Susan Spann's Blog, page 83

An Interview With Jessica Brockmole

Please help me welcome Jessica Brockmole, author of LETTERS FROM SKYE (Ballantine Books, July 2013)!

Jessica Brockmole spent several years living in Scotland, where she knew too well the challenges in maintaining relationships from a distance. She plotted her first novel on a long drive from the Isle of Skye to Edinburgh. She now lives in Indiana with her husband and two children.

LETTERS FROM SKYE is a love story, spanning two continents and two world wars, told through letters. When an American college student impulsively sends a fan letter to a reclusive poet on Scotland’s Isle of Skye in 1912, they strike up a correspondence. As they share their favorite books, their wildest hopes, and their deepest secrets, their exchange blossom into friendship, and then love, right as World War 1 begins. A generation and another war later, the poet’s daughter, in the midst of her own wartime romance, uncovers a hidden cache of letters, and sets off to discover both her mother’s and her past.

I met Jessica through Twitter, and had the opportunity to meet her in person at the Historical Novel Society conference in St. Petersburg last June. She’s a lovely person and a talented writer – I’m delighted to have an autographed copy of LETTERS FROM SKYE, and so happy that Jessica could join me for an interview today.

On with the questions!

Where did you grow up? Will you share a favorite story from your childhood?

I grew up in a quiet suburban area outside of Detroit in a house edged in flowers and brick. I remember a red-letter day being when I was first allowed to ride my bike the dozen or so blocks to our little library. I’m sure it was because my parents were tired of driving me, but I celebrated the freedom. In the summer, I’d ride out first thing in the morning with my bike basket full of books to return and wait impatiently for them to unlock the doors. The librarians would always have new books that they thought I’d like tucked behind the counter. I was a regular. I’d refill the bike basket and head home for an afternoon of reading up in the branches of the apple tree with a pocketful of Jolly Ranchers. The next morning, I’d repeat the whole adventure.

What inspired you to start writing?

I don’t really remember a time that I wasn’t writing. I still have stapled and crayoned masterpieces that my mother saved—books about pioneers and time travelers and ghosts (not all at once). After a brief detour in college and graduate school to study linguistics, I returned to writing (minus the crayons). My ghosts are now much less literal.

If you could go back in time and share one writing lesson with “new writer you” before starting your first manuscript … what would that be?

Cut back on the caffeine.

Wait, a lesson about writing?

New Writer Me, relax. Although outlining and profiling and planning works for some writers, it doesn’t work for us. So just lean back and let the words flow. Meet your characters as they meet each other. Enjoy watching the story unfold. (And, seriously, enough with the caffeine. It’s not a requirement for a writer.)

LETTERS FROM SKYE is an epistolary novel that spans two generations of women impacted by love and war. What inspired you to write your novel in epistolary rather than narrative form?

Many reasons (including a hunch that it just might be plain fun), but I think the era did play a strong role in the decision. As you said, it’s a novel of women impacted by war. To have those women waiting on the home front would have felt like only half the story. The men they waited for were off near the battles, and yet they had struggles that went beyond the physical dangers. As far apart as those couples might be, they were never really separated. Letters, sometimes written daily, kept couples together and gave them a way to work through those emotions and fears and wishes for the future. I wanted to explore this in a novel.

Do you have a favorite author or book? If so, who (or what) is it, and why?

In Letters from Skye, David talks about his favorite book being Huck Finn, though not for any great literary reasons. It’s a book that came into his life at a time when he needed something, and then, like a good friend, stuck around. He opens it any time he’s in need of something familiar. Along those lines, my favorite book is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I have a battered first edition that I rescued from a garage sale box. That book has been by my side for moves, hospital stays, anxious trips away from home. If pressed, I could cheerfully discuss its literary merits (raw characters, delicate layers of detail, well-chosen bits of history), but it’s my favorite because it makes me feel safe when my world wobbles.

What did you find most challenging about writing LETTERS FROM SKYE? How did you push yourself to get past difficult moments in writing and editing?

Letters from Skye was the first novel I completed, so there were many aspects of writing I was still fumbling my way through. Perhaps that was also a blessing, though, as I was too inexperienced to know that such a thing as writer’s block existed. Once I finished that first draft, though, and started to learn more about the craft of writing—all of those lovely lists of do’s and don’ts—I began to worry. Could I really write a book in nothing but letters? Could I give characters some of the difficult choices I did without losing reader sympathy? Was I fooling myself in thinking I could actually write poetry? I had to convince myself that, for the moment, I could write it just for me. There would be time to worry about the rest.

