Category Archive

“If there is one thing worse than being an ugly duckling in a house of swans, it’s having the swans pretend there’s no difference.”

Teena Booth, Falling From Fire 

A good book review can tell you what there is to like (or not) about a book. A great review illuminates the theme of the book and places it in the canon of literature where it belongs. I love a truly great review of my books, because they tell me what my theme was. While writing, I don’t usually know what the theme is. The most thoughtful of readers will do this, tell me what meaning they’ve taken away from the book. That’s why I love this review of The Charm School.  It’s a discussion of the book’s meaning to this reader. When I wrote the book, I was aiming for a rollicking romantic adventure, but this reviewer mentioned the deeper meaning of Isadora’s storyline, and its relation to the darker theme of the book–bondage (institutionalized, and emotional) and the terrible toll it takes, and the joys and rewards of throwing it off. When I read this bit:

Isadora’s plight and flight are plausible due to deft handling of the hero and heroine and to Wiggs’s creation of secondary characters who exist in other types of restrictive societies. Journey’s wife, Delilah, and others are shackled by the institution of slavery. They, no less than Isadora, are freed emotionally and physically while Wiggs delivers a powerful message with great moral effectiveness.

 …I realized, finally, months after finishing it, what my book was really about. So thank you, Sue Klock! You really nailed it with this one.  It celebrates everything I love to write about, including my pet theme, the power of love to transform a person’s life. 

I often tell people this is one of my “money-back guarantee” books, meaning if you don’t like it, please take it back to the store and ask for a refund (most bookstores will comply). Because honestly, it’s one of the most “likeable” books I’ve ever written, even with that naughty, naughty rain forest love scene with the funny cigars. (The review cited above offers readers a warning about that….) When you’re writing about a young woman’s sexual awakening, you find yourself thinking up stuff like this.

“Charity sees the need, not the cause.”

–German proverb

It’s that time of year again. The tireless Brenda Novak–writer, friend, and mother to a boy living with diabetes–is holding her annual auction to benefit diabetes research. I’m offering up my garden guest house for a weekend at the beach on Puget Sound. Last year, this item was enjoyed by a writers’ group who had met online, and had never been together in person. They had perfect weather and a great time. Here’s some information from Brenda. Knock yourself out and check out the offerings. There’s something for everyone–that’s a promise.

Don’t miss Brenda Novak’s 4th Annual On-line Auction May 1 - May 31st at www.brendanovak.com. There will be nearly 1300 items, many of which you can’t find anywhere else, and something for every budget from a drumhead signed by a whole slew of famous music artists (Michael Jackson, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, Bruce Springstein, Madonna and too many others to list) to a treasure trove of fun items donated by aspiring author Lauren Hawkeye. In addition, aspiring novelists can bid on evaluations from some of the most powerful agents and editors in the business—some with the promise of a 24-hour response (unheard of in the publishing industry). And for the person who places the highest number of bids over all (even if that person doesn’t win a single item) a fabulous prize package that includes a brand new camcorder (worth over $1000). Don’t miss this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. Go to www.BrendaNovak.com to register and receive a $10 gift certificate to use toward your auction purchases.

The Charm School, first published in 1999, is a USA Today Bestseller again. It was the first of my books to appear on this list–I still have the printout from April 1999. Here we go again. So happy for Isadora, Ryan and the motley gang aboard the Swan. And very grateful to the readers who are embracing this book.

I don’t actually travel that much because the writing schedule doesn’t allow it. However, after updating the schedule of appearances on my web site, I sat back and thought, yikes.

I’ve taught myself to travel light. Not out of any particular virtue, but because waiting for checked luggage to appear is too tense for a traveler who has to catch a ferry. Those extra ten (sometimes more) minutes can mean the difference between catching the 8:I0 and the 9:00pm boats. Doesn’t seem like a huge difference, but at the end of a transcontinental journey, trust me, it matters. So my rule is that I have to fit everything for a trip of any length into a carry-on-sized rollaboard, and a largish shoulder bag. This includes my purse and laptop. If it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t come. My mother–who has been known to fly from Sydney to Seattle with nothing but a pocketbook–sometimes says, “Bring twice as much money as you think you’ll need, and half the clothes.” She’s right, of course.

Anyway, I would love to meet you! I have upcoming appearances in Bainbridge Island, Washington, Seattle, Los Angeles, Crested Butte, Colorado Ketchikan, Alaska, Sacramento and Cannon Beach, Oregon. Please see http://susanwiggs.com/schedule.shtml for details on these and other events.

     The Charm School has gone through a few iterations in its lifetime. I thought you’d like to see the genesis of this book from the outside in. The concept for the original cover came from me. I can’t tell you how rare this is for me or any author. We’re writers, not art directors, and we generally do better when we stick with what we know.

A little background–my two covers prior to The Charm School didn’t catch readers’ eyes. So I was extremely motivated to help find the right look. Which I did in (surprise!) a book of Dover Clip Art. It was a little snippet (literally) which I sent to my editor (see above).

Here’s the sketch they came up with. It was faxed to me. Back in the dark ages of the 1990s, this is the way people transmitted images. The minute I saw this, I knew they cover was going to turn out great:

The addition of the butterfly was genius. Perfect for the theme of the book–a tightly-bound young woman finally bursting out of her cocoon. And when I saw the words “die-cut” I thought: Be still my heart. Why? Because a die-cut window in a book cover is a very expensive proposition, production-wise, so I knew this art was turning into a lavish affair. Here’s the final rendering:

 The “window” in the page is a peek at the inside art. I’ll post that tomorrow, and also show you the “real” Isadora, compared to the artist’s rendering.

