The Divining Wand

On March 4, 2010 The Divining Wand’s post presented, Our Authors’ Spring/Summer Book Releases. Now, at the July 4th mid-summer break, let’s review those books you may have missed and belong in your TBR tote bag.

MARCH

Presenting Debutante Sarah Pekkanen and The Opposite of Me

Jenny Gardiner and Winging It

APRIL

Kristy Kiernan and Between Friends

Holly LeCraw and The Swimming Pool

Matthew Quick and SORTA LIKE A ROCK STAR

MAY

Lauren Baratz-Logsted and Marcia’s Madness

Meredith Cole and Dead in the Water

Presenting Debutante Joëlle Anthony and Restoring Harmony

Barrie Summy and I So Don’t Do Makeup

Presenting Debutante Emily Wiinslow and The Whole World

JUNE

Allison Winn Scotch and The One That I Want

Tish Cohen and The Truth About Delilah Blue

Allie Larkin and Stay

Carey Goldbergy, Beth Jones, and Pamela Ferdinand with Three Wishes

Trish Ryan and A Maze of Grace

Robin Antalek and The Summer We Fell Apart

Of course there are more books to come, including Alicia Bessette’s Simply from Scratch debuting on August 5th and Kristina Riggle (Real Life & Liars) second novel The Life You’ve Imagined releasing August 17th. Yet for a lazy, hazy holiday break, there’s more than enough great reading here. Enjoy!

Announcement: The winners of Robin Antalek’s The Summer We Fell Apart are Keetha and Jenny.

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

Just as that luscious lemon tree gracing the cover of Robin Antalek’s debut novel, The Summer We Fell Apart, requires nurturing, careful tending, and a deep root system, so too does a family tree. Without a solid trunk, both trees’ branches will grow but will they mature and remain forever attached?

Whether or not the author considered the lemon/family tree symbolism — in addition to the symbolism that appears in the book — is unknown. However, without question, the following family home movies were created to serve as an introduction to the novel of the Haas family.

The germ of Robin’s book idea came from her desire to tell the story of a large family, complete with the two younger siblings who leaned on and acted as parents to each other. As for the older sister and brother…well their twisted relationship almost mirrored that of their parents’. Sound confusing? It’s quite believable given that abandonment and neglect are strong themes as is the search for love in all its many forms. There is also the idea of forgiveness, which ultimately leads back to all members of the Haas family, even their mother and father.

To better understand, here’s the synopsis:

Every family is crazy in their own special way, and the Haas family is no exception. The Summer We Fell Apart is the story of four siblings: Amy, George, Kate, and Finn as they careen into adulthood, trying to make peace with their past, and with each other. 
As the children of a once brilliant playwright and a struggling actress, the Haas siblings were raised in a chaotic environment, abandoned into a shadowy adult world made up of equal parts glamour and neglect. When their father dies, they must depend on their intense but fragile bond to remember what it means to be family despite years of anger and hurt. From Amy’s adolescent yearnings for a “normal” life to George’s search for love and Kate’s struggle to not always be perfect, to the gritty details of Finn’s addictive and destructive behavior, the Haas children come to learn that this family — no matter how ragged and flawed — provides all the hope they need.

Of course there is also News and Praise for the insightful look into complexities of human nature and its needs. For the characters found Robin and demanded their voices to be heard, their own perspectives to be told. In fact this debut novelist admits, “…sometimes the conversations I heard in my head were audible — so audible that I had to drop whatever I was doing at the time to write.”

Indeed the genuine honesty of Amy, George, Kate, and Finn make them so true-to-life that I asked Robin how she managed that?

She replied: “How can I answer your question about getting them so true? Only to say that the voices I heard for each character were so real — at times it was like I was taking dictation. Also – in this book — I went where it made me squirm in my seat. I opened closed doors. I wrote what I felt regardless of the inner critic. I tried to honor the characters of my creation as real living breathing human beings. It’s not all pretty. As a matter of fact it can get stomach turning nasty. But I couldn’t change it if I tried.”

