The Divining Wand

[Note: This week The Divining Wand spotlights The Debutante Ball Class of 09 by featuring their original "Presentations," along with subsequent professional recognition and/or personal rewards. With only two weeks left to watch them waltz around the Ballroom floor, let's toast Debs Tiffany Baker, Meredith Cole, Eve Brown-Waite, Katie Alender and Kristina Riggle: Bravo for their debut offerings and cheers to their careers!]

“Baker’s bangup debut mixes the exuberant eccentricities of John Irving’s Garp, Anne Tyler’s relationship savvy and the plangent voice of Margaret Atwood…It’s got all the earmarks of a hit—infectious and lovable narrator, a dash of magic, an impressive sweep and a heartrending but not treacly family drama.– Publisher’s Weekly (Starred Review)

“Grabs you from its astonishing beginning to its riveting conclusion. Its charms are multitude– a wholly unique love story, a devastating friendship, a bewitching multi-generational history, all brought to an apex in the larger-than-life personage of Truly, a heroine simultaneously infused with a quiet and dignified grace and peculiar sense of purpose. This dark-yet-rolicking debut is a must-read.”–Sara Gruen, author of WATER FOR ELEPHANTS

“Read so fresh and unfolded in such surprising ways that I was captivated from start to finish. It’s a bracing, bright, masterful debut, and Tiffany Baker is a writer to watch.”–Joshilyn Jackson, author of THE GIRL WHO STOPPED SWIMMING.

“A beautiful, startling and wholly original novel infused with magic, lush language, and surprises on every page. Tiffany Baker has given us a flawed, prickly, enchanting heroine in Truly–part Cinderella, part Witch, part Behemoth. In ther timeless story of small town life, the boundary between reality and fairy tale does not exist, and happy endings are possible but hard-won. This book is a treasure.”–Stephanie Kallos, author of BROKEN FOR YOU

With the beginning of the new year, The Debutante Ball Class of ‘09 makes its bow and Deb Tiffany Baker leads off with the above glowing reviews. Although the novel, The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, will officially be released this Thursday, January 8th, Amazon began its shipping December 23rd…thereby delivering some on Christmas Day.

However, living in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the same small town she grew up in, Deb Tiffany was likely unaware that her magical, mythical book was being opened along with other presents. Instead, she must have been enjoying the holiday excitement of her three young children, sneaking in a quick run, cooking, or dreaming about the beach. Oh, yes, she does all of that and more. In fact let’s meet this Debutante through her September 4, 2008 post, Girl Thursday:

“Hi everyone! I’m Tiffany, the Thursday deb, although in real life I’m nothing like a debutante. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my husband and three, young children, am prone to wearing Birkenstocks and cowboy boots, can’t curtsy, and believe that Lay’s plain potato chips and champagne is the perfect food pairing.

“Before becoming a novelist, and before getting married and having kids, I taught literature and writing at UC-Irvine and the Cooper Union. I have an MFA and a PhD in Victorian Literature, and my favorite book since the age of nine has been Jane Eyre, a character who wasn’t debutante material, either.

“I’m so thrilled to be participating in this group over the next year. In fact, the coming months will be filled with “firsts” for me. Yesterday my oldest daughter started Kindergarten (I cried; she didn’t). It will be the first time all three of my children are in school for at least part of the day, my first Christmas in a house we bought last year (and still have yet to fully unpack), my first time blogging, and, of course, the first time I’ve ever had a novel published!”

How well can you relate to Tiffany Baker? Quite easily and naturally, of course. The fact that she has a most vivid imagination, is a gifted literary storyteller and will likely mesmerize you with these talents in her debut novel are pure bonuses to your reader/author friendship. Still you might be wondering how this author manages to accomplish everything and in the The Writing Routine post of November 13, 2008, she confesses all.

And that’s how the book was written, beginning with the backstory or How I Came to Write the Book:

“People are always asking me how I came up with the idea for The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, and I always tell them the whole thing belongs to Truly. Truly is not “‘real’” of course—except that she kind of is. Before this version of the novel, there was another incarnation, one where the story belonged to the Morgan men. Well, Truly was having none of that. Her voice barreled in over the narrative, broke it into smithereens, and told me to pick up the pieces and start over, her way. I would, it seems, be telling the story from her perspective, with her words, whether I liked it or not. She has been a singular muse, to say the least—chatty, bossy, and stubborn as all get-out. But also forgiving, tender, and full of regret. In other words, totally human. People often ask if Truly is some version me, and of course, in a way she is. She is my answer to the question of why we die the way we do. I didn’t necessarily set out to write a book about that subject, but over the course of writing this novel, several friends and family members passed away—some from old age, some from disease, some, I guess, just because their number was up. Then I got pregnant in the middle of it all and almost miscarried my son. As I lay in bed wondering if I would be able to have him, I found myself asking the questions that Truly confronts at the end of the novel: When one of the needs in life turns out to be death is it murder or a mercy? Enter Truly—a kind of spirit-guide of mortality who brings these issues to the table, but who also is constantly reminding us that life is a feast. There’s more, of course, to writing a novel than just “‘tuning in’” to a character’s voice, but not much. Writing, I think, is as much an act of listening as anything else. Luckily, I chose to shut up and open my ears to Truly, even when I didn’t always like all the answers she was giving me, even when we sometimes fought. Finally, like Truly, I also spend a lot of time cooking, and I believe there are similarities between writing and the culinary arts. For instance, I don’t really think you can be a good cook if you don’t like to eat. You always need a secret ingredient. You should never give away your recipes, and most of all, in my opinion, whatever you’ve made always tastes best when it’s shared. Truly, I’m sure, would absolutely agree. I hope you enjoy The Little Giant of Aberdeen County.”