Today you can get a brand-spankin’-new edition of The Charm School, complete with a special preview of Just Breathe.

More about Isadora tomorrow!

Please watch this public service announcement from wonderful authors Mary Guterson and George Shannon. And support your local library! If you’re in the Seattle area, please join us!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Dinner Reads: A Literary Affair
6:00 p.m.
Contact: (206) 866-1250
A fundraising gala to benefit the Bainbridge Public Library Dinner, wine and words with readings of their own works by highly acclaimed local authors, including Greg Atkinson, Suzanne Selfors, Natalya Ilyin, Susan Wiggs and David Guterson.

Beginning at 6:00 pm with socializing with the evening’s authors and a literary-related silent auction. Emcees: Bainbridge authors George Shannon and Mary Guterson

Wing Point Golf & Country Club
811 Cherry Avenue NE
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
$100 per person; $1000 VIP table of 10
RSVP at (206) 866-1250
Presented by: Bainbridge Public Library Board Premiere sponsor: Harrison Medical Center

Today’s guest blog is by my friend and fellow writer/editor, Lori. You can meet her, Aubrey and Pam, and many other literary luminaries at the upcoming conference.

The last weekend in April used to signify my daughter’s birthday was approaching. Now it means the annual Field’s End Writers’ Conference. Aubrey’s birthday is still at the tail end of April; we just have a new way of celebrating it. Last year was our first Field’s End experience. We stayed the night at the Clearwater Casino Resort – a treat for us. Not only did we get meaningful girl time, but Aubrey was especially delighted with the hotel’s accoutrements. We still have the fun cell phone video clips of Aubrey showing off the hotel room. The spinning chair in front of the vanity was particularly exciting.

At the actual conference, Aubrey was initially cowed at being the only young person in a roomful of adults. But the Field’s End participants are a very friendly lot, so Aubrey soon relaxed. We were lucky enough to land at tables with speakers Garth Stein and Robert Dugoni. They helped draw out Aubrey – and everyone else. Bob Dugoni “escorted” Aubrey to the first break-out session. Her workshop tastes ran differently than mine, and she evidently didn’t feel the need to cling to my side the entire day. When we did get together, I was impressed with how well she sat still. An entire day is a long time – thank goodness for Malachy McCourt! Even though she couldn’t remember how to pronounce his name, she asked me recently if he would be there again. Aubrey took away ideas from each speaker, but it was Mr. McCourt’s presentation she found most enthralling. No surprise! Later we had a grand time purchasing books and getting authors’ autographs and personalized messages. What a delight to see Aubrey bloom into a young woman and a creative presence. There are many, many things we learned that day and which remain part of who we are a year later. This year Aubrey told me that she would like to go back to Field’s End for her birthday (and she gets that this means not much else in the way of birthday presents!). So register, we did.

Aubrey’s writing interests are strong and deep, although she’s still not sure she wants to be a writer. But as some of the Field’s End participants reminded us, a writer is not something you become, it’s something you are. Thus, Aubrey is a writer, and a good one. She’s taking honors classes this year (sixth grade) and scored 100 percent on her most recent Reading WASL. Her Writing WASL score was close behind. She counts attending the Young Authors Conference at Skagit Valley College nearly every year during elementary school as one of her writing-related accomplishments. Children’s book author George Shannon is a frequent presenter, so she was excited to “know somebody” at Field’s End last year!My mom, Pam, has never thought of herself as a writer, but she is certainly skilled. She chose (was there much of a choice in those days?!) to be a mom, wife and homemaker. While I was at the UW, she earned her A.A. from Everett Community College. I always knew she was an excellent proofreader and organizer, if you will, of written materials, but I recently realized that she’s also a talented writer. She can deftly describe her own and other people’s feelings and motivations. Mom would disagree (LOL). Once she decides to believe in her skill and channel it to a specific project of her own, look out! For now, she is helping to research and write a book with her brother.

I’m actually writing the children’s chapter-book version of the same story. Although I’m an on-again, off-again kind of fiction writer, I’m still very committed to this story. My preference is to fix and organize words rather than to originate them. That’s the editor in me. My mom recently showed me a progress report from my first-grade teacher. I wanted to be a nurse, teacher, hairstylist and editor. How crazy is that? What six-year-old kid knows what an editor is? I evidently figured it out, and it has stuck with me. My mom plans to join us this year. Aubrey’s okay with sharing a bed with me, although I offered to have her and Grandma bunk together because Grandma’s skinnier than I am and will take up less room. We’ll see what happens.

