Diane Chamberlain's Blog, page 15

August 10, 2012

Story Weekend: Shoes

Are you one of those women whose closet isn’t big enough to hold all your shoes? Or are you like me, limited to one pair of shoes because your feet are a mess? Did your dog chew up your best shoes before your hot date or did you break a heel as you got up to give the keynote speech at a conference? What’s your shoe story?


If  you’re new to Story Weekend, here’s how it works: I pick a theme and you share something from your life that relates to that theme, however you interpret it. Thanks to all of you who’ve been contributing. As always, there are a few “rules”:


▪   The story must be true


▪   Try to keep it under 100 words. Embrace the challenge! That’s about six or seven lines in the comment form. I want others to read your story, and most people tend to skip if it’s too long. I know how tough it is to “write tight” but I hope you’ll accept this as a challenge.


Have fun!



 

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Published on August 10, 2012 19:03

August 3, 2012

Story Weekend: Deadlines

Sorry to be missing in action the past couple of weeks, but it was deadline time, which meant I didn’t budge from my computer for about 18 hours a day and was living more in my fictional world than the real world. But I made my deadline and here I am, back in reality. Well, actually, I’m in New Jersey visiting family, but you can’t get any realer than New Jersey.


So deadlines are much on my mind and I thought that would be a good topic for Story Weekend.


There are all sorts of deadlines in our lives. What’s your deadline story?

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Published on August 03, 2012 10:41

July 20, 2012

Story Weekend: Par-tay!

John and I just threw a launch party for a friend, Dave Samuels, who recently pubbed his first book. Since I’m on a tight deadline, John and Dave’s wife Elizabeth did all the preparations: shopping, setting up the house, everything, while I stayed glued to my computer. I only showed up when the guests starting arriving.  Now that’s the way to throw a party! I’m going to remember to have someone else do all the work from now on.


What comes to your mind when you think of the word “party”?


If  you’re new to Story Weekend, here’s how it works: I pick a theme and you share something from your life that relates to that theme, however you interpret it. Thanks to all of you who’ve been contributing. As always, there are a few “rules”:


▪   The story must be true


▪   Try to keep it under 100 words. Embrace the challenge! That’s about six or seven lines in the comment form. I want others to read your story, and most people tend to skip if it’s too long. I know how tough it is to “write tight” but I hope you’ll accept this as a challenge.


Have fun!

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Published on July 20, 2012 20:08

July 17, 2012

Two Weeks to Deadline

It may look like I’m  in my office, but I’m actually living in 1960 rural North Carolina (only with air conditioning). I’m working like mad, so excuse me if I’m quiet on the blog for a while. I’ll see you next time I visit 2012!


 

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Published on July 17, 2012 20:26

July 13, 2012

Story Weekend: Bread

Long ago, before I was a writer and still had time on my hands, I baked bread. Two loaves every week. I also ate a lot of tofu and tempeh, but that’s for another post. Back to the bread. I even won a blue ribbon for my Fabulous Five Seed Bread at the  fair in Del Mar, California. Those days are gone, and now I indulge in bread that other folks have made (usually the bakers at Whole Foods).  Do you have a bread story to share?


If  you’re new to Story Weekend, here’s how it works: I pick a theme and you share something from your life that relates to that theme, however you interpret it. Thanks to all of you who’ve been contributing. As always, there are a few “rules”:


▪   The story must be true


▪   Try to keep it under 100 words. Embrace the challenge! That’s about six or seven lines in the comment form. I want others to read your story, and most people tend to skip if it’s too long. I know how tough it is to “write tight” but I hope you’ll accept this as a challenge.


Have fun!


 

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Published on July 13, 2012 19:58

July 8, 2012

Signing Books at Quarter Moon Books and Gifts!

How I love Quarter Moon Books! Every year, owner Lori Fisher has tweaked her wonderful Topsail Beach store in some exciting new way. This year, she added a patio out front where people can enjoy a smoothie or sip wine from the new wine bar. I love signing books at QMB because, in addition to the people who come specifically to see me, I get to meet so many new readers who wander into the store. They’re always so tan and beachy-looking, unlike the poor writer who’s been cooped up indoors rushing to deadline. Anyhow, I thought you’d enjoy a few pix from my signing there last week. That’s me with some of my wonderful readers, and Lori with Lucy, one of Topsail Island’s beautiful turtles.


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Published on July 08, 2012 21:27

July 6, 2012

Story Weekend: Heat

Where I live in North Carolina, the heat is all I can think about. (Okay, all I can really think about is the book that’s due August 1st, but you know what I mean!). It’s an oven outside. No matter where you live, I bet you have a heat related story, whether it’s related to  the weather, your mother-in-law’s chili, or the way you feel when you watch Johnny Depp in a movie. I’d love to hear your personal heat story.


If  you’re new to Story Weekend, here’s how it works: I pick a theme and you share something from your life that relates to that theme, however you interpret it. Thanks to all of you who’ve been contributing. As always, there are a few “rules”:


▪   The story must be true


▪   Try to keep it under 100 words. Embrace the challenge! That’s about six or seven lines in the comment form. I want others to read your story, and most people tend to skip if it’s too long. I know how tough it is to “write tight” but I hope you’ll accept this as a challenge.


