Muse

Doesn’t it seem that when something’s on your mind, you see it everywhere?

Take Ernest Hemingway. 

I’m heavy into the drafting stage of a novel with Hemingway as a main character, set in Key West in the 30’s.  I’ve been researching this book for almost a year.  I eat, sleep, and breathe books by and about Ernest Hemingway.  I take trips to Hemingway sites and museums.  It’s become an obsession.

And it seems that now, he’s everywhere. 

Just last week, the New York Times published an article about the re-release of A Moveable Feast, with a new editor, Sean Hemingway.  Sean is Ernest and Pauline’s grandson through their son, Patrick.  He made adjustments to the text (based on Hemingway’s own drafts) to paint his grandmother in a more favorable light. 

Since Pauline is a character in my book, I find this information very helpful.  If Patrick Hemingway wished to show the happiness and joy that Ernest and Pauline enjoyed, there must have been a great deal of it.  There’s no shortage of children out to get their parents for past wrongs, so Patrick’s encouragement of his son to work on a project like this sends a strong message.  It will help in my characterization of a very complicated woman.

Other Hemingway sightings include a book about the history of the daiquiri–which is rumored to have been brought to the US from Cuba by the author, a Hemingway movie in the works, and my favorite, a book just sold at auction to Random House about Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley, for an unbelievable amount of money. 

In this 110th anniversary year of his birth, I do detect a trend.

One final anecdote:  about a month ago, I was experiencing some intense indecision about whether or not to throw all of my energy into the Hemingway novel, or start working on the sequel to my first book, Receive Me Falling.  Many book clubs and readers have expressed interest in a sequel, so I felt pulled in two directions.  On one hand, I had done so much research on Hemingway and his family that I wanted to put it to use while it was fresh in my mind.  On the other hand, I wanted to satisfy my readers. 

One night, I was having trouble sleeping from intense, spring, night rain.  I finally dozed off, and found myself in the Hemingway house, in Key West, in 1935.  I was sitting on a couch next to Hemingway engaged in small talk, when he suddenly became anxious.  He took my hands and said, “Please write my book.  I’ve become irrelevant.” 

Then I woke up.

I don’t have to tell you what I’ve settled on in my writing.

As a writer, using your creativity doesn’t stop once the words are on the page.  It is, perhaps, more important after your writing is complete, your book is in print, and it’s time to sell it.

My novel, Receive Me Falling, takes place in two time periods on a Caribbean sugar plantation.  The most interesting by-product of cane production is rum, so I thought a vineyard/farmer’s market might be a good place to sell the book. 

I was right.

In addition to the alcoholic theme, a farmer’s market has a lot of food and drink, and, therefore, not a lot of competition for a book seller.  Books provide a nice variation from and complement to the consumables.  For a vendor, Boordy Vineyards provide an ideal atmosphere: shady trees, acoustic music, pastoral views, and wine!  It doesn’t feel like work.

The Boordy Vineyard Farmer’s Market and Happy Hour runs every Thursday evening from 4-8 PM during the summer months.  I hope to see you there sometime.

Cheers!

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Sales Update

Since I published Receive Me Falling in March, twenty-one boxes of books (631 copies) have been sitting in my distribution center (the dining room) for me to sell at fairs, signings, and book festivals.  I came home from Boordy with the last three books from my first print run.

Thanks so much to all of you who have supported me.  Your purchases, feedback, book club connections, and Amazon reviews have meant so much. 

Now, I’m going to admire my dining room before the second  shipment arrives next week.

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was published in 2003, and is 537 pages.  It was a difficult book to put down, so I read it in about three days.  My comments on the text are not specific spoilers, but be warned that they will reveal some of the major themes of the book.

The basic premise is that Henry DeTamble has a genetic problem that causes him to slip out of the present and into the past or future without much warning.   He travels to places he has been or will be, and often runs into people he cares about.  The time travel tends to take place when he’s having strong emotional feelings, stress, or strain, and leaves him naked, physically nauseous, and often in precarious situations. 

