When we are young, particularly when young and lonely, we imagine a future and dwell in it, as later we dwell in a past we also have imagined. So, on those fall nights, she dreamed herself forward into Italy as she knew it from the English poets, and the Paris of Hemingway, and the New York City of Katherine Anne Porter. It was a rich improbable future, made up of other people's pasts. Such fantasies were her entertainment, the pageants of a thoroughgoing romantic, and she invented within them, projected and plotted course, until the steeple clock, striking the late hour, brought her back to reality and the grudging acknowledgement that, far as she was from Paris or New York, she had a job and she could damn well be contented. As Mother said, she was lucky.

Uncovered fifty years later and published twenty years after the author's death, Clair de Lune is an absolutely gorgeous piece of writing, and it's the kind of book that made me wish I was back in college again, selecting this book to read for my thesis instead of what I did pick.

Jetta Carleton was the bestselling author of The Moonflower Vine in the early 1960s, which captured readers instantly. At some point, history seemed to forget all about this, and it was a book only found in used book stores, but Harper Perennial decided to republish that book as part of their "Rediscovered Classics" series. And thank goodness! Carleton's Clair de Lune subsequently made its way to print as well, and I'm a better reader for it. At the risk of astonishing Carleton and Hemingway fans, hers is a sweet and simplistic style of writing which reminds me just a little bit of him.

The early 1940s is a time of innocence, the pre-war era shielding Americans from the realities of war. I'm an avid fan of films from that time, and while I know it's the movies, it still seemed there was a gentle naivete represented that now has become this glamorous example of a vintage era. I enjoy diving into it, reading about a "simpler time."

Young Barbara Allen Liles, known as Allen, has just secured a position as a teacher at a small college. While dreaming of eventually seeing the world, moving to New York, and becoming a writer, Allen spends each day teaching the stories she loves with her students. Since she's much closer in age with her students than her colleagues, Allen is a little out of place between what she's supposed to be as a figure of authority, and a young woman who wants a little adventure. The close friendship which forms between her and two students becomes a small scandal, one that places the job she's come to love in jeopardy.

He stood outside the screen door, and for a moment there wasn't another word out of either of them. Then he took the mask off. It was ---'s face, all right, but this was not the same boy who, moments ago, had sat at her table. He was not quite the same, but she recognized him. She knew him at once. She had been looking for him all spring, in the night, through the alleys and into the park all over town, drawing closer and closer, never knowing that this was the one - not the other, but this one - nor that he would stand at her door with his heart in his mouth and a crooked green face in his hand. It hit her like a ton of bricks. "Come in!" she said. (p.108)

After all, this is not a time when friendships like this don't come with rumor, gossip, and innuendo, and when it goes a little bit further, it's even tougher to rein back in. But it's not the whole of this story. There is so much more movement and beauty to it. At the heart of it all, the story is about love: love of books and literature, dreams of the road not taken in life, and the strong fresh love of the very first time, whether it's love with another, or in realizing one's own independence. Both can be heady and overpowering, and Allen experiences this unconventional romance, one that might change the future she's planned for herself. It's the fact that she can make choices without needing anyone's approval that give her strength. It's this empowerment, and feminism encapsulated in a book written more than forty years ago that is absolutely amazing.

Jetta Carleton crafted a brilliantly sweet and sad story of the slow budding of independence for a young woman in an innocent time. I must admit, it's a perfect companion story to recent books I've read such as Jennifer Haigh's Baker Towers and even Stephen King's 11/22/63. It just feels like there is a little bit of magic in the pre-war era. Maybe it's because when you are sheltered from all the things that could break innocence, things really do feel so much easier. I might be swept up in it all, in the powerful honesty of the times, the simple expectations and high standards of a bygone era (or as King calls it, the Land of Ago). I loved everything about this story.

This is what I so enjoy about reading a book that was considered "modern" during its time. We have a pure and perfect glance at what life was like in this "simpler" era, with love, dreams, hope, and regrets filling each long day and quiet night, before a country grew up and learned that innocence, while strong and sheltering, was no longer.

