Tell us a little about yourself:

I grew up in Texas, attending the University of TX at Austin before moving to New York. I worked for over twenty years in Manhattan, first for the Commodity Exchange and then as a defense contractor for the U.S. Dept. of Defense, traveling extensively through Belarus and Kazakhstan. I became a writer only after moving back to Texas with my family in 2000.

You’re actually descended from Martha Carrier, one of your characters. Did you grow up knowing about her, or was her life an adult discovery for you? What made you want to write about her?

I grew up listening to the stories of Martha Carrier and her family from my mother and grandmother and so, from the time I was a child, I had a great sense of pride in her courage. My grandmother used to stress that Martha was in fact not a witch, merely a “ferocious woman.” Once I was a teenager and could verify the history of the Carrier family and their involvement in the Salem witch trials, I recorded as many of the facts of the trials as I could, along with the family legends. I always had the thought that someday I would write a novel-length book about their lives; it just took me a while to get to the place where I had the time and the resources to devote to such an ambitious project.

I imagine that writing historical fiction is a bit like walking a tightrope. How did you find a balance between historical accuracy and artistic license?

This question of balance was something that I constantly asked myself during the five years I researched and wrote The Heretic’s Daughter. I knew from the beginning it would be a work of fiction, but historical fiction works best when it is anchored, as much as possible, with authentic dates, places and people. I read extensively about the Salem witch trials, and the differing theories offered to explain the hysteria, as well as studying contemporary letters and sermons from well-known theologians of the time to capture the rhythm and cadence of the language. I traveled to Massachusetts and Connecticut visiting homesteads and buildings from Colonial 17th century, while spending time with local historians. That said, I did make some changes for dramatic purposes. For example, the real Sarah Carrier was examined and imprisoned when she was six years old, but I felt a child that young would not have the presence of mind to tell a compelling eye-witness account of the events unfolding around her. So the fictional Sarah is nine when her story as a child begins.

What was the writing process like for The Heretic’s Daughter? What were your biggest challenges and triumphs?

Because I had never before attempted a novel-length work of fiction, I spent much of the time—perhaps an entire year—just researching and taking notes. Because of my family life, distraction from writing, pleasurable or otherwise, became my biggest obstacle. I set up a rigid time schedule for writing, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, and I left the ultimate finish date open ended. Some days there was no writing, only study and note taking. And then there were the days when I stared for hours at a blank computer screen wondering if I would ever get to “the end.” I went through four major drafts, being as ruthlessly critical as I could, before I began sending it out to agents. I think the biggest sacrifice was limiting my access to book stores (except for relevant research material) which have always been one of my greatest joys. I was afraid that seeing all of the published books, by all of those amazing authors, would distract and defeat me before I had even finished the first draft.

Your writing reminds me of that of Nathaniel Hawthorne, himself a descendent of those involved in the Salem witch trials. His fiction often attempts to vindicate those involved in the trials. Do you see yourself in the same role?

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a favorite of mine growing up, so I think there was a definite influence in some of the darker aspects of the social injustice in The Heretic’s Daughter. The repetitive theme in most of my favorite books, like The Quincunx and Instance of the Fingerpost, is that a great wrong has been done to the main characters, forcing them to act in courageous and sometimes socially contrary ways.

What’s on your nightstand right now?

I have just finished, back to back, two non-fiction books that, at first glance, look to be entirely different. But The Last Witch of Langenburg by Prof. Thomas Robisheaux and The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston are both about witch hunts (the first 17th century German, the second 20th century Italian) and the disastrous results from governments ruled by superstition and intolerance.

Are you working on any other writing projects at the moment?

I am currently working on my second novel; a prequel to The Heretic’s Daughter which explores more fully the life of Thomas Carrier who was over seven feet tall and lived to be 109 (two coffins had to be fitted together to bury him). According to family legends, he fought for Cromwell during the English civil wars and was involved in the execution of King Charles I of England.

What are some good resources for those who’d like to know more about the Salem trials?

A wonderful historical study of the Salem witch hysteria is Mary Beth Norton’s In the Devil’s Snare. Reading Salem Possessed by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissembaum is also very interesting and enlightening.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

I couldn’t have completed this first novel without the help and support of my family. I’m also profoundly grateful for the support from the publishers, Little Brown. I pinch myself every day!

Post from: She Reads Books

Interview with Kathleen Kent

How did you get into book blogging? How long have you been doing it?

I started my blog after joining a Yahoo group connected with the TBR Challenge. Everyone kept talking about putting stuff on your blog. At the time I had a personal blog (not on Blogger) , but it didn’t seem the place to do book stuff too, so finally one day, I created the book blog. That was about 1 1/2 years ago.

Who are some of your favourite authors?

Markus Zusak tops the list right now and I really wish he’d come out with more books! I also like Stephenie Meyer, Shannon Hale, Khaled Hosseini, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, John Green, Christopher Paolini, Cornelia Funke, Orson Scott Card, Brandon Sanderson, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Alexandre Dumas…. perhaps I should stop now……

Are there any genres that you refuse to read?

I won’t read erotica stuff, and I don’t read the Harlequin romance type stuff. (But I do like romances of the YA type and Jane Austen type, etc.) I also don’t like NF about subjects boring to me (politics comes to mind, though I’m sure there’s some books on that subject I’d find very interesting… Glenn Beck’s book probably). I’m not especially into mystery, westerns or horror, though for sure I’d not refuse to read them.

Do you do reading challenges?

