K.E. Garvey's Blog, page 8
August 17, 2015
Ethan Frome… by Edith Wharton
So, today I picked up a book I’d read many years ago. So long really that I remembered very little of it.
Ethan Frome
Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome is a novella at 102 pages. The writing is tight and concise, the characters are rich and one of the things I like best, the book is light on description. I appreciate the broad strokes laid out for me, such as race, anything unique that would not come to light if not for the author’s inclusion, but I prefer to paint my own mental picture of the finer details. Let’s face it, unless the heroine’s eyes are colored like a rainbow, that detail really isn’t important and I will imagine her the way I think she looks, not the way the author tells me. *Readers aren’t stupid!
Among contemporary writers, Nicholas Sparks is probably best known for his tragic love stories. But before him, there was Edith Wharton. Ethan Frome is exactly that, a tragic love story. There is no sex. There is no ‘chase’. It is a straightforward romance with a tragic ending.
Ethan is a man of impeccable morals, always one to do the right thing, even at the cost of his own happiness. He lives within the very rigid confines of right and wrong, love and despair. The one time he side-steps right from wrong, his life is changed forever.
His wife, Zeena, is a hypochondriac. She is also calculating, selfish, and black-hearted and Wharton does a wonderful job of creating a character the reader will love to hate. But just as Ethan could not release himself from his duties and marital obligations, neither could she when the roles suddenly reversed. Karma intervened.
Mattie is Zeena’s cousin and the object of Ethan’s affection. Although she lives with them for a year in order to take care of Ethan’s sickly wife, neither Ethan nor Mattie act on the attraction. Instead, when they are forced to part, they decide being apart would be far worse than dying together. In this rash leave of his good senses, Ethan agrees to Mattie’s request, forever altering their health, their lives, and their relationship.
Wharton’s prose is poetic and full of emotion and clarity. This book speaks from the deepest recesses of the human heart. I highly recommend it even if literary fiction is not your first choice in a read.
Kathy Reinhart is the award-winning author of:
Lily White Lies – The Red Strokes – Missouri in a Suitcase
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Doug Richardson
Doug Richardson
Today I welcome Doug Richardson, author of 99 Percent Kill.
IDI – In your new novel 99 PERCENT KILL, we meet Lucky Dey is your first franchise character. What took so long?
DR – Though 99 PERCENT KILL is only my fifth novel, it took me awhile to get here considering all the film projects that kept me so busy over the last twenty-five years. That and I hadn’t met him yet. In fact, it was when I was trying to develop a TV show where I discovered him. Then instead of meeting him via some actor playing him, I introduced him in my last novel BLOOD MONEY. From there it was no looking back. I knew I had a character I could live with and write for in the years to come.
IDI – I think that is a big draw with readers, characters that come alive and become a part of their world. Readers become as eager to see them again as they would an old friend.
When did you have your Eureka moment? When did know that you were born to be a writer?
DR – Is there supposed to be some eureka moment? Because for me I’m not sure it happened all at once. Though my sixth grade teacher proclaimed me as a future writer, I only began putting words to paper as a means to making movies. I thought I was going to pen my way to being a film director. Eventually, I found writing for movies to be rather limiting. I wanted to expand beyond the sight and sound demands of motion picture into a more elastic form of narrative.
IDI – Think back to the first book you wrote and then the last book you wrote. In what ways have you grown?
DR – Seems like a million miles since the first and the last. The first book I was just hoping to finish. Get it down. Prove I could succeed in that milieu. Now, with 99 PERCENT KILL, the wondering of whether I could do it has vanished. Now it’s all about making it as great and entertaining and exciting a read as humanly possible.
IDI – I believe I was thinking the same thing when I wrote my first book – ‘Can I do this?’ What are you working on now? Can we get a peek, an excerpt maybe to tickle our taste buds?
DR – The next Lucky Dey novel. It’s called REAPER. I could tell you more, but I’d have to kidnap you and deprive you a Facebook and Twitter until it lands in the spring of 2016. And I’m just too nice of a guy to do that.
IDI – Do you have a blog and if so, what types of posts would a visitor find on it?
DR – I do have a blog. Weekly over at dougrichardson.com. It’s extremely popular and addictive if you like true Hollywood tales from the screenwriting trenches. Some are amusing. Some are bloody. Most are hair-raising. They all come from actual experiences from my years of succeeding and failing and succeeding again as a Hollywood screenwriter.
IDI – I’ll have to check that out.
Who’s your target audience? What aspect of your writing do you feel targets that audience?
DR – Lovers of crime fiction. Or LA noir. If you read Michael Connolly or Harlen Coben or James Elroy, I’d hope you’d give 99 PERCENT KILL a ride. It’s not just and exciting read, but my own experienced illumination on the thin moral line between Los Angeles life on the straight and the underbelly which always threatens to suck us under.
