Luanne Rice's Blog, page 12
April 23, 2014
Book Tour 2014
Book tour events so far for The Lemon Orchard paperback, more to follow! Click on the + sign to add a single event to your iCal. To add the complete calendar and get updated with new events scroll down to the bottom of the calendar and click the subscribe link. You might also like the free The Lemon Orchard book club kit to find out more about the novel.
Date
City
Venue
05/31/14
Scottsdale, AZ
POISONED PEN BOOKSTORE
Add
Download iCal
Time: 2:00pm.
Address: 4014 N Goldwater Blvd #101.
Venue phone: (480) 947-2974.
Afternoon Tea & Conversation with Luanne Rice
About the book.
06/01/14
Malibu, CA
DIESEL, A BOOKSTORE
Add
Download iCal
Time: 3:00pm.
Address: 23410 Civic Center Way, Ste. A-3.
Venue phone: (310) 456-9961.
Talk, Q&A and signing.
About the book.
06/03/14
Mystic, CT
BANK SQUARE BOOKS
Add
Download iCal
Time: 12:00pm.
Box office: 860-536-3795.
Address: 53 W. Main Street.
Venue phone: 860-536-3795.
Book luncheon, reservations required. Luncheon, talk, Q&A and signing. Email: banksquarebks@msn.com
About the book.
06/04/14
Cambridge, MA
PORTER SQUARE BOOKS
Add
Download iCal
Time: 7:00pm.
Address: Porter Square Shopping Center, 25 White Street.
Venue phone: (617) 491-2220.
Reading, signing and Q & A.
About the book.
06/07/14
Chicago, IL
PRINTERS ROW LIT FEST
Add
Download iCal
Time: 12:30pm.
Address: the area of Dearborn Street, from Congress to Polk streets.
Cristina HenrÍquez and Luanne Rice in conversation with Luis Alberto Urrea
Location: Grace Place/2nd Floor
About the book.
06/08/14
Naperville, IL 60540
ANDERSON’S BOOKSHOP
Add
Download iCal
Time: 2:00pm.
Address: 123 W. Jefferson Ave..
Venue phone: (630) 355-2665.
About the book.
06/10/14
Bowling Green, KY
WARREN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
Add
Download iCal
Time: 6:00pm.
Address: Bob Kirby Branch, 175 Iron Skillet Court.
Venue phone: (270) 782-0252.
New York Times Bestselling Author Luanne Rice will speak at the Bob Kirby Branch Library at 6 p.m. She will discuss her latest novel The Lemon Orchard.
About the book.
07/08/14
La Jolla, CA
WARWICK’S
Add
Download iCal
Time: 7:30pm.
Address: 7812 Girard Ave..
Venue phone: 858-454-0347.
Reading, signing, Q & A
About the book.
07/18/14
Seattle, WA
THE ELLIOTT BAY BOOK COMPANY
Add
Download iCal
Time: 7:00pm.
Address: 1521 Tenth Avenue.
Venue phone: (206) 624-6600.
About the book.
07/26/14
Old Lyme, CT
OLD LYME MIDSUMMER FESTIVAL
Add
Download iCal
Time: 11:00am.
Address: Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, 84 Lyme Street.
Reading, signing, Q & A
About the book.
09/04/14
Santa Rosa, CA
COPPERFIELD’S BOOKS MONTGOMERY VILLAGE
Add
Download iCal
Time: 7:00pm.
Address: 775 Village Court.
Venue phone: (707) 578-8938.
About the book.
Book Tour 2014: The Lemon Orchard paperback
Book tour events so far, more to follow! Click on the + sign to add a single event to your iCal. To add the complete calendar and get updated with new events scroll down to the bottom of the calendar and click the subscribe link.
Date
City
Venue
Country
05/27/14
Madison, CT
RJ JULIA
United States
Add
Download iCal
Time: 7:00pm.
Address: 768 Boston Post Road.
Talk, Q&A and signing.
Related post.
06/01/14
Malibu, CA
DIESEL BOOKSTORE
United States
Add
Download iCal
Time: 3:00pm.
Address: 23410 Civic Center Way, Ste. A-3.
Venue phone: (310) 456-9961.
Talk, Q&A and signing.
Related post.
06/03/14
Mystic, CT
BANK SQUARE BOOKS
United States
Add
Download iCal
Time: 12:00pm.
Box office: 860-536-3795.
Address: 53 W. Main Street.
Venue phone: 860-536-3795.
Book luncheon, reservations required. Luncheon, talk, Q&A and signing. Email: banksquarebks@msn.com
Related post.
06/10/14
Bowling Green, KY
Warren County Public Library
United States
Add
Download iCal
Time: 6:00pm.
Address: Bob Kirby Branch, 175 Iron Skillet Court.
Venue phone: (270) 782-0252.
