I’m delighted to have author Cynthia Swanson joining us today to talk about writing her debut novel, THE BOOKSELLER, in 15-minute increments.
Thanks to Cynthia and the lovely Meg at Tandem Literary, I have a print copy of THE BOOKSELLER to give away. Please see the end of the post for more details.
An IndieNext Pick for March, THE BOOKSELLER ponders the tantalizing question, "what if." The story follows a woman in early-1960's Denver who must reconcile her reality with the alternate world of her dreams.
Kitty Miller, a single woman in her late 30s, owns a bookshop with her best friend Frieda. Kitty begins to have nightly dreams of an alternative reality in which she's a married woman with children (and no more bookstore). Reminiscent of Sliding Doors (the 1998 movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow), The story explores the butterfly effect - how one small change of circumstance can set off a cascade of entirely different events. It's a fast, engaging read that is great for discussion and introspection.
For those who enjoy mid-century design, you'll love the 1960s clothes, music, architecture, and books that make up the backdrop of the story.
Now, please join me in giving Cynthia a warm welcome to Thoughts. Cynthia, welcome and please tell us how you can really write a novel in 15-minute increments.
It’s the classic paradox: the more time we have, the less likely we are to use it wisely.
When I wrote first draft of my novel The Bookseller, time was in very short supply. I had a freelance technical/marketing editing career and a house that was under construction. My twins were in kindergarten. My youngest child, at three, was up and at ‘em every morning before the birds started singing - precluding the possibility of rising early, making myself coffee, and serenely writing fiction while my kids slept. I know a lot of authors work that way, but it wasn’t an option for me.
So when did I write? Well. Writing had to happen in very small increments, whenever I could squeeze it in during the day. Sometimes that meant I got in only fifteen minutes of writing time per day.
“That seems impossible,” people have said to me. “It takes me fifteen minutes just to settle into my work day. I’d never get anything done if I only had fifteen minutes.”
Ah. Yes. But that’s because their work days are eight hours long. Fifteen minutes is a small percentage of an eight-hour work day.
Fifteen minutes, however, was often 100% of my fiction-writing day.
So how did I do it? To begin with, I’m blessed with the ability to write very fast - when I set my mind to it. If I’m really cranking, if I’m focused, I can write 1,000 words - that’s about four double-spaced pages – in an hour.
The first draft of The Bookseller was 50,000 words. (The final copy was double that.) Those first 50,000 words - when I do the math, it took me around 50 hours to write them.
That’s not much more than a typical employee’s full-time work week.
“Sure,” one might say. “But how good could those words be, really?”
The answer is: not very. But that’s beside the point. I aspired to write 250 words in 15 minutes - 1,000 in an hour - and that meant one thing was key: no stopping. No going back and re-reading. No taking out my thesaurus to search for the perfect word. No getting online and doing research. All that came later, in successive drafts.
With time being so restricted, for that first draft I just got the basics down and kept going.
When I got stuck, I’d make a note of the problem and move on. Sometimes I discontinued entire sections, or I’d have to expedite my way out of a sub-plot, because I had no idea how to resolve something. I didn’t allow myself to get hung up on that; I made a note, let it go, and forged ahead.
In subsequent versions, once that first draft was complete, these issues generally resolved themselves. Either that, or I found their part of the storyline wasn’t necessary in the first place, and I removed it completely.
Writing this way takes discipline and focus. Neither are my strong suits, but I find that when I’m in the groove, nothing makes me happier than my fingers flying on the keyboard, transmitting what’s in my head onto the printed page.
That kept me going. Often for only fifteen minutes at a time - but nonetheless moving in the right direction.
Cynthia, thanks so much for visiting with us and sharing this look at your writing. Your 15-minute working periods just goes to prove, if you want to write you will find the time.
Here’s a bit of background on Cynthia (in her own words) for those who aren’t familiar with her.
My name is Cynthia Swanson...and I'm a writer and designer.
I started out in college (a long time ago) majoring in Architecture, because I have always loved design, and I thought I needed to pursue a "practical" career. But after 2 years, I went back to my first love - writing - and changed my major to English. I was a freelance technical/marketing writer for many years.
All the while, I aspired to a creative writing career. Now that I have a debut novel coming out, I concentrate on writing fiction and personal essay.
