Diane Chamberlain's Blog, page 29
January 16, 2011
Home from the Isle of Palms
John and I just returned from spending the weekend on the gorgeous Isle of Palms, near Charleston, South Carolina, where I was part of an authors’ luncheon at the Wild Dunes Resort. It was so much fun to chat with readers, meet the four other authors who spoke on a panel with me, and spend time with one of my best friends, Mary Alice Monroe, who is lucky enough to live on the Isle of Palms and who helps organize this event each year.
Tamar Myers, who is hysterically funny, talked about her growing-up years in the Congo where she lived with a tribe of headhunters (seriously. I mean, how could any of us top that??) Ann Ross, is the author of the fabulously popular and funny and quirky Miss Julia series.
We were interviewed by Mary Alice for the hour long panel presentation. There was Jeffrey Stepakoff, former screenwriter turned novelist whose first novel, Fireworks over Toccoa, has one of the most luscious covers I’ve ever seen. Lisa Genova has one of those amazing stories unpublished authors dream about: she couldn’t find a publisher for Still Alice, so she self-pubbed it and promoted it herself. Only then did it find an agent and a publisher and the rest is best-sellerdom history.
Afterwards, John and I went out to dinner with Mary Alice and her husband and local author Nina Bruhns, where the guys talked cars and Mary Alice, Nina and I talked about the writing biz. We could have gone on all night, but alas, all good things must come to an end.
Now it’s back to the real world. I’ll be blogging this week about my new writing schedule and how I hope it will help me meet my insanely tight deadline. That is, if I can find the time! Hope everyone had as enjoyable a weekend as I did.
Tamar Myers, who is hysterically funny, talked about her growing-up years in the Congo where she lived with a tribe of headhunters (seriously. I mean, how could any of us top that??) Ann Ross, is the author of the fabulously popular and funny and quirky Miss Julia series.
We were interviewed by Mary Alice for the hour long panel presentation. There was Jeffrey Stepakoff, former screenwriter turned novelist whose first novel, Fireworks over Toccoa, has one of the most luscious covers I’ve ever seen. Lisa Genova has one of those amazing stories unpublished authors dream about: she couldn’t find a publisher for Still Alice, so she self-pubbed it and promoted it herself. Only then did it find an agent and a publisher and the rest is best-sellerdom history.
Afterwards, John and I went out to dinner with Mary Alice and her husband and local author Nina Bruhns, where the guys talked cars and Mary Alice, Nina and I talked about the writing biz. We could have gone on all night, but alas, all good things must come to an end.
Now it’s back to the real world. I’ll be blogging this week about my new writing schedule and how I hope it will help me meet my insanely tight deadline. That is, if I can find the time! Hope everyone had as enjoyable a weekend as I did.
January 8, 2011
Wanted: One Intriguing Title
Yes, it’s that time again! My work-in-progress, which I’ve been calling The Waif, needs a permanent title. My agent and editor and I are putting our heads together to come up with just the right title, but in the past you all have added some great ideas to the mix so I thought I’d ask for a little input. We have the added task this time of coming up with a title that will work in the United Kingdom and Australia as well as in the United States, because I’d like to put an end to duplicate titles for the same book. I’m discovering this is quite a challenge!
The story involves four people: four-year-old Bella, her twenty-three-year-old father, Travis, a thirty-four-year-old stranger to them both named Erin, and Bella’s mother, Robin, whom Bella has never seen. (I know…it’s already complicated!). The main thrust of the story is that Travis feels desperate and has to make a very difficult decision out of love and caring for Bella and then everything goes wrong. I don’t want to give away too much here!
Some of the ideas we’ve come up with, none of which I really like yet, are:
Somebody’s Child
Nobody’s Child
The Decision
The Plan
Leaving Bella
The Girl without the Dragon Tattoo (joking!)
The Choice
The Forgotten Child
My editor suggested possibly using a line from a nursery rhyme or fairy tale, so that might be fun to play with.
So, in addition to writing very, very fast, thinking about titles is how I’ll be spending my weekend. Feel free to join me!
http://www.dianechamberlain.com/blog/...
The story involves four people: four-year-old Bella, her twenty-three-year-old father, Travis, a thirty-four-year-old stranger to them both named Erin, and Bella’s mother, Robin, whom Bella has never seen. (I know…it’s already complicated!). The main thrust of the story is that Travis feels desperate and has to make a very difficult decision out of love and caring for Bella and then everything goes wrong. I don’t want to give away too much here!
Some of the ideas we’ve come up with, none of which I really like yet, are:
Somebody’s Child
Nobody’s Child
The Decision
The Plan
Leaving Bella
The Girl without the Dragon Tattoo (joking!)
The Choice
The Forgotten Child
My editor suggested possibly using a line from a nursery rhyme or fairy tale, so that might be fun to play with.
So, in addition to writing very, very fast, thinking about titles is how I’ll be spending my weekend. Feel free to join me!
http://www.dianechamberlain.com/blog/...
