Autumn offerings!

With the arrival of all things autumn, there is a near-universal return among us booklovers to our To Be Read piles that somehow we just didn't get to during the summer months, despite all that relaxed reading time the long nights are supposed to afford us. I've got five sure-to-be fabulous books for my Fall Reading Gala that I can't wait to get to (down from 20 when I decided to take a more realistic approach). And here they are:

The Forgotten Garden: After I finished The House At Riverton by Kate Morton, I knew I wanted to get my hands on her newest. I've actually started this one already and am quite taken with Morton's ability to let us time travel without getting dizzy. A four-year-old girl is found alone on a ship that sailed from London to Australia in 1913. The harbormaster and his wife take her in, and many months later - well after this couple has learned to love this child - someone comes looking for her. The harbormaster and his wife move far away from the port where they found her, convincing themselves that anyone who could misplace a child for months is not fit to have her. When the child begins to forget the little she remembers of her other life, the couple simply ceases to talk about it. The story takes us to the point of view of that child, Nellie, as an adult and now aware of her origins, to the point of view of her granddaughter some years after Nell's death, to the point of view of the long-ago mother who lost her. Three time zones, lots of mental sailing, rich prose, clever storytelling, but hold onto the rail or you will forget where you are. And you don't want to do that. It's shaping up so nicely.

I am also many pages into A Slow Burn by my very dear friend, Mary DeMuth. I will actually set aside The Forgotten Garden for a few days to finish A Slow Burn, the second in her Defiance, Texas series about the affects of a young girl's disappearance on a slow-moving Texas town. Mary will be my guest on Friday and we'll talk about this book and its place in the series, which began with Daisy Chain, one of my favorite reads from 2009. Mary writes with depth and charm, a nice mix these days when it seems like many books sacrifice one for the other. Come back Friday for more.

Since it came out earlier this year, I've been itching to get into The Passion of Mary Margaret, the latest by one of my favorite authors, Lisa Samson. Publishers Weekly sez: "Samson mixes quirky with mysticism, seasons it with social justice, and the result is a page-turner with characters so fresh, funny and indelible the reader wants another 50 pages or so, please. Samson envisions a Jesus even an atheist would enjoy talking to, a Jesus whom the titular Mary-Margaret Fischer, a religious sister, talks to and gets direction from, as mystics quite naturally do. An even more compelling figure than Jesus, or at least someone with more lines and hence more characterization, is Mary-Margaret's childhood friend, Jude Keller, a ne'er-do-well with a soul needing saving encased in a body so good-looking it's hard for a body to resist. The required Christian progression to redemption is a natural in this story that slips between past and present-somewhat confusingly at first-and ranges from Maryland to Africa. The plot holds a few surprises that make some of the final, far-flung episodes more narratively and theologically satisfying. Quirk works; this is a deeply engaging book deserving of a broad audience." I happen to LOVE quirk.

Despite its troubling storyline, I loved the way Audrey Niffeneggar wove The Time Traveler's Wife together. It was a completely orignal story with highly memorable characters. You don't see too many stories like that. You see memorable characters but they are by and large wrapped in a good plot we've seen before. So, I've been anxious for Niffeneggar's next offering and here it is: Her Fearful Symmetry, which will release tomorrow. Her publisher sez: "Six years after the phenomenal success of The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger has returned with a spectacularly compelling and haunting second novel set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London. . . Niffenegger weaves a captivating story in Her Fearful Symmetry about love and identity, about secrets and sisterhood, and about the tenacity of life -- even after death." There is apparently a ghost in this story, and I happen to like intelligent ghost stories. Not the creepy kind. The "What if?" kind. . .

And I've already mentioned in an earlier post that I am so looking forward to Anita Diamant's newest, Day After Night. I read The Red Tent a number of years ago and enjoyed that book so much. And since I like stories that take me to the past, I am hoping to be swept away again by Diamant's flair for storytelling from another time.

So that's the line-up! Wish I could read them all and not have to do anything else . . .