Still, the design world continues to draw me in. I especially love mid-century design, and I'm constantly thinking of ways to enhance and improve our mid-century home. I'm also thrilled to discuss home design projects with others.
For more on Cynthia and her writing, visit her website.
Praise for THE BOOKSELLER:
"This is a stunner of a debut novel, astonishingly tight and fast paced. The 1960s tone is elegant and even, and Kitty/Katharyn's journey is intriguing...This will especially resonate with fans of the movie Sliding Doors and the authors Anna Quindlen and Anita Shreve." (Library Journal, starred review)
"Dexterously traversing past and present, fact and fiction, Swanson's clever first novel ingeniously explores the inventive ways the human spirit copes with trauma." (Booklist)
"What if? These words tantalize and haunt us. In The Bookseller, writing with a sharp-tinged empathic pen, Cynthia Swanson takes us on a startling journey where a woman is thrust into the alternative world that might have been, had she made different choices." (Randy Susan Meyers, author of Accidents of Marriage)
"Cynthia Swanson's The Bookseller is both a delightful and haunting exploration of identity, love and loss. With great style and compassion, the author asks the age-old question: 'What if my life were different?' The answers in this affecting debut novel are truly surprising." (Joanna Hershon, author of A Dual Inheritance)
"I inhaled The Bookseller. I loved both of Kitty's worlds, and refused to put the book down until I saw how the tension between the two worlds resolved. A deeply satisfying read." (Ann Napolitano, author of A Good Hard Look)
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
This giveaway is for one print copy of THE BOOKSELLER. The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and will end at 12 a.m. on Sunday, March 29.
To enter, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and following the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load, so please be patient. The winner from this giveaway will have 72 hours to respond after being contacted or another winner will be selected. The email will have ‘Thoughts in Progress Cynthia Swanson’s Tour’ in the subject line, just so you know what to watch for (in case it goes into your spam folder).
Thanks so much for stopping by today during Cynthia’s visit. Do you write in increments or do you have to dedicate a time slot just to write?
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
Have you ever met any of your blogging friends in person?
With blogging a large part of our lives, author Wendy Corsi Staub has incorporated that into her latest thriller, THE PERFECT STRANGER, the second installment in her ‘cyber predator’ series that was released yesterday.
Wendy is joining us today to answer some questions about her writing and her latest book. First, here’s a brief description of THE PERFECT STRANGER.
During the darkest period of her life—her battle with breast cancer—Alabama mom Landry Wells found solace in a group of online bloggers who had been in her shoes and lived to tell the tale. She's shared things with her online friends that even her husband and children didn't know. Things that now, looking back, make her uneasy.
At last, years later, the close-knit, geographically scattered circle of online friends is about to meet in person at a funeral for a fellow blogger.
Though these women are no strangers to death, they never expected they would have to mourn a friend’s death after she was viciously murdered. And, as the story unfolds after their meeting, Landry suspects that her beloved friend’s death wasn’t as random as it seems—and that the killer might be masked behind a familiar screen name. These women are her closest confidantes in the world: they understand her; they know everything about her --- and one of them might be a cold-blooded killer.
Early praise for this latest thriller:
"In a word: terrifying…” — RT Book Reviews
“Solid gold suspense!” — Lee Child
Please join me in welcoming Wendy as she graciously answers my questions.
Mason - What was your research process like for this book?
Wendy:
My research process for any book is always hands-on, extensive and ongoing, beginning long before the first word is written and stretching to the very last page. THE PERFECT STRANGER is the second in my trilogy of social networking thrillers that began with THE GOOD SISTER (HarperCollins, October 2013) and will conclude with THE BLACK WIDOW (HarperCollins, March 2015), so naturally I spent a lot of time online, not just learning about internet predators, but lurking on various social media forums, absorbing the rhythms, nuances, shorthand, etc., of how strangers interact with each other.
This particular book focuses on bloggers who are all breast cancer survivors and was initially inspired by my sister-in-law’s personal experience, so I was able to get a firsthand take on some of it. And because it features a group of characters who are scattered around the country, I visited all the locations in person to make the settings (Alabama, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Boston, and L.A., in addition to my own home city New York) as authentic as possible. In addition to the usual forensics, police procedural, criminal psychology, etc., I did extensive research into what I can only refer to as “turtle lore,” for reasons that will become clear to anyone who reads the book.
Mason - Now that THE PERFECT STRANGER has been published, what surprised you the most about this project and its outcome and your Cyber Predator series in general?
