The Divining Wand

Although February celebrates Black History Month, Heart Month and Valentine’s Day, it also offers a quiet time in book releases. Now, of course new books are appearing on bookstore shelves, but the real flurry of spring/summer titles begins next month and almost overwhelms in April, May, June…

To take advantage of this quiet, cozy, snowbound time as well as to extend the warmth of Valentine’s Day, what would be better than a good love story? Our authors agreed and have chosen to share their favorites with you.

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

“Pride and Prejudice…I know, not very original, but it’s the one book I can honestly say that when I read the last word, I just wanted to start all over again.”

Alicia Bessette (Simply from Scratch coming in August 2010):

“My favorite love story is Roland Merullo’s A LITTLE LOVE STORY. Here’s what The New York Times wrote about it; I couldn’t agree more, and I couldn’t say it better myself: “Thoughtful, restrained (yet very sexy) … Merullo captures what it feels like when you meet ‘the one’–and what you’re willing to do to hold onto that person.” If you’re looking for an utterly romantic, highly readable, bittersweet page-turner, with a beautiful, redemptive ending, do yourself a favor and buy this book.”

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

“My favorite love story is the one in What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage. It’s between a woman who has recently learned she’s HIV-positive and a man who was formerly in prison when he was a drug addict. They are both good people, clean and sober now, and very sweet. The guy has beautiful dreadlocks and drinks green tea and does yoga, so, of course, he’s my kinda guy!”

Therese Fowler (Souvenir, Reunion):

“Forgive me, this will sound like a shameless plug, but my honest answer is the story I’ve just finished writing, THE REMEDY (due out in early ‘11). I am absolutely in love with my lovers, and so sympathetic toward their plight…

“One of the reasons I write love stories is because I’ve found few in contemporary literature that suit my desires as a reader–and I l-o-v-e a love story. It’s easier for me to name favorite love stories on film: SOMMERSBY, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, and THE THORN BIRDS come to mind. And yes, I know the latter two are books as well–and I love the books–but the stories are even better-realized on film.”

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

“I have so many, but two that spring to mind right now are THE GOOD HUSBAND by Gail Godwin and EVIDENCE OF THINGS UNSEEN by Marianne Wiggins, both novels of long-term love and devotion.”

Holly LeCraw (The Swimming Pool coming April 6, 2010):

“Very very difficult to pick…one of many is Love in the Time of Cholera.”

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

“Any novel by Anne Tyler — she deals with love and relationships so beautifully and so truthfully.”

Randy Susan Meyers (The Murderer’s Daughters):

“In Before and After, author Rosellen Brown writes about the depth of family love and the love between a husband and wife, offering spectacular prose, a page-turning plot, and non-stop insight into the character’s hearts. This story of a family caught in the most awful of circumstances—with a teenage son accused of an appalling crime—Brown manages to let the reader see every side of the story, feel sympathy for all, and most impressive, she presents a family at terrible odds with each other’s views, still fighting to stay together. At it’s heart, this is a love story, and it is my favorite.”

Sarah Pekkanen (The Opposite of Me, coming March 9, 2010):

“I can’t pick just one… there are so many great love stories out there!”

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):

“My favorite love story is pretty much any tale where we get to watch someone learn who they are and how to love better than they thought they could. My favorite novels in this category are too numerous to narrow down…the best example I can think of is the movie “How To Lose A Guy In 10 Dates or Less.” Kate Hudson’s character thinks she wants one thing in life (to write “real” articles about serious subjects) but discovers that life is bigger than she expected when love is added into the mix. By the end of the film, she wants more from life than she would have asked for in the beginning. (Also, I’m a sucker for a happy ending involving a chase scene!)”

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

“My favorite love story: Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Mars Freedman”

Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much a heart can hold.
~Zelda Fitzgerald

To be continued…next week.

When choosing books as great holiday gifts, or even for yourself, more than likely the tendency is to select a new title. Yet what about considering the classics, the keepers — the ones our authors return to again and again.

Melanie Benjamin (Alice I Have Been coming January 12, 2010):

“I really do reread my books all the time. I only toss out books that I know I’ll never read again, and that happens rarely. I’d have to say the Provincial Lady series by E.M. Delafield are probably my most reread books of all time.”

