Amy Sue Nathan's Blog: Women's Fiction Writers, page 41

Author Samantha Wilde Wants Women’s Fiction To “Sit Squarely With Other Genres”

I’m so happy to introduce you to Samantha Wilde who’s celebrating the publication of her second novel, I’LL TAKE WHAT SHE HAS (wait til you read THAT story). I know you will find Samantha not only insightful and smart—but funny. We’ve included her book trailer for I’LL TAKE WHAT SHE HAS at the end of the interview so you can see for yourself!

Please welcome Sam to Women’s Fiction Writers!

Amy xo

Author Samantha Wilde Wants Women’s Fiction To “Sit Squarely With Other Genres”

Amy:  I love the title of your latest novel: I’LL TAKE WHAT SHE HAS. I’ll be honest, I think it’s something everyone has thought at least once, if not a gazillion times.  Can you tell us a little bit about the story? Was there an “ah ha” moment when you knew you’d write this particular book?

Sam: This book is unusual for me in that the title came before the story and the story, in its original form, bears little resemblance to the book that hit the shelves yesterday. I love the title and it came out of a brainstorming conversation with my mother, novelist Nancy Thayer, when she suggested I write about newlyweds and envy. I decided I wanted to write about friendship and envy, formed the idea for the three main characters Annie, Nora and Cynthia and then—the book ran away from me. It went through at least five major revisions, but I always felt guided by that title and the universal feeling of envy it captures. We are all looking for greener grass—at least some of the time—and for most of us, most of the time, it really is right under our feet.

Amy:  What was your journey to publication like for the first and second novels?  Did your writing process, or the publishing process differ between novels one and two?

Sam: I worked with one editor for my first novel and did no major revisions. With this book, I had the remarkable experience of losing editor after editor. Right now, I have my fifth editor! This many editors is unusual and while my book benefited from all that brain power, it has also felt a bit like an orphan to me, or a foster child. I call it “the little book that could” because there was a time, over the course of the past nearly five years of working on it (with a contract in hand), that I did not think it would ever publish. The kind of triumph I feel at I’ll Take What She Has has to do with seeing the fruits of my own resolve and determination. It was not easy, but it was surely worth it.

Amy:  What has the most unusual reaction been to your book? (You don’t have to name names, of course!) And what reaction to I’LL TAKE WHAT SHE HAS is what you might have expected?  

Sam: The book has only had a day out in the world; I think most of the reactions are still to come. But I have had a few reviews. I assumed people would think it was a funny book and fun to read (that’s what I wanted and worked on), what interests me, however, are the deeper threads of the novel and the ways in which certain reviewers really got it. It’s always an incredible feeling to have a reader get your work. One blogger at Book’d Out wrote: “Though the blurb implies the friendship between Annie and Nora is the focus for this novel, I feel the emphasis in I’ll Take What She Has is on the dynamics of motherhood. I’ll Take What She Has thoughtfully examines a wide range of related themes including adoption, infertility, marriage, family dysfunction and belonging.” I read that and thought, wow! She’s absolutely right. What a wonderful thing to feel that your deeper story has been seen!

Amy:  We talk a lot on this blog about what women’s fiction is, and what it’s not. Now it’s your turn. What is your definition of women’s fiction?  Do you take issue with that label for your books, or do you embrace it?

Sam: I love the name women’s fiction—as long as it applies to the content and not to the readers. And as long as it’s allowed to sit squarely with other fiction genres. When I think about women’s fiction, I think about fiction that directly tells the truths of women’s lives. I’m proud to be included in that category. A label can help guide. If you say, “I write war fiction,” it gives people a sense of a book. But obviously a book about war is not just about war, it’s about love and loss and strength and hope. And a woman’s novel is not simply about a woman. It’s about life and meaning and identity and fortitude—among so much else. Women writing about women’s lives, women’s fiction writers(!), have such ancestors in writing, from Jane Austen to Kate Chopin to Margaret Atwood to Louisa May Alcott. What a remarkable creative lineage.

Amy: What is your best advice for aspiring authors of women’s fiction—or for someone like me (one of the perks of being the interviewer) who is writing a second novel?

Sam: My best advice today? Write for yourself. The world may or may not love your words, your stories. If writing, in and of itself, before sales or book deals or contracts or success or agents, doesn’t satisfy you, find something else. Write for your own sake because you can’t not write. At the end of the day, if your writing has brought one person fulfillment (and that one person is you), let that be enough. Then everything else ends up icing on the cake!

Samantha Wilde, the mother of three young children born in just over four years, openly admits to eating far, far too much chocolate—usually to keep her awake during nap time so she can write some books. Before she took on mothering as a full-time endeavor, she taught more than a dozen yoga classes a week (now she teaches one). She’s a graduate of Concord Academy, Smith College, Yale Divinity School and The New Seminary, as well as the Kripalu School of Yoga. She’s been an ordained minister for more than a decade. Her first novel, This Little Mommy Stayed Home, helped a lot of new mothers get through the night. The daughter of novelist Nancy Thayer, she lives in western Massachusetts with her husband, a professor of chemical engineering.

You can find Sam on her website and her book is available everywhere books are sold, including Amazon, B&N and IndieBound!

Updated: TIFFANY DREW is the giveaway winner!! What Are You Reading? Tell Me! (Plus A Birthday Giveaway)

Since it’s my birthday, and since you can still enter on Goodreads to win an Advance Reader Copy of THE GLASS WIVES, I thought I’d give away something else in honor of the big day where the law is that I have to eat cake. I mean, that’s celebratory enough, but I’m a sharer.