January 3, 2011
I Resolve to Skip Resolutions this Year
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope the last few weeks have been glorious for you. We thought we’d spend the last week of 2010 at the beach, but a little snowstorm got in the way. Just as well. There was a lot to do here at home to gear up for some serious, serious work between now and the April deadline for my next book.
I like making resolutions, so I decided to take a look at what I resolved to do in 2010 before making them for 2011. Wish I hadn’t done that!
I’d resolved to work at writing as though it’s a 9 to 5 job. I failed miserably at that, falling into my usual pattern of working late into the night and ’round the clock a couple of months before my deadline. I guess that’s never going to change.
My second resolution was that I’d go to the gym regularly, and I did great until the 2010 deadline crunch. I had bulging biceps and the whole works. Once I got out of the habit, though. . . well, you know how it goes. I’ll go back, but I’ll be starting all over again from a pile of flab.
My third resolution was ‘lights out at midnight’. Ha. If anything, I’m staying up later now than I was a year ago. Maybe my resolution this year will be to accept my personal Circadian rhythm.
I also failed to attend mindfulness classes regularly, keep up with volunteer work and spend more time with friends and family. Let’s face it: I’m a workaholic lucky enough to love my addiction.
I’m making only one resolution this year and that’s to do my best to write a book my readers can’t put down. Meanwhile, here’s my publication schedule in the United States for 2011:
April: Keeper of the Light will be reissued
May: The Midwife’s Confession will come out. I can’t WAIT for you to be able to read this book!
November: Kiss River, #2 in the Keeper of the Light Trilogy, will be reissued.
So, are you a resolver? How did you do with the resolutions you made last year? Can I get some empathy here?
http://www.dianechamberlain.com/blog/...
I like making resolutions, so I decided to take a look at what I resolved to do in 2010 before making them for 2011. Wish I hadn’t done that!
I’d resolved to work at writing as though it’s a 9 to 5 job. I failed miserably at that, falling into my usual pattern of working late into the night and ’round the clock a couple of months before my deadline. I guess that’s never going to change.
My second resolution was that I’d go to the gym regularly, and I did great until the 2010 deadline crunch. I had bulging biceps and the whole works. Once I got out of the habit, though. . . well, you know how it goes. I’ll go back, but I’ll be starting all over again from a pile of flab.
My third resolution was ‘lights out at midnight’. Ha. If anything, I’m staying up later now than I was a year ago. Maybe my resolution this year will be to accept my personal Circadian rhythm.
I also failed to attend mindfulness classes regularly, keep up with volunteer work and spend more time with friends and family. Let’s face it: I’m a workaholic lucky enough to love my addiction.
I’m making only one resolution this year and that’s to do my best to write a book my readers can’t put down. Meanwhile, here’s my publication schedule in the United States for 2011:
April: Keeper of the Light will be reissued
May: The Midwife’s Confession will come out. I can’t WAIT for you to be able to read this book!
November: Kiss River, #2 in the Keeper of the Light Trilogy, will be reissued.
So, are you a resolver? How did you do with the resolutions you made last year? Can I get some empathy here?
http://www.dianechamberlain.com/blog/...
December 27, 2010
My Favorite Books of 2010
Here are my ten favorite books of 2010, in no particular order. I simply loved them all! While I read these books in 2010, some of them were published earlier. I’ll share my Goodreads.com reviews with you here as well. Goodreads is a great way to keep track of what you’ve read as well as to learn what other readers think of books you’re considering reading. Please share your own favorites with us!
♥♥♥
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
Trudy, a professor of German history, discovers a photograph of that sends her on a search for the truth about her mother’s past in Germany during World War II. Her mother, Anna, refuses to talk about that time in her life, but Trudy relentlessly digs for answers that she may not be ready to learn.
My Goodreads review: Excellent book. I admire how Blum was able to make the contemporary story nearly as tense and suspenseful as the story from the past, which is extremely difficult to do. Trudy may not be at risk physically, as was her mother, but her psychological well-being is equally as precarious. Great job.
♥♥♥
Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
Absolutely gripping. Don’t read the cover copy. Go into it as I did–with no idea where the story is going. That way you’ll be as a stunned as the central character is when ‘it’ happens. This book asks the question “How do people survive the worst that can happen?”
My Goodreads review: Beautifully written. Not much happens in the first half, yet I was engaged from the start because Quindlen made me want to know her characters. She drew them so realistically, they felt like my neighbors–which makes what happens to them that much more devastating. You often wonder how someone can go on living after a tragedy. Quindlen has taken on the challenge of exploring exactly that, with compassion, heart and skill.
♥♥♥
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. By Rebecca Skloot
Non-fiction
Skloot did a decade of research for this fascinating book. It’s really two stories in one. The first is about the sixty-year-old cervical cells of Henrietta Lacks, cells that have had an impact on your life and mine in ways that will surprise you. The second story is about the Lacks family, descendants of slaves, who had no idea Henrietta’s cells had been “taken” without her permission and used for hundreds of purposes world-wide. The cells live on to this day. The book covers all aspects of the situation, from the technical details of cell reproduction to the ethical questions of using someone’s cells without their permission, to the toll taken on the Lacks family as they realize what happened.
