Emilie Richards's Blog, page 108

Do Authors Have Favorites? Lover’s Knot and the Shenandoah Album Series

So here’s what a novelist tells a reader who wants to know which of her own books is her favorite. “A book is like a baby.  A mom loves all her children equally.”

Right. . .

I’m here to tell you it’s not true. I did not love all my children equally. Oh, sure, total it up and they all come out even, but on any given day? I usually loved one of them more. The one who really needed it at that moment. Or the one who really deserved it. Or even the one who just wasn’t giving me a hard time when the other three were living out a secret pact to make life difficult.

Then there are books. To be honest I haven’t always loved a book I’ve turned in. Sometimes the story just didn’t grab me as much as others I had done. Or I had to work so hard to bring it to completion that the only emotion left inside me was gratitude it was finished. Or I sent it off with a nagging feeling I just hadn’t gotten it right.

By the way, some of the books my readers loved best fit into that category. Which is reassuring, to say the least.

Lover’s Knot, the third book in the Shenandoah Album series, was NOT one of those books. From the time the story began to form, I knew I would love writing it. It had everything I like to write about. A troubled marriage. Quilts. Friendship. Community. Best of all a mystery rooted in the past, with fascinating research to be done, my own little mystery to solve.

Lover’s Knot will be re-released next week as a brand new trade paperback. I am so happy that my publisher decided to do this, and that the first three are available in paper again. If you missed it the first time, now you have a second chance and a larger, easier on the eyes edition to enjoy.

As always, I encourage you to shop locally. But if you choose to shop online you can order it for delivery next week at Amazon, B&N, and Books-A-Million. Because it’s a reissue the price at no more than $9.99 is a bargain.

Happy reading.

Sunday Inspiration: “Adding to future life…”

Even I would like to believe when I die that I have given myself away like a tree that sows seed every spring and never counts the loss, because it is not loss, it is adding to future life. It is the tree’s way of being. Strongly rooted perhaps, but spilling out its treasure on the wind.

These words by May Sarton are in honor of my wonderful Aunt Ronnie, who died this past week at the age of 90.  She was someone who was strongly rooted and who added generously to the future.  I was lucky to have had her in my life.

Who in your life has given themselves like a tree?

Crazy Cottage Capers–A Victorian Summer Cottage Grows Up

When you read this I’ll be in New York looking at the renovations to our summer cottage in person. But since there’s an excellent chance the Internet won’t be working–along with the kitchen and any number of other basics–I thought I’d blog ahead of time to let you see more photos of our work in progress. Then when the finished product is revealed you can breathe a sigh of relief along with me.

So without further ado, here are some updates. If you haven’t been following along, just click on Renovations under categories to your right, and you’ll see what I’ve posted thus far.

Here are some shots of the back of our house. We had a smidgen of room allowable–restrictions are tight in this community–but we were able to build two bathroom-closet combinations, one on top of the other. Each connects to a bedroom which will no longer have a closet built into the room taking up space. Remember this house was built in Victorian times when closets (in some places at least) were taxed as rooms. Or thought of as unnecessary. Take your pick. When added later, they took up half the bedrooms.

Okay, here’s the back of our house before the addition went on.

And here the back addition begins 

Here we go. The windows you see are matched by two below. Since I only thought there was one window here, I’ll be interested to see what this looks like inside.

And do you remember what our kitchen looked like? There were three rooms opening into each other. One was actually a kitchen, one a utility room and one a laundry area where I was often forced to make dinner since I had no other counter space. Here’s a recap, then you’ll see the room’s been opened into one larger area. The washer and dryer will be stacked where the fridge used to be and out of the way. I opted for no upper cabinets–ask me how I like that in a year–and cottagey shelves on brackets. Our architect decided to put them across some of the windows. There’s no view except the wall of the house next door, but now we’ll have light and lots of jars filled with goodies.

Here’s the best view I have of the three-room kitchen. The doorway leads to a utility room, and you can’t see the washer and dryer in an alcove to the right.

And here’s the former utility room and washer/dryer area beside it. Love these bitty windows for air and light.