Alicia Bessette (All Come Home coming in August 2010):

“I recently reread Little Women and loved it. I just finished reading a phenomenal book, The Ninth Life of Louis Drax, by Liz Jensen — it’s inventive, entertaining, and challenging — and my first instinct was to immediately return to page one and savor it a second time.”

Meredith Cole (Posed for Murder, Dead in the Water coming May 11, 2010):

“I reread books by Agatha Christie and Jane Austen all the time. Great books are best savored again and again.”

Therese Fowler (Souvenir, Reunion):

‘I reread quite a few books; which ones and when depend upon what I feel I need at a given time. I’ve reread BEL CANTO, THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, THE THINGS THEY CARRIED, SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS, and LOLITA, to name the more prominent of them.”

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

“I re-read Pride and Prejudice every year. My favorite!”

Sarah Pekkanen (The Opposite of Me coming March 9, 2010):

“There are too many to count. You can pick up so many more details and nuances upon a second reading.”

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

“I often reread “Houses of Stone” by Barbara Michaels and “Naked Once More” by Elizabeth Peters (which are both pen names of the same author, actually). They are fun, suspenseful novels with feminist heroines, each story with a writer at the heart of its mystery.”

With the theme/trend of time travel becoming popular in books, movies, TV shows, etc., authors might wonder “what if” on their journey to publication. Yet how did the following writers respond when asked, If you knew then, what you know now about writing as an art and business, what might you have done differently?

Melanie Benjamin (Alice I Have Been coming January 12, 2010):

“I’m not sure I’d do anything differently; I honestly believe that I wouldn’t be where I am now without previous, even painful, experiences. No regrets, in other words. We are who we are because of what we’ve endured and the lessons we’ve learned.”

Meredith Cole (Posed for Murder, Dead in the Water coming May 11, 2010):

“I wouldn’t have done anything differently. I’ve been very lucky, with one book published this year and another coming out next year. In my opinion, each “‘failure’” or piece that isn’t published or made into a film is actually part of my learning process. If you tie your creativity too close to the market (writing with the idea of catching a trend), I think you run the risk of inhibiting your creativity.”

Therese Fowler (Souvenir, Reunion):

“I don’t know that I’d do anything differently. I’ve had a few hard knocks because of enthusiasm and/or naivete, but the outcome has been so positive that I consider even those knocks as a necessary and maybe even desirable part of the process.”

Kristina Riggle (Real Life & Liars):

“Lucky for me, I fell in with a group of talented up-and-coming authors (via The Debutante Ball and Backspace and other online venues) early, so I understood publishing as a business by watching their careers ahead of me. I don’t think I’d change anything (yet) about how I’ve conducted my fledgling career.”

Allison Winn Scotch (The Department of Lost and Found, Time of My Life and The One That I Want coming June 1, 2010):

“Hmmm, probably not much to be honest. I always understood, from the very get-go, that writing is just as much a business endeavor as an artistic one. I think writers TOO often forget that, but writing is like any other job: you have to be your biggest champion AND you have to present yourself in the best possible light by meeting deadlines, proving your competency, etc. If you don’t remember that, you truly can’t succeed in this business.”

Ah, the Muse returns or does s/he? Having asked the following authors to describe their inspiration — either in physical appearance or otherwise — you’ll discover their muses are known by many names.

Alicia Bessette (All Come Home coming in August 2010):

“Music is my most influential muse. And absolutely everything inspires me to write. Sunshine, flavors, funerals. Live performances of any kind, overheard conversations. Apple-picking, sitting in a darkened movie theater, running my hand along silk scarves that hang in a clothing store. My next-door neighbor, who sings along to Sonny & Cher at the top of his lungs and leaves carrots and cups of water for the orphaned rabbit living under his back steps … I could go on and on.”

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.”