I do a few, but I find that doing too many makes me feel “pressure” and like I can’t just pick up and read whatever I want whenever I want. So, I have to leave time to still do that. So far, I haven’t finished a challenge yet! Last year I came up one short on the TBR Challenge and the others I joined I completely bombed. But this year, I know I’ll finish at least one because the YA Romance Challenge will be a cinch, and I’m doing Carl’s RIP Challenge, Peril the Third, which is to read ONE book! I can do that!

What do you do in real life — besides read and blog?

Mostly mom stuff: laundry, cooking, cleaning, hauling kids, homework, etc. I also do the book fair as part of my PTA volunteering at the school, and also lots of church volunteering. BUT… recently I just got a part-time job, so I’m just now trying to adjust to adding that to my schedule. I’m working 12 hours a week in the adminstrative office of our local library. I also like to quilt when the mood hits, scrapbook a bit, sometimes look for a geocach, fiddle with movie making software, watch TV and movies and go to any muisc concerts and plays that I can afford!

What’s the best book you read in the last month?

I didn’t read much in August! I enjoyed Breaking Dawn the most… just because. But The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay was the better book, even though it took me forever to read.

Do you market your blog, or just let the traffic come to you?

I try to a little, not a lot. I don’t have a lot of traffic and sometimes that’s okay and sometimes I wish there was more. But I do like to participate in stuff like BBAW and Weekly Geeks, and Booking Through Thursday etc. so people know I’m out here. Recently I’ve started doing blog tours, so that will be interesting.

Where else can you be found on the internet? BookMooch? LibraryThing? Other blogs?

I did join Library Thing, but I’m not doing much there. I’m finding I like Goodreads much better. I’m also at Paperbackswap, and the Book Blogger Ning.

What has been the most challenging thing about blogging for you? What has been the most exciting?

The challenge about blogging is time for the most part. Also, creativity. Sometimes seeing what every one else is doing and how cool they are doing it gets depressing and makes me think my blog is total crap. But, then there’s those days where it’s very rewarding and fun and I feel like it’s all worth it. The most exciting thing about blogging is just connecting with other book and reading fanatics. And sometimes having an author comment, or want you to review their book!

If you were trapped on a desert island, what books would you be most likely to not take with you?

I would NOT take The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All! (The ladies in my F2F book clubs will understand!) Hmmmm… I really can’t think of any! Boring political books? School textbooks (though some of those would be interesting in a bind!) I probably wouldn’t take any Hemingway either.

How many books are in your TBR pile right now?

Without actually counting, I’d say about 150 books that I have right here at my house waiting a turn. There’s many more in my head and on my library list and Goodreads list, etc.

Post from: She Reads Books

BBAW Interview: Suey from It’s All About Books

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Broadly, what is All the Fishes Come Home to Roost about?

All the Fishes Come Home to Roost is a memoir about Rachel Manija Brown’s experiences growing up in an Indian ashram. When Rachel was seven, her hippie parents decided to move from California to a “spiritual commune” in India that worships Meher Baba. The memoir is about her experience growing up as the only foreign child in a country and home that is completly abnormal.

Do you read a lot of memoirs? How does it compare to others in the genre? How is the writing?

I do read a lot of memoirs, so it’s pretty easy to compare. This memoir is unique because her childhood experience is so unlike anything I can imagine, and I suspect most people can imagine. While I respect memoirs about all the heavy subjects, I liked this one because it was about an experience that was so unique. Rachel’s writing style is very accessible and conversational, although sometimes it gets annoying to hear over and over again what a smart kid she was.

What made you pick this book up?

My favorite professor was having a class in creative nonfiction read it, and she recommended it to me.

What was it like? Funny? Touching? Bitter? How did the author treat the memories of her childhood?

I thought it was very funny, but just a touch bitter. Even before she was forced to move to India, Rachel was an unsual kid — reading really early, not very social, just sort of out there. You sometimes get a sense of her bitterness towards that, and towards her mother for the experience she had in India, but not too much. More often, it’s very funny because you have a straight-laced child narrator commenting on the bizarre spiritual rituals of the adults around her. Rachel tends to be much more mature than the adults, which is a funny contrast.

What’s something you learned from this book that you never knew before?

I didn’t know anything about Meher Baba, and nothing about spiritual communes in India, so I did learn about those. I also learned some about the culture of India through Rachel’s eyes.

In six months, what do you think that you’ll remember of All the Fishes Come Home to Roost?

I think I’ll mostly remember some of the goof scenes at the ashram — people constantly chanting, holding snakes, and what not. And, Rachel’s experiences as a foreign girl in an Indian school; she wasn’t treated nicely by her classmates, but I liked the way she learned to stand up for herself.

Would you recommend this book to other readers?

Yes, I really liked this book. The narrator is likeable, the situations are interesting, and the book reads pretty quickly.

Is there anything else you’d like to add about All the Fishes Come Home to Roost?

You can read more about the book if you go to Rachel Manija Brown’s website, http://www.rachelmanijabrown.com/.

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Can you give a brief plot summary of In the Land of Invisible Women?

In the Land of Invisible Women is the memoir of a British-born, American-trained female Muslim doctor, Qanta Ahmed. After being unexpectedly denied a Visa to stay un the United States, she decided — on a whim — to continue her practise in Saudi Arabia. The book is her account of the years that she spent there, before eventually moving back home to the States, after 9/11. Lots of things are covered, from her medical practise, to aspects of Saudi culture, to the growth of her faith.

Did you enjoy the book? Why or why not?

I enjoyed it very much! I think it’s safe to say that I knew virtually nothing about Saudi Arabia before reading this book, and so I found it absolutely fascinating. Ahmed is a very engaging writer, and while her prose can be a little purple, it definitely grew on me by the end. She writes eloquently, and often with great tenderness for her subjects.

