Erika Robuck's Blog, page 22
July 14, 2012
Review: THE LADY OF THE RIVERS
THE LADY OF THE RIVERS by Philippa Gregory was released in April in paperback, and is 435 pages. I was sent a copy for review from Touchstone. As I turned the last page of the book, I was left with the same feeling I always get when I finish one of Gregory’s novels: I wanted more.
THE LADY OF THE RIVERS is the story of Jacquetta, the Duchess of Bedford, who readers first met in Gregory’s novel, THE WHITE QUEEN. Jacquetta is the mother of Elizabeth Woodville, the beautiful widow who captured King Edward IV’s heart, and who was rumored to have descended from the water goddess Melusina.
When THE LADY OF THE RIVERS begins, Jacquetta is a young girl, betrothed to the Duke of Bedford. He marries her for her powers of foresight, and commands that she tell him the future of the land. After a short time, Jacquetta is widowed, and falls in love with the duke’s brave and honorable squire, Richard Woodville. After their marriage they serve King Henry VI and his scheming, ambitious queen, Margaret of Anjou.
Though Jacquetta is blessed with a loving marriage and many children, her life and that of her husband are forever in turmoil as the cousins’ War of the Roses rages on. As the years pass, Jacquetta and Richard are at the center of the terrible battles that plague the country. From trials against accused witches, to illicit affairs, to conflicts that cover the land and water from England to France, THE LADY OF THE RIVERS presents a fascinating look at Medieval history in the years leading up to the Tudor reign.
Philippa Gregory is a true force in historical fiction. Her grasp of period detail and setting are unmatched, and her ability to enliven the forgotten women of history and give them the stage as puppet-masters, villains, victims, and bystanders is extraordinary. After more than fifteen novels on the rich tapestry of Medieval history, each of Gregory’s protagonists is as unique and fully imagined as the one before.
If you are a fan of Gregory’s previous novels, THE LADY OF THE RIVERS will not disappoint. No one does historical love and war like Philippa Gregory.
June 18, 2012
Review: MAINE
“They passed the entrance twice and had to turn around. But on the third try, they turned at what hardly seemed like a fork. Alice gasped. The road was from a fairy tale, a long stretch of sand inside a tunnel of lush pine trees. When they reached the end, there was the ocean, sparkling in the sun, dark blue against a small sandy beach, which was nestled between two long stretches of rocky coast. ‘Welcome home,’ Daniel said.”
J. Courtney Sullivan, MAINE
MAINE, by J. Courtney Sullivan, was published in hardcover in June of 2011, and just came out in paperback. Both editions have hit the New York Times Bestsellers list, and the novel was named a Best Book of the Year by Time magazine. I had intended to read it while at the beach later this summer, but picked it up recently to read a chapter. Five days later, I finished the book in tears, and missed the characters who I’d gotten to know and love in spite of their flaws.
MAINE is the story of three generations of a dysfunctional Irish Catholic family and the beach house that becomes the touch point and meeting place for them throughout the years. When the novel begins, Alice–the matriarch of the family and one of the point of view characters–is cleaning out the house because she has secretly willed it and the land to the Catholic Church upon her death. Her rationale for keeping it from her children is that she thinks that two of the three of them stay as far away from her as they can, and the other only seems interested in the property for material reasons. As she travels through the rooms and prepares for the staggered summer arrivals of her children and grandchildren, Alice reflects on her long, often painful life, its joys and tragedies, and what she has become.
One of her granddaughters, Maggie, starts the next section. She is in a hollow relationship with a selfish man, and finds out that she’s pregnant. As she agonizes over whether or not to tell her boyfriend (who has decided he doesn’t want to live with her after all) about the baby, she decides to head to Maine to the beach house to reconnect with herself and her family.
The third point of view character is Kathleen, Maggie’s mother and Alice’s daughter. Kathleen has been sober for years and raises earthworms on a farm in California with her ex-hippie boyfriend, Arlo. She has rebelled against Alice’s glamour, religion, and tradition in every way, but through her daughter finds that she’s not as different from her mother as she’d like to believe.
The final voice in the book is that of Alice’s daughter-in-law, Ann Marie, the perfect New England housewife, mother, and grandmother. As she tries to keep the peace in the family while finding meaning in her own life, a secret crush threatens to undo her.
Sullivan’s portrayal of these flawed women is nothing short of brilliant. Her ability to capture the interior lives of such different characters with such honestly, paced perfectly within layers of story that span many time periods, makes for a truly rich novel. The women experience growth and change without tidy resolution, but the ending is immensely satisfying.