New York Times Bestselling Author Luanne Rice will speak at the Bob Kirby Branch Library at 6 p.m. She will discuss her latest novel The Lemon Orchard.
Related post.
07/26/14
Old Lyme, CT
Old Lyme Midsummer Festival
United States
Add
Download iCal
Address: Details TBA.
Reading and signing, details to come
Related post.
More information
Book Tour 2014–THE LEMON ORCHARD paperback
Book tour events so far, more to follow.
MADISON, CT
Tuesday, May 27
7:00pmTalk, Q&A and Signing
RJ JULIA768 Boston Post RoadMadison, CT 06443
___________________________________________________________________________________
MALIBU, CA
Sunday, June 1
3:00pmTalk, Q&A and Signing
DIESEL BOOKSTORE23410 Civic Center Way, Ste. A-3Malibu, CA 90265
Store phone: (310) 456-9961
___________________________________________________________________________________
MYSTIC, CT
Tuesday, June 3
Book Luncheon, reservations required
12:00pm – 1:30pmLuncheon, Talk, Q&A and Signing
BANK SQUARE BOOKS53 W. Main StreetMystic, CT 06355
Contact: 860-536-3795 or banksquarebks@msn.com
BOWLING GREEN, KY
Tuesday June 10
Warren County Public Library
Bob Kirby Branch
175 Iron Skillet Court
Bowling Green, KY 42104
Phone: (270) 782-0252
Warren County Public Library
Tuesday, June 10 – New York Times Bestselling Author Luanne Rice will speak at the Bob Kirby Branch Library at 6 p.m. She will discuss her latest novel The Lemon Orchard
_______________________________________________________
Old Lyme CT
Sunday July 26
Old Lyme Midsummer Festival– reading and signing, details to come
April 19, 2014
Small Things
I used to write here nearly every day, didn’t I? A few things have pulled me away, and I’ve been living more inside than usual. But I’ve always loved my relationship with my readers, and the online world has been a way for us to connect. It’s immediate and intense. Write, hit post, and there I am in your inbox.
I want to ask you: what have you been doing during this time? What have you been reading? What are the big and small things in your life? The small things sometimes get overlooked. We’re so focused on the major events and hurdles, we can forget that the smallest, seemingly–at the time–insignificant–moments or choices can add up to major changes, dramatic life directions. I’m serious: the littlest things. Just as, on a hike, if you find a tiny stream and follow it far enough, you’ll find the ocean.
Have you found the ocean since we last visited?
But see? Even with that question I’m asking about the big thing, not the tiny stream, and I’m of a mind that it’s the small, the overlooked, the near, the easily dismissed that keeps us in the present, where all good things happen.
Today I plan to pet my kitties and look into their eyes. I plan to take a walk in the Ramble in Central Park to see birds passing through on spring migration. I plan to pause and look at tree branches, at the buds that will soon, but not yet, be leaves. I plan to stop into the book store and choose something I want to read.
But for now, this minute, I am here with you. So hi, you. I’ve missed you, old friend.
Love, Luanne
photo: 192 Books, wreathed in pear blossoms.
April 14, 2014
Springtime in Chelsea
Chelsea’s Callery pear trees bloomed overnight–literally, between dusk and dawn. Every year I look forward to their flowers with such anticipation; the trees fill the parks and streets of New York City and symbolize true springtime to me. Yesterday they looked like this:
and today they look like this:
the townhouse gardens are full of daffodils and forsythia:
and on West 22nd Street there is a window box full of purple pansies:
springtime in chelsea
Chelsea’s Callery pear trees bloomed overnight–literally, between dusk and dawn. Every year I look forward to their flowers with such anticipation; the trees fill the parks and streets of New York City and symbolize true springtime to me. Yesterday they looked like this:
and today they look like this:
the townhouse gardens are full of daffodils and forsythia:
and on West 22nd Street there is a window box full of purple pansies:
April 13, 2014
The Lemon Orchard: Limited edition free gift
Pre-order The Lemon Orchard in paperback before May 27, 2014 — online or from your favorite local bookseller, send in a proof of purchase — and Luanne will send you a FREE tote bag featuring the cover art from the hardcover of THE LEMON ORCHARD. You’ll also receive a signed bookplate. Shipping and handling are on Luanne! This offer is for U.S. and Canadian residents only. Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for the delivery of your tote bag.
Already pre-ordered? Keep reading!
Send your name, mailing address,and proof of purchase via the form below. You can take a photo of the receipt with your phone, or scan it, and submit the jpeg!
*photo of tote bag by Luanne’s reader Michele Collard
Free Lemon Orchard tote bag
Complete this form before May 27th with your proof of purchase.