There's always something else we think we want to do, at some stage in our lives. But we get over it, we outgrow it. And after a while we realize that where we are is where we are meant to be. (p.244)

About the Author

Jetta Carleton was born in 1913 in Holden, Missouri, and earned a Master's degree at the University of Missouri. She worked as a schoolteacher, a radio copywriter in Kansas City, and a television advertising copywriter in New York City. She and her husband settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico where they ran a small publishing house, The Lightning Tree. She died in 1999. The Moonflower Vine was, until now, her only published novel.

Thank you so very much to TLC Book Tours for inviting me to this. I'm so excited to now read The Moonflower Vine, and I think I might just go ahead and download it this evening. For all the tour stops of this amazing book, click here.

The 1998 film What Dreams May Come starring Robin Williams, Annabella Sciorra, and Cuba Gooding, Jr. was one I enjoyed, but it was the cinematography that I loved the most. The images were so beautiful that it has become a film I've watched more than once. When I learned it was based on a book originally released in 1977, I figured I would download it. After I did more research, it was interesting to find the author was previously a horror writer and, at the time, was trying to separate himself from the genre.

In the book, Robert has a visitor at his door, who delivers a large envelope. In this, Robert finds a manuscript written by his brother Chris. Immediately dubious at the authenticity since Chris has passed away, the woman at the door explains that she spent the last six months writing down Chris' words and after reassuring him that she understands it might be unbelievable, it is, in fact, true. She leaves quickly, never giving her name or a way to contact her.

It is Chris' journey following death that is explained, in minute detail of his initial stumbles as a spirit who didn't  understand what happened. He doesn't grasp how he can be at his own funeral, or lay down next to his weeping wife, since he believes he's not dead. When it becomes too confusing and exhausting, he eventually cries for help. It's answered by Albert, a guide who begins to educate Chris on where he now is, and what he must do in order to achieve fulfillment in this afterlife. Albert brings him to Summerland and while it's not quite the heaven one might expect as there aren't any angels or harps, it instead is a sweeping landscape of beauty and nature, where colors are at their purest, and everything emits its own natural energy vibration that is pleasing to hear. The sky has no sun, yet is bright and clear; the rushing water in the lake is cool and refreshing, yet hands and clothes remain dry. It's a peacefulness that Chris has never experienced before. And I'll admit that when a dog begins to run toward him, a dog he and his wife Ann had in their earthly lives but had to put to sleep because of illness, I got a little choked up.

Chris, though, is still tethered to earth through his wife's despair and pain at his loss. Her grief ultimately keeps him connected, and he can't move on. It's when she commits a final act that determines her own fate, that Chris must travel to the deepest realms to save her soul.

What happens after we die?
I'm sure I'm not the only one who wonders what happens after death. Although several sources were used to build the foundation of the experience of death and the afterlife in What Dreams May Come, the book doesn't claim to be anything more than a story, and it's a pretty entertaining one. Bogged down by descriptions at times, but still good.

Surprisingly, I was not all that interested in the love between Chris and Ann, even though it's important to the story and I appreciated it in the film. In the book, though, I cared more about this particular version of life after death. I was fascinated by the idea that hell was a result of people limited by their minds in the afterlife. If they could only bring themselves out of the negativity they were surrounded by, and the despair and darkness, then they also could be in Summerland. Everywhere they looked, though, they were in a land with others who were also drowning in misery, so these poor souls couldn't conceive of anything more than sadness, hatred, and pain and were mired in this existence.

I also was more curious about the image of a house of rest, almost like a hospital in Summerland in which those who died by an act of violence or a lingering illness recuperated. Only when they acknowledged that they had passed on and could accept that they were able to now live without pain, could they really begin their new life. An interesting thought that new residents of Summerland still clung to their earthly existence, even if it was wracked with pain.

It's a good story and I enjoyed several aspects of it, but I found that I did get a little overwhelmed with so many of the descriptions of the love between Chris and Ann. It's pivotal to the story, but the flashbacks to moments in their life and expressions of devotion became tedious. In one defining moment towards the end, I was shocked at how many pages it was taking to fully express their connection. So, I quickly read those sections, to get to the ones that interested me more.

