Catherine Ryan Hyde's Blog, page 20

Check out my new photo site!

Saddlebag Lake at dawn, after a night of light snow

All of you who know me know that amateur photography, especially nature photography, is very important to me. And when I first created this new site, I struggled with how to fit them all in. I could only show about five of each gallery without bogging everything down and causing slow loading. I don't want to complicate this site too much, but I don't want the photos to be an afterthought, either.

My solution? catherineryanhyde.photo 

I still have a page on the navigation bar above for my photos, but its purpose now is to link you to the new site. I think you'll find it easy to navigate. 

I'll keep adding to it, of course, and the most recent galleries will be right up front, so you can always see what's new.

Take a look around. Let me know what you think.

When You Were Older for only $0.99!

Today through the weekend the Kindle ebook edition of my novel When You Were Older is on a Kindle Countdown deal for only $0.99. After the weekend it will start going up again, but gradually.

Still, I'd suggest you grab one now if you haven't read this title. Why pay any more for books than you have to?

Happy reading!

Better Than Blurbs: Again by Lisa Burstein

Because I no longer write blurbs, but still very much want to help other authors, I've launched a blog series called Better Than Blurbs. The authors and I have in-depth discussions about their books, which I hope will help readers identify whether they'd enjoy reading them.

This is the tenth post in the series. The author is Lisa Burstein and the book is Again.

Me: Lisa, please tell my readers about your book in your own words.

Lisa:  I've written before about my experience being sexually assaulted by my ex-boyfriend when I was seventeen years old. You can see a post about that here. But response is about something else. This is not about me, or the boy who raped me, this is about the boy who watched.

The boy who saw what was happening right in front of him and left.

The boy I considered a friend who saw me being assaulted and chose to do nothing.

The boy who made me wonder what he did with his guilt.

It was this boy who made me want to write Carter as a character who does the same thing. In Again, Carter witnesses a sexual assault about to occur at his fraternity during his freshman year, but does nothing to stop it. He leaves. He doesn't know the girl his brothers are going to assault, but the guilt he feels is immense, intense and cripples him for years after.

How would you react in a similar situation? How would I have reacted?

If you have a friend who you see needs help; you help, right?

Or is it more complicated than that when it involves sexual assault, especially when you are a guy? When maybe it seems easier to stay out of it, or ignore it. 

I’ve thought about this a lot.

For years I've wondered how my friend felt after walking away from me that night.

What he did with what must have been the gnawing feeling in his gut as he walked away? If he could go back would he have done things differently?

With Carter and Again, I've fictionally given him a second chance.

Additionally, I’ve always wanted to write about someone who truly rewrites their life. Who sees no other option but to literally go back in time. I think that wish is something we all have sometimes. It was enlightening to travel to that place with Kate. I got the idea for Again from my own feelings about turning 30. 

Who was I? What had the choices I'd made turned me into? What the hell was I doing with my life?

Kate in Again feels like her whole life has been a series of bad decisions. The only way to fix them is to go back and make new ones.

I found this idea so appealing. If I had the option to go back to college and make different decisions knowing what I know now, would I make better ones?

Would you?

Me: Many of my readers might not be familiar with the genre NA, or New Adult. It's fairly new on the scene, and might not be all that well understood. Will you please bring us all up to speed?

Lisa: New Adult is a genre that has come about in the last couple of years. It consists of characters that are not Young Adult, but not Adults yet either. Usually it includes characters that are between 19-25. In Again, I wanted to combine this genre with the contemporary romance genre so I decided to make my protagonist a 29 year old who pretends to be 19. She is "acting" like a new adult even though she should be an adult.

Me: As I began to read, I noticed that the structure of the book had a lot in common with the romance genre, in that the love interest is right there in the first scene, clearly setting up the goal of what's important here. This is not an insult, or even a judgment in any way. Clearly, if it's a type of romance, it's a very modern take on the genre. Maybe you could tell us in your own words how you think they are similar, how you think they are different.

Lisa: New Adult is different from a typical contemporary romance in the fact that new adults are not only dealing with their romantic relationships but also with trying to figure out their place in the world, who they really are, without the safety net of parents. You are over eighteen and out on your own. In Again specifically, Kate at 29 is completely unhappy in her place in the world and who she is. This is why she goes back and tries to live her life over "again" by pretending to be 19.