Name*FirstLastEmail*Enter EmailConfirm EmailAddress*Street AddressAddress Line 2CityAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingArmed Forces AmericasArmed Forces EuropeArmed Forces PacificStateZIP CodeUpload your proof of purchase pic here*Jpegs and PNGs only, no bigger than 2 mgb and the receipt must be clearly readable.Do you confirm this receipt belongs to you and that you are a resident of the US?*Yes, this is my picture of my receipt for the Lemon Orchard pre-order in paperbackPlease enter the anti-spam text
April 11, 2014
The Lemon Orchard: Reading Group Guide
The Lemon Orchard by Luanne RiceREADING GROUP GUIDE : INTRODUCTION
(You can also download the reading group guide as a PDF here)
“They sat in the kitchen, Julia so lost in the tale that when he said the word suerte, ’luck,’ she could almost believe that he’d had it, called it forth, that they were five years in the past and their daughters both still with them.”
Five years ago, Julia’s life was shattered when her husband, Peter, and their only child, Jenny, died in a car crash not far from their Connecticut home. Julia’s grief is compounded by the fact that the police believe that Jenny—who was only sixteen and nursing her first broken heart—intentionally drove into a wall. After the initial shock, Julia took what solace she could in her work as a cultural anthropologist. “It had been her passion, to keep the dead alive through learning how they had behaved, where they had trekked in search of food, water, love” (p. 15). And now that Jenny is gone, Julia continually replays the memories of their time together, wondering if there was something she could have done to prevent the crash.
When her aunt and uncle take an extended trip to Ireland, Julia goes to stay at their beautiful Malibu home with her dog Bonnie. She has been a regular visitor to Casa Riley and its adjacent lemon orchard since childhood, but this is her first visit following the accident. Walking on the cliffs high above the beach, Julia experiences a fleeting moment when she thinks about how easy it would be to just let go and escape into the sea.
Although the Riley’s are away, someone else notices how close Julia walks to the precipice. Roberto is the latest in a long line of orchard managers, all of whom had come from Mexico seeking a better life. At first, Julia is uncomfortable with Roberto’s concern until she recognizes that he’s burdened by a sorrow of his own. She tells him about Jenny, and learns that Roberto, too, has lost a daughter. Since he is in the United States illegally, Roberto only reluctantly reveals more. Human traffickers called coyotes took Roberto, six–year–old Rosa, and a group of others from Mexico to Arizona through the Sonoran Desert. Roberto and Rosa were briefly separated just before he was picked up by the Border Patrol. When he was finally able to return to look for her, Rosa was gone.
Without resources, in constant fear of deportation, in desperation, Roberto gave her up for lost. But Julia feels there is reason for hope—and looking for Rosa makes Julia feel closer to Jenny. Soon, her burgeoning romance with Roberto awakens feelings she thought were gone forever. As Julia combs the Southwest for conclusive evidence of any sort, she discovers help in a most unexpected place. Meanwhile, Lion Cushing, the Rileys’ movie star neighbor and old family friend, watches the pair warily. “Lion wanted Julia and Roberto to be happy in their Casa love nest, but unions between educated women and the help never lasted” (p. 229).
A captivating tale of unexpected love as well as a nuanced and profoundly moving examination of one of our nation’s most controversial issues, The Lemon Orchard is one of bestselling author Luanne Rice’s most powerful and compelling novels.
About Luanne Rice
Luanne Rice is the New York Times bestselling author of thirty–one novels, twenty–two of them New York Times bestsellers. There are more than twenty–two million copies of her books in print. A native of Connecticut, she divides her time between New York City and Southern California.
A Conversation with Luanne Rice
Julia has always felt close to the Mexican people, in part, because of her Irish ancestor John Riley, who fought for Mexican independence. Was there a real John Riley?
John Riley was born in Galway, Ireland and immigrated to America through Mackinac, Michigan in 1843. He and other Irish immigrants, fleeing famine and oppression at home, took jobs as soldiers in the U.S. Army. He defected to Mexico to form the San Patricio Battalion with other Irish–born soldiers. He was young, idealistic, charismatic, and saw Mexico as being the “side of right.”
You write very empathetically about Julia’s desire to be an anthropologist. Is this a field you ever considered going into yourself?
I studied anthropology with Professor June Macklin at Connecticut College. She was a wonderful teacher and ignited my lifelong interest in the subject. I’ve remained fascinated with migration, the movements of people in search of, always, a better life: more food, less hardship, opportunity.
The novel powerfully evokes the tensions of life along the Mexico-United States border and the horrors faced by Mexicans trying to cross the desert illegally. Did you spend a lot of time there while researching and writing the book?
I visited the border several times but did most of my research in Los Angeles, getting to know a family who crossed the desert much the way Roberto and Rosa did.
Are there organizations like The Reunion Project and the Found Objects gallery that are working to help undocumented immigrants who are separated from loved ones during their journey across the border?
There are forensic anthropologists who study human remains found in the Sonoran desert, and there are many people working to help immigrants during and after their crossings.