As a woman from a large Irish Catholic family (we’ll leave out ‘dysfunctional’ so I don’t get myself into trouble) I identified with the drama, the dynamics, and the politics of family relationships. Most of all, however, I connected with the deep current of love that keeps us coming back to those who sometimes hurt us the most.
If you enjoy novels of multigenerational family drama, you won’t find one better than MAINE. With characters real enough to step off the pages, and a beach setting vivid enough to put sand between your toes, MAINE deserves every ounce of praise I’ve read for it. I give MAINE my highest recommendation.
June 11, 2012
Review: THE CHAPERONE
“Louise leaned against her window. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright. No matter how she shifted in the window’s light, it seemed to love her face, its angles and its softness, her pale skin framed by the black hair. Cora stared at her grimly. Louise could afford to laugh. She was the beautiful daughter of indulging parents. She believed she was above everyone. Rules didn’t apply to her.” Laura Moriarty, THE CHAPERONE
THE CHAPERONE by Laura Moriarty was published on June 5th and is 384 pages. I won a copy of the book through a Shelf Awareness promotion, and I was eager to read it because of all of the buzz I’d heard. I devoured it in three days.
The book begins in the summer of 1922, when the respectable, thirty-six-year-old Cora Carlisle takes a position as a chaperone to fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks, as she auditions for a dance company in New York. Louise may be young, but with her black bob, red lips, and provocative ways, she is much more worldly than her older companion.
Cora is a complicated woman with a past full of secrets, and she has her own motivations for applying to travel with Louise to New York. When they arrive, Cora finds her job much harder than she imagined. Trying to guide and keep track of her young charge while making discoveries about herself and her past becomes overwhelming, and she nearly loses control on all fronts.
THE CHAPERONE is a brilliant period piece with a captivating plot and cast of characters. Moriarty weaves Cora’s past expertly into her present, and gradually reveals a total picture of Cora, while liberating her from convention. As the title implies, THE CHAPERONE is more about Cora than it is about the young actress, though Louise’s rise and fall are just as fascinatingly portrayed.
Most of the action takes place during the summer of 1922, but the last third of the novel deals with the consequences of that time and the saga of the rest of the lives of Cora and Louise, showing that mere months in our lives can irrevocably change the course of the future.
If you enjoy period novels set in the twenties or strong family drama, you will love THE CHAPERONE. It is one of USA Today’s Hot Fiction Summer Picks and will be made into a motion picture starring Elizabeth McGovern of Downton Abbey. I can’t wait!
June 9, 2012
Review: THE HOUSE OF VELVET AND GLASS
“The girl was alone, but the windows reflected a dozen different angles of the back of her head and tops of her shoulders, as if she were guarded by an army of versions of herself, each one slightly different from the last.” Katherine Howe, THE HOUSE OF VELVET AND GLASS
THE HOUSE OF VELVET AND GLASS, by Katherine Howe, was published in April and is 432 pages. The publisher, Hyperion/Voice, sent me an advanced reading edition of the book. I loved Howe’s last novel, THE PHYSICK BOOK OF DELIVERANCE DANE, so I was really looking forward to this novel.
The story begins on the night of the Titanic’s sinking, and moves back and forth in time from the late 1800s in China to the early twentieth century in Boston. A wealthy mother and daughter die on the Titanic, leaving behind a fractured, grieving, dysfunctional family full of shocking secrets.
When we first meet Sybil Allston, a surviving daughter/sister, she is at a séance with other relatives of Titanic victims, hoping to connect with her dead mother and sister. She has a supernatural experience that both soothes her from her contact with the dead, and opens up a dark world of forbidden explorations and extra-normal experiences.
Her father, Lan, is an aged seaman with tremors and a haunted past, who loves his family, but who is often emotionally inaccessible to them. He and Sybil share a special bond because of their sensibility, and the way they seem to understand each other’s minds without lengthy conversation.
Sybil’s brother, Harlan, is a college drop out and drunk who ends up hospitalized after welching on a gambling debt. His near death experience turns up a woman of questionable reputation named Dovie, who the Allston’s take in to their house while Harlan recovers, and whose influence is not entirely positive.
The characters in THE HOUSE OF VELVET AND GLASS are clearly illustrated, realistic, and fascinating, as are their secrets, addictions, and the way their stories are woven together. From the final moments of the Titanic, to the opium dens of China and Boston, to the parlors of seers, THE HOUSE OF VELVET AND GLASS embroiders a rich text every bit as intriguing as its title. The multiple time periods and plot twists kept me reading late into the night, and I gasped aloud more than once when secrets were revealed.