Jenny Gardiner (Sleeping with Ward Cleaver, Winging It: Twenty Years of Caring for a Vengeful Bird Determined to Kill Me coming March 16, 2010):

“My muse…hmmm. I actually joked to a friend a few weeks ago that my Muse was lying in a gutter, bloodied and battered. And then about ten minutes later I came up with a really fun book idea, so so much for badmouthing my Muse! I suppose I’m not very poetic but I’ve never really tried to sense my muse, though I will say that I get inspired and have to stop everything to brainstorm. So I guess my muse sweeps in unannounced, a sort of grande dame who trails perfume and wears gaudy jewelry and dresses in elegant evening gowns even for casual occasions.

“I suppose I am driven to write just as a mathematician is driven to calculate. It’s what I do, what I love and what feels most comfortable. Just as I feel most at-home curled up in sweats with no make-up, I feel right where I belong curled up with my laptop taking what’s been swirling in my head and making it come to life on the page.”

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 in June):

“At first, inspiration comes to me in the form of a thought that doesn’t seem like something I’d come up with on my own. An Idea will flash across my brain, connecting things–bits from an article I’ve read, something I see on TV, a funny quirk my dog develops–in a way I hadn’t thought of before. I’m like a magpie sometimes, collecting shiny new ideas. If I’m on my game when they arrive–which isn’t always; I’ve lost quite a few–I grab my lap top or a pen & paper. When I follow these trails, I’m always amazed by what I have when I’m done.

“After that, the inspiration comes from stubbornness: I want to finish what I’ve started. No one wants to publish my strange assortment of unrelated paragraphs, so I have to connect the dots.

“I’m pretty spiritual, so I pray a lot when I write. But it’s not one of those things where God tells me what to type. It’s more that I ask Him for more ideas, and to keep me from writing something I’ll regret later. So far, my books have been non-fiction, which means I’m writing about other people who probably don’t have a public venue to tell their side of the story. So I pray for help being fair, and to add humor when my first tendency is to be sarcastic. I wrote my first book before Facebook and Twitter were so popular–now that I’m reconnecting with people I knew in high school, college, law school, etc. (and even one ex-boyfriend I wrote about in the book) I’m REALLY glad I didn’t publish my first draft!”

Therese Walsh (The Last Will of Moira Leahy):

“I abide by Barbara Samuel’s girls-in-the-basement philosophy: There are many muses, and each has a different personality and inspires in a different way; some are wise, some crafty or poetic or bitchy. I love them all.”

More than likely those visiting this site would agree that books are among the best holiday gifts with autographed ones being perfection! Autographed, is that possible without going to a book signing?

Indeed it is and, with the holidays only more than a month away, this Fairy Godmother contacted authors who had had a new book released within the past six months to ask, “Do you autograph by mail?” So anyone searching for that unique, reasonably priced, perfect present, here are what some of our authors do:

Arrangement with a local bookstore:

Eve Brown-Waite (read Presenting Debutante Eve Brown-Waite and First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria) says:

” Via a special arrangement with my local bookstore I can purchase, personalize, autograph and send a copy of FIRST COMES LOVE, THEN COMES MALARIA to anyone in the USA for just $25. That would be the cost of the book itself in most stores. This book would make a great gift for any world traveler, do-gooder, or Peace Corps-type on your holiday list (also, anyone who just loves a good read). I don’t make any money on this, but it certainly helps spread the word about my book and supports a great, independent bookstore. I need all orders by BY NOVEMBER 15 in order to ensure delivery by the holidays. Anyone interested can contact me at Evebwaite@comcast.net.”

Therese Fowler (Souvenir, Reunion) offers:

“I made an arrangement with my local indie, Quail Ridge Books & Music — 800-672-6789 — in Raleigh. When a reader calls and orders an inscribed copy, the store lets me know and I drop by to inscribe it before they ship the book. For basic autographed copies, they ship from signed stock that they keep on hand.”

Ivy Pochoda (see Ivy Pochoda’s The Art of Disappearing) says:

“If you’d like autographed copies of my book, contact my local bookstore BookCourt — 718-875-3677 — in Brooklyn.”

Books in the mail:

Mia King (Mia King and Table Manners is doing a holiday special – $20 for a signed/dedicated book of choice and ceramic “live simply” plaque. $5 shipping. Contact mia@miaking.com

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

“If people send me a book with return postage, I will autograph and send it back. But let’s say for the holidays return shipping is on me. They just have to buy the book and send it to: Carleen Brice, P.O. Box 7108, Denver, CO 80207.”