While Roberto and Rosa’s story ends well, you share the stories of others that did not. Did you feel hesitant about including some of the more graphic details?
I wanted to tell the story in the truest possible way. I spoke to people who nearly died on the journey. Others saw death along the way. These stories affected me deeply. They are a part of our national history, shocking and real, happening right now.
Malibu and Boyle Heights may only be a short distance apart in terms of miles, but they couldn’t be more different. What inspired you to bring these two disparate worlds together?
Living in Los Angeles has shown me how these worlds merge. You see workers waiting along the roadside, hoping to be chosen for a day’s work. How can we not look beneath the surface and see them as people? Oscar Mondragon has done that. He runs the Malibu Labor Exchange out of a trailer near the Malibu City Hall and the public library. It’s a place where workers are matched with employers, treated with dignity and respect.
Handsome, charming, and delightfully self–centered, Lion Cushing is a character straight out of Hollywood’s Golden Era. What movie star or stars did you base him on?
Lion is inspired by the same friend upon whom I based Harrison Thaxter in The Silver Boat. But I also think of him as Peter O’Toole meets Albert Finney and fast–forwards to George Clooney.
Immigration reform is one of today’s most hotly debated issues. Where do you see The Lemon Orchard fitting into the discussion?
I hope that readers will see immigration as a human story.
Whichever side of the issue one might be on, your novel humanizes both the would–be immigrants and the law–enforcement officials charged with patrolling the border. Was this your intention?
My intention was to write a good story with real characters. Black and white thinking—all good versus all bad—makes me uncomfortable. It’s easy to blame one side or one group, but how realistic is that? I try to take a gentle approach, with compassion, not automatically shut down to ideas that make me feel uneasy. Everyone has a point of view, everyone has a story.
Discussion Questions
1.Julia and Peter’s marriage was strained long before Jenny’s death, but Julia felt guilty about the impending divorce because Jenny wanted them to stay together. Is staying in a marriage for the sake of your children ever a good idea?
2.Do you think Jenny’s death was a suicide? If so, why might she have decided to take her father’s life as well as her own?
3.How do Lion’s feelings for Graciela change the way you feel about him?
4.Roberto chose to take Rosa with him on the difficult desert crossing rather than leave her behind to grow up without him. In hindsight, he realized that he had underestimated the dangers they would face. Do you sympathize with his decision? What would you have done in his place?
5.Julia loves her dog, Bonnie, all the more because Jenny loved her, too. And Roberto is overjoyed to find Rosa’s beloved doll at Found Objects because she belonged to Rosa. Is there an object that you cherish because it belonged to a lost loved one?
6.Jack Leary decides to help Julia because he understands that it’s her way of staying close to Jenny, but he comes to feel that his late wife, Louella, would approve of his mission. How might Roberto and Julia’s story have turned out if Jack hadn’t become involved?
7.Ronnie sends Jack on a wild–goose chase to Tucson, hoping that he won’t come back and learn the truth about Rosa. Is she right to mistrust him? Do you condone Ronnie’s decision to make Rosa “disappear” from the system?
8.The Lemon Orchard ends on an ambiguous note with Roberto and Rosa reunited and Julia returning to California alone. Do you think that Roberto and Julia’s story will end here, too?
9.There are many Cinderella stories about women who are “rescued” from their less privileged lives by wealthier men. And—even in the twenty first century—relationships like Julia and Roberto’s give many people pause. Why is it more socially acceptable for the man in a given couple to have a better education and more money than the woman?
10.Have you ever been involved with someone who came from a radically different socio–economic background than your own? How conscious were you of your differences?
11.America is the land of immigrants. Did Roberto’s experience resonate with what you know about your family’s journey to America?
12.What is your opinion on the United States’ current immigration policies? Do you think that most would–be immigrants have a clear picture of what life in the States is really like?
world book night 2014
i wrote “why i love libraries” to celebrate world book night & you can download the free ebook on 4/22! #WBN2014
April 2, 2014
facebook giveaway
sometimes we have giveaways on facebook. here’s an example…in fact, it’s running now. you might win a tote bag and lemons from my lemon tree! meanwhile, please do pre-order THE LEMON ORCHARD.
Luanne Rice shared a link.
Posted by Luanne Rice · April 1
GIVEAWAY!! To celebrate THE LEMON ORCHARD being available for pre-order, 5 people will win tote bags and lemons from Luanne’s own personal lemon tree. Share this post and comment that you have pre-ordered to be entered to win. Good luck!
http://amzn.to/QCXKyG
The Lemon Orchard: A Novel
www.amazon.com
A heartrending, timely love story of two people from seemingly different worlds?at once dramatic and romantic Luanne Rice is the beloved author of twenty-two New York Times bestsellers. In The Lemon Orchard, one of her most moving and accomplished…
