

Q. What’s your best quality?
A. I can’t do anything halfway. And if that’s cheating, I would say kindness.

Q. What do you regret most?
A. Who has time?

Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A. For me, the gift of midlife is that I’m finally being exactly who I really am. There’s great power in that.

Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. People always say my laugh. They also often tell me I laugh just like one of my characters, which I think is interesting.

Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A. Nancy Drew.

Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A. I always skip the scary pages.

Q. If you could meet any athlete, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A. If I really wanted to meet an athlete, I’d just find a way. I’d rather go to the gym and get a workout.

Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. Mean people.

Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A. Walking the beach.

Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. Being a novelist. It’s the career I almost didn’t have, and seven books in, it still feels like a fantasy.

Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Humor, honesty, kindness.

Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. Trader Joe’s organic popcorn with olive oil.

Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
A. I never play favorites. I just can’t. I’d feel too sorry for the songs I didn’t pick.

Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A. The ones I haven’t written yet.

To enjoy more of Claire Cook’s wisdom, kindness, and fun (because she’s all about FUN), please become her friend on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

Book Giveaway: The Divining Wand is giving away two copies of Robin Antalek’s The Summer We Fell Apart in a random drawing to anyone who comments only on this specific post, Robin Antalek and The Summer We Fell Apart. Comments left on other posts during the week are not entered into the contest. The deadline is tonight at 7:00 p.m. EDT with the winner to be announced here in tomorrow’s post. If you enter, please return tomorrow to possibly claim your book.

How about learning more of the enlightening, entertaining blogs that our authors favor on a daily basis? You might enjoy following along with:

Alicia Bessette (Simply from Scratch coming August 5, 2010):

~ The Divining Wand – http://thediviningwand.com

~ The Debutante Ball! – http://www.thedebutanteball.com

Eileen Cook (Unpredictable, What Would Emma Do? YA and Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood YA ):

~ LOL Cats – http://icanhascheezburger.com/

~ LOL Dogs – http://ihasahotdog.com/

~ I love food sites, this is one of my favorite baking sites. What this woman can do with cake is amazing. http://www.bakerella.com/

~ Yarn Harlot. Knitting is a hobby so this is fun place to troll

http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/

~ It Made My Day People write in with something they saw/did etc that made their day.

http://itmademyday.com/

Holly LeCraw (The Swimming Pool)

~ The Rejectionist – http://www.therejectionist.com/

~ The Intern – http://internspills.blogspot.com/

~ The Forest for the Trees – http://betsylerner.wordpress.com/

~ Facebook – http://www.facebook.com

~ The Divining Wand – http://thediviningwand.com

Randy Susan Meyers (The Murderer’s Daughters):

~ Pimp My Novel – http://pimpmynovel.blogspot.com/

~ Betsy Lerner’s Forest for the Trees –

http://betsylerner.wordpress.com/

~ Beyond The Margins (truth in advertising, I am one of the 12 writers on the one) -

http://beyondthemargins.com/

~ Writer Unboxed – http://writerunboxed.com/

~ STET – http://rick.wordpress.com/

Sarah Pekkanen (The Opposite of Me)

~ Writer Unboxed – http://www.writerunboxed.com

~ Ask Allison -

http://www.allisonwinn.com/ask-allison

~ A Moment of Jen –

http://www.jenniferweiner.blogspot.com

~ Murderati – http://www.murderati.com

~ A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing -

http://www.jakonrath.blogspot.com

Ivy Pochoda (The Art of Disappearing)

~ – http://www.htmlgiant.com

~ The Millions – http://www.themillions.com

~ The Rumpus – http://therumpus.net

~ FU, Penguin – www.fupenguin.com (my favorite)

Therese Walsh (The Last Will of Moira Leahy)

~ Writer Unboxed (naturally!) -

http://writerunboxed.com/

~ A Writer Afoot -

http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/

~ ArtsJournal: Daily Arts News -

http://www.artsjournal.com/

~ Flickr Most Interesting Photos -

http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/

~ ScienceDaily – http://www.sciencedaily.com/

Eve Brown-Waite has a new Book Trailer out for the paperback edition of First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria: How A Peace Corps Poster Boy Won My Heart and A Third World Adventure Changed My Life.

Eve says:

“People are loving it (the book), laughing and learning a bit about this great big world of ours. Plus, 10% of all my royalties go to CARE International to fight malaria in Africa.

Announcement: The winner of Trish Ryan’s A Maze of Grace: A Memoir of Second Chances is Elizabeth@LongToLove.