And lest you think I renovated a cottage without beadboard? Think again. Lots and lots of beadboard. 

Here’s what they had to work with when they began to open the kitchen into one room.

One of the best features of this house is a big open porch on the side.  We eat all our meals there, entertain, it’s my favorite spot.  Above it was a glassed-in porch with windows that swung out and locked in place with a peg–at least a few did–and a sagging flat ceiling.  But the view out of the multiple windows is wonderful, and the room is large.  Next to the kitchen, the biggest and best changes were made here.

Here’s what our sunroom looked like before the demolition began. Flat, sagging ceiling. 

And here’s the demolition. Most of this wood had to be replaced because it had rotted. 

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I’m told the most dangerous phrase when a renovation is in progress is “while you’re in there. . .” And so we’ve been in danger since the beginning. This was an old house and we knew when we opened it up, not everything we would find would be pretty. Originally I asked my wonderful architect and contractor to replace the awful insulation board walls and renovate the kitchen and add a bathroom. I got a new roof line, a gazillion new windows, insulation, air-conditioning, heat–for the first time, new walls, a sunroom with a cathedral ceiling, two baths and two new closets. Plus, oh, new floors and appliances and . . . The list goes on and on.

Am I sorry? I don’t think so. But then, I haven’t seen it yet. Ask me next week. Stay tuned.

Sunday Inspiration: A Prayer for Mothers

Mother’s Day Sunday

Let us pray for:

The mothers too tired to enter or too busy to care.

This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at soccer games Friday night instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, “Did you see my goal?” they could

say, “Of course, wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, “It’s OK honey, Mommy’s here.”

This is for all the mothers of Afghanistan who fled in the night and can’t find their children. This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they’ll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and made them homes.

For all the mothers of the victims of the Newtown shooting, for the mothers of the survivors, and the mother who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON’T.

What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips?

The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it heart?

Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 a.m. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying? I think so.

So this is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn’t.

This is for reading “Goodnight, Moon” twice a night for a year. And then reading it again. ” Just one more time.”

This is for all the mothers who mess up. Who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair and stomp their feet like a tired 2 year old who wants ice cream before dinner.

This is for all the mothers who taught their daughters to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

For all the mothers who bite their lips-sometimes until they bleed-when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

Who lock themselves in the bathroom when babies keep crying and won’t stop.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughter to sink a jump shot.

This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls “Mom?” in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home.

This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children’s graves.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can’t find the words to reach them.

This is for all the mothers who sent their sons to school with stomachaches assuring them they’d be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all. So hang in there.

Please pass along to all the moms in your life.

 

My husband found this wonderful prayer on the internet several years ago and used it for a Mother’s Day worship service.  There was not a dry eye in the church.  Doesn’t it say all that can be said about being a mother?

It was titled, “Mother’s Day, May 10, 2009,” but he could not find the author.  So if you know who wrote this, please let me know.  I made a couple of changes to update the prayer, changing Colorado shooting to Newtown shooting and Kosovo to Afghanistan.  Isn’t it sad that there are always shootings and wars that fit into a prayer for Mother’s Day?

I encourage you to share this with your mother, if she is still living, and with other mothers and your family today.  And if you are a mother, let these words fill you with pride for having the most important role anyone could possibly have.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Book Clubs: Asking Questions to Deepen Understanding

When I decided to offer fifteen copies of Iron Lace (along with a king cake and phone interview) to raise money for diabetes research, I made my decision with the full knowledge that Iron Lace is one of my most popular novels for book discussion groups.

Later I went back to my own website to see just what kind of questions I had already suggested on my website for readers to consider as they read the book.

First, did you know that every one of the novels listed on my website’s book page has reader questions available?  That’s right.  I love the idea of people considering different aspects of my books when they think about them later or discuss them.  So I create questions to get readers started.