99 Percent Kill
IDI – We all draw from within and I believe there is an element of ‘us’ in everything we write. How much of you will a reader find in any given book?
DR – Oh, I’m everywhere and on every page. My thoughts, opinions, but mostly my perspective channeled through the prism of the characters. I have incredible empathy for them all, good and bad. That’s what I was talking about the thin moral line. I think, in so many ways, we’re all alike and share so much. Back in my novel THE SAFETY EXPERT, the idea sprouted from an afternoon in a Panorama City movie theater. The picture was sparsely attended. Just me and a few other groups, two of which were very clearly gang affiliated. But for the time while the movie ran, we shared the movie. Laughed at the same jokes. Were thrilled by the same sequences. Film lovers all. After, I wondered what else we shared besides oxygen and the traffic as well other the other annoyances and banalities of living in Los Angeles.
IDI – Speaking of L.A., why there? Why not write about crime somewhere else?
DR – I’m from here. I know it so well. Yet everyday I discover something new, different, and/or frightening. Man. Researching my next Lucky Dey book, I’ve done a number of ride-alongs with LA County Sheriffs. Some of the things I’ve seen. It’s truly a place that could be defined by “what lies beneath.”
IDI – What’s the best advice ever given to you, and by whom?
DR – Maybe not the best, but certainly the most memorable. It was the moment our first child was born. The OB, this wonderful little man full of all kinds of affection and wisdom, handed me my newborn baby boy and said, “Remember. They are small for only a very short period of time.” His words said and meant so much to me. Still do. I’ve done my best to savor their childhood as well be available to them as their father.
IDI – As a writer, what is the one thing you would most like people to know about you?
DR – That as much as I seek to connect with my audience, I hope they feel free to connect with me. It’s a two-way street. That’s one of the awesome benefits of social media. It levels the playing field between readers and writers. I want to know their thoughts and complaints and issues and, most importantly, what moves them.
IDI – Who is the most supportive of you and your dream to be a writer?
DR – My wife, Karen. AKA The War Department. I can’t imagine where I’d be without her.
IDI – Doug, I’d like to thank you for joining me today. It’s been a pleasure. Best wishes in your writing and you’ll have to come back and visit when Reaper comes out.
To learn more about Doug and his work, be sure to visit his WEBSITE.
DR – Thanks for having me, Kathy.
Kathy Reinhart is the award-winning author of:
Lily White Lies – The Red Strokes – Missouri in a Suitcase
Join Me!
Website – Facebook – Fan Page – Twitter – LinkedIn – Instagram – Goodreads – Amazon – Wattpad
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August 13, 2015
S. Jackson and A. Raymond
Today I had the opportunity to speak with S. Jackson, one half of the co-authors of When Angels Fly.
IDI – To begin, tell us a bit about yourself.
SJ – I grew up in a small Kansas (USA) town and I lived in more than one state since then. At this time, my husband and I split our time between Kansas and Colorado (we love the mountains and off road 4-wheeling). Traveling is one of our most favorite things to do and I always have a book or even three books that I read, in the same week.
IDI – Has writing always been part of your life?
SJ – Not at first but somewhere in my fifth grade school year, I wrote a play for three friends and myself, all on my own for a school assignment. In reflection, it seems really hilarious now. My “co-writers” were quite glad when I volunteered to write the play by myself (how little did I know at the time). Picture in your mind a young girl about 9 years old, using an old manual typewriter, not knowing how to type, and using old style carbon paper between layers of white paper. That was a recipe for disaster in 1969. Needless to say I had many errors and with carbon paper copies underneath even worse. We performed our skit and so many laughed at our pathetic yet humorous play. I wrote short stories growing up and kept journals, however books were really my thing. It seemed like every time I turned around I was obtaining a new library card due to the current one being stamped complete. Diving into a good book made any day perfect and you would be surprised at the number of books I read over and over. I drew paper dolls and clothes for them, and using watercolor as my medium when painting scenes, especially flowers. I continued with art in high school exploring a wide variety of arts and I loved it! The creative side of me loves to be an amateur “shutter-bug” and we actually have an online art gallery. In college I went into the sciences of all things and received a Bachelor’s degree in the Science of Nursing. My nursing career was highly successful and I hung up my nursing hat in December 2012.
IDI – When did you “know” that it was time to start writing your first book?
SJ – I don’t really recall having a true moment since I have written various things including poetry and prose my whole life. However, I knew I would write a book eventually back in 1990. That year was a rough one for me and my family personally and I’ve kept journals most of my life. I had many stories to tell but I wasn’t quite ready mentally or emotionally in going headlong into a 376 page book. When 2013 rolled around, I knew then that I was going to put words and stories from my journals into digital format.
IDI – How difficult was it writing your first book?
