Ellyn Oaksmith's Blog - Posts Tagged "reading"

Having just completed a final polish of Knockers I've learned a couple of lessons. Number one: never assume failure. I thought I would dip my toe into the pool of self publishing. Throwing Knockers up on Amazon.com was an experiment. Well, it has been a fantastic experiment and tens of thousands of people agree. Therefore, make sure everything is edited to the best of your ability the first time. Lesson number two: Energy, meaning pacing, smells and scene setting are hugely important. Right away I noticed how I paid attention to those things and it brought Knockers right up to speed. It's something I'm going to carry through to the next book but is easy to forget. Little things create the texture and pull the reader quickly into your world. Lastly, because I have to get back to writing my new book, it's a very good idea to go back and read old work. Painful as it might be - you can learn from your old mistakes and see what you were doing right which you might have forgotten. Every decade brings new experience and insight. I have a very different perspective on life than I did when I wrote Knockers. It was fun to see the more light-hearted side of my writing. Happy reading and writing!

Sometimes, with the best of intentions, writers make a nifty outline, flesh out some funny, moving characters, comes up with some hairpin plot turns and bam, we're off to the races. And then, as mentioned in an earlier blog, you a hit a wall. The wall is known as writer's block. Is it depression, seasonal affect disorder or are you just writing a very ordinary story that's been told a million times? In other words, your plot sucks.

If it's the latter, then let your brain wander. Go running. Lie on the bed and remember that your mother was right: you should have gotten your teaching degree. Avoid cleaning the house. Have long, soulful discussions with your dog. Wander through the cupboards for fun things to eat. Call your long-suffering sister who is sick of talking about your next hairstyle and doesn't mind you talking, as writers are wont to do, about your latest obsession: why your book isn't working.

Then realize that you can't stuff a living, breathing character into a plot that you think is morally correct because sometimes, that flawed character has her own mind. And she's going to think differently that you do. And she's got her own life to live, regardless of what you, the author, would do in your marriage, your life.

So here's to flawed characters, living and real, trying to do their best in a messy world, real or fictional. Sometimes happy endings are about compromise.

Have a great day and if you haven't reviewed Knockers on Amazon and have a moment, please do. I'm trying to reach a 100 reviews and only have 19.

Happy Friday!

I'm going to going out on a limb to add my two cents to the media avalache attending the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy. In case you live under a rock, this is an erotic tale crafted on a fan fiction site for Twilight. The main characters used to be called Bella and Edward but the writer made Edward not a vampire but a sexy rich capitalist with a penchant for sadism. But it's not sadism. Exactly.

Anyhoo, readers across the country have been titillated, scandalized, polarized and dare I say educated about the outer limits of sex. I personally know of one book club that learned a little too much about each other through their 50 Shades of Propriety discussion. Not your typical book club. Amen to that.

I read the first two. Buyer beware, when you start reading, your self control will go out the window. Imagine the book is a large box of Swiss chocolates (or name your vice) that magically appears on a silver tray on your pristine white bed. Just one more chapter turns into twenty. You show up at the breakfast table bleary eyed because well, you just have to find out what the heck is going to happen. She isn't going to.. oh, wait, she is. Holy cow!

Before I give you my opinion, let's just mention that erotica didn't start and end with these 3 books. Anais Nin and Arthur Miller said it far better and with characters that didn't say such ridiculously silly things. That being said, I thought the first 2 books were awfully fun.

In parts, they are so spine-tingingly bad, they are good. Sort of like Blue Lagoon starring Brook Shields. You hated it but you loved it. Flowery prose. A bad boy whose washboard chest is described like a menu item each time he disrobes. Mind you, the author knew exactly what she was doing. She didn't set out to rival Proust or Shakespeake. What she churned out is an at times silly, escapist, fantasy that is good clean fun. Except when it's dirty. Because it is. Very.

So give into the same craven urges that lead you to toss nutrient-free People Magazine into your shopping cart. Summer is here. Have some fun!

Happy Memorial Day and a shout out to Stan who served our country -- Thank you sir!

When I am not feverishly working on my new book, $38,000 -- The Novel, (for those of you rightly getting on my case about the release -- Christmas, depending upon the speed and thoughts of my fearless first readers) I do things like drive my kid to the Justin Bieber Concert and watch Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf on my computer while Justin does his thing and my kids scream themselves silly.