The book is a nice way to spend a couple of afternoons, though, and those who are interested in this version of an afterlife, or who struggle with what might be next, might like to spend some time reading this. Ultimately, I do recommend the film instead of the book simply because the images alone are brought to life much more. In my opinion, it was a story meant more for the eyes.

The movie follows the same story to a certain extent as the book. Even though several characters were changed, I could understand why it was done. It's the stunning visual imagery that I've always enjoyed, and here are a few pictures to give you an idea.

All Images from Blu-Ray.Com

All Images from Blu-Ray.Com

All Images from Blu-Ray.Com

Lauren Oliver, Young Adult author of the best-selling books Delirium and Before I Fall, has taken the middle grade reading world by storm with the newly released Liesl & Po, a story of adventure, ghosts, family, and friends. With a gorgeous raised cover and deckle-edged pages, along with beautiful illustrations by Kei Acedera, it's a work of art and obvious to fans that Lauren Oliver's new venture won't be her last.

Locked in the attic by her stepmother for months while her father is sick, Liesl keeps herself company by drawing pictures by her window. When her father dies, she gives up her drawing completely, but before a week has gone by, Po and Bundle show up in the attic. Liesl's not sure if Po is a boy or a girl, and if Bundle is a cat or a dog. One thing she's certain of: They are most definitely ghosts.

In exchange for Liesl to begin drawing again, Po will try to find her father on the Other Side and pass the message that Liesl loves him. And while Po does find her father, it's the message that has to be delivered back to Liesl that is even more important: He wants to go to the willow tree. Immediately, she knows it's their old house he's talking about, so she escapes from her attic to take her father's ashes there. Little does she know that the box she thought was carrying her father's ashes is actually carrying powerful magic  and the little mix-up was because of Will, a boy Liesl meets after her escape. Together with the ghosts Po and Bundle, they begin the journey back to Liesl's old house to help put her father to rest, encountering one adventure after another along the way.

I won this Advanced Reader's Edition from the author's blog a few months ago and can't believe I didn't read it sooner. Let's face it, Lauren Oliver is a fabulous writer and this example of her work is no different. Set in an unknown city in a world that hasn't seen the sun in over five years, the story has a successful and beautiful mix of magic, humor, ghosts, family, and friendship. With descriptions evoking a sense of loneliness and sadness, combined with gorgeous illustrations, Liesl, Po, Bundle, and Will are at the heart of a very sad, but hopeful and sweet children's story.

Since I didn't read it right away, I sent it to my nine-year-old niece, "E." Even though I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to middle grade children and older, why listen to me? Take it from my niece, "E," who wrote the below answers herself.

______________________________

An Interview with "E" and her thoughts on Liesl & Po

About the interviewee: "E" is nine-years-old and lives... somewhere in the world. She likes her dog, her guinea pig, school, ballet, and gymnastics. She reads all the time, too. She likes books that are about magic and history.

Question: What's your favorite part of the book?
E's Answer: When Liesl gets Po to help her escape from the attic when they bring her breakfast up! The maid thinks it's creepy when she has to go into the attic. And instead of her just sleeping in her bed she is sitting straight up and Liesl is like hello, and then the ghostly figure pops up and says boo! The maid is very frightened and Liesl and Po get to sneak out of the room and escape.

Question: What did you think of the illustrations?
E's Answer: I really liked the illustrations and it was all in black and white but it should be because their world has no color anyway! And one of the illustrations I liked a lot because it showed Po and Bundle and you really got the idea of what they looked like in their shadow form.

Question: Who is your favorite character?
E's Answer: My favorite character is Po. I like how he sometimes will have a different perspective than Liesl. Liesl will think something and then Po will think differently about it and I also like how Po communicates with Bundle without even speaking out loud.

Question: Would you read another book by this author?
E's Answer: Yes!!

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About the Author

Lauren Oliver was previously an editorial assistant at a publishing company in New York. A graduate of the University of Chicago and the MFA program at New York University, she is now a full-time writer and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Before I Fall is her first novel and Delirium is her second. Liesl & Po is her first middle grade story.

Visit the author's website by clicking here.

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Follow her on Twitter by clicking here.

Follow her on her blog by clicking here.

Kid Konnection is a weekly feature hosted by Booking Mama. I'm posting a little early for my first time participating in this meme, so click here to see more of this week's suggestions for children's books (YA, middle grade, or picture) from participating bloggers.