Me: I was interested in the fact that your main character struggled with alcoholism. Probably because I’m an alcoholic with 25 years of recovery. At first she tried to go it alone. She mentioned rehab, and mentioned AA once. I know you wanted us to see her struggle, but I wonder if there’s a reason why she didn’t use the AA program as her life resolved itself. Did you feel that the target audience would not be open to 12-step programs, or not see them in a positive light? Or is it just something that is foreign to you as the author as well? Was any research involved in capturing the feelings of an alcoholic (which, by the way, I think you did well)?

Lisa: I have struggled with alcohol abuse as well. I have gone for treatment, but never AA or rehab. I guess I saw Kate as someone who would try to fix herself before she asked for help. It was about who she was as a person. She is extremely immature for her age and believes she has control over something that in many ways is uncontrollable-- alcoholism. I am certainly not against anything that helps a person deal with their issues. I wanted to write a book about someone who thinks she can go it alone and realizes her addictions are stronger than she knows.

Me: Based on your original description of why you wrote this book… well, many things come to mind. That it’s brave. That I can understand how our struggles to understand the behavior of others can turn into novels. But my question is this. We’re all people at some level. All human no matter how badly we behave. And yet not everyone who commits an act like this feels deep remorse. Which do you think is worse? To feel there are people in the world who are inherently “bad”? Or to know that basically decent people can do terrible things?

Lisa: I think it’s far worse to see people as inherently bad. It was why I wrote Carter the way I did. I think everyone has to have at least some good in them, some part of them that feels guilt for doing anything that hurts someone else. I might have rose-colored glasses on here, but I guess making Carter someone who felt the impact of what he did so deeply, helped me come to terms with what my friend did to me. He might not have struggled with it the same way Carter did, but working through that guilt with Carter allowed me to finally forgive my friend.

Me: You made a reference to sexual attraction as being “another kind of addiction,” but it didn’t seem to come up again, at least not so clearly. This is a book that very much concerns itself with sex. How much do you think sex and love can become confused, or used addictively, in people of this age? And how much of that felt important in the writing of this book? 

Lisa: I think in your twenties sex and love are sometimes the same thing. I think both women and men can become caught up in that aspect of a relationship where it becomes all that matters. How they define themselves, how they wield power, how they feel. Before Kate meets Carter it is one of the main ways she defines herself, as a sexual being. That is not a bad thing, don’t get me wrong, but throughout the book she learns that sex can mean more than just sex. 

Me: In my older books, I have some adult material, some brief sex that is described in a relatively detailed way. And all of my books include some level of what people call “language.” And I’m surprised by how much grief I get about it in user reviews. There are people who write that they never would have read a book if they had known it contained “swearing.” As the author of a book with a fair amount of sex and language, do you get negative feedback from some readers? Or is this a difference in our two audiences?

Lisa: I usually don’t get grief for this. I think in romance and New Adult specifically people expect a certain level of language and sex. I have a Young Adult book titled Dear Cassie that has over 200 mentions of the F word. Perhaps we have different audiences. ;) 

Me: Please write your own question, and answer it.

Lisa: What do you hope readers get from Again?

I hope they find that any mistake you make isn’t too big to forgive yourself, once you come to a place to accept that forgiveness.

Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University. She is the author of Pretty Amy, The Next Forever, Dear Cassie, Sneaking Candy and The Possibility of Us. As well as a contributor to the essay collection, Break These Rules: 35 YA Authors On Speaking Up, Standing Out, and Being Yourself. Again is her self-publishing debut. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her very patient husband, a neurotic dog and two cats.

Like Lisa on Facebook or Follow Lisa on Twitter (I do). 

An Award for Paw It Forward!

Notice anything different about the cover of my kid's nonfiction book Paw It Forward? Now it not only features my dog Ella, but a sticker announcing that the book won the Mom's Choice Award! It's a lovely honor, and one that I hope will bring this simple story about the kindness shown by animals to even more kids. It's always nice when your book gets to sport a nice shiny award sticker. If you have kids, or grandkids, or are just a kid at heart, I hope you'll give Paw It Forward a try! And drop by the Paw It Forward LLC website and check out the other amazing Ella-based merchandise. Good thing Ella doesn't know about all this--there'd be no living with her. By the way, the Ella Journal won a Moms Choice Award, too! We're on a roll!