Also, I grocery shop. But never like I did this morning, which was at a grocery store that was going out of business. I knew this place was closing. I'd stopped to get some eggs once and they didn't have any. End of story. Nope.

Today after my morning swim, I wandered, goggle rings circling my eyes, wet-haired and bedraggled, through Albertsons perusing empty shelves for anything of use. I found enough to justify the trip. More importantly, I discovered what people will do for 75% off their grocery bill.

They will skip work, returning again and again like looters until the shelves are stripped bare. They will wait in line with carts loaded with breakfast cereal and canned soup for a long, long time. They will chat about darned near anything to the other shoppers. (Cart loaded with Depends? Good story.) They will rejoice and laugh at their savings.

They will wander the barren aisles under harsh light in a scene reminiscent of a post apocolyptic action movie looking for something they can use and buy and most importantly -- save money on. They will stand in the parking lot behind their SUV loaded to the gills with non perisble food and read their arm-length receipt as if it is the hottest best seller. They saved $300 or more and they want to tell you about it. And they did the same thing yesterday.

What was my biggest savings? A Keurig coffee cup carousel. Would I have bought it if it wasn't 75% off? No. Did I really need four jars of cinammon sticks? No. Was it good clean fun? Absolutely.

Happy October.

The inciting incident (screenplay talk) that kicks off the action in my new book $38,000, is infidelity. When I tell people this they never, of course, jump in with stories about how they have been the victim or perpetrator of infidelity. But they will tell me about their friends and neighbors. One lady told me about a next door neighbor whose wife went on vacation with the children. The husband managed his own little "Stay-cation," complete with his girlfriend from work.

In order to keep things on the lowdown, the husband would go out to her car, parked in the street, with his own gym bag and tuck her little pink overnight bag inside, carrying it inside. Things came to an awkward head when the cheating husband's little dog got out of the yard one morning and made a dash for the neighbor's house, where his little dog buddies live. The neighbor tucked the dog under her arm, wanting to simply sneak the dog back into the yard and avoid anyone, male or female sneaking out of the house on their way to work. Of course the girlfriend was at the back door, half-dressed, looking for the dog. She dashed back in the door and the husband came out. The dog rescuing lady looked at the man knowing that she should have kept her mouth shut. She didn't say much, just a comment about his lovely family. He responded by telling her that he was just taking a little vacation, like his wife. No harm, no foul.

I couldn't have written a better scene. It was both funny and sad and left me wondering what happened later. Yes, I have a lot more stories that people have shared but I'm off to work on my own book.

Happy Election Day!

This afternoon I had a cancellation of an appointment that gave me a brief respite. I seized the opportunity to catch up on some much needed post-holiday housework. I was pushing the table leafs further underneath our bed (isn't that where everyone keeps them?) when I noticed out the window, the huge black pine behind our neighbor's house, swaying in the indigo sky, as though scrubbing the sky clean. At that moment I was thinking of someone I love who is dealing with a health problem and their spouse, who is worried and looking for reassurance. I could hear my daughter sighing over her homework and thought of the homeless encampment down the street, of those men and women trying to keep warm in the frigid rain. It felt as though our house were tilting toward chaos, not dangerously but certainly a far cry from the merriment of last month.

Looking at the tree I was flooded with a sharp change of mood. It was a sense of calm, of peace, of feeling that someone or something was looking after me and everything would be all right as long as I breathed. I stopped doing housework (easy, I know), kneeled and began what I thought would be meditation. Instead, it turned into prayer. I haven't prayed in a long time. Too long.

In my spiritual life God has a funny way of showing up when I am chasing my tail, frittering away my life with worries and cares and reminding me, gently, that I don't have to shoulder the burden alone. At that moment I let go and felt my heart expand, like the Grinch on that snowy hillside. (Trees often have this effect on me.)

In moments like this it seems that God is speaking to me. Egotistical as that might sound it's a whisper, not a shout. What he's saying is that it's all going to work out. I watched Shakespeare in Love again the other night. There is a reoccuring bit where one character asks :"How is this all going to work out. How will it end?" and the other replies "I don't know, it's a mystery."

For me, that's what God wants me to know. It's not up to us to puzzle it out. It's up to us to make it beautiful and enjoy the play. Because if there's one thing I know it's that Shakespeare was right. All the world is a stage and it's not how well we play our parts, it's how hard we try.

Happy New Year!