So if you win you will receive:

two cups for coffee (or tea) for you and a friend, of course!
two books so and a friend have something to read waiting for THE GLASS WIVES to be released in 77 days (not that I’m counting)

My main character, Evie, seems always to be pouring cups of coffee for her best friends, Laney and Beth, so this prize seems perfect, don’t you think?

Here’s how to enter:

Answer this question in the comments: WHAT ARE YOU READING? Or, tell me your best or worst birthday gift EVER!  Leave a comment with your email address and you’ll be entered to win! You can enter once here and you can enter one more time by “liking” my Facebook page if you haven’t already (I am soooo close to 400 likes). See the box in the sidebar to the right? Just click there or go to Amy Sue Nathan on Facebook by clicking here.

If you already do “like” my author page on Facebook, just let me know that for your second entry.

Just 24 birthday hours for this giveaway. It ends at 11:59pm Central Time tonight. 

I’ll randomly choose a winner when I wake up tomorrow with a cake hangover, and I’ll contact the winner and post it here! You must live in the USA or Canada to win. If I can’t reach the winner by email within 48 hours, I’ll choose another winner.

P.S. When I wrote this post I was reading COMING UP FOR AIR by Patti Callahan Henry. Now I’ve started PAINTED GIRLS by Cathy Marie Buchanan! Worst birthday present ever? A plastic container shaped like a loaf of bread. (Yeah, that never happened again.) Best (late) birthday present ever? My son. He was born a week after my 28th birthday. ~ Amy xo

What Are You Reading? Tell Me! (Plus A Birthday Giveaway)

Since it’s my birthday, and since you can still enter on Goodreads to win an Advance Reader Copy of THE GLASS WIVES, I thought I’d give away something else in honor of the big day where the law is that I have to eat cake. I mean, that’s celebratory enough, but I’m a sharer.

So if you win you will receive:

two cups for coffee (or tea) for you and a friend, of course!
two books so and a friend have something to read waiting for THE GLASS WIVES to be released in 77 days (not that I’m counting)

My main character, Evie, seems always to be pouring cups of coffee for her best friends, Laney and Beth, so this prize seems perfect, don’t you think?

Here’s how to enter:

Answer this question in the comments: WHAT ARE YOU READING? Or, tell me your best or worst birthday gift EVER!  Leave a comment with your email address and you’ll be entered to win! You can enter once here and you can enter one more time by “liking” my Facebook page if you haven’t already (I am soooo close to 400 likes). See the box in the sidebar to the right? Just click there or go to Amy Sue Nathan on Facebook by clicking here.

If you already do “like” my author page on Facebook, just let me know that for your second entry.

Just 24 birthday hours for this giveaway. It ends at 11:59pm Central Time tonight. 

I’ll randomly choose a winner when I wake up tomorrow with a cake hangover, and I’ll contact the winner and post it here! You must live in the USA or Canada to win. If I can’t reach the winner by email within 48 hours, I’ll choose another winner.

P.S. When I wrote this post I was reading COMING UP FOR AIR by Patti Callahan Henry. Now I’ve started PAINTED GIRLS by Cathy Marie Buchanan! Worst birthday present ever? A plastic container shaped like a loaf of bread. (Yeah, that never happened again.) Best (late) birthday present ever? My son. He was born a week after my 28th birthday. ~ Amy xo

Author Amy Franklin-Willis Talks About Finding Her Voice And Embracing Book Clubs

We’re dipping our toes into something a little different today, my Women’s Fiction Writers friends, and I promise you’ll be pleased!

One of my Book Pregnant cohorts, Amy Franklin-Willis, is joining us today to talk about taking over ten years to write a novel and finding her story (and voice) in a male main character. I’m also thrilled to debut Amy’s fabulous video that explains why THE LOST SAINTS OF TENNESSEE is the perfect books for book clubs.  Don’t forget to watch at the end of the interview.

But for now, please welcome Amy Franklin-Willis to Women’s Fiction Writers!

Amy xo

Author Amy Franklin-Willis Talks About Finding Her Voice And Embracing Book Clubs

Amy: Welcome to Women’s Fiction Writers, Amy.  And yes, I feel like I’m talking to myself. Luckily, I’m an expert at that, so here goes. First we’ll get this out of the way: THE LOST SAINTS OF TENNESSEE doesn’t fall under the genre of women’s fiction, so before all my women’s fiction peeps get all bent out of shape, please tell us, what your novel (now out in paperback, YAY) is about.

Amy FW: It’s a story about how the mysterious drowning of his twin brother severs Ezekiel Cooper’s ties to his family and forces him to leave his hometown of 42 years in an attempt to find his way back to himself and, ultimately, to those he loves.  The narration alternates from Zeke’s voice to his mother Lillian’s voice.  The book follows three generations of the Cooper family and traces the relationship between siblings, between mothers and sons, fathers and daughters, divorced spouses still in love with one another, and really old dogs.

Amy: I loved TLSOT when I read it last year. I found it to be heartfelt, real, and hopeful.  But from a fellow writer’s perspective, I was fascinated at how you were able to capture the voice of Zeke so skillfully.  Many women’s fiction writers write from the male perspective too.  What were your challenges in finding Zeke’s voice?  When did you know you’d nailed it?

Amy FW:  When I began writing Lost Saints over ten years ago, Zeke’s character worried me the most.  I was doing two things I’d never done in my writing before:  1. Chose a first person voice 2. Chose a male protagonist.

Zeke also complicated matters by being a very quiet character—he is a man who expresses himself through action rather than words and when I first met him (as the reader does) he was completely shut down emotionally after enduring an extended period of grief over the loss of his twin.

