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Category: Guest Posts

Guest Post: Jane Porter, author of She’s Gone Country

[ 9 ] September 1, 2010

Please welcome Jane Porter, author of a new novel, She’s Gone Country! Check out our review here.

by Jane Porter

After writing several suburban mom novels set in affluent Bellevue, Washington, I was really ready to write about a different part of America, a more rural, rustic lifestyle and that’s what I did in She’s Gone Country.

Although I live in Microsoft land now, I wasn’t raised in a sophisticated society. My hometown in Central California was an ag-based community. One of my best friends in high school was a beautiful brainy and very blonde rancher’s daughter who was active in 4-H and Future Farmers of America. Cyndi wore mascara, cowboy boots and tight faded Wranglers with a massive silver heart belt buckle. I’m pretty sure Cyndi influenced the character Shey in She’s Gone Country, as did my maternal grandfather, a handsome Texan from El Paso.

My grandfather, William Lyles, was tough as nails and a self-made man. He learned early in life that he could do anything if he worked hard enough, so he worked very very hard. He owned two cattle ranches and a large successful construction company and to get from Texas to California, he flew his own plane, finding it far easier to build his own airstrips on his ranches and fly right in, then to travel by commercial aircraft and need a rental car.

My grandfather died during a round-up on the Parkfield Ranch, 40 miles east of Paso Robles, California. But my grandfather’s focused and yet resilient nature made a lasting impression on me. It’s also helped shape the way I look at life, and as the mother of three sons, I want my boys to be strong, but I also want them to be themselves.

She’s Gone Country is a story of all the things I love best—raising boys, wide open spaces, ranchers and cowboys, and love. Love for our men. But also, love for ourselves.

To go along with the title of this blog, I asked Jane what luxury meant to her.

My luxury is travel. I literally work to travel. And whenever I can, I take my kids with me, too, as I think one of the best ways to live life is to explore the world around us. And while I like camping, nothing beats a great hotel with a gorgeous pool, 5 star spa, and all the amenities. It’s absolute bliss to walk into that cool, plush, luxurious room and fall onto the down duvet covered in the softest, whitest Egyptian cotton. Heaven!

For more on Jane Porter and She’s Gone Country, visit www.janeporter.com or her Facebook page.

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Guest Post: Jenny Nelson, author of Georgia’s Kitchen

[ 5 ] August 24, 2010

Please welcome Jenny Nelson, author of a new novel, Georgia’s Kitchen! Check out our review here.

by Jenny Nelson

The best advice I ever received about writing a novel was to write the book I wanted to read. Not the book I thought readers wanted to read, or the one my mother would love, or my father would proudly display in his den, or my husband could share with his mountain biking pals, but the one I wanted to curl up with, hanging on to every word until I’d gobbled it up completely.

When I started writing what would eventually become Georgia’s Kitchen, I had already decided: I wanted to read about a chef. A successful, funny, savvy, thirty-something chef who’s arrived at her position with some difficulty, but who clearly belongs where she is. Someone who’s both tough and vulnerable, who doesn’t disappear into the wallpaper, who rises to the occasion (except when she doesn’t – and there are definitely a few of these moments in Georgia’s Kitchen!) and who wouldn’t even consider giving up without a fight. The setting was never in question: New York City, the big-time for chefs and one of my favorite places in the world. And because I’m a huge Italiaphile who loves all things Italy (food, wine, people, architecture, film, clothing, design), I decided to send Georgia to Italy, mecca for chefs. It didn’t hurt that my husband and I were married in Tuscany and that some of my fondest memories have taken place along those ancient streets, or in charming trattoria and beautiful villas. The chance to revisit these settings, if only through the eyes of Georgia, was too tempting to pass up.

I also knew that, while I wanted to read something humorous and entertaining, with a touch of glamour and tons of food, I didn’t want to read something that lacked gravitas entirely. I wanted Georgia to deal with real emotions and conflict, to be pushed outside her comfort zone and, ultimately, to triumph. I wanted a heroine I could root for until the very last page.

I hope that readers who pick up Georgia’s Kitchen will agree. I’d love to hear your thoughts – you can leave a comment here or drop me a line at jenny@jennynelsonauthor.com. Happy reading!

For more on Jenny Nelson and Georgia’s Kitchen, visit www.jennynelsonauthor.com or her Facebook page.