If you enjoy literary mysteries with Poe-like settings and unique characters, you will love THE HOUSE OF VELVET AND GLASS.
June 8, 2012
Book Trailer in Key West
You must be forewarned: this is going to be a gushing, exclamation point filled post, but that is what a moving experience it was for me in Key West last week, filming the book trailer for HEMINGWAY’S GIRL.
I must start by publicly acknowledging God and the huge blessings he pours over me on a daily basis, and my family for taking such good care of my boys while I was away. I also need to thank my publisher, NAL/Penguin, for producing this book trailer, and the incredible husband and wife team, David and Kathryn Seay, for their enthusiasm, kindness, and professionalism. They made me feel so comfortable from our first greeting, and put me entirely at ease.
When my husband and I arrived at The Pier House Resort in Key West–travel-weary and soaked from the rain–we were greeted by a surprise that left us speechless. The Pier House’s Catherine Smiley sent us to The Hemingway Suite overlooking the Gulf, and even had fruit and refreshments waiting for us! We were able to use the gorgeous balcony for sunset and water footage. I am overwhelmed by the generosity and hospitality of The Pier House.
When we arrived at the Hemingway House on Thursday morning, Dave Gonzalez, the events coordinator, graciously allowed us to film all throughout the house and grounds, but most importantly, in Hemingway’s Writing Studio.
I’ve only ever seen the studio from the other side of a locked gate. I don’t have to tell you what it meant to me to walk into the writing space where Hemingway typed the ending of A FAREWELL TO ARMS, GREEN HILLS OF AFRICA, and countless other stories. I was able to sit at his writing desk with his writing materials, and I am still trying to process the experience.
The trailer for HEMINGWAY’S GIRL will be ready later this summer, and I can’t wait to see it and share it with all of you. David and Kathryn were lovely to work with, and Dave Gonzalez, the tour guides, and staff of the Hemingway House and bookstore were so welcoming. I can’t wait to see them when I return.
Last, but not least, I want to thank those of you who cheered me along the way. I am overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of my family and friends (online and off) who continuously support me throughout this process.
I’m glowing with gratitude.
May 20, 2012
Review: The River Witch
“I hadn’t heard the sound since we’d left, years before when I was just a little girl. Back then I’d been terrified of it, and loved it just the same, the power of a sonorous layering of voices, the steady climb and crescendo of a miraculous human instrument. Now, somehow everything that had happened made me remember and obsess.”
Kimberly Brock, THE RIVER WITCH
THE RIVER WITCH, by Kimberly Brock, was published in April of this year and is 246 pages. I “met” Kimberly on Twitter, and since I’ve been on a southern reading kick, I bought her book. Brock swept me away to Manny’s Island, Georgia every time I picked up the novel, and left me longing to return when I had to put it down.
When a car crash ends ballerina Roslyn Byrne’s career and causes a miscarriage of her baby, she is broken in body and in spirit. At the urging of her mother, she travels to the Sea Isles of Georgia for escape and healing. It is on Manny’s Island that Roslyn learns that sometimes healing hurts, but that suffering can bring about more beauty and blessing than we can ever anticipate.
A superstitious local woman, a precocious ten-year-old girl named Damascus, and her elusive and troubled father, Urey, are just a few of the island’s inhabitants with whom Roslyn becomes entangled. While the locals speculate on why so many alligators have arrived at the same time as this out of towner, Roslyn makes her home in the swamps, watching over a motherless girl who thinks a crop of pumpkins will bring her a special kind of magic.
While the families unravel around her, Roslyn finds herself getting more and more lost in her own past, hearing the sweet sounds of her grandmother’s Sacred Harp singers on the breeze and in her heart. The music comes again and again throughout the book, acting as a refrain in a song reminding Roslyn of the depths of the healing she must seek in order to begin her life again.
THE RIVER WITCH is a delight from beginning to end. I could almost hear Brock’s southern accent reading the story in my ear, and her distinct style brought much color to the book. The elements of setting, magic, alligators, and pumpkins were unique, and the plot twists kept me turning pages.
As I told Kimberly, THE RIVER WITCH is a book you press to your heart and sigh when you finish because of its tender beauty and power. If you enjoy heartwarming southern stories of healing and renewal, you’ll love THE RIVER WITCH.
May 7, 2012
Review: A Land More Kind Than Home
“My only memory of my mama is a wispy shadow thrown against the cabin wall by candlelight, and in my mind my daddy is a black shadow blotting out the sun in a cleared field. But she brought them back to me and made sure I understood the lives that had come before my own.”