I created the character of Tucker, the old dog who belonged to Zeke’s brother, as a foil for Zeke—to give Zeke something to do, something to love in the early pages of the story since he’s incapable of complex human interactions.

When I finished the draft of the book, I was blessed to attend a writing retreat with the amazing Dorothy Allison.  This was the first “outing” of the book and I was scared people would say Zeke was not a convincing character and that I had failed miserably to create a believable male voice, etc., etc.

During the critique session on my book, a fellow writer said those exact words about Lost Saints.

My cheeks flushed, I couldn’t breathe, and I felt like everything I’d worked for might have been for naught.  Until Ms. Allison intervened.

She took off her large glasses, shook her mane of hair and stared directly at me.  “I am an award-winning author and I am telling you this–you’ve written a compelling male voice.  He’s believable; the book is believable.  It’s real.”

And that’s when I knew I could do it.  No matter how strange and foreign it might feel to me, it was the way the story demanded to be told.

Amy: Women’s fiction, as a genre, is misconstrued and misunderstood.  What about for THE LOST SAINTS OF TENNESSE? Did you face any publishing or reader obstacles or opposition writing what I’d call Southern family fiction, or even Southern literary fiction? Were there any misconceptions about your novel?  If so, feel free to set the record straight right here!

Amy FW:  When I felt brave enough to start talking to agents at writers conferences about Lost Saints, I noticed two things.  If I said the word “literary,” their eyes glazed over.  When I began to describe the story, they stopped me when I reached the part about the main character being male.  They didn’t believe a woman writer could pull it off.

I remain conflicted about the designation of “literary fiction.”  It has some negative connotations: style over substance, low sales, elitist.  And I feel very strongly that my work is accessible, that you don’t need a graduate degree or any degree, for that matter, to enjoy my book.   I want to tell the reader the story, not show the reader what kind of writer tricks I can do.

But I like the positive connotations literary fiction can have—that care is taken with language and that the voice will feel authentic and true.  The same can be said, of course, of any other genre.   My publisher Grove/Atlantic felt Lost Saints straddled at least two categories since they called it a “hybrid” of literary/commercial and that feels more right to me because I was trying to tell a good story—the goal of commercial fiction—well.

The designation of “Southern fiction” has been wonderful.  There are so many readers in this country who continue to hunger for stories set in the South.  Coming to the attention of those readers was helped, in great part, by Pat Conroy’s endorsement of Lost Saints.

I live on the West Coast now and there is a small contingent out here that assume my book is all MoonPies and “honey-chiles” and hoop-skirt wearing Scarletts.  Which, of course, it isn’t.  Well, there are MoonPies. J

Amy: How does it differ launching your paperback from launching your hardcover a year ago?

Amy FW:  I’m only a couple of weeks in to the paperback being out in the world so I don’t have much experience under my belt yet.  One thing that appears to be helping get the word out and increase sales is my outreach on Facebook.  I had a goal of growing the “likes” on my author page on Facebook before the paperback launched and I did that through FB ads targeted at Pat Conroy fans and it has worked really, really well.  I’ve got a whole new passel of “likers” who are BUYING the book and talking with me about it on the page.  I doubt most of these folks would have found the book otherwise.

Book clubs are also hugely important for paperbacks so I’m doing all I can to get the word out that I love visiting book clubs—either in person or via Skype.  I made a video about the top 5 reasons books club should pick Lost Saints and that’s about to post—it’s silly but informative, at least that was my intent!  I was thrilled to be a March bonus book pick of the divine Kathy Patrick of Pulpwood Queen fame, fairy godmother to debut authors everywhere.

Amy: What is your best advice for aspiring authors whose books might fit into different genres or don’t fit into any particular box at all?

Amy FW:  The more places you can “cross-promote” your book, the better.   If it’s a romance set in the South, great.  You can access Southern fiction fans and romance fans.  If it’s a thriller/romance/international setting, you’ve got core audiences for each of those categories.  You may see possibilities that your publisher does not—it’s much easier for them to have one category to place your book in and market the heck out of it there.

I always believed Lost Saints would do well with male readers and it has.  About a third of my reader mail is from men.  So, I promoted it on Father’s Day as I great gift for fathers, sons, brothers, etc.

Now, if you’ve written that completely original book that doesn’t fit in to any particular box, you have a challenge.  You have to make it easy for an agent or publisher to say “yes” to your book.  You have to make them believe there are enough readers out there who will love it and make it worth the publisher’s investment.    Find books that are as quirky or cross-category as yours that did well.  Position your book in a similar way.

If you believe in your book, if you have reputable folks in the industry give you positive feedback on it, then don’t give up.  Keep revising.  Keep making it better.  It took eight years and 30 rejections before Lost Saints sold.

Why should you choose THE LOST SAINTS OF TENNESSEE for your book club? Find out from the author!

Photo credit: Thomas S. Cooper

An eighth generation Southerner, Amy Franklin-Willis was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She received an Emerging Writer Grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation in 2007 to complete The Lost Saints of Tennessee, a novel inspired by stories of her father’s childhood in rural Pocahontas, Tennessee. Atlantic Monthly Press, a division of Grove/Atlantic, published The Lost Saints of Tennessee in 2012; paperback was released in February 2013. It was an “Indie Next” Selection and a Vanity Fair “Hot Type” Pick. Franklin-Willis now lives with her family on the West Coast. You may find her on the web at Amy Franklin-Willis and on Facebook at Amy Franklin-Willis, Author.

THE GLASS WIVES Giveaway on Goodreads

It’s just three months until the launch of THE GLASS WIVES. So as I work on ways to get the word out, if you’d like to help me do that, you can enter to win an Advance Reader Copy of THE GLASS WIVES on Goodreads until February 28th!