Here are the questions I developed for Iron Lace:

African-American journalist Phillip Benedict wonders why white society matriarch Aurore Gerritsen has chosen him to write her memoirs.  After all, it’s 1965 and Louisiana is, for the most part, still segregated.  As Aurore’s story unfolds, at what point did you begin to suspect her reason for choosing Phillip?
South Louisiana has a rich heritage, made richer by traditions and cultures of a diversity of ethnic and racial groups.  Did you come to appreciate the difference between Creoles and Cajuns and the cultural importance of African-Americans in Louisiana history?
Racism was and still is a fact of life worldwide.  Did the struggle of the characters of all backgrounds seem real to you?
Aurore and Rafe are star-crossed lovers.  What decisions did each of them make that doomed their love?  What decision did each make that enriched it?
Aurore and Henry Gerritsen’s marriage was not made in heaven.  Considering the times they lived in and the culture surrounding them, was it believable to you that Aurore would stay with Henry, even when she realized the mistake she had made?  Was the marriage payback for her own need for revenge?
Despite their many flaws, did you find Aurore and Rafe sympathetic?  Or did you feel they had sealed their own fates by the mistakes they made?

Do you like having questions provided?  Does it help you think more clearly or deeply about the story you’ve read?

If you think your book group might like to explore the questions in Iron Lace, then bid now while you can to win the books and king cake and help support finding a cure for diabetes at the same time.

While you’re thinking about it, why not check my other discussion questions, too.  You’ll also find I add a recipe from each book, a short overview of the story, and my inspiration for each one, just to make reading more fun.

You’ll find all this on my Books page at my website.

The Setting We Never Got to See

Beautiful vendor at the Chichicastenango market in the Highlands.

Today I’m sharing some photos of my trip to Guatemala, all from our visit to the Chichicastenango in the Highlands on market day. Last week I explained that the trip was research for Endless Chain–just reissued–book two of the Shenandoah Album series.

The trip was a bit unusual since I traveled there after the book came out. But that’s when the opportunity arose, and how could I miss the chance to see if I’d gotten some of my back story correct? The trip was transformative, and I fell in love with the country and the Mayan people.

The church in Chichicastenango on market day.

You can see more photos I posted right after my trip if you click on “travels” under categories to your right and scroll down a bit to the posts on Guatemala from 2009. My husband went back in 2010 and actually witnessed kite flying on the Day of the Dead in Sumpango (which is part of the Endless Chain story) and brought back photos which I shared. You can enjoy those, too.

Cemetery in Chichicastenango

And where in the world is Emilie Richards right now? Well I’m between homes, moving slowly northward as you read this, first to visit family and friends, then to speak at the Ohioana Book Festival in Columbus on May 11th.

The final stop will be in Western New York where I’ll finally get to view the renovation of our cottage. I promise photos of that, too. I have many of the work in progress, taken by our contractor, but even I can’t figure out what most of them are.  So we’ll wait and see the product when it’s closer to the finish line. (Check the Renovation category for photos and renovation blogs up to this point.)

By the way, try to imagine me writing once I settle in while workmen are banging and clanging around me to finish the work. I once visited an author whose house was in the middle of renovations. She had rigged a plastic tarp over her computer to avoid leaking pipes and was writing away. This is the definition of the term: Good Sport.  I’m determined to be a good sport, too. But if you don’t see quite as much of me for a while, you will understand, right?

Sunday Inspiration: Your task is not to seek for love

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (more often known simply as Rumi) was born in Persia in a village which is most likely in modern day Tajikistan and lived from 1207 to 1293. He was a poet, jurist, theologian and Sufi mystic. In 2007 he was said to be the most popular poet in America, and his influence moves well beyond national and religious borders.

One of the inspirational messages you will find in many of his writings is that the truth, love, and joy we spend our lives seeking is already within us just waiting to be discovered and lived.  Do you feel it?

Among many inspiring Rumi quotes I particularly love this one:

“Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again , come.”

Diabetes Research, King Cake, and Iron Lace. What Do They Have in Common?

Author Brenda Novak’s annual auction to raise money for diabetes research in now in full swing.

This year I’ve donated 15 autographed copies of Iron Lace for your favorite book club to read and discuss, a new Orleans King Cake to eat during the discussion–shipped directly to you from a New Orleans bakery–and a phone call with me to answer questions your group might like to ask.