What's on your fall reading list?

See you on Friday. Mary DeMuth will be in the house. . .

Moments of brilliance. . .

I’m reading Robert McKee’s Story – a screenwriting book – and ran across this snippet yesterday. I really like it. . . . It’s from the Structure & Setting chapter and he’s talking about the value of research, especially as it relates to thoroughly knowing your characters, which I admit is a biggie for me:

“Research from memory, imagination, and fact is often followed by a phenomenon that authors love to describe in mystical terms. Characters suddenly spring to life and of their own free will make choices and take actions that create Turning Points that twist, build, and turn again, until the writer can hardly type fast enough to keep up with the outpourings. This “virgin birth” is a charming self-deception that writers love to indulge in, but the sudden impression that the story is writing itself simply marks the moment when a writer’s knowledge of the subject has reached the saturation point. The writer becomes the god of his little universe and is amazed by what seems to be spontaneous creation, but is in fact, the reward for hard work.”

I can't express how much I like knowing that the magical moment when the story seems to possess me, is actually the moment I fully possess the story, so densely and completely, that the words just fly. I've had those moments when Ijust can't type fast enough. Those moments are scary and wonderful.

And here I thought I was just a stooge for the muse at that mystical moment. It's much nicer knowing she's probably sitting off in the corner pouting because I suddenly don't need her anymore. The moments of brilliance are actually mine. Nifty, that.

I'll be at the San Diego Christian Writers' Guild annual conference tonight and tomorrow doing fiction consultations. If you live within driving distance and you like to write, you should come! There will be a wonderful group of speakers and authors there, including Cec Murphey, Jack Cavanaugh, Lynn Vincent and Kathi Macias.

On Monday, I present the full fall line-up of books I plan to devour. . .

I've a great new release by Terri Blackstock to tell you about, but before we get to that, I just wanted to let you know that The Shape of Mercy was named the Book of the Year for Women's Fiction on Saturday night by the American Christian Fiction Writers. I'm honored to have shared the nomination with six talented writers and floored that The Shape of Mercy won with its subtely-themed (in terms of Christian message) story. Thank you, ACFW, for the honor.

And now on to the newest by Terri Blackstock, a brilliant suspense writer who's as gentle as a summer breeze and one of the kindest people I know. Terri Blackstock's new book Intervention was inspired by her personal experiences with her daughter's addictions. Six years ago she became aware that her daughter (then in her early twenties) had a severe prescription pill addiction that was killing her, and she hired an interventionist to convince her daughter to go to treatment. After a grueling few hours, her daughter agreed to go. As Terri put her on the plane with the interventionist, she was hit with the crushing feeling that her daughter was in the hands of a stranger, and anything could happen. That's when this book was born.

Over the past few years, Terri's family has been in a tornado of relapses and rehabs, with one emergency after another, and grace upon grace. But through all this, God has taught her to pray as never before, and he's shown her how many other families are experiencing the same thing. He's also shown her that many blessings can come from crises such as this. Terri has tried to fold all of those experiences into this suspense novel of desperation and hope. She's also added a page to her web site: "Hope for Families of Addicts" which has tips on dealing with a loved one who has addictions.

Though the book is fiction, Terri poured much of herself into Barbara, the mother who's desperate to save her daughter. And Terri's own daughter has given her blessings for Terri to talk about this, in hopes of helping other hurting families and raise awareness about the perils of addiction. To see/hear Terri share her personal story about Intervention, don't miss her interviews on American Family Radio's "Today's Issues" on September 24, Moody Radio's "Chris Fabry Live on September 25, and "The 700 Club" on September 29.