This is my sixth selection for Stainless Steel Droppings' hosting of the RIP Challenge VI. You can read more RIP reviews from other participants by clicking here.

Jonathan is a young man who wakes up from a six-year coma at the age of 34 after having a stroke in the prime of his life. With no memory of anything or anyone, he begins the slow process to speak and rebuild his muscles and motor skills. Suffering brain damage, his previous expertise as a skilled accountant can't help now because he has absolutely no concept of what a number is. Everything is brand new for him, and because of this, he's pretty sure it's just like being a newborn baby.

Fellow stroke survivor, Rebecca, remembers everything from before her event, but hates who she was. Her husband, though, misses his sexy trophy wife and wants her back. Unable to maintain tact, Rebecca says whatever she wants even though she knows that to be polite, she should reserve some thoughts. It's this brutal honesty that Jonathan falls in love with and what he needs as he learns what he truly was like "before."

With unexpected humor, Keith Cronin's freshman effort has successfully hit the mark. A refreshing and genuine perspective on the aftermath of a stroke survivor, Me Again is an intriguing reminder that, while a catastrophic event will change life, it sometimes can make things better. 

My only gripes? Hardly any, but I would have wanted the relationship between Jonathan and Rebecca to be a bit toned down on how perfect for each other they were, and I especially wanted Jonathan to ease up on his constant self-deprecation. While I thoroughly enjoyed his character, eventually I started to stick up for Jonathan against himself. I would find my reactions included "Stop always belittling yourself, Jonathan!" after each low blow he dealt to himself. But those are minor compared to how I felt for it overall.

Keith Cronin's talented writing delivered on a unique story about finding a new place in life after the original path has gone horribly awry. Sparked with humor, love, education and a little bit of a mystery, Me Again is a quick read that is ultimately satisfying and promising of more to come from this author.

Side Note: 25% of any money made by this book will be donated by the author to the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association.

About the Author

Keith Cronin is a corporate speechwriter and professional rock drummer who has performed and recorded with artists including Bruce Springsteen, Clarence Clemons, and Pat Travers. He is also becoming informally known as "the title guy," having provided the title for Sara Gruen's blockbuster "Water for Elephants," as well as Susan Henderson's HarperCollins' debut "Up from the Blue."

Keith's fiction has appeared in Carve Magazine, Amarillo Bay, The Scruffy Dog Review, Zinos, and a University of Phoenix management course. A native of South Florida, Keith spends his free time serenading local ducks and squirrels with his ukulele.

Click here to visit the author on his website.

Click here to become a fan on Facebook.

Many thanks to TLC Book Tours for giving me an opportunity to read this book. Upcoming tour stops for Me Again, by Keith Cronin can be found by clicking here.

Ages ago. I listened to this ages ago. And it's taken me so long to put a post together that I felt good about because I so want to accurately convey my love of this story without giving one iota of the subtle plot away.

I decided to download and experience this in an audiobook format. (Lately, I've found that my previous perception of audiobooks was either wrong, or maybe I just needed to get used to "reading" this way. I'm still not sure what made me fall in love with audio, but now I can never be in a car without one ready to go).

Never Let Me Go has been such a popular book and a movie with Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley was recently released which I've heard great things about, so looks like I'm going to have to Netflix that one soon.

Kathy H., our main character and narrator of the story, is a carer (or caregiver) by occupation. Now in her early thirties, Kathy's path has crossed once again with two former classmates, Tommy and Ruth. Once best friends at Hailsham, a beautiful private school separated from society with its own secrets, Kathy begins to share the story of their lives as children, which ultimately affects them today. And it's not a story with adventurous boarding school events - rather it's a quiet study of human behavior, an uncomfortable understanding of what is valuable and true in all of our lives.