From Truly’s voice to Deb Tiffany’s writing, The Little Giant of Aberdeen County emerged, along with its Synopsis:

“When Truly Plaice—part Behemoth, part Witch, part Cinderella—is born larger than life into a small-minded town, her birth rocks the pillars of tiny Aberdeen, New York, and breaks her family into smithereens. Truly spends a painful childhood in the shadow of her older sister Serena’s beauty and is teased mercilessly for her enormous physique. But when Serena unexpectedly leaves her son in Truly’s care, she must become the woman of a house she did not choose. Her brother-in-law, Doctor Robert Morgan, was one of her childhood tormentors and, as an adult, subjects her to brutal criticism, cruel medical testing, and degradation to the breaking point. It’s only when Truly finds her calling helping townspeople with herbal remedies that she begins to regain control of her life. However, unearthed family secrets will lead to a devastating betrayal that will break the Morgan family apart forever, and as Truly reckons with her own demons, she must come to terms with her role in Aberdeen’s destiny and the possibility of love in unexpected places.”

While there’s so much to like about this unique novel with its complex characters and a bit of magical realism, it also deals with the physial and emotional pain of being “different.” And how does Deb Tiffany feel about differences? In her November 20, 2008 post, Sign of the Times, we (not surprisingly) learn that she embraces them. And that’s the real basis of Truly’s story. As unique and memorabe as this debut novel is, it’s personal tale may be even more meaningful. Simply put, The Little Giant of Aberdeen County allows us to look at our own life, the differences that surround us and the choices we make, while hoping that, in the end, we’ll be happy in our own skin.

Now do enjoy…Truly!

That was then (January 5, 2009) and this is now: The Little Giant of Aberdeen County has just been nominated for Book of the Year in the Fiction category for the NAIBA awards.

And the winner(s) of TETHERED by Amy MacKinnon are: Mary and Gaby! This Fairy Godmother simply didn’t have the heart to randomly choose only one entry from two choices. Besides, this novel is deserving of two winners. Please contact me at: diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com with your snail mail address and the book will soon be on its way to you. Congratulations!

Although Wendy Tokunaga’s novel, Midori By Moonlight, was published in September, 2007, readers are still discovering this debut author’s light-hearted touch of exploring why some people feel the need to trade in their native culture for a new one. Combining substance with delicious fun comes naturally for Wendy as she applies her extensive experience in studying the Japanese language and culture; living, working and playing in Japan; and, of course, the lessons learned from her cross-cultural marriage,

And GoodReads has taken notice as the writer’s blog post on Friday, July 10th announced, Midori By Moonlight Book Giveaways on GoodReads. The Contest runs until July 31st so please check it out there. And, if you’re fortunate enough to win one of the three copies, you’ll be enjoying a book praised as:

“Tokunaga depicts Midori’s determination to create her own version of the American dream with exuberance [in this] delectably frothy debut.”__Publishers’ Weekly

“[Midori by Moonlight] draws upon vivid imagery when defining traits of Japanese culture and really hits the nail on the head when depicting some American attitudes toward others…. witty and charming.”__Charleston Gazette

“Midori is endearing, feisty, and funny: the novel is a delight.”__ Ellen Sussman, editor of Bad Girls and author of On a Night Like This

Best selling author Cara Lockwood (Dixieland Sushi) says, “Midori by Moonlight is part wasabi, part ginger, and as scrumptious as a California roll. You’ll devour this book in a day!”

Author Lauren Baratz-Logsted (Vertigo) says, “A delightful fusion of East meeting West, as if Banana Yoshimoto and Meg Cabot got together to create a romantic comedy.”

From Margo Candela, author of Life Over Easy: “Shedding light on Japanese culture and modern dating, relating, and living woes, Tokunaga blends both with an insider’s eye for nuance and a real love for her characters. Delightfully sweet, just like Midori.”

