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.

One of the most-asked questions of a writer: Where do you get your ideas?

I rarely know; my novels are stitched together with bits and pieces like a crazy quilt. By the time I finish, the inciting idea has morphed and changed so much that it’s virtually disappeared into the fabric of the story.

Not so Isadora. She appeared full-fledged before me, demanded her story be told and refused to morph. I don’t recall why I was paging through an ancient book about Boston, but I came across this illustration:

And…voila! Isadora was born. I knew she was miserable and smart and repressed, and had a fine story to tell. When I finished writing The Charm School, I sent a copy of this portrait to the publisher because in their art questionnaire, they wanted to know what the main character looked like. >>sound of art director howling with laughter<<

Here is Isadora in the illustrator’s imagination, along with a toothsome Ryan. It’s a before-and-after Extreme Makeover. Also note the butterfly, mentioned in yesterday’s post. It’s visible through the die-cut window.

And finally, in stores now, is the 2008 Isadora. She’s looking very fit indeed, Ryan is as flamboyant as ever, and I kind of like that their facees are left up to the imagination.

 What about you? Which cover do you prefer?

     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!

Here’s a rainbow over Blake Island, which I can see from my beach: 

Here it is, zoomed in:

And finally, here it is, reflected in the water. I love Rainbow Season, which also happens to be the name of one of my favorite romance novels.

This blog is supposed to be all about relaxation and my favorite pasttime, reading. Dog walking and home decorating. Delicious food. Photography and travel. You know, the fun stuff of life.

I’ve tried, really tried, to keep politics out of it, but I can’t keep my mouth shut any longer. There’s a reading-emergency afoot and we need to do something. THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION WANTS TO CUT ALL FUNDING FOR READING IS FUNDAMENTAL. This is the first time in the history of the program that any administration, Republican or Democratic, has eliminated funding.

Destroying this historic literacy program hits me where I live. Taking books away from children is the last straw. So I’m joining with fellow authors to urge you to send an e-mail message to your reps in congress in support of continued funding. The appropriation committee will be meeting in May and June to decide on budgets.

Let me be clear: This is not a controversial program. From its inception in 1966, RIF has been supported on both sides of the aisle because of its demonstrated success. Regardless of politics, thinking people know that we can either educate our children now, or pay later, when we’re dealing with the known consequences of illiteracy: poverty, increased crime, unemployment, dependence on welfare.

According to Publishers Weekly, “while President Bush continually overlooks the organization, both his wife and mother have held positions within the organization. Barbara Bush served on RIF’s board of directors from 1980 to 1988 and then on its national advisory board from 1989 to 1992 (chairing the advisory board for three of the four years.) Laura Bush served on RIF’s national advisory council from 1996 to 2001.”

So what’ll it be? RIF costs $1.63 per child per year. It costs us $22,650 per prisoner per year to incarcerate a criminal, and yes, there’s a connection. 70% of incarcerated criminals are functionally illiterate.

This administration always finds funding for massive tax cuts to corporations, the super-wealthy, and no-bid contractors. Yet when it comes to the education of low-income children, it’s happy to slash the budget to nothing.

RIF’s Web site provides a link for supporters to find their senator and representative and send an e-mail message in support of continued funding. The appropriation committee will be meeting in May and June to decide on budgets. 

Funding for RIF was cut from the 2001 budget, but there was such an uproar that it was reinstated. So roar again! Please! It’s a no-brainer.

The good: Online registration for the Field’s End Writers’ Conference has been extended until Monday, 4/21. Yay!

The bad: The conference is nearly sold out, so if you don’t pony up right away, you might miss out.

C’mon, you know you want to come and see what it’s all about. You deserve it.

Today’s guest blog is from the indomitable Sheila Roberts. Her new book is a guilt-free, no-calorie, sweet froth of a story.

I am constantly in the trenches, fighting the battle of the bulge . . . except for when I take a cake break or make a doughnut run. (Fighting fat is hard work. A girl needs sustenance.) But I’m not quitter. I keep fighting. I even teamed up with my girlfriends Kathleen and Kimberly, forming a diet triage, in an effort to regain my girlish figure. I’m still not there yet, but I have hope. (Don’t ask me how long I’ve been in “I have hope” mode – that might prove embarrassing!) Anyway, all this dieting had to lead to a book eventually.