Today I want to welcome Ellyn Oaksmith to the blog! Thank you Ellyn for taking the time to answer a few questions for us :)

Ellyn - I love how your husband calls romance books "porn for women." What did he think about Shades of Grey? :)

Lily - I believe that Shades of Grey was the book that had he started on the whole 'porn for women' thing when one of my friends significant others decided to open to a random place and read it. The challenge was that no matter what page they open it to, there will be a smutty scene.. But let me tell you Ellyn, he has very few chosen words for Shades of Grey and none of them are great lol.

Here we go:

1. Tell us a little about your recent release?

Adventures with Max and Louise is about a 25 year old girl who gets stuck in the role of caretaker. Like a lot of women Molly assumes the mothering role when her own mother dies and instead of dating and being engaged with life, she stagnates. Even her career is anonymous -- she assumes the identity of Diner X to review restaurants for a Seattle Newspaper and blog but no one knows who she is, least of all, herself. In an effort to move on, she is prompted, by her well-meaning sister, to get plastic surgery to remove some scars from the past. But there is a mix-up in surgery and Molly accidentally gets breast implants. And they change her life.

2. How did you first come up with the inspiration to write The Adventures with Max and Louise?

My inspiration for Max and Louise came while I was driving my old SUV to pick up my preschooler with my baby strapped her car seat in the back. I was tanned and relaxed after a cruise in Mexico (which I hated but it was more relaxing than every day life) and I thought of how good it felt to slip on a dress during the cruise with my fuller figure. I was nursing, so for the second time (my 1st pregnancy was the 1st) I had curves. I thought, "Could I ever have breast implants?" My decision was no, after years of having an athletic, streamlined figure it would be foreign, like having another personality. Of course in real life this doesn't happen to women with implants although some have increased confidence. The characters of Max and Louise popped into my head at that moment. The book didn't write itself but the plot sure
did.

3. Which character did you find easiest to write and why? Do you ever base characters on people you know?

The dad was the easiest because I based him on my dad. My dad is not a Seattle Police officer but he is the calm in the storm, the person you call when you have a flat on the interstate (which my husband did within weeks of meeting me), the kind of dad when you are blathering on about the great science fiction idea you have will stop you and say "That doesn't sound like something you'd write." So yes, I totally do. I have a great family so in some ways, they are all in there. But I don't attach their names or tell them. Maybe I should tell my dad. Anything beautiful and romantic is something my husband would do, if he had time.

4. How did it feel to publish your first book?
Like someone let me into Baskins and Robbins and said, "Go for it. Here's your mixing bowl, Load it up." That really happened to me in high school (no mixing bowl) and my friend probably should have been fired because she was closing the store. And don't tell my kids because that was stealing.

5. What inspired you to become an author?

I really had no choice. It's like breathing. A therapist once told me that when I went through a hard time that I'd received a gift. I "acted in" instead of acting "out" like some other people who ended up in jail. I went inward and turned things around until they made sense to me. I do that every day. That, my family and my faith in God saves me every minute of every day.

6. Do your characters ever try to take over your writing?

Do they ever. I know it sounds really weird to people who haven't experienced this but it's the same feeling that a little kid has when the the devil on their shoulder says, "Steal that candy bar. It'll taste good and no one will ever see." This person speaks to you and opens a door and if that voice is interesting, you open the door. If that person has a lot to say and is part of this family for a reason, you go a little further. Sometimes it leads to a dead end and you feel like you've wasted time. But this lady named Faye showed up in my mind and changed the plot and theme and direction of my new book, Divine Moves. She is a God-fearing, no-nonsense, says what's on her mind kind of gal. I want to be more like her.

7. What is the current book you are reading or the last book you have read?

I am reading (I had to go look it up but I love it) State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. Anything that woman writes is magic. And Maya Angelou is my hero too. Both of them are old souls who have so much to share, so much wisdom. I feel like their wise-cracking younger sister but that is incredibly presumptuous of me. I wish.

8. How would you describe your writing style?

What I try for is humor laced with sadness. I've tried writing books that didn't have any humor. They were awful. I come from a family that tells jokes and laughs in the most hideously inappropriate places. My aunt told me hilarious story at her own husband's funeral. It was about the corpse and how they accidentally gave it a tan and put on sunglasses because there was a miscommunication with the funeral director. Yesterday I was given a stranger's medication at the pharmacy and went ahead and swallowed it before I looked at the bottle. This is my life. Some parts are really sad but if you don't laugh, you're lost.