My Goodreads review: Can’t wait to recommend this book to my book club! It will make for a fabulous discussion. This book can satisfy several audiences on several different levels. The technical information about the science of cells is fascinating. The ethical questions raised by the unauthorized use of someone’s cells are important to ask and ponder. But most fascinating is the story of the Lacks family. Skloot’s exhaustive research spanned a decade and she tells a story that is honest, heart wrenching and provocative.
♥♥♥
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
The story is a simple one about a complex time in US history: a Chinese boy falls in love with a Japanese girl shortly before she and her family are taken to an internment camp. Moving between the present and the past, he searches for her both in ‘real life’ and in his heart.
My Goodreads review: Lovely book. I listened to it on audio and the narrator was excellent. I liked the shift back and forth between Henry as a older man and Henry the boy. The author really made it work, and I’m a sucker for a happy ending.
♥♥♥
On Folly Beach by Karen White
This is the dual story of a young woman who moves to Folly Beach, SC to try to put her life back together after the death of her husband in Afghanistan. She discovers coded love letters written during World War II and becomes obsessed with finding out who wrote them and the story of their affair.
My Goodreads review: Totally loved it. It reminded me of my own books, so clearly it was the sort of story that resonates with me. Well done and engrossing. Karen did a beautiful job balancing different points of view and different time periods. A delight.
♥♥♥
The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
If you love Berg’s writing, you’ll love this book. Again, it’s about a woman starting over after the loss of her husband. She’s a wonderfully likable and admirable character learning to take comfort in the every day.
My Goodreads review: This is a quiet book. It’s a gentle and uplifting story of a woman coming back to life after losing her husband. Berg always leaves me satisfied.
♥♥♥
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
I’m a big fan of Brooks. (If you haven’t read Year of Wonders, I highly recommend it). A young woman who restores old books discovers the secrets buried in an ancient illuminated Jewish prayer book. Through alternating chapters, Brooks takes you through history to follow the book’s journey to the present.
My Goodreads review: Fabulous, fabulous! I learned so much and enjoyed every minute. Geraldine Brooks is amazing,
♥♥♥
Room by Emma Donoghue
Inspired by the true story of the Austrian woman who’d been held captive for years and who bore the children of her captor, this is a tale of strength and survival told through the eyes of the victim’s young son.
My Goodreads review: I thought it was brilliant of Donoghue to give five-year-old Jack the exclusive point of view. It was easy to get inside his skin, and seeing that terrible world through the eyes of innocence made it bearable in a way it might not have been if we’d been in his mother’s point of view. It’s a story that left me longing to know what happened after I read the last page. I couldn’t put it down.
♥♥♥
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
My apologies for yet another ‘held captive’ book. It was only coincidental that I read them back to back, and they were both excellent. Still Missing is a debut novel I couldn’t put down about a young woman trying to put her life back together after spending nearly a year as the captive of a psychopath.
My Goodreads review: Well done and so engrossing. It’s easy to feel as trapped as the protagonist, both by the physical space in which her kidnapper was keeping her and the emotional trap that experience created for her. I had a little trouble with the ending, but not enough to spoil the enjoyment of the book at all. Just a little necessary suspension of disbelief. I look forward to Ms. Stevens’ next book.
♥♥♥
No Death, No Fear by Thich Nhat Hanh
Non-fiction.
I guess when it comes right down to it, I am more Buddhist than anything else and I adore Thich Nhat Hanh and his wisdom. If you’ve lost someone you love or are thinking about your own mortality, this is the book for you.
My Goodreads review: May I give this book 6 stars? I’ve read it several times and am comforted by it each time. It usually causes me to walk around saying to myself I am that rock. I am that cloud. I am that man waiting for his bus. I am that homeless woman standing on the median strip. and feeling great joy at the epiphany and hoping no one is watching me and the goofy expression on my face. Just thinking about Thich Nhat Hanh makes me smile.
♥♥♥
Yes, I do occasionally read lighter books, and here’s number 11 on my list to prove it:
Homer’s Odyssey by Gwen Cooper
Memoir
At two weeks of age, a tiny abandoned kitten was found with a severe eye infection that required removal of his eyes. Gwen Cooper adopted him and this is his heartwarming, chuckle-inducing story. (And no animals die. I refuse to read books in which animals die!)
My Goodreads review:
I’m a dog person, but this book made me want a cat–if only family allergies didn’t make that a very bad idea. I laughed out loud at Homer’s antics, although there are some very serious moments in the story, since the author lived close to the World Trade Center in New York. I felt her tension when she couldn’t get back to her beloved cats after the Twin Towers collapsed. If you can’t stand anthropomorphizing of animals, this may not be the book for you, but if you’re one of those people who know animals ‘have feelings too’, you will love this story. What a lucky boy Homer is to have Gwen Cooper as his mom.
♥♥♥
I hope you’ll share your favorites of 2010 with us!
♥♥♥
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
Trudy, a professor of German history, discovers a photograph of that sends her on a search for the truth about her mother’s past in Germany during World War II. Her mother, Anna, refuses to talk about that time in her life, but Trudy relentlessly digs for answers that she may not be ready to learn.