Wendy:
All three books in this trilogy are cautionary tales about
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| Photo Credit: Lisa Nasca |
the dangers of sharing too much online. It continues to amaze me that people are so willing to make themselves vulnerable by sharing intimate details and personal information with total strangers in the cyber world that they might think twice about sharing with even a casual acquaintance in person.
Mason - If you could write a book with any author (living or dead), who would it be and what would the book be about?
Wendy:
I’d collaborate with my author pal, the wonderful Laura Lippman, and any other contemporary authors who care to contribute to a collection of essays about our favorite vintage YA novels/series. (Don’t be surprised if this actually comes to fruition someday—Laura and I and some fellow Beany Malone enthusiasts had a field day with this topic on a recent Facebook post on my page.)
Mason - What do you hope readers take away from reading your latest release?
Wendy:
My longtime readers are loyal and clever and appreciate a complex plot filled with unexpected twists, so it’s always a challenge to stay one step ahead of them. I owe them a satisfying read and I work hard to ensure that I meet their expectations. My goal with every release is to ultimately unmask a villain the audience least expected or throw in a curve they never saw coming.
Mason - Do you have any habits/rituals you follow when writing such as a certain place to write, favorite beverage to drink, quiet verses noise, etc.?
Wendy:
These days I travel constantly, and my deadlines are tight, but I’m not one of those writers who can casually open a laptop on a plane and bang out a chapter. While I occasionally have to do just that, I prefer to write in my home office, on my desktop Mac computer. I sip coffee in the morning, wine in the evening, and coconut water in between. We moved to our neighborhood two decades ago because it was quiet and idyllic—the perfect working environment for me--so the chaotic, noisy, constant construction disruption of a house being built next door over the past eight months was infuriating and literally caused me to blow a deadline. Now I’m making up for lost time. As always, when I’m home, I work 12-14 hour days, seven days a week, so that I’m living and breathing my fictional world. I try to save the many non-writing tasks that go with my career for days on the road. (I’m actually answering these interview questions in the midst of a 7-hour Amtrak trip!)
Mason - Are you currently working on any new projects?
Wendy:
Always! I’m currently reviewing the copy edit for THE BLACK WIDOW, the third book in my social networking thriller trilogy—it’s set in the world of online dating and will be published by HarperCollins in March. I’m under contract with them for a new suspense trilogy set in a fictionalized Hudson Valley town, Mundy’s Landing, with a notoriously bloody past that stretches back to the first settlers. I just finished writing the first book, tentatively entitled BLOOD RED, and it will be published sometime next year. Before I begin working on the second, I’m finishing a top-secret project that I hope to share soon!
Wendy, thanks for joining us and sharing this insight into THE PERFECT STRANGER. In listening to the book, I’ve been wondering if you had personal knowledge of someone with breast cancer from the tone of the characters. Now I understand how you captured their essence so well.
Now let me sharing some background on Wendy.
New York Times bestseller Wendy Corsi Staub is the award-winning author of more than seventy-five published novels and has sold more than four million books worldwide. Under her own name, Wendy achieved New York Times bestselling status with her single title psychological suspense novels. Those novels and the women's fiction she writes under the pseudonym Wendy Markham also frequently appeared on the USA Today, Barnes and Noble Top Ten, and Bookscan bestseller lists.
Wendy’s latest suspense novels for HarperCollins are linked by a social networking theme and include THE GOOD SISTER (Harper, October 2013), which has been optioned for television by Fox, as well as the upcoming THE PERFECT STRANGER (July 2014) and THE BLACK WIDOW (2014).
Earlier in 2013, she concluded a bestselling, award-winning trilogy that was launched by HarperCollins in September 2012 with NIGHTWATCHER, which won the 2013 Westchester Library Association Washington Irving Prize for Fiction. It was followed in October by the New York Times bestselling SLEEPWALKER, which went on to become a finalist for the prestigious Simon and Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award presented at the Mystery Writers of America Edgars Symposium in April 2013. The trilogy’s final title, SHADOWKILLER, was released in February 2013.
Wendy now lives in the New York City suburbs with her husband of twenty years and their two children. A 1986 graduate of the State University of New York at Fredonia, she proudly delivered the keynote commencement address at her alma mater in May 2008, was a featured speaker at the 2011 Academic convocation, and is serving a three-year appointment to the Dean's Advisory Council for the College of Arts and Sciences.