SJ – The hardest and most difficult part initially was actually going into and reading my journals from 1989 – 1990 as my first book is Non-Fiction/Spiritual in nature. I knew my book had to be written and I knew the many messages in my book needed to be published so that hopefully I could help others through difficult times in their lives or the lives of others they knew. The timing was right as I had left nursing in December 2012. My first book was extremely difficult since the stories were real. Some days I could write one sentence and then I was done for the day. Other days I could write more.
IDI – Have you ever wanted to give up and what stopped you?
SJ – On really tough days I wanted to just stop and sometimes I did for a week or so. Yet I knew in my mind that I needed to finish my book and get out to the public. I knew all along what the beginning, middle and end would be and I wondered about publishing my book as well. Now that my book is published, I feel a deep sense peace within myself.
IDI – Who is the most supportive of you and your dream to be a writer?
SJ – I would have to say both my husband and my son. Without their help and support with my first book, my book would never have ended in fruition. They helped me to keep focused on how my book would help so many other people and they were there to help me when I was feeling overwhelmed. They also helped to put journals into digital form so that editing and writing could then be started.
IDI – We all draw from within and I believe there is an element of ‘us’ in everything we write. How much of you will a reader find in any given book?
SJ – In my first book the character of ‘Sarah’ is actually me. With that in mind, readers will read about me and some life experiences along with tragedy and inspirational moments. However, my first book isn’t simply about ‘Sarah’ – readers will see that by the time they have read the first chapter. When writing about real people in real life situations that many people can’t
When Angels Fly
even imagine seeing themselves in, then one finds that ‘curve balls’ just keep on coming. I don’t want to give away or spoil my book for those who have yet to read it. I will say that names, places, and states are fictitious yet my book is completely true and real life. One other thing that I had to change was author names. Since my book was co-authored both names had to be changed to prevent libel.
IDI – What is the best advice given to you, and by whom?
SJ – Aside from my family and their support, I would have to say that Susan Vance Web of Deceit, has been most supportive. Susan writes contemporary fiction with a touch of romance and suspense while my book is Non-Fiction/Inspirational. Even with the differences in our style of books, she believed in me and gave me support in completing When Angels Fly. Susan praised me for being strong and she pushed me in a good way to keep on writing yet taking breaks when I needed to do so.
IDI – Who’s your target audience? What aspect of your writing do you feel targets that audience?
SJ – My book reaches a wide group from teenage on up to geriatrics and many facets of humanity itself. I know that my book can help others in dealing with such a wide variety of life’s issues, and that no one needs to feel alone in their own situation. My aim isn’t to convey only sadness and family dysfunction but to convey to others who have been in my situation (or similar) that strength and courage can be attained, and that there are options available. Losing two boys to Heaven changed my life forever. I want to encourage others who have suffered the King of Loss that anger at God is normal, and that faith in God will come back to them. I want those parents to know they are not alone. If a parent loses a child to a horrid illness, I want to encourage parents on how to be an advocate for their child and how to reach out for help when the pain overcomes them.
IDI – Did the cover evolve the same way, or did you work with someone to make it come together for you?
SJ – I created my one cover actually. My background was a photo taken by myself, while at Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park and then I created white puffy clouds onto which I placed my own son white robes. I then added the face and hair of a little boy taken by another photographer, Aimee Low, who allowed me to use that precious little face for my cover. Using Aimee’s face and hair ensured no libel existed.
IDI – What are you working on now? Can we get a peek, an excerpt to maybe tickle our taste buds?
SJ – There are several things going on. I am writing a screenplay in collaboration with Joshua Vickery who has written many screenplays in his career; some of which have become movies. The producer isn’t set in stone just yet, but it looks like we it will be Pure Flix Entertainment co-owned by David A. R. White and Andrea Logan White (Do You Believe or Revelation Road etc.) so this is exciting times for sure. We may never make the movie but if we do, Logan would portray Sarah and David would portray Matthew. We are in the process of a new book and this time the focus will be on our (USA) national parks and the hash tag #RodentRoadAdventures and this book will be mostly a picture book with words about each park along with one of our backyard squirrels doing funny things such as backwards bungee jumping the Grand Canyon. No more spoilers on this book in process.
IDI – Any last words before we wrap things up?
SJ – I am so very fortunate to have my husband and son by my side throughout the writing of “When Angels Fly”. I feel that our lives, although not easy by any means, have been blessed.
IDI – This has been a pleasure. I wish you the very best of luck and if you should make that movie, you’ll have to let us know.
S. Jackson & A. Raymond
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Kathy Reinhart is the award-winning author of:
Lily White Lies – The Red Strokes – Missouri in a Suitcase
Join Me!
Website – Facebook – Fan Page – Twitter – LinkedIn – Instagram – Goodreads – Amazon – Wattpad
Support An Author, Leave A Comment.