Clare is Henry’s great love.  He slips into her childhood and adolescence once they are married, and is given the gift of watching her develop through their meetings.  Her great challenge is waiting for him, and it’s something she has to do all of her life.

I was drawn to the characters in this book because of their deep flaws.  They are imperfect–sometimes astoundingly so–but their love for one another is enduring and carries them through their difficulties.  In no way is this book a cliche–it is an entirely original love story (if there is such a thing.)  It is a bit confusing, but once I got into the flow of the dated entries and twin narrators, I was able to keep up.  I thought I had it figured out, but I didn’t.  This book actually made me cry, and books don’t often do that to me. 

The themes of waiting, love, and loss are prevalent in the book.  Through quotes from A. S. Byatt’s Possession, and through conversations in the text, one question stands out: Is it better to have great love in a short time, or not at all?  I think the answer repeatedly driven home is that it is better to have loved. 

This book reminded me of another book I read some years ago by Sheldon Vanauken–A Severe Mercy.  In that book, C. S. Lewis counsels his friend who has lost his wife by saying that her death was a ’severe mercy’ because all of our human relationships and loves will end, and death is the way that keeps the love intact, though it causes us much pain.  The alternative is divorce, and that kills the love, itself. 

The Time Traveler’s Wife is not a light beach read.  It’s dark and deep and heavy.  It is, however, a great book with fully realized characters, a compelling plot, and a unique premise. 

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(I just saw that the movie version is coming out in August.  Here is a trailer.) 

Today is Paul McCartney’s 67th birthday.  I remember hearing him sing on my mom’s Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band record album when I was thirteen years old.  She had told me that she had listened to the album from start to finish every day after she bought it, and it gave me a connection to her younger, teenaged self, which–at the time–seemed to me like another person entirely; but with the perspective of my own years, I know is still very much there.  I associate the album with a phase I went through where I obsessed with the late 60s and early 70s, when I wanted to wear hippie clothing, read everything I could about the Vietnam war, identified with Kevin’s older sister on The Wonder Years, and then found a copy of Go Ask Alice.  That book stopped me dead in my tracks and scared me straight before I’d had a chance to sow any oats. 

But I digress…

On Sirius Classical Music Channel 80 today, I was surprised and delighted to hear that Paul McCartney had written an English Choral Music piece called Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart).  Sirius’ Martin Goldsmith conducted a fantastic interview with McCartney about his inspiration for the project and his writing style. 

As it turns out, McCartney was commissioned to write Ecce Cor Meum in the years preceding his wife, Linda’s, death. He was brought to a standstill when she died, but realized that music would help to heal him if he could manage to get back to it.  He started with the very bleak Interlude for the piece–a moving solo by a lone oboe–and used that as a doorway into the rest of the work. 

He spoke about his writing style, saying that he writes about three hours a day, the way he used to with the Beatles.  For Ecce, he said he envisioned his audience dressed up on opening night, with the lights dimmed, and imagined how the music would begin.  I loved the idea of imagining the audience in the act of taking in the music for inspiration. 

When I saw the movie The Jane Austen Book Club I was very moved by the montages of the characters reading the books.  They were quick, set to music, and meant to transition between scenes, but they highlighted the intimacy of the act of reading in a way I hadn’t before considered. 

Reading is intimate–it’s often done in a bed or a favorite chair.  It’s tactile.  It’s close.  It’s interactive.  Listening to music can also be intimate.  It often moves the listener to physical action (or reaction) and becomes closely identified with life moments like births, deaths, vacations, or pre-adolescent identity exploration. 

Paul McCartney is undeniably one of the most talented artists of all time.  The interviewer remarked that it was a testament to McCartney that he continued to make music and take on new challenges in his sixties, when he could surely sit in a room reveling in the fact that he was an icon.  McCartney responded that he was still thrilled with the learning process associated with making music, and conveying his ideas on the importance of love, peace, truth, and nature. 

McCartney continues to inspire people everywhere even as he approaches his seventies. 

Happy Birthday, Sir Paul. 

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (hereafter to be known as the GLPPPS) was written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, was published in 2008, and is 274 pages.  It is an epistolary novel set in post-WW2 Europe in England and on the Channel Island of Guernsey.  In it, writer Juliet Ashton begins a correspondence with a book club on Guernsey, and her letters eventually lead her to the island that changes her life.