Why did you decide to read this book?

This was actually sent to me to read by the very nice Danielle at Sourcebooks — so it was a case where I was offered a book, not where I went into a store and decided to pick it up. From the description, I thought it interesting enough to try.

What scene/moment was most memorable for you?

I actually really enjoyed the chapters of the book where Qanta Ahmed goes to Mecca. It’s a definite turning point in her faith — and while I am not Muslim and cannot agree with many of its tenets, I feel like I understand it better now. It’s a very powerful section, and she wrestles with some hard questions.

Was there anything in the book that surprised you?

Well, since I’m such an inexpert on the subject — almost everything surprised me! The whole thing was quite the eye-opener for me.

Have you read other books about women in Muslim society before? Is this depiction similar or different from other books you’ve read? How?

I haven’t read much else, to tell the truth — well, there were some books in a World Lit class I took back in grade eleven or something, but I don’t really remember them. The only other book I can think of off the top of my head is Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi. That of course is a graphic novel set in Iran — so the story and the style of telling were fairly different from each other. They’re both quite good, of course.

One thing that has always struck me when reading about oppressive governments like the one in this book is that, although women are the citizens more obviously oppressed, the government also punishes men pretty harshly. Is that something you noticed in this book? How?

I think so. One of the things that Ahmed spends some significant narrative time on is the idea that Saudi men don’t really have the same outlets that Western men do. They’re “emasculated” (she uses this word a lot) by the religious police, who are extremely powerful. The country is ruled by Shari’a law, and those who transgress the law can be subject to imprisonment, beheading, and the like. There’s a culture of machismo/bravado, but no real manhood to support it underneath.

It’s sad, really — the only outlets these men seem to have are fast cars, drugs, and alcohol — the sort of thug-ism that can be seen in many of the world’s large cities (Qanta Ahmed lived in Riyadh, the capital). And there are terribly many young men dying in auto accidents.

Did this book inspire you to read more about this topic?

Yes, maybe so. I’m already set to be swamped with my school reading, but perhaps during the winter break I’ll be able to pick something up.

Is there anything else important about the book that people should know? Is there anything else you would like to add about the book?

In the Land of Invisible Women is in stores now!

Post from: She Reads Books

Weekly Geeks 16: Book Interviews!

Most of the time, though, that trepidation is entirely in excess. I talk to authors and they are nice. I read their books and the books are good. Occasionally I even ask for interviews, and those are consistently interesting (to me, anyway). I’m always glad when things work out that way.

But of course, when I was offered What If . . .? by its author, Steve N. Lee, I was sceptical. I was mostly sceptical because of the title, let me tell you. I still am, in fact. I think it’s a lousy title. The cover in general is pretty lame; readers are treated to a somewhat bluzzy picture of the creation of Adam and a title with drop shadows.  It’s a little bit awful. But fortunately, the rest of the book more than makes up for it.

What If . . .? is a fairly fast-paced thriller with political, religious, and environmental overtones. It was described to me as an “eco-thriller,” but I hold that such a description is not entirely accurate. Environmental issues do come into play, but What If . . .? is also a legal drama, a mob story, a medical mystery, a romance, and a quasi-religious human rights treatise. It’s also quite difficult to talk about without spoiling the whole thing — and there’s a lot to spoil.

There’s a lot that keeps you guessing, as well: things like the true identity of the hero, and of course, what happens next. One of the blurbs on the back raves that the ending is “remarkable and not to be read first!”. (Of course, I immediately wanted to turn to the back and read the last chapter. But I am perverse.) I didn’t read it first, but when I got to chapter 30, I thought I knew what the blurbist meant. And then I got to chapter 40, and I thought I knew what the blurbist meant. And then I got to the last chapter. Ka-bam, what an ending! It was remarkable … and not to be read first, as counter-productive as such warnings might be.

I’m having a very difficult time trying to talk about the book without saying too much, and I think that I’m probably erring on the annoying side of vague as a result. I thought it definitely worth the read, though — I give it a solid 4/5.

Want to know more? Steve Lee will tell you:

Tell us a little about yourself.

I live in Yorkshire, England with my partner, Ania. She’s a teacher for kids with special needs (and, coincidentally, the great granddaughter of a writer: Wladyslaw Reymont, the winner of the 1924 Nobel prize for Literature.). I enjoy a cold pint of cider, backpacking to explore the world, rock music, and TV shows like House, Lost, Heroes, 24. I’m also lucky enough to have a successful blog, lionsledbysheep.com, on which I discuss environmental, conservation and human rights issues.

What were the sparks of What if . . .?? How did this novel begin?

The ending just popped into my head one day and I thought – ‘WOW! What an incredible climax to a story.’ All I had to do was work backwards and discover what circumstances could thrust the hero into such a fantastic ending. And that’s where the problems started.

A powerful ending needed a powerful story, and I simply didn’t have one. So for years – literally – I brainstormed possible storylines that could do the ending justice. Of course, I could’ve gone with an earlier idea and produced a decent book but I didn’t want a decent book – I wanted a great book. Finally, the bits and pieces started falling into place and, once I started writing, the ideas gelled and just came flooding out.

It was an incredible amount of hard work, but from the feedback it all seems to have been worthwhile.

Do you, like the hero, think that we can change the world? Or do you see our future as more dire?

The world can change, yes, but I’m worried it won’t. People are too hung up on living a luxurious lifestyle to sacrifice too much for the sake of strangers struggling in countries they’ve barely even heard of. Add to that the power craving of politicians and greed of corporations and it’s easy to see things carrying on pretty much as they are well into the future. That might seem depressing and cynical, but since when did anything ever change quickly because it was the right thing to do? (Unless there was a quick buck in it for someone!)

