Tomato Girl giveaway!

The winner of Tomato Girl is...Ruth!

Shoot me an e-mail with your address and I will send it to you.

Congrats!

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Never Tell a Lie

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Never Tell a Lie

By Hallie Ephron

Publication Date: January 6

A young couple are about to have their first child. A woman from their past shows up at their yard sale. She goes inside their house, and she never comes out. Relentlessly fast-paced and disturbingly creepy, Hallie's new standalone is a page-turning thrill ride about how well we know the people we love, and how far we are willing to go to protect the secrets of our past.

I'm not a huge fan of thrillers, but ever since I read the description for this one, I've been intrigued. Just the phrase "...and she never comes out" sucks me in...

Has anyone read her 1001 Books for Every Mood?

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Author Interview: Jayne Pupek + Giveaway!

After I read and reviewed the amazing novel Tomato Girl (review here), I contacted the writer, Jayne Pupek, to let her know how moving it was for me. She graciously agreed to an interview.

By way of introduction...Jayne is also the author of a book of poems titled Forms of Intercession. Her writing has appeared in numerous literary journals. A Virginia native, Jayne has spent most of her professional life working in the field of mental health. And...she's a blogger, too! Visit her here.

Okay, let's get to it...

What was your inspiration for writing Tomato Girl?
The novel grew out of a narrative poem I had written some time earlier. When I decided to write a novel, I turned to my poetry for an idea, and I was drawn to the characters in the poem, "Tomato Girl." I saw the skeleton of a bigger story and believed it was a good place to begin. I'd also have to say that my many years spent working in mental health inspired me. I care about the issues of mental health and child abuse.

This book deals with some heavy and emotional issues. How did this affect you during the writing process?
The heavy emotional issues weren't especially difficult for me. In part this may be because I knew that I would take care of Ellie, that I would find a way for her to survive and be loved. In that way, Ellie is fortunate; I have worked with many people who were not cared for as children, people who did not know the difference between love and abuse. My work in mental health introduced me to so many damaged and suffering people, and these are the lives that generally interest me, even as a writer.

This book is written soley from the perspective of Ellie, a pre-teen girl, which made the book so much more powerful to me than if everyone had their own narratives. How hard was it to tap into the mind and voice of someone her age?
I enjoy challenges, and maintaining Ellie's voice was certainly the challenge of this novel. I had to frequently pause and ask myself how an event would appear to a child. I generally enjoyed the process, though, because it was a way to revisit innocence and to focus on the things that most impress children. We forget what it is to see the world as a child sees it, and how the world can be both vastly wonderful and frightening all at once.

What's the one message you'd like readers to take from the book?
I hope readers will pause to remember that there are children like Ellie all around us. They may be disguised or hidden from view, but they are there nonetheless, and they are in need of care and kindness.

What's up ahead next for you?
I’m working on two poetry manuscripts and another novel that will be completed soon. I'm too superstitious to talk much about a work in progress. It's like opening the oven door while a cake is baking.


Guess what? Jayne has graciously offered an autographed copy of her book as a giveaway on the site. So, leave your comment below by midnight CT on Thursday, September 25, and I'll randomly pick a winner!

Sunday Salon: 9/21

What a great week of reading this has been!

I reviewed two excellent books: Tomato Girl (review here) and The Distance Between Us (review here). These are must-adds to your reading list.

I contacted the author of Tomato Girl, Jayne Pupek, after reading her amazing novel, and she agreed to an author interview. Given the intense nature of the book, I'm really interested in hearing the thought process behind it. Look for that coming up one day this week.

New books in my pile this week include:

Home by Marilynne Robinson
Belle in the Big Apple by Brooke Parkhurst
Godchildren by Nicholas Coleridge

Looks like some good reading ahead! What were new arrivals to your stack this week?


P.S. Don't forget to stop by on Wednesday for my weekly event, "Waiting On" Wednesday, to see what much-anticipated pre-publication book is in the spotlight.

Review: The Distance Between Us

"Nothing in my life has ever mattered more to me than my musical ability. Not my parents, not my children, not even Arthur. And I'm only beginning to understand the cost of this, for each of us."

In The Distance Between Us, author Bart Yates takes readers inside the mind and life of Hester Parker, a sharp-witted, 71-year-old retired concert pianist with a mansion in an Illinois college town, an estranged husband, two equally distant children, and a new boarder in her attic apartment.

When Alex arrives as Hester's new tenant, he discovers a woman whose humor he can't quite understand, but it is in this emotionally charged house that he chooses to live with his secrets.