Here’s a brief Synopsis:

“Midori Saito’s dream seems about to come true. Too independent for Japanese society, Midori is a young woman who has always felt like a stranger in her native land. So when she falls in love with Kevin, an American English teacher, she readily agrees to leave home and start a new life with him in San Francisco—as his fiancée. Kevin seems to be the perfect man. That is, until he dumps her for his blond ex-fiancée, whom Midori never even knew existed. With just a smattering of fractured English, not much cash, and a fiancée visa set to expire in 60 days, Midori realizes she’s in for quite a struggle. Unable to face the humiliation of telling her parents she’s been jilted, she decides to go it alone, surprising even herself as she proves she will do almost anything to hang on to her ‘“American Dream.”’

Now prepare to be charmed by the Midori by Moonlight Book Trailer. Wendy’s husband Manabu composed the great music.

And, finally, you can Read an Excerpt since Midori By Moonlight was featured in the St. Martin’s Press “Read-It-First” Program.

While it’s possible you could be a winner in the GoodReads Contest, chances are you’d feel even luckier to purchase Midori by Moonlight at your local bookstore or one of these other online retailers: Barnes & Noble and Borders.

There’s something special about getting to know a debut author and Wendy Tokunaga will not hold that title much longer since her second novel, Love in Translation, (to be released November 24, 2009) is already available for Pre-order. By all means, it’s time to discover her now!

Although The Debutante Ball will continue its 2009 season until the end of August, tomorrow — Tuesday, June 16th — Kristina Riggle will become the fifth and final member of the class to take a bow when her debut novel, Real Life & Liars, becomes available for purchase online and at bookstores everywhere.

To become aquainted with this talented writer who loves the meaningful pleasures of family, home, and Michigan, a visit to Kristina’s Bio on her website will tell you that:

“Kristina Riggle lives and writes in West Michigan. Besides her debut novel, Real Life & Liars, she has published short stories in the Cimarron Review, Literary Mama, Espresso Fiction, and elsewhere. She is also a freelance journalist writing primarily for The Grand Rapids Press, and co-editor for fiction at Literary Mama. Kristina was a full-time newspaper reporter for seven years before turning her attention to creative writing and freelancing. On Mondays, she can be found blogging at The Debutante Ball, a group blog of authors debuting in 2009. As well as writing, she enjoys reading, yoga, dabbling in (very) amateur musical theatre, and spending lots of time with her husband, two kids and dog.

“Real Life & Liars is set in Charlevoix, Michigan, a town close to Kristina’s heart as the home of her grandparents where she has visited often over the years. Some recognizable Charlevoix landmarks appear in the novel, as well as fictionalized versions of real places. The home of the Zielinski family on Dixon Avenue is based loosely on the house where her grandmother grew up.”

Without question Charlevoix is a character in itself, detailed and warmly described in Real Life & Liars. In fact, acting out its background role, this setting for the novel may well be the only truthful anchor to the story. As Deb Kristina explains in her February 9, 2009 post, In which love hurts all kinds of ways , “Real Life & Liars isn’t a love story, but it’s a story about love.” Or, simply put, it’s about the author’s desire to write about complex family relationships. And, as the author revealed in a recent LitChat, “One major theme of LIARS: what if your children don’t grow up the way you tried to raise them?”

An interesting question to think about while reading the Synopsis of the novel:

“Sometimes the hardest thing you can do in this world is try to be happy…

“For Mirabelle Zielinski’s children, happiness always seems to be one step away. Her oldest daughter Katya, clings to a stale marriage with a workaholic husband and three spoiled children. Her son, Ivan, is a down– in–the–dumps musician with the worst taste in women. Irina is a young beauty who once lived life on a whim and is now facing the rest of her days with a baby and a husband nearly twice her age. The weekend of their parents’ anniversary party love will be found, hearts will be broken, and lies will be revealed. But the biggest shock may come from Mirabelle herself; because she has a secret that will change everything…”

Critical Praise from the trade journals —

“With ease and grace, Riggle walks the fine line between sentimentality and comedy, and she has a sure hand in creating fun, quirky characters. Humorous and humane storytelling makes this much better than the standard cancer tear-jerker.”__Publishers Weekly

“Riggle crafts a moving and accomplished first novel about a family coming to terms with change.
__Booklist

And more Advanced Praise from authors –

“In her wondrously affecting debut novel REAL LIFE AND LIARS, Kristina Riggle accomplished something authors almost never do anymore: she made me care about her characters – and what a wide-ranging cast of characters they are! She made me want good things for them. A must-read for summer 2009.”__Lauren Baratz-Logsted, author of Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes

“Written with grace, passion, and insight, REAL LIFE AND LIARS is a deeply felt novel that draws a vivid portrait of a family in transition, and examines the very real fear of leaving behind all you hold dear.”__Maggie Dana, author of BEACHCOMBING