This is why I thought it would be a great story that readers would love to explore. If someone came along who had the power AND inclination to literally change the world, what would happen? Would they succeed? Or would the power-mongers try everything possible to stop them? And if so, who’d win?

That’s the main reason it’s set during a presidential election – it creates a whole other level of tension, fear and power-manipulation. And it’s realistic, too, in that it paints quite a revealing picture of U.S. politics and corporate America.

Of course, there are all the traditional thriller elements, too – shootouts, conspiracies, car chases, double crosses, mystery…

Are you working on any more writing projects right now?

Yes. I’ve plans for at least one more thriller but the next project is a comedy. It’s in its final stages, but it will be a while before it’s completed and published because there’s still so much to do with What if…?. For example, the possible movie deal I’m discussing with a European production company – I’d love a crack at the screenplay.

It might sound strange to go from thriller to comedy, but I’m determined not to get into the rut of having to churn out formulaic genre stuff that some writers unfortunately get trapped in, so the easiest option is to write something different immediately, then I won’t get labelled ‘thriller writer’. That said, I’m not just writing a comedy for that reason, but because I’ve got a cracking story. My editor said it’s the funniest thing he’s read in years – let’s hope he proves to be a fair judge!

What do you think is the biggest problem that the world faces right now?

Apathy. We’re all horrified when we see Ethiopians starving to death on our TVs and yet, without skipping a beat, we’ll jump straight into cars that do 20 to the gallon to go shopping for another Gucci purse, or dash to the drive through for a cheeseburger. Even when we see it’s all related, we turn a blind eye to it because we believe it’s simply too much effort to do anything about most of the issues we face, these days.

Changing things by acting responsibly would mean disrupting our luxurious lifestyles so it’s never going to happen without a drastic shift in mindset, both at grassroots and government level. We’re like kids in a sweetshop (candy store) – just grabbing anything we want with no thought of the consequences.

I explore all this kind of thing – the environment, human rights, conservation – on my blog Lions Led By Sheep.

Can you point out any good resources for people who’d like to learn more?

That’s easy. There’s my blog, for a start. Plus, I did a ton of research for What if…? and communicated with people all over the globe – England, America, Canada, France, South Africa, Australia… Links to many of these people/organizations are on my website, steve-n-lee.com/links.htm. There’s everything there from Buddhism to rainforests to whales to origami!

The research was a lot of work – a LOT of work – but these issues had to be explored for the central character and the story to be believable. I knew just the kind of images I wanted to create in the reader’s mind of what we’re doing to the world but as What if…? is mainstream fiction not a textbook on ecology, I needed to create those images in as few words as possible so they added to the thriller aspect as opposed to slowing down the story. I wanted quick, slap-in-the-face mental images. It was absolute murder finding the info to do that but it was twice as hard making all these issues fit seamlessly in with all the car chases, double crosses and everything ‘thriller’. I struggled on till I did it, though, because I knew it would add an incredible depth to the story that would set it apart from other thrillers.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I’d just like to thank you, Christine, for giving me this opportunity and to thank your readers for their interest in my work. I hope you enjoy What if…? and if you pop by my blog, be sure to say, ‘Hi’ (I try to reply to every comment posted).

Also reviewed at:

• B&b ex libris

Post from: She Reads Books

Review and Interview: What If . . .? by Steve N. Lee

Here’s the back cover:

The time is 1998. The millennium looms. Yellowknife, capital of one-third of Canada and home to beasts and bureaucrats, is about to become a player in the world diamond market.

People come here for the damndest reasons. Something to do with the North Pole, maybe. It attracts them, I think. Like, there’s metal filings in their heads or something.

A penniless drifter, a businessman obsessed by bones, an artist with a baseball bat, a fallen academic who lives at the dump, a biologist with a son named after a fungus, a native man older than Canada, a Mounty with a jaw of steel.

He dropped several boxes of ammo into his pocket, little plastic containers with sliding lids, the shells lined up like tiny lead soldiers waiting to do their duty. He contained an impulse to throw back his head and howl.

Our Lady of the Lake Trout, the Paradox of the Ravens, the Ice Road Café, the Mosquito Research Institute, Y2K, and the birth of Nunavut. A legend, a myth, a mystery.

It’s a bit sentence-fragmenty, but intriguing, no? I thought so too. Steve emailed me and asked if I’d like to read his book as part of the 2nd Canadian Book Challenge or whatever it’s called. I downloaded the book and read the first chapter, and then had to delete the file so that I wouldn’t spoil everything before I got my actual copy. And then my copy came through the mail — oh frabjous day — and I devoured it, and then made various family members read it. Holy cow, Yellowknife is good. It’s full of very strange people in a very strange place: detectives and fishermen and lost explorers, dogs and mosquitoes, old men and young boys, neurotic biologists and, oh, all sorts of people.

You guys, it’s so good. Go read the first chapter and see if you don’t agree with me. I give Yellowknife an unequivocal 5/5.

And in the course of writing this review, I also had the chance to interview Steve Zipp, which was exciting. Our conversation follows:

Tell me a little about yourself.

Well, I’ve knocked around a bit.  Lived and worked in 6 provinces and 2 Territories.  Taught school in Africa.  Banded ducks, tagged polar bears.  Toured Newfoundland with a travelling theatre company.  But always, always, a writer.

I’ve lived all my life in Southern Ontario and have never been closer to the Pole than to Thunder Bay. What should I know about the North?

