Ask the Author: Cathy Lamb
Answered Questions (30)
Cathy Lamb
No. I can't.
I don't like horror stories.
They scare me.
I don't like horror stories.
They scare me.
Cathy Lamb
Well, this is a very easy question to answer.
I would go to Narnia. I would become Queen Cathy and talk to all the centaurs and talking beavers and I would fight the evil White Witch, of course, and have her forever banished.
I would go to Narnia. I would become Queen Cathy and talk to all the centaurs and talking beavers and I would fight the evil White Witch, of course, and have her forever banished.
Cathy Lamb
Well, since I am late to answering this question, here's a few books I've read/listened to in the last few months that I loved....The Escape Room, Fever 1793, the Cactus, The Other Woman, Beloved, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, The Only Woman In The Room, Heavy - A Memoir, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, No Exit, Once Upon A River, The Passenger...
Cathy Lamb
Well, since I am late to answering this question, here's a few books I've read/listened to in the last few months that I loved....The Escape Room, Fever 1793, the Cactus, The Other Woman, Beloved, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, The Only Woman In The Room, Heavy - A Memoir, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, No Exit, Once Upon A River, The Passenger...
Cathy Lamb
Sue, thank you so much and I am SORRY that I did not answer your question until now. Yikes. I need to check in on Goodreads more. Thanks for your comment on my bio. Now I have to go and read it so I can remember what it says! I don't know what a "spirit animal" is but it sounds very interesting! Happy day to you.
Cathy Lamb
Aggie, thank you for your question. I am sorry you cried so much reading Henry's Sisters. If it makes you feel better, so did I. But I hope you laughed a lot, too. I think tears and laughter often go together well in life, and in reading. Soooo glad you have discovered my books. I really hope you like the other books, too. You probably won't cry as much.
Cathy Lamb
I am so glad, Beth, that you are now "blissfully single." It is a brave step to leave lousy relationships. I hope this note finds you happy and well and enjoying the new, and free, you!
Cathy Lamb
I wish I had an answer to that question!
I don't think I have any mysteries, but I think that certain aspects of my life, the challenges and joys, are universal to many women in this country. And, I think that what we all go through is then interesting to write about. We can learn from different perspectives, experiences, humor, etc.
But I'll keep looking for that elusive mystery...
I don't think I have any mysteries, but I think that certain aspects of my life, the challenges and joys, are universal to many women in this country. And, I think that what we all go through is then interesting to write about. We can learn from different perspectives, experiences, humor, etc.
But I'll keep looking for that elusive mystery...
Cathy Lamb
Yes, I have read All The Light We Cannot See and it was brilliant. Definitely one of my favorites. It was literary poetry. Incredible story.
I am working on a new book. I am also editing proofs for my next one No Place I'd Rather Be.
The plot? 105 year old cookbooks. Six generations of women. Four countries. Oh, the stories those recipes could tell.
I am working on a new book. I am also editing proofs for my next one No Place I'd Rather Be.
The plot? 105 year old cookbooks. Six generations of women. Four countries. Oh, the stories those recipes could tell.
Cathy Lamb
Sarah, THANK YOU for pre - ordering Nowhere I'd Rather Be. It's set in Montana, but it'll take you from Odessa in the Russian Empire in 1905, to Munich, to London, and across the ocean. One cookbook survives, from mother to daughter to granddaughter to great granddaughter...I SO hope you like it.
Cathy Lamb
Pam,
I am working on my eleventh novel right now. I am on my sixth edit - two more to go before I hand it off to my editor. I have no plans to stop writing books. I do have six anthologies out with short stories. All of the short stories end happily, so if you want a happy ending story....I am delighted that you love my books. Truly. Have a lovely day.
https://www.amazon.com/Cathy-Lamb/e/B...
I am working on my eleventh novel right now. I am on my sixth edit - two more to go before I hand it off to my editor. I have no plans to stop writing books. I do have six anthologies out with short stories. All of the short stories end happily, so if you want a happy ending story....I am delighted that you love my books. Truly. Have a lovely day.
https://www.amazon.com/Cathy-Lamb/e/B...
Cathy Lamb
Gayle, I am so sorry! I just saw this questions.
So, first, the discussion questions for Henry's Sisters are in the back of the book. If you have a book club, and I'm not too late, I'm happy to skype with you all.
I do have two sisters and a brother, but no, Henry's Sisters is not about my family.
I have too many favorite novels ... hmmm, narrowing it down. The Color Purple. Anything by James McBride and Kaye Gibbons and Geraldine Brooks and Kurt Vonnegut. Loved Life After Life, Infidel, Escape, A Man Called Ove...
I used to be a teacher, too, loved it. Henry has Down's Syndrome. I'm writing my eleventh novel now. Sixth edit, I do twelve edits total. I do write best at night, but I also write during the day, too, and I do marketing, etc.
I have three kids, two in college, one out, but I spend a lot of time with them because I adore them.
And I hang out with Innocent Husband!
So, first, the discussion questions for Henry's Sisters are in the back of the book. If you have a book club, and I'm not too late, I'm happy to skype with you all.
