The Divining Wand

Those books, the cherished ones, that our authors reach out to reread may inspire, comfort or simply entertain. Yet whatever they do, these novels have become priceless companions in our authors’ lives and writing.

How does your personal keeper shelf stack up to:

Joëlle Anthony (Restoring Harmony YA coming May 13, 2010):

“For rereading, I always turn to Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series or a Nevil Shute novel. You cannot go wrong with either. Hmmm…I may have to go read one of those now…”

Tish Cohen (Town House, Inside Out Girl, Little Black Lies YA):

“I am a dedicated rereader. Right now I want to reread September by Rosamunde Pilcher for the atmosphere and cozy feeling it offers.”

Eileen Cook (Unpredictable, What Would Emma Do? YA and Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood YA, coming January 5, 2010):

“I love to reread books. This is how I justify the stacks of books in my house- someday I’m going to reread them all! I find the first time I read a book I do it simply for enjoyment, the second time I read them I like to look at the craft and structure. There are so many writers I admire and I enjoy dissecting their books. I’ve been known to do chapter by chapter breakdowns looking and how they worked their magic! Some books that I’ve reread include: Vanity Fair, Pride and Prejudice, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Gone with the Wind.”

Ad Hudler (Man of the House, All This Belongs to Me, House Husband):

“The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. I’m actually re-reading it right now. It shows the story of three brothers (one a hedonist, one an intellectual and the other a spiritualist) and the different ways they navigate life despite being from the same family.”

Lauren Baratz-Logsted (most recent Crazy Beautiful YA):

“The Grear Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald – I’ll always reread that.”

Randy Susan Meyers (The Murderer’s Daughters coming January 19, 2010):

I reread all the time. There are some books I revisit at least once every five years or so, just to remind myself the amazing jobs these authors have done in combining story telling, plot, and exquisite writing.

“The novel I have probably reread most often is Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux. His story of one of the all-time most dramatic examples of a dysfunctional family refusing to admit to the elephant in the room is astounding.”

Barrie Summy (I So Don’t Do Mysteries, I So Don’t Do Spooky Ages 9 – 12, coming December 8, 2009):

“Light in August by William Faulkner. The opening scene is absolutely priceless.”

Therese Walsh (The Last Will of Moira Leahy):

“I have an overstuffed keeper shelf, and I would—and will—reread any of those books, from Colleen McCullogh’s The Thorn Birds to Keith Donohue’s The Stolen Child and Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest.”

Art + Business = Writing Lessons Learned.

Yes, once again, several of our authors responded to the question of: If you knew then, what you know now about writing as an art and business, what might you have done differently?

And, as much as these storytellers love their art, most have discovered there’s more to success than creativity.

Ad Hudler (Man of the House, All This Belongs to Me, House Husband):

“I would not have signed away my audio rights. As it is now, only one of my four books have been made into audio … and I hear from a reader at least once a week, asking for the audio version. So … in the future I’m going to make sure I keep the audio rights, and I’m going to record the books myself with a production company and sell them, downloadable, on my website.”

Kristy Kiernan (Catching Genius, Matters of Faith and Between Friends coming April 6, 2010):

“I would have been much, much kinder to myself. I would have been more guarded with other writers and listened to my instincts. And I would have been a better custodian of my time and energy.”

Randy Susan Meyers (The Murderer’s Daughters coming January 19, 2010):

“I would have started far earlier to learn to combine craft with art.

For many years I bought into a belief that writing was magic, where my flying thoughts, imagination, and natural writing bent would somehow combine through alchemy and be tapped out through my fingers. Later in life, I realized that like any builder, I needed to learn the trade, use the right tools, and start building plumb. At that point, I put my head down and worked at learning more from others—both by reading books about the craft of writing and by participating in writer’s workshops.”

Barrie Summy (I So Don’t Do Mysteries, I So Don’t Do Spooky Ages 9 – 12, coming December 8, 2009):

“I think I would’ve started submitting earlier. Instead, I felt that getting published was so far out there and so almost unattainable that I found it difficult to be disciplined and sit still long enough to write.’

Wendy Tokunaga (Midori By Moonlight, Love in Translation coming November 24, 2009):

“On the business side I would have invested some of my own funds for outside publicity for my first novel instead of only relying on my publisher and everything I could do myself. On the art side, I would understand that writing is subjective. I would not have worried so much about comparing my writing to that of other writers and have the confidence to know that I have my own style.”

A few weeks ago The Divining Wand asked its authors: What does your Muse look like? Or what does s/he sound like? Or what does s/he feel like? Muse(less)? What inspires you to write?

Here are more of their primarily Muse(less) replies:

Therese Fowler (Souvenir, Reunion):

“I love this question, because it reminds me that writers are so diverse in what motivates and inspires them. There is a romantic ideal that presumes we all have muses, but as you know, that’s not always the case–and may not even be the case often. Of all the writers I know, only a few have ever mentioned a personified muse.

Inspiration, though: we all have that! Mine is based in nature: human nature primarily, and then the natural world. It’s the concert of those two forces that compels me to observe, select, and then set down my stories onto paper.

When I’m feeling unmotivated, I know I simply need to get outdoors and let my mind relax and become receptive again.”

Randy Susan Meyers (The Murderer’s Daughters coming January 19, 2010):

“My Muse looks like the public library. When I was a child, I almost lived there. The library was the safest place I knew and it held a world of happiness. It was a miracle to me that I could go in the my little Brooklyn library, plunk down my rapidly softening from overuse card, and be allowed to take home six—SIX!—books. I read fast, so in a few days I’d be back for my next six.