My Goodreads review: Excellent book. I admire how Blum was able to make the contemporary story nearly as tense and suspenseful as the story from the past, which is extremely difficult to do. Trudy may not be at risk physically, as was her mother, but her psychological well-being is equally as precarious. Great job.
♥♥♥
Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
Absolutely gripping. Don’t read the cover copy. Go into it as I did–with no idea where the story is going. That way you’ll be as a stunned as the central character is when ‘it’ happens. This book asks the question “How do people survive the worst that can happen?”
My Goodreads review: Beautifully written. Not much happens in the first half, yet I was engaged from the start because Quindlen made me want to know her characters. She drew them so realistically, they felt like my neighbors–which makes what happens to them that much more devastating. You often wonder how someone can go on living after a tragedy. Quindlen has taken on the challenge of exploring exactly that, with compassion, heart and skill.
♥♥♥
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. By Rebecca Skloot
Non-fiction
Skloot did a decade of research for this fascinating book. It’s really two stories in one. The first is about the sixty-year-old cervical cells of Henrietta Lacks, cells that have had an impact on your life and mine in ways that will surprise you. The second story is about the Lacks family, descendants of slaves, who had no idea Henrietta’s cells had been “taken” without her permission and used for hundreds of purposes world-wide. The cells live on to this day. The book covers all aspects of the situation, from the technical details of cell reproduction to the ethical questions of using someone’s cells without their permission, to the toll taken on the Lacks family as they realize what happened.
My Goodreads review: Can’t wait to recommend this book to my book club! It will make for a fabulous discussion. This book can satisfy several audiences on several different levels. The technical information about the science of cells is fascinating. The ethical questions raised by the unauthorized use of someone’s cells are important to ask and ponder. But most fascinating is the story of the Lacks family. Skloot’s exhaustive research spanned a decade and she tells a story that is honest, heart wrenching and provocative.
♥♥♥
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
The story is a simple one about a complex time in US history: a Chinese boy falls in love with a Japanese girl shortly before she and her family are taken to an internment camp. Moving between the present and the past, he searches for her both in ‘real life’ and in his heart.
My Goodreads review: Lovely book. I listened to it on audio and the narrator was excellent. I liked the shift back and forth between Henry as a older man and Henry the boy. The author really made it work, and I’m a sucker for a happy ending.
♥♥♥
On Folly Beach by Karen White
This is the dual story of a young woman who moves to Folly Beach, SC to try to put her life back together after the death of her husband in Afghanistan. She discovers coded love letters written during World War II and becomes obsessed with finding out who wrote them and the story of their affair.
My Goodreads review: Totally loved it. It reminded me of my own books, so clearly it was the sort of story that resonates with me. Well done and engrossing. Karen did a beautiful job balancing different points of view and different time periods. A delight.
♥♥♥
The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
If you love Berg’s writing, you’ll love this book. Again, it’s about a woman starting over after the loss of her husband. She’s a wonderfully likable and admirable character learning to take comfort in the every day.
My Goodreads review: This is a quiet book. It’s a gentle and uplifting story of a woman coming back to life after losing her husband. Berg always leaves me satisfied.
♥♥♥
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
I’m a big fan of Brooks. (If you haven’t read Year of Wonders, I highly recommend it). A young woman who restores old books discovers the secrets buried in an ancient illuminated Jewish prayer book. Through alternating chapters, Brooks takes you through history to follow the book’s journey to the present.
My Goodreads review: Fabulous, fabulous! I learned so much and enjoyed every minute. Geraldine Brooks is amazing,
♥♥♥
Room by Emma Donoghue
Inspired by the true story of the Austrian woman who’d been held captive for years and who bore the children of her captor, this is a tale of strength and survival told through the eyes of the victim’s young son.
My Goodreads review: I thought it was brilliant of Donoghue to give five-year-old Jack the exclusive point of view. It was easy to get inside his skin, and seeing that terrible world through the eyes of innocence made it bearable in a way it might not have been if we’d been in his mother’s point of view. It’s a story that left me longing to know what happened after I read the last page. I couldn’t put it down.
♥♥♥
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
My apologies for yet another ‘held captive’ book. It was only coincidental that I read them back to back, and they were both excellent. Still Missing is a debut novel I couldn’t put down about a young woman trying to put her life back together after spending nearly a year as the captive of a psychopath.
My Goodreads review: Well done and so engrossing. It’s easy to feel as trapped as the protagonist, both by the physical space in which her kidnapper was keeping her and the emotional trap that experience created for her. I had a little trouble with the ending, but not enough to spoil the enjoyment of the book at all. Just a little necessary suspension of disbelief. I look forward to Ms. Stevens’ next book.
♥♥♥
No Death, No Fear by Thich Nhat Hanh
Non-fiction.
I guess when it comes right down to it, I am more Buddhist than anything else and I adore Thich Nhat Hanh and his wisdom. If you’ve lost someone you love or are thinking about your own mortality, this is the book for you.
