Heather Duffy Stone's Blog, page 3

Sequels... not really.

I received an email from a reader this weekend. She said some nice things about my book, asked me what I was working on, and then said very plainly that she hoped it was a sequel.

I've said this a few times, but when I started This Is What I Want to Tell You, it was a very different novel about the twins' mother and her love affair with their father. I'm not going to write a sequel because I'm not yet sure where the characters went. They have to grow up and I want them to do so in the imaginations of the readers. I love where I left Nadio and Noelle, poised in this uncertainty, and while I miss being with them, I think I've told their stories as fully as I can.

Their mother, however, I am still working with. Her story is so full in my mind. I know who she is and where her affair led. I also think it is interesting that she was 17 when she met the twins' father, just a little bit older than they are. Her story at their age is one I might tell. It's certainly not a sequel, not really a prequel, but a story that is linked. I wonder if it would take away from their story, though. Lace as a teenager is a very different person and I want readers of This Is What I Want to Tell You to always see her as mother to the twins.

I'm not sure, but I'm intrigued.

Things I am looking forward to

There are about a million things I'm looking forward to... summer vacation, west coast road trip, 4th of July in Vermont, Chloe's third birthday, sharing What he Left Behind with Eliot and Marie (my favorite new writerfriends, more on this later), reading reader reviews of This Is What I Want to Tell You (my favorite kind of reviews)... but mostly. Right now. I cannot wait to go here.



I have a love affair with Rome... it's a complicated kind, the best and worst days, the saddest and fullest but I am so full of the memory of that city and the people I knew there... Kate and Branch gave me my first look at Rome, from their courtyard apartment to old Bridge Gelato, the view of Trastevere... even just the winding streets around Piazza Navona



and the best trips to Santorini and Siena, Todi to Cairo



and bless them they chose this city to get married and bring us all back together... H sent me a quote from Andre Aciman today that says it all...

"One always longs for the other home but home, as one learns soon enough, is a place where one imagines or remembers other homes."

Two weeks.

Neesha.

I have done a lot of these debut author interviews, and I will do them all year... but this one (belated though it is) is especially dear to me. See, publishng a book is a crazy thing. It's scary and disappointing and thrilling and confusing... so many emotions and ideas come along with it. For me, one of the amazing things has been the people I've met along this journey. And Neesha is one. From the first conversation over black coffee and vegan scramble, to a sweltering day at the Brooklyn Festival of Books, to a workshop on Healthy Teen relationships, Neesha has been a source of support, humour and guidance. She is a beautiful writer with a fierce committment to justice and truth. She's a mother of two amazing girls. She is the kind of friend we are lucky to find... perhaps most important, though, her book, Shine, Coconut Moon, is a must read. The narrator, Sam, struggles with family, identity, friendship, love, prejudice in ways that are honest and absolutely unique and real. 'The same 5 Questions' for Neesha Meminger.



1. You mean my inspiration? Hmmm...I'd have to say it's watching documentaries and films that stir me up and make me want to create, to be part of the energy out there that's helping shape us as a global community. And I love difference -- I thrive on difference, so I look for things that are unusual, unique, whispered, spoken in hushed tones, or generally off the beaten path. And I guess they fuel me to create things that are also about breaking silence, breaking barriers, and creating change.

2. The Joshua Tree, by U2. Particularly the songs Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, and Where the Streets Have No Name.

3. Sunlit, quiet, nature outside, preferably a view of a body of water, large wooden desk, kitchen close.

4. Molly is Sam's best friend in SHINE. I loved writing Molly because she was kind of a synthesis of all my best friends in high school. She's spunky, fun, warm, loyal, and has her heart in the right place.

5. Eat some yummy food, spend time with my kids and Hollis, and somewhere in the day I will take a few moments to close my eyes and just stop. Savor the moment. Breathe it all in -- this first novel going out into the world. A moment that will never happen again.

Buy Neesha's book. And visit her here.

Breathing... you should read it.

Cheryl Renee Herbsman is a fellow debut author. She wrote a love story of the sweetest kind-- its inspired by her own. Her characters, Savannah and Jackson, are the kind that stay with you, the kind that you envy and believe in. You can learn more about Cheryl here and buy her book here. And you should, you really should. Reading it is that kind of dream state nostalgia that the best books are made of. For Cheryl, the same 5 questions...

1. I usually have peanut butter and jelly on an english muffin for breakfast. Then I don't eat until I'm done writing. Chocolate is usually necessary at that point :)

2. I think there are two songs by Taylor Swift that work together here: Love Story and A Place In This World.

3. I have this image in my head of a deserted, gorgeous beach with a huge bed in the sand where I write. But the truth is I get too distraced outdoors. I write on my bed (in my bedroom) with candles and incense burning and an inspirational object, picture, or quote nearby.

4. All my characters seem to come to life on their own. I don't plan them. Jackson appeared on the beach in one of the earliest scenes. I got a sense just from "seeing" him that he was a good guy. Then his character unfolded with the story. Parts of him are inspired by husband. I think we all deserve a Jackson :D

5. By the time this is posted, I will know the answer to this question. At the moment, I'm still in shock over the whole idea. I'll definitely celebrate with my family and have a giveaway on my blog. Other than that, I don't know yet!