Keeping a secret – sort of

At the book launch party for my latest novel, UNDERWATER, I read a short scene, then answered guests’ questions.

I was prepared for a Q & A, though (for some reason) not exactly expecting it. I enjoyed answering questions about my inspiration for the book and talking about my writing life, and, perhaps for that reason, my glossophobia (fear of public speaking) temporarily disappeared. But to one question, I gave a cryptic, sort of secretive response.

That question was, “What are you working on right now?”

I had already told my writers’ group and several other friends, but that night, I hesitated to answer. I wanted to tell them, yet I didn’t. My next book will be quite different from the either of the first two, and I didn’t want to talk about why. I didn’t want to detract from excitement about UNDERWATER and any other questions about it. And to date, I’ve only written about 14,000 words of the draft for “Book 3.”

I wanted to keep the details a (semi-)secret.

So I responded by identifying the genre (creative non-fiction), stating that it’s a true story, and saying, “And that’s all I’m going to say.”

Here’s the cliché that I should have added: “Because truth really is stranger than fiction.”

I hoped that, by not giving a direct answer, I would evoke some curiosity about Book 3 – but no more questions about it, at this early stage in my writing. That may be because I feel so connected to it right now, so involved in it and so hopeful about it. It’s kind of like a new baby that’s on the way. But I’m sure that later, once it’s finished, or at least getting close, you won’t be able to keep me from talking about it.

But I reflected later that some guests at the party – who have known me for some time – might have wondered what kind of a “true story” I would be telling. Something dark, resembling (fictional) events in my Suspense novel UNDERWATER? Something “strange” that I’ve never told anyone about, that I now feel compelled to reveal? Or something that would surprise my friends and even make them doubt its veracity?

So – here are a few hints, for those of you who don’t know:*

It’s not about something dark, strange or surprising. It is about something uncommon – very uncommon. The events themselves are unusual, but because they are also so important and so inspiring, I hope to tell the story in a way that engages you, makes you feel it, and even makes you live it.

And that’s what I’m working on.

(More to come…)

*And if you do know, please keep my secret, for now.

September 17, 2013 0

Becoming a GREAT villain

ENCORE!

Jill Edmondson, author of the Sasha Jackson Mysteries, invited me to write a guest post again on her BLOG of today, August 28, 2013! Thanks, Jill!

“The best villains are the ones who aren’t 100% bad.”

Read this post to find out about how the VILLAIN in my new novel UNDERWATER became GREAT!

August 28, 2013 0

My New Novel! UNDERWATER

It’s here!

Check out my HOME page and UNDERWATER page for Buy Links!

August 22, 2013 0

Cover Reveal: UNDERWATER

Look for UNDERWATER in just a few more days!

“…a woman haunted by a wrong turn in her past…believes she’s fulfilled a promise she made decades ago.

..the tension rises to a boiling point…rough seas threaten their young family…and her own demons rise to the surface.

Dive into a page-turning suspense novel that asks questions about generosity, greed, shame, and sorrow as a family struggles and sinks deep underwater…”

August 19, 2013 1

A preview of the cover! Devinez (guess) the rest…

The cover for my new suspense novel has been chosen. Here’s a petit morsel of it:

The composition of this cover is simple in some ways, and complicated in others. The triangle effect, the size of the lettering and the font selection are important. So are the couleurs..

A few hints about the book (and cover):

– There’s a bit of français in this novel, but not near as much as in MAKE THAT DEUX.

– The title of the book has more than one meaning, and so do several chapter titles…

– The shades of color on the cover were difficult to decide

– One of the chapters in this book is entitled “Revelation” – I will reveal the title and full cover shortly!

Another petit morceau:

August 14, 2013 0

French leave, and a nouveau livre

I’m not sure if “French leave” is de rigueur en France, but if so, it would make sense – because the French seem to do so many things better.

Perhaps because I’m an introvert, leaving a party without bidding farewell to the host seems easier, less awkward, and more gracious – and even unselfish, in a way. You don’t have interrupt a conversation to announce your departure and your gratitude for having been invited. Since it’s socially acceptable, at times French leave is la solution parfaite, especially if you’re aren’t fond of goodbyes.

Jenny Miles, the protagonist in my novel MAKE THAT DEUX, is not particularly fond of them, but she’s not opposed to them, either. For Jenny, leaving someone she loves – or some place she loves – without saying goodbye is impossible. So, if her story had been titled FRENCH LEAVE – well, that would have just been wrong.

On the other hand, that title could have fit the story well. Pourquoi? Well, like me, Jenny’s an introvert. She also goes to parties. And she has some experience with being awkward…

My new book will be out shortly, and deciding its title was an easier process this time. I knew it needed to be in English (despite at least one scene in France), and I wanted it to be two words, at most. I wanted to simplify. I ended up with a title that has fewer words than MAKE THAT DEUX, but more syllables.