Not familiar with Goodreads? You can sign up for free, chat about books, list what you’re reading, what you want to read (THE GLASS WIVES, perhaps?), and enter, like, a gazillion giveaways for cool books.

I know it’s legit because I’ve actually won books from Goodreads. Another thing about the giveaway and Goodreads in general? It allows others to see what YOU think is interesting, books YOU find valuable, books YOU want to read when they’re available, and then YOU can leave a review.  It really is a place where readers have their say. It’s a virtual readingpalooza.

If THE GLASS WIVES interests you and you add it to your “to read” shelf on Goodreads and enter the giveaway, another good thing(besides the possibility of winning) is that the powers-that-be, all of them— my publisher, Goodreads, book bloggers, other readers— sit up little straighter at their desks and take notice.

From the comfort of your home, along with the opportunity to win a book, is the opportunity to help get the word out about THE GLASS WIVES!

Fifty (50!!) copies are available. Here’s the link:

ENTER TO WIN THE GLASS WIVES

If you win, please let me know! I’d love to see photos of you with your ARC!

Amy xo

And did you see? I have actual EVENTS on the Events page of my website. If you’re in the Chicagoland area, I’ll have more local events listed soon, with some Philadelphia area events scheduled for the summer.

Julie Kibler Celebrates The Launch of CALLING ME HOME With A Handmade Bracelet Giveaway

Handmade Bracelet By Julie Kibler
Find out how to win yours, below!

I met Julie Kibler on Backspace in 2007. We had some parallel experiences, and then about a year and a half ago, Julie invited me to join Book Pregnant, a group of 2012-2013 debut authors. And that’s when we really clicked. Last summer I met Julie and her family in real life, plied them with Jewish deli food, and we bonded, knowing that if we didn’t live in Illinois and Texas, we’d hang out all the time. 

What followed and continues are daily chats, texts, and phone calls. One of the perks of our friendship was getting to read CALLING ME HOME early. It’s a love story, a family saga, and a tribute to friendship and the passage of time.  I read it in two days and about six thousand tissues. It’s not a tragic tale, yet the emotion revealed by the characters through Julie often overwhelmed me. Oh, sure, did I text her a few times with OMG and WTF? You bet. That’s the beauty of knowing the author.

And now, you can know Julie too.  You can also win a custom bracelet, handmade by Julie using her book cover art. Leave a comment here to be entered to win, and find out more ways to win at the end of this interview.

But for now, please welcome my friend, Julie Kibler, to Women’s Fiction Writers!

Amy xo

Julie Kibler Celebrates The Launch of CALLING ME HOME With A Handmade Bracelet Giveaway

Amy: CALLING ME HOME has two main characters, Isabelle, an elderly woman who is white, and Dorrie, a young woman who is black. You’re neither elderly, nor black. How did you find the voices for these two very distinct and authentic characters?

Julie: Thank you so much for hosting me at Women’s Fiction Writers, Amy! I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.

Writing Dorrie was fairly easy. My hairstylist and friend of nearly 15 years inspired her personality. Their stories are not the same, but I simply closed my eyes and listened to the timbre of the voice already inside my head. It’s odd now to listen to the audiobook sample. The voice of Bahni Turpin (who also read Aibileen for The Help) is perfect, yet so different from the one I heard while writing. I was also a single mother for about five years, and Dorrie’s thoughts and feelings were not so different from mine, both as a mother in general and as a single parent.

Isabelle was trickier. Her story was inspired by my grandmother’s situation, yet her personality was very different. My grandma died when I was a teenager and she was much tougher than Isabelle, with a gravelly smoker’s voice after a 50-year habit. The elderly Isabelle’s voice was more inspired by women I’ve been around in recent years. My mom was in a nursing home for months after an accident while I was writing the story. I visited her nearly every day, and I was surrounded by a smorgasbord of older women who liked to tell stories. 89-year-old Isabelle is likely a composite of all those experiences.

The teenage Isabelle was based more on how I might have been as a teenager in the 1930s. I was shy and, like Isabelle, books were my best friends. But I also was never quite a joiner. I had a rebellious streak, mostly in my mind. Folks who knew me might have been surprised to discover it. So I asked myself how I would have acted and felt in Isabelle’s situation. I have two teenage daughters, and one was exactly Isabelle’s age as I was writing. That helped.

Finally—and I’ve said it many times before—I truly felt as though my grandma sat nearby, whispering to me of how it felt to be a teenager in love in an impossible situation.

Amy: You’ve shared with me that you come from a family of storytellers.  Did you always want to write a novel and tell your own story? When did you start writing?

Julie: I started writing seriously in about 2005. I had dabbled with journals and poetry and short stories as a child and teenager, but put my pen away for many years as an adult while my life wasn’t very simple. I was probably gathering experiences during that long, long break that inform my writing now. But I think I always knew I would try my hand at writing a novel eventually.

Amy: Can you tell us a bit about your journey to publication? And, how is becoming a published author different or the same as what you expected?

Julie: Like many published writers, I wrote several manuscripts, and even shopped one to agents—unsuccessfully—before I hit upon the idea for Calling Me Home. It felt like the “right” thing almost from the beginning. I was lucky enough to send only a few query letters before landing my dream agent, Elisabeth Weed, and we sold the manuscript almost immediately. But considering it took me about six years to get to that point, I was ready to roll.

During those years, I worked hard, educating myself about publishing and developing relationships with other writers, some who were published authors. I believe watching and hearing about their journeys to publication and beyond prepared me better than anything for this wild ride, and there haven’t been too many surprises along the way as far as the process.

