Sunday Book Review

MARKET STREET by Anita Hughes

reviewed by Barbara Claypole White

“From the author of Monarch Beach comes a delicious story of a department store heiress, her messy marriage, and her passion for food.

Cassie Blake, heiress to Fenton's, San Francisco's most exclusive department store, has been married to Aidan, a handsome UC Berkeley professor, for ten years. But when she discovers Aidan allowed himself to be seduced by one of his students, she moves into the third floor of her best friend Alexis's Presidio Heights mansion. Aided by the hilarious and high-spirited Alexis, Cassie has to decide if she can forgive Aidan and give their marriage one more chance.

Saving her marriage is not the only choice Cassie has to make. Cassie's mother is eager to have her oversee Fenton's new Food Emporium, destined to be San Francisco's hottest gourmet shopping destination. Her true passion has always been food, and Cassie suspects her mother might be trying to lure her into the Fenton's fold by entrusting her with such an exciting opportunity. And then there is James, the architect designing the Emporium, who is quietly falling in love with her.”

___________

As a fan of Anita Hughes’ debut novel, I was eager to get my hands on Market Street. However, I was stunned to find myself putting aside my own novel two deadline to finish reading it. (Shhhh, don’t tell my editor.) A number of reviewers mention that Market Street is hard to put down. No, not hard: impossible.

Market Street has all the ingredients of page-turning escapism: likeable characters—except for the sexy, dirtbag husband, a glimpse into high society San Francisco life, and several steamy sex scenes. Add in mouthwatering descriptions of gourmet food and more designer fashion than a girl can dream of…and why would you put this book down to return to real life? I am not a foodie but even I was craving organic, heirloom tomatoes and homemade soup at one point.

The themes of self-discovery in the midst of betrayal and the importance of female friendships drew me in immediately, and I liked the single working mother/daughter dynamic. The writing is warm and cozy, and the female characters are wonderful. My favorite part of the novel was the friendship between the heroine and her BFF. I loved that Alexis opened her home—and her wardrobe—to Cassie without once judging her or dishing out harsh marriage advice. Everyone needs a friend like Alexis.

 

If you’re looking for the perfect weekend read, this is A+ escapism.

Market Street was published by St. Martin’s Griffin earlier this month and is available from Amazon, IndieBound and Barnes & Noble. For more information on Anita Hughes, visit her website: anitahughesbooks.com

Barbara Claypole White is the author of The Unfinished Garden, a love story about grief, OCD, and dirt (Harlequin MIRA, 2012)

Thirteen, Now and Forever

By Saralee Rosenberg

Readers often ask novelists what inspired their story. And like getting a test answer right, many give writers the highest mark for this response: The plot was autobiographical and/or it originated from a real life incident. 

In other words, phooey on the made-up stuff. They want novels that are more akin to reality TV. Nothing to imagine or examine. Just the facts straight up like a weepy segment on Say Yes to the Dress. 

Fortunately, there are still plenty of purists. The readers that fall in love with stories that explore hopes and dreams.Conflicts and relationships. Fear and joy, love and hate and whatever else comes over on the emotional boatload.

Readers that still hug a book to their chests because the characters and their journeys deeply touched them.

I am buoyed by that image, yet I am mindful that resonance is not possible with authenticity. But what is authenticity?

In my debut novel, A LITTLE HELP FROM ABOVE, the setting was Manhasset, Long Island, a place where I had shopped and eaten but never lived. Well! That confession really pissed off local residents. WHAT? You’re not from here? But you described it to a T. You mentioned the Miracle Mile and Benihana. Maybe your husband is from here?

They simply did not want to accept that an outsider could deliver an authentic setting without having been a former taxpayer. More to the point they implied that they felt a little duped, to which I said, “Isn’t it a good thing that I was so convincing?”

Apparently not.

But I disagree. A writer must always be hell bent on getting their facts straight. Determined to dig deep for emotional truth. Steadfast in exploring their character’s zigzag path. And mostly, honorable when determining their fate.