Wiley Cash, A LAND MORE KIND THAN HOME
A LAND MORE KIND THAN HOME was published in April and is 320 pages. I heard about the book because Wiley and I are in a writer’s group called Book Pregnant, and I was intrigued by the premise and my love of Southern fiction. This novel was so powerful that I have no doubt it will be on my top ten list for 2012. As I told Wiley, his book broke my heart and put it back together.
Set about thirty years ago in western North Carolina, A LAND MORE KIND THAN HOME is the story of two brothers, their bond, and how innocent, childhood snooping can lead to the most devastating consequences.
Told from three distinct points of view, the novel starts with the foreboding observations of the town midwife, Adelaide Lyle, about the sinister preacher, Carson Chambliss, who came to town out of nowhere, blacked out the church windows with newspapers, and started holding secret services involving faux healings, snakes, and near hysteria.
Following Adelaide is Jess Hall–a nine-year-old boy who adores his older, mute brother, Stump, and who gets himself into the usual amount of trouble for a boy his age. It is through his innocent musings and instinct for trouble that the tension begins to build.
The third narrative voice is that of Clem Barefield, the Sheriff of Madison County. He’s a man worn from a lifetime of grief and trouble, but one who exudes a better kind of empathy for it. His remembrances of Jess’s father as a young man, and his painful relationship with the entire Hall family are what ultimately force the novel to its terrible climax.
While reading A LAND MORE KIND THAN HOME I felt echoes of Faulkner and Tennessee Williams, but Cash has his own style. Like other Southern novels, place looms heavy as a character, and metaphor through physical objects plays out brilliantly. The story can be read for the physical action or pulled apart for the layers. What results is a true symphony of plot, theme, and character.
Make no mistake, this novel is devastating, but Cash is able to redeem his characters in the most beautiful and fitting conclusion. A LAND MORE KIND THAN HOME is well worth your time and emotion. It is one of the best novels I’ve yet read this year, and I won’t ever forget it. I give A LAND MORE KIND THAN HOME my highest recommendation.
April 30, 2012
Interview: Kristina McMorris on Launching Your Book
Kristina McMorris is one of my favorite authors and is also one of the most generous writers I know. Her novels LETTERS FROM HOME and BRIDGE OF SCARLET LEAVES have earned her much critical acclaim and thousands of loyal readers. Her advice and encouragement have helped me immeasurably through my forthcoming book launch, so I asked her to stop by and share her wisdom with others. Whether you are a new writer or a veteran, McMorris’ insights will inspire you.
Q: BRIDGE OF SCARLET LEAVES was published in February with many excellent reviews. How has this release differed from the release of your first novel, LETTERS FROM HOME?
It’s definitely been a nice advantage, knowing more of what to expect this time around. I suppose you could say it’s much like preparing your very first Thanksgiving dinner. The first time can be overwhelming as you try to multi-task and experiment with recipes you’ve tasted but never cooked yourself, yet upon completion comes an incredible sense of accomplishment; then the next Thanksgiving, though the milestone isn’t at remarkable, you understand what works and what doesn’t, and where you should place your greatest focus. (Hmm…I’m suddenly craving candied yams and creamed corn casserole!)
Q: Now that you are a seasoned publishing veteran, is there anything you would have done differently with the launch of the first book?
Ack, that description makes me feel so old. Ha! Looking back, I think I would have spread out some of my promotional efforts, rather than cramming so much into the first few weeks of the release; and what I mean by that is determining which events and activities could have waited a week or a month or more. With LETTERS FROM HOME, both my US and UK launch happened simultaneously, so I should have taken this into consideration when I agreed to do three blog visits per day, for example, or to guest speak at a teacher friend’s high school English class—a great experience, mind you, but probably not so pressing that I needed to squeeze it into that first month, when sleep hours were nearly nonexistent.
Q: What is the single most important piece of advice you’d give to debut authors as they prepare to launch their novels?
You, alone, are your book’s best and strongest advocate. Start planning early, stay organized (an advantage for both current and future releases), get creative (so much today can be done online and on a limited budget), and don’t forget that the most important promotions you do are not as much for as to your own pub house. That’s where the buzz begins. If you’re not excited about the release, displaying clear potential for your book’s success, how can you expect anyone else to be?
Q: With the ever-changing landscape of publishing, many debut and midlist authors will have to be their own best advocates. If their publishers are unable to provide large marketing budgets, where do you recommend that authors make their biggest investments of resources?