“Real Life & Liars, Kristina Riggle’s sumptuous and rich debut novel, examines the complications that arise in family and marriage, love and heartbreak. With lush writing and nuanced, relatable characters, this book is a must-read for anyone who has ever been both grateful and driven mad by the people they love most: their family.”__Allison Winn Scotch, New York Times bestselling author of Time of My Life and The Department of Lost and Found

In other words, Deb Kristina has succeeded in writing an emotionally universal story that both whispers and shouts the truth behind lies. Her inspiration? The December 1, 2008 post, In which a garage sale makes the difference for Deb Kristina, tells how buying Anne Tyler’s BREATHING LESSONS for 25 cents opened her eyes. Hopefully you’ll read the entire post that are highlighted with these thoughts:

“Anne Tyler made me care about those people as if their lives were my own.”

“This book taught me that interior stories, in the hands of a talented writer, can be just as compelling as the fate of nations. That’s how it changed my life.”

“There are no car chases in REAL LIFE & LIARS. The fate of the free world does not rest with my characters. I won’t kid myself, either, that for my first novel I can achieve the heights of Anne Tyler’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book. But I could only write LIARS after I decided to write the kind of book I love to read, the kind of book that makes matters of the soul as important as matters of state.

“Hearts matter. Anne Tyler taught me that.”

In January, I received an ARC of Real Life & Liars to review for the HarperCollins First Look program and here is my First Look:

Although it’s a time for a family celebration of love and life in Kristina Riggle’s debut novel, Real Life & Liars, the five immediate Zielinski clan members are anything but joyful. All come together — for a weekend — sharing lies with each other, while personally seeking their own truths. Yet this is not your typical dysfunctional homecoming story where one cataclysmic crisis reunites characters to live happily ever after. Instead this is a well-drawn study of real people with separate lives and problems who also happen to be related and connected by a lifetime history.

In the end some lies are revealed but, as in real life, Kristina Riggle lets her characters move forward to choose whichever path suits their newly discovered truths or easy-to-fall-back-on lies. Real Life & Liars can best be described as “a quiet little book” that emotionally connects you with the major and minor details of daily life — i.e. a heart-grabbing story which lingers as the reader may well consider her/his own lies and truths.

After reading that review, Kristina sent a brief note with this telling message: “I love how you described it. You enjoyed it for the same reasons I loved writing it.”

TRUST: You will enjoy Real Life & Liars too!

Having been a daily guest at The Debutante Ball for its first two seasons, Katie Alender
shared the joy and excitement of other authors’ debuts. Yet this season Katie is a Deb and tomorrow — April 21, 2009 — will be her turn to take a bow and be celebrated when her Young Adult novel, Bad Girls Don’t Die, hits bookstore shelves or ships from your favorite online retailer.

Imagine what an added thrill this Debutante must feel by following in the tradition and legacy of the Ball’s Founders! In fact in her first post, My dog ate my pearls, by Deb Katie, she acknowledges Mia King’s Good Things and Sweet Life even before introducing herself as a “…hopeless homebody.” But please do not be fooled by Deb Katie’s self-effacing description for, in truth, she’s a multi-talented and ever-curious dynamo who brings passion to every one of her eclectic interests/loves.

Consider, for example, that she began the first draft of Bad Girls Don’t Die in 2002 and, over the next couple of years, she revised it when there was time or when inspiration hit. In 2006 Deb Katie was ready to make her statement and ended up selling the book by the end of the year. As she notes: “A lot of people say they have two “‘practice’” books hidden in a drawer. For me, this was the practice book! I just kept hammering away it it until it was good enough.”

What was so important about this story to keep Deb Katie writing? Well, although the tale has certainly evolved from its original “evil ghost” action thriller, the message has remained constant. It’s a book about strong teenage females who have their own problems and find their own solutions, doing so without being dependent and reliant on males. The author’s heroine, Alexis, figures out that she has the strength and intelligence to not only fight her own battles but to be victorious…not that it’s easy, of course.

Here a Synopsis of Bad Girls Don’t Die:

“When 15-year-old Alexis Warren suspects that her younger sister Kasey’s strange behavior is more than just angst, she thinks she can handle it on her own. But creepy parlor tricks are just the beginning, and it soon seems that Kasey may actually be living out the violent legacy of the Warrens’ gothic home. Alexis is forced to seek out the help of her arch-rival, cheerleader queen, Megan Wiley. Working together, they’re the only ones who can save Kasey. But what if the green-eyed girl isn’t even Kasey anymore?”

And here is a sensational Bad Girls Don’t Die Book Trailer

If THAT scared you, wait until you read the book! Seriously though, having read an Advanced Reader Copy, I’ll tell you that Deb Katie’s writing creates as much realistic magic as that video does, with her words conjuring up mental images that reel into scene after scene. When reading a book, especially a novel, I usually read word-by-word since that’s how the author painstakingly wrote it. But that was impossible to do with Bad Girls Don’t Die. Simply put, the book is a visual, rollercoaster ride that you cannot stop…nor do you want to!