If you go there, you’ll return a changed person.  Wilderness is all around you, and infiltrates your soul whether you realize it or not.  Above all, respect the land and the people.  Listen to elders. In Yellowknife, read Walt Humphries‘s newspaper column, “Tales from the Dump.”

Where did this novel come from? What was its spark?

My next-door neighbour.  One day while skating he fell through the ice, and his description of what happened, of the icy calm that descended upon him while his life hung in the balance, charged my imagination.  I began thinking of ways to incorporate it into a story.

What went into the decision to release Yellowknife online as well as in hard copy?

Corey Doctorow.  He makes all of his books available online.  I like his rationale.

Can you talk a little bit about the last chapter? Why/how did you decide to narrate from Neptune’s point of view.

There is animal imagery throughout the book, and there are hints that the animal nature of some characters is closer to the surface than usual.  Plus, there really was a dog named Neptune on Franklin’s last expedition, which I thought was a good way to tie things up.

My mother is worried about Hugo. Any inkling as to how his story ends?

I like fiction with loose ends, fiction where characters come and go, or pop up unexpectedly.  So (with apologies to your mom) all I can say about the person washed up on shore at the end of the book is that, yes, his survival is in question.  But we don’t know who he is.  He could be one of two people.

I notice that you’ve written “Mounty” for a member of the RCMP, whereas I’m more used to seeing it as “Mountie”. Is that a regional convention?

Heh heh, no, it’s a stylistic one. There are other altered spellings in the book.  The most important is “North-West Territory” instead of “Northwest Territory” — a hint that we’re not in the same place currently found on maps.  Hence, the police in the story are NWMP not RCMP.

I hope that this novel is drawn from life. Is Yellowknife as breathtakingly bizarre as you’ve portrayed it to be? I think I might be a little heartbroken if it isn’t.

Well, bizarreness is like beauty, isn’t it?  One also has to remember that novels condense life, and Yellowknife is the distillate of many years in the North.  Even so, I couldn’t fit in everything I wanted, like the early clubhouse at the Yellowknife golf course, the fuselage of a crashed plane.

Still, there are things in the book that are fabricated, though readers unfamiliar with the North might not distinguish them from stuff equally fantastic but real, such as Mars camp on Devon Island.  This was a conscious decision on my part, thinking (hoping) that readers would enjoy being discombobulated.

Is there anything else you’d like to say?

I like telling the story about driving south with my kids, born in Yellowknife, their sweet little heads bobbing in the car window as they watched the scenery go by.  Suddenly the blank-eyed forest gave way to a field of cows.  “Look, daddy, caribou!”

Post from: She Reads Books

Review and Interview: Yellowknife, by Steve Zipp

If you’ve ever wondered what exactly it is that a publicist does, there might be some answers here for you. And if you’re interested in reviewing for Mary, you can write to her at blogstops[at]gmail[dot]com for more details.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a coffee fiend with an addiction to words. Nothing made me happier than when bookstores partnered with coffee shops. I read constantly.

I have four children – ages 18, 17, 11 and 6. The oldest is my only girl. I’m married to my best friend, who never ceases to amaze me. Cooking (from scratch), gardening, hiking and bicycling fill what little spare time I have.

I want a Kindle, but I’m waiting for the bugs to be worked out and the price to come down. The new Iphone has caught my eye, as well, but I’m not sure I need ALL those features just yet. And I’m probably the only audiophile on Earth who doesn’t own an Ipod. I swore I would never be a “gadget girl”, but the idea is growing on me. I’m just your average everyday geek.

How did you get into the book publicity business?

I got into the book publicity business because it seemed like a natural fit. I’m an avid reader and insatiably curious, I write, and I’ve been learning a lot about the publishing business. I’ve worked in marketing and promotions, off and on, for the last 15 years. It just so happens that everything came together now for me to focus on promoting books.

Do you seek out authors, or do they generally come to you?

The short answer is both. I actively look for books that grab my interest, but I’ve also been approached by authors.

Are you associated with certain publishers, or do you work strictly freelance?

I am not associated with any one specific publisher. The beauty of what I do lies in working with authors signed with big name publishers, small presses or self-published.

What’s a typical day like for you?

I don’t know that I ever have a typical day. With four kids, there are always surprises. My routine is usually to be up by 7 am, grab a cup of coffee and check emails. I get the kids off to school half an hour later, and then I blog. The rest of my day is spent networking, promoting, researching and reading for review or book tours. I spend time with my family from around 3 in the afternoon until 7 in the evening, then I finish up household stuff. I read for about 20 minutes before bed to wind down from the day.

How did Blog Stop Book Tours come to be?

Blog Stop Book Tours was born out of necessity and inspiration, with a little serendipity thrown in for good measure. I needed to create a business I could run from my home office, with the flexibility that would afford me. The inspiration came from many different sources. A friend and I had talked about the very beginnings of the concept of a virtual book tour four years ago. And it’s stuck with me since. Then, I saw other people doing them. I let the idea sit for awhile until I had narrowed down how I wanted to do it. My son started Kindergarten. I had time to write, and plan and think, for the first time in a very long time. And then the Web 2.0 thing happened. All of a sudden, there were tons of ways to get the word out about new products to thousands and thousands of people in a very short time.

Last year, I read a news story that said that one in four of all Americans hadn’t read a book, at all, in the last year. This left me dismayed. How could people not be reading books? I am extremely pro-reading. I’ve seen the joy in my children’s faces when they begin reading a book that hooks them from page one to the very last word. I also thought about the 75% who are reading, and the fact that it’s incredibly difficult for new authors to get promotion and/or shelf space at the bookstore. My purpose for starting Blog Stop is first and foremost to promote reading. In the process, I’m promoting books and authors and publishers and bloggers. That’s a lot of bang for a very small buck.