In stores everywhere September 22nd, here's the teaser: "It was her last hope—and the beginning of a new nightmare. Barbara Covington has one more chance to save her daughter from a devastating addiction, by staging an intervention. But when eighteen-year-old Emily disappears on the way to drug treatment—and her interventionist is found dead at the airport—Barbara enters her darkest nightmare of all. Barbara and her son set out to find Emily before Detective Kent Harlan arrests her for a crime he is sure she committed. Fearing for Emily’s life, Barbara maintains her daughter’s innocence. But does she really know her anymore? Meanwhile, Kent has questions of his own. His gut tells him that this is a case of an addict killing for drugs, but as he gets to know Barbara, he begins to hope he’s wrong about Emily. The mysteries intensify as everyone’s panic grows: Did Emily’s obsession with drugs lead her to commit murder—or is she another victim of a cold-blooded killer? In this gripping novel of intrigue and suspense, bestselling author Terri Blackstock delivers the page-turning drama that readers around the world have come to expect from her."

Watch the Intervention video trailer at www.youtube.com/terriblackstock

Order Intervention at http://www.terriblackstock.com/books/coming-soon/

Here's a fabulous new writer's resource than I am so thrilled to have been a part of. I am a member of a fiction writers friendship group known as ChiLibris and a bunch of us pooled our knowledge about novel-writing to create A Novel Idea: Best Advice on Writing Inspirational Fiction.

The book is chock-full of articles about the craft; on everything from research methods, to plotting, to editing, to marketing. My article describes how to get on intimate terms with your characters. Oo lala.

Here's what the book's promo piece says on Amazon, which, by the way, also highlights the best thing about this project: "Best-selling Christian fiction writers have teamed together to contribute articles on the craft of writing. A Novel Idea contains tips on brainstorming ideas and crafting and marketing a novel. It explains what makes a Christian novel "Christian" and offers tips on how to approach tough topics. Contributors include Jerry B. Jenkins, Karen Kingsbury, Francine Rivers, and many other beloved authors. All proceeds will benefit MAI, an organization that teaches writing internationally to help provide literature that is culturally relevant. "

All the proceeds from our book will go straight to MAI, short for Media Associates International, a simply supberb organization that you need to know more about. Here's a sound byte from their website: "MAI equips and nurtures talented men and women with a passion for producing Christian literature for their own people. Since its founding in 1985, MAI has equipped local Christians in 57 countries on 5 continents. As a result, we've seen budding writers developed, publishing houses grown, periodicals begun and books and magazines produced that speak to the hearts of readers in their own languages. We advance the Gospel by training Christians to produce literature that nurtures the church and attracts readers to Christ. We believe God uses the written word to transform lives."

Isn't that incredibly cool? If you are a novelist or know a novelist, this book is a must-have for lots more reasons than just your or their own growth as a writer. It's a fabulous book for a fabulous cause. And it's offered at a fabulous pre-order price on Amazon. It's official street date is November 1.

Grab one!

Hallways in the past

I've long been a fan of books that begin in the present world - the world I know - but at some point usher me into some hallway of the past, perhaps for just a short detour or maybe to abandon me there altogether.

I gave it a whirl myself with The Shape of Mercy and found I really liked weaving a historical thread into my story. I have done the same thing with the upcoming White Picket Fences and next year's Lady in Waiting.

Earlier this week I finished Aussie Kate Morton's stunning The House at Riverton, an international bestseller that earned her a starred review in Publishers Weekly. Morton deftly weaves a tale that billows in and out of the past, seamlessly, effortlessly, skillfully. Just the way I like it.

Here's the book's premise: Grace Bradley is a teenager when she takes a position as a maid at Riverton House just prior to World War I. An only child, she finds herself emotionally bound to the Hartford family, especially the two daughters, Hannah and Emmeline.

In the summer of 1924, at a glittering gala held at Riverton, a young poet shoots himself. The only witnesses are the sisters. When Grace is nearing her one-hundredth birthday and living out her last days in a nursing home, she is visited by a young director who is making a movie about the poet's long-ago suicide. As Grace answers the director's queries, the reader is whisked away in flashback to Grace's youth, to the gilded days before the year and the haunting years after, and then gently led back to the present over and over to be tantalized by whispers of all that Grace knows about what really happened the night the poet died.