My Goodreads review: May I give this book 6 stars? I’ve read it several times and am comforted by it each time. It usually causes me to walk around saying to myself I am that rock. I am that cloud. I am that man waiting for his bus. I am that homeless woman standing on the median strip. and feeling great joy at the epiphany and hoping no one is watching me and the goofy expression on my face. Just thinking about Thich Nhat Hanh makes me smile.
♥♥♥
Yes, I do occasionally read lighter books, and here’s number 11 on my list to prove it:
Homer’s Odyssey by Gwen Cooper
Memoir
At two weeks of age, a tiny abandoned kitten was found with a severe eye infection that required removal of his eyes. Gwen Cooper adopted him and this is his heartwarming, chuckle-inducing story. (And no animals die. I refuse to read books in which animals die!)
My Goodreads review:
I’m a dog person, but this book made me want a cat–if only family allergies didn’t make that a very bad idea. I laughed out loud at Homer’s antics, although there are some very serious moments in the story, since the author lived close to the World Trade Center in New York. I felt her tension when she couldn’t get back to her beloved cats after the Twin Towers collapsed. If you can’t stand anthropomorphizing of animals, this may not be the book for you, but if you’re one of those people who know animals ‘have feelings too’, you will love this story. What a lucky boy Homer is to have Gwen Cooper as his mom.
♥♥♥
I hope you’ll share your favorites of 2010 with us!
December 11, 2010
Brass Ring Returns!
As many of you know, I’m gradually releasing my older out-of-print books as e-books, and Brass Ring is the latest addition to the list. (The others so far are Secret Lives, Reflection and The Escape Artist). You can find it (and read free samples of it) for your Kindle or Nook, or for any other e-reader through Smashwords, (although it will probably be a little longer before it will be up at Apple’s iBookstore.) For those of you who prefer print books, you might be able to find old copies of Brass Ring on eBay or through the interlibrary loan program in the US. (original cover below)
As with the other out-of-print books I’ve released as e-books, Brass Ring had to be scanned so that I could work with the file on the computer. Scanning makes for tons of errors and necessitates a careful read-through. Rereading these old books is such an odd experience for me. I see how my writing has changed over time. From a purely structural perspective, for example, I no longer switch points of view in the middle of a chapter as I did back then — although I was always cautious to do so only after a break in the scene. I wrote only from third person, where I now tend to vary my books between first and third person. And I had some weird thing against contractions! “Did not” “had not” “would not” “could not.” What’s up with that? I did a ‘global search’ for all these words and replaced them with contractions, which sound so much better to my 2010 ears for some reason. However, I’d forgotten one of the dangers of ‘global search and replace’ when I noticed the contractions “hadn’thing” and “didn’thing.” I had to then search for those contractions and change them to the words they were meant to be (had nothing and did nothing).
I believe the story is different than one I would write today, but I’m not sure I can put my finger on why I feel that way. I think I may have been a braver writer when I wrote Brass Ring. It deals with some mega-tough issues: repressed memories, the sexual life of a paraplegic, child abuse. Perhaps I was closer to my first career as a psychotherapist back then and those issues were easier for me to deal with than they’d be today. As I reread the book, though, I felt proud of the job I did with them. I didn’t shy away from much.
I’ll blog in a few days about repressed memories, because it’s such a controversial issue and deserves a few paragraphs all its own. Meanwhile, here’s a short synopsis of the story for those of you unfamiliar with the book.
Perpetual optimist Claire Harte-Mathias and her disabled husband, Jon, run a successful foundation to help people with spinal cord injuries. One night, Claire witnesses a woman leap to her death from a bridge, and the tragedy sparks murky childhood memories that leave her confused and frightened. As Claire becomes obsessed with trying to understand the power the haunting memories have over her, she’s torn between blocking them from her mind entirely and trying to unearth their source. Putting both her marriage and self image on the line, she struggles to uncover the truth, only to discover that the past, present and future are connected in ways she never dreamed.
I hope you find Brass Ring both enjoyable and thought provoking!
As with the other out-of-print books I’ve released as e-books, Brass Ring had to be scanned so that I could work with the file on the computer. Scanning makes for tons of errors and necessitates a careful read-through. Rereading these old books is such an odd experience for me. I see how my writing has changed over time. From a purely structural perspective, for example, I no longer switch points of view in the middle of a chapter as I did back then — although I was always cautious to do so only after a break in the scene. I wrote only from third person, where I now tend to vary my books between first and third person. And I had some weird thing against contractions! “Did not” “had not” “would not” “could not.” What’s up with that? I did a ‘global search’ for all these words and replaced them with contractions, which sound so much better to my 2010 ears for some reason. However, I’d forgotten one of the dangers of ‘global search and replace’ when I noticed the contractions “hadn’thing” and “didn’thing.” I had to then search for those contractions and change them to the words they were meant to be (had nothing and did nothing).