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Guest Post: Lisa Unger, author of Fragile

[ 8 ] August 18, 2010

Please welcome Lisa Unger, author of a new novel, Fragile!

Inspiration and Character, by Lisa Unger

The inspiration for my novels might come from anywhere – a painting or a photograph, a line of poetry, a news story, or a piece of junk mail. And if that germ connects with something going on in my subconscious, I start hearing voices. No matter what the initial spark, each of my novels has started with a voice in my head. When I begin to write, I have no idea how the story is going to end, who is going to show up day to day, or what they might do. I don’t even fully know what a book is about until I’ve been sitting with it for a while. This is why I was about halfway through the writing of Fragile when I finally realized what it was about — and that the story at its center was an event from my own past.

When I was a teenager, a girl I knew was abducted and murdered. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that we were friends. But we were acquaintances, played together in the same school orchestra. And her horrible, tragic death was a terrifying and hugely traumatic moment in a quiet, suburban town where nothing like that had ever happened before. This event changed me. It changed the way I saw the world. And I carried it with me in ways I wasn’t aware of until I was metabolizing it on the page — more than twenty-five years later.

The story at the heart of Fragile has tried to make its way out in other partials that I have discarded or abandoned. The voices that had tried to tell it before were never strong enough to center a novel around. It is notable that the voices who finally were able to tell the tale are much older, people with a lot of distance from the fictional event. In other words, it’s almost as if we all — the characters and the author — needed to grow up a little to have access to the heart of the story, to really understand it.

Even though I saw Jones Cooper first, it was Maggie Cooper who first drew me into the book. I met in her a moment when she grieving the loss of her son — but not in any tragic way. She was warring with her teenager, missing the loving little boy he used to be (even as much as she loved the person he’d become). From the moment I connected with her, I was in The Hollows. And the story began to unfold.

In Fragile, as in all my novels, the true inspiration came from a voice in my head, from a character. In this case, the story that unfolded, was similar in many ways to actual events from my past, but so very different. This book is not a fictional account of the actual event; it is merely some combination of my memories and my imagining. And maybe this is the case for all fiction. It comes from a true and honest place, a soup served from the imagination, experiences and observations of the author. The actual germ of the story, whether inspiration came from within or without, matters very little in the telling.

Look out for our review of Fragile this month!

For more on Lisa Unger and her books, visit www.lisaunger.com or find her on Twitter.

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Guest Post: Christine Lemmon, author of Sand in My Eyes

[ 8 ] August 11, 2010

Please welcome Christine Lemmon, author of a new novel, Sand in My Eyes!

To Write or Not, by Christine Lemmon

“When I entered the bay I put the paddle down, leaving the canoe to drift about under the morning sun while questioning how a mother knows when to give up certain selfish passions and fold laundry instead. I struggled with this, and needed to know whether I should hang my cravings to write out to dry until a different stage in life, or when I am old and there is no one to answer to but the flowers in my yard.”—excerpt from the book Sand in My Eyes

Before I start writing a book, I go over the impracticalities in my mind. I’m not going to get the hours of sleep that I like. I won’t be saying ‘yes’ to all the social invitations. The laundry, which I fold at night, will start piling up again into mountains my children climb on. There will be no television watching, and hardly time for reading. The decision for me to write is similar to that of having another baby, or buying a puppy. There’s never a perfect time. It’s an emotional choice, and life-changing, too.

But I think of the ideas I have, and how sad, if I don’t pursue them they’ll remain like seeds in a packet that never get opened. I make my choice to write and like a gardener stepping out into her patch of dirt, I begin raking through the mess, simplifying my life and clearing the way so I can write. All I need is a consistent two-hour chunk of time—morning or night. And because my three-year-old wakes early, climbing into my bed to cuddle, I decide at this particular stage, night writing will have to do. But that means I can’t get tired in the evenings. No falling asleep on the couch by nine!

I find myself dusting my desk, emptying drawers, and clearing my schedule for upcoming months. I also search for new music. I listened to Mozart while writing Sand in My Eyes, but need different music now. I buy a sandalwood candle and lotion for my fingers that will soon be hitting the keys. I switch from drinking two cups of coffee in the morning, to one, and then add two cups in the late afternoon, hoping for an added oomph. My husband questions whether all of this is a writer’s ritual or procrastination. I tell him it’s ‘nesting’—I’m carrying within an idea and preparing for it to come out.