I loved how Morton eased the story along, planting just enough information to make me feel like a trusted confidant, but still itching to put all the pieces together. The scenes in the present never felt like intrusions, but rather moments to be let in on more of the dark secrets Grace has carried for eighty years.

Morton says: "The first part of the story that came to me was an image: a young man in the mid-1920s, standing by a dark lake on an English country estate. In the distance a party rages: fireworks, jazz music, people whooping. The young man closes his eyes, a gun sounds, and then the image fades to black. I knew that the scene would be the beginning of my book, and I also knew that though it felt like a suicide, there would be more to the young man’s story than that. That this would be the heart of my mystery."

I liked the book so well (my mom recommended it to me) I started up with Morton's second book, the newly released The Forgotten Garden a few nights ago.

And I just learned that Anita Diamant has a new book out. I loved The Red Tent and am looking forward to getting my hands on Day After Night.

Here's the scoop on this one: "Anita Diamant's new novel offers all the satisfactions found in her previous works The Red Tent and The Last Days of Dogtown: rich portraits of female friendship, unflinching acknowledgment of life's cruelty and resolute assertion of hope, enfolded in a strong story line developed in lucid prose. She ups the ante here, chronicling three months in the lives of Jewish refugees interned in Atlit, a British detention center for illegal immigrants to the Palestinian Mandate. Based on an actual event—the rescue of more than 200 detainees from Atlit in October 1945—Day After Night demonstrates the power of fiction to illuminate the souls of people battered by the forces of history."

Ah, SMBSLT!
(So many books, so little time!)

So what are you reading these days?

It's always a strange day when I begin to clean up after finishing up a book. Precious yellow sticky notes get taken off every flat surface with a six-foot radius of my computer. Dogeared Google maps and images, curling at the edges from being tacked on the wall all summer, get pulled down. Research books that I've had at my feet for four months and have been tripping over, get shelved. Imaginary people whose birth dates and addresses and fears and quirks pepper my work space, are shooed away to some equally imaginary vacation spot so that we can have a rest from each other.

It is like the day after the wedding of someone you love. There are cake crumbs everywhere, and programs, and confetti, and sticky spots from unknown spills. It's messy, but you had a great time. You want to get the place cleaned up and back to normal, but still, it was a beautiful wedding and you were glad to have been a part of it.

Today, I am cleaning up after the wedding. Finally. The book has been done for a week and I am finally feeling like I am back on the planet.

For the last several months, I have had a toe in present-day Manhattan and another toe in sixteenth-century England. My present day character, forty-something Jane, owns an antique store on the Upper West Side. Her world is beginning to crumble all around her and she doesn't know why. My sixteenth-century character, Lucy, is a dressmaker to Lady Jane Grey, a teenager who sat on the throne of England for a mere nine days before her world also crumbled.

I dovetailed their two stories, linking them together with a token of the past; the kind of token an antique store owner might stumble upon. It was a wonderful odyssey, actually, writing this book, and even though there are cake crumbs everywhere and I am so ready to get out of these wedding clothes and into something comfortable, I had a great time playing time traveler.

Between now and the time this book releases (Lady in Waiting, WaterBrook, Fall 2010) I will post a few comments on what I learned along the way. Today, I shelved Tudor Costume and Fashion, an 832-page tome I stubbed my toe on more than once. But what a fun book to risk injury on.

Just listen to the description of a pair of gloves belonging to Henry VIII: "They are of soft buff leather, with cuffs or gauntlets of white satin divided into eight panels, each embroidered with flowers and leaves in coloured silks and gold thread. Each panel is edged with gold-spangled lace and lined with rose-coloured silk. Round the wrist is a ruching of the same coloured silk with gold lace."

And those were probably just the everyday gloves.

Today, I can stop thinking of farthingale hoops and passamayne and stomachers and ruffs. Like I said, I am ready to re-enter the world of flipflops and capris.

But it was a lovely wedding. . .