Hence the arrival of my new book with St. Martin’s Press, Bikini Season, which follows the adventures of four girlfriends who turn their cooking club into a diet club. And each woman has her own issues to deal with. Kizzy needs to find a new healthy lifestyle – not an easy task with her husband, who likes her just the way she is, sabotaging her at every turn. Megan needs to change the way she sees herself if she’s going to change the way she looks. Angela needs to realize that, while she might not like herself, her husband loves her no matter what. And then there’s Erin, who is beginning to wonder if the fact that she’s outgrown her wedding dress could be some kind of omen regarding her upcoming nuptials. I had a great time writing this book, and I’m hoping my characters will inspire me to work harder on getting fit. (If nothing else, the recipes in the book should help.) If you’re fighting the fat monster, here are some diet tips that might help you:

• Find an eating plan you like and can stick to. This lets out fad diets, which you are bound to get sick of in a hurry. Better to cut carbs than to eat eggs and grapefruit for three weeks followed by a banana bread meltdown.
• Make it easy. If you have to work a second job preparing your food every day, your resolutions to improve your diet will go out the window. Buy pre-measured, pre-fixed menus like Lean Cuisine. Pre-cut your salad veggies and bake up a batch of chicken breasts on the weekend for the week ahead so you have something healthful and ready to use in the fridge every day. Buy salad in the bag.
• Have a mantra or canned pep talk you can recite in the face of food temptation. In BIKINI SEASON one character regularly reminds the others that nothing tastes like thin feels.
• Pick a form of exercise that suits your personality and preferences so you will enjoy and stick to it. For example, if you’re a social person, don’t take up some solitary form of exercise. And if you value alone time, don’t take an aerobics class. That path leads to boredom, which leads to exercise mutiny.
• Put up your diet shield when going into dangerous social settings. Eat something substantial before that big party so you won’t arrive ravenous. Scope out the food table and pre-select what you will eat. Shrimp. Yes. Veggie Platter. Yes. Chocolate cake. Stay away from that end of the table.
• Give yourself an occasional treat. You’re really changing life habits, not dieting. Diet is a four-letter word and if you diet you will feel deprived and binge. That little (LITTLE) weekly treat will help you be good the rest of the week.
• Get support. Overeating is not a problem to conquer alone. Find family or friends who will support and encourage you and keep you on the road to good health.
• Know your biggest temptation hour and keep your hands and mouth busy. If you get snack cravings at the office, keep sugar free gum in your desk drawer for a quick fix for your taste buds and some chewing action. If you tend to snack in front of the TV at night, make sure you have something to do while you’re watching Grey’s Anatomy, like knitting. Dance along when you’re watching Dancing with the Stars.
• Pick your friends carefully. According to an article in the New York Times (July 26, 2007), our friends can influence our eating habits. According to this article researchers found that people who were overweight had close friends who were also overweight. If one friend became obese, the other had a 171 percent increased chance of also becoming obese. Chose friends who want to develop and keep healthful lifestyles and you’ll increase your own chances of success for a more healthful lifestyle.
• Never give up, never give in. You are the heroine of your own life journey, and sometimes you will stumble. But don’t give up. Toss the rest of that candy bar (yes, toss it!), and go buy a bag of spinach and some oranges. After all, like Scarlett O’Hara said, tomorrow is another day.

I get a lot of e-mail via my web site. My readers are so funny, genuine, sincere and romantic. Like this one, from K.:

…I am a widow and my boyfriend (age 73) is also widowed..we both live in ______…we have been seeing each other for the past few months and just got back from Hawaii where every night he read to me from your books…how wonderful…he is now reading (to himself because we don’t live together) your new novel.  Hope one of your stories will get him to marry me!! 

How much do I love this woman? He should marry her immediately.

Hey! Come to a reading by my favorite suspense author at Eagle Harbor Book Company. It’s on Thursday, March 20 at 7:30pm. Author Robert Dugoni will have you on the edge of your seat, guaranteed.

Oooh, this was painfully funny, about the devastating effects of the Novelists strike.

Please click this link for a beautiful slide show of the Irish countryside. And here’s a little something to read from a favorite author and friend, Malachy McCourt. And if you just don’t have enough controversy in your life, here’s a bit about the banning of “Danny Boy.” As a child, I memorized a piano piece called “Irish Derry Air” and while playing it, I was always picturing this enormous green-clad derriere.

Slainte!

It’s my little sister’s birthday today. She’s a maniac on the slopes, but I’d follow her anywhere.

Lori is the first to read all my books. She’s an expert reader, too, and a PR specialist, getting all her friends to race out and buy them. She spotted the error on page 175 of Snowfall at Willow Lake, something I hope can be corrected in future editions.