I laugh at myself, aware that when we pursue what we are passionate, it might at first look to others as if we are only playing in the dirt. But there is a difference between playing and toiling in that toiling brings forth change in your life—even if that change is in your state of mind. My state-of-mind is full of anticipation. I am ready to write! Whether or not my toiling turns into a garden, or a novel that others will like, it’s okay, because the process is already bringing me joy.

For anyone choosing to pursue their passion, but wondering how they might go about finding the time and energy to start, try this: “…cut out that which isn’t needed in your garden, in your life, once, or twice a year. Trim away that which serves no purpose and benefits neither you nor others. And space your plants appropriately. Over planting, crowding your days with too many commitments, activities and involvements, may lead to disease and fungus, and the things you want to do won’t stand a chance of surviving.” – Sand in My Eyes

Check out our review of Sand in My Eyes!

Christine can be contacted at Christine@christinelemmon.com .

For more on Christine Lemmon and her books, visit: www.christinelemmon.com or find her on Facebook and Twitter.

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Guest Post & Giveaway: Katharine Davis, author of A Slender Thread

[ 182 ] August 6, 2010

Please welcome Katharine Davis, author of a new novel, A Slender Thread!

The recent winner of the 2010 Maine Literary Award for Fiction for her previous novel, East Hope, acclaimed author Katharine Davis has a new book out this August about learning how to find your way later in life: A Slender Thread (NAL Accent Trade Paperback; August 3, 2010).

by Katharine Davis

I am definitely a late bloomer, having postponed my writing career until the age of fifty. I’ve always been a huge reader and writers are the rock stars of my world. When my children were launched, and I stepped away from my teaching job, I asked myself: if not now, when? I began to write fiction and discovered that I loved writing novels.

First-time novelists often write a coming of age story – the drama of growing up, leaving home, and dealing with the conflicts of the adult world. Most first time novelists are in their twenties or thirties. They tend to look for stories within themselves.

Instead, my novels focus on the challenges one encounters at mid-life. Capturing Paris, my first novel, was the story of a woman coming into her own as a poet in her late forties, while her husband has lost his job, which puts their marriage into conflict. Two characters at mid-life move to Maine to try to reinvent themselves and find happiness in my second novel, East Hope. Their lives have been set off course because of an unexpected death, a failed marriage, and a ruined career.

Sometimes the troubles that come along in mid-life are tragic. Try to imagine eight women around a table in a museum restaurant talking about a photography exhibit. The women, most of them in their fifties, well dressed and accomplished, are enjoying themselves. They comment enthusiastically on art, current events, books, movies, and their own families.

Yet, one woman says nothing at all. She is visiting from the West Coast and she is the college roommate of one of the guests. She looks no different from the women around her. She has a loving husband, has raised two children, and has had a successful career in real estate.

Except, unlike the other women at the luncheon, this woman has a rare brain disease. Her name is Anna and she can no longer speak. When it is time to order lunch the woman next to Anna asks her if she would like the chicken salad. Anna nods in agreement. She still understands language, but eventually, as her disease progresses she will lose her ability to comprehend anything at all.

Two years ago I was a guest at that luncheon. I met Anna, a woman very much like me, but a woman whose life had begun to unravel in a way she never expected. I was writing another novel at the time, but every day when I sat at my computer to work, I kept thinking of Anna. I tried to imagine what this tragedy was like for her husband, for her children, and for the many friends who loved her. Here was a vibrant woman in her prime who could not utter a word.

I didn’t want to tell Anna’s personal story. I don’t know her family, or even her last name. Instead, I began writing a new novel, and A Slender Thread was born. It is the story of two sisters, the elder of whom is diagnosed with the same disease, Primary Progressive Aphasia.

How do we find the strength to cope in the face of adversity? How do we start over at mid-life? Are we capable of change? Do we ever truly leave the past behind? How do we communicate? Are words enough? Is love enough? These were the questions I asked myself while writing A Slender Thread. Over the next year that chance meeting became a novel.

