On Saturday, February 1, 2014, I will be at the Bernard Dugaud Salon in Buckhead in Atlanta from 1:00 to 3:00 signing copies of my Suspense novel UNDERWATER !
Come by the salon on Roswell Road just where it meets Peachtree, park in the back lot and find the entrance there. I will be looking forward to seeing you, Mesdames et Messieurs!
L’interieur:
I’ll be signing copies of UNDERWATER on JAN 20, 2014 (MLK Holiday) from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at LA MADELEINE Country French Café in Dunwoody, Georgia (Perimeter Center West)!
Come enjoy a pastry or two, have un verre de vin and pick up your copy!
During 2013, I read some good books, one of which was A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN by Betty Smith. Being so attached to Chapel Hill, NC, where I went to college, you’d think I would have read it a long time ago – or least known that the famous author lived in the town for many years. I didn’t even know about the Betty Smith house, though I’m sure I’ve walked by it before.
I knew about the novel, though, and last summer, when my daughter (soon to be a freshman at UNC) was looking for something good to read, I suggested it to her. She read it, and then I did and immediately added it to my list of all-time favorite books. One of the story’s most memorable lines is spoken by the main character’s grandmother:
“‘Forgiveness is a gift of high value. Yet its cost is nothing.'”
Two characters in my latest novel, UNDERWATER, struggle with forgiveness. One of them faces the difficult task of forgiving someone who refuses to express remorse for a past wrong. The other deals with her own internal feelings of sorrow and shame. For both, the decision to focus on gratitude instead of hurt makes forgiveness not only possible, but much easier.
Like love, gratefulness may seem just to happen, but it’s really a choice. Another idea the story examines is the responsibilities – and limits – of generosity. When someone gives us a gift expecting nothing in return, we feel grateful, we want to reciprocate, and we want to be around them more. When the “gift” has strings attached though, we feel indebted, and we want to create distance from the giver.
While it’s good manners to reciprocate a gift, it’s not always possible to do so at the same level. Gratitude is possible, however. When a gift has strings attached, the giver doesn’t want a gift in return, or even just true gratitude. Instead, (s)he wants the recipient to feel indebted, and then to do something or to behave a certain way.
Forgiveness is a gift for which we should expect nothing back, however. No strings attached.
And its cost is nothing.
BOOK Reviewer and Blogger Nicole McManus has featured me today in an interview on her website Ariesgrl Book Reviews. Thanks for your warm welcome, Nicole!
Read about me, my book UNDERWATER and how it came to be written on her HOME page today!
“How did it get so late so soon?”
– Dr. Seuss
It’s time to start your holiday shopping, and if you’re like me, you have some Readers on your List.
But if you’re (also) like me, first, you insist on reading/prefer to read like to read any book that you give as a gift.
However, you don’t want to buy yourself a gift spend money on yourself ahead of time simultaneously, so…
Voici la solution:
From Monday, November 11 through Friday, November 15, you can download UNDERWATER on your Kindle absolutely FREE!
So, next week, go to Amazon and download UNDERWATER on your Kindle. (You need a good book to read next week anyway, before the holidays kick into full gear.) It’s a page-turner, so you’ll finish it in a couple of days.
Then, order the Paperback and wrap it up – or Gift a Kindle version!
Buy a copy for all the Readers on your List!
Then, voilà! You’ll have a head start on the holidays! And it won’t be as late you think it is, as soon as you think!
One of my family’s favorite sayings* is just one word, and it comes from the movie We Are Marshall:
“Simplify!”
Unlike the movie It’s Complicated,** simplify is not just a sentence, but a verb (and often, a solution). When we repeat that line, it’s obligatoire to speak slowly and adopt a southern accent. And when I worked on the final edit of my latest novel, UNDERWATER, I tried to simplify: I cut some (unnecessary) backstory, clarified the timeline, and streamlined the plot.
But – très important – I also added some depth.
It wasn’t a simple process. It took a lot of reflection, and some trial and error. It’s part of the work of a work-in-progress that can be difficult, for me. But it’s worth it – ça vaut la peine.