Home Before Dark is dedicated to her, a teacher and orientation and mobility specialist for the visually impaired. Other than my daughter, she’s the only person I’ve known every moment of her life. Good thing we get along, eh? Tell me your sister stories!

That’s the working title of The You I Never Knew, in case you’re wondering. Finding the right title for a book is always tricky, and sometimes the results are just downright odd. The Bookseller Magazine awards the Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title. Readers are encouraged to vote here.

The shortlist for the 2007 prize has been announced, with the winner to be announced on March 28. The nominees are:

• I Was Tortured By the Pygmy Love Queen - Jasper McCutcheon
• How to Write a How to Write Book - Brian Piddock
• Are Women Human? And Other International Dialogues - Catharine A. MacKinnon
• Cheese Problems Solved - P. L. H. McSweeney
• If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start with Your Legs - Big Boom
• People Who Mattered in Southend and Beyond: From King Canute to Dr Feelgood - Dee Gordon

Previous winners of the award include Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice (1978), How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art (1989), High Performance Stiffened Structures (2000), Living with Crazy Buttocks (2002). There’s a complete list here.

It’s the ultimate wish-fulfillment story. Haven’t you ever yearned to rescue Romeo and Juliet? If you’re a writer like me, you spent many hours of your childhood “fixing” the endings of R&J, The Yearling, Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows… This is a fabulous and funny novel for the young and young at heart. Thanks to Melissa at Estella’s Revenge for a review that does it justice:

Saving Juliet
Written by Suzanne Selfors
Walker Books for Young Readers
Reviewed by Melissa

You know about the books that change your life. There are the ones that make you cry buckets. And the romances: books with characters that make you swoon. And then there are those books that leave you with a silly grin on your face because they’re just so darn cute.

Saving Juliet is one of those “silly grin” books.

I couldn’t stop smiling. Reading the book made me happy; not because it was deep, profound, life changing or even because I was totally swooning over the main characters. But because it was sweet, cute, silly, fun, snarky, and… happy. Just perfect for a cold, dreary, gray day outside.

The basic conceit is simple: Mimi Wallingford, the great-granddaughter of famous stage (Shakespearean!) actress Adelaide Wallingford, wants the freedom to choose her own life. To get away from her uber-controlling mom. To do something other than act in Shakespearean plays (she’s been acting since she was three!). To stop being Juliet to pop star Troy Summer’s Romeo. And on the day of her final performance, she gets her wish: she’s transported (with Troy) to Verona Italy, circa 1594, right in the middle of Shakespeare’s play.

It could have been a very sappy, cloying story. It was sappy, but it had a healthy dose of silly and snark to make up for it. It could have been a typical “finding yourself” teenage story. Of course it was a finding yourself teenage story, but not many teenagers find themselves in 16th-century Italy. Selfors’s writing style is charming and snarky at the same time. She doesn’t attempt to make the story serious, or to take the whole book seriously, and as a result, it works wonderfully. I loved Mimi as a narrator: she’s not above telling it like it is, even when it embarrasses her. Even when it involves bodily functions in the 16th century. And because she treats the unbelievablity of the situation (I mean really: traveling through time into a play?) with humor, it works, and you believe it.

I warned you at the beginning that you might not believe the story I was about to tell, so you’ve probably anticipated this moment. You may also have read the book’s jacket copy so you know that at some point I am going to take an unexpected trip. I did not have the luxury of a book jacket, however, to prepare me, so I felt totally bewildered.

I was hooked.

I liked that Selfors knows Romeo and Juliet inside and out; it gives her the ability to seamlessly both include and diverge from it. I liked the clever asides that Mimi makes about the situation she’s found herself in, like the realization that everyone’s speaking English (and not Shakespearean, much less Italian), and the implications that has for her adventures. I liked that both Romeo and Juliet were fleshed out, growing beyond their usual roles of doomed star-crossed lovers. I liked the roles Mimi played, from damsel in distress, to love-struck herself, to, finally, a confident young woman who knows what she wants, and feels like she can achieve it.

But mostly, it’s a very cute love story, a fun historical adventure, a smart homage to one of the greatest playwrights the English language has produced.

Which just left a smile on my face.

I’m talking and I can’t shut up! (You have to scroll down on the right hand side and click “of interest.”)