Seattle author Stephanie Kallos is a born storyteller. After all, she grew up in a place where sofas fly–Nebraska’s “tornado alley.” She’s also been an actress, a teacher and a nominee for both a Raymond Carver Award and a Pushcart Prize for her short fiction. Her incredibly charming first novel, BROKEN FOR YOU, was a selection of the Today Show book club, propelling her onto bestseller lists and into book clubs nationwide. Other honors ensued, making this novel one of the most auspicious debuts in publishing–A Book Sense Selection, a Library Journal Best First Novelist of 2005, winner of a 2005 Pacific Northwest Bookseller Association Award and a Quill Book Award finalist for Debut Author of the Year.
So while her talent is not in doubt, none of that tells you how funny and down-to-earth she is. For that, you have to visit her web site and read her bio. Or better yet, meet her in person at the Field’s End Writer’s Conference on Saturday, April 26.
Like most every writer you’ll meet, Stephanie is a lifelong library patron. “I remember the first library my mother took me to in Lincoln, Nebraska–which is where we moved when I was five. It was only a couple of blocks from my father’s office and we would walk there after visiting him.
“They had something called ‘viewfinders’–you see these in antique stores now. You slipped a thick, cardboard card bearing a photo into the back of these goggle-looking devices. They gave a sort of 3-D look to the scenes. I actually wrote a 1960’s-era library scene in my new book and included these – along with a mean-spirited, censorious small town librarian who is absolutely nothing like [Seattle’s über-librarian] Nancy Pearl.”
Regarding that new novel, it’s called SING THEM HOME and is slated for publication from Grove later this year. Stephanie’s working title on the book–for years–was HOPE’S WHEELCHAIR. “My publisher hated that title,” she admits. “In retrospect, I can understand why. Bit of a downer.” Ultimately, her editor’s assistant came up with the final title.
For a long time, Stephanie believed it would be her first novel. The germ of the idea originated with a 1974 National Geographic photo. “Until I was five, we lived in a very small town in southeastern Nebraska in that swath of territory known as ‘tornado alley.’ My mother’s best friend, Hope, lived on a farm a few miles outside of town. In one of those examples of random tornadic behavior, a funnel cloud bypassed the farmhouse across the highway and then drove northeast directly into Hope’s farmhouse, destroying it completely. Hope was home (she suffered from MS and was confined to a wheelchair) along with her youngest child. She was badly hurt, but the baby was found wandering the fields, wearing a diaper, slightly scratched but otherwise unharmed.
“The photo – which was taken in a milo field about four miles away, near Blue Springs – shows a farmer leaning over the remains of Hope’s grand piano. It’s the only thing that came down in any kind of recognizable form. My mother used to say, ‘How can a deep freeze just disappear? How can a refrigerator just disappear?’ This is the kind of magic one lives with in tornado alley. I heard one author describe magical realism as ‘sofas that fly.’ In Nebraska, sofas fly all the time.
“The story centers on three siblings – Larken, Gaelan, and Bonnie Jones – who grew up in a fictional town in SE Nebraska called Emlyn Springs. When they were 13, 12, and 7 years old, their mother Hope was carried up in a tornado and never came down. It’s about the special kind of grief that surrounds such a loss (i.e., one which leaves no gift of bones) and how that grief has resonated throughout their lives and informed their identities.
“I’d like to think that anyone who has struggled with the strangeness of grief will be engaged – and hopefully comforted – by the characters’ journeys.”
Stephanie is a working mother, and juggles family and writing with grace and a writer’s eccentricity. “There are times when I’m at my desk from 9 until 4, a schedule which aligns with when my kids get on and off the bus. There are other days when family obligations mean I can only squeeze in some journal-writing, or tinker with a paragraph, a sentence, the placement of a semi-colon. I do tend to get very grumpy if I don’t set aside time to write at least a little bit every day.
“On the other hand, it’s extremely counter-productive to allow writing to become punitive, an exercise in punching the time card. I really have to guard against that, as I’m somewhat hard-wired for self-punishment. Sometimes inspiration comes when I’m taking an early morning walk, driving to the grocery store, standing in line at Starbucks, or running errands. One must be constantly open for business. When in the middle of a book, I’m really thinking about my characters all the time. If someone makes the mistake of asking me how I’m doing, I usually launch into a description of how my characters are doing; I don’t stop until I notice my friend’s glazed, slightly concerned expression. For me, being a writer involves cultivating a benign form of schizophrenia. I have notepads everywhere; I adopted this practice years ago after reading an interview with Anne Tyler, who raised four kids while writing her early novels. Yes, being a writer consists largely of applying the seat of one’s pants to the seat of the chair, but there’s a quality of attention one must maintain, a continual vigilance/readiness to receive the odd idea/inspiration.”
“In The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion remembers, ‘Had [my husband] not warned me when I forgot my own notebook that the ability to make a note when something came to mind was the difference between being able to write and not being able to write?’”
Stephanie is an avid and eclectic reader. She’s a huge fan of the Salinger oeuvre, Anne Tyler, John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany, The World According to Garp, and The Cider House Rules. “My dear friend Sheri Holman writes brilliant books; I’ve learned so much from her. I’ve also learned a great deal from Myla Goldberg, Ian McEwan, A.S. Byatt. Lately – as I await feedback from my editor on the latest draft of Sing Them Home - I’ve been indulging in thrillers: Chelsea Cain’s Heartsick, and the Japanese novelists. I really like a change-up when it comes to reading.
“In terms of my work on Sing and exploring the landscape of grief, the greatest writer-to-writer gift came from Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking. My father died suddenly a few months after the publication of my first novel; my mom followed him a year later, almost to the day. Ms. Didion helped me understand why my mother was able to donate all of Dad’s clothes to the Goodwill but left his shoes in the closet: How else would he be able to walk home to her?”
In addition to writing, Stephanie is a knitter. “It’s a tremendously valuable discipline in terms of reminding me of what writing is about and how a book is built: stitch by stitch, row by row, occasionally having to unravel everything you’ve done and start over.”
Stephanie Kallos has a lot more to share. She is this year’s opening speaker at the April 26th conference.