So, under the surface, there were some currents of struggle. For a few days, I resisted diving into the edit. Just like when I go to the pool, I had to test the water – with my toes. I fixed the easy stuff first, then broke my editor’s feedback down into managable tasks. I stayed in the shallow end of the pool for a few days. Then I started swimming, and soon – happily, and mercifully – I got into a rhythm.
[That rhythm thing must be what football players experience when they drive down the field – when they’re “in the zone.”]
Since publication, I’ve gotten some good reviews (Yay!) and many compliments from readers. I’ve also answered many questions, trying not to reveal too much. Lots of people have told me that the ending took them by surprise, and that the story was not a predictable one. Some have asked how I came to know about some of the specifics and story details, and write about them. Others have been intrigued by the novel’s theme, and how I developed the plot.
Was it a simple process? Mais non. But when I was treading water in the writing, when I was sinking into the mind of the villain, and when I plunged into the final edit, I remembered one thing above all:
Simplify!
* Here are some other family sayings taken from movie lines (guess which): 1. “I’ve made my decision. Pull the plug!” 2. “Who ya gonna call?” 3. “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.” 4. “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” ** We also like the “It’s Not Complicated” commercials, with those adorable first graders answering simple questions…Here’s a few more of the questions asked at the Book Launch Party for my novel UNDERWATER, and the answers (and announcements) I wish that I’d should have given (and made):
En premier (first):
The novel is dedicated to my mother, Sally, who was a guest at the party. She knew how nervous I was speaking in front of the large group, and fortunately, she reminded me to announce the book’s dedication to her. I did, but here’s what else I should have said…
I dedicated the book to her because she’s been so supportive of my writing. Years ago, when I mentioned my idea of writing a book, I told her that I was thinking about writing a novel based on my year in France.
“Do it!” she said. “It’s not too late!” When MAKE THAT DEUX was published, no one was more proud of me than she was – and no one’s asked me more about the details of UNDERWATER, and when it would be released! Thanks, Mom.
En second:
Several people named in the book’s Acknowledgments were in attendance at the party. But who (besides other authors) reads the Acknowledgments page?* So I wished I had recognized them, and explained how much they helped. From pacing and plot to the smallest story details, their input was invaluable!
Enfin (finally), les questions:
Where did you draw your inspiration from for this story?
I drew on some of my own life experiences when writing the story.
My husband and I were “underwater” on our first house in the late 1980s, before being underwater was cool. We moved across the country for a new job in the midst of a declining real estate market, a side effect of the Savings & Loan crisis. We had no choice but to (seriously) downsize and do our best – and to start all over again. No one came to our rescue, and one thing we learned was that it’s much easier to upsize than to downsize. Much easier.
But we did it. We lived not just within our means, but way below them, for several years. In short, we did “Dave Ramsey” before Dave Ramsey was cool.
More than a decade later, after building a new home in the Midwest, we left the area, again for a new job. We sold our house at a loss. Downsizing followed, but we recovered more quickly this time.
When I began writing UNDERWATER, I knew the premise, the protagonist, the villain, the storyline…and I knew the feelings of despair, desperation and stress connected with a house underwater.
I thought that I could write about those feelings through the eyes of fictional characters, and about the havoc that the situation wreaks in all of their lives.
What books have you read recently, and what do you like to read?
I read a range of fiction and some non-fiction, including biographies. I like everything from suspense to coming-of-age stories and romance. I also like historical fiction and classics. And I usually like anything set in France, which includes presque tout – almost everything – by Peter Mayle.
Earlier this year, I read Stephen King’s 11/22/63, and his book written for authors, On Writing (a bonus was an appendix of good books to read). Another great book I read was Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.
For the answers to some other questions about UNDERWATER, such as how I selected the title and characters’ names, see FAQ – UNDERWATER.
* Take a look at my Acknowledgments page (it’s short!) to find out more.
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.
JULIA MCDERMOTT 