 What is the last book you read, and why did you choose it?

I’m in the middle of reading Will Schwalbe’s The End of Your Life Book Club. While I was visiting Lake Forest Book Store for an event, I asked who else they’d had visit. They were very excited about Will’s recent visit and his book. Their enthusiasm was infectious and so I came home with a copy!

Do you have a favorite scene in LETTERS FROM SKYE? If so, what makes it stand out for you?  

Absolutely the last, which has remained virtually unchanged through all the drafts. In it, a character waits in a church. More than that, I can’t say without giving away the ending! I don’t know if I project onto the scene or if I’m doing something right, but, despite having read it an embarrassing number of times, I still always cry.

Do you have any upcoming signings or readings?

Tonight I’ll be at the Canton Public Library in Canton, Michigan, and then will be taking a little drive through Michigan the rest of the week:

Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor on the 23rd

Schuler Books in Okemos on the 24th

and Saturn Booksellers in Gaylord on the 25th.

On the 30th, I’ll be down in Houston at Murder by the Book. Hope to see you there!

And now, the speed round:

Plotter or pantser?

Pantser. I like surprises, even when it comes to my very own books.

Coffee, tea, or bourbon?

Yes, please.

Socks or no socks?

No socks. It’s entirely possible that I don’t currently own a pair of socks. I don’t like sweaty toes.

Cats, dogs, or reptiles?

Reptiles. Keep the snakes, but lizards are irresistible!

For dinner: Italian, Mexican, Burgers or Thai?

Definitely Mexican. I find it hard to resist a meal smothered in cheese and spices.

Thank you, Jessica, for joining us today! It’s been a lot of fun learning more about you and LETTERS FROM SKYE!

You can find out more about Jessica at her website, on Twitter (@JABrockmole), or find her on Facebook. LETTERS FROM SKYE is available at a variety of online retailers and at bookstores everywhere. This is a book–and an author–you don’t want to miss!

Shinobi News: July 20, 2013

Do you like noodles? My ninja detective, Hiro, considers them the perfect food – and I’m (at) BETWEEN THE SHEETS today with Heather Webb, explaining exactly which ones he likes the most. (A hint: it’s udon.) Stop by to learn why and how to cook them for yourself!

Big thanks to everyone who joined me at Face in a Book in El Dorado Hills, CA for the Northern California launch of CLAWS OF THE CAT!

We had a wonderful time.

If you missed it, I hope you can join me next Thursday (July 25) at 7:00 pm at the Barnes & Noble on 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California for the Southern California launch and signing event.

We’re going to have a blast, and I look forward to seeing everyone there!

Jesuits in Japan: Fact from Fiction!

In my debut Shinobi mystery, Claws of the Cat, ninja detective Hiro Hattori must protect–and literally save the life–of Father Mateo Avila de Santos, a Portuguese Jesuit working as a missionary to Kyoto’s lower classes.

Father Mateo is fictitious, but real Jesuit missionaries were living and working in Kyoto in 1565.

The first Portuguese Jesuits arrived in Japan in 1549, and shortly thereafter, Father Francis Xavier established Japan’s first mission, at Kagoshima. Ten years later, after an audience with Jesuit Father Gaspar Vilela (who appears in the Shinobi novels as Father Mateo’s superior, even though Father Mateo’s work is separate from the historical Jesuit mission in Kyoto), the Japanese shogun granted permission for Jesuit priests to live and proselytize in Kyoto.

Father Vilela and a handful of other Jesuit priests established a “church” and a mission in Kyoto, but despite their efforts Christianity remained a fringe religion, frowned upon by the ruling samurai class. In 1563, a samurai named Matsunaga Hisahide (who had ulterior motives for supporting the Jesuits’ work) arranged a series of religious debates that helped promote acceptance of Christianity among the samurai.

Father Vilela directed the Jesuit mission in Kyoto (with periodic visits to other parts of Japan) until the autumn of 1565, when political unrest caused the Japanese Emperor to expel all Christian missionaries from the Japanese capital.

Father Mateo and his “mission to the commoners” are creations of my imagination, designed to ensure that Hiro and Father Mateo had the freedom to investigate murders without departing or detracting from the well-documented efforts of Father Vilela and the other Jesuits working in Kyoto in 1565. By creating a fictitious, separate “church,” I can maintain the integrity of the storyline, and the characters, without altering or disrespecting the historical Jesuits who worked (and in many cases, died) in Japan.