So here’s what I was doing just before the phone rang:

…and here’s what I did the rest of the day.

I did a salsa dance, too, but no way I’m showing you the photo.

I have bestseller news! I just got off the phone w/my agents & then my editor … Here’s where Snowfall at Willow Lake stands at this very auspicious moment for me:

#1 on Bookscan

#2 on the New York Times list (2/17)

#4 on Publishers Weekly

#21 on the USA Today list

#1 at WaldenBooks

#2 at Borders

Thanks to all for buying my book.

Go Snowfall Go!

Win a trip to Willow Lake! I’m not kidding. Check it out here: http://www.eharlequin.com/swinvitation.html?swid=100006

[zoom]	SNOWFALL AT WILLOW LAKE by Susan WiggsRT Rating: ****½ Category: MAINSTREAM FICTION Publisher: Mira Published: February 2008 Type: Mainstream Fiction
Wiggs is at the top of her game here, combining a charming setting with subtly shaded characters and more than a touch of humor. This is the kind of book a reader doesn’t want to see end but can’t help devouring as quickly as possible. Summary: Attorney Sophie Bellamy has made a difference while climbing to the top of her profession — but she’s also sacrificed her marriage and her relationships with her children, Max and Daisy.A brush with death makes Sophie determined to change what she can — which means moving to Avalon, making an effort to get along with her ex-husband and his new wife and mending fences with Max and Daisy. Avalon does have its compensations, including an attractive veterinarian, Noah Shepherd. Sophie’s not looking for romance, but that’s just what she finds — and much, much more. (MIRA, Feb., 432 pp., $7.99) —Catherine Witmer

[This reviewer "gets" me and she always has. Makes me proud to have a new book out. Catherine, if we ever meet, I will buy you a kir royale!]

*** CALENDAR ALERT ***SAVE THE DATE

WRITING IN THE GARDEN OF THE GODS
Field’s End Writers’ Conference 2008

WHO: This year’s line-up of authors and speakers includes: Roy Blount, Jr. (keynote speaker), Stephanie Kallos (opening speaker), Knute Berger, Alice Acheson, Lyall Bush, Laura Kalpakian, Thomas Kohnstamm, Rosina Lippi aka Sara Donati, Jennifer Louden, Nancy Pagh, George Shannon, Charley Pavlosky, Sheila Rabe aka Sheila Roberts, Suzanne Selfors, David Wagoner, and Timothy Egan (closing speaker). Professional actor Ron Milton will be on hand for the Page One sessions.

WHAT: Third annual Field’s End Writers’ Conference, “Writing in the Garden of the Gods.”

WHEN: Saturday, April 26, 2008
9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

WHERE: Kiana Lodge
14976 Sandy Hook Rd. NE
Poulsbo, WA 98370

DETAILS: This one-day conference, held at the spectacularly beautiful Kiana Lodge near Bainbridge Island, is a combination of lectures and breakout sessions presented by an eclectic group of people in the literary world.

The day offers three groupings of breakout sessions. Guests will select three workshops to attend according to their interest (literary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, screen writing, dialogue, genre, travel writing, editing, journalism, historical fiction, and commercial fiction). Each breakout session will also offer a Page One workshop, where conference guests can anonymously submit the first page of something they’ve written for possible live reading and critique by the guest authors.

Lunch is provided and there will be an early evening wine and cheese reception and book signing providing conference guests, authors, and speakers a chance to mingle. Shuttle buses will be available to carry walk-on ferry passengers to and from Kiana Lodge.

Registration begins February 1, 2008. Early registration is recommended as the conference is limited to 250 guests and has sold out in the past. Cost to attend is $135 if you register before February 28, 2008 and $150 after March 1, 2008. Groups of 5 or more can register for $130/person. To register for the 2008 Field’s End Writers’ Conference, visit www.fieldsend.org.

Founded in 2002, Field’s End is a writers’ community whose mission is to inspire writers and nurture the written word through lectures, workshops, and instruction in the art and craft of writing. Located across the Puget Sound from Seattle on beautiful Bainbridge Island, Field’s End is an affiliate of the nonprofit Bainbridge Public Library, which is located at 1270 Madison Avenue on Bainbridge Island. For more information, call (206) 842-4162 or visit www.fieldsend.org.

###

MEDIA CONTACT:
Kirsten Graham
Concept 2 Launch
(206) 890-3435
kirsten@concept2launch.net

kirsten graham
c o n c e p t 2 l a u n c h, LLC
creative consultants
innovation.connections.results
t.206.890.3435
e:kirsten@concept2launch.net
www.concept2launch.net

NoveList is a service you can find at your local library. It’s a reading recommendation database most libraries subscribe to. You can enter the name of an author you like, and NoveList will recommend similar authors. It’s called a “Read-alike” page. You can access it from your library’s web site. Here’s the entry for yrs truly. I really like Lynne Welch’s insightful analysis. Thank you, Lynne, wherever you are!  

Susan Wiggs
by Lynne Welch

Susan Wiggs tackles the tough issues, and she has the awards to prove it. Wiggs, winner of both the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award and the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, lives on an island in Puget Sound (Washington) settled by hardy immigrants who lived close to the land and appreciated its value, and many of her stories reflect that nature-centric culture in some way. Her special focus is a woman’s journey to self-awareness, usually within the context of a romance or at the very least, with a romantic subplot. Poignant and tender, her stories focus more on the sexual tension between characters than on its explicit physical resolution, and she describes any personality quirks sympathetically, inviting the reader to join her in gently laughing at the characters’ foibles and follies.