What advice would you give to someone who wanted to work as a publicist?

I wouldn’t, mostly because I consider what I’m doing to be a vocation. My advice to anyone is figure out what your innate talents are and do what you love.

How much choice do you have when it comes to the books you publicize? Have you ever had to champion a book you didn’t like?

The only things that limit my choices are time and the need for some sleep every day. I haven’t championed a book I don’t like. If I read a book I can’t believe in, I won’t review it or tour it.

Are there any book tours coming up that are particularly exciting to you?

Every book tour is exciting! Ellen Meister is touring her book, The Smart One, this month. I consider Ellen a good friend and I’m thrilled to be part of her promotion plan.

Three books are touring in September…

The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent

The River, By Moonlight by Camille Marchetta

Midwife of the Blue Ridge by Christine Blevins

I’m excited about them because they are all versions of Historical Fiction, which I didn’t find all that interesting when I was younger, but now I love the genre.

And there you have it. If you have any questions, I’m sure that Mary would be happy to here from you. Go check out her website and give her a yell!

Post from: She Reads Books

Interview: Mary Lewis, Publicist

When I got sent Farworld: Water Keep, by J. Scott Savage, I didn’t start reading it right away. I had been in the middle of a slough of Terry Pratchett novels (well, no surprise there), and was reading for school as well, and so it hung around on my desk for a week or two before I picked it up. But when I did finally read Farworld — wow! I read it almost straight through without stopping. It’s really, really good. Perhaps it is even great; without arguing too much about loosey-goosey terms, suffice it to say that I very much enjoyed this book and would heartily recommend it to both child and adult readers.

Here’s the back jacket:

Other people may see thirteen-year-old Marcus Kanenas as an outcast and a nobody, but he sees himself as a survivor and a dreamer. In fact, his favourite dream is of a world far away, a world where magic is as common as air, where animals tell jokes and trees beg people to pick their fruit. He even has a name for this place — Farworld.

When Marcus magically travels to Farworld, he meets Kyja, a girl without magic in a world where spells, charms, and potions are everywhere, and Master Therapass, a master wizard who has kept a secret hidden for thirteen years, a secret that could change the fate of two worlds.

But the Dark Circle has learned of Master Therapass’s secret and their evil influence and power are growing. Farworld’s only hope is for Marcus and Kyja to find the mythical Elementals–water, land, air, and fire–and convince them to open a drift between the worlds.

As Kyja and Marcus travel to Water Keep, they must face the worst the evil Dark Circle can throw at them — Summoners, who can command the living and the dead; Unmakers, invisible creatures that can destroy both body and soul; and dark mages known as Thrathkin S’Bae.

Along the way, Marcus and Kyja will discover the truth about their own heritage, the strength of their friendship, and the depths of their unique powers.

Farworld: Water Keep is both exciting and charming, if you can conceive of those concepts side-to-side. The action is practically non-stop, the villains are genuinely scary, and the moral message is obvious and positive without being at all syrupy or cloying. I have an ARC and so it doesn’t include pictures, but Scott’s been posting some on his blog and they look fantastic. Plus, the farm animals do actually tell corny jokes — which I quite appreciated, living in a corny joke sort of house.

Farworld: Water Keep is probably the best YA I’ve read this year. It’s fresh and exciting, and funny, and interesting, and exactly thick enough, and I eagerly look forward to reading the next four books, whenever they’re published! If I haven’t convinced you, you can find many more reviews on other blogs. Go check them out.

I give F:WK 4.5/5.

[II] Interview!

J. Scott Savage and I (virtually) sat down to a spicy Vietnamese lunch here in T.O. before a jaunt to the museum. In my imagination, it was fun! I cannot speak for Scott’s imagination, except perhaps as regards Farworld. But he has this to say about my favourite city:

Who wouldn’t love Toronto? It’s a great city. It’s home to the Blue Jays, the Raptors, great museums and restaurants. Let’s burn the heck out of our palettes, then head on over to the dinos.

I agree! Toronto is excellent. Know what else is excellent? A bad segue into an interview:

1) What were your favourite books when you were Kyja and Marcus’s age?

I was the ultimate voracious reader. I actually cut classes to go to the library. I read everything from Judy Blume to Stephen King. One of my favorite things to do was (actually still is) to walk through the library just pulling books off the shelf at random and starting to read. Without even checking the cover blurb. It was like heading into a totally unknown world. If I liked it I kept going (and usually read everything I could find by that author.) If not, I’d move on. I’m probably a little more picky now, but I still love reading a book or seeing a movie with no idea what it’s about.

2) What was the writing process like for Farworld: Water Keep? From first spark to publication, what were some of the best and worst bits of writing this novel?

As I’ve mentioned in some of my other posts, I started writing Farworld to prove to myself I couldn’t write fantasy. Five hours and about five thousand words later, I realized I was writing a fantasy series—and having a ball doing it. I think the most difficult part is getting the new world right. Getting the feel for what it looks like, how things work, how people think. I wanted it different enough that you weren’t quite sure what to think. Is that flower beautiful, dangerous, or both? But at the same time, a horse is a horse—even if it does tell knock-knock jokes. So you can’t try to make everything different. The best part was probably the freedom to build whatever you want. It’s like having someone give you a huge set of Legos but no plans to follow. And you can make the Legos any shape and size you want. You just dig in, and if something doesn’t work, you can rip it apart and start again. Very liberating!