And Jessica Barksdale Inclan (Being With Him, Intimate Beings, The Beautiful Being) offers the same. Contact jbarkinclan@gmail.com

Maud Carol Markson (Looking After Pigeon) provides two options:

“I could send out personalized book plates or if the person prefers, he/she could purchase the book directly from me and I could send it to them ($20.00 would probably cover the cost of the book and the packaging and shipping to anywhere in the US).) Contact MaudCarol@aol.com

Book Plates:

Tish Cohen (Little Black Lies,Town House):

“I do mail out signed book plates, as well as sign books mailed in to me.” Contact tish@tishcohen.com

CJ Lyons (Urgent Care):

“I offer my readers customized signed bookplates.

I’ve sent dozens of these all over the US and abroad, even had a few people ask for several, all personalized to various friends they were gifting with my books.” Contact cjlyonswriter@yahoo.com

And with this early planning you can do the same!

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.

Knowledge, wisdom even savviness comes through learning and living life experiences, whether personal or professional. And, while we all go through this process, writers who become authors usually do so through the school of hard knocks. With this in mind, The Divining Wand asked its authors: If you knew then, what you know now about writing as an art and a business, what might you have done differently?

Here are some of their responses and musings:

Eve Brown-Waite (First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria: How A Peace Corps Poster Boy Won My Heart and A Third World Adventure Changed My Life):

“I’m actually so glad I did NOT know much about the writing business while I was pushing so hard to write and get my book published. If I did, I might have just given up. An awful lot is expected of the authors in terms of book promotion after the book is published. And more often than not, authors do it on their own with little support from their publishing house and they pay for most of it themselves! Of course, you can choose NOT to do it, but that just diminishes your chances of success on the first book and the chances of getting a good deal on your next book. So writers often feel stuck doing what they don’t like to do or may not even be good at. And they’re pretty much in it on their own. Of course, I’d heard all this, but didn’t totally “get it” until it happened to me.”

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

“Ah hindsight…. I’m not sure I would do anything different. Everything that has happened so far, both good and bad, has been a part of the journey. If I could go back in time and tell my pre-published self to relax a little I would. This is what I wanted for so long that I spent a lot of time worrying about every step of the process instead of always enjoying it. I’ve been very fortunate to have met and been supported by so many great writers. For example, Kristy Kiernan invited me to be a founding member of The Debutante Ball. This was such a great experience and connected me with so many other writers including Meg Cabot who gave me a blurb for my second book. Kristy is a great example of how by giving, you gain so much more.”

Therese Fowler (Souvenir, Reunion):

“I don’t know that I’d do anything differently. I’ve had a few hard knocks because of enthusiasm and/or naivete, but the outcome has been so positive that I consider even those knocks as a necessary and maybe even desirable part of the process.”

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

“I would have started using PLOT years ago. Vivid settings, interesting characters and insightful themes are all well and good, but they really need to DO stuff….”

Announcement: The winners of Tish Cohen’s Little Black Lies are RKCharron and Jane. Please email: diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and your copy will be sent out. Congratulations!

Since The Divining Wand’s launch two weeks ago, have you followed your favorite author(s) beyond their pages? Just click on the appropriate Authors page and you’ll find several ways to discover what’s going on in a writer’s life. For example:

This past Wednesday Jess Riley, who took us on an unforgettable road trip in Driving Sideways leaves for Victoria, British Columbia on Vancouver Island this Friday and is thrilled because it’s, “A family reunion of sorts — I’ll be meeting aunts, uncles, and cousins I’ve never met (but have corresponded with). So excited! I’m sure it will be a gold mine of material.

“Also, if I’m lucky, I’ll get to see Deb Eileen (Cook)) while I’m out there.”

On Thursday Allison Winn Scotch admitted that silence can be golden in her post, Are You Too Connected?

Carleen Brice paid a meaningful and musical tribute to “The King of Pop” with Black or white on Friday.

Then — over the weekend — Therese Fowler opened the doors to her new home/Website. Be sure to drop by, look around and say “hello.” You’re likely to find Therese on her front porch, enjoying the summer beyond her pages.