9. Why did you choose the genre you write and what do you like about it?

Okay, I keep jumping ahead to the next question accidentally. I feel like this genre chose me. I am that girl that gets into the wrong rental car while on honeymoon and the driver, who is 20 years older than I am is really pretty happy that this young blond is sitting next to him. And my husband is in the identical white car behind us wondering if he should laugh or come get me. Stuff like this happens to me almost every day. I move a little too fast in life sometimes. My husband told me on our 17th Anniversary that being married to me is great but "weird." I worked on a fishing boat, went to Smith college. Worked as a screenwriter and met gobs of famous people. My life is a mash up of extreme highs and lows. I could really use some normality. Still waiting for it.

10. What do you ultimately hope people get out of your books?

Honestly, this might sound lightweight because I do cover some heavy themes, particularly in my new book but I really just want to entertain people. I want to help them relax and unwind and forget about the bills, in-laws, exams, whatever it is that drives them into the arms of a book. I want my book to be their excellent vacation. That's really it. They can change their own lives and control their own destiny. I just want to be the groovy soundtrack that they listen to along the way. That would be ideal.

Thank you so much for your time and interest. Happy Reading!

Ellyn Oaksmith

Today I'm very lucky to be interviewing the talented Ellyn Oaksmith about her new release Adventures with Max and Louise! So tell us a bit about your story-
What was your inspiration for this story?

I have always been very "streamlined" physically (think cup size), so when I was nursing my 7 months old, and was getting dressed up, I felt really different. And I thought "Could I ever have breast implants?" I really did think about it for a while but then decided no, it would be like being another, sexier person, who I couldn't really identify with. I am one of those frenetic, sometimes awkward people always trying to do 10 things at once, unless I am writing, which really, really focuses me. But also the book is about being stuck, which I was in my 20's, when I was a screenwriter. I ended up working on a fishing boat as a cook in Alaska, which is what re-set my life. That was pretty radical but then again so is Molly's story.

Do you see a little bit of yourself in any of your characters?
Yes, since chose to wrote Molly in the first person and tell the story from her point of view, I really had to identify with her story. My 20's were rewarding and fun but also very trying. If it weren't for my family it would have been much, much harder to center myself. I left LA and came to my family in Seattle and my parents didn't ask me why I left, they just took me in and made me amazing meals and waited for me to ask for help. Which I did. And they gave it unquestioningly and with great generosity. So the sense of family in the story is personal.

About how long did it take you to write the story?
Probably all told 2 years but there were a lot of different versions. I had a hard time figuring out the best point to jump into the story. I could have saved a lot of time if I knew the beginning earlier but I suppose all that time I was building the characters up so it worked out fine. My goal now is to write a book a year. We'll see what happens.

Did you have any trouble writing it at all?
Ha! Depends on the hour, day or second. When things are clicking I am the happiest person on the planet. When I am stuck, I am awful to live with. I try not to let it show and throw a lot of energy into being a good mother and wife but I can't fool my family. I wrote a blog about it. It's basically a love letter to my family.http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...

Tell us a little bit about you as a writer-
Do you have any kind of writing schedule?

Absolutely. 10-2 every day. Even if I am sitting there, picking my cuticles and talking to the dog, I am at my desk, trying.

What is your writing environment like?
My huge desk, a gift from my parents, and a lamp. Some reference books. Very simple. If I had anything at all interesting within my reach, it wouldn't work. I do not see how JK Rowling wrote in a cafe. She has amazing discipline. Obviously.

And what would your ideal writing environment be like?
The same. I am a creature of habit.

If you’re ever stuck for an idea, how do you go about finding inspiration?
I go through many, many ideas and vet them out before I write. If a plot isn't working, I never abandon it (unless it's not my genre, which is always a bad idea) because I do many, many plot outlines before I write. And sometimes even when I am reworking a section that doesn't flow, I'll do another outline. But if I am stuck within the plot, like I was in my new book, Divine Moves, I usually find myself getting very tired spinning my wheels trying to fix it. When I relax, and get away from it, I think clearly. Vacations work wonders. Or a walk.

Did you always want to be a writer?
Since 6th grade.