I believe the story is different than one I would write today, but I’m not sure I can put my finger on why I feel that way. I think I may have been a braver writer when I wrote Brass Ring. It deals with some mega-tough issues: repressed memories, the sexual life of a paraplegic, child abuse. Perhaps I was closer to my first career as a psychotherapist back then and those issues were easier for me to deal with than they’d be today. As I reread the book, though, I felt proud of the job I did with them. I didn’t shy away from much.
I’ll blog in a few days about repressed memories, because it’s such a controversial issue and deserves a few paragraphs all its own. Meanwhile, here’s a short synopsis of the story for those of you unfamiliar with the book.
Perpetual optimist Claire Harte-Mathias and her disabled husband, Jon, run a successful foundation to help people with spinal cord injuries. One night, Claire witnesses a woman leap to her death from a bridge, and the tragedy sparks murky childhood memories that leave her confused and frightened. As Claire becomes obsessed with trying to understand the power the haunting memories have over her, she’s torn between blocking them from her mind entirely and trying to unearth their source. Putting both her marriage and self image on the line, she struggles to uncover the truth, only to discover that the past, present and future are connected in ways she never dreamed.
I hope you find Brass Ring both enjoyable and thought provoking!
December 3, 2010
Walk, Whelks and Work
Yup, that’s my life for a few days. Walk the beach and pick up whelks, then work on my outline, then walk the beach and pick up whelks, then work on my outline, etcetera. It’s a rough life! It’s cold and clear here on Topsail Island and the beach is bejeweled with the biggest shells I’ve ever had the joy of seeing outside a store. I also found a cool vertebrae that belonged to a . . . I have no idea.
The Island has its cute little holiday lights up on the lightpoles. Mermaids, seahorses, palm trees, starfish, sailboats, turtles, reindeer and so much more. Very simple, but they really stand out on the dark, nearly deserted island.
One thing I know for sure about the book I’m outlining: it’s going to need a new title. I’ve been calling it The Waif, but to avoid having different titles in different English speaking markets (see my last post to understand the importance of this!), I need a title that will have more universal appeal and sound more contemporary. So John and I are brainstorming and soon I’ll be asking you all for your help, too.
It’s nearly time for bed. I can’t wait to get up early again tomorrow morning to see what gifts the sea has left for us!
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The Island has its cute little holiday lights up on the lightpoles. Mermaids, seahorses, palm trees, starfish, sailboats, turtles, reindeer and so much more. Very simple, but they really stand out on the dark, nearly deserted island.
One thing I know for sure about the book I’m outlining: it’s going to need a new title. I’ve been calling it The Waif, but to avoid having different titles in different English speaking markets (see my last post to understand the importance of this!), I need a title that will have more universal appeal and sound more contemporary. So John and I are brainstorming and soon I’ll be asking you all for your help, too.
It’s nearly time for bed. I can’t wait to get up early again tomorrow morning to see what gifts the sea has left for us!
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November 29, 2010
It’s Worse than I Expected
Want to see what some of my readers have been emailing me lately?
“Shame on you!”
“How can you be so deceptive? I’ll never read another of your books!!!”
“I know you did this just to make a buck. Disgusting.”
Honestly, it’s worse than I expected. I have, however, appreciated the kind and thoughtful emails and Facebook messages I’ve received from readers confused over a) the title change for Cypress Point (The Shadow Wife) and b) the three different titles in three different countries for The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes and Breaking the Silence. I asked my publisher not to change Cypress Point’s title, knowing that it would cause me problems, both personally, because I’m being attacked (to a degree I never anticipated) and professionally, because I don’t blame a reader for not trusting my next book to be one they haven’t already read.
As I’ve mentioned many times, authors don’t have much clout, if any, when it comes to covers and titles. The argument for keeping Cypress Point as Cypress Point was unwinnable, and I’ve had no say in how publishers in other countries title my books. Book purchasing sites list all the titles as though they are separate books. Devoted readers order them all, only to discover they have three different copies of CeeCee Wilkes. I don’t blame them a bit for being annoyed and feeling duped.
I’m forwarding the emails I recieve to my publisher and they’ve been sympathetic and responsive. I know they did what they thought was best at the time. With The Shadow Wife/Cypress Point they wanted a title more in keeping with my current books, while publishers in other countries choose titles they think will better appeal to their market. I believe my publisher had no idea the havoc the title changes would cause and I’m happy to share that havoc with them so this won’t happen to me–or to their other authors–in the future. I will never again allow a title change on an American book, I can promise you that!
There is a printable booklist in the upper right hand corner of my Books Page on my website that is up to date and that will help you know which book is which. However, if it’s too late for that and you’ve purchased a book you’ve already read under a different title, please email me at diane@dianechamberlain.com. I want to know how many of you are affected. All I ask is that you keep it civil!
“Shame on you!”
“How can you be so deceptive? I’ll never read another of your books!!!”
“I know you did this just to make a buck. Disgusting.”
Honestly, it’s worse than I expected. I have, however, appreciated the kind and thoughtful emails and Facebook messages I’ve received from readers confused over a) the title change for Cypress Point (The Shadow Wife) and b) the three different titles in three different countries for The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes and Breaking the Silence. I asked my publisher not to change Cypress Point’s title, knowing that it would cause me problems, both personally, because I’m being attacked (to a degree I never anticipated) and professionally, because I don’t blame a reader for not trusting my next book to be one they haven’t already read.