Congratulations! Please email: diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address, and the book will be sent out promptly.

Today The Divining Wand takes special pride in introducing a cyber friend/reader/and regular visitor to this site in the role of author. Keetha DePriest Mosley (formerly Reed) made her debut on September 1, 2007 with Culinary Kudzu: Recollections & Recipes from Growing Up Southern and followed a year later with its sequel, More Culinary Kudzu: Recollections & Recipes from Growing Up Southern.

Categorized as Cooking/Essays, the books are described as:

“A charming mix of tips and ideas for entertaining and gifts of food, coupled with rich tales of growing up in the small-town South. This lively book reads like a kitchen conversation with an old friend.”

The Divining Wand has scheduled a presentation/review of Culinary Kudzu: Recollections & Recipes from Growing Up Southern for Wednesday, July 21, 2010. But let’s meet Keetha on her website’s About Me page where she tells:

….I did public relations – award winning public relations, might I add – for my hometown hospital and began writing a food and entertaining column for the Clarion-Ledger newspaper.

I’m working on a novel. I think it may be terrifically bad but that’s okay. I’m treating it as my very own intensive MFA fiction workshop. Nothing may ever come of this particular book but I will have learned a lot and will be better prepared to write the next one. I have ideas.

Keetha certainly has ideas and more personal revelations:

Q. How would you describe your life in 8 words?
A. Blessed, full of grace, happy, full, vibrant, just right

Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. It’s never too late to be the person you wanted to be.

Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. It changes. Sometimes it’s a fall afternoon, blue skies, and a crisp snap in the air. A book that I’ve been looking forward to that delivers. Making my husband laugh. My husband making our son laugh. Lightly floured kitchen counter, my mom’s cookie cutters. Christmas lights at bedtime. Coffee in the morning.

Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. I can’t talk about it! That would totally jinx it.

Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. Someplace cool with low humidity by a lake on a porch swing with no mosquitoes.

Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
A. I wanted to come up with a remarkable person and a witty remark to tie it together. But I didn’t.

Q. Which living person do you most admire?
A. I admire lots of people. My husband. My mom. Ann Patchett. The fourth-string Mississippi State football player who found a cell phone in the empty stadium, called the owner, and returned it to her. People who live big.

Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
A. At a writing workshop last weekend a friend pointed out I had used “gestured” five times in ten pages.

Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. I’d like to be able to render cell phones useless from ten paces. That way I wouldn’t have to listen to conversations at restaurants, movie theatres, and on sidewalks.

Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. Writing every day.

Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. Defeating myself before I get started.

Q. What’s your best quality?
A. I’m curious.

Q. What do you regret most?
A. I can’t have regrets. They make me downcast, wistful, and grumpy. I have to see it this way: everything that’s happened has brought me here and I like it here. Everything that’s happened has made me who I am and I like that, too.

Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A. I’d be me. I know how to do that now.

Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. Wouldn’t it be great if you knew how other people saw you? If they were at my house, it’d be all the books or the bright red kitchen. That I love my family and thin-crust pizza?

Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A. I think I need another page to fully answer but off hand I’d say Anne Shirley, Woodrow Call, Flavia de Luce.

Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A. Severus Snape.

Q. If you could meet any athlete, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A. Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. Oppressive heat. Drivers who don’t pay attention. Gum chewing.

Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A. Baking

Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. Novelist with a part-time gig as a ballet dancer.

Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Kindness, compassion, character

Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. Shrimp

Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
A. Life by the Drop – Stevie Ray Vaughn; Time of the Preacher – Willie Nelson; New Orleans Ladies – Louisiana LaRoux; Just As I Am; You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma – David Frizzell and Shelly West

Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A. That’s funny, coming up with just five books! Wait – you’re serious?

Without thinking too much about it: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith; Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry; Bel Canto by Ann Patchett; The Snare by Elizabeth Spencer; A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.

The Rock Orchard, A Thousand Acres, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I can’t stop!

A charming Southern Belle who can redecorate better than anyone on HGTV, read/review tons of books every month, and share the beauty of life’s simple moments, please visit and enjoy Keetha DePriest Mosley at her (almost) daily blog, Write Kudzu.

Book Giveaway: The Divining Wand is giving away a copy of Trish Ryan’s latest memoir, A Maze of Grace in a random drawing to anyone who comments only on this specific post, Trish Ryan and A Maze of Grace. Comments left on other posts during the week are not entered into the contest. The deadline is tonight at 7:00 p.m. EDT with the winner to be announced here in tomorrow’s post. If you enter, please return tomorrow to possibly claim your book.

