LeAnn’s Comments (group member since Apr 26, 2010)

LeAnn’s comments from the Q&A with LeAnn Neal Reilly group.

Mandy wrote: "I just read The Glass Castle for a book club. It was a truly inspiring read- simply reading it and finding the juxtaposition between the author's tone and the story being related helped..."

Nicely put, Mandy. I try to tell my children that they need to distinguish between minor inconveniences and setbacks and real hardships, but I don't think that's easy for anyone to do, let alone children, when life isn't filled with real hardships for them.

Mandy wrote: "I grew up on Disney- but got into the Brothers Grimm in my teens. I have really loved the various twists and turns in the updated versions of the classic stories. Thanks for giving me more author/t..."

I've spent so much time writing my own version that I had no idea how many other options are out there! We can discuss them for quite some time to come, I think.

saferia wrote: "A character that got under my skin was Elphaba from "Wicked." She was so misunderstood, and I felt for her every time something she said or did was taken the wrong way (aside form when she was a ba..."

I've been curious about Wicked for several years now. Do you know if it reads like one of the original Oz books?

Sometimes writers are so moved by characters and books that they write a response to them. I read two of the Oz books growing up, but they didn't get under my skin as they did with Gregory Maguire.

lindsae wrote: "Valerie wrote: "lindsae wrote: "May I also suggest Sense, Sensibility and Sea Monsters."

Never heard of it- what is it about?"

It is Sense and Sensibility rewritten as if sea monsters were a norm..."

Valerie, have you heard of

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? The author got the idea for weaving in a zombie element using the original story, something called a "mashup." It was a huge success and spawned several other mashups.

Valerie wrote: "Another one that I LOVE is "Sun & Moon, Ice & Snow" by Jessica Day George. It's based on a Norwegian folktale called "East of the Sun, West of the Moon." It has polar bears and goblin princesses and undercurrents of a Beauty and the Beast story. "East" by Edith Patou is based on the same folktale, and I liked it, but I liked "Sun & Moon, Ice & Snow" better."

Also on my to-read shelf. Hm. Now two retellings that I need to read sooner rather than later.

Valerie wrote: "Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility (one of my favorite books) is very real to me. She’s got a lot going on in her mind and in her heart, it’s a wonder she doesn’t explode! (And I think we ..."

Now I have to go read Sense and Sensibility! I've only seen the movie version with Emma Thompson (love her) and Kate Winslet.

Julia wrote: "I think for me the character that first comes to mind is Lucy from Julia Quinn's On the Way to the Wedding. When I reread it recently, the struggle that Lucy goes through in trying to..."

I thought I'd read a Julia Quinn book, but then I couldn't find her on my "read" shelf. I'll have to keep her in mind for future reading.

Some of the best characters are the ones I see myself in. It's one way to try out different choices without the consequences.

saferia wrote: "I loved The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, which is a modern retelling. Favorite fairy tales from childhood included "Red Riding Hood", "King Thrushbeard", and "The Twelve Dancing Prince..."

The Goose Girl looks like fun and something I can share with my children. I got a copy of Princess of the Midnight Ball to read with them a while back, but we've had less reading together time lately. Have you read it? It's a retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." Or how about Wildwood Dancing, another retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses"?

♥Eva♥ wrote: "I can't answer this question right now either. :("

GoodReads required me to set a date for discussing my book, but I'm an active GoodReads member and definitely want to discuss my own novel with other members so I'll be around to discuss it whenever you're ready. ;-)

♥Eva♥ wrote: "I've talked to a lot of mom friends (and a few dad friends too) and have learned the same thing. I think my fears on this may be more deeply rooted. Not because of any kind of abuse but I remember ..."

Well, we do all have our individual personalities. I was certainly much more fearful than a lot of mothers I knew when my children were a lot younger. I just couldn't leave them with anyone who wasn't family for any length of time, which meant I didn't leave them very much. That's hard on a parent, but as we all get older, it's getting easier and easier. For some of us, it's a longer process.

As for Picoult, I've only read two of her novels and started a third. I loved Keeping Faith so I picked up The Tenth Circle, which emotionally exhausted me by keeping me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I'd been studying techniques to improve my own novel and I recognized that Ms. Picoult had, for me, done something wrong. Tension in a novel is supposed to keep rising, but she'd started it at such a high level that it was hard to get higher so it really didn't rise as much as stayed level. When I tried to read her Change of Heart, I couldn't suspend my disbelief about the premise enough to read it. It was such an unlikely set of circumstances that I felt it bordered on fantasy while being treated as powerful social commentary. It took away my interest in the novel, but I can appreciate why she appeals to a lot of readers even if she no longer appeals to me. Does that make sense?