To give any more of the story away would mean I'd have to do a spoiler warning and I just can't do that. I want you to experience this story completely and go into it without knowing anything other than what I've just given you. Suffice it to say that the story is melodious, haunting, compelling, and somewhat frightening. Certain moments and realizations surprised me so much that I was stunned by the characters' acceptance of their lives and each situation. I was speechless and with rapt attention I was captivated through each memory Kathy shared. I felt a connection with each character and each emotion - it grounded me to a halt and sometimes I would shut off the audio and think about what had just happened, marveling at Kazuo Ishiguro's ability to brutally mesmerize me. The magic is in the story's reveal - while it is not shared to the reader in one flashing and climactic moment, instead it is pieced together, pocketed into Kathy's honest and simple telling, slowly tugging at you to reconsider what really should be acceptable.

If you enjoy a story that questions society in a quiet and indirect manner, then you will love this story. As I did.

Emilia Fox was the narrator for this production and she was phenomenal - I can't imagine anyone else capturing the haunting story so effectively. I'll be eagerly looking for more from her.

Happy Listening,
Natalie at Coffee and a Book Chick

There aren't many things in life that can matter more than friendship. It will stand the test of time, old age and silly little arguments, no matter what.

Sarah Addison Allen has once again brought a startlingly sad and sweet tale that combines people, love, and relationships with just a hint of magic that borders on the realm of coincidence. The Peach Keeper is a surprise, bursting with richness set in a curiously eclectic Southern town in North Carolina called Walls of Water that boasts tourist traffic for its famous waterfalls, along with the mystical morning fog that tends to slightly disorient visitors. The famous fog from Walls of Water is also sold in jars. Tourists love that.

Willa runs an outdoor store in her regimented, even boring, life. After all, Friday night happens to be vacuuming night. Quite a difference from her years in high school many moons ago as the known prankster. And Paxton, a high society princess has much more heart underneath all of the precision and planning she so religiously undertakes in every aspect of her life. Working on bringing back the dilapidated manor that once roared with life seventy five years ago so that she can hold a gala, she is consumed with order and makes lists as a hobby. In order to clear out the weeds and to allow for the landscaping to begin, an aging tree out front is removed, which unearths a most unique discovery that brings the past into the present, and ties Willa and Paxton together into an unexpected friendship.

There's no other way to say it except that Sarah Addison Allen has never let me down. She's my comfort read, the type of author who paints a magical world somehow stuck in the midst of reality. I am drawn to her work because it completely removes me from the day-to-day stresses and makes me think for just one blissful moment that perhaps there really is just a little bit of magic still left in the world. I was hooked on when I first read Garden Spells. Then The Sugar Queen, and now, The Peach Keeper. Color me giddy with glee when I realized that there is apparently a book that came out after The Sugar Queen that I didn't know about and I can pick up! 

Her mixture of magical realism, friendships, and food, leap out of the pages with its lyrical dance of description so effectively, I can feel each moment, sense the oddness in the scene with what could very well be just coincidence, and taste the sugary sweetness of the food that is fleetingly described.

This is yet another remarkable story from Sarah Addison Allen of friendships, love, and a reminder to never let a chance of true happiness ever slip you by. And as I mentioned the other day, Sarah Addison Allen is the "sucks-you-in-and-keeps-you-reading-until-your-vision-blurs" type of storyteller. I eagerly await anything she writes. Absolutely anything.

Go. Get. This. Book. Now.

If you enjoyed Liz Michalski's Evenfall and of course, Alice Hoffman, then you should pick up The Peach Keeper right away. Oh, and The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff, too. All equally magical, heartwarming, and delectable.

About the Author (Just a Few Things About Sarah from her website)

1. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a trash man. I would spend hours daydreaming about riding on the back of a garbage truck, jumping off at every house and dumping people’s trash into it.
2. I was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina, a place Rolling Stone magazine once called "America’s New Freak Capital."
3. I have my B.A. in Literature, a major I chose because I thought it was amazing that I could get a diploma just for reading fiction. It was like being able to major in eating chocolate.
4. I can’t turn away stray cats and I’m convinced they know this.
5. My father was a copy editor, reporter and award-winning columnist for our local paper.
6. My mother has a nose ring, but we pretend it’s not there.
7. Garden Spells, my mainstream debut, didn’t start out as a magical novel. It was supposed to be a simple story about two sisters reconnecting after many years. But then the apple tree started throwing apples and the story took on a life of its own...and my life hasn’t been the same since

Visit the author on her website by clicking here.

Visit the author on Facebook by clicking here.