One miscalculation. One false note. One wrong assumption and a writer’s credibility can be lost forever.

I am focused on this slippery slope because I have just finished writing my first novel for a younger reader. HOTLINE TO HEAVEN is about a thirteen-year old girl who has been trying to communicate with her dead mother but it has been Operation: No Answer.

Recently I had a chance to share an excerpt with a high school English class and was nervous. Would they believe the story or groan because I was trying too hard to sound cool? My hope, of course, was that they would be rooting for my main character and invested in her outcome.

My newest readers: High School Students

Great news! They totally connected with the story and gave me the thumbs up, which at 8AM was a ringing endorsement. But the close encounter reminded me that I should prepare for the big question. How could I write about a teenager if I am old enough to be her grandmother?

The answer is that there is not a woman alive who does not remember the intense reckoning at thirteen. The moodiness and insecurities, the desire for acceptance, the fear of humiliation, the need to fit in, the extreme effort to look good and mostly the joy of being liked.

In other words, I can still immerse myself in the head and heart of a young girl  because she never left.

This is why truth and integrity are the keys that touch a reader's heart, not familiarity with the best place to grab dinner. Although frankly I’m still a sucker for the grilled shrimp at Benihana.

Maybe I'll go back soon. For research purposes, of course.

Spring Fling & Freebie

          by Leslie Lehr

          Oh the splendors of spring! This is the perfect time to begin anew, and I defy anyone (including my husband) who insists that’s a cliché. Aren’t kittens and puppies born in the spring? Aren’t flowers blooming and berries ripening? My children were born in the spring, my new novel will be released in a few weeks, even my hair will grow back as breast cancer treatments get easier.  And look at that brilliant blue sky! Can you hear the birds singing outside my office window? I did not plan the timing of any of these events. That is what spring is all about: the promise of a fresh start.

            Springtime is also a splendid way to set up a story. Mother Nature provides so many details that a little sensory description goes a long way. And here is the fun part… Since we are so familiar with the warm, hopeful feelings of springtime, it can be wickedly effective to use them in contrast, or better yet, to play against them. That’s what happens in What A Mother Knows.

            The Prologue begins with a fatal car accident on a dismal autumn day, so

Chapter One contrasts this with the main character’s happy homecoming in April.

      Michelle inhaled deeply, intoxicated by the scent of orange blossoms infusing the spring air. She smiled at the sidewalk parade of baby strollers and couples holding hands as Drew drove slowly down their street. He braked for the children bicycling past, then pulled the car into the driveway. Their classic California ranch house rose up behind the picket fence like a mirage, glimmering in the last golden rays of the day.

            Michelle fumbled to unbuckle her seat belt as her husband circled behind the silver Volvo and opened her door. She climbed out slowly, stiff from the long drive home from the hospital. When he gallantly offered his arm, she felt like a queen being escorted back to her castle. Her hungry eyes savored every inch of the yard until she felt dizzy and had to squeeze them shut. She opened them quickly to be sure she wasn’t dreaming. No, she was awake. After all those grueling months learning to walk again, she yearned to dance barefoot in the lush grass. She was tempted to tear the petals off those crazy-big roses and toss them in the air like confetti. And she had never seen anything quite so wonderful as the name as the name Mason spelled out on the mailbox. She was home.

            And yet, soon Michelle discovers that all is not as it seems. Our expectations of spring give her – and the reader – a false sense of security. Disaster becomes all the more painful against this idyllic seasonal backdrop.  And it’s so much more interesting to read.

          Why not take advantage of all the splendors of springtime? 

Get a FREE personalized signed book plate with every pre-order of What A Mother Knows. 

Order from your favorite bookstore or via www.leslielehr.com, then email the Proof of Purchase or a copy of your receipt to sbpublicity@sourcebooks.com. Be sure to specify the name you’d like inscribed! And with Mother’s Day just around the corner, what could be an easier way to make someone feel special than a personalized copy of What A Mother Knows?