3) Why did you choose to write YA fiction — or, did you choose? Did it “just happen” or was it a deliberate choice?

As I mentioned above, I didn’t think I could write fantasy. It is so different from anything I have ever tried. But I knew if I ever did write fantasy, it would not be the really dense, “Wheel of Time” type fantasy. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE the Wheel of Time series. And I can’t wait to see what Brandon Sanderson does with the last book. But reading a series like that is like eating a really rich dessert. You have to concentrate on it. I want to write books you can curl in chair with on a rainy day and eat chips. Or lay out on a beach. The great thing about YA is that if you do it right, it can be enjoyed by everyone from kids to adults. Kind of like Disneyland.

4) If you were trapped on a desert island, what book would you be least likely to take with you?

Wow, a trick question. I’m actually one of those people who will read a book I love over and over. I’ve got some books I’ve probably read twenty times, because I just love the way the author brought it all together. On the other hand, I have very little patience for books that are poorly crafted—that feel like the author rushed it out. Also, I love a good biography of a person he did amazing things, but I hate biographies of people who are mostly just famous for being famous. They can be talented, but their life stories are all, “Me, me, me! Look how great I am. So if I had to pick one book that would bore me to tears, it would probably be a biography of some pop star. Madonna maybe.

5) In Farworld: Water Keep it struck me that there were a number of notes or homages to other YA and/or fantasy works. I got a definite Yoda vibe off of Olden (compare “Bah! See how you look when you’re a thousand years old” to “When 900 years you reach, look as good you will not, hmm?”). And I’m sure that I’ve read another book with an authority figure surnamed “Teagarden” although I can’t remember what it was. Are these references deliberate? Coincidence? A product of my fevered imagination?

A few of each. I drop quite a few little homages in if you read close. Miles Teagarden shows up in several Peter Straub books. He happens to be one of my favorite authors and also co-wrote a book with another of my favorite authors about a boy who jumps between worlds.

6) Little question: how do you pronounce “Kyja”?

Ki (like High) jah (where the j is soft, not like John, but like the French J sound)

7) What is the “J” in “J. Scott Savage”? Jehosephat? John? Jacob? Jingleheimer-Schmidt? Jerubabel? Jebediah? James? Jaws? Jason? Or will you have to kill me if I find out?

Julie. Just kidding. That would really throw people for a loop huh? It’s Jeff. Unfortunately there is already an author named Jeff Savage who has published a gazillion kids sports books. I would be lost in a mountain of his books if I wrote under that same. So Scott it is.

Can you give us any hints as to what you’re working on now? What more can we expect from Marcus and Kyja?

I’m finishing edits on a mystery novel for a series I write for a regional publisher and I’m now putting pen to paper on Land Keep, book two of the Farworld series. It’s bursting to get out, and I’m really excited about what’s going to happen. When I finish that, I plan on starting the first book in an Urban Fantasy series that mostly takes place in Hell.

9) Is your pond still frozen?

Nope. Totally unfrozen. Unfortunately it was a bad winter for the fish. It was such a long hard freeze that even the fish in some of the shallower lakes died. I have to figure out a way to keep the pond oxygenated.

10) Is there anything else you’d like to answer that I haven’t asked?

The answer is Tankum. But you’ll have to figure out the question.

[III] Entirely Arbitrary Giveaway!

I’m thinking of a number between 1 and 1,000,000 (inclusive). You each get three guesses, and the closest will win! If there’s a tie — which I hardly anticipate, all things considered — I will flip a coin. The Grand Winner will get a signed, personalized ARC of Farworld: Water Keep direct from Scott. And the Grand Loser (the guess furthest from my number) will get a copy of Runaway direct from me (bwa ha ha ha…).

The giveaway will stay open until Friday, July 11 at midnight Eastern time. I will announce the winner shortly thereafter.

Farworld: Water Keep will be released in September.

Also reviewed by:

• Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Post from: She Reads Books

Review, Interview, Giveaway: Farworld and J Scott Savage

Behold: Springtime on Mars by Susan Woodring. (The title will take you to Amazon; the author name to her personal website).

After I read Springtime on Mars, I straightaway asked whether Susan would be available for interview purposes. She most definitely was:

1) So, who are you? Introduce yourself to us.

I am a homeschooling mother of two: Abby is almost 6 and little Aiden is almost 2. My stepson, Paul, will be 15 this summer. In addition to Springtime on Mars (Press 53, 2008), I am the author of a novel, The Traveling Disease (Main Street Rag, 2007). I live in western North Carolina with my kids and my husband, Danny.

2) How did these stories come into being? Were they written as a set, or written higgledy-piggledy and then amalgamated into one collection? Are there certain ones which mean more — or less — to you? Were there any stories that were particularly hard or particularly easy to write?

The stories in my collection were written over a period of about four years. I didn’t set out to write a collection, but was pleased to see a few common themes emerging among the stories I was working on. Once I started to see the book coming together, I wrote one final story, “Morning Again” specifically for the collection. Two of the stories, “Radio Vision” and “Inertia” seem to have almost written themselves. They just came out in a terrific burst and, though there’s always at least a little revision required, these two took less of it than most of what I write. The rest were labored over in many drafts and revisions. They are each very important to me, for different reasons. I’d say, though, that the title story and “The Core of Planet Earth” are maybe a bit more important to me for the ideas about fear and love, and loss and faith they represent.

3) The events of “Zenith, 1954″ take place before those of “Radio Vision” but their order in Springtime on Mars is reversed. I think that was the right order to put them in; is it the original order? Did you conceive of these two stories separately, or as one tale that was later halved?