I do have two sisters and a brother, but no, Henry's Sisters is not about my family.
I have too many favorite novels ... hmmm, narrowing it down. The Color Purple. Anything by James McBride and Kaye Gibbons and Geraldine Brooks and Kurt Vonnegut. Loved Life After Life, Infidel, Escape, A Man Called Ove...
I used to be a teacher, too, loved it. Henry has Down's Syndrome. I'm writing my eleventh novel now. Sixth edit, I do twelve edits total. I do write best at night, but I also write during the day, too, and I do marketing, etc.
I have three kids, two in college, one out, but I spend a lot of time with them because I adore them.
And I hang out with Innocent Husband!
Cathy Lamb
Angel,
Thank you so much for your comment. I'm glad you liked my autobiographical summary. Honestly, my life has been completely normal except that I love reading books, love writing, and have a wild imagination. I had many, many, MANY rejections of my books and articles before I finally published. I just kept working at it, going to writing classes, studying books, etc. Writing was my passion and I so wanted it to be my career. When my kids were young I wrote from ten at night until two in them morning, then got them off to school. I was semi - sleepless, but that was when I had time to write. You can do this, you can.
Thank you so much for your comment. I'm glad you liked my autobiographical summary. Honestly, my life has been completely normal except that I love reading books, love writing, and have a wild imagination. I had many, many, MANY rejections of my books and articles before I finally published. I just kept working at it, going to writing classes, studying books, etc. Writing was my passion and I so wanted it to be my career. When my kids were young I wrote from ten at night until two in them morning, then got them off to school. I was semi - sleepless, but that was when I had time to write. You can do this, you can.
Cathy Lamb
Yes, Pam, I just starting writing another book.
I do have a new one coming out in September, "The Language of Sisters."
A few clues about the story…
1.Toni Kozlovsky lives on a yellow tugboat in the Willamette River. She needed space to breathe.
2. Toni has two sisters. They can sometimes hear each other in their heads, a message coming through. It’s odd, it’s inexplicable. It’s a gift handed down the Sabonis family line through their widow’s peaks. Their mother had it, too.
3. The family immigrated from Russia when Toni was a little girl. They left a lot of secrets there…and the secrets have been running after them ever since.
4. The family has many crazy members and the dynamics can be mind blowing. You might relate to some of them.
5. Toni has something hidden in a little shed next to her tugboat. She doesn’t want to look at it. She doesn’t want to think about it. But she does.
6. Love. Laughter. Funny stuff. A blue heron, a woman named Daisy, a DEA agent who lives down the dock, a restaurant, a scary man. Pillow making, skinny dipping, too much wine. More laughter.
I hope you like it, I truly do.
I do have a new one coming out in September, "The Language of Sisters."
A few clues about the story…
1.Toni Kozlovsky lives on a yellow tugboat in the Willamette River. She needed space to breathe.
2. Toni has two sisters. They can sometimes hear each other in their heads, a message coming through. It’s odd, it’s inexplicable. It’s a gift handed down the Sabonis family line through their widow’s peaks. Their mother had it, too.
3. The family immigrated from Russia when Toni was a little girl. They left a lot of secrets there…and the secrets have been running after them ever since.
4. The family has many crazy members and the dynamics can be mind blowing. You might relate to some of them.
5. Toni has something hidden in a little shed next to her tugboat. She doesn’t want to look at it. She doesn’t want to think about it. But she does.
6. Love. Laughter. Funny stuff. A blue heron, a woman named Daisy, a DEA agent who lives down the dock, a restaurant, a scary man. Pillow making, skinny dipping, too much wine. More laughter.
I hope you like it, I truly do.
Cathy Lamb
Rachel,
So glad you love my books, I truly am.
So glad you love my books, I truly am.
Cathy Lamb
Lillian,
I'm reading Pillars of The Earth.
Long book, excellent book.
I'm reading Pillars of The Earth.
Long book, excellent book.
Cathy Lamb
Danielle,
What is my inspiration for my books?
Anything. Everything. Relationships. Weather. Flowers. Blue Herons. Yellow tugboats. Sisters. A river. Secrets. Family history and ancestors. Storm clouds. Old wood tables.
For my latest book, My Very Best Friend, a few of my inspirations were: Scotland, and wanting to see my daughter who goes to school there. Best friends. A time travel romance writer who seemed to leap out of my imagination. Orcas Island. A stone cottage I saw in a magazine. My love of gardening and flowers. Lingerie bike riding at midnight. A small bar fight (No I was not in a bar fight. I have a wild imagination).
So, to keep the inspiration coming, I read, I walk, I run in the woods, I buy flowers, I go on drives in the country, I watch movies. Most importantly, I hang out with my family and make sure that I nag my children....
What is my inspiration for my books?
Anything. Everything. Relationships. Weather. Flowers. Blue Herons. Yellow tugboats. Sisters. A river. Secrets. Family history and ancestors. Storm clouds. Old wood tables.