In subtle and not so subtle ways, the plot revolves around how everyone has a personal battle to conquer. For Alexis the battle was loneliness and she convinced herself she simply didn’t belong. Does that sound like teenage angst? It might have been except the author doesn’t allow her heroine to wallow. Instead Alexis rationalizes that the reasons she had to act out were good enough to justify her actions. No this is not a bad girl, but she is defensive and judgmental. And confronting that underlying issue provides her with greater strength, understanding as well as — most importantly –trust.

Ironically, Deb Katie accepts and embraces the fact that readers will judge her book from their own POV and she addresses this in the January 20, 2009 post, The magic of someone else’s eyes, by Deb Katie. What a terrific, optimistic perspective! And what a smart move to seek out her target audience online, provide them with ARCS, and have them review the novel. Visit the writer’s Reviews page to read Praise for Bad Girls Don’t Die, most from teen literary sites!

While delighted with these reviews, this writer has been surprised that readers have literally been scared by the story and “consider the ending to be a bit of a twist.” After all it was never her intention to write a mystery. What Deb Katie did want her writing to do was…remind people that things aren’t always what they seem. And if knowing that makes one teen be nice to another teen somewhere on the other side of the country, what a difference for those two young adults and possibly their futures.

Also Bad Girls Don’t Die is rated PG — a conscious commitment on the author’s part to avoid the issues of sex, drugs, and cell phone tapes. She knows that a lot of teens are dealing with these subjects, but there may be just as many who don’t deal with those things every single day. Why then add to the media hype, especially when Alexis has more than enough to contend with?

Layered with honest and revealing intimacy, this “ghost story” novel exposes one teen’s demon(s). Yet as innocent as it is scary, the author’s empathetic writing comes down to trusting and protecting the people we care about most. Of course you can gift Bad Girls Don’t Die to your daughter, niece, babysitter AND don’t forget yourself. For you will not only be entertained by Debutante Katie Alender, you also will likely remember the importance of listening to young adults — something to cherish and enjoy!

Although there have been many fiction and non-fiction works presented on this blog (then Seize a Daisy) over the past twenty-two months, Amy MacKinnon and her debut novel, Tethered, hold a unique and fascinating distinction. For unlike all the other authors — who had already completed/sold and were anxiously awaiting their book’s publication date –, Amy shared her real-time journey through these stages in her weekly Tuesday posts at The Writers’ Group. And those of us who have followed her feel an extra sense of pride and excitement about next Tuesday, August 12th, when Tethered is released and Amy MacKinnon officially becomes a novelist.

My first formal introduction to Amy and her writer’s life came on March 6, 2007 in Sun Salutations which focused on stretching oneself to write a flawless piece. And in the post, Amy conceded that:

“There are still people in my life who don’t believe in me, who perhaps think I’m too much like them to be a writer, not quite the type who could get a novel published. But what’s relevant is I don’t feel that way. I’m pushing myself up against everyone’s expectations, stretching, reaching for goals beyond my skills of today to be a better writer tomorrow.”

Without question, here was someone seizing a daisy (actually a bunch) and I commented:

“Larramie said…
A wonderful post, Amy. And my fingers are also crossed because I’d love to read an honest, “‘almost’” perfect essay.”

“Amy said:
Larramie, thanks so much. It’s such a pleasure seeing your post here; daisies figure prominently in my novel.”

OH?! But even small hints of this “daisy-related” book were few or non-existent for quite a while as Amy and The Writers’ Group kept mum.

Or so it seemed. Because, to be fair, Amy had written about her backstory/sign five months prior in the post, The World Beyond, which is the same experience you can read in: About Amy on her website.

Uh-huh…hold on, this gets even better as Amy explains how the characters came to her in the Tuesday, February 6, 2007 post, The Crux of the Matter. Yes, this had been missed too, written exactly a month before my first visit. However, now knowing this background, wouldn’t you think — as I did — that this was Amy’s story to write?

The author, though, wasn’t convinced, admitting in Believing is a Powerful Gift posted on December 19, 2006 that:

“I had no intention of turning that first chapter into a book; I didn’t believe in it enough. It was dark; the characters ached with melancholy and the setting was too morose to sustain a reader’s interest. My protagonist, Clara, had been through enough in life, she didn’t need to have her character dissected as well.

“However The Writers’ Group — Lisa, Hannah and Lynne — wanted to know more.

“But that first time I shared Clara with them, they empathized with her. They felt her pain and also wanted to know more about another character, a little girl who played in the funeral home. They were intrigued and I, a writer in search of approval, was hooked by their interest.

“Now that I’ve completed my book, I often wonder if I would have continued on without the support given me by my writers’ group. They believed in me and my writing, and that’s a mighty powerful gift.