Within those parameters, however, I tried to make Father Mateo and his missionary work as historically accurate, and true to the Jesuits’ philosophy and practices, as I could.

The existence of a smaller, separate mission like Father Mateo’s actually makes historical sense in terms of medieval Japanese culture and the Jesuit philosophy of evangelization through cultural immersion and understanding. Given the radical separation between samurai and members of the “lower” social classes, the Jesuits could easily have permitted a separate mission like Father Mateo’s because it would permit a priest to communicate with commoners who would not have been comfortable – or welcome – in the presence of samurai.

Portuguese Jesuits continued to work in Japan after their expulsion from Kyoto in 1565 until the Tokugawa shoguns expelled all foreigners from Japan in 1639. Some returned to the capital, while others continued to work in other cities or in the villages and countryside. Historically, the Jesuits’ impact on Japan is reflected in Japanese art and culture, and though Japan did not become a “Christian nation” as Father Xavier hoped, the Jesuit presence in Japan helped create a bridge that bound Japan to Europe, and opened trade, in ways that ensured the island nation would never again be thoroughly isolated from the larger world.

Boston College recently hosted a display of Japanese art and artifacts from this period. If you missed it in person you can see some nice images on the YouTube video of the exhibit.

See You TONIGHT in El Dorado Hills, CA!

If you’re in the Northern California/Sacramento area, I hope you’ll join me tonight at 6:30pm at Face in a Book Bookstore in El Dorado Hills, California as we officially launch my ninja detective series!

There’s a signing and reading from CLAWS OF THE CAT, and I’ll also be answering questions about the book.

This is my very first signing, and I’m as excited as can be. I hope you can join me there!

If not, please check my events page for a signing near you or a blog tour stop (which, fortunately, is close to everyone!).

And don’t forget, the #ShinobiMysteries Twitter contest is still running! Tweet a picture of your best “ninja pose” using the hashtag #SHINOBIMYSTERIES between now and midnight Pacific Time on Friday, July 26 for a chance to win a “Shinobi Prize Pack” consisting of a signed hardback copy of CLAWS OF THE CAT and a ninja coffee mug!

Also: I promise all-new, exciting blog content will return next week!

Tracking the Ninja…on Blog Tour!

We interrupt our normal #PubLaw Wednesday for this CLAWS OF THE CAT launch week blog tour news! (#PubLaw will return next week, on its regularly scheduled day and time.)

You can find me today at Once in A Blue Muse, where I’m talking with LJ Cohen about the importance of book covers – and why mine made me cry.

I’m also at Janice Hardy’s The Other Side of the Story, where I’m talking about ninjas – fact vs. fiction, and how I culled the history from the myth when creating my ninja detective Hiro Hattori.

And last, but CERTAINLY not least, I’m Between the Sheets with Heather Webb (I promise that sounds more risque than it really is) discussing CLAWS OF THE CAT, debut novels, and more!

Don’t forget, you can still enter to win a copy of CLAWS OF THE CAT and a fun ninja coffee mug by tweeting your best ninja pose using the hashtag #ShinobiMysteries - details and contest rules are here.

 

HAPPY RELEASE DAY, CLAWS OF THE CAT!

TODAY is the official release day for the first Shinobi Mystery, Claws of the Cat (Minotaur Books, 2013)!

May 1564: When a samurai is brutally murdered in a Kyoto teahouse, master ninja Hiro has no desire to get involved. But the beautiful entertainer accused of the crime enlists the help of Father Mateo, the Portuguese Jesuit Hiro is sworn to protect, leaving the master shinobi with just three days to find the killer in order to save the girl and the priest from execution.

The investigation plunges Hiro and Father Mateo into the dangerous waters of Kyoto’s floating world, where they learn that everyone from the elusive teahouse owner to the dead man’s dishonored brother has a motive to keep the samurai’s death a mystery. A rare murder weapon favored by ninja assassins, a female samurai warrior, and a hidden affair leave Hiro with too many suspects and far too little time. Worse, the ninja’s investigation uncovers a host of secrets that threaten not only Father Mateo and the teahouse, but the very future of Japan.

Read an excerpt and enter to win a free copy here!