Books make me happy. The idea of being side by side with my beloved authors, that’s my Muse. I consider books sacred objects, and feel tremendously blessed that my novel will be published in January.

I write because it allows me to combine the activities I most love: making sense of the world, story-telling, and scrambling words until, hopefully, I’ve reached the right combination to tell a tale people will love reading.”

Barrie Summy (I So Don’t Do Mysteries, I So Don’t Do Spooky Ages 9 – 12, coming December 8, 2009):

“I don’t think I have a Muse. Or maybe I do, but we’re both so harried that we haven’t taken the time to sit down and chat over a cup of coffee. I’m the person who travels everywhere with a laptop. While I’m waiting for my kids to finish that last set at swim team, I’m in the car or on the pool deck, writing the end of a scene. During warm-up time at a gymnastics meet, I’m the mother on the bench with her head bent over, typing away like a fiend. Once I start reading and marking up hard copy, I travel everywhere with a large cloth bag filled with manuscript pages, a dictionary (my favorite is The Flip Dictionary), a zippered pencil case with highlighters and pencils and pens. However, I recently discovered a new coffee shop and will be writing there in the evenings. I think, perhaps, my Muse and I will finally meet. And I suspect she has beautiful highlights, visits the gym regularly and always eats a healthy diet. All the things I’d like to be.

What inspires me to write? Well, I’m very cranky when I’m not writing. My family will totally attest to this. And I have these stories in my head, fighting to get out and onto a hard drive. All in all, it’s easier to write than not to.”

Wendy Tokunaga (Midori By Moonlight, Love in Translation coming November 24, 2009):

“So many things can inspire me. A snippet of an overheard conversation in a coffee house, a thought that suddenly pops into my head while walking along the beach trail, or an article I’ve read in a newspaper or magazine. Sometimes doing research on a project can trigger ideas for a completely different one.”

Announcement: The winner of the Book Giveaway of Therese Walsh’s The Last Will of Moira Leahy is Robyn! Congratulations Robyn, please email: diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and I’ll have the book sent out to you.

First and foremost today let’s celebrate Happy Book Birthday for:

Little Black Lies by Tish Cohen (Town House, Inside Out Girl, The Invisible Rules of the Zoe Lama, The One and Only Zoe Lama), who makes her debut as a YA author.

And The Last Will of Moira Leahy by Therese Walsh who makes debut as an adult fiction author.

Congratulations to both!

October, known for being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, will be celebrated by Lisa Davis — the creator, host, and producer of a popular health radio show in Boston — in a 9:30 – 10:00 a.m. EDT interview this morning with Gail Konop Baker author of Cancer Is a Bitch. If possible, check it out at Its Your Health Radio.

And one of TDW’s recent author members, Randy Susan Meyers (The Murderer’s Daughters coming January 19, 2010) reminds us that “October is Domestic Violence Month and during that time, it’s important to think of the children who watch as their parents raise fists to each other, to them, and to strangers.” You can read more about Randy’s thoughts and facts in her September 28th post, Fasting Against the Violence at Home.

Four authors well beyond — yet still attached to — their pages.

Book Giveaway continues with a chance for you to win a copy of The Last Will of Moira Leahy. To enter, leave a comment on this post describing what made your younger self feel powerful, brave, or invincible. The deadline for all entries is Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. EDT with the winner to be announced on Thursday’s post.

While not based on absolute fact one of the joys for any author has to be having your first novel discovered long after its debut…particularly when found, read, and enjoyed by another author. And that is exactly what Tish Cohen (Inside Out Girl, The Invisible Rules of The Zoe Lama, The One and Only Zoe Lama) experienced a few weeks ago when Randy Susan Meyers posted on her RedRoom blog, Summer Satisfaction Read This Week:

“Fourth of July weekend and I wasn’t swimming, sunning, or drinking gin and tonic. The first draft of my new novel screamed to be done (and by Sunday it was) but even the best of intentions need a break for the arm muscles.

“I needed a book juicy enough to suck me in, interesting enough to nourish, and with seamlessly transparent writing that could silence my infernal editing word-judge. All I wanted was to read, thank you very much.

“In TOWN HOUSE by Tish Cohen I found my answer. Jack Madigan has all the ingredients of a character I love: a fatal flaw of distinction (agoraphobia,) an attention-grabbing back story (dead mega rock star father) and a what’s-gonna-happen (his crumbling Boston townhouse, the only legacy of rock-dad, is about to be foreclosed upon.)

“There’s a stuck-in-the-seventies teenage son, a too-helpful ex-wife, a hapless chattering real estate agent, and a missing killer-turtle shell.

“The most important ingredient in a book seems to me, to be a main character (or characters) you just need to stay with. It’s like the perfect best friend or the ideal husband, somehow everything about their life is interesting. That’s Jack Madigan. You like being with him for the entire ride.”

If you have yet to visit Jack Madigan in Town Hosue — a Commonwealth Prize Regional Finalist –, why not read my April 30, 2007 post, Presenting Debutante Tish Cohen with Town House? And then share his company

As for the lovely and talented Ms. Cohen, she’s preparing for yet another debut with her YA novel, Little Black Lies, appearing in bookstores on October 13th and coming to this blog soon.