Online promo is wonderful, particularly when it’s free—blog posts, interviews, reviews, Goodreads giveaways, etc. Speaking engagements can also be very effective in spreading word, including outreach to non-literary sites and organizations that share your target audience. For example, for LETTERS FROM HOME, I partnered with websites that promoted pen pals and the art of letter writing, and together we ran giveaways of fancy stationery baskets.
For BRIDGE OF SCARLET LEAVES, I connected with museums, universities, Asian cultural groups and historical societies. I also joined forces with other WWII authors and organized a contest in which the winning book club won a Skype party with us, plus a prize box filled with copies of our books and WWII goodies. And, of course, local media can be a great source of free promotion. Just do your best to think outside of the box, brainstorm how you can tap into an applicable already-established audience, and, most of all, don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. The worst anyone can say is no.
Q: What do you enjoy most about book promotion? Least?
As a former event planner, I absolutely love organizing large launch events—from the media pitches to invitation outreach to creative itineraries. And I absolutely love the social aspect, especially befriending fellow authors and visiting book clubs.
What I enjoy the least is the travel. As a married mother of two young boys, I hate being away too long! (Granted, by the time our kids hit their teenage years, my view on that might change drastically.)
Q: I loved your two novels so much that I can’t wait to read more. What is your next project?
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed them, Erika. I can’t wait to share more stories with you!
As for my next projects… I’m happy to report that my novella, The Christmas Collector, will be published this coming November by Kensington Books in a holiday anthology headlined by New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels. (Very exciting!) After that, I have two more two women’s fiction novels under contract with my publisher, the first of which I’m working on right now, titled Through Memory’s Gate. I’m eager to share more details soon!
* * *
Here is the trailer for BRIDGE OF SCARLET LEAVES:
“[Bridge of Scarlet Leaves] gracefully blossoms through swift prose and rich characters…this gripping story about two ‘brothers’ in arms and a young woman caught in between them hits all the right chords.”
– Publishers Weekly
“A sweeping yet intimate novel that will please both romantics and lovers of American history.”
– Kirkus Reviews
April 29, 2012
Book Review: AT THE MERCY OF THE QUEEN
AT THE MERCY OF THE QUEEN by Anne Clinard Barnhill was published in January of this year and is 464 pages. I heard about Anne from the writers’ group, Book Pregnant, and because I love Anne Boleyn stories, I bought the novel. I am delighted that I did.
Set during the years of King Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, AT THE MERCY OF THE QUEEN provides a fresh take on an oft told story. The protagonist of the novel is the queen’s cousin, Lady Margaret Shelton, and it is through her eyes that we watch the rise and fall of the queen and those around her. Margaret’s story of forbidden love and arranged marriage is front and center with the drama of Henry and Anne in the background, but it is when the stories become inevitably bound together that the tension renders the novel riveting.
Barnhill’s attention to period detail and her command of the language and customs of the era mark her as a true force in historical fiction. If you love novels of Tudor England, you simply must read AT THE MERCY OF THE QUEEN.
April 18, 2012
Review: The Shell Seekers
THE SHELL SEEKERS by Rosamunde Pilcher was published1987 and is 530 pages. One of my dear writing partners, Jennifer Lyn King, recommended it to me several times, and I found it at my local library. The librarian at checkout “Ooohed” when I picked it up, and after having finished it, I’ll have to agree.
Mostly set in Cornwall and London in the 1980s and during the second World War, THE SHELL SEEKERS is the story of the loves, heartbreaks, and children of Penelope Keeling, and the canvas, painted by her famous father, that connects three generations through time and place.
When the novel begins, Penelope has suffered a small heart attack, and her three grown children respond in practical and selfish ways. Smart business woman, Olivia, handles the difficulty with the ease of a corporate transaction, while her siblings Nancy and Noel try to persuade their mother to sell her father’s famous paintings under the guise of ensuring Penelope’s well being and care.
Penelope is no fool, however, and she gracefully handles her children while making her own plans. Amidst remembrance and a stubborn will to persist, Penelope continues to live her life as she always has–on her own terms–and what results from her choices blooms as radiantly as her beautiful gardens.
From the open, Bohemian household in which Penelope was raised, to her painfully empty marriage, to the sweetness of young love and second chances, THE SHELL SEEKERS weaves together heartbreak and joy, conflict and peace, and devastation and elation so authentically that it feels as if the Keeling family truly exists.
I am so grateful to Jennifer for recommending this moving family saga to me, and I must recommend it to you. If you are a fan of novels in the style of THE THORN BIRDS, I highly suggest you read THE SHELL SEEKERS.