Her protagonists are invariably intelligent, socially awkward, emotionally vulnerable women with a strong core, self-reliant to a fault because they have never been able to depend on anyone else for their security, whether financial, physical, or emotional. By contrast, their male foils — and often nemeses, at least in the beginning — may be bad boys or pillars of the community, but all have generally grown up to be strong, self-confident men who enjoy the women in their lives even while they expect them to fall in line with their plans and their timetables. Wiggs employs character to good effect in building high-stakes conflict within the confines of these relationship dramas. Her readers care deeply about her characters, and Wiggs takes both readers and characters on an emotional roller-coaster ride as the novel develops. Although the storyline centers on the woman’s journey to growth and personal fulfillment, Wiggs enriches the experience by chronicling the perspectives of other male and female characters during pivotal scenes as well.

Setting varies across time and place as well as genre, but is generally limited to the United States in her more recent work. Her Contemporary Romance Lakeshore Chronicles series is set in a fictional small town of the New York Catskills region, while the Historical Romances which form the Calhoun Chronicles and the Chicago Fire series are set in pre-Civil War Virginia and late nineteenth-century Chicago, respectively. Others, such as her contemporary fiction stand-alone title The Ocean Between Us, are focused on Women’s Lives and Relationships and set in the Pacific Northwest. Whatever the location, setting plays an important role and is evocatively described in lush, vivid terminology, creating a world of color, sensation, smell and taste for the reader’s enjoyment.

Pacing is leisurely, as befits these explorations of self-awareness by the protagonists. In many cases, the issue they face is one of having been carried along unresisting on a tide of family and career obligations for too long without stopping to draw breath, and now they are faced with a turning point which offers them a choice. Then the conflict arises because they are not in the habit of examining their own motivations and expectations: Wiggs’s heroines are caught without a plan and must pause to re-group. Description of the interior landscape while the characters mentally thrash out their dilemmas is vivid as well, adding depth and extra dimension to these tales.

The Lakeshore Chronicles, starting with Summer at Willow Lake, are a good introduction to Wiggs’s work for any reader. Avalon, NY, is a former resort for the rich, and the Bellamy family’s long-vacant summer home is now being readied for a Golden Anniversary party. During the course of renovations, daughter Olivia and former bad boy Connor, now the contractor in charge of the project, meet again for the first time in years and, of course, immediately clash. This series has several older heroines struggling with their place in the world to interest readers who enjoy relationship dramas centered around Women’s Lives and Relationships, and the skillful melding of past and present may also intrigue readers of both Contemporary and Historical Romances.

Read-alikes:

Debbie Macomber is another author who writes Contemporary Romances and relationship dramas focused on women’s issues, with a very strong appreciation for the world around her as one of life’s blessings. Her long-running, immensely popular Cedar Cove Contemporary Romance series is set in a fictional small coastal town in Washington State, and each title in the series builds on previous installments but focuses on the lives and loves of mature residents. Start with 16 Lighthouse Road to read them in order. Readers who prefer more emphasis on Women’s Lives and Relationships may want to consider her Blosssom Street series, starting with The Shop on Blossom Street, in which Lydia Hoffman opens her yarn shop in Seattle and starts by teaching a class on How To Knit A Baby Blanket to three women.

Sherryl Woods writes stories of Women’s Lives and Relationships as well as Contemporary Romances centered on family life. She has a gift for capturing the ambiance of Southern living through her multi-faceted characters and her multi-dimensional storylines, all couched in a leisurely, evocative narration deeply appreciative of the loveliness afforded by the culture and landscape of the South. Suggest the Sweet Magnolias series for a heart-warming peek at the lives of three friends, all of whom have grown up together in the same small South Carolina town and now, as they approach 40, are blindsided by changes which will affect not only their own but their families’ and friends’ lives as well. In Stealing Home, the first in the trilogy, Maddie Townsend discovers that her husband has been cheating on her for years, and she’s the last to know. But kicking him out results in her children exhibiting behavioral problems, and when her oldest son starts skipping baseball practice and failing his classes, she finds herself turning to his coach for more than one reason.

Award winning author Deborah Smith is another author who writes Southern-set romantic novels of Women’s Lives and Relationships, but her stories focus on the proud people of Appalachia, their history-rich culture, and the mountains shaping their characters. Both Sweet Hush and The Crossroads Cafe would make good suggestions for fans of Wiggs. In the humorous, easygoing story of Sweet Hush, Hush McGillan lost her husband a long time ago, and now with her children grown she is ready for a second love. By contrast, the emotionally riveting Crossroads Cafe introduces Cathryn and Thomas, both grieving recent losses. Cathryn’s cousin Delta, along with various other supporting characters, uses tactics ranging from the pathetic (requiring their support), to the strident (annoying them into making an effort) to prod them into living and loving again.