And by relating some of those truths she’s received hate mail regarding sexual preferences. Nevertheless the author says: “Whatever, the complaint — I know that SUMMER and its characters have touched a nerve, readers are vested in their futures — and to me — that means I’ve done my job as a writer.”

To provide a complete picture of the family from every perspective, The Summer We Fell Apart was divided into sections which almost, yet don’t quite, overlap. The first to be heard from — and the only one written in first person — is 17-year old Amy as Robin explains:

“I wrote the character of Amy in first person because as the youngest, she is very “‘me’” centered. It is simply the characteristic of the teenager that the world revolves around them — and first person really allowed Amy to grow from a teenager when the book opens to a late twenty-something. Amy will always be the baby. I tried all of the characters in first (as I also wrote Amy in 3rd) but in the end it felt like too much noise to have everyone as first. Their personalities didn’t dictate that in your face storytelling as Amy’s did — and given their problems and neurosis — it’s probably for the better.”

What’s even better is being able to Read an excerpt of Amy’s story.

While the video of family home movies reveals a partial background for The Summer We Fell Apart, the actual novel almost reads like a script from a “well done” TV reality series. Robin Antalek’s words flow with passionate thoughts and feelings. Amy, George, Kate. Finn and their mother talk while the reader listens…captivated. With a breathtaking attention to detail, the author also shows the most intimate of personal behavior as if she had filmed the scenes. To read this novel is to feel a bit voyeuristic, yet it’s impossible to turn away because the author has succeeded in making you care.

In her guest post, Guest Robin Antalek on Raising (Writing) Good Characters, she notes:

“Because of my process, or maybe in spite of, who knows, readers identify strongly with these fictional siblings. And two of the questions I always get from readers whether it’s a book club visit or via mail is: who is your favorite? And, are they all okay?”

Yes they are THAT real and this debut novelist has given us all a wonderful opportunity to get to know, understand, and spend time with them in their world. Although The Summer We Fell Apart is filled with personal trials and past failures, it is also based on hope — that love forever binds to offer strength as well as direction. If you’re looking for a memorable summer read, Robin Antalek has written it for you…enjoy!

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. Comments left on other posts during the week are not entered into the contest. The deadline is Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. EDT with the winner to be announced here in Thursday’s post. If you enter, please return Thursday to possibly claim your book.

[Robin Antalek, in her debut novel The Summer We Fell Apart, (Facebook) introduces the reader to four main characters -- all siblings in a dysfunctional family. In today's guest post she describes the toil and toll required to birth, develop, and then let each one go out into the world...even beyond the book's pages.]

During the process of writing The Summer We Fell Apart I was a mess. These characters and their lives were so demanding of my emotional well-being (including some very non-hygienic periods – ick –sorry) that I nearly had nothing left for my daughters’, my husband, and my friends … you name it, I ignored it could have been my motto. In many ways it resembled those first few months of motherhood when I survived on instinct and very little else. Then and only then I was as in tune with my infant daughter (now 19) in the most basic of ways, our cyclical routine of: sleep, eat, burp, diaper, hardly varied from hour to hour and day to day for months on end. I existed only for her nourishment and needs.

Except here – in my fictional world — I could re-write the scene from the day before. I could change a word, delete a paragraph, erase a conversation, and alter the mood, all without excess emotional attachment. Or could I?

As the characters grew in my head, on the page, and into the story, there were things so intrinsic that even if I wanted to – I couldn’t mess with. When I tried to re-write their lives it just came up false and I knew – I knew – that no matter what I would have to allow them to be who they were meant to be for better or worse. As a parent and now as a writer, this was one of the hardest lessons I ever learned: your baby (characters) had to fail, it was inevitable and you had to stand by and let them as much as you wanted to run ahead screaming danger and pointing out the bad guys.