The book is available in hardback and e-book formats, just about everywhere books are sold. I’ve got several upcoming signings (check the Events page!) and a launch event at Face in a Book in El Dorado Hills this Thursday night (July 16).

To celebrate the launch, I’m running a Twitter ninja contest – tweet me your best “ninja pose” using the hashtag #SHINOBIMYSTERIES between now and midnight Pacific Time on Friday, July 26 for a chance to win a “Shinobi Prize Pack” consisting of a signed hardback copy of CLAWS OF THE CAT and a ninja coffee mug like this one:

(Except that yours will be new, and the one in the photo is mine!)

I will draw a winner from all of the eligible photo tweets. And now, the inevitable legalese: Contest open to US residents only (sorry!). Contest open from 12:01am on July 15, 2013 until midnight Pacific Time on July 26, 2013. Eligible photos may not contain nudity or obscenity. Odds of winning will vary with number of entries. No purchase necessary to win. Maximum one entry per person. Entries must contain an eligible photograph and use the hashtag #ShinobiMysteries to be eligible to win. Winners will be drawn at random from among all eligible entrants. Void where prohibited by law.

Not on Twitter? Never fear! You can also win a Shinobi book and mug Prize Pack by leaving a comment on one of The Debutante Ball posts celebrating this week’s launch of Claws of the Cat, and there will be more ninja contests coming your way all week!

 

I’ve Been Kidnapped!

I should have known better than to trust a woman with a gun and a van….

I’VE BEEN KIDNAPPED!

On this, the final day before the release of CLAWS OF THE CAT, I find myself trapped in a secret location and interrogated by an armed woman and a very large dog whose sense of humor doesn’t run to books with kittens in them.

Clearly, I have some explaining to do.

If you think I’m kidding, follow this link to the secret underground lair of Bayard & Holmes. What you find there may surprise you…

Shinobi News – and a Contest! July 13, 2013

This weekend, the Criminal Element blog is hosting a sneak peek of CLAWS OF THE CAT as well as a giveaway!

You can read the first two chapters of the novel here, and leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of the book! The contest runs through July 19, so there’s plenty of time to enter!

RELEASE WEEK!

CLAWS OF THE CAT releases this coming Tuesday (July 16), and my book tour starts this week! I’ll be in El Dorado Hills (near Sacramento), CA on Thursday July 18 for the official launch party and signing:

YOU’RE INVITED!

El Dorado Hills, CA: Thursday, July 18, 2013: 6:30pm

Launch Event: Face in a Book Bookstore

4359 Town Center Blvd., #113

El Dorado Hills, CA 95762

Map Link

I hope you can make it if you’re in the area. If not, please check the events page for all the blog and book tour fun!

READER AND BOOK CLUB GUIDE

I’m delighted to announce that the Reader and Book Club guide to CLAWS OF THE CAT is now available! You can get the .pdf version from the Macmillan website, and this week I’ll also make it available here in .pdf and a format readable directly on the website (for those who can’t or would rather not use downloads).

If you have a book club or group that would like to schedule an author appearance, please feel free to email me directly.

AND MORE CONTESTS!

I’ve got some fun contests and activities planned to celebrate the book release.

I wouldn’t be much of a ninja if I told you the secret details now, but keep an eye on this blog, as well as my Facebook page, Twitter feed (@SusanSpann) and The Debutante Ball – it’s going to be a multimedia party!

 

Cover Reveal: BECOMING JOSEPHINE!

I’m delighted to take part in today’s cover reveal for Heather Webb’s upcoming historical novel, BECOMING JOSEPHINE!

Take a look at this gorgeous cover:

 BECOMING JOSEPHINE is Heather Webb’s debut historical about Napoleon’s empress, a woman in search of eternal love and stability, and ultimately her search for self. It releases December 31, 2013 from Plume/Penguin. Stop by her blog Between the Sheets and leave a comment for a chance to win a $20 gift card to Barnes & Noble or a $20 gift card to Amazon. Pre-order her novel (present a receipt) and you could win a Josephine hand mirror with a velvet bag.

PRE-ORDER

You can pre-order BECOMING JOSEPHINE at Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, or Amazon and the book is available in print and ebook formats. Take your pick!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Rose Tascher sails from her Martinique plantation to Paris to trade her Creole black magic culture for love and adventure. She arrives exultant to follow her dreams of attending Court with Alexandre, her elegant aristocrat and soldier husband. But Alexandre dashes her hopes and abandons her amid the tumult of the French Revolution.