It was harder to decide on this one’s cover image,* however. I’ll reveal it in a future post, but first I wanted to show you a few snippets of the ones I reluctantly rejected. They’re displayed below, not in order of preference:

You may notice some things that these images have in common. Without revealing my new book’s title (yet), all I will say is that the cover image I chose is different from all the above in at least one important way – no, make that deux ways…

And it’s as fitting and apropos as French leave.

* My talented cover artist is Michael Faron; visit him at msfaron.com

August 5, 2013 0

Make that a Page-turner! (and cut it out)

While writing my upcoming Suspense novel, this is what I kept in mind: Make the reader want to turn that page. Make them want to know what happens next. Keep them wondering, and guessing.

You’d think that, in action scenes at least, that would mean get to the point, and move it along. Cut to the chase.

Well…yes and no.

Sometimes it does mean that – but not just in action scenes. In dialogue scenes and descriptions, my primary and continual goal was to move the plot forward, and to leave out anything that didn’t. Sometimes things moved quickly. But in some places, the idea was to move things along steadily – or somewhere between steadily and quickly.

Advance readers told me that – Yay! – this novel* IS a page-turner! But in working with my editor, I realized that one of the many things I needed to accomplish in revisions was to cut out unnecessary content.

Oops!

Basically, to cut to the chase. So, I (painfully) cut some things: if it wasn’t intriguing and/or necessary, it had to go.

[On the other hand, I had to (also painfully) add some scenes, tweak others and make several changes, which I did. But it was only painful at first; once I decided to get going, I dove in and kept on swimming.**]

Having spent time last week with lots of people who seem to encourage cutting to the chase when telling stories, it seemed appropriate that that was one of the things I was doing during my final revision to the book, whenever I had the time to work on it.

A different kind of “cut to the chase”:

What to do with what I had so carefully written, that now had to be removed? When I talked to my editor, she suggested that I save them and use them in upcoming blogposts, to show what might have been, kind of like “deleted scenes” in movies.

Perhaps. If it makes you wonder, and guess.

* The (one-word) title of which will be revealed in an upcoming post

** This (necessary) paragraph provides two clues to the aforesaid title; your guesses are welcome

July 19, 2013 2

“How is that romantic?” – 4 ways, and a comment

During a recent family vacances au Colorado, I was asked this question about Paris.

Imaginez! (Imagine!)

To be fair, I think the person who asked me has never been there. I joined in his conversation with another (male) family member about Italy and France, and I was ~~probably~~ the person who brought up the idea of romance. But when he asked the question, I was speechless at first. What was the answer, and how could he not know it?

I started to say something about the history, museums and art, and then he they quickly seemed to believe that it was that simple, and didn’t let me explique.* Non, messieurs! C’est pas vrai!

Because I’m an esprit de l’escalier** kind of woman, and a list-maker, I thought about it later, and here is the réponse I might have given:

1. It’s not just the art and history; it’s their relationship – their connection – to the people, and to the city. It’s something tout à fait français – absolutely French – and something you just feel. New York City and Washington D.C. have a lot of museums and history, but I don’t find either place particularly romantic. For other reasons, I really, really like them, though.

2. It’s the streets, the restaurants, the gardens and the neighborhoods of Paris…and it’s les français (the French) themselves. What (American) woman doesn’t know that Frenchmen are (normalement) très romantique?

3. It’s La Seine, the river that runs through Paris! A body of water*** (whether sea or river) at sunset or later, makes everything more intimate. How? Je ne sais pas.

La Seine

4. It’s l’amour – love. It’s in the air in Paris, whether you’ve just discovered one another, or are rediscovering…Trust me.

Enfin, the “comment:” Another (short) conversation came up about becoming fluent in French, and someone (who doesn’t speak a foreign language) asserted that “you have to live there.”

Hmm. I diligently studied the language, il y a longtemps et récemment, lived in France for a year as a student, and now I practice and speak it autant que possible. I’d love to live there again un jour, but in the meantime, I’m going to continue speaking it and improving my fluency. C’est possible, madame!

Sunrise at a beach on the Atlantic in Florida earlier this year

* With over thirty members of the famille converging in two cabins in the Rockies for a week, it was hard to finish your sentences without being interrupted (and I’m just a belle-fille et belle-soeur – much nicer sounding than ~~“outlaw”~~ daughter- and sister-in-law)

** See my post L’esprit de l’escalier, spiral staircases and faux-amis

*** While there’s romance in my novel MAKE THAT DEUX, there’s more water than romance in my upcoming Suspense novel…. More later!