Hester is in the struggle of her life, wondering where it all went wrong. When her brilliant career abruptly ended after a wrist injury in her prime, Hester turned to raising a family, two musically talented sons and a daughter, a gifted child in nearly every way...except in music. Now, years later, her family is as broken as her body.

Her husband, having recently left her for his mistress of 15 years, is threatening to take away her beloved home, and her children can barely stand to speak to her, holding her accountable for nearly anything and everything they can think of.

Hester and Alex form an unlikely friendship, sharing more in common than they would like...an older woman estranged from her children and a young man estranged from his parents. The two will soon need each other to weather the storms ahead of them.

While it is Hester's quirky, eccentric personality that sucks you into the book, it is soon evident that her humor, usually aided with a healthy amount of alcohol, is a mask for her immense pain. I was immediately drawn to her candidness and felt protective over the woman whose once-promising life had turned out so tragic.

I'm going to go ahead and call it...this book has a sure place on my list of the best books of the year. This is the story of a family at their very worst...and a book with writing at its very best. Alternately funny and unbearably sad, it is ultimately redemptive.

Booking Through Thursday: Autumn Reading

Here's this week's question:

Autumn is starting, and kids are heading back to school–does the changing season change your reading habits? Less time? More? Are you just in the mood for different kinds of books than you were over the summer?

No matter the season, I'm always going to set aside time to read.

One of my favorite warm-weather reading spots is in the front of our boat anchored down in the middle of the lake...but I can just as easily change that spot in colder weather to right in front of the fireplace.

(Note: College football does put a dent in my fall Saturday reading time.)

As far as content, I probably let some books slide through in the summer that I wouldn't other times...that is, I'm much more likely to pick up a lighter read for the beach/pool/lake, one that may not have made my list any other time of year.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week, Day Three

As part of BBAW, festivities-host My Friend Amy posed the following questions today:

What is one thing you wish you knew about blogging when you started or what advice would you give a newbie blogger?

When I started my blog, it was for purely personal reasons. I was reading so many books and then not able to make good recommendations when asked by friends because everything started to run together. I started the blog to put my thoughts down on paper, which has ultimately made me a much more thoughtful reader.

I had absolutely no idea about the amazing book blogging community that existed. It is a welcoming, supportive group that truly makes me feel like I'm surrounded by very well-read friends.

What is your best blogging tip?

This may sound obvious, but...make time to read. It's so much fun to read everyone's blogs (I myself can spend a couple of hours reading the Sunday Salon), but remember that it's important to stay true to yourself, and that is that you're a reader first...so read, and then share your finds with the rest of us!

Only a few people I know can actually post reviews every day (how do they do that?), so it's also important to have a few events that you join in to supplement your reviews. I try to have two book reviews up a week (although that's not evident lately, with two relatively back-to-back vacations!), and I supplement my posting by participating in events such as Booking Through Thursday and Sunday Salon.

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Sing Them Home

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Sing Them Home

By Stephanie Kallos

Publication Date: January 6

From Books-A-Million:

The eagerly anticipated second novel from the author of the national bestseller Broken for You is a deeply moving portrait of three grown siblings who have lived in the shadow of grief since their mother's ascent into a tornado when they were children.

I read Broken for You when it was a Today Show Book Club selection several years ago, and I absolutely loved it. I'm thrilled that her latest is just around the corner.

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

House & Home Winner + Book Blogger Appreciation Week, Day Two

Congratulations, Gwendolyn! You're the winner of the House & Home giveaway!

Thanks to everyone who participated...I loved reading about your obsessions!

Also, today is Day Two of BBAW...so I wanted to include a link to the list of participants this week (here). This is a huge list of great book blogs, and it's a great opportunity to check out new blogs to add to your favorites.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week, Day One

It's finally here...the chance to celebrate book blogging and find out about others' blogs. My Friend Amy has done a great job organizing this.

The gloom and doom news tries to tell us that reading is dead, we say look at our addiction. We transform reading books from solitary activities to shared conversations through our blogs. We carve out extra time to share book club tips, interview authors, and learn about the technical aspects of blogging. Our blogs are like a part-time job and the only payment is the pleasure we get when someone takes us up on a recommendation.

To get us started...write a post thanking or highlighting the book blogs you love to read!

I know we all have a HUGE list of blogs we follow, and it's hard to narrow it down to just a few to spotlight. Like picking a favorite child (or, in my case, niece)...they all bring different personalities to the table, and you love them all.

Here are three that come to mind:

Lesa's Book Critiques: This is one of the first blogs I started following when I launched my own. This gal updates every single day, and she was so very helpful when I came to her with questions.

S. Krishna's Books: We share the same taste in books, and she's a very frequent updater, which I love.

Booking Mama: Again, same taste in books, and her blog is just fun to read.