One warm afternoon last spring I found myself thinking about a summer I had spent in Florence, Italy when I was twenty-one years old. I stayed at a small hotel, more of a bed and breakfast, and I remembered the Italian woman who cooked and served the lunch there. I also had the vague recollection of a very old English woman who lived in a shabby room on the top floor with her ancient husband. I knew immediately I had the germ of a novel. I can picture three women in Florence, three different nationalities, three different ages, but all living together in the same little inn. Why are they there? What do they fear? What do they hope for? The questions keep coming and the scenes are already forming in my head. Maybe I have a coming of age novel after all? But memory being what it is, I think I need to travel to Florence for some necessary research!

Giveaway:
I have 2 copies of A Slender Thread to giveaway, courtesy of the publisher!

Mandatory entry: Please comment on this post with and tell me something you enjoyed about this guest post.

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):
- Subscribe via e-mail, follow or subscribe to the feed. You must verify the subscriptions. (1 entry each)
- Enter another current giveaway and tell me which one you entered (1 entry each)
- Share this giveaway on a social network of your choice. Click the “Share/Save” button at the bottom of this post (1 entry each)
- Become a fan on Facebook (2 entries)

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on August 30th.

Giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by NAL Trade. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Guest Post: Eve Marie Mont, author of “Free to a Good Home”

[ 7 ] July 8, 2010

Please welcome Eve Marie Mont, author of a new novel, Free to a Good Home!

Eve Marie Mont lives with her husband, Ken, and her shelter dog, Maggie, in suburban Philadelphia, where she teaches high school English and creative writing. Free to a Good Home is her first novel. She is currently revising her next book, a YA novel inspired by Jane Eyre.

by Eve Marie Mont

First of all, thanks so much to Vera for inviting me to guest post on Luxury Reading. And what a great title for a blog for book lovers! To me, both reading and writing are luxuries. I teach high school English full-time, so much of my year is devoted to planning lessons and grading papers. Writing, while still work for me, is a luxury and a gift. I agree with Gloria Steinem who said, “Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.”

When I asked Vera for suggestions for what to write about for my guest post, she mentioned perhaps something about my writing process. Free to a Good Home is my debut novel, but it’s my second book (my first did not get picked up). I am currently revising my third book, so at this point, I’ve completed three manuscripts, and they’ve all followed a similar trajectory in terms of my writing process. So far, I have started writing every one of my books over winter vacation, although the idea for the book may have first entered my head months, if not years, before. Over the winter and spring, I usually outline the plot and develop the characters, sometimes writing a messy first draft.

But summer is the time when my mind clears itself of all the clutter from the school year and opens itself up to new ideas, character motivations, and plot twists. Ideas come to me in the shower. A notebook sits by my bedside for those nights when the characters wake me up and demand that I write a scene in the dark. I can sit on my laptop for hours, unaware of the time passing. My husband claims that when I’m writing, he can have entire conversations with me that I will later have no recollection of having.

It helps that I had two really clear inspirations for Free to a Good Home: one was my adorable shelter dog, Maggie, now thirteen years old but still a puppy to me; and the second and more important was my mother-in-law, Anne Mont, who just passed away this May after a courageous battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease. The book centers around Noelle, aveterinary technician whose most steadfast relationship in her life is with her Great Dane, Zeke. In my real life, I am fortunate enough to have the most loving and supportive husband, but when I was writing the book, I asked myself, what if I suddenly didn’t? What if my husband left me? How would I cope? And the answer was, in part, through the unconditional love of my dog.

Then I asked myself, what if Noelle was still so in love with her ex-husband that she would do almost any favor he asked? What if, for example, he asked her to take care of his ailing mother? Again, fiction diverges from truth because my mother-in-law, Anne, was the sweetest and most selfless person I have ever met; as someone described her at her funeral, she was “grace personified.” But her fictional counterpart, Margaret, is bitter and ornery, and she’s never liked Noelle. And once Noelle is chosen as her caretaker, Margaret resents her even more.

After I had these “What if?” questions in mind, the rest of the story fell into place. A new love interest entered the picture to complicate Noelle’s life, and along the way, Noelle got fed up with her constant doormat status and began to take charge of her life. When the book was finished, I revised and revised, then sent my query out to at least fifty agents, and crossed my fingers. Six months later, I had found an agent, the amazingly savvy and supportive April Eberhardt at Kimberley Cameron and Associates. I feel so lucky to be a part of this wonderful community of writers and readers now—it truly is a luxury. Thanks so much for having me, Vera!