“This much I know is true: Had they not been there every step of the way, it would not have become a manuscript I believe in too.”

How did it all come together? On Amy’s Book website page, you”ll find this synopsis:

“Clara Marsh is an undertaker who doesn’t believe in God. She spends her solitary life among the dead, preparing their last baths and bidding them farewell with a bouquet from her own garden. Her carefully structured life shifts when she discovers a neglected little girl, Trecie, playing in the funeral parlor, desperate for a friend.

“It changes even more when Detective Mike Sullivan starts questioning her again about a body she prepared three years ago, an unidentified girl found murdered in a nearby strip of woods. Unclaimed by family, the community christened her Precious Doe. When Clara and Mike learn Trecie may be involved with the same people who killed Precious Doe, Clara must choose between the stead-fast existence of loneliness and the perils of binding one’s life to another.”

Now here’s an opportunity to read a pdf excerpt from Tethered.

And, yes, that little girl who plays in the funeral home was based upon a news story about “forgotten children” that Amy could not forget as she acknowledged in The Dedication on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. If you continue down and also read the Comments you’ll find:

“Larramie said…

The excerpt of TETHERED, told by a gentle voice, assured me that Amy’s story wouldn’t be horrifying. I admit to steering clear of this subject matter, yet knew I would read this novel for two reasons — curiosity and Amy’s writing/storytelling.

Being honored to receive an ARC, I read each page with an ever-growing lump in my throat…but not for the child. TETHERED is a brutally gorgeous novel that cuts deeply, while making you stronger for caring about unforgettable characters.”

Amy MacKinnon accepts the fact that Tethered, with its subject matter, may not be for every reader and yet — even back in her January 23, 2007 post, Conflicted — she took a stance:

“My theme is, and always will be, faith.

”My faith is a tenuous thing. I had it once, and have longed for it ever since. It’s difficult to navigate the dark passages of life without believing there is some higher power at work, that there exists order where we see only randomness and chaos. My novel began with a question: How could an undertaker perform her work if she didn’t believe in God? I layered into that premise another question I struggle with daily: Why do children need to suffer, to die?”

Within the post, Amy questions parts of the novel only to decide in the final paragraph that:

“So, in spite of the thoughtful suggestion to make that revision, I expect to stay with what I have. I feel strongly that it works better for the story and is more satisfying for the reader. Mostly I need to create a sense of faith within myself where, for now, none exists.”

Since then Amy found an agent, Tethered sold here and to nine Foreign Editions so far — including China, Brazil and Poland. It’s also the Fall 2008 lead book in the Crown Catalog and has been chosen as an August pick for Borders’ Original Voices Program which is fully described on Amy’s website’s Home page.

After five and a half years on this journey, Amy tends to hedge on the future with the expression, “We shall see.” And that is hoped what you will do by Pre-ordering Tethered online now or purchasing it next week at your local bookstore. The writing is brutally/achingly gorgeous, the experience of living the story is vividly intense, and the amazing bond you’ll feel for the characters well past The End is extraordinarily fulfilling. In other words, Tethered is for everyone who seeks a remarkable novel…you shall see!

Several weeks ago — at the start of the debut author presentations on Seize a Daisy — Lisa Kenney tagged me with a book-related meme. The rules were few and simple, while the actual purpose (I think) was much more compelling:

Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. (No cheating!)

I purposely cheated by waiting to give Orange Mint and Honey by Carleen Brice, aka The Pajama Gardener, its own spotlight. True, some of you have already read this novel, blogged about it and/or have the lovely garden cover book waiting on your TBR pile. Then there are those who will discover Orange Mint and Honey right here and now as I move on with this meme:

Find Page 123. Find the first 5 sentences.

Done.

Post the next 3 sentences.

“I …I…didn’t mean to hear…You…” I sputtered. “You keep…I’ll go.”

“What in the world is wrong with you?” Nona asked, dropping the distant tone she had been using with me since our fight.

The above sentences are likely to be read as an obviously awkward exchange between two people — in this case, a mother and daughter — in a less than perfect relationship.

And so ends the rather curious meme. Or is it just a me?

Since I’ve already cheated, let me tell you more, beginning with Carleen Brice — an already praised and established writer of non-fiction. Here’s how she describes herself in her blog’s About Me: “While wearing pajamas, I created a water-wise garden and wrote my first novel. ORANGE MINT AND HONEY (One World/Ballantine) is available in original trade paperback. My non-fiction books are: Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number (Beacon Press in the US/Souvenir Press in the UK), Lead Me Home (Avon/HarperCollins) and Walk Tall (iUniverse).”

And this is Carleen’s synopsis of Orange Mint and Honey:

“What would Nina Simone do? That’s the question 25-year-old Shay Dixon asks of her de facto spiritual adviser, the late great High Priestess of Soul, when she finds herself depressed, evicted from her apartment, and about to flunk out of grad school.