Dana wrote: "Lindsae,
I read Godmother not too long ago and really liked it. It was an interesting twist on Cinderella. Did you know that her book is called Mermaid and is a twist on The Little Mermaid?

A..."

I haven't heard of either Godmother or Mermaid, but the description of Godmother sounds like it has a similar feel, if not the same kind of ending. I'll have to check them out soon. Thanks for the suggestions.

lindsae wrote: "My favorite book is Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. I have read it so many times over the years and it always speaks to me in a different way each time. I love that I learn something..."

Another classic work that I haven't yet read. One of my own life goals is to read more classic works and make up for my lack in literary education. Anything I can read more than once and find something different, especially poetry, will take top priority. That's why I like Shakespeare and Austen, actually.

lindsae wrote: "I am working my way back through the Grimms since it has been so long. But the most recent version I have liked is Godmother: the secret cinderella story. It is a twist on cinderella with a dash of..."

"Dash of redemption and bizarre": two intriguing descriptions if I ever read any!

Eva Marie,

I don't know how to measure your fear, but many moms I know, myself included, have found that their empathy levels go way up once they have children. Many of my friends with children tell me that they can't watch or read stories that aren't "feel good" because they feel for the characters so much. If that's true, how much more do they worry and fear for their children? I think that's one of the reasons Jodi Picoult is so successful (and she's a mom of three herself). She knows how to reach her readers that way.

Jenn wrote: "Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games. She's a minor character, but she's so self-absorbed and makes such flippant, thoughtless comments in the first Hunger Games book, that she sticks with you. Also..."

I like character development that takes time to occur, even over several books. Effie Trinket's name is intriguing. It certainly calls to mind certain ideas about a character.

Shannon wrote: "Well the charachter I think about the most is Ranger form the Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. It's not very deep but I'm in love with him. Well if you can be in love with an imaginary char..."

Yes, well, I'm one of those Twilight moms who loves Edward. I suspect it's because he does remind me of my husband.

Sally wrote: "If I could pick one character that is very real to me, it would be Rosalie from the Twilight series. She comes of as snotty, stuck-up, mean, cold, and just not very nice. She's very guarded. I coul..."

I agree that Rosalie had more complexity to her than we had the chance to see in the first two of the Twilight books. If we'd never gotten to see that other side of her, she might not have seemed as real.

We started the weekly giveaways by discussing those books that left a lasting impression on us. Obviously, there are almost as many factors in making a book memorable as there are readers, but I happen to think that characters who come to life for a reader are at the top of the list. Novelists are often advised to imagine having conversations with their characters to make them come to life (or perhaps, to check that they are already alive for the novelist).

Disney's version of The Little Mermaid inspired my idea for The Mermaid's Pendant, but it was my imagined conversations with Lucy, an elderly widowed neighbor of the former mermaid, that really formed the kernel of the story. Lucy was so real that she helped me stay dedicated to rewriting the novel (which, I have to tell you, took a lot of time and stamina). I can still imagine having a cup of tea with her and asking her for her wise insight.

This week's giveaway topic is to describe a character who got under your skin and came alive for you. The character doesn't have to be pleasant or someone you'd like to have tea with (for example, Iago from Shakespeare's Othello is very real to me, but I'd run away if I saw him coming).

Good luck everyone! I can tell you I'm very much looking forward to the characters you share.

Laura wrote: "A note to the author of a recent favorite book:

Dear Kristen Jane Anderson:

Thank you so much for your memoir, Life, In Spite of Me. Your struggle with depression led you to lie down on railroad..."

Congratulations, Laura! I've selected you for this week's signed copy of The Mermaid's Pendant. Please send me a message with your address.

Ashley wrote: "The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. :D

"Dear Mrs. Bradley,

I loved reading about Morgaine's previously neglected side of the Arthurian saga. Instead of a stock villain, s..."

I enjoyed The Mists of Avalon a great deal when I read it, especially the Celtic mythology woven in, which I hadn't known about before. It's certainly a big book and an original take on the Arthurian legend.