Beginning with a late January post, The Divining Wand has revealed how its successful authors have traveled their personal road to publication. And now the remaining five answer the questions of how they handled rejection and what kept them going to reach their destination?

Alicia Bessette (Simply from Scratch coming August 5, 2010):

“Years passed between the day I really got serious about writing, and the day I signed a publishing contract. There is no general time-line for when you “should” have something published. Everyone’s on her own path. It takes some writers decades to achieve publication.

“During the submissions process, I became very familiar with rejection. What kept me going? A husband who believes in me, and an inner refusal to quit. Too, I surrounded myself with positive people who made me feel as though I was bound to succeed. And I tried to avoid negative people whose comments, questions, or attitudes made me second-guess myself.”

Carleen Brice (Orange Mint and Honey, Children of the Waters):

“I’ve been very lucky. Very lucky. My first book was nonfiction and I sold it myself, getting a publisher only after a handful of rejections. My first novel was sold about 4 months after it went on submission. That is remarkably fast. However, it didn’t feel that way at the time, and the novel was rejected by about a dozen publishers. As those rejections were coming in, it felt awful. I started to lose hope. I am a Gemini so I feel uniquely qualified to be on submission. Half of me has complete faith that I will be successful and the other half completely believes I’m a big fat failure. What kept me going is the optimistic half of me. That and my agent’s belief in me, and my husband and my friends.”

Eileen Cook (Unpredictable, What Would Emma Do? YA and Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood YA ):

“The answer to this question depends on when you want to start the clock ticking. I always wanted to write and my parents have one of my earliest “works” dating back to second grade. If we use that as the starting point then it took me a looooooong time. If we start from the time I finished Unpredictable, it took me about five months to find an agent and about six months with her between revisions and when I sold. Once I sold it was two years before the book came out. This is my way of pointing out that writing makes a lousy get rich quick plan.

“Rejection is a part of the publication process. When writers gather they show off their rejection scars like old war veterans. My approach to rejection was to feel sorry for myself for a maximum of 24 hours and then pull up my big girl panties and move forward. There is a saying that the difference between an unpublished writer and a published writer is perseverance. Rejection was just the world’s way of trying to figure out how serious I was about this publication plan.”

Judy Merrill Larsen (All the Numbers):

“From the day I wrote the first sentence of my first draft, to the day my book was available in stores was almost exactly 7 years. I learned to have a very thick skin to deal with the rejections (teaching high school and having kids had already helped me with that!), and I even learned to use the rejections as inspiration to keep going, to get it right. My friends and family also helped, encouraging me every step of the way. And I also knew that giving up simply wasn’t an option–this mattered, my story mattered, and I had to keep going.”

Maud Carol Markson (When We Get Home, Looking After Pigeon):

“How long did it take before you finally got published? And how did you handle rejection, what kept you going? My first novel got published very quickly, but then it took me twenty years until my next novel was published. I handled rejection by getting very involved in other endeavors– not simply seeing myself as a writer.”

Have you heard?

Allison Winn Scotch (The Department of Lost and Found, Time of My Life and The One That I Want) presents:

On her Wednesday, June 16, 2010 blog post, Allison writes:

“Yes, I use those words intentionally. Because today, I wanted to give shout-outs to some women writers (okay, they’re not all mothers) who have in some way been kind or helpful to me throughout my career, and well, throughout certain times of my life. Writing is a very solitary endeavor, but thanks to some of my friends, I always feel like I have a wide network of support. All of these women are generous – with blurbs, with advice, with open ears when we just need to complain, and just as importantly, all of them have (relatively) new books out. And I’m grateful for them, not just for their brilliant words that go onto the page, but for their friendship.

SO.

Here’s the deal:

To enter the contest, click over to my Facebook page, where this contest is announced. Click “like,” on the giveaway or leave a comment underneath the announcement. You’ll be entered. Just like that. I’ll leave it open until Friday at 3pm EST, when I’ll choose the winners, each of whom will receive one of the fabulous books listed below. Oh, and did I mention that each copy will be signed? Yes, the lovely ladies will be sending their autograph too.

Here are the goods that you’ll be up to win:” (Scroll down.)

Announcement: The winner of Three Wishes by Carey Goldberg, Beth Jones, and Pamela Ferdinand is Stacey.

Congratulations! Please email: diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address, and the book will be sent out promptly.