The answer – move back home to live with her recovering alcoholic mother Nona – leads Shay back to Denver where she is shocked to discover a new Nona, sober, healthy, raising a 3-year-old, and growing a lush, healing garden.

Though reconciliation seems a hard proposition for Shay, something unmistakable takes root inside her, waiting to blossom like the flowers in Nona’s garden.

Soon Shay finds herself facing her first real romantic relationship and exciting possibilities. But when a crisis hits, even the wise words and soulful melodies of Nina Simone may not be enough for solace. Shay begins to realize that, like orange mint and honey, life tastes better when bitter is followed by sweet.”

Would you like to learn the backstory of these totally genuine characters? If so, please visit Carleen’s Bio where you’ll find an extensive and fascinating Q&A Interview which explains their creation as well as the author’s feeling that she needed maturity to relate to the mother, Nona, and successfully write the entire story.

Timing is everything and this author’s patient waiting proved well worth it, as noted by this review from Publishers Weekly:

“In Brice’s accomplished debut, African-American Shay Dixon, a burnt-out grad student, has a visitation/fantasy/fever dream featuring Nina Simone, the high priestess of soul, who counsels Shay to go home. To do that, she must face Nona, the drunken failure of a mother she’s not spoken to in seven years and blames for a harrowing childhood that left her emotionally scarred. Still, she takes Nina’s advice, heads home to Denver and discovers that Nona’s now an A.A. member with a good job, a lovely home and an adorable three-year-old girl, Sunny, Shay’s half-sister. Their reconciliation is complicated by Shay’s stubborn anger, Nona’s A.A. sponsorship of a troubled young woman and Shay’s sexual awakening. Brice’s straightforward prose is dead-on in describing the challenges Shay and her mother face as they reconnect.”

Of course there are many more terrific reviews and honors for Orange Mint and Honey, including:

~ Target’s selection as a Bookmarked Break Out Book for February
~ One of The Black Expressions Book Club picks
~ An Essence magazine Book Club selection — in fact, read their article/review

Better yet, you can also read the first two chapters of the novel in A taste of Orange Mint and Honey

Carleen Brice has written a smart, honest and humorous story about the serious — and often life-burdening — consequences that alcohol addiction causes for everyone involved. Because when bittersweet memories are put in perspective, there is hope. And what you plant in your garden of life will bloom within you.

What a great reminder, what a wonderful book. No wonder Orange Mint and Honey is #1 on the Denver Post paperback best sellers list! Congratulations to Carleen!!!

“An agoraphobe fights to save his house, his son and his sanity in Cohen’s comic, big screen–ready debut. ” — Publisher’s Weekly


“A constellation of characters whose idiosyncrasies make the family of Little Miss Sunshine look like Ozzie and Harriet.” –Kirkus review

“For someone who can’t leave the house, Jack Madigan is a heck of a guy. Town House is everything you could ask for in a novel: touching, wry, bewitching, eccentric, and riveting to the end. I love this book and eagerly await Tish Cohen’s next.” –Sara Gruen, NYT bestselling author of Water for Elephants

“An original portrait of a pathetic man that is at times sardonically comic and humanly poignant. Never straying into sentimentality or veering off into ludicrousness, Cohen’s Jack Madigan is a three-dimensional, albeit anomalous, lost soul of our modern, twisted, fractured society.” — Rex Pickett, bestselling author of Sideways

The above praise was inevitable. Even as a young child, Tish Cohen knew her fate as she writes on her website in Biography: “…when I was about six or seven, I remember sitting in my sister’s closet and staring at a particularly good likeness of Snoopy I’d drawn and knowing I was meant to not only quit ripping off other artists’ work or one day face litigation, but to develop characters of my own and write a novel. Right then and there, amongst her sneakers. I knew it right down to my toes. I knew it so strongly that I was deeply ashamed of myself when I thought, “I could never do that,” crawled out and went off to play. I’m ashamed still.”

Next Tuesday, May 8th, Tish will become a debut novelist with the publication of Town House and this July she will become the author/illustrator of a series of children’s middle grade books, the first title being The Invisible Rules of the Zoë Lama. So who is this knowing multi-talent? According to her publisher HarperCollins, it’s simple: “Tish Cohen edited an online women’s magazine and contributed articles to some of Canada’s largest newspapers, such as The Globe and Mail and The National Post. She lives in Toronto.”

However, since Tish can describe herself better than anyone else can, please read her introduction in Full-Frontal Grogging by Debutante Tish at The Debutante Ball. Witty, smart and incredibly savvy, this Deb is a writer who makes you smile at the eccentricities of life. AndTown House, her commercial mainstream novel, is a prime example. Just consider the synopsis:

“Jack Madigan is, by many accounts, blessed. Thanks to his legendary rockstar father, he lives an enviable existence in a once-glorious, but now crumbling, Boston town house with his teenage son, Harlan. There’s just one problem: Jack is agoraphobic. While living on his dad’s dwindling royalties hasn’t been easy, Jack and Harlan have bumbled along just fine. Until the money runs out…and so does Jack’s luck.