I hope you’ll check out the contest on my website for a chance to win a book club package of eight signed copies and a Skype call-in. Also, if you’d like to read a sneak preview, click here.

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Blog Tour & Giveaway: “The One That I Want” by Allison Winn Scotch

[ 258 ] June 15, 2010

Please join Allison Winn Scotch, author of The One That I Want, as she tours the blogosphere with TLC Book Tours!

Introduction by Allison Winn Scotch

I almost think of The One That I Want as a bookend to my last book, Time of My Life. The heroines are at opposite ends of the spectrum – Tilly, in The One, is content with living her life on a smaller scale, settling into the quieter corners, taking care of everyone else as her balm. Unlike Jillian, from Time, who was so discontent, and who thus propelled herself into the past, Tilly finds complete satisfaction in her life, and thus, when she’s given the ability to see into the future, it’s as unwelcome as it is jarring. A lot of readers ask why I use these supernatural techniques in my book (though I don’t in my next one, I promise!), and my answer is that by pushing the boundaries of reality, I can pose bigger questions to my heroines – and thus, my readers. What if Tilly discovers she’s not living the life she wants? What if she learns that happier ever after isn’t happier at all? What if my readers aren’t and don’t? What then? That’s what I love exploring via my protagonists, and hopefully, flash-forwards, time-travel and all of that aside, that’s what readers take from my books.

Check out our review of Allison’s last novel, Time of My Life. You can catch up with Allison at her official website or her blog, Ask Allison.

Reviewed by Jennifer J.

Tilly Farmer has never left high school. Not only did she marry her high school sweetheart Tyler, but she also works at a guidance counselor at the high school both she and Tyler attended. Ever since childhood, Tilly has worked hard to fix things. After the death of her mother, Tilly kept her family from further falling apart. She offered comfort and consoling to her two younger sisters Luanne and Darcy, and helped her father through his losing battle with alcohol. Rather than let all of the negativity in her life bring her down, Tilly moves through life with a smile on her face, believing with every ounce of her that this is the life she wants.

As Tilly and Tyler contemplate parenthood, a reunion with childhood friend Ashley Simmons at the school fair leaves Tilly with a clarity about her life that she has never before possessed. The futuristic visions that Tilly now sees through contact with photographs from the past are frightening to her. When the visions all start to come true, Tilly must reevaluate the perfect life she has always thought she had, and redefine the meaning of “happiness”.

In The One That I Want, Allison Winn Scotch explores how seeing the future affects an individual’s life in the present. Being able to see her future and recognizing that it is out of her power to change things that have already been set in motion for the past 16 years leaves Tilly a total mess. Like Tilly, I’m sure most everyone would react just as shocked, hurt, and angry if the future revealed they were oblivious to a failing marriage and family secrets that were out in the open if they had just read the signs correctly. Even so, many of Tilly’s outbursts felt a little unwarranted and made her seem like a very spoiled, catered to woman. In those situations, I found it very hard to have any sympathy for her.

The One That I Want ends on a positive note as Tilly learns to look forward to an uncertain future. She is able to mend most of the relationships that she had jeopardized, including the renewal of her friendship with Ashley. Ashley proved to be a wonderful contrast to Tilly, and influential in helping her see that there is more to happiness than the memories of a childhood love, cheerleading, and planning high school proms.

I loved the subtle magical qualities of this novel, as well as the small town feel of it, and can’t wait to read more from Allison Winn Scotch.

Jennifer graduated from the University of Utah with a BA in English. She occasionally dabbles with her own fiction writing, particularly with the Young Adult and Paranormal genres. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and daughter.

Giveaway:

I have 1 hardcover copy of The One That I Want to give away, courtesy of the publisher!

Mandatory entry: Please comment on this post with your e-mail address.

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):
- Subscribe via e-mail, follow or subscribe to the feed. You must verify the subscriptions. (1 entry each)
- Enter another current giveaway and tell me which one you entered (1 entry each)
- Share this giveaway on a social network of your choice. Click the “Share This Blog” button at the top of the sidebar (1 entry each)
- Become a fan on Facebook (2 entries)

This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on June 30th.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Shaye Areheart Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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