Diane Chamberlain's Blog - Posts Tagged "tree"

For years, my readers (and I) have been hoping that some of my older books would become available again. Now it's finally happened, and the reissue of The Courage Tree is only the beginning. Breaking the Silence will be released late in the year, and next year, Summer's Child and Cypress Point will hit the stores.

The Courage Tree is the story of a little girl who disappears during a camping trip and the desperate race against time to find her. (And one of the characters lives in a very cool treehouse. Okay, I know that's not as important as 'the desperate race against time', but I love that treehouse!). Those of you who've alrady read the book will understand why the little girl, Sophie, is holding a tulip poplar blossom on the cover. And just a little inside scoop: the art director had no tulip poplar blossoms handy, so he (she?) combined two other flowers to create one. A great job, I think!

You can find The Courage Tree at your local bookstore or at Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com. I hope you enjoy it and that you'll let me know what you think once you've read it.

I wanted to pass along a couple of bits of information, so I'm combining them here.

First, what's with the outfit? Well, I needed a picture to go with this blog post and this is my most recent. I attended a party over the weekend where everyone was supposed to wear something from their college days. I've been saving my old fringed leather vest and peace sign earrings for decades, waiting for just such an occasion! It was great fun.

Second, those of you who signed up on my mailing list should have received my latest e-newsletter featuring The Courage Tree today. If anyone missed it and would like to see it, here's the online link. I wrote the text for the newsletter, but the lovely design was created by Tara Green, who is always a joy to work with.

Third, I blogged on my publisher's (Mira Books) United Kingdom site today, writing about the inspiration behind The Lost Daughter (aka The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes.) If you're interested, pop over there and take a look.

Fourth, my updated website is about to go live! I'll keep you posted.

And finally, my BIG '20-year-celebration' contest is nearly ready to be unveiled. I'm so excited about it, and I'll let you know the second it begins.

http://dianechamberlain.com/blog/2009...

My website's had a bit of an update that I want to share with you. The layout is different for the home page, the books page and a few other areas here and there. Secrets She Left Behind , available May 26th, is now the featured book, and you can read Chapter One if you like. SSLB has received a couple of lovely reviews so far, and I look forward to more! The Courage Tree also has its own page now. I've added some new pictures to the gallery , and the book trailers for Secrets She Left Behind and Before the Storm are featured on the new 'video' page.

Check out the events page to see where I'll be appearing -- especially that "Dinner with the Author" on Emerald Isle in July. Any appearance that includes food is always fun for me!

There is now a 'contest' page on the site! At the moment, it's empty, but very soon it will be filled with information about the big '20-year anniversary' contest. I'll be sure to alert you about it here on the blog. Also coming soon to the video page are the mini-interviews John and I created about the writing life. John's putting the finishing touches on them now.

As you peruse the updated site, please do let me know if you notice anything that's not working properly. And when you check out the gallery, you have to tell me what you think of that original cover concept for Keeper of the Light!

Have fun!

I played around with this title until I liked the rhythm of it. A more apt subject heading might be "miscellany", but that doesn't have much of a ring to it. So here we go!

•Podcast: One of my neighbors, high-schooler Kelly Williamson, had to create a podcast for a school assignment and she asked if I'd agree to be interviewed. She was a delightful interviewer full of great questions, and the podcast of the interview can be heard here.

•Kindle: Do you have one? Some of my older (as well as my newer) books are available in Kindle format. You can find the following books at Amazon's Kindle Store: Before the Storm, The Courage Tree, The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes, Summer's Child, Kiss River, Her Mother's Shadow, The Bay at Midnight, and Cypress Point.

•Newsletters: My latest e-newsletter will be sent out on May 26th. It's so pretty! If you haven't signed up to receive my e-newsletters, you can do so here.

•Song: I joined a choir at the church I recently started attending. I used to sing with an interfaith gospel-ly type choir in Northern Virginia and I adored it, but we didn't use music (needed our hands free to clap, you know). I know how to read music, sort of, in that I know an A from a G (I'm slightly embarrassed to admit I played the accordian as a wee tot), but I simply do not understand how people can look at those notes and sing them without hearing them played first. I'm in awe! I'm also determined to learn how to do this. All advice is welcome!

•Bonus: This just in! A new review of Secrets She Left Behind. "(Chamberlain) explores the psychological complexity of a family pushed to its limits. . . the alternating narratives allow plenty of insights into the characters' motives while creating intrigue and suspense." I love it! Secrets She Left Behind will be released on May 26th, just a few days away, but it's available for preorder everywhere.

There is a setting in my work-in-progress, The Lies We Told, that I need to name. You, my readers, have helped me name both books and characters in the past, so I'm turning to you once again for inspiration. If I use the name one of you suggests, I'll send you an autographed copy of The Courage Tree.

Here's the setting: Picture a backwoodsy area of coastal North Carolina. In real life, there's a (much nicer) area called Holland Shelter on a tributary of the Cape Fear River. I like the word Shelter, which fits both the locale and the storyline. So I'm looking for "_____ Shelter".

_____ Shelter is actually a peninsula of sorts. Like Holland Shelter, it's on a tributary of the Cape Fear but that's where the similarities end. _____ Shelter is attached to the mainland by a long, very narrow strip of land, so that when the area floods and that strip is underwater, _____ Shelter becomes an island, cut off from the mainland. If you don't have a boat, you're trapped until the floodwaters go down. And of course, my characters don't have a boat.

The house in the picture (a real house I snapped on a recent trip to the area) belongs to one of the characters who lives in _____ Shelter, so you get an idea of what life is like. Not great. :(

The situation is scary from a pyschological perspective and to a lesser degree, from a physical perspective. But it's also an emotional story. As is usually the case with my books, there's a little bit of everything! So the blank in _____ Shelter should be a word that evokes trouble and mystery, with a healthy dose of poignancy.

I look forward to your ideas, and may the best ______ win!

Well, my loyal readers, you outdid yourselves this time! I've never had such an enormous response to one of my blog questions, and you made my job extremely difficult. You offered many, many ideas that would work well as a name for my fictional spit of water-logged land, and I had a hard time choosing. It was Glen, one of our frequent commenters (and one of our few male commenters), who helped me pick among my favorites. The winner is (drumroll, please!): Last Run Shelter, offered by Margo. Congratulations, Margo! Send me your address and I'll send you an autographed copy of The Courage Tree.

I liked the sound of Last Run Shelter, but it wasn't until Glen mentioned the connection to the old moonshine days that I knew it was the winner. It fits the history of my locale, or I should say, it gave my locale a new history.

So thank you all for your enthusiasm and inventiveness! I had a blast reading your five zillion ideas and playing with them in my imagination. And thanks, Glen, for adding your two cents.

I'm still in Wilmington after an incredibly full and fun day, which I'll post about when I get home. Until then, I want to thank all of you again for your help.