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Many thanks to Lisa at TLC Book Tours for giving me the opportunity to read this book, and apologies for noting down the wrong date to post. Upcoming tour stops are listed below - if you haven't visited the blogs below, now is the time!

Wednesday, April 13th:  Knowing the Difference

Friday, April 15th:  Peeking Between the Pages

Monday, April 18th:  Bewitched Bookworms

Tuesday, April 19th:  Book Reviews by Molly

Wednesday, April 20th:  A Few More Pages

Thursday, April 21st:  Sara’s Organized Chaos

Friday, April 22nd:  Life in Review

Monday, April 25th:  The Broke and the Bookish

Tuesday, April 26th:  Life in the Thumb

Wednesday, April 27th:  Crazy for Books

Thursday, April 28th: A Fair Substitute for Heaven

Monday, May 2nd:  Fizzy Thoughts

Tuesday, May 3rd:  Coffee and a Book Chick

Wednesday, May 4th:  Jenn’s Bookshelves

Thursday, May 5th:  Alison’s Book Marks

Friday, May 6th:  Bookfoolery and Babble

Monday, May 9th:  A Library of My Own

Tuesday, May 10th:  Teresa’s Reading Corner

Wednesday, May 11th:  Unabridged Chick

Monday, May 16th:  A Bookshelf Monstrosity

Wednesday, May 18th:  Two Kids and Tired

Friday, May 20th:  In the Next Room

Guess what happens next week?  Evenfall by Liz Michalski is finally in stores!

The cover alone is a beautiful work of art, right?  And if you even have the slightest inkling and interest in stories dealing with regret, love, loss, history, ghosts...then you should probably rush to your local bookstore and pick up debut author Liz Michalski's Evenfall, which is scheduled for release next week.  And you might not like the book, instead you might actually love it.  Like me.

I cannot gush enough about this story.  Can you sense it?

I was so fortunate to pick her book up at the SIBA Trade Show in Daytona Beach last year, and the cover alone compelled me to read it immediately. Then the characters, the setting, the story, regret, love...it resonated with me and I wanted more.  There was such a unique way the three characters were weaved into each of their own chapters told from their perspectives - including Frank, a ghost who has a deep regret still felt.  You can read my full review by clicking here.

Farm Lane Book Blogs wrote a recent post about why she loves debut authors, and I completely agree.  Visit her site by clicking here.

INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY

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Liz Michalski, debut author of Evenfall

Liz Michalski was kind enough to participate in an interview and I'm so excited to share with you this author - I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and implore you to pick up the book when you are next in the store, read the jacket, flip through the pages...it will pull you in.

And for those who attend her book signings or send an email to this address with a picture of themselves and their copy of the book?  She's giving out a url and code which, when you jump onto her haunting and whimsical website to find the "secret" pages, you'll get even more of the backstory of Evenfall!

Author Interview

1. Evenfall deals with several different themes such as love, regret, death, family - what specifically compelled you to craft a story about all of these elements?

The story evolved over an extended period of time, and really just kept growing. Looking back, I think part of my inspiration was that I knew I'd be leaving the small rural town I'd been living in for the past 10 years. It was the best move for my family, but at the same time there were a lot of things I knew I'd miss. I was able to draw on those emotions for my characters, who wind up missing a lot of the things I did.

2. I think Frank was my favorite character! In the story, Frank is a ghost and still living in his house - his regret is so apparent and thoughtful, and it was easy to see that these emotions were so incredibly strong that he still maintained an "existence" after his death. How did you decide that one of the primary characters would be a ghost?

The whole first line of the novel popped into my head one morning in the shower, but I had no idea what to do with it, or who Frank was. But a few weeks later, I was viewing a house -- one of my freelance jobs was as a real estate writer -- and it had the most amazing attic, dry and peaceful and resembling a ship. The agent I was touring with told me it was possible that shipwrights had built it. From there, Frank just kind of moved in and took up residence. 

3. The afterlife is always a debatable topic, but it's important to many people who have lost loved ones. Sometimes the knowledge that there is an afterlife is more reassuring to someone not for themselves, but it provides a comfort to know that their loved one has moved on to a better life. Are there specific books, films, or events that helped you through the process to write about the afterlife, and Frank's perspective?