July 17, 2013 0

Vive la différence: “And now for something completely different”

En ce moment, I’m in between WIPs (works-in-progress). Make that, my WIP of the past two years has become a Completed Work – for now, I’ll call it CW – and is in the hands of my editor. My next WIP is not exactly “in progress” yet; I’ve only written two pages.

But I’ve chosen the title for it, have the plot outlined (très important, as you might imagine), and even know to whom it will be dedicated. All that remains is to write the dang thing.*

My CW will be released later this summer or early fall. It’s very different from my first novel, MAKE THAT DEUX, and my next work will be very different from my CW. N’ayez pas peur: I’ve begun writing the sequel to MAKE THAT DEUX, but some major changes to my draft are necessary, including the setting.

Because change is good.

Δ

The mathematical – and Greek – symbol for change

Which brings me to the title of today’s post: two expressions très bien connus – very well known, I dare say. Tout le monde knows what Vive la différence means; it seems as American as it does French. As for “And now for something completely different”….well (if you don’t know), that’s the title of the 1971 film spun from the television series Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

Actor John Cleese

It’s a great ~~expression~~ title, and it comes to mind when I compare my CW with MAKE THAT DEUX. The two novels are completely different, yet they share a few elements, such as scenes that take place in France (much fewer in my CW) and some lines in French…

Evidemment, I like doing, reading and writing different things, and I love memorable book and movie lines and titles. Perhaps ANFSCD was in my subconcious when I chose two characters’ names in my CW: Monty and John.

I also love French expressions, and I’ve learned some useful ones from my French prof. Here are a few that could describe some characters in my CW:

Elle a le coeur sur la main – She is very generous

Elle a du pain sur la planche – She has a lot of work (and things) to do

Elle est au bout du rouleau – She’s at the end of her rope

Il a un poil dans la main – He’s lazy

Il est timbré – He’s crazy!

Au fait (by the way), there’s more than one “She” and more than one “He,” as I’m sure you’ve guessed…

* Because now, it’s time for something completely different.

June 5, 2013 1

How I’m like my protagonist(s)

Remember that scene in the movie ELF when Buddy the Elf gets on an escalator for the first time? When he puts one foot on the moving staircase, holds onto both handrails and drags the other foot behind, doing a semi-split?

I’ve never done that on an escalator, but I’ve been known to get freaked out on them. If it’s impossible to hold the handrail – if I’m lugging large suitcases or carrying a heavy desktop computer – I ~~almost~~ can’t even get on. Elevators bother me, too, especially if I have to ride them alone; I always fear the thing will break down, and then I’ll panic so much, I won’t be able to call for help – or that if I can, it won’t come.

I’m able to dispel such elevator-fears if other people are riding with me. But then I always think of the fact that we’re suspended by cables, riding through space. Which arouses a whole new set of fears.

Jenny, the main character in my novel MAKE THAT DEUX, doesn’t have these phobias, but like me, she’s afraid of heights. Whether she’s in the Swiss Alps, the Medieval fortress of Carcassonne, France, or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, she’s afraid she’ll never make it down, or that one false move could be the end.

I’ve always been afraid of heights – that hasn’t changed – so it was natural to let Jenny have the same phobia since MAKE THAT DEUX is drawn from my own experience as an exchange student in France. Facing my phobia hasn’t cured it, malheureusement.

But here’s a list of places I have climbed or visited, in spite of my fear:

1. – 3. Those first three I mentioned above, where Jenny also went: the Alps, Carcassonne and the Leaning Tower;

4. The Colosseum in Rome (not a tower, I know, but it’s high)

5. (the top of) the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

6. Sacré-Coeur Basilica at Montmartre

7. (the top of) the Bell Tower at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill (I know, not that high, but still)

8. The “nosebleed” seats in the Georgia Dome and Turner Field in Atlanta, and in Sanford Stadium at the University of Georgia

9. The top of Stone Mountain, Georgia (I’ve hiked it several times, once while carrying a toddler all the way)

10. Numerous (steep) hiking trails in Arizona

11. The East Maui Volcano in Hawaii

12. Chateau Eza in Eze, France

13. The Empire State Building in New York

You may ask: What about the Eiffel Tower, pictured above next to the Leaning Tower and the Colosseum?I’ve walked over to it, but I’ve never ascended it. Last summer, in Paris with my husband, we decided it was too crowded to go up in the Tower (a good excuse).

However, I wanted to have a drink with him one evening, nearby or in it (if that can be done), to see it lit up at night. But we didn’t look into the possibility. Next time, perhaps.

I’m like Jenny in many other ways, but not all. Not even most, despite what those who know me might believe. The protagonist in my new novel (to be released later this year) is also like me in some ways. For example, “C” and I are of the exact same mind when it comes to jewelry: what we like and don’t like. And neither of us are fond of flying, though we do it.

But she’s her own person, with her own (deep) fears…

Stay tuned.

June 2, 2013 1