The writing life – creating character, plot, theme and story is not so unlike those early days of motherhood. As I was submerged in the world of my newborn – so was I in the “newborn-ness” (so not a word – forgive me) of Amy, George, Finn and Kate Haas. I only worked on one character and their section of the novel at a time – so through the course of the book I metaphorically gave birth four times – and if you think they didn’t demand all my attention – including stealing some serious sleep – you would be wrong. As if I raised quadruplets, this crew was in my face the entire two years it took from conception to birth.

Because of my process, or maybe in spite of, who knows, readers identify strongly with these fictional siblings. And two of the questions I always get from readers whether it’s a book club visit or via mail is: who is your favorite? And, are they all okay? I have to answer in all honesty that some of the siblings were easier to be around than the others at times (as are my own beautiful girls’) – but I am hard pressed to choose a favorite. It would be tantamount to choosing between my children. The answer to the second question? Well that gives me chills every time – in the asking and the answer. It’s what all of us as parents hope for our own children: they are okay, they are making their way in the world. They will figure it out, there’s hope. Always, always, hope.

The Summer We Fell Apart has taken on a life of its own – as have Amy, Kate, George and Finn. And in the words of their mother, Marilyn, “…it is more than I ever imagined.”

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 Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. EDT with the winner to be announced here in Thursday’s post. If you enter, please return Thursday to possibly claim your book.

Soon after Robin Antalek debuted with her first novel, The Summer We Fell Apart, on January 5, 2010, it was selected as a TARGET Breakout Book. Perhaps you’ve already read it and understand the reason for these insightful words:

“A preoccupied playwright father and a cult-actress mother are the stars of the Haas family in Antalek’s well-crafted and cunning debut novel…. a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and to the importance of family ties regardless of family history, making this an endearing and easy-to-relate-to dysfunctional family drama.” – Publishers Weekly

However, if you’ve yet to discover Robin’s first novel, what a more appropriate time than now….during the summer? The Divining Wand has scheduled a presentation/review of The Summer We Fell Apart for Monday, June 28, 2010 but today is the opportunity to meet the author through her “official” bio:

Robin Antalek’s work has been published in numerous literary journals. She lives in Saratoga Springs, New York, with her husband and two daughters. The Summer We Fell Apart is her first novel.

And to get to know Robin, in her own words, simply read what she’s revealed:

Q: How would you describe your life in 8 words?
A: Full house: children, dogs, food and my guy.

Q: What is your motto or maxim?
A: Kindness first.

Q: How would you describe perfect happiness?
A: Serendipity – the unplanned moments.

Q: What’s your greatest fear?
A: That I won’t know when I’m at the end – whether metaphorically or on the manuscript page.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A: The pristine beaches of South West Florida circa 1975 or the rush of Manhattan.

Q: With whom in history do you most identify?
A: Charlotte de Berry

Q: Which living person do you most admire?
A: It would have to be plural: my daughters’.

Q: What are your most overused words or phrases?
A: Give me a minute. Not now. Yes.

Q: If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A: Eating good food without gaining weight.

Q: What is your greatest achievement?
A: Where I am right now in this very moment.

Q: What’s your greatest flaw?
A: Impatience!

Q: What’s your best quality?
A: The ability to see past impossible.

Q: What do you regret most?
A: Losing touch with people who mattered along the way….

Q: If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A: I really don’t think like that – I love the life I have.

Q: What trait is most noticeable about you?
A: Laughter – I laugh all the time – sometimes inappropriately.

Q: Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A: Cherry Ames, Student Nurse. She always had a patient with amnesia – fascinating.

Q: Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A: Okay – this stumped me!

Q: If you could meet any athlete, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A: I’m not a sports person – however, I would like to meet someone who has sailed solo around the world.

The idea of one person against the power of the sea is pretty awesome.

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

Q: What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A: As far as I’m concerned these three are interlocked as one: Reading, cooking, and eating.

Q: What’s your fantasy profession?
A: I’m living the dream.

Q: What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A: Humor, honesty and the ability to dream.