Where We Belong is Only $0.99!

Two important bits of news regarding my novel Where We Belong. As you can see, it has a terrific new cover, with a custom-shot image courtesy of photographer friend Leslie Moroney. That's one.

Two, it's on a Kindle Countdown Deal right now. Today, Sunday, and Labor Day Monday, you can grab a Kindle copy of this novel for only $0.99. After Monday at midnight the price will go up in increments each day. But if you haven't read this one, I suggest now is a great time to buy it. Hard to argue with $0.99!

And don't forget the part where you come back and tell me what you think!   

Happy Labor Day weekend and happy reading!

Paw It Forward Giveaway

The previous giveaway (a coffee-table sized softcover copy of 365 Days of Gratitude) is officially over. The winner is Susan Oberholtzer.

Now I'd like to go straight to a new giveaway. I bought a big handful of these from Cara Warren of Paw It Forward LLC, in both hardcover and softcover. Now that I have figured out that Ella can "sign" these, too, I just had to give one away so you can see this with your own eyes.

Up for grabs is a hardcover copy of Ella's and my Paw It Forward book, with my autograph and Ella's "Pawtograph." Great for your kids, grandkids, or, well... if you're a dog lover and you just want it for yourself I'll understand.

As always, please do me the courtesy of reading a few simple instructions to make this smooth and simple:

Leave a comment below to be entered. Please DO leave your email address in the comment form (even though it will say it's optional). I promise I won't use it for any other purpose but to notify you if you win. Please DON'T leave your email address in the body of your comment unless you want everybody to see it. Those familiar with my old website might be a little confused by the new comment system. It will seem there is no place for your name and email. But when you hit "Post Comment," you'll see those fields come up.

A very small handful of people have had trouble leaving comments. Please email me (using the "contact" page) if that happens to you. 

***One very important addition: If you're reading this blog on Goodreads, please click through to the original post on my website and leave your comment there. Otherwise I'm afraid I'll forget the Goodreads people one of these times when I go to draw names***

I'll collect entries for a week or so and then choose a winner at random. If you don't win, don't be discouraged. Read my post about the new "No Losers" seven entry rule.

Good luck!

Better Than Blurbs: Much Ado About Mother by Celia Bonaduce

Photo by William Christoff

Because I no longer write blurbs, but still very much want to help other authors, I've launched a blog series called Better Than Blurbs. The authors and I have in-depth discussions about their books, which I hope will help readers identify whether they'd enjoy reading them.

This is the ninth post in the series. The author is Celia Bonaduce and the book is Much Ado About Mother: A Venice Beach Romance. But before the word "Romance" causes you to tune out, please give us a chance to adjust your thinking.

Me: Celia, will you please tell my readers about the book in your own words?

Celia: Much Ado About Mother is the third book in my VENICE BEACH ROMANCE Trilogy.  If you’re now frantically mousing away from this page because you are not a fan of romantic novels, please hang around.  When Kensington Books (a highly esteemed publisher of romance) told me they wanted to buy my series, I was stunned.  Grateful to be sure, but stunned. Because I didn’t think I was writing romance.  I thought I was writing comedy.  Book One: The Merchant of Venice Beach is probably the closest to a classic romantic novel as this series gets, since the protagonist is very focused on seducing a mysterious dance instructor in and around Venice Beach, California. But it’s very tongue-in-cheek. While the emphasis of the story is Suzanna’s maniacal pursuit of an emotionally unavailable man, the theme of the book is about a woman finding herself.  Book Two: A Comedy of Erinn is about Suzanna’s older sister, Erinn, a had-been Broadway playwright who moves to Southern California ostensibly to be near her sister, but basically because she has no where else to go.  She is jobless and friendless.  If Suzanna refuses to face adulthood, Erinn is old before her time.  While there is a romantic element – actually, several romantic elements -- once again, the point of Comedy of Erinn is that Erinn has to come to terms with herself. It’s not about the guy.  Which brings us, finally, to Much Ado About Mother.  In this third book (the characters appear in each other’s books, but each book can be read as a stand-alone.)  Erinn, Suzanna and their mother, Virginia each have a say in “ADO”.  In this book, I was writing in all three voices, and named each chapter ERINN, VIRGINIA or SUZANNA as a way for the reader to be clear who was speaking. I learned that from you at that seminar in Big Sur a few years ago.  