Selling so many foreign rights up front, however, was something I never, ever expected. That part has been mindboggling from day one. I’m going to Italy in May for my launch and to participate in the Torino Book Festival, and to England in June for the launch there. Would I ever in a million years have thought that would happen? Definitely not.

The emotional aspects of becoming published are also more significant than I imagined. The rollercoaster of feelings you experience as you prepare to deliver your “book baby” are almost indescribable.

Amy:  CMH goes back and forth from the present to the past, to tell two stories. One is of present day Dorrie and Isabelle’s drive from Texas to Cincinnati to a funeral, and the other is of Isabelle’s first love. How did you make the decision to intertwine these two stories, and more importantly, how did you keep track of time and place as you were writing?  Are you a meticulous outliner? 

Julie: I was not an outliner before this manuscript. I decided I would give it a try, and it really transformed my process. I wrote faster with a road map, of sorts, though I allowed myself to take detours when necessary and readjust the route accordingly. In fact, I’d say Dorrie and Isabelle’s journey was very much like that—they had a final destination and a mapped route, but things didn’t always go the way they (or I) planned.

I knew from the first Isabelle would tell her story to someone else in present day. The question was, who? Then one day, I was getting my hair cut. My hairstylist chatted to me, as she had done for years, about her elderly customers—the ones she went to because they couldn’t come to her— and the idea was born. That my present day protagonist would be an African-American woman stunned me at first. I wasn’t sure I had the “right,” so to speak, to tell a story from this perspective. But I soon realized, beyond a shadow of a doubt, there was no other way to tell it. I took a deep breath and jumped.

Weaving the stories together was challenging. I experimented with chapter endings and beginnings even after it was in the hands of my editor at St. Martin’s Press. I didn’t want Calling Me Home to feel like two disconnected stories. I wanted Isabelle’s story to matter, critically, to Dorrie, and Dorrie’s to Isabelle. I think this was partially accomplished by writing both characters simultaneously, alternating chapters, as if they were on the trip in real time, with Isabelle telling Dorrie as they drove. But I read each point of view separately several times while revising to be sure both held up. Like Dorrie and Isabelle, I wanted each half to be strong and independent, yet belong to each other without question.

Amy: What is your definition of women’s fiction, and how do you feel about that label?

Julie: The definitions I’ve read on your blog over the years have influenced mine! If I hadn’t read your blog, I wonder what I’d think. I guess, generally, it’s fiction written about women, that appeals mostly to women, and is strongly grounded in the relationships women have and the challenges they face. I’d classify many novels as women’s fiction that other people would never dream of putting there, I bet. Likewise, I’d exclude others that some would argue are women’s fiction. Doesn’t that just confirm the lines aren’t clear?

Amy: What is your best advice for aspiring authors of women’s fiction?

Julie: Learn to write through practice. Understand that time will pass more quickly than you think, so don’t get in a rush. Take risks. Work hard and don’t give up. Your “right story” might be just around the corner and a conversation away.

Julie Kibler began writing Calling Me Home after learning a bit of family lore: As a young woman, her grandmother fell in love with a young black man in an era and locale that made the relationship impossible. When not writing, she enjoys travel, independent films, music, photography, and corralling her teenagers and rescue dogs. She lives in Arlington, Texas. Calling Me Home is on the February 2013 IndieNext List and is a SIBA Winter/Spring 2013 Okra Pick. It is her debut novel.

You can find Julie on her website, on Facebook, and on Twitter @juliekibler.

Want to win a handmade bracelet? Here’s how!

You must leave a comment on this post on Women’s Fiction Writers! For additional entries  you can, if you wish,

“Like” Julie’s Facebook Author Page here: Julie Kibler, Author

Leave a comment on Julie’s post on her blog, What Women Write, here: What Women Write

And, if you’ve purchased CALLING ME HOME, just let Julie know (it’s the honor system) in one of those comments and you’ll be entered to win yet again!

The giveaway period will go through Wednesday, February 22, and will be posted on Women’s Fiction Writers. Please leave an email address if you don’t link to it in your comments, so we can easily find you!

The bracelet will be custom made from Julie’s cover art, and will be made to fit the winner’s wrist, or a wrist of their choice.

Much Ado About Women’s Fiction

Almost two years ago I started Women’s Fiction Writers (WFW)  because these things were true.

1. I write novels for women about women’s lives, but I do not write romance. 

2. There was no place online for like-minded writers and authors or to discuss these works.

What I didn’t know was also true, was that controversy about what I called Women’s Fiction bubbled under the surface and spilled onto the floor. Some don’t like the label Women’s Fiction because there’s no Men’s Fiction label. Some don’t like the label Women’s Fiction because the common misconception is that it simply means fiction for women, including romance. Some don’t like the label Women’s Fiction simply because they enjoy being contrary.  Others don’t want anyone to think their books are more appealing to women than men.

Frankly, I have no problem with my work being called Women’s Fiction, although I also gravitate toward the term Book Club Fiction. I have no problem with the fact that THE GLASS WIVES will likely appeal to more women than men. I know I write with women readers in mind. That’s not an accident. Why would that bother me? I am a woman after all and I enjoy books that explore women’s families, relationships, lives, and worlds. I honestly don’t care what someone calls it, as long as she (or he) reads it.  And I realize that a book cover with tea/coffee cups is geared to women readers. YAY FOR WOMEN READERS! YAY WOMEN’S FICTION! YAY WOMEN’S FICTION WRITERS, AUTHORS, SUPPORTERS, FRIENDS!

Why focus on the negative when there is so much that’s good about books for and about women?