As I’ve mentioned many times, authors don’t have much clout, if any, when it comes to covers and titles. The argument for keeping Cypress Point as Cypress Point was unwinnable, and I’ve had no say in how publishers in other countries title my books. Book purchasing sites list all the titles as though they are separate books. Devoted readers order them all, only to discover they have three different copies of CeeCee Wilkes. I don’t blame them a bit for being annoyed and feeling duped.
I’m forwarding the emails I recieve to my publisher and they’ve been sympathetic and responsive. I know they did what they thought was best at the time. With The Shadow Wife/Cypress Point they wanted a title more in keeping with my current books, while publishers in other countries choose titles they think will better appeal to their market. I believe my publisher had no idea the havoc the title changes would cause and I’m happy to share that havoc with them so this won’t happen to me–or to their other authors–in the future. I will never again allow a title change on an American book, I can promise you that!
There is a printable booklist in the upper right hand corner of my Books Page on my website that is up to date and that will help you know which book is which. However, if it’s too late for that and you’ve purchased a book you’ve already read under a different title, please email me at diane@dianechamberlain.com. I want to know how many of you are affected. All I ask is that you keep it civil!
November 25, 2010
The Shadow Wife
The Shadow Wife, which is the reissue of my 2002 novel, Cypress Point, goes on sale today! (The e-book will be available December 1). You can read the prologue on my website. It’s one of my personal favorites.
The Shadow Wife is a story close to my heart in many ways.
First, the setting. Although I now make North Carolina my home, I lived in California for many years and I try to get back there every few years. On one visit, I drove along the stunning Seventeen-Mile Drive in Monterey, getting out of my car near the mystical “ghost trees” that cling to the rocky coastline. From there, I spotted a mansion high on a cliff. In my imagination, I saw two little girls on the mansion’s veranda. It was as if the ghost trees were offering me an image from the past. I thought about those girls and what it would have been like to grow up on a cliff high above the Pacific. From that seedling of an idea, the story for The Shadow Wife developed into something complex and, I hope, intriguing.
Another reason this story is special to me is that I gave the central character, Joelle D’Angelo, my old job as a clinical social worker in a high risk maternity unit. I loved doing that work myself, being able to touch many lives in a positive way. Aside from her occupation, however, Joelle and I are not very much alike and I would hate to be confronted with the personal dilemma The Shadow Wife presents for her. She faces hard choices and makes them with a sort of nobility I hope I would possess if I found myself in her shoes.
Finally, I wanted to explore healing in this story. Having a serious illness has taught me that healing comes in many forms. It’s a loaded subject for me, and I suspect it is for many of you as well.
Many readers have asked me why I changed the title of this book. If it had been up to me, I would never have made the change, but my publisher was firm about wanting a new title more in keeping with the recent “look” of my books– that is people centered instead of place centered. I’m doing my best to make sure readers know that The Shadow Wife and Cypress Point are the same story, and was even able to get Amazon to add that fact right after the title! I hope you’ll help me spread the word. And I hope that, regardless of the title, this story of love and healing is one you’ll enjoy.
The Shadow Wife is a story close to my heart in many ways.
First, the setting. Although I now make North Carolina my home, I lived in California for many years and I try to get back there every few years. On one visit, I drove along the stunning Seventeen-Mile Drive in Monterey, getting out of my car near the mystical “ghost trees” that cling to the rocky coastline. From there, I spotted a mansion high on a cliff. In my imagination, I saw two little girls on the mansion’s veranda. It was as if the ghost trees were offering me an image from the past. I thought about those girls and what it would have been like to grow up on a cliff high above the Pacific. From that seedling of an idea, the story for The Shadow Wife developed into something complex and, I hope, intriguing.
Another reason this story is special to me is that I gave the central character, Joelle D’Angelo, my old job as a clinical social worker in a high risk maternity unit. I loved doing that work myself, being able to touch many lives in a positive way. Aside from her occupation, however, Joelle and I are not very much alike and I would hate to be confronted with the personal dilemma The Shadow Wife presents for her. She faces hard choices and makes them with a sort of nobility I hope I would possess if I found myself in her shoes.
Finally, I wanted to explore healing in this story. Having a serious illness has taught me that healing comes in many forms. It’s a loaded subject for me, and I suspect it is for many of you as well.
Many readers have asked me why I changed the title of this book. If it had been up to me, I would never have made the change, but my publisher was firm about wanting a new title more in keeping with the recent “look” of my books– that is people centered instead of place centered. I’m doing my best to make sure readers know that The Shadow Wife and Cypress Point are the same story, and was even able to get Amazon to add that fact right after the title! I hope you’ll help me spread the word. And I hope that, regardless of the title, this story of love and healing is one you’ll enjoy.