Have fun!


 

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Published on July 06, 2012 18:47

June 29, 2012

Story Weekend: Favorite Teacher

I am so grateful for air conditioning! 100+ in North Carolina today and no end in sight. I hope you’re all finding a way to stay cool and comfortable. We’re heading for Topsail Island, where I’ll be cooped up inside all week writing, but I’ll have a great view!


So, school is out for the summer most places, but the people who influenced us the most are part of lives no matter the time of year. If it hadn’t been for Mrs. Westphahl, my history teacher my junior year of high school, I don’t know if I would ever have discovered the thrill of research or mastered the intricacies of organizing my writing. I still use the outlining methods she taught us all those years ago. Plus, she told us never to sit on the fence on a political topic, and I don’t. Just ask my friends!


So, who was your favorite teacher?

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Published on June 29, 2012 15:40

June 25, 2012

On my Blog Today: NYT Bestselling Author Virginia Kantra . . . & a Contest!

I’m crazy about Virginia Kantra. Not just about her New York Times Bestselling books, but about Virginia herself. Besides being my neighbor, a fellow writer and a passionate fan of the Carolina coast, she’s a truly nice person. I think you’ll get that from her post here today. Be sure to comment to enter her contest.


Without further ado, here’s Virginia!


 


 


 


 


Growing up, we always took family vacations to the beach: to the sticky boardwalks of New Jersey with their rattling rides and haunted houses, redolent with popcorn and coconut oil. To the cold, seaweedy beaches of New England, where the views and the water temperature steal your breath away.  I remember hunting in the tide pools with my sister for razor clams and hermit crabs while our toes turned white.


While my family was vacationing on Cape Cod, my husband was growing up near Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, while his dad was jungle training in Panama. His beach memories are very different from mine: the old style wooden snack bar of Onslow Beach on base with the juke box playing the Stones’ “Satisfaction”; night fishing off the pier at Surf City; watching snakes swim under the swing set after a hurricane.


For  years after we were married, I insisted the only “proper” vacation was the beautiful, rocky coast of my childhood. But finally, after our own children came along, my husband persuaded me to try a beach in North Carolina. Just one week, he coaxed. Just this year.


And I fell in love. “Just this year” became every year, and our children’s memories are of white sand castles and long, rolling breakers, of pelicans and dolphins sporting above and in the waters just off shore, of Dairy Queen drive-throughs and cut-throat games of miniature golf.


One of the things I love about Diane’sbooks is her marvelous sense of place. When I’m reading her novels, I can easily imagine myself in Beaufort or Raleigh. Okay, maybe that’s not such a stretch. I know Beaufort, and I live in Raleigh. I’ve even been to that Brier Creek parking lot in The Good Father! But Diane’s details always ring true, and her observations of setting add to the richness and authenticity of her characters.


When I set out to create my own fictional setting of Dare Island, I mined my own experience for that same kind of detail. Dare Island (named for Virginia Dare, the first child born to English parents in North America) is a fictional island in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. But its inspiration is everywhere from Manteo to Hatteras, Ocracoke to Swan Quarter, in Emerald Isle, Topsail Beach, Fort Fisher, and Southport.


I love talking to people, strangers, about their lives: the girl behind the counter in the gift shop, the couple running their own bed and breakfast, the teacher in the parking lot, the fisherman coming in with his catch at the end of the day. My new release, Carolina Home, tells the story of three generations of the hardworking, sometimes quarrelsome, but always devoted Fletcher family amid the changing tides that sweep their tight-knit community. Change is coming for the Fletchers, too, but they stand together. Like the islands themselves, they endure. They love. I hope you enjoy their stories! (You can read a first chapter excerpt  here.)


Where’s your favorite escape, in real life or in your imagination? Beach or mountains? North or south? Do you go with your family or solo? Do you have a favorite beach memory?


Leave a comment below to be entered in a drawing for a signed copy of Carolina Home and a “souvenir” of North Carolina, a Murano glass key chain.


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Published on June 25, 2012 03:14

June 22, 2012

Story Weekend: Warning Signs

First, just a quick mention for those of you in the US: Secret Lives is still in Kindle’s “100 Books Under $3.99” promotion and it’s priced at only $1.99. It’s been selling like the proverbial hot cakes and I love hearing from all my new readers.  Thanks for taking a chance on me!


Now to Story Weekend. We’re going over to the dark side here. Warning Signs can mean different things to different people (some of the men I dated prior to John come to mind, but I think I won’t go there!) What do those two words mean to you?


If  you’re new to Story Weekend, here’s how it works: I pick a theme and you share something from your life that relates to that theme, however you interpret it. Thanks to all of you who’ve been contributing. As always, there are a few “rules”:


▪   The story must be true


▪   Try to keep it under 100 words. Embrace the challenge! That’s about six or seven lines in the comment form. I want others to read your story, and most people tend to skip if it’s too long. I know how tough it is to “write tight” but I hope you’ll accept this as a challenge.


Have fun!


 


 


 

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Published on June 22, 2012 19:28