No matter what you call it, there’s usually something brewing around the idea of Women’s Fiction and the latest brouhaha was the fact that Romance Writers of America has tightened its rules and disallowed the inclusion of anything other than straight-up romance categories in its contests and in its chapters. And you know what?  They can do that!  The problem for me ensued when the RWA-Women’s Fiction Chapter realized it had to change its mission statement of serving Women’s Fiction writers to serving Romance Focused Writers.

Many of us no longer belonged. Me included.

So there’s a new organization starting up. Right now it’s just an email loop but the Founding Team is working on the legalities of a brand spanking new non-for-profit, professional organization called:

Is there a clear definition of Women’s Fiction? No. And that’s okay. The Founding Team (of which I am not a member) is striving for this organization to be inclusive, not exclusive, but inclusive within the realm of Women’s Fiction.

The email loop, at this point, is the place for very lively banter about what is women’s fiction and what is it not. It’s where participants are sharing Women’s Fiction projects and writing goals, query angst, and writing craft questions and conversation. What this email loop is not, is a place for promotion. That’s right—until the kinks are worked out and the guidelines have been set, no one is promoting his or her own blog posts or books. BIG NEWS will be shared, but the loop moderators are doing a fabulous job at keeping the group focused.

Think this sounds like something you might like?

Here’s the official word from the Founding Team Leader:

“The need is for an organization dedicated to women’s fiction. Whether the stories are contemporary or historical; literary or commercial; include a dash of romance, a heap of romance or none at all; the stories all have one common thread—they are about a woman’s emotional journey.

A new organization—Women’s Fiction Writers Association—is being launched to fill the need. It will be an inclusive community of career-focused women’s fiction writers with networking, education and support at every step in their career path.”

To join the email loop and be part of the conversation, contact Laura Drake at Laura_drake1123 [@] yahoo [dot] com

I am thrilled with how this blog—WFW—has evolved and the community it has created. But I’m also thrilled for the chance to be part of something new and different. Nothing will change here. I think it will all just get better!

I was on the Board of Directors of RWA-WF and will be proud to be a founding member of WFWA. In the future I know I’ll be involved, volunteer, and maybe even run for a position on the Board of Directors or chair a committee.

But for now, I’m just part of the conversation.

I hope you will be too.

Amy xo

Guest Post: How Author Kate Moretti Spins Her Facts Into Her Fiction

Today, author Kate Moretti describes how she has taken tidbits of her life and spun them into fiction. What’s her simple answer? Because it’s interesting! Frankly, it’s one of the best explanations I’ve heard.

Please welcome Kate Moretti to Women’s Fiction Writers!

Amy xo

Spinning Facts Into My Fiction

by Kate Moretti

In high school, I took a creative writing course. The teacher had us keep two journals – one of fiction, poetry, short stories and the like, and the other of our daily lives. I quickly filled the fiction one, but the daily one bored me to death. For fun, I started making up stories about my days. Who would know? In my made-up journal, the cute boy talked to me, or didn’t. Or I fought with my mom, or didn’t. It didn’t matter. The fictional day was no less mundane than my regular day, but the attraction was inventing it. Whatever happened that day, I’d write the opposite. Sometimes I’d make my alter ego have a wonderful day if I was having a particularly crappy one, but that’s as fantastic as I got. When I would get the journal back on Monday, I would page through, looking for the teacher’s comments. She’d write “Nice!” or “Fun!” next to one of my invented activities, and I’d feel a sense of pride. Which parts of my pretend life most entertained her? Later, as an adult, I would puzzle over the purpose of it — pages and pages of these pointless little white lies.

As a reader, I’m no different. I’m attracted to different sides of the same coin. I seek out the character who could be me through the looking glass. I want to be able to submerge myself in the character, see their surroundings, or in some cases, superimpose my own life, my house, my husband, my kids into the novel. I want to imagine myself there.

It was no surprise then that my debut novel featured a character who was suspiciously familiar to my family and friends. Claire Barnes, the main character in Thought I Knew You, is so much like me that those closest to me naturally extrapolate these similarities. Claire’s mother must be my mom. Her best friend must be my best friend (well, okay the names are the same! But that was more of a hat-tip than anything), her husband, a bit of a cad, must be my husband. I even had someone ask me once if the love interest was an ex-boyfriend! What?  No, listen people: Love triangles are just plain interesting, okay?

I think some writers, particularly in their first novel, who are learning how to develop characters, or expose unique fissures in relationships, will take large chunks of real life and add just enough fantasy to capture an audience. Just plain fact is boring. What did I do today? Wake up at five a.m., commute an hour to work, put in a long day, commute an hour home, pick up the kids, dinner, bath, bed… are you still awake? On the other hand, pure fantasy is unbelievable. If I said I hopped on a spaceship and saved the world from war mongering aliens, you’d disengage because you haven’t bought into it yet. You can’t see yourself there. Particularly if the saving all of humanity didn’t involve any emotional battles, just physical ones. The blur between what I can dream up and what I know from experience is the sweet spot where the most captivating stories are told.

This might mean that a conversation with my sister will show up in a novel, larger than life. Or a disagreement with my husband will be tweaked or expanded, assigned more meaning than it had at the time. But truthfully, if the main character in the book pivots her life on this argument and leaves her husband, does it mean I will do the same? The best parts of writing are taking the mundane activities of your day and spinning fiction from them. It doesn’t have to be outlandish fiction, with wild plots or flamboyant characters. Instead of slamming the door, going for a drive, and coming back for an apology and some make-up nookie, what if I had just kept driving? Ended up in California, started a new life, became a famous actress or witnessed a murder? Does this somehow express some hidden desire? Nah, but my hope is that you turn the page, read to the next chapter.