JoAnn Ross is well known for her Romantic Suspense, but she also writes emotional tales of Women’s Lives and Relationships. Homeplace and its sequel, Far Harbor, are set in the picturesque, unspoiled small town of Coldwater Cove, Washington. Sheriff Jack O’Halloran and corporate attorney Raine Cantrell tangle for the first time over the fate of her grandmother Ida’s three foster children when Ida ends up in the hospital with dizzy spells. Together with her free-spirited New Age mother Lilith and half-sister Savannah Townsend, Raine must propitiate the judge and welfare worker, while riding herd on three teenagers not predisposed to trust any adult, and dealing with Jack’s unsubtle attempts to involve her in a relationship. A romantic subplot featuring Lilith and Cooper Ryan, the forester who arrests her for indecent exposure when she and her coven celebrate Beltane by dancing around a fire in an old-forest area of the Olympic National Park, adds another layer of complexity to the storyline.

Jerri Corgiat’s O’Malley sisters series provide another good match for readers who enjoy the women’s emotional journeys in which Wiggs specializes. From the first pages of Sing Me Home, when Corgiat introduces the entertaining, exasperating antics of the O’Malley family and the small town laid-back atmosphere of Cordelia, nestled in the picturesque Missouri Ozarks, the reader is steeped in the mystique of the country-rock music scene, contrasted with the down home practicality of a family trying hard just to make ends meet. Jonathan Van Castle is used to being recognized, admired, and pursued, and it’s a real let-down when Lily isn’t at all impressed. But between his estranged children and her meddling family — not to mention his best friend Zeke, the bass player in his band — he soon realizes that Lily has what he wants most: true love, a home, and a family. Lily, on the other hand, is not yet ready to re-enter life, preferring to sequester herself in her late husband’s bookstore in an attempt to carry on his dream, and this story details her journey to self-awareness and a new level of maturity.

Lynne Welch is an Ohio librarian specializing in Readers’ Advisory and Electronic Reference Services.

Oh, fun! The Winter Lodge is up for a Reviewers Choice Award from RT Book Reviews. It’s up against some of the best books of 2007. I am in good company–every single author in this category is one I regularly read and love, so there’s really no down side to this. Here’s the whole list:  

• • SIZZLING
    Susan Mallery     HQN (January 2007)
  • NOT ANOTHER NEW YEAR’S
    Christie Ridgway     Avon (January 2007)
  • THE WINTER LODGE
    Susan Wiggs     Mira (February 2007)
  • JUST LIKE HEAVEN
    Barbara Bretton     Jove (March 2007)
  • SUGAR DADDY
    Lisa Kleypas     St. Martin’s (March 2007)
  • VIRGIN RIVER
    Robyn Carr     Mira (April 2007)
  • ALL ABOUT EVIE
    Beth Ciotta     HQN (May 2007)TANGLED UP IN YOU
    Rachel Gibson     Avon (August 2007)

    A TOUCH OF MINX
    Suzanne Enoch     Avon (October 2007)

    THE PERFECT MATCH
    Kimberly Cates     HQN (December 2007)

Best of luck to us all!

I love poring over the year-end “best of” lists, particularly the book lists. I’ve been lucky enough to see my own books on a list or two. Here’s my own list. It’s in no particular order, no particular pub date, just a list of memorable books I’ve read in the past year. Happy reading to all!

Quietly in their Sleep by Donna Leon. Atmospheric police drama in the most intriguing city in the world.

Dead Ex by Harley Jane Kozak. Her books are so ridiculously entertaining, and she keeps surpassing herself!

Making Money by Terry Pratchett. I love his books. Love this author. He’s an auto-buy for me.

Which Lie Did I Tell? More Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman. I’ve owned this book forever but I kept misplacing it. Which is nuts, since this man is a god to me. This book actually surpasses his classic Adventures in the Screen Trade. In fact, I’m going to shut up right now and save a discussion of this book for its own post.

Mortified by David Nadelberg. A collection of painful high school memories, painfully illustrated. As the author points out, “We were all that same strange kid.”

Hide by Lisa Gardner. I’m picky when it comes to thrillers. This one has it all–depth of characterization, a page-turning pace and spot-on procedural detail.

The Shakespeare Riots by Nigel Cliff. I’d never heard of this historic event, which took place in 1849 at an opera house in New York. Now I’ll never forget it. I’m totally writing a novel about it.

The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkein. I became a rabid Tolkein fan when I was in 7th grade and the mania continues.

The River Knows by Amanda Quick. She’s a can’t-miss author for me. Jewels and secrets, romance and suspense.

What Matters Most by Luanne Rice. An emotional saga that tugs at the heartstrings.

Truck: A Love Story by Michael Perry. A memoir about restoring a truck, but it’s really about family, nostalgia, commitment and growth.

Blankets by Craig Thompson. Me? Read a graphic novel? This one sucked me right in.

…and here are a few books I can’t wait to read in the coming year:

Oxygen by Carol Cassella

The Cure for Modern Life by Lisa Tucker

Moon Shell Beach by Nancy Thayer

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors

Sing them Home by Stephanie Kallos

Bikini Season by Sheila Roberts

“The local public library is where I first discovered romance, in high school. I was such a geek that studying together passed for making out.”

–Author Erik Larson 

I bet he wishes I hadn’t heard him say that.

If you’re in the Seattle area on Thursday, November 15, please come to a reading and booksigning by noted author (and former geek) Erik Larson. He’ll be appearing at the Eagle Harbor Book Company at 7:30p.m.

I always learn something startling from Erik’s books, like the fact that John Philip Sousa fit an entire band into one car of the Ferris wheel at the 1892 Chicago World’s Fair, or that the original trade name for Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix was “Slave in a Box.” His latest, Thunderstruck, is an interwoven narrative of the notorious Dr. Hawley Crippen, who committed the ghastliest of murders, and the laying of the transatlantic cable.