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

Q: What are your 5 favorite songs?
A: You Can’t Always Get What You Want – The Rolling Stones
God Bless The Child – Billie Holiday
The Very Thought of You – Ray Noble
Halleluiah – Jeff Buckley
People Get Ready – Jeff Beck /Rod Stewart version

Q: What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A: This is a TOTALLY unfair question! Just five??
Mary and O’Neil by Justin Cronin
The Annunciation by Ellen Gilchrist
In The Land of Dreamy Dreams by Ellen Gilchrist
Chilly Scenes of Winter by Ann Beattie
The Good Mother by Sue Miller tied w/ The Wonders Boys by Michael Chabon

Gracious, with an optimistic, thoughtful perspective, discover even more about Robin Antalek by becoming her friend on Facebook and read her Blog: Robin Antalek.

Book Giveaway: The Divining Wand is giving away a copy of the triple memoir Three Wishes by Carey Goldberg, Beth Jones, and Pamela Ferdinand in a random drawing to anyone who comments only on this specific post, Carey Goldberg, Beth Jones, and Pamela Ferdinand with Three Wishes. Comments left on other posts during the week are not entered into the contest. The deadline is tonight, June 16, 2010 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.

A recent question posted on The Divining Wand’s Q & A page sounded simple enough and an overwhelming number of authors responded to answer:

Here’s another question for your authors: What is the word count of most of their novels?

I know that we here all sorts of estimates of what a novel should be, 70,000 to 100,000 words. But what is the actual count for the novels featured here, and do your authors think about word count as they’re writing?

Jessica Barksdale Inclan (Being With Him, Intimate Beings, The Beautiful Being):

“Great question (I can’t wait to see all the answers). My latest manuscript Swimming Lessons is 75,656. But some of mine go up 10 109,000. the shortest was 65,000 or so.”

Emily Winslow (The Whole World coming May 25, 2010):

“THE WHOLE WORLD was about 80k when I submitted it, and about 90k after editing. (I know for most writers, editing involves taking away. I write sparely, and am more likely to add scenes in editing.) I’m very conscious of word count as I write. I generally break it down to a certain number of words for each chapter, and sometimes even scene. I don’t force conforming to that goal, but it helps me keep a sense of proportion as I craft the whole.”

Jenny Gardiner (Sleeping with Ward Cleaver, Winging It: Twenty Years of Caring for a Vengeful Bird Determined to Kill Me):

“I’d say for commercial fiction around 90K words is good. Used to be they wanted lots of words but with publication costs, etc, over the past few years it’s been downsized–in fact something w/ 100K words or more would definitely give an editor/agent pause.

“I’m not sure about YA fiction but I’m thinking 45 – 60K (I’m sure YA authors can tell you more precisely).”

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

“My biggest advice for word count is to write your book and then when it is done figure out where you are in terms of word count. My two YA novels (What Would Emma Do? and Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood) have been around 65k words. My adult title, Unpredictable was just under 80k words and the middle grade I am writing now will come in at about 27k words.

“The only thought I give to word count when I’m writing is measuring my progress. I have set weekly word count goals based on a rough idea of the estimated length of the book, otherwise I ignore word count until I’m done.”

Therese Fowler (Souvenir, Reunion):

“Word count “requirements” (I use the term loosely because there are always exceptions) vary by genre. I write mainstream/women’s fiction, aiming, as I write, for about 100k-115k words–which, if I’ve done my job, means I’ll have produced a layered, complex story with subplots in place. My first drafts tend to be pretty complete, but not every writer works that way. Some like to put down a fast “sketch” and then go back in to fill things out. I’m not saying that my first drafts don’t need a fair amount of revision, just that the word count doesn’t change dramatically from one draft to the next.”

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

“I’m very word-count oriented, thanks to my magazine/newspaper background. Whenever I get a freelance assignment, my first question is, How many words?

“As I wrote Simply From Scratch, I stayed conscious of my goal of 80,000 words, give or take 5,000. My agent later told me 80,000 words is the perfect length for upmarket women’s fiction.

“A previous, unpublished fantasy novel I wrote was less than 60,000 words, and several agents told me that was far too short for the adult fantasy genre. Each genre seems to have what is generally considered an ideal length. But then again, there are notable exceptions. The Harry Potter books are often singled out as exceptions, because they’re longer than average children’s books.