November 19, 2010
Giving Up on Character Names
No, I’m not going to start numbering the people in my books, but I am hereby abandoning my obsessive need to give each character a brand new, never before used, name. A couple of years ago, I asked my assistant to go through my books (seventeen at the time) and list all the first names and surnames of my characters as well as all the place names I’d made up. I had her put an asterisk next to the names belonging to main characters so I wouldn’t reuse them — or at least not use them in books that came out right after one another. This was easy when I had one book a year, but now that my older books are being reissued, I surrender! I promise there will never be another Annie or CeeCee, but every other name is fair game!
Want to help? There’s a newborn baby in my work-in-progress and I haven’t named her yet. She’s a little colicky and her mom, Alissa, is a frustrated seventeen-year-old. Any ideas for the little one?
Want to help? There’s a newborn baby in my work-in-progress and I haven’t named her yet. She’s a little colicky and her mom, Alissa, is a frustrated seventeen-year-old. Any ideas for the little one?
October 29, 2010
Do You Know Anyone with Rheumatoid Arthritis?
If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know that I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. A while back, I heard from Healthination, Inc, asking me if I was interested in being featured in a series of educational videos they were creating about RA. I was honored to be asked, but I was not only dealing with deadlines, I was also in the midst of coping with other health issues at the time (remember my stint as the turkey at the Mayo Clinic?). Reluctantly, I turned them down, but they found a far better spokeswoman than I ever could have been in cookbook author and arthritis warrior Melinda Winner. Believe me, cooking with RA has its challenges (Melinda has a great website devoted to the subject), and I love her videos that show how Melinda has learned not just to live with RA but to thrive in spite of it. If you know someone with RA, I think these videos will help you understand what her (or his) life is like a bit better.
I do have a couple of thoughts I’d like to add to what Melinda has to say, both for the RA sufferer and those who care about her. I guess what concerns me most about showing people who have overcome adversity of any sort is the guilt they can induce in people who aren’t at that point in the process yet. Note that Melinda has had RA for a long time. She wasn’t this powerhouse right out of the gate. (I’m personally still waiting to become a powerhouse!). Before RA is under medicated control, exercise, courage, and good spirits may simply be impossible, and that’s okay. Give yourself a break!
While Melinda stresses the need for exercise–and I agree–someone with RA has to be very cautious about the sort of exercise she does. All I need is a walk through a big box store to give me enough pain in my ankle to make sleep impossible, but the recumbent bike or the pool work just fine. It’s a matter of experimentation and there may be times when a flare is so bad that rest makes more sense than exercise. An inflamed joint should not be exercised and until the right medication is found to control inflammation, physical activity may be very limited. Before the right medication came along for me, I wrote two entire books using voice recognition software. I couldn’t type or cut a piece of pie or pull the sheets up to my chin. Exercise? I don’t think so! So if that’s where you are in the disease process, talk to your doctor about what you can and can’t do and don’t let anyone give you a guilt trip about your need to baby your joints.
Everyone is different. I receive an infusion drug for RA and there are always several other folks getting their meds at the same time I do. I marvel at how different we all are in our symptoms, our abilities, and the benefit–or lack of benefit–we get from various medications. So, be inspired by amazing women like Melinda, but be gentle with yourself or with your loved one who has RA. Learning to cope with chronic illness is a journey. Sometimes your pace of physical or emotional recovery may seem glacial, but with the new treatment options available and a better understanding of this disease, your chance of living a full and comfortable life are excellent. I know that for a fact.
I do have a couple of thoughts I’d like to add to what Melinda has to say, both for the RA sufferer and those who care about her. I guess what concerns me most about showing people who have overcome adversity of any sort is the guilt they can induce in people who aren’t at that point in the process yet. Note that Melinda has had RA for a long time. She wasn’t this powerhouse right out of the gate. (I’m personally still waiting to become a powerhouse!). Before RA is under medicated control, exercise, courage, and good spirits may simply be impossible, and that’s okay. Give yourself a break!
While Melinda stresses the need for exercise–and I agree–someone with RA has to be very cautious about the sort of exercise she does. All I need is a walk through a big box store to give me enough pain in my ankle to make sleep impossible, but the recumbent bike or the pool work just fine. It’s a matter of experimentation and there may be times when a flare is so bad that rest makes more sense than exercise. An inflamed joint should not be exercised and until the right medication is found to control inflammation, physical activity may be very limited. Before the right medication came along for me, I wrote two entire books using voice recognition software. I couldn’t type or cut a piece of pie or pull the sheets up to my chin. Exercise? I don’t think so! So if that’s where you are in the disease process, talk to your doctor about what you can and can’t do and don’t let anyone give you a guilt trip about your need to baby your joints.
Everyone is different. I receive an infusion drug for RA and there are always several other folks getting their meds at the same time I do. I marvel at how different we all are in our symptoms, our abilities, and the benefit–or lack of benefit–we get from various medications. So, be inspired by amazing women like Melinda, but be gentle with yourself or with your loved one who has RA. Learning to cope with chronic illness is a journey. Sometimes your pace of physical or emotional recovery may seem glacial, but with the new treatment options available and a better understanding of this disease, your chance of living a full and comfortable life are excellent. I know that for a fact.