Big historic events are Larson’s specialty, and his passion. Although New Orleans and other cities along the Gulf Coast are still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the storm of September 8, 1900 remains the deadliest on record in this country. Larson writes compellingly of the disaster in Isaac’s Storm, detailing the terrors to which Galveston, Texas, awakened to on that long-ago September morning, from the point of view of Isaac Cline, chief weatherman for Texas and the one individual who could have saved Galveston. At the time, Galveston was one of the most important port cities in the nation, a beehive of commerce, prosperity and confidence. After the storm slammed the city, leaving the landscape decimated and 8,000 dead, Galveston never regained its stature.

On the heels of the international bestseller, Erik Larson wrote THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY, which was nominated for a National Book Award. He is a former features writer for The Wall Street Journal and Time magazine. His stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s and other publications. In addition to his association with Purple Amoeba, the author is also an experienced teacher, having taught non-fiction writing at San Francisco State, the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars and the University of Oregon.

In an interview on the Random House web site, Larson explains that he first came across the subject of The Devil in the White City, the killer Dr. H. H. Holmes, while researching Isaac’s Storm. “I found his story immediately compelling, but only when I began reading about the glories of the World’s Columbian Exposition did the story take on the larger resonance that I look for in a book. Taken together, the stories of how Daniel Burnham built the fair and how Dr. Holmes used it for murder formed an entirety that was far greater than the story of either man alone would have been. I found it extraordinary that during this period of nearly miraculous creativity there should also exist a serial killer of such appetite and industry. The juxtaposition of the architect and the murderer seemed to open a window on the forces shaping the American soul at the dawn of the 20th century. The fair drew so many of history’s brightest lights, from Buffalo Bill to Susan B. Anthony, that doing my research was like crashing a very classy Gilded Age party….I found it so marvelously strange that both these men should be operating at the same time in history, within blocks of each other, both creating powerful legacies, one of brilliance and energy, the other of sorrow and darkness. What better metaphor for the forces that would shape the 20th century into a time of monumental technical achievement and unfathomable evil?”

The author always works alone, eschewing a staff of researchers, assistants and support. “I need first-hand contact with my sources—for example, I found it infinitely valuable to be able to touch the original postcards on which Patrick Prendergast revealed his insane delusion, one that would bring the fair to such a tragic end.” Larson believes every book is a detective story, and his job is to reveal and report the details. One high point for the author was “coming across the actual death decree for Holmes in the files of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, complete with its ribbon and gold seal. Another occurred when I paid a visit to Holy Cross Cemetery outside Philadelphia and saw the original entry for Holmes’s plot in the cemetery’s death registry. As I stepped onto the grass in the vicinity of his unmarked grave, under dark clouds, a thunder-clap boomed through the sky. It was a little too spooky, actually, given the Holmes curse. I left soon afterward.”

The public library has long been a part of the author’s life, beginning with the fish reading club of his boyhood. “Every summer in my hometown of Freeport, Long Island, some good soul in the library would go to great lengths to cover one wall of the library with a blue sea of paper and fake seaweed and so forth, and we’d each be assigned a fish with our name on it, and our fish would ‘swim’ through the ocean in accordance with how many books we read each week. I was always very jealous of the kids, typically girls, whose books not only made it across the sea but did so even before the summer was half over.”

As a working writer, Larson is a dedicated library patron. “I love libraries for the sense of unfathomable knowledge stored in those banks of books–I always imagine that somewhere in the dustier books, typically in Dewey’s 900-level books, there are great stories yet to tell. Sometimes when I’m looking for my next book idea I’ll wander the 900 stacks at Suzallo and just pick out books at random and thumb through them, just to see what jumps out. Never very productive, but always very interesting.

“Books also are very real. Solid. I like them for the same reason I like stone. In a relativist world, the tactile power of both can help one find one’s bearings.

“And by the way, my dog loves old books too. Something about the glue in the bindings, I think–so whenever I take an old book from the library I have to be careful always to keep it up high whenever I’m out of the room. Otherwise, yes, my dog will eat the cover, as in fact occurred with a 19th-century text from the Suzallo library during the research for my next book. Happily, I found a replacement on ABEbooks.com.”

To Erik Larson, the best thing about the library is “the ‘serendipity effect,’ though it applies only to open-stack libraries. You go into the stacks looking for one particular book and when you find it, you discover–thanks to the magic of Melville Dewey (who, regrettably, was a rabid anti-semite)–you discover that it lives in a kind of diaspora of other books that touch on your subject or your era-of-interest in unexpected and compelling ways. It’s something the Internet, with its too-focussed search protocols, likely will never match. I always say that every day spent in a library is like a little Ross McDonald detective story, where you go to the library hunting for something in particular and end up finding much more than you anticipated.

“I also like the smell exhausted by old books that haven’t been opened in a long time. It’s the scent of adventure!”

Here’s an article in today’s New York Times, about the New York Times bestseller list. Hmmm….

If you’re in Seattle this Thursday, join us in Pioneer Square:

 Details on the event can be found here.

Some years ago, I “met” Jodi Picoult via e-mail after I wrote her a fan letter. I did love her book, The Pact, but I also noticed several eerie coincidences that prompted me to write to her. The book takes place in a fictional town named after my real town. The main character in the book is on swim team–my daughter was on swim team. The kids in the book were wrenchingly, fatally in love. My teenage daughter was wrenchingly in love–although, thankfully, it wasn’t fatal. Jodi and I both have brothers with the same name, mothers we adore who read our manuscripts, and we both got a master’s degree in education from Harvard. We’re both former teachers. Small world!