“I’m curious to know whether other novelists keep word count in mind as they write, or if it’s more of an editing goal.”

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

“My word count for Orange Mint and Honey was something like 76,000 and for Children of the Water 81,000. I absolutely think about word count as I’m writing. It’s definitely helpful. One way it’s helpful is if parts of the book that should carry a lot of weight are much briefer than other parts. Or if you have more than one POV character that should have equal weight in the story, are their word counts about the same? ”

Robert Gregory Browne (Kill Her Again, etc. and Down Among the Dead Men coming May 25, 2010):

“My typical word count is about 100,000 to 125,000 words. And yes, I do think about word count because I’m contractually obligated to turn in a book at that length. Word count differs, however, depending on the editor and how he or she actually counts the words. Some still use the old method of 250 words a page, while others rely on computer count, which seems to be the trend these days. I consider this less accurate because it doesn’t take into consideration the space on each page, the way old method does.”

Meg Waite Clayton (The Wednesday Sisters):

“The Wednesday Sisters is about 93,000 words. And yes, it’s something I keep an eye on. When I was writing the first draft of my new one, The Four Ms. Bradwells (Ballantine, March 2011), I celebrated the halfway point at 40,000 words. At 80,000 I began to panic as the end was nowhere in site. At 120,000… And the complete first draft was 140,000 – yikes! My contract with Random House contemplates a novel of approximately 100,000 words. The final version – just put into production last week – is a bit longer than that, but closer far closer to it than to 140,000. I like to think I shoot for 80,000 words, although obviously I miss the mark on a regular basis.”

Tish Cohen (Town House, Inside Out Girl, Little Black Lies YA, The Truth About Delilah Blue coming June 8, 2010):

“I never think about word count. Nor have I had a single editor bring it up. The Truth About Delilah Blue likely runs about 90,000 words or about 450 book pages– the longest of my books so far.”

Katie Alender (Bad Girls Don’t Die YA):

“I write YA, and my first book was about 68,000, which seems to put me just on the longer side. My next book will be a few thousand words more. Some authors don’t think about wordcount at all, but I use it to gauge my progress and make sure I’m getting enough work done–typically on a first draft, I shoot for 2,000 words a day (and come out at about 1200-1600 most days).”

Robin Antalek (The Summer We Fell Apart):

“Word count is one of those things that is in the back of my mind — but not something I’m aware of until the manuscript is finished and my computer gives me the number. The Summer We Fell Apart comes in at 115,103 words give or take and that final word count was based upon when I thought the novel was done — not some magic number I thought I needed to reach. When I was writing more short stories and submitting them — I was more aware of not exceeding a certain number since some journal requirements are fairly specific — and I have a tendency to cram a novel’s worth of information into a short story. Writing novels gave me the luxury of writing long and I suppose, given my word count on Summer, you could say I embraced it.”

To be continued…

In the past weeks — and those yet to come — The Divining Wand’s posts have been filled with success. New/debut book releases are fulfilled dreams for authors and rewarding enjoyment for readers yet, remember, “getting published” doesn’t just happen.

The January 25, 2010 post, Our Authors’ Journeys, told how long it took before Kristy Kiernan, Lauren Baratz-Logsted, Kristina Riggle, and Emily Winslow were published? And how they handled rejection, what kept them going as they kept writing? Today’s post features four more authors with their personal tales. All are debut authors (though Trish Ryan’s memoir sequel will be published at the end of June) and please welcome the site’s most recent author, Robin Antalek, in the lead-off spot.