 

Leslie Lehr is prize-wining novelist, essayist and screenwriter. 

Her highly anticipated novel, What A Mother Knows, comes out May 7 from Sourcebooks. Visit www.leslielehr.com to schedule a Book Club Skype visit  and to read the rest of Chapter One.

Follow Leslie on Tw @leslielehr1 www.facebook.com/authorleslielehr

I Spent Spring Break With an Outline or How to Write an Outline in Five Easy Steps

by Cindy Jones

Outlines generally enjoy lowlife status among writers these days, but I love them and believe they are misunderstood.  As a person, I can't get past the coffee maker in the morning without an outline.  As a writer, I depend on outlines to focus my creative power and tell me where I am, where I'm going, and how I'll get there. I recently spent Spring Break with an outline.  Alone for 24 hours before family arrived, on a pressure-free beach staring at hours of profound silence that demanded nothing but breaks, I created an outline for my next novel.  And now, fresh off the experience, I will explain, in Five Easy Steps, how I did it: 

Step One:  Spend two years on a back burner gathering ideas, researching, interviewing, and taking notes. 

Take a break.  

Step Two: Identify story arcs.  Consider only major arcs (protagonist development, surface story, backstory, etc.).  If you’ve completed Step Two, you deserve a break. 

Snack on something not good for you.

Step Three:  Divide a lined page into columns, one for each story arc, (three in my case), and list in bullet format, the events that take place in each story from the beginning to the end.  Identify beginning, rising action, climax, and resolution of each arc. Sometimes it helps to make a  diagram, inserting events on the line. Finishing this step will make you feel as though you have accomplished something. 

Take a break. Check Facebook and make sure wine is chilling. 

Step Four:  Story arcs need a reason to be joined in the same novel, so each arc needs to inform or be informed by the other story arcs.  As I read my notes from an interview conducted two years ago, (See Step One) I discovered that a point made in my surface story arc could speak to both of my other arcs. This discovery relieved anxiety regarding the viability of continued work on this project, and allowed me the luxury of...taking a break.

If you ever deserved a glass of wine, it would be now.

Step Five: I actually completed Steps 2-5 in one day, because I substituted chocolate and instant messaging for wine in the previous 

break. Number a fresh sheet of paper from 1 to 20 or however many chapters you anticipate. Now you are ready to arrange the events from Step Three into chapters.  Like braiding, take a strand from each story arc and, considering the connections articulated in Step Four, blend the multiple story arc events to create chapters for one narrative.   

Wine break.  (You'll need it for Step Six).

Step Six:  Wait a minute.  Wondering what Step Six is doing in a list advertised for Five Easy Steps?  Step Six is not easy. It makes Steps 1-5 look like a walk on the beach on a gorgeous spring day.  This is where things get messy and the prissy rules and fresh paper pack their sand toys and go home.  Turn your outline inside out.  Find a more original way to start your story.  Reimagine the scenes to relieve the predictable stodginess of outliney Freytagian rules while retaining benefits of the same.   

Break something.

Step 7: Stop already with the steps? If you are like me, you have revised the outlines for every story arc more times than you can count.  You've written between the lines and around the edges on all those neatnik pages you created in Steps One through Five and you've raided another ream of paper and several notebooks in the process.  An outline is only good for as long as it takes to get a better idea.  Like the navigating tool that recalculates directions every time you deviate from the path, rework that outline and use its focusing engine to push imagination, blazing new neural pathways, turning your story inside out, again and again, until creative results are maximized generations beyond your previous limits.    

Spring Break is over and I’m exhausted. 

Cindy Jones is the author of My Jane Austen Summer, the story of a young woman who thinks she may have realized her dream of living in a novel when she is invited to participate in a Jane Austen Literary Festival.  Her problems follow her to England where she must change her ways or face the fate of so many of Jane Austen’s secondary characters, destined to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

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Cooking the (Scrap)Books

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:

Do you make scrapbooks? I make half-scrapbