You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘books’ tag.
Image source: http://www.47project.com
I had such fun with these interview questions. The original post is here.
6 things readers should know about you:
1. I’m just like them–always looking for a wonderful juicy novel to savor.
2. I have a horror of being trapped somewhere boring without a book to read.
3. I believe that creating a nation of readers will transform our country.
4. When it comes to my personal life and family, I give it my all, every day.
5. When it comes to my career, I hustle. Every. Single. Day.
6. I look just like my author photo.
What would you say are the defining characteristic of your Novels?
Um, the awesome author photo?
5 best things about being a writer?
1. The author photo is my greatest work of fiction.
2. My commute is from the couch to the computer.
3. My work uniform is a bathrobe, fuzzy slippers, headphones and mug of coffee.
4. My readers touch my heart with the notes they send and post on Facebook and other sites.
5. If somebody treats me mean, they could end up dead in one of my books.
What romance book character you most identify with & Why?
Isadora in THE CHARM SCHOOL. She is smart, dorky, awkward and endearing…and modeled after yrs truly.
About the Book: The Apple Orchard
If you had to summarize the book for the readers here ….
Sisters, secrets, and surprises. One of my favorite reviews, spotted here: http://readfulthingsblog.com/2013/03/18/the-apple-orchard-by-susan-wiggs/ gives this summary. It’s the kind of review all authors dream about: “OH IT WAS HEAVEN! I wanted to stay wrapped up in this book forever. This is the kind of novel that fills your heart and soul with warmth and makes you just feel good! The recipes are to die for as well.
“This novel has one of the most beautiful opening chapters that I have ever seen. The descriptions of the landscape are so vivid and alive that you can almost smell the apples and hear the buzz of the honeybees. Immediately I was drawn in to this story and never lost interest throughout the entire book.
“The cast of characters in this novel are the kind of people that you don’t want to forget. They are such an inviting family with so much rich history and compassion for one another that I almost felt, in some ways while I was reading this I had returned home to visit my own family.”
What scene did you have most fun writing? why?
Chapter 11. Hands down. Right after the epigraph page and recipe for Julekake right before Part Seven. It’s the first scene I wrote of the novel and it stuck with me through every draft. Nothing says “page turner” better than a peaceful family Christmas in Denmark, disrupted by Nazi stormtroopers. Okay, maybe it wasn’t “fun.” It’s very dark. But riveting. I hope I did it justice.
Who would who cast in the role of hero and heroine if your book was optioned for a movie?
Tess Delaney needs to be played by that intense, driven redhead in ZERO DARK THIRTY. Ummm, what’s her name? Jessica Chastain! Thank you Wikipedia!
Dominic Rossi is tall, dark and Italian. Your readers are going to have to help me out. Tell them to post their suggestions on my FaceBook page. I don’t get out enough, clearly.
What are you currently working on?
Working title is THE BEEKEEPER’S BALL. It’s #2 in the Bella Vista Chronicles, because I just had to write about Isabel, the sister from THE APPLE ORCHARD.
What other releases so you have planned for 2013?
CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS, which will be in stores October 1. It’s Lakeshore Chronicles #10, and it’s crazy fun. A single dad does Christmas. Among other things.
Where can readers get in touch with you?
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/susanwiggs
and on Twitter I’m @SusanWiggs.
The Apple Orchard is published. It’s in stores everywhere, starting right now. My amazing literary agent send me a gorgeous bouquet, featuring pink-and-white apple blossoms. As an unexpected bonus, my friend Janet delivered the flowers. Most days, I love my job.
I have such thoughtful readers. Look what someone sent me, after reading Summer at Willow Lake.
I have such nice readers.
So I’ve been asked how to make a musical slide show to share. Like this one:
Believe me, I am not very technical. You don’t need to be. Get Picasa here (it’s free) and upload the pics you want in the slide show. Click the Download tab and then click “make movie” and open the movie in Picasa. Then click Upload to YouTube and there it is. To add music, click “AudioSwap” and you’ll get a list (huge list) of music you can add.
Voila, you’re the laptop Fellini!
The Examiner recently asked me some tough questions. Okay, they weren’t tough. I love answering questions. If I don’t know the answer, I just make stuff up. Don’t judge. I’m a fiction writer:
Q. You hand write your original drafts! Holy Cow…. Why? Do you just like communing with ink? The feel of the paper? You feel more connected to the book? Tell us about your process.
SW: Its a habit I started since before I even knew how to read or write. At age 2-1/2, I used to scribble on paper and tell my mother, “Now, write this down.” And bless her, she did. All my stories were about a girl who was chased up a tree with Bad Things after her. To this day, thats pretty much what all my books are about. 
As a teenager, I lived in Brussels and then Paris…I used to carry around notebooks (cahiers) filled with terrible angsty poetry. Later, when I started writing novels (grad school), I was so broke that I had to use half empty cahiers left over from high school. Since I hated (still hate) to type, I only wanted to type up each page once, so I would get the story down by hand and then transcribe. These days, I use Dragon Naturally Speaking and read the text into the computer. Ann Tyler once said writing by hand is like knitting a book. Its crafty! And you dont save the wrong version or lose text (unless theres a house fire). So the habit has stuck with me. Maybe I was Amish in a past life, I dunno.
Q. How I Planned Your Wedding is such a sweet, charming and romantic idea. Tell us about the book you wrote planning your daughters wedding.
SW: This book was my alternative to being murdered by my daughter. We drove each other crazy during the wedding planning, but discovered that a sense of humor can rescue even the biggest disaster. Elizabeth started a blog which was howlingly funny and went viral, so she brought that snarky voice to the book. As the mom, I got to chime in. Some of the brutal honesty in the book still makes me squirm, but we both found a way to tell the story that every bride (and her mom) can relate to. Even those not planning a wedding will relate to the conflict and craziness of the mother-daughter bond.
Q. It seems you started the way many authors start: by thinking, “Hey, I can do that.” Since you had such great success for so long, besides the obvious advent of e-books, what are the biggest changes youve seen in the publishing industry?
SW: Honestly, the essence of publishing hasnt changed. Since the days of the cave man carving stuff on the cave walls, people have wanted stories, and storytellers have wanted an audience. That is still the case. The changes are really a matter of format. Publishers consolidate, methods of publishing change, but readers and storytellers are forever. Thank God.
Q. Since you so enjoy keeping your toes wet in the teaching pool, if you had to pick the most important piece of craft information youd like all new writers to take away from a conversation with you, what would that be?
SW: Tell the story thats in your heart, and dont hold back. Write a book the reader will want to melt into. And for Gods sake, learn your craft. Do NOT try to publish anything until you have nailed the basics (grammar, spelling, usage, syntax) and the refinements of writing. Readers deserve your very best, always….There are practical techniques a writer can use to keep the pacing of the novel strong, by introducing 
unexpected emotions, twists and turns, actions and reactions. You want to leave out the stuff the readers going to skip, anyway.
Q. Tell us what’s next on your plate for 2011.
SW: Books books and more books. My first nonfiction book How I Planned Your Wedding, and of course Marrying Daisy Bellamy…(which made my YEAR by landing at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list) and in April, The Goodbye Quilt. Its a story about a mother driving her daughter to college for the first time. And some new editions of old faves: Lakeside Cottage in August, and Home Before Dark in September.
Oh, and travel! PLEASE check my web page to see if I’m coming to your neck of the woods: Helena, Montana. Bellevue, Washington. Chicago. Milwaukee. New Orleans. Melbourne, Australia.
“Wanted: A needle swift enough to sew this poem into a blanket.” –Charles Simic, Serbian-American Poet
I love the little detail on the title lettering.
I wrote The Goodbye Quilt because it was cheaper than therapy. Honestly, I did not expect my daughter’s departure from home to hit me as hard as it did.
The first draft of this novel came out fast, in a matter of weeks, fueled by emotion and a sense of urgency to get the feelings out.
Several years ago, I talked to my agent and great friend Meg Ruley about the book, but the story, like me, was a work in progress. I needed the perspective of time and my cold writer’s eye to transform the story from a self indulgent rumination into a novel readers could truly embrace and relate to.
I also needed to find a way to conclude the story that felt true and satisfying. This is something I struggled with for a long time and when I finally hit on the right ending, it was glad day chez Wiggs. At last, I got it right. I proudly submitted the piece to my publisher, only to hear the dreaded words, “This ending doesn’t work. You have to change it.” After much gnashing of teeth and ritual smearing of ashes, I realized that this was true. Back to the drawing board. The perfect solution came from the perfect source, my own daughter, the ever fabulous Elizabeth Wiggs Maas, now grown and married and an author in her own right.
She didn’t give me the answer, but she reminded me of the true meaning of the goodbye quilt in the story. It is a record of one woman’s days as a mom, and as such, it was an unfinished story.
Whether readers of the novel will agree or not remains to be seen, but for me, it’s the grace note at the end if a long and beautiful piece.
IMPORTANT: You can enter to win a $500 travel voucher to bring your college kid home–or to take you anywhere you want to go. All you need is to find your favorite quote in THE GOODBYE QUILT and you’re good to go. Details to follow so stay tuned!
I’m so excited for people to read this book! I’ve put up a slide show of images here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/susanwiggsauthor/TheGoodbyeQuilt#
and a video with a beautiful song here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/susanwiggsauthor/TheGoodbyeQuilt#
and a video with a beautiful song here:
At the end of the novel, you’ll fine a spectacular pattern for the original Goodbye Quilt, created by the ever-talented Joan of Cards.
Best. Sports movie. Ever.
So on the New York Times web site they’re talking about the biopic “The Blind Side” about a disadvantaged youngster adopted as a teenager by a wealthy family. The debate seems to be about the racial stereotypes…but there really is no debate. It happened the way it happened.
It’s an incredible story. Read the book or article and you’ll agree.
The article referenced above sparked a debate in the comments section. They want to know what the best sports movies of all time are.
My favorites were not mentioned (surprise) so here they are:
Does “Last of the Mohicans” with Daniel Day-Lewis count?
If not, then it’s “Victory” with Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine and a bunch of other eye candy, about a soccer team of WWII POWs who take on the Nazi pros. A close second… Maybe “Hoosiers”?
Field of Dreams and Bull Durham are high on my list. How can they not be? Both are as close to perfection as a baseball movie can get. Ditton “The Natural” with Robert Redford.
No! “The Cutting Edge” about pairs figure skating. Be still my heart.
There. Aren’t you glad you asked?
How about you? What are your favorite sports movies?