What are you doing this Saturday night? If you’re in Western Washington, why not come to the legendary Resort at Port Ludlow and have dinner with me, author Margaret Willson and other booklovers. You can find more details about the event here. Come for some incredible Northwest cuisine and conversation.

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!

Maybe it’s just me, but when I hear “Redroom,” I find myself thinking of the scariest scene in The Shining. Imagine my surprise when I found most of my favorite authors congregating there. And my even bigger surprise to find my new book featured there, right under Barack Obama.

…with a link in the morning’s e-mail to the most lovely, magical book review, the kind you dream about. Wishing you long life and happiness, BookPage & Lois!

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

Today is the official release of Snowfall at Willow Lake. Enjoy!

Aaaand…First-time author Patry Francis also has a new book out today. It’s on my TBR. Check it out:

“The new questions and revelations just keep coming…Readers will be heartily rewarded.”—Ladies’ Home Journal

When new music teacher Ali Mather enters Jeanne Cross’s quiet suburban life, she brings a jolt of energy that Jeanne never expected. Ali has a magnetic personality and looks to match, drawing attention from all quarters. Nonetheless, Jeanne and Ali develop a friendship based on their mutual vulnerabilities THE LIAR’S DIARY (Plume / February 2008 / ISBN 978-0-452-28915-4 / $14.00) is the story of Ali and Jeanne’s friendship, and the secrets they both keep.

Jeanne’s secrets are kept to herself; like her son’s poor report card and husband’s lack of interest in their marriage. Ali’s secrets are kept in her diary, which holds the key to something dark: her fear that someone has been entering her house when she is not at home. While their secrets bring Jeanne and Ali together, it is this secret that will drive them apart. Jeanne finds herself torn between her family and her dear friend in order to protect the people she loves.

A chilling tour of troubled minds, THE LIAR’S DIARY questions just how far you’ll go for your family and what dark truths you’d be willing to admit—even to yourself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Patry Francis is a three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize whose work has appeared in the Tampa Review, Colorado Review, Ontario Review, and the American Poetry Review. She is also the author of the popular blogs, simplywait.blogspot.com and waitresspoems.blogspot.com. This is her first novel. Please visit her website at www.patryfrancis.com.

THE LIAR’S DIARY
By Patry Francis
Plume Paperbacks / February 2008 / $14.00
ISBN: 978-0-452-28915-4
Readers Guide available at www.penguin.com
For more information or to schedule an interview with Patry Francis, please contact Laurie Connors, Plume Publicity
212-366-2222 / laurie.connors@us.penguingroup.com

Talk talk talk. I can’t believe I said that (”seriously big stuff”), but I did, among other things, on the Amazon podcast. Chatting on the phone with Anne Bartholomew, of Amazon.com, was way too fun. Have a listen as we discuss series books, lazy writers, the Betsy-Tacy books, hate mail, stealing your sister’s boyfriend and other Seriously Big Stuff here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNKO94ZV15K9IGR. Thanks to Amazon for this opportunity!

Snowfall at Willow Lake is available in unabridged and abridged audio format from Brilliance. You can even download a copy here. Where do you listen to books on audio? In the car? On the treadmills? While walking the dog? Gardening? Shoveling snow?

The abridged edition doesn’t have the recipes, so here’s a quick peek at one:

Gougeres

These delicate puff pastries originated in France, and are traditionally served this time of year, with champagne–dry, not brut.

• 1 cup water
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the water, butter and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to moderate. Add flour all at once and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from side of pan.

Transfer mixture–known as pate a choux–to a bowl and use an electric mixer to beat in the eggs, one at a time. If the batter is too stiff, add another egg.

Stir the Gruyere into the pate a choux and drop by tablespoons about one inch apart on the baking sheet. Bake for about twenty-five minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Oh, yay, an excerpt! You can read the first few pages of Snowfall at Willow Lake here.  

One of the questions I get most frequently is “How many books are in the Lakeshore Chronicles series? In what order should I read them?”

You can read the books in any order because each book is a complete novel unto itself, but if you want to go chronologically (and if you’re a fan of the Daisy Bellamy storyline, I recommend this), it’s

1. Summer at Willow Lake

2. “Homecoming Season” (a novella in the anthology MORE THAN WORDS: STORIES OF COURAGE)

3. The Winter Lodge

4. Dockside

5. Snowfall at Willow Lake

6. Fireside (working title) - coming in 2009

How many Lakeshore books will there be? Well, here’s a hint:

(This glimpse into the future comes to you courtesy of the multitalented Suzanne Selfors.)

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!