“Suddenly, the bank is foreclosing, Jack’s ex is threatening to take Harlan to California, and Lucinda, the little waif next door, won’t stay out of his kitchen. Or his life. The harder Jack tries to keep Lucinda out, the harder she pushes her way in — to his house and, eventually, his heart. Things look up when the real estate agent, Dorrie Allsop, arrives so green she still has the price tag dangling from her Heritage Estates blazer. But even Dorrie’s overworked tongue can’t hide the house’s potential and, ultimately, a solid offer thrusts Jack towards the paralyzing reality that he no longer has a home.

“To save his sanity, Jack must do the impossible and outwit the real estate agent, win back his house and keep his son at home. Town House is a sweet and serious look at one man’s struggle to survive within the walls of his own fears. And it’s through the very people he tries so hard to push out of his life that he finds a way to break down those walls and, eventually, step outside.”

But what inspired this — other than Tish’s ever curious imagination? I asked her about the backstory and she revealed:

“I’m obsessed with old houses. I had seen a dilapidated 4-storey town house on a show called Curb Appeal. The house had a dumbwaiter, gorgeous moldings, 12-foot ceilings, and the whole 4th floor was a stage. Such a house would add so much texture to the story, it would almost function as a character. And it does.

“I also had a character in mind — a lonely little girl next door who pretended she was a dog and was gutsy enough to bite her mother in the ankle. She was heavily based on myself as a child. I wanted her to push her way into the life of the owner of 117 Battersea Road–the town house.

“So then I had to create a central character with a really big problem. Jack Madigan, son of a legendary Ozzie Osborne-type rock star, raging agoraphobe, single parent fighting with his ex, was born.”

Hmm, the pieces of the storyline come together with a real town house, the little girl next door and a man who “can’t” leave his house…but how does Tish identify with Jack, if at all? In her post, The Town House Turtle, she writes about some of their shared traits as well as their differences. Still it seemed daunting to create a male protagonist, yet here is a brilliantly simple explanation:

“As to why I chose a male protagonist, I wanted to create in Jack the ultimate underdog. Someone who is the product of his own foibles. And once I knew he’d be phobic, I decided I could embody a man with more fear than I could a woman. Why? I believe we still have a double standard when it comes to eccentricity. A quirky man is more likely to be labeled by society as endearing. A quirky woman is too often called unbalanced.”

Aha, as mentioned earlier, Deb Tish is smart and savvy and her point about “a quirky woman” is well-taken. Of course her novel brims with well-taken points and according to ELLE Canada, “Tish Cohen has a cinematic eye for characters with endearing foibles in Town House.”

Yes, this is a case where you read the book then see the movie. Honest! Even Hollywood studios couldn’t wait to get their hands on the manuscript as Tish notes:

“TOWN HOUSE sold in an unusual way. My agent sent it out to editors, who then sent it off to literary scouts, who took the manuscript to Hollywood studios. By the time I found out what was happening, about a dozen studios had it. The film rights sold a week after the manuscript went out, and the book sold a week after that. The film interest was so unexpected, it launched me into panic attacks of my very own!”

The book debuts next week, but what — you wonder — is the status of the movie? This inquiring mind asked Deb Tish:

“As for the film, it’s on the fast track…Fox 2000 bought the film rights with Ridley Scott’s company, Scott Free, already in place to produce, the screenplay (by Doug Wright) is in and Fox adores it, and Fox and Scott Free are currently shopping for the perfect director.”

Could Deb Tish become a literary “Dreamgirl?” If so, she’ll think carefully about what to wear on The Red Carpet or at least as much as she reflected on What Not to Wear on New Year’s Eve. Now, seriously, after reading that post how is it possible to wait another week to purchase Town House at your local bookstore? Of course there’s also the option of Pre-Ordering today.

A visit to Tish Cohen, Official Web Site might help ease the wait and you’ll discover that Deb Tish joins in on a regular basis so do stop by this week.

This coming Saturday, though, Tish Cohen flies out to Los Angeles for the kickoff of her book tour. For those of you living in the area, please take note that her first appearance is at West Hollywood’s Book Soup on Tuesday May 8th at 7:00 pm, where Rex Pickett (author of Sideways) will be speaking with Tish at that event. Then Friday, May 11th at 7:00 pm, she’ll be appearing at Borders Brea in Orange County.

A great deal of pride goes into recommending these first-time novelists to you and Deb Tish Cohen — author of Town House — is another winner! So read her book, see the movie and enjoy…because it was all inevitable.