You can make your bid right here.  But don’t stop with my donation.  Look at everything else that’s being offered, too.

This is a fabulous auction.  Brenda and the many participants have raised 1.6 million dollars through the years, all because Brenda believed in this cause and was willing to work tirelessly to make this happen.

So let’s all be like Brenda.  Let’s believe we can make a difference and take advantage of the great things to bid on, everything from coffee mugs to MacBook Airs, once-in-a-lifetime vacations, tickets to a Meet and Greet with Celine Dion, and so much more.  Check it out.

If you’re reading this on  my blog or my Facebook page, and you prefer a mixture of books for a smaller book club–Iron Lace and Rising Tides to total 15 books–then let me know.  We’ll see if we can work that out, too.

Guatemala: An Endless Chain of Repression and Liberation

If you’ve been keeping up with the saga of my Shenandoah Album novels, you know that Endless Chain is being re-released today, this time in a lovely trade paper version, at a bargain price.  Right now the book is $8.99 at Amazon.  And it won’t be more than $9.99 anywhere else.

To celebrate the re-release of the first three books of the series, I’m giving away four matching quilt pattern books for each novel.  I’ve given away five already, including one Quilt Along with Emilie Richards: Endless Chain. Details here.

You may have noticed there’s been quite a progression of covers.

First the original hardcover:

Then the mass market paperback:

And even the Lithuanian version:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now the lovely trade paperback, on sale beginning today.  Do you have a favorite?

I know my readers are always curious why I choose certain subjects, characters and settings for my novels. Well, me, too.  I can never say why exactly but my influences are  always different.

In the case of Endless Chain, I had already introduced Sam, the minister of the church that Helen–a character who reappears in every Shenandoah Album book–attended in Wedding Ring.  Sam interested me.  What brought a young man with a fabulous education, an “up and comer” from a large Atlanta church to a small country church in Virginia?  Was this his choice?  Or had he been forced in a different direction on his career path?

About the same time I was driving through the Toms Brook area and noticed all the signs in Spanish.  What had brought these immigrants to the Valley and how were they being accepted?  The Valley was settled by Pennsylvania Dutch and by Scots-Irish, so Spanish speakers from Latin America were plowing a brand new furrow in the rich Valley soil.

Finally as I began to research problems in Latin America that influence emigration from a variety of countries I became particularly fascinated with the political struggles in Guatemala.

From all this comes the story.

Sam Kinkade: A talented young man trying to find his way back into ministry and a better relationship with his creator.

Elisa Martinez: A young woman hiding her true identity and occupation out of fear of reprisal.

A community of Latin American immigrants tentatively beginning to bond with long-time residents with deep roots in Virginia.

A group of quilters and a church who opens its arms to them.

A story in the making.

It’s rare for me to research a novel AFTER its been published.  But after Endless Chain was released I was given the opportunity to visit Guatemala on a social justice trip. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d gotten so much right, although I couldn’t and didn’t begin to convey the difficulties of the Mayan population living there.  I’m not sure words can ever convey what these people have lived through and are still undergoing.

I’ll be sharing some photos from that trip next week.  Although the novel takes place in Virginia, stop by to see where Elisa comes from, a country of great natural beauty, generous people, and breathtaking crafts.  Let me share a bit of what I found there.

Sunday Inspiration: “My wish for you…”

“Here is my wish for you and every other child, woman, and man on the face of the earth: Spend one week saying only kind, caring things to yourself. Say thank you at least ten times an hour, direct five toward yourself and five to the world… at large. Compliment yourself (and others) each time an effort is made. Notice all the wonderful qualities and characteristics about yourself and those around you. One week. You will never go back. And your whole life will be a glorious meditation.”

~Cheri Huber

How many times do we wring our hands in frustration about the impossibility of achieving happiness or fulfillment or peace?  Huber says we can make a start by treating each other, our world and ourselves as if we are all precious and sacred beyond imagination.  Of course it does take intent and discipline and most of all inspiration.  Why not try this one -week experiment and let us know how it goes.