For my latest book, My Very Best Friend, a few of my inspirations were: Scotland, and wanting to see my daughter who goes to school there. Best friends. A time travel romance writer who seemed to leap out of my imagination. Orcas Island. A stone cottage I saw in a magazine. My love of gardening and flowers. Lingerie bike riding at midnight. A small bar fight (No I was not in a bar fight. I have a wild imagination).
So, to keep the inspiration coming, I read, I walk, I run in the woods, I buy flowers, I go on drives in the country, I watch movies. Most importantly, I hang out with my family and make sure that I nag my children....
Cathy Lamb
Hello Lori,
I am so sorry that I didn't see this question until now.
So, get up your nerve and publish your book of poetry. Just do it. Right this minute.
As to your question, no, I did not have cold feet about publishing, just desperate feet, so to speak.
I was writing and writing and getting rejected and rejected, for years and years, and I wanted so badly to publish a book that there was no time for cold feet.
So, ask yourself what you're afraid of. Are you afraid of criticism? Don't be. Toughen up. You can handle it. When you see a bad review, let it go. Or avoid reading them altogether. Why bring negative into your life?
Write your best and don't worry about the results.
Afraid of very public reviews slamming your work? Again, don't be. It's part of publishing. It's part of this business. All writers deal with it. The very best books I have ever read have gotten bad reviews from other readers. You can't possibly write anything that everyone will love.
Afraid it's not good enough? Well, have you written poems that you're proud of? Then stop worrying and throw it out into the world.
Really, Lori, go for it. Publish the poetry.
I am so sorry that I didn't see this question until now.
So, get up your nerve and publish your book of poetry. Just do it. Right this minute.
As to your question, no, I did not have cold feet about publishing, just desperate feet, so to speak.
I was writing and writing and getting rejected and rejected, for years and years, and I wanted so badly to publish a book that there was no time for cold feet.
So, ask yourself what you're afraid of. Are you afraid of criticism? Don't be. Toughen up. You can handle it. When you see a bad review, let it go. Or avoid reading them altogether. Why bring negative into your life?
Write your best and don't worry about the results.
Afraid of very public reviews slamming your work? Again, don't be. It's part of publishing. It's part of this business. All writers deal with it. The very best books I have ever read have gotten bad reviews from other readers. You can't possibly write anything that everyone will love.
Afraid it's not good enough? Well, have you written poems that you're proud of? Then stop worrying and throw it out into the world.
Really, Lori, go for it. Publish the poetry.
Cathy Lamb
Dear Jenna,
I am so glad that you like my books. I do try to write for the hearts of women. Sounds sappy, but it's the truth.
As for your question, no, none of my family members or friends were ever offended by any characters I've written about, or thought that the character was about them, because they weren't.
All the characters come straight out of my head. I have a wild imagination. The characters grow and change as I write until they are 100 percent their own odd, quirky, funny, or mean person.
As for topics that I cover in my books, same thing. The topics that I cover - husbands, marriage, now and then a death, teenagers, bi polar, all kinds of abuse, etc. - are all issues that many women have. So, they're general.
My advice to you is to write your character. Write him/her as genuinely as you can. But let the character live and breathe in your heart and say and do what is natural to that character, so he/she is unlike any of your family members or friends. I also would be careful - and, in fact, I wouldn't do it - to not write personal, sad stories in your books that have directly happened to your family members. (Unless they give permission.) You have to respect people's privacy and painful journeys.
Now, in memoirs, people do write about family members....but that's a whole other genre that I don't write, and there's a reason for it. You can guess what it is.
I am so glad that you like my books. I do try to write for the hearts of women. Sounds sappy, but it's the truth.
As for your question, no, none of my family members or friends were ever offended by any characters I've written about, or thought that the character was about them, because they weren't.
All the characters come straight out of my head. I have a wild imagination. The characters grow and change as I write until they are 100 percent their own odd, quirky, funny, or mean person.
As for topics that I cover in my books, same thing. The topics that I cover - husbands, marriage, now and then a death, teenagers, bi polar, all kinds of abuse, etc. - are all issues that many women have. So, they're general.
My advice to you is to write your character. Write him/her as genuinely as you can. But let the character live and breathe in your heart and say and do what is natural to that character, so he/she is unlike any of your family members or friends. I also would be careful - and, in fact, I wouldn't do it - to not write personal, sad stories in your books that have directly happened to your family members. (Unless they give permission.) You have to respect people's privacy and painful journeys.
Now, in memoirs, people do write about family members....but that's a whole other genre that I don't write, and there's a reason for it. You can guess what it is.
Cathy Lamb
Hello Sandra. Thanks for signing up. I sent my first newsletter out (after SEVEN years) the other...I will really try to do this more than once every seven years.
Here's the link. Also on my website on the tab bar, near where it says Contact Me. Happy Holidays.
http://cathylamb.org/newsletter-sign-...
Hello Sandra. Thanks for signing up. I sent my first newsletter out (after SEVEN years) the other...I will really try to do this more than once every seven years.
Here's the link. Also on my website on the tab bar, near where it says Contact Me. Happy Holidays.
http://cathylamb.org/newsletter-sign-...
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