Yes, I wrote “Radio Vision” first, but was then compelled to go back and spend a bit more time with those characters. I wanted to re-envision them in the early days of their marriage, to disentangle them a bit and go back and see their beginnings. I wanted to see where Joe’s obsession with both God and science came from, and I wanted to see Marianne on the brink of motherhood—through writing “Radio Vision” I caught a glimpse of what being a mother meant to her, and I wanted to go back and see it more clearly. I’ve never written linked stories like this, but it was a very interesting experience. I think it can be a beneficial exercise for any writer to envision his/her characters at a different point in time, to figure out how their lives came together.

4) In short fiction in particular, it is the unmentioned details that make stories poignant. In “Morning Again” we are left to imagine what Liza’s trouble is, or why, exactly, Harold keeps his past life so secret. In “Beautiful,” the action seems to stop at the climax of the story—there’s no denouement. Most of what is going on behind-the-scenes stays there. As the author, do you feel like you know what’s happening underneath the surface of these stories? Or are they also mysteries to you?

Yes and no. When I am drafting a story, I believe most of the subtext and underlying themes are being pieced together through my subconscious. Ideas and concepts are coming together in ways I’m only half-aware of at that stage, and it’s never anything I really plan. Then, when I’m revising or doing subsequent drafts, I can see some of the underpinnings of the story, and I trim and elaborate portions or aspects of the story to bring it out maybe a bit more, though I truly value subtlety and try to be careful not to “tell” too much.

5) Talk to me about lightning.

First, let me warn you: it’s dangerous! And very beautiful, too. It was an important image to me in my story, “The Neighbors.” I was very interested in the idea of one being “struck” by a sudden turn of fortune; in the same story, another man is “struck” with sudden wealth. In writing that story, I was really interested in showing how quickly a person’s life can change in a lasting, far-reaching way.

As far as my journey as a writer goes, using lightning in this story was significant in that it was the first time I allowed myself to use a phenomena, or a bit of the strange, in my fiction. Though “The Neighbors” is the last story in the collection, I actually wrote it first. Before, I had written stories that were grounded in ordinary life and kind of stayed there. With this story, I stepped out of that a bit and began writing stories where the extraordinary and the ordinary intersect. I think it’s an important moment in the life of a writer—when you finally sort of let go, and just push through, cultivating your imagination.

6) A lot of the stories in Springtime on Mars take place around the 1950s-1970s. What, for you, is the appeal of these particular decades?

These decades, for me, represent such a balance of optimism and hope versus pessimism and an unsettling foreboding. On the one hand, it was during this time that our country experienced a great deal of growth. Economically, we became a wealthy nation. Also, technology and advances in science were grand on a scale beyond anything we’d seen in our history. Yet, there were so many downsides to all of this. Looking back, we have an advantage of perspective. The prosperity of the fifties gave way to a new brand of materialism. Materialism often breeds a vague sort of emptiness—the feeling that something is missing, but not really being able to pin-point what’s lost. I think there were many during this time who felt this way, especially when you think of how many of those who were adults in the ‘50’s were children during the Depression and came to age during World War II. The advances in science and technology gave us so much in terms of entertainment, convenience, and medical care. However, our technology also gave us, as the century marched on, new ways to destroy ourselves and more to fear throughout the Cold War Era. And, during the same era when we mapped out DNA and traveled to the moon, we, as a culture, adopted secularism on a much larger scale than ever before. We were beginning to grasp how amazing and vast our universe and the very elements of life were, and at the same moment, we dismissed God. We brought ourselves to a new height of wonder–and were utterly alone there.

7) It is clear from many of these stories that your faith as a Christian has influenced your writing. Does it work the other way around? Has your writing influenced your faith?

I think my faith, my writing, and my being a mother all work together to cultivate a sense of wonder. Everyday life—my kids, nature, the very complex and fascinating facets of thought and life and love—is in itself a miracle, a reason to both celebrate and contemplate, cause for both thoughtful introspection and outward expression. As a writer, I’m constantly training myself in the art of observation, both in the physical world around me—oh, how to capture the particular blue of this particular sky—and in the people around me, noting the tiny gestures, the insecurities, the doubts, and the glints of brilliance and doubt that flicker in and out of every lilt and sway of voice, every slight shift in expression, every word uttered. All of these observations give me a glimpse of what life is about, the sheer miracle of it, and more: about the one who created it all.

One last question: if you were trapped on a desert island, what three books would you NOT take with you? (Or, what do you think are the three most boring books in the world?)

When I was in high school, I suffered through The Fountainhead, and I don’t think I’d care to recreate that experience, but that doesn’t mean that I really shouldn’t read it again, or that I wouldn’t gain something from another go-through. Books, like everything else, are so subjective. I think the only true test of a good book is this: if the reader is compelled to turn this page, then the next one, that book has completed its task. I can learn something, as a reader and as a writer, from any book—I truly believe that. And besides, maybe I’d want a boring book on a desert island—a really good, engrossing book would just go by too quickly, wouldn’t it?

(End of interview).

I don’t have much more to say about Springtime on Mars besides the above — and I think what Susan wrote is more interesting than what I’d say, anyway. But if you were to take Springtime on Mars and apply any of the following adjectives: really good, engrossing, compelling, amusing, bittersweet, enlightening, sad, compact, delicate, regional, strongly characterized, utterly re-readable; that application would surely not be inappropriate.

4.5/5

PS: Stay tuned tomorrow for some information on how you could read this excellent book for yourself.

Post from: She Reads Books

Author Interview: Susan Woodring (Springtime on Mars)