Robin Antalek (The Summer We Fell Apart):

“I’ve been doing this forever—literally – all of my adult life and I am 48! I began to publish fiction here and there in my twenties in small journals. For money I wrote press releases, grants, radio scripts, a column on Healthy Kids for a food co-op – basically anything that wasn’t fiction! It wasn’t until I submitted a story on a lark to the Writer’s Institute at the State University of New York at Albany – where a guest author was running an invitation only fiction workshop— that I seriously considered fiction. When I got into the workshop, he changed my entire way of thinking and I went on to win a few contests. That I was a finalist in a few “good” contests gave me enough nerve to tackle a novel that promptly went in a drawer. As did the follow-up novel. Novel three I felt was good enough to go out and started to query agents. I did everything they tell you to do about queries – matched my novel with their lists – read the acknowledgement pages of novels I admired that were similar in vein to my own for leads and I perfected a one page query letter that neatly summarized my manuscript. I had a half dozen agents request full to partials all to no avail. So then I decided I would send to the few remaining houses that accepted slush pile manuscripts. Months (and I do mean months) later I get a phone call just as I am walking in the house from picking my daughters up at elementary school – it’s an editor who wants to buy my book but she thinks I need an agent to help with negotiations. She offers to send it to a friend of hers who has just left a prestigious agency to strike out on her own. Her friend, the agent, calls me the next afternoon to tell me she stayed up all night reading and loved it. It was like talking to an old friend. She offered me representation and as it goes in publishing, that book did NOT end up selling to the original house. Or any other. After extensive edits my agent and I mutually agreed to pull the manuscript out of circulation. She told me to go back, take my time, and write what I really felt. A year and a half later The Summer We Fell Apart was the result and it sold to Jeanette Perez at HarperCollins.

“Why did I keep going all those years? Because I had so many stories to tell. Because of all the “jobs” I’ve ever had in my life—it was the one job where I could forget who I was and where I was and the possibilities seemed endless. I’ve tried to quit in dark moments of self-doubt – but I was more miserable not writing. Oddly enough, the magic moment, for me anyway, was when I made peace with the fact that I might be writing stories only for myself – the rest – as they say—is history.”

Holly LeCraw (The Swimming Pool):

“I was writing for years before I was published. I began with stories and had a couple published, but then turned to novels; I am not good at working on multiple projects at a time, much less multiple genres. I also realized, as soon as I began writing a novel, that I needed the longer form.

“To be completely concrete: I began writing seriously when I was 22. Took several detours into publishing and grad school; had three kids; now I am 43. I kept going because I am very very stubborn, and I knew I would be worse off if I stopped trying.

“But I would like to note that I didn’t try to get published until I thought I had something publishable. The struggle wasn’t to get published. The struggle was to get good enough.”

Trish Ryan (He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: A Memoir of Finding Faith, Love, and Happily Ever After, A Maze of Grace: A Memoir of Second Chances coming June 22, 2010):

“I’m not sure exactly how long it all took, as I’m not sure where to begin counting. Confession: long before I wrote He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, I wrote a truly awful self-helpish book, and looked for representation. I wasn’t paying attention to the rules (non-fiction sells on proposal, not finished product) and thought that my book was so unique & wonderful that I didn’t have to. Silly girl. Not surprisingly, that book never got off the ground. I filed it away forever (and am thankful now it was never published!).

“A couple of years later, when I was pulling together my query for what became He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, I was much more careful to think about the agent/author relationship, and consider what might be a good fit, and how to approach agents in a professional way. It was almost exactly two years from my agent took me on and when my memoir hit shelves.

“Are there tips for handling rejection? It hurts. I think you get through it by finding that fine line between confidence in your writing and being open to recognize and recalibrate when you’ve made a mistake.”

Therese Walsh (The Last Will of Moira Leahy):

“The first version of my book, The Last Will of Moira Leahy, was rejected, so I completely rewrote it. Total elapsed time = 6 years. (This included time spent revising, polishing, trying to find an agent, pouting—that sort of thing.)

“I had to do a lot of soul-searching after the first round of rejections. I also had some positive rejections to keep me going, but mostly I believed at a deep level that the story needed to be told; that’s what kept me going.”

Announcement: The winner of Holly LeCraw’s debut novel, The Swimming Pool, is Sarah. Congratulations! Please send your mailing addresses to: diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com, and I’ll have the book sent out promptly. Many thanks to everyone who entered.