Much Ado About Mother is the story of three women – a mother and her two grown daughters – who all feel that life has been good, but not great.  I thought it would be interesting to look at life from three different age groups (Suzanna is in her early thirties, Erinn in her early forties, Virginia is just turning seventy). Each of the woman is thinking “Is That All There Is” – which of course, is flawed thinking.  Unless you’re dead, it’s never all there is.  This book is about family. It’s about how, when all is said and done, no matter how the dynamics change, your family can be the greatest joy – while being the greatest thorn in your side – in your life. And yeah, there is some romance.

Me: I’m actually not a fan of romantic novels. But I’m a fan of this one. And I agree that for a romance it’s very much not a romance. How do you feel/how does it work to have your work put in a box that may not quite fit? It opens you up to new readers, yes. Does it shut you down from others? Or do people see that the book transcends its genre, so no problem?

Celia: I’ve tread lightly into Romance territory.  The description of my books “not quite fitting into a box” is accurate.  That’s one of the reasons I am so grateful for Sharon Bowers – my agent and Martin Biro – my editor at Kensington – for taking a chance on me.  I’d like to think there are readers out there who normally wouldn’t touch a romance were happy when they stumbled upon my books.  To be honest, though, from the few really stinko reviews I’ve gotten on Amazon, there were those romance readers out there who felt tricked by the covers and description.  Frankly, I think they had a valid point.  If you order a soufflé and someone serves you Eggs Benedict – it doesn’t matter if the Eggs Benedict are terrific or not.  You wanted a soufflé, you ordered a soufflé and that’s what you were entitled to get.  On the whole, though, my reviews have been very positive – although a goodly number of those reviews said “This was not what I was expecting, but I really liked it.” Next series out, I’m hoping people continue to like my work, but won’t be surprised.  The Eggs Benedict crowd will already be with me!

Me: Talk to me about quirk. I found this to be delightfully quirky, encompassing characters who are, among other things: 1) named Dymphna; 2) a herd of Angora rabbits; 3) a not very likable Chihuahua named Piquant, whom we tend to like anyway; 4) a man who runs into a burning building to save his ex-wife’s moose head art sculpture, and 5) a large tree. Do you purposely infuse quirk, or is your mind just naturally quirky?

 Celia: I guess my mind is just naturally quirky!  I will say that I am always on the lookout for the unpredictable!

Me: What do you like to read, and is humor a big factor in what you look for as a reader, or do you read different tones for different moods?

Celia:  I read all kinds of stuff – humor, classics, non-fiction, travel books.  One favorite genre is “southern women writers” – from Flannery O’Connor to Fannie Flagg to my new favorite Joshilyn Jackson.  These women rewrite true, believable characters infused with humor and love.

Me: In your own opinion, are you funny in person, in the spoken word, or more so on paper? Do you speak easily and comfortably in front of a crowd, with this same lighthearted manner you use when you write?

Celia:  Well, this is certainly a “toot my own horn” moment, isn’t it?  I humbly submit that I am funny in person, on paper and in front of a crowd.  While I long to be an introspective artist, who is quietly pondering big questions when not “at work”, sadly, I attempt hilarity 24/7.

Me: Will you please tell my readers, many of whom are writers, about your road to publication? 

Celia: My road to publication was long and filled with rejection.  I expected that, though.  My parents were both professional writers, so I knew from a very young age, that rejection was part of a writer’s life and you couldn’t take it personally.    I also had the great good fortune to go to a writers’ conference early in my foray into novel writing – where I met you, Catherine, and Jodi Thomas.  I’m sure the readers of your blog can visualize what a boost it was to have these two wildly successful women take the time to tell me that my “voice” was unique as well as funny.  You both encouraged me to get in touch if I felt stuck or frustrated (and I don’t have to tell you, I availed myself of that more than once!)  Both of you warned me that my style “didn’t fit on a shelf” – and there would be rejections from agents and publishers, but to believe in myself and my work.   Also, my feeling has always been “ You only need ONE.  ONE agent. ONE publisher. I just needed to stay true to the process.  As each rejection came it, one new submission went out. Sharon found me.  Kensington found me.  I knew they were out there and I just needed to hang on until they did.