And PS, she’s as nice as she is talented. I love it when a writer whose work I admire turns out to be a mensch.

Jodi’s new release, Nineteen Minutes, is a “brilliantly told new thriller, about a high school shooting.” (Publishers Weekly starred review) It has all the hallmarks of her honest, absorbing books about modern teenagers and their families.

The Pact, a novel of two middle-class families torn asunder by a teen suicide pact, is a favorite of mine. People often ask fiction writers where ideas come from. Jodi was inspired by a wrenching experience as a teacher. “When I was teaching eighth grade English, one of the girls in my class became suicidal. We all knew about it — her teachers, her parents — and worked to help her through it. As her English teacher, I had her writing down her feelings and talking about them every afternoon…I never forgot what it felt like to be a lifeline for someone.” As a successful novelist and mother of three, Picoult wanted to “give” that feeling to a character, and thus the idea for The Pact came into being. At the time, the author had no idea her book would resonate with so many readers, that it would eventually make it into film and create a steady demand for readings and personal appearances.

The fictional town of Bainbridge “looks a lot like Hanover, New Hampshire, where I live…but it really could be any typical suburban town, which is why I think people all over the world relate to it. People all want to believe that the kids who are suicidal are inner city kids, troubled youths, etc. So it’s all the more shocking when the star of the football team kills himself. Teen depression and teen suicide crosses cultures, and crosses socioeconomic levels, and pretending it ‘isn’t happening in your town’ is turning a blind eye to something that already exists.”

Like her other novels, which consistently make bestseller lists worldwide, The Pact is the result of a gifted author’s imagination and meticulous research. “Interestingly,” says Picoult, “when I first conceived the book, Emily was going to be the survivor. Until I talked to a local police chief. He asked whether the boy or girl lived, and when I told him it was Emily, he sort of shrugged. ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘Because you know, if the boy was bigger and stronger and left standing, he’d probably be a suspect for murder.’ All of sudden I realized that in addition to a character drama, I had a page turner.

“Writing this book was very draining,” Jodi confesses. “No one in the book, of course, is happy, and spending nine months with this crew was difficult. I started my research with ordinary teens — babysitters of mine, and their friends — and asked the hard questions no one wants to: When did you start having sex? Do you do drugs? How many phone calls would it take for you to get a gun? The answers were shocking to me — because I, like most other people, like to pretend that I’m safe where I live. Then I interviewed a suicidal teen, who really made me understand how these kids don’t see the finality of what they are trying to do. They think, ‘If I kill myself, I won’t hurt inside anymore.’ or ‘If I kill myself, everyone will remember me and feel bad they didn’t pay attention to me/treat me better.’ They don’t really think of the aftermath, and they don’t really get that they’re not coming back. This one girl said to me, ‘I want the kids and the dog and the white picket fence…I just don’t see how to get from HERE to THERE.’ That canyon in her mind — that frame of reference — was something I tried very hard to recreate in Emily.”

The parents in the novel are attentive, loving people, yet they seem blind to the signs of their children’s key issues–a willful blindness. “Because if your kids are not who you think they are, you might be in some way responsible. And it is much easier to convince yourself that your teen’s depression is a ‘phase he’s going through’ than to think that the lines of communication between you two are so shot through, your son can’t turn to you for help. A lot of parents think that if they bring up suicide with their kids, they’ll be putting ideas in their heads. Mental health professionals say this isn’t the case. Often, if you bring it up, it lets teens know they can speak openly with you about what they’re feeling without worrying that you’ll freak out.

Jodi’s legions of fans responded strongly to The Pact. “This book touched lives in a way I never really expected, as a fiction writer. Even now, years after publication, I still get letters from kids who say they are depressed but don’t want to wind up like Emily, and are going to talk to someone today. I get letters from parents of children who have killed themselves, who say the book has helped them understand this was not their fault. In lots of ways this book has a cult following among teens, who pass it along by word of mouth. Some high schools even use it as curriculum.”

With its strong subject matter, The Pact is often the subject of controversy. “Sadly,” says Jodi, “a lot of parents are still scared by the topic. When I was [giving a presentation] at one high school last year, a parent in the audience stood up, brandishing the book, and accused me of writing smut and trash and said she’d get it removed from the curriculum (she didn’t succeed). It was a startling moment for me — but it also proved to me why The Pact ought to be required reading for parents like that and their kids: because clearly, this was a woman who would rather sweep the truth under the carpet than to look responsibly and clearly at who her kids are and what they are doing with their lives.”

When Lifetime picked up the rights to The Pact to make a movie, the network asked Picoult to get involved. The National Mental Health Association has created packets for teachers and students to raise awareness of teen suicide. The packets have been distributed to high schools, counselors and crisis hotlines across the country. The movie, starring Juliet Stevenson and Megan Mullally, originally aired in November 2002. Further resources can be found through the National Hopeline Network at 1-800-SUICIDE and Covenant House Nine Line (24-hour teen crisis line) 800-999-9999.

I’m guessing Nineteen Minutes, another take on teenagers in crisis, will have a similar impact. Let’s hope so. Jodi’s books always inspire dialogue and discussion. For more information on