For more on Wendy and her writing, visit her website and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
Now to tempt you even more to pick up a copy of this tantalizing thriller, is the book trailer for your viewing pleasure. THE PERFECT STRANGER may have you rethinking what you share online.
Thanks so much for stopping by today and visiting with Wendy. Do you think as a society we share too much online with perfect strangers? If so, why do you think we do that?
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Do you remember how life was when you were a teenager? If you have teenagers, think about all they face today that we didn’t.
I have two intriguing books to tell you about today that involve teenagers in different ways.
In author Alison Gaylin’s latest thriller, STAY WITH ME, readers learn remembering is not always a good thing.
The protagonist, Brenna Spector, is a superb private investigator thanks to her ‘hyperthymestic syndrome,’ which enables her to remember any day in time intensely including all aspects of it.
The condition was brought on by her sister’s disappearance many years ago. The condition is also causing a riff between Brenna and her daughter, Maya, who feels she’s second in her mother’s world with her missing Aunt Clea always first.
When Maya suddenly disappears, Brenna’s world is turned upside down. Using her expert skills, Brenna begins to search for Maya and in the process discovers the past and the present could be connected.
The story moves at a steady pace and holds your attention from beginning to end. The characters are well-delve loped and realistic. The author paints a vivid setting with her words that come to life on the pages.
This psychological thriller is well-balanced with emotion and action. It’s a suspenseful read to keep you on the edge of your seat guessing the outcome.
STAY WITH ME is the third installment in the Brenna Spector series, but can be read on its own.
Stay With Me by Alison Gaylin, Brenna Spector Novel Book #3, Harper, @2014, ISBN: 978-0061878268, Paperback, 384 Pages
FTC Full Disclosure – A copy of this book was sent to me as part of the author virtual book tour. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review. The thoughts are completely my own and given honestly and freely.
This next book I had the opportunity to begin reading a print copy and finish by listening to a downloadable audio version.
The antics of teenagers and a mysterious illness spreading through a high school are at the core of Megan Abbott’s THE FEVER.
Narrators Caitlin Davies, Kirby Heyborne and Joe Barrett do a great job bringing the characters to life. Their interruptions of the characters’ emotions as they story unfolds adds depth to this suspenseful tale. Their mannerisms enhance the story.
The story focuses on Deenie; her friends, Gabby and Lise; Deenie’s brother, Eli; and her father, Tom, a teacher at the high school. When Lise has a seizure in the classroom, rumors begin as to what caused it. Later when Lise is rushed to the hospital in serious condition after another episode, full-blown gossip begins. Fear and speculation mount when other girls in the school begin to have similar seizures.
While Deenie isn’t affected by the seizures, her world is turned upside down as friendships are strained and blame is tossed around. The students’ theories about the epidemic runs rampant with speculation, while the parents are just as baffled.
This is a story told on a number of levels, with listeners/readers being drawn in and held spellbound waiting for an answer to the illness. With all the twists and turns, the story still flows smoothly and at a steady pace.
The characters are realistic and with traits parents of teens can easily relate to. THE FEVER holds listeners/readers in a grip of ‘what if’ as the mysterious illness is uncovered. This tantalizing tale will stay with you long after the closing sentence.
The Fever by Megan Abbott; Little, Brown and Company; @2014, ISBN: 978-0316231053, Hardcover, 320 Pages
Audible Audio Edition; Narrators: Caitlin Davies, Kirby Heyborne and Joe Barrett; Hachette Audio; @2014; ASIN: B00K7KTDX8; Unabridged; Listening Time: 9 Hours and 12 Minutes
FTC Full Disclosure – A print and downloadable audio copy of this book were sent to me by the publisher and as part of the author’s virtual book tour in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copies did not influence my review. The thoughts are completely my own and given honestly and freely.
Thanks for stopping by today. I hope I’ve enticed you a bit with these two enthralling stories. Do you think teenagers have it easier or harder now than when you were growing up?
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It’s a delight to welcome USA Today bestselling author and Edgar Award nominee Alison Gaylin to Thoughts in Progress today to talk about her latest release, STAY WITH ME, the third installment in her Brenna Spector series.