I can’t keep the voice of the detached reviewer on for this book.  I absolutely loved it.  The book found me through many recommendations and bookstore sightings, until I finally ran into it on my way out of Borders.  I opened up the front cover and found this excerpt: 

“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey?  Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.”

When a book speaks that loudly to me, I can’t refuse it.  And I couldn’t put it down.  It was the kind of book that made me angry at the doctor for running on time so I couldn’t keep reading it.  It was the kind of book that made me seriously consider telling the babysitter that the doctor was running late so I could read it.    

What I most loved about the GLPPPS was the skillful way in which the writers revealed their characters through the letters.  The letters were from several different voices, often talking about the same events or people.  It gave authenticity to the events and characters because of the different views.  In writing, a reliable and likable narrator gives credibility to events in a story (think Nick in The Great Gatsby).  The letters provided that voice.

The protagonist of the book, Juliet, was charming and endearing because of her humor, her flaws, and her exuberance.  She reminded me of Austen’s Emma.  She revelled in her own capriciousness and silliness, but her profound strength of character was revealed over and over again through her actions and the observations in the letters written by others.

What also made The GLPPPS so enjoyable for me was that it was a book about books–the protagonist is a writer, the members of the GLPPPS discuss their favorite books, and the book is bursting with beautiful little tributes to books.  In Juliet’s letter to a man from the GLPPPS, she writes:

“That’s what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book.  It’s geometrically progressive…”   (11-12)

And then, this, from a man on Guernsey to Juliet, about Shakespeare’s words and the day the Nazi’s invaded the island:

“‘The bright day is done, and we are for the dark.’  I wish I’d known those words on the day I watched those German troops land, plane-load of them–and come off ships down in the harbor!  All I could think of was damn them, damn them, damn them, over and over.  If I could have thought the words ‘the bright day is done and we are for the dark,’ I’d have been consoled somehow and ready to go out and contend with the circumstance…”   (63)

Which leads me to the final and most important reason I loved this book: it served the true purpose of historical fiction in its depiction of a time and place in history I knew little about, with a cast of characters I cared so much about that it humanized the events for me.  I knew nothing of the English Channel Islands before I read GLPPPS.  I didn’t know that the Nazi’s occupied them during the war.  I didn’t know about the grave injustices committed against the residents of the island.  Now that I’ve read the book, a whole new window of history has opened to me, giving me a renewed appreciation and respect for the war veterans and survivors, and a feeling of gratitude for the time and place in which I live.  

The only thing about the book that I did not like was that large, clunky title.  Other than that, it was perfection.  I insist that you read it.

Research isn’t always pretty.

Sometimes it’s in dusty basements and old libraries.  Sometimes it involves adventures in bad weather in unknown places.  Sometimes it means reading hundreds of academic documents without turning over a single treasure. 

That is NOT research at the JFK Library and Museum in Boston.

The building itself is situated at Columbia Point, overlooking the water through four story glass windows.  Its modern and clean design carries up to the Hemingway room, which then takes on the comfortable familiarity of Hemingway’s Key West writing cottage.  A lion skin rug greets with its massive, open jaws.  An antelope hangs on the wall next to Waldo Pierce’s famous painting of Hemingway.  Four Andre Masson paintings grace the walls—three from his Forest Series over the fireplace in the room, and one by a research desk. Various memorabilia fill two glass cases, including original editions of the author’s work, a change purse of good luck charms he kept, a stamped, black travel valise, a trunk, and notes from his speech when he won the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea. A Hemingway bust watches over the whole scene in silent approval.

In 1972, Hemingway’s fourth wife, Mary, deeded her collection of manuscripts, letters, photographs, and other items to the JFK Library and Museum so it could all be kept together, preserved, and used for research.  John F. Kennedy, himself, was instrumental in helping Mary collect the materials, as many of them were at Hemingway’s residence in Cuba.  He gave Mary permission to travel there to retrieve as much as she could.  Today, the Ernest Hemingway Archive holds the greatest collection of his paper and photo artifacts, library, and personal groupings of his press and reviews.

Tuesday, I spent the afternoon with all of Hemingway’s outgoing correspondence from 1935-1942.  To my relief, much from 1935 remains—which is the time period I’m focusing on in my novel. I was hunting for clues to his daily life, whereabouts, and personal relationships, and the letters were a wealth of information. I was also given a good look at his letter writing style, which is important to me because the last section of my novel will be a correspondence between Ernest Hemingway and my protagonist.

Wednesday, I spent with the pictures. (That was in a dusty basement.)   I initially thought I’d just use the pictures for imaginative purposes, but in poring over such great visual reminders of Hemingway and the people and places in his life, I decided to see about including them in the text of my novel—even though it’s historical fiction.  I think interspersing the photos within the text would greatly enhance the reading experience.  I do have to get permission to use many of the photos, though, so that could be a process. 

The staff at the library and museum were extremely gracious and helpful.  It was a very positive research experience, and I hope to get back soon.

I chose June 9th and 10th to visit the EH Collection because Lillian Ross—the New Yorker journalist who profiled Hemingway in 1950—was speaking. Ms. Ross kept up a correspondence with Hemingway throughout his life, following the time she spent with him for the New Yorker profile.  She spoke very warmly of her friend, Hemingway, and told stories of his humorous letters, generosity in writing, and his tragic death.  Of all of the Hemingway biographies I’ve read in preparation for my Hemingway novel (and there have been many) only Ms. Ross’ biography, Portrait of Hemingway, captures the essence of Hemingway as a man, rather than Hemingway as a writer, sportsman, or legend. 

On writing, she spoke of her love of Hemingway’s short, clear, moving sentences.  She spoke of the negative space of his work—what was left unsaid–that spoke volumes.  I was particularly interested in her thoughts on Hemingway’s thoughts on the connection between art, music, and writing.  (This subject has been on my mind for some time, and I now wonder if it was influenced by all the Hemingway books I’ve been reading.) 

She said corresponding with Hemingway by mail or in person was a treat because he always used humor, was always original, and had a silly, meandering way of writing or speaking that was wholly different from his fiction.  She said he would have made a great “texter.” (Which was funny to hear since Ms. Ross is almost ninety years old.)

It was a treat to hear Lillian Ross speak, and immerse myself in Hemingway for two days.  It will make for some great writing.

Mozart’s Women: His Family, His Friends, His Music was written by accomplished Mozart conductor, Jane Glover.  It was published in 2007, and is 372 pages.  In it, Glover tells the story of the oft written about musical prodigy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in relation to the women in his family, the women who inspired him, and the women who loved him. 

The biography is divided into four sections:  “Mozart’s Family”, “Mozart’s Other Family”, “Mozart’s Women”, and “After Mozart.”  The first two sections present a complete biography of his life, beginning with an account of the travels of the child prodigy, Mozart, his sister (almost his equal in talent), and his parents.  His father, Leopold, is painted as a domineering, motivated, and dour man; but what is most interesting in the early section of the biography, is Glover’s assertion that Mozart’s sister, Nannerl, might have rivaled her brother in talent if she had been given the opportunities that he had been given.  It appears that the siblings did have a very close and supportive relationship with one another until Mozart, in his need to break from his father, went out on his own. 

The next section, “Mozart’s Other Family” deals with his relationship with the Weber family.  The Weber’s had four immensely talented daughters, and reminded him of his own family.  Mozart’s first Weber love was the great opera singer, Aloysia, but some years after she rejected him, he fell in love with and married her younger sister, Constanze.  Constanze and Wolfgang’s marriage would grow to one of great devotion, and her love for Mozart would inspire some of his best works.  This section concludes with the early and untimely death of Mozart while he worked tirelessly (ironically) on his Requiem Mass. 

The third section of the biography diverges from the linear movement of the book, and digresses into a fascinating, detailed explanation of each of Mozart’s operas, and the women who inspired and performed them. The final section of the book tells about the rest of Constanze’s life, and the lives of her sisters, and Mozart’s own sister. 

I loved this book.  It was an independent bookstore treasure that I stumbled upon at the Hard Bean in Annapolis.  I was drawn to it by the title, and by my own interest in the composer.  My father’s love of classical music, and specifically, Mozart, seeped into my subconscious as I grew, and asserted itself several years ago.  I remember falling in love with Mozart’s music when I saw the movie, Amadeus, over a decade ago.  The balance of music and story in the movie was captivating and inspiring, and might be what started my true love of historical fiction.

Though Glover is profoundly learned, the text of the book is readable and straightforward.  Her love for the composer is transmitted in a clean, warmness of style.  Though her affinity for Mozart is clear, she does not put him on a pedestal, but creates a very human portrayal of a great master.  I had some difficulty with the third section that broke down his operas in such detail.  I would have preferred it to be woven through the linear biography for balance, but that certainly did not take away from my enjoyment of the text. 

I highly recommend this book.

It’s been another busy week for book promotion and publicity.  I went to the book club for Archbishop Spalding High School teachers on Wednesday. The organizers had Carribean-themed drinks and food in honor of the setting of Receive Me Falling.  They also had Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata streaming on a loop in the IPOD as  a nod to the ghostly music heard coming the from the plantation in the book.  A thunderstorm that started halfway through our meeting was the icing on the cake of great book atmosphere, but thankfully, no one was thrown over the edge of a cliff.  We talked about the book for almost three hours, and I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting.

Today, I was in Annapolis all afternoon for First Sundays Arts Festival.  I’ve been unbelievably lucky with the weather for my street fairs, and today was no exception.  The crowds were out in full force.  I met a lot of wonderful people, connected with many local book club participants, and even sold a book to the mayor of Annapolis, Ellen Moyer.

Next week, I’ll be in Boston doing some research for my second novel set in Key West during the Depression, when Hemingway lived there.   The JFK Museum and Library holds 90% of the body of Hemingway’s letters, manuscripts, and audiovisual materials.  I’ve been given permission to use the Hemingway research room there, and will attend a talk on Tuesday night by famed New Yorker writer, Lilian Ross, who profiled the author when he was alive in her Portrait of Hemingway.  To say that I’m thrilled to be given this opportunity is an understatement.  I’m sure it will yield some great material for my new novel.

I met a woman at the Wine Festival I attended this weekend, and we had a great discussion about the Kindle and the future of books.  Linda had just downsized her living arrangements, and needed to get rid of her books.  She bought a Kindle so she could continue to foster her love of reading in a more space-efficient and environmentally-friendly way. 

Today, Linda emailed me about an article she found with an author who blasted Kindle owners for being “elitist”, and said that he just wanted to punch them in the face.  She posted this on her Yahoo group, and that set off a discussion thread of Kindle owners vowing never to buy this author’s work.  In the thread, she mentioned that she had met me, and that my book was available as an ebook. 

From her recommendation this evening, Receive Me Falling, was #1 for Kindle downloads in the category of “Caribbean/West Indies” books.  When my husband told me, I asked him if there were eight or nine of those books.  He said there were over 100. 

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Now that I’m back from somersaults all over the room, I wanted to share some of the thoughts on digital books that I posted on the Yahoo group discussion thread.

Some authors are afraid to embrace technology and change, and fear that providing their books digitally will cause them to lose money and control.  Sadly, their reluctance to move in the direction of digital readers may leave them far behind. 

I think every writer has different reasons for writing, but I have to truthfully say that many writers–myself included–write because it is our passion and we want to share our stories.  Of course, it would be nice to make money off of a passion, but the joy of writing is reaching readers, connecting with readers, and keeping them up past their bedtimes with great stories. 

Even before digital books, people passed books around to their friends, and borrowed them from libraries.  Not many people–particularly in this economy–have the disposable income to purchase books for $15, $20, or even $30.  I would argue that making books available in a digital format might ultimately get more people to buy books.  Since Kindle owners won’t be lending out their Kindles, others will have to pay for and download the stories they want to read.

So many thanks to Linda, and all the Kindle owners who downloaded my book today.  I hope you enjoy it!