To me, I’m still writing those same journals from high school. I’m recording small pieces of my life, enhanced. Not necessarily better, but bolder–now in Technicolor! The conflicts are more dramatic, the resolutions are happier, the relationships more complicated. I’m still writing for my own enjoyment because I have stories in my head that need to be told. But unlike high school, I’m trying to entertain a slightly larger audience. To keep you turning the pages. As a writer, that’s all we ever want.

Kate Moretti is the author of the contemporary romance, Thought I Knew You. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids, and a dog. She’s worked in the pharmaceutical industry for ten years as a scientist, and has been an avid fiction reader her entire life.

She enjoys traveling and cooking, although with two kids, a day job, and writing, she doesn’t get to do those things as much as she’d like. Her lifelong dream is to buy an old house with a secret passageway. You can connect with Kate on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/katemorettiwriter.

Debut Author Dana Bate Talks About Publishing Drama And Her Delicious New Novel

You know how some books make you sad or scared or pensive or happy? Dana Bate’s debut novel THE GIRLS’ GUIDE TO LOVE AND SUPPER CLUBS will make you HUNGRY! In it, main character, Hannah Sugarman, is a self-trained amateur chef with a think tank job she doesn’t want. The book is fun, funny, thoughtful, and Dana adds in just the right amounts of food and recipes and party ideas that you might end up aspiring to be Hannah Sugarman yourself.

Dana is also a member of The Debutante Ball blog, a group blog for debut authors, like I am, so I’ve known Dana since August.  She’s from Philadelphia, like I am, so we’ve had some great conversations about Philly food, and my favorite dinner in her book, of course, is the Philly food dinner.  But you’ll have to read the book to pick your own favorite.

You might be hungry when you’re finished reading, but you won’t be sorry! 

Please welcome Dana Bate to Women’s Fiction Writers!

Amy xo

Debut Author Dana Bate Talks About Publishing Drama And Her Delicious New Novel

Amy: THE GIRL’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND SUPPER CLUBS is a delicious tribute to following one’s dreams. Can you tell us if writing a novel and having it published was one of your dreams?

Dana: Absolutely! When I was growing up, whenever something funny or unusual would happen, or whenever I’d meet a person who seemed larger than life, I’d say, “That’s going in my book someday.” But as I got older, the dream of writing a novel and having it published seemed like just that: a dream, not something that could actually happen in real life. So many other factors seemed to get in the way – school, work, finances. My husband is the one who finally kicked me in the pants and said, “What are you waiting for?” And I thought, “What am I waiting for?” I finally took the leap of faith, and I’m so much happier for it.

Amy: I’m always fascinated about how characters take shape in an author’s mind and on the page. Can you share with us how you came up with the main character, Hannah Sugarman? Did she end up being who you thought she would be when you started writing?

Dana: Hannah is a character who almost wrote herself. From the start, I knew I wanted to create a character who was going through a “quarter-life crisis” – someone who was well-educated and had landed an impressive job but still wasn’t happy. I had watched so many peers go through similar experiences, and I’d think, “Why is she making herself miserable at an investment bank when she hates it so much? Why is she killing herself in medical school when what she really wants to do is teach kindergarten?”

I realized a lot of these people were driven not by their own passions but by some external force – real or imagined – that pressured them to make certain choices. In some cases, the pressure came directly from the person’s parents; in other cases, the person felt as if “society” demanded one career choice over another (i.e. “But I went to an Ivy League school – I should be aiming for a spot on the Supreme Court!”).

The problem, of course, is that when you follow someone else’s dreams and not your own, you eventually start asking, “Is this really what I want to be doing? And if not, how do I get off this path?” In creating Hannah, I wrote a character who knows the answer to the first part of that question – an unqualified “NO!” – but doesn’t know the answer to the second and, in some ways, is afraid to find out. I also wanted to explore her relationship with her parents, to put her insecurity and paralysis into context. Even though she turned out as I expected, she definitely surprised me along the way – especially with some of her colorful language!

Amy: Would you share a little (or a lot) about your journey to publication?

Dana: What would the journey to publication be without at least a little drama? The early stages of the process were fairly drama-free. I finished my book in January 2011, began querying in February, landed an agent in May, and sold the book in late June/early July. I had heard so many horror stories about the query process, but after my experience, I was like, “Well that wasn’t so bad!” Ha. Right.

About three months after I sold the book, my agency went through a restructuring, and my agent was let go. Needless to say, I was really bummed. I loved working with her, and I felt like we clicked, which is why I had chosen her in the first place. Luckily, since I had already sold my book with that agency, another agent swooped in and took over, and he is my agent to this day, so in the end, things worked out. Nevertheless, it came as a bit of a blow.

But wait, there’s more! Three months after that, I found out my editor at Hyperion – whom I adored – had been offered an amazing job at Dutton and was leaving…and couldn’t take me with her. I was heartbroken. First my agent, now my editor?? I had already finished most of the heavy lifting in terms of editing, but she had been a huge champion of the book and really “got” what I was trying to do. Happily, the editor who took over my book ended up being enthusiastic and wonderful, so again, everything worked out in the end, but the experience was definitely a crash course in the ups and downs of publishing!

Amy: Here’s the most important question of the day. Hannah is an aspiring chef. I know that you are a food writer and a real foodie. Can you cook the way Hannah does? And, how did you come up with all those menus and foods in the book? Was there taste-testing involved?  

Dana: I’m no Hannah Sugarman, but I do love to cook and have been doing so since I can remember. I baked my first batch of cookies at eight (or thereabouts), and one of my college essays was about baking rugelach with my mom-mom (See? Even at seventeen I couldn’t help but write about food).