Through her savoir faire, Rose secures her footing in high society, reveling in handsome men and glitzy balls—until the heads of her friends begin to roll.

After narrowly escaping death in the blood-drenched cells of Les Carmes prison, she reinvents herself as Josephine, a socialite of status and power. Yet her youth is fading, and Josephine must choose between a precarious independence and the love of an awkward suitor. Little does she know, he would become the most powerful man of his century- Napoleon Bonaparte.

BECOMING JOSEPHINE is a novel of one woman’s journey to find eternal love and stability, and ultimately to find herself.

 ADVANCE PRAISE

Becoming Josephine has already been featured in a Wall Street Journal  piece on the popularity of historical fiction featuring the wives of famous men. It’s also garnering praise from authors and early readers:

“Heather Webb’s epic novel captivates from its opening in a turbulent plantation society in the Caribbean, to the dramatic rise of one of France’s most fascinating women: Josephine Bonaparte. Perfectly balancing history and story, character and setting, detail and pathos, Becoming Josephine marks a debut as bewitching as its protagonist.” –Erika Robuck, author of Hemingway’s Girl

“With vivid characters and rich historical detail, Heather Webb has portrayed in Josephine a true heroine of great heart, admirable strength, and inspiring courage whose quest is that of women everywhere: to find, and claim, oneself.”  –Sherry Jones, bestselling author of The Jewel of the Medina

“Josephine’s warmth and complexity comes to vibrant life in this fascinating novel rich with vivid historical detail.”—Teresa Grant, Author of THE PARIS AFFAIR

“Vivid and passionate, Becoming Josephine captures the fiery spirit of the woman who stole Napoleon’s heart and enchanted an empire. –Susan Spann, author of The Shinobi Mysteries

“A fast-paced, riveting journey, Becoming Josephine captures the volatile mood of one of the most intense periods of history—libertine France, Caribbean slave revolts, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars—from the point of a view of one of its key witnesses, Josephine Bonaparte.” –Dana Gynther, author of Crossing on the Paris

“Spellbinding . . . Heather Webb’s novel takes us behind the mask of the Josephine we thought we knew.” –Christy English, author of How to Tame a Willful Wife and To Be Queen

“Enchanting prose takes the reader on an unforgettable journey . . . Captivating young Rose springs from the lush beauty of her family’s sugar plantation in Martinique to shine in the eighteenth century elegance of Parisian salon society. When France is torn by revolution, not even the blood-bathed terror of imprisonment can break her spirit.” –Marci Jefferson, author of Girl on the Gold Coin (Thomas Dunne Books, 2014)

The Mysteries of Miso

Many Westerners consider “miso” synonymous with “soup,” primarily because many of us had our first introduction to this Japanese specialty in that form.

But miso isn’t just for soup.

Miso is actually a traditional form of seasoning made by fermenting grain or soybeans with a specific fungus (Aspergillus oryzae, or, in Japanese, kojikin). Kojikin is a filamentous fungus … essentially, a mold … which humans first turned to domestic use over 2,000 years ago.

In its newly-fermented form, miso is a thick paste which can be used to season various kinds of food. When mixed with soup stock (usually a fish-based stock called “dashi”), miso takes the form of the miso soup so many of us have eaten in Japanese restaurants.

The earliest reported use of miso in Japan dates to the Jōmon period (14,000 B.C.-300B.C.). Back then, it was known as “hishio” – a word which refers to salty seasonings made from grain, sometimes with the addition of fish or fish paste.

“Miso” as we know it today (or approximately, anyway) dates to the Muromachi period – which is also the era of Medieval Japanese history when my Shinobi mystery novels take place. During the Muromachi era, Japanese monks started grinding the soybeans before fermentation, a change which ultimately resulted in the paste-like miso we know today.

Miso varies fairly widely in taste, aroma, and texture, but all miso falls into one of three basic varieties: red, white, and “mixed” (which is composed of red and white in varying proportions). Much of the miso Westerners taste is made from soybeans (the most common type) but miso can also be made from grains, including millet, wheat, rice, and barley (just to name a few).

Like yoghurt, miso contains live cultures and loses some of its health benefits when overcooking kills the cultured organisms. For that reason, miso is often added after or near the end of the cooking process.

And now you know a little more about miso.

Do you like miso soup? Have you ever tasted miso in anything other than soup?