In this latest installment of the Brenna Spector Novel of Suspense, STAY WITH ME (on sale June 24, $5.99, Harper mass market paperback), Brenna’s entire world is turned upside down as she faces her most deeply personal case yet... the disappearance of her own daughter, Maya.
Brenna Spector is a prisoner to her past; she has perfect autobiographical memory—hyperthymesia—which allows her to recall in vivid and remarkable detail every moment of every day of her adult life. Yet, she lacks that clarity when it comes to her childhood, leaving her still trying to unravel the mystery of her sister Clea’s disappearance twenty-eight years ago, when Clea was seventeen.
In STAY WITH ME, her growing obsession with finding out what happened to Clea starts taking a toll on her own teenage daughter, Maya, who’s been growing more and more secretive. Then, when Maya goes missing, Brenna fears her worst nightmare has come true.
As Brenna relies on her P.I. skills to find her daughter before it’s too late, evidence surfaces showing a possible link between Maya’s disappearance and Clea’s. But could a case three decades earlier really be connected to her daughter? Or is someone hoping Brenna will play along in a twisted game that there is no hope of winning… or surviving?
By the end of STAY WITH ME, Brenna’s entire outlook on life is changed, and the mystery of her long-lost sister Clea is finally solved -- but at a devastating price.
Please join me in welcoming Alison as she graciously answers questions.
Mason - Where do you do most of your writing and do you have any writing related rituals or quirks like certain music to listen to or a favorite beverage to drink?
Alison:
I have an office in my home, though sometimes I like to mix things up and bring my laptop to a coffee shop. Either way, my writing beverage of choice is coffee. (I drink it black.)
Mason - Looking back over your latest release, STAY WITH ME, where there any more surprises than when you finished the other two installments in the series?
Alison:
Oh, there are so many surprises in STAY WITH ME, it's hard to give a plot summary without spoilers! Besides being the third book in the Brenna Spector series, it's the third in the "Clea Trilogy," so I tried to write a final installment that's both surprising and satisfying. It was fun to write, but also very hard!
Mason - Who inspired you to write?
Alison:
My mom teaches memoir writing. And my dad, a hospital administrator, was a voracious reader who loved mysteries. So when I was growing up, reading and writing were pretty much impossible for me to avoid.
Mason - What advice would you give to a new author wanting to write in any of the various genres available?
Alison:
Focus not on what you think is going to sell, but on telling a good story. Young readers are just as discerning as grown-ups (possibly more-so) and nobody likes being pandered to.
Mason - In writing the series, did it become more difficult to write each installment or did the process flow easier as the series came about?
Alison:
Good question! I think it gets easier with each book in a series. I feel like I know the characters better than when I started, which makes it easier to plot stories. But boy, writing is always, always hard.
Mason - Are you currently working on any new projects readers can look forward to reading?
Alison:
Yes! I'm currently working on an adult standalone suspense novel called WHAT REMAINS OF ME for Harper Collins -- about a 17-year-old girl who commits the "murder of the century" in 1980 and spends 25 years in prison -- only to be accused of another brutal killing five years after her release. The action shifts back and forth between 1980 and 2010, with both mysteries unfolding at the same time, so it's a challenge to write. (Plus, I get to listen to a lot of cool old songs to get in the mood!) It should be out next year, in hardcover.
Alison, thanks for sharing this look at the writing life with us. Your current project sounds as intriguing as STAY WITH ME.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
ALISON GAYLIN is the author of the Edgar-nominated thriller HIDE YOUR EYES, as well as its sequel YOU KILL ME and the standalones TRASHED and HEARTLESS, and the Brenna Spector series AND SHE WAS and INTO THE DARK.
A graduate of Northwestern University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Alison lives with her husband and daughter in upstate New York.
For more on Alison and her writing, visit her website and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
In addition, you can see Alison on tour in the coming weeks at the following locations:
July 10, 7 p.m.: River Road Books in Fair Haven, NJ. Event with Megan Abbott.
August 1, 7 p.m.: Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY. Event with Wendy Corsi Staub.
August 2, 2 p.m.: Westport Library in Westport, CT Event with Wendy Corsi Staub.
August 9, 7 p.m.: Northshire Books in Saratoga Springs, NY. Event with Wendy Corsi Staub.
Thanks so much for stopping by today during Alison’s visit. Do you enjoy novels that tug on your heartstrings, while they scare you to pieces with suspense and intrigue? Or do you go more for novels that just tug on your heartstrings?
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