The menus in the book stemmed from my imagination, which I then followed up with a fair amount of research. And by research, I mean searching through my cookbook and recipe collections, watching shows like Top Chef, and eating lots of good food for “inspiration.” Yeah, life is rough. Some of the dishes I describe are riffs on ones I’d made in the past, gussied up in ways I’d never actually attempted. But others – like cheesesteak arancini – are dishes I completely made up.

In terms of taste-testing…that didn’t come until after the manuscript was finished. I mentioned to my editor that I’d be happy to contribute recipes to the end of the book, and when she liked the idea, I realized I had a matter of two weeks to test a bunch of recipes I’d mostly made up! Let’s just say I did a LOT of cooking in those two weeks. Not that I’m complaining – I loved every minute of it.

Amy: The term women’s fiction gets a lot of flack. What’s your definition of women’s fiction and how do you see your writing falling into or outside of that label?

Dana: You think “women’s fiction” gets flack? Try its ugly stepchild, “chick lit,” a label that applies to my book. Other writers have written about this more eloquently than I – Jennifer Weiner and, more recently, Jessica Grose come to mind – but both terms are thrown around in such a pejorative way, by men and women alike.

In my mind, women’s fiction encompasses any story that deals with issues relating to women’s lives, whether that’s relationships, families, careers, or anything else. So-called chick lit offers a lighter take on these issues, often injecting humor into the writing, but nevertheless creating storylines women can relate to. The Girls’ Guide to Love and Supper Clubs falls into that category. And you know what? I’m glad. A light, humorous read is exactly what I set out to write.

What bothers me is how dismissive some people can be when discussing women’s fiction. When men write about the same subjects – relationships, families, careers – or when a book is written from a male perspective by a man or a woman, rarely is there a knee-jerk rejection of that book’s merit, as there often is with women’s fiction. Why can’t we just call a good story a good story? Why do we need to qualify its appeal.

Amy: What is your best advice for aspiring authors of women’s fiction (however someone may define it)?

Dana: Write the story you want to write, and don’t censor yourself. The only book you can write well is the one that’s inside you, so listen to your heart and tune out the chattering classes. I definitely know people who wouldn’t dare read a book that wasn’t reviewed in the New York Times, but if I tried to write a book those people would want to read, I wouldn’t be writing for myself anymore – and, consequently, the book probably wouldn’t be any good at all. Once you embrace the concept that the book chooses the writer, and not the other way around, you’ll write a far stronger story that people will want to read.

Dana Bate is a freelance writer and former Washington producer and reporter for PBS’s Nightly Business Report, where she won the Gerald Loeb Award for a series she produced on the Indian economy. She studied molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale University as an undergraduate and received her master’s degree from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, where she won the Harrington Award for outstanding promise in the field of journalism. She lives outside Philadelphia. THE GIRLS’ GUIDE TO LOVE AND SUPPER CLUBS (published in the UK as THE SECRET SUPPER CLUB) is her first novel.

Wives, Widows, and Wishes

I’m sure you’ve seen the articles, ads, reviews, and press for The Saturday Night Widows by Becky Aikman, a memoir about six young women who were in mourning and started getting together to support one another and became friends. Then came a book.

Hey, I wrote a book about widows too. In case anyone was wondering.

The thing is, and it’s a weird thing to say, and I haven’t read the book, and I don’t wish death and loss on anyone ever, but these women had a label and situation that inspired the sympathy, empathy, compassion and camaraderie they needed and deserved. They were able to find others like themselves.

In my real life, my ex-husband died, and like my main character Evie, I found myself to be an ex-wife with a dead ex-husband.

Try finding a support group for that.

For me, in real life, divorce support groups never worked, either before or after my ex’s death.  I was not your everyday divorced mom. I worked at home and got along with my ex who happened to actually fulfill his duties as a father.  And by the time I divorced, I was no longer angry or bitter.  Annoyed at times, perhaps, but otherwise, fine and even at times, dandy.

I’ve had people tell me I was lucky my ex died. Yeah, my tolerance was, and remains, pretty low for people who say things like that to me. Insensitive is the nice word for what they are.  It’s clear that unless there are horrible extenuating circumstances, your kids are better off with their other parent in their lives. Even if he or she is riddled with faults, as all exes are. And it isn’t lost on me that if you have an ex, you are one.

Widowhood support groups certainly didn’t work for me after my ex died. I didn’t even qualify for those. And for that, I’m grateful. I don’t always believe thing happen for a reason, but I’m pretty sure that the reason I survived years of a craptastic marriage and thrived in the aftermath of divorce, was so that I would be rock solid when my kids needed me most, and forever after.

I think the interest in books about horribly sad, sometimes inspiring situations, most likely what Saturday Night Widows is like, is so that people can read and experience without actually, you know, experiencing anything at all.  They learn, wonder, put themselves in the places of the people or the characters. If the writer did his or her job, readers get a true sense of emotion and situation, whether the book is fiction or fact.

I think the people who’ve already read The Glass Wives have enjoyed it because they get to tread into a situation they can’t imagine for themselves. Heck, I wrote it, and although the springboard for the novel lies in truth, I wouldn’t have wanted to live out some of the details of Evie’s life either. I think that’s what made it so much fun to write.  It’s true, I wish I had a freezer full of cookies like Evie always does. I wish I would meet a Jewish George Clooney (how I imagine a character in the book, ha!). I wish I worked in a snazzy gift shop because it sounds like fun.  I wish my two best friends lived right next door to me, one on each side.

But really, I wish my ex was alive so that I had to come up with a whole different idea for a novel.

That being said, I’m wondering…are books about widows the new, um, black?

Jeez, I hope so.

Have you read the advance praise for The Glass Wives? You can do so here.