What’s the first thing you can remember writing?
Back to 6th grade. Mrs. Holcomb said "Okay class, now I am going to read a story that is a good example of setting up the scene and the feeling of the story for us." And she read my story about an alley cat who was lost and scared. I was half asleep and when I heard, "Ellyn Oaksmith" I just about fell out of my chair. Someone thought I'd written something good. I will never, ever forget it.

Do you have any advice for new writers?
Lillian Hellman wrote something I will never forget. "If you want learn about writing, don't listen to other writers." I think her point is funny but also, it's about living your life very aware of other people, their foibles and inner grace, finding your own personal voice and even if no one ever publishes you, don't give up. It's your journey. If you are enjoying the process then that's the important part. You have to enjoy writing.

Tell us a little bit about you as a person-
How do you spend your time when you’re not writing?

Cooking, walking in the woods. Reading, reading and more reading. I love swimming laps when I can get to the pool. I ski with my kids too. Right now I have a cake cooling and a quiche in the oven. My parents are coming over for lunch. (I'm not writing because I just delivered my new book to my proofreaders. Yipeee!!!)

What’s the best way for you to unwind if you’ve had a hard day?
Cooking. I love chopping, folding, figuring out what works with what. I'm like my dad that way. He used to call my mom and tell her he was stopping at the store on his way home from work. She's a good cook too. My husband says that we are the only people he knows who will talk about meals we've eaten while we're eating. It seems perfectly normal to me.

What are you currently reading?

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. Very interesting. She's such a good writer.

What was the last thing you watched?
A DVR'd Downtown Abbey. And a wonderfully sad/funny old movie directed by Steven Soderburgh called King of the Hill. Loved it. Sadly you can only see it streamed on Netflix.

What, to you, would be a perfect day?
I'll go with a winter theme since it's February. A lovely dinner that I woke up and stuffed into the crockpot right before a swim or a walk with my dog. A couple hours reading. My kids are around but they don't ask me for a single thing and want to hang out with me for a couple hours. Dinner with my family. Early to bed. Ideal.

If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go, and why?
India. I have been a huge reader of Indian literature for a long time. A Fine Balance is one of my favorite books and Salman Rushdie is, well, he's Salman Rushdie. Midnight's Children is one of the most unforgettable books I've ever read. So I have this vision of the country through many, many writers' eyes, both English and Indian. One of my dearest friends, who designed my website, is Indian and we plan on going once our children are older. I really hope it happens. She's so much fun.

And finally where can my readers find you?
EllynOaksmith.com but I have a lot of fun posting on Facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/EllynOaksmith and Twitter.https://twitter.com/EllynOaksmith Facebook is really interesting for me because I've gotten to know readers over the last year, through their comments and likes. It's so cool to have that interaction. I love it. Twitter is more for jokes, which of course, I love. And I blog on Goodreads.com when I have time.

Thanks for your time and enjoy reading! I really appreciate your interest in Adventures With Max and Louise.

Women balance many roles. I know men do this as well, this isn't a slam against men, but hey, I'm a woman. I try to write about what I know. In addition to trying to figure out how much to let the house go to hell in pursuit of grabbing this moment while my first book comes out, I also have to balance how much to work on my new book.

Writing a new book is like dating a new guy. It's fresh, new and easy. No one has read it (although a couple people have read the first draft) and it's simple to fall into the warm embrace of the book that is better -- because it's not out there in the world being knocked around.

Adventures with Max and Louise is out surfing on the wild waves of readers' imaginations, thoughts and caprices. Do I run around trying to help people understand that Adventures is a comedy but it has serious undertones? That's it's a romance but it's not one of the hot sexy stranger type; more on the ridiculous, fumbling scale of sex scenes with some tender moments thrown in throughout?

As usual, the answer is one that my youngest daughter accuses me of using anytime I'm interviewed. The old "Yes and no."

Any working mother, or stay at home mom or daughter/wife/grandmother with more than one thing going on her life knows that life is about finding that tricky balance that enables you to make everyone feel that you are paying attention. But your first obligation is to yourself. Which is what Adventures with Max and Louise is about: taking care of yourself first.

It's not easy. It requires constant self monitoring and many, many deep breaths. And we can all do it. Sometimes.

Writing gives back to me more than I put in. So I'm off to work on my new book.

Happy Reading!

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Also, I am going to do a giveway next week so keep an eye out for Adventures on the freebie list!

Thinking about running a contest with 1) worst date stories 2) Most awkward kiss stories 3) Funniest wedding stories.

Which one would you rather share or tell?