Me: Please write your own question, and answer it.

Celia: Do you “cast” your characters, either with actors or with people you know?

I actually don’t have a physical sense of my characters at all.  I HEAR them.  It’s actually one of the most intriguing parts of writing for me.  I’ll create a character and I can suddenly hear them speaking to me.  Currently, I am writing a character who sounds exactly like Johnny Mathis.  It’s awesome!

Me: Thanks, Celia. Those who want to know more about Celia and her work can visit her website and/or find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Let's Give Away Another 365 Days of Gratitude

I promised I'd give away one of these a month for the foreseeable future, and I'm staying true to my word. This is the huge, full-color softcover coffee table edition of 365 Days of Gratitude: Photos from a Beautiful World. (The other books are only there for scale.) And a new giveaway for August starts now.

I'll collect entries for a week or so and then choose a winner at random. If you don't win, don't despair. Read my post about the new "No Losers" seven entry rule.

As always, I ask only that you read a few guidelines below so this giveaway goes smoothly: 

Leave a comment below to be entered. Please DO leave your email address in the comment form. I promise I won't use it for any other purpose but to notify you if you win. Please DON'T leave your email address in the body of your comment unless you want everybody to see it. And remember the "author" in the comment form is the author of the comment, not the book. In other words, you. In each of these giveaways one or more people comment as "Catherine Ryan Hyde" because they see "author" and think it means me. Please use your own name, otherwise I can't enter you, because I'll have no idea who you are!

***One very important addition: If you're reading this blog on Goodreads, please click through to the original post on my website and leave your comment there. Otherwise I'm afraid I'll forget the Goodreads people one of these times when I go to draw names***

Good luck!

Notice Anything Different?

Just putting this photo front and center might be worth the price of admission for creating this new site. People are already telling me they're discovering books they never knew about.

Happy to announce that the brand new site has launched. With a great deal of help from my friend and tech mentor Bob DeLaurentis (thanks, Bob!), I've come up with something that I hope will be simpler, yet provide you with all the information you need. 

I'm happy to hear any feedback you might have. After all, you are the ones who will use it.

One quick apology: I realize that everyone who subscribes to this blog got an email announcing... well, every single blog post I ever wrote (all in one email, I'm happy to say). That must have been confusing. When the site went live, in a sense those were all published at the same time. But I don't launch a whole new site often, so it's not something you're likely to encounter anytime soon. And I think the new browsing experience will be worth that slight inconvenience.

I hope you'll look around and tell me what you think.

Last Giveaway for July

It's been at the back of my mind that I promised one more giveaway for July. The goal is to give out one of these big softcover "coffee table" editions of 365 Days of Gratitude every month for the foreseeable future. (I picture it here with two other books just so you can see the sheer size of it.)

Then I got all wrapped up in the new Take Me With You release and its incredible numbers (like #3 and #4 in Kindle). And it's a bit of a distraction.

But July isn't over yet. So let's go ahead and do this right now. I'll collect entries for three days or so and then choose a winner at random on the first of August. If you don't win, don't despair. Read my post about the new "No Losers" seven entry rule.

As always, I ask only that you read a few guidelines below so this giveaway goes smoothly: 

Leave a comment below to be entered. Please DO leave your email address in the comment form. I promise I won't use it for any other purpose but to notify you if you win. Please DON'T leave your email address in the body of your comment unless you want everybody to see it. And remember the "author" in the comment form is the author of the comment, not the book. In other words, you. In each of these giveaways one or more people comment as "Catherine Ryan Hyde" because they see "author" and think it means me. Please use your own name, otherwise I can't enter you, because I'll have no idea who you are!

***One very important addition: If you're reading this blog on Goodreads, please click through to the original post on my website and leave your comment there. Otherwise I'm afraid I'll forget the Goodreads people one of these times when I go to draw names***

Good luck!