It was important to me that Frank's actions as a ghost be logical -- that they fit into the rules of the natural world. I'm the least scientific person in the world, probably, but I tried to keep what he could do -- in the beginning, particularly -- within the realm of what I thought of as reasonable. He couldn't just wave an arm and have a door downstairs shut, and he had to deal with the frustration of that limitation. I also read The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier several times during the course of writing Evenfall -- it approaches the afterlife in such an original and interesting way, and it is just such a great book. 

4. History is a significant piece of Evenfall as well - Aunt Gert certainly was an incredible woman in her life. Being a part of World War II as a nurse seems to truly develop the strength of her character as a strong woman who won't take any guff - what were your inspirations to develop Aunt Gert?

I read several biographies of women who served as nurses in World War II -- their tales were very inspiring. Also, my mom was a nurse in a very tough New England town in the 70s and 80s, and I drew a bit on what I remember of she and her friends during that time.

5. As a new author, what insights can you share for aspiring novelists?

There are so many blogs and websites and books out there with good advice -- take advantage of them! (I list my three favorite blogs on my website, and for books, I'm partial to Stephen King's On Writing.) I also tried to figure out how my favorite authors write so well -- how they break down a story in terms of pacing, why they use a certain point of view, how they handle aspects like backstory and flashbacks. When I'm stuck, I'll literally pick apart a scene by someone else to see why it works when my scene doesn't. 

6. What are your favorite books/authors?

I read pretty much everything, but I do have some favorites. Amy Bloom (especially A Blind Man Could See How Much I Love You), Lee Child, Alice Hoffman (Turtle Moon and Practical Magic), Diana Gabaldon, and Barbara Kingsolver are on my 'automatic buy' list. I also love Jane Austen, A.S. Byatt, J.K. Rowling, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien. 

7. What's next for you?

I'm working on a story about a family where, in every generation, one daughter is born with the power to make things disappear. It's a little bit more magical realism in terms of genre than Evenfall. It's about love and siblings and how we decide who 'belongs' and who doesn't. I just sent the first 50 pages to my agent, and I'm really excited about it.

Liz Michalski

Author Bio

Liz Michalski's first novel, EVENFALL, will be published in February 2011 by Berkley Books (Penguin).  She's been a report, an editor, a freelance writer, and has written hundreds of articles for newspapers, magazines, and private corporations.

In her previous life, she wrangled with ill-tempered horses and oversized show dogs.  These days she chases after small children and a medium-sized mutt.  She likes dark chocolate caramels, champagne, and licorice tea (preferably not all served at once).  In summer you'll find her visiting farmer's markets and trying to talk her family out of making her swim at the Connecticut shore.

The rest of the year she's home in Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and son, hard at work on her next novel.

Note from Coffee and a Book Chick

Many thanks go to Liz Michalski for taking the time to interact with the book blogging community and her readers.  It goes a long way when someone who doesn't have to, but does, participate, and does it so genuinely and with such a good spirit.  I look forward to her next book!

In stores next week for February 2011 releases by Berkley Books (Penguin)!

Happy Reading,

Coffee and a Book Chick

Hotel du Lac, by Anita Brookner surprised me.  The first forty or so pages, while beautifully written, were a tad tough to meander through at times.  But then, oh then, all of a sudden, and at some point I can't recall, I was quite happy -- it pulled me in and although it's a quiet and contemplative story, it was really quite interesting and I felt at home with it.

Edith Hope is a romance writer who writes under another name -- she's accomplished, but to be honest, she writes about feelings and events that she's never sure she'll ever have, or at least have forever.  She's withdrawn, and doesn't fit with her "friends."

Edith is sent away from "civilized" society in London to a quaint and quiet hotel in Switzerland following a scandal that it has been deemed should not occur amongst polite and learned men and women.  While there, she encounters a sad variety of characters that initially seem almost so uninteresting, that they are interesting.  Eventually, you are drawn into each one, into their nuances, their sad or internally destructive personalities. While one character, Mrs. Pusey initially impresses upon Edith that she is kind and lovely, it soon becomes evident that she's really just lacking in the same things that most of the hotel guests are without as well -- after all, why are they all sequestered in this hotel, away from family and friends, during a quiet time of season?  It seemed to be that they all were suffering in some way.

Do not expect a flurry of events in the winner of the Man Booker Prize of 1984.  Expect instead a quiet discussion, a studied review of a writer's perspective of those she meets and interacts with, amidst the background of an incredible hotel.  There is not a hurry from one thing to another.  It is a slow exercise of evaluation and word usage to describe each scene, moment, person.  Could it be considered tedious and boring to some?  Perhaps.  Could it also be viewed as deceptively pleasing, slowly building the undercurrent of anticipation for something, something brilliant and cunning to breach the water line and unfold its secret?  Yes.

At times, it was a bit humorous, but I found it to be an overall sad book, about people who were sad and who either were forced to be in exile by others, or simply had nowhere else that they could go.  It's an insightful and thoughtful novel on love, loss, and regret.  Although I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, I would say that if you like a quiet novel that delivers an introspective view on one's own life, then this sad little beauty is a book for you.

Every word is quotable in this beautiful and very short book, but this one I found delightful:

He was a man of few words, but those few words were judiciously selected, weighed for quality, and delivered with expertise.  Edith, used to the ruminative monologues that most people consider to be adequate for the purposes of rational discourse, used, moreover, to concocting the cunning and even learned periods which the characters in her books so spontaneously uttered, leaned back in her chair and smiled.  The sensation of being entertained by words was one which she encountered all too rarely.  People expect writers to entertain them, she reflected.  They consider that writers should be gratified simply by performing their task to the audience's satisfaction.  Like sycophants at court in the Middle Ages, dwarves, jongleurs.  And what about us?  Nobody thinks about entertaining us.

I look forward to reading more Anita Brookner novels.  Particularly when I learned from Thomas at My Porch that Ms. Brookner is now in her eighties and has written a book a year since her first published fiction novel in her early fifties.

Other fabulous book bloggers said this:
Carol's Notebook
Vintage Reads
Savidge Reads

Happy Reading,
Coffee and a Book Chick

Perhaps it was the beauty of the mountain and trees in a small town in France that pulled me in.  Or maybe it was Catherine Parkstone, a divorced woman from England who decides to move to the small town that got me.  And then there was also the feel of the needle that I felt in my hands as Catherine works on tapestries and divans and builds her little business in France.

What an extremely nice and pleasant read I had, walking along through the world of Rosy Thornton's story, The Tapestry of Love.  Catherine Parkstone has left her life in England and moved to France, to start anew and set herself up in a small business as a seamstress.  Her children are fully grown, and Catherine knows that the time is now to find her place in life, her true place.

You're not from here.  Says the man on the road in the middle of the storm to Catherine...but she is valiantly taking one step after another.  She encounters quite a bit in her new home and town, with her eccentric neighbors (oh, how I adored Monsier and Madame Bouschet!), and her attempts to understand the requirements of setting up a home based business in France are quite endearing.  Her daughter is a free-spirited writer, her son is a quiet scientist, and her sister Bryony is a top-notch partner at a law firm, and each of them are part of her lives either by visiting or calling her (which even the phone system is one that Catherine has a bit of interest in trying to figure out in the quiet French country).  And as Catherine attempts to live her life by a specific routine, her neighbor Patrick has entered and has placed a slight bit of anticipation and question in her life.  When Bryony comes to visit, it certainly throws things for a bit of a loop.

This story is about life, relationships, and finding your own place amongst it all, and being able to find it even a bit later in life.  You are on your own, your children are grown -- there is no more obligation other than to yourself.  Your identity is one to now make separate of everything else, without anyone else "taking care of things."  It is now up to you, and in this story, it is now Catherine's choices all on her own.  Catherine is a lovable character and there were moments when my heart broke for her as I felt for her quiet strength as she interacted with her family and especially as she dealt with her loving, yet goal-oriented sister.  I enjoyed the images of the rolling countryside of the South of France that went through my mind and I eagerly hopped onto the Internet to Google Le Cevennes.    This was my first Rosy Thornton novel, and I shan't expect it to be my last.

Happy Reading!
Coffee and a Book Chick