Author Interview: Amy Sue Nathan
Amy Sue Nathan is the host of popular blog Women’s Fiction Writers, and a novelist. Her work has appeared in The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times online, The Washington Post online, and The Huffington Post. Amy’s debut novel, THE GLASS WIVES, published on May 7th. She was kind enough to answer my interview questions and give us some insights on her new novel. I’m thrilled for her, and can’t wait to read THE GLASS WIVES.
1. What inspired you to write your novel?
I think the inspiration was more me compelled to tell a certain story. A few years after my divorce, my ex-husband died. My life had changed tremendously over the ten years before that. We moved around the country, settled in, moved again, then divorced and then he passed away unexpectedly. I didn’t want so much to tell the story of what happened to my family, but of what happens to anyone when their life doesn’t turn out as they planned. I also felt strongly about giving a voice to single moms who are often (at least in my experience) looked at as though they’re missing something and their families are looked at as broken. I wanted to help change the perception I experienced.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
I love writing but I’d say my favorite part of the process is editing and polishing, taking basic and sometimes raw ideas and making them do and say exactly what I intend them to do. It took me two days to rewrite the first page of The Glass Wives based on one suggestion from my editor. It was exhausting, but the act of moving things around on the page, adding words for clarity and cadence (and removing words for the same reasons) is what I’d consider a perfect way to spend many hours.
What part of the process is not your favorite?
Starting. It seems silly but starting is hard for me. I know it’s just a matter of “butt in chair” and “open the doc” but it’s daunting to begin anything new. There’s an excitement as well and I have to let that take over.
If you could go back in time, what would you have told your unagented/unpublishered writing self?
I would tell myself all the time, rejections, uncertainty, doubt, and dismissals would all add up to something fabulous!
What is your favorite novel of all time? You’re asking me to pick a favorite?
Okay. If I have to pick one I’d say, THE BORROWERS. I just love the idea that there is a reason things are missing around the house.
What is your first memory of writing?
Writing a big binder full of poems with a friend in sixth grade. I think I wrote stories before that too, but that was a big project for us. One poem was about an amusement park and it was called Wonderland. The binder was red. That’s all I remember.
What do you most want readers to take away from your novel?
I hope that THE GLASS WIVES imparts the idea that there are many ways to be a family. Qualifiers, subsets, and labels bother me, when all are valid, equal, and worthy of that uncomplicated yet significant term: family.
To learn more about Amy and her novel, visit her website:
Author Interview: M. J. Rose
I’ve been a long-time fan of M. J. Rose. Her fiction is so evocative, imaginative, and layered that it rises above genre historical or suspense writing. Her latest novel, SEDUCTION, received a starred review from LIBRARY JOURNAL, which calls the book: ”A luxurious, sensual experience for the reader….fully engrossing.”
M. J. was kind enough to answer the questions on my author interview. Her answers are amusing and thought-provoking, and I can’t wait to read SEDUCTION.
1.What inspired you to write your novel?
Two things.
Fantine, in Les Miserables by Victor Hugo is such a tragic and heartfelt character. For a long time after reading the book I wondered who inspired Hugo to create her? No one knows for sure… and being a writer I knew it probably wasn’t as obvious as it one might guess.
But what hooked me was stumbling on the fact that Victor Hugo spent two years of his life – while he was working on Les Miserables – conducting séances in order to contact his dead daughter. What drives a man known for his logic and reason to visit with spirits and believe he’s talking to the devil? Hugo participated in over 100 séances and claimed he spoke to everyone from Jesus to Napoleon to Dante.
2.What is your favorite part of the writing process?
My second draft.
3.What part of the process is not your favorite?
Reading the first pass page proofs. I can never ever believe, no matter how many times I do this, how much rewriting I still want to do at that point.
4. If you could go back in time, what would you have told your unagented/unpublishered writing self?
Buy stock in Amazon.
5. What is your favorite novel of all time?
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
6. What is your first memory of writing?
Sitting at the IBM Selectric typewriter with the silver ball in my grandfather’s office typing out a story about a man (who was not a clown) but wore giant sized red shoes and a hat that had wings on it that allowed him to fly. I remember how magically the ball moved and seeing the letters appear.
7. What do you most want readers to take away from your novel?
I want them to be entertained and have a great reading experience and take away the resolve to read all of my books. 
But seriously, I write for me because of the escape it offers me – the cherry on top is the privilege of having people read and respond so positively to my stories.
Thank you, M. J.!
For more on M. J. and her books, please visit her website:
Adopt an Indie Bookstore
I’m delighted to announce that I’ll be partnering with the Annapolis Bookstore in Annapolis, Maryland to send signed copies of my novels to readers all over the U.S. I have received many requests from people near and far for signed books, and this will not only support an independently owned bookstore that enhances the community, but it will give me a way to get books to you.
The Annapolis Bookstore does not yet have a cart on their website, so you’ll have to call (Mary or Janice will answer) if you’d like to order a book: 410-280-2339 . Shipping and handling will be $3.00. Please specify when you call to whom you’d like your book inscribed.
Thank you for helping me support local businesses.
Novels available:
Receive Me Falling
Call Me Zelda (starting May 7th)
Book Giveaway: Call Me Zelda
- CMZ has been selected for Penguin’s What the World is Reading program, one of their six recommended trade paperback releases of 2013.
- CMZ has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today for the Fitzgerald trend in books and film.
- Audio and Large Print Rights have sold for CMZ.
- Book Trailer: http://bit.ly/XbDhk6
- Pre-order: http://bit.ly/Zlp1Ym
- Appearances: http://bit.ly/QdJbhI
- I’m honored that HG has been selected for Penguin’s Read Pink program in 2013 to support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
- Audiobook and Large Print Rights have been sold for HG, as well as foreign rights in Hungary and Poland.
- If you’ve read HG, please consider leaving a review at your favorite online retailer or book sharing site: http://bit.ly/wH9peh
- RMF, my first self-published book, has continued to do well. As a courtesy to old and new readers, the ebook is now permanently available for Kindle at $2.99. http://amzn.to/12SwmOZ
NPR Visit and The Annapolis Book Festival
I had the great pleasure of visiting Baltimore’s NPR affiliate, WYPR, Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast, to discuss my new novel CALL ME ZELDA, and my upcoming appearance at the Annapolis Book Festival. To listen, click here.
The Annapolis Book Festival is this weekend at the Key School. I will be a part of a panel discussion on Saturday, April 13th at 10:30 a.m. with The Book Maven, Bethanne Patrick, and novelists Caroline Leavitt and Christoper Tilghman. For a full schedule of events at the book festival, click here.
I hope to see you in Annapolis!
Count Down to Book Launch…
My new novel, CALL ME ZELDA, will be published on May 7th by NAL/Penguin. It begins in Baltimore in 1932 when Zelda Fitzgerald checks into the Phipps Clinic at Johns Hopkins, and takes place during the aftermath of the Fitzgerald party years. Through Zelda’s relationship with a fictional psychiatric nurse, the book explores the meaning of friendship, love, and how we heal from emotional injury.
CALL ME ZELDA is a book that I’ve held close to my heart for a long time, inspired by my fascination with F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, and by the nurses I’ve known in my life (grandmother, mother-in-law, aunt, sister-in-law, friends…), who give so much of themselves to their patients. It also comes from my compassion for those who suffer mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder, the ways they are often misunderstood, and the pain of the family members caring for them.
It is the first novel I’ve written in the first person point of view, and as a writer, that takes one very deeply into the heart and mind of the characters, for better or worse. There is an intimacy, an immediacy to first person, and this novel marks my maiden voyage of many, I think, into this point of view.
There are links on my website to pre-order CALL ME ZELDA, if you are so inclined. If you read the book and enjoy it, I invite you to post a review at your favorite online book site. My website also has listings of my upcoming book tour and festival appearances. I hope to see you on the road!
Audiobook Giveaway
I’m delighted to present the audiobook of my novel HEMINGWAY’S GIRL. The narrator is critically acclaimed Tavia Gilbert, the talented voice artist who has covered many titles, including Mary Sharatt’s ILLUMINATIONS.
In honor of the audio publication date, I’ll be giving away one copy of HEMINGWAY’S GIRL to a commentor on the blog. For a chance to win, please tell me your favorite audiobook. If you’ve never listened to an audiobook, let me know. I will be honored if HEMINGWAY’S GIRL is your first.
The contest runs through Friday, April 5th, at 10 PM EST. (U. S. residents only~my apologies…) Please share on social media, and thanks so much for participating!
Hemingway’s Girl on Audio at:
Book Review: THE LAST TELEGRAM
“I send up a silent prayer that she will never know the dreary fear of war, when all normal life is suspended, when the impossible becomes ordinary, when every decision seems to be a matter of life or death, when good-byes are often for good.” Liz Trenow, THE LAST TELEGRAM
THE LAST TELEGRAM published today and is 347 pages. I was sent a galley for review consideration from the publisher because of my interest in historical fiction.
The novel begins in the present day at the funeral of Lily Verner’s husband, a man to whom she has been married for decades. When the elderly widow’s granddaughter discovers a trunk of letters, photographs, and old papers, Lily suddenly finds herself lost in memories of the past…
In the summer of 1938, Lily is a vivacious, headstrong young woman living on the grounds of her family home and her father’s lucrative silk mill in the British countryside. As the war begins, her life becomes fraught with uncertainty. Her family takes in three Jewish German young men who have been relocated for their protection to work in the mills with the family, where they fulfill a new contract to create parachutes for the military. As the war looms closer to home and discoveries of love are made, Lily is put under tremendous strain. Decisions she makes in her business and relationships have long lasting consequences, and she wonders if she can ever heal from the pain of that time.
I’m a regular reader of WWII novels, and I’m endlessly interested in the portrayal of different people and places affected by the war. THE LAST TELEGRAM is yet another fascinating look at this terrible time in human history, with memorable characters, a compelling plot, and bittersweet satisfaction.
Fans of THE POSTMISTRESS or THE SOLDIER’S WIFE, will enjoy THE LAST TELEGRAM. It is an engaging and evocative debut, and I look forward to reading more by Liz Trenow.
Author Interview: Anita Hughes
Last year I had the pleasure of reading MONARCH BEACH, and fell in love with Anita Hughes’ smart, engaging style. Now Anita has released MARKET STREET, a story of friendship, betrayal, and love that NY Times bestselling author Karen White calls “a love letter to San Francisco.” Anita was kind enough to answer my author interview questions, and now I want to read the book even more.
1. What inspired you to write your novel?
I love San Francisco – the city, the people, the food, and I wanted to write a novel about the city. I also love books about female friendships and I am extremely fond of my main character and her best friend. They make me laugh out loud.
2. What is your favorite part of the writing process?
I love sitting down to my computer and just writing. Once I find my rhythm I am completely transported, I forget time and place and just write.
3. What part of the process is not your favorite?
Sometimes I get a couple of new ideas at the same time and I’m not sure what to write next. I get really torn because once I start there’s no turning back. I feel quickly responsible for my characters and need to take care of them.
4. If you could go back in time, what would you have told your unagented/ unpublished writing self?
To really enjoy the writing – it is the best part of the process – just you, the computer and the stories in your head.
5. What is your favorite novel of all time?
Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham – I have read all his work and it has taught me so much.
6. What is your first memory of writing?
When I was eight years old, I won a national writing contest in Australia. That was unexpected and very thrilling. I was hooked.
7. What do you most want readers to take away from your novel?
I’d like my readers to laugh, smile and feel good when they finish Market Street.
If you’d like to learn more about Anita, check out her website: http://anitahughesbooks.com/. I can’t wait to read MARKET STREET!
Book Review: THE ORCHARDIST
“Riding in the herd, the sound like one constant, endless sigh; some horses frantic and others calm, some remembering some wrong done to them while others wanted only to sleep, and each struggling with hunger and thirst; some horses pregnant, others desperate to copulate; and all moved forward as one body amid the heat and the dust. The men and Della spaced out and caught among them like ornaments in a blanket; like disparate thoughts fretting to cohere.”
Amanda Coplin, THE ORCHARDIST
THE ORCHARDIST by Amanda Coplin was published in 2012 and is 426 pages. I’ve heard many compelling reviews of the book, and bought it on the recommendation of bookseller, Jean Lewis. It is a sweeping historical drama set in the Pacific Northwest that reads like Steinbeck and haunts the reader long after the pages are closed.
The novel begins at the turn of the twentieth century on the remote land of William Talmage, a humble man who is largely alone on his orchard because of family losses and circumstance, but who is not entirely unhappy in his solitude. He has a friend at the market in town–a midwife and herbalist named Caroline, a mute Native American horse tamer named Clee who passes through during horse hunting season, and the painful memory of a sister he lost to the landscape years ago. It is upon the arrival of two feral, pregnant girls, however, that Talmage’s life is forever changed.
Decades pass in THE ORCHARDIST; seasons move over the land; the legacy of the inhabitants unfolds with fascinating and often painful clarity. Unspeakable tragedy punctuates the solace found in the tending of the trees; lives begin and end; and the young country grows with the story. Great truths and small beauties are revealed, but the power lies in the depth of the narrative. Coplin is a master–each section is meticulously crafted to reveal character through time and place, and the illustration of connection between the land and those who live on it is profound.
THE ORCHARDIST is a novel whose rich words burrow within the reader, pulling one into the story so deeply that the reader becomes one with it, a member of the tribe, a watcher enmeshed in the action. It is exhausting. THE ORCHARDIST cannot be devoured; it must be reflected upon and savored.
If you enjoy literary novels in historic settings, you must read THE ORCHARDIST. It will hypnotize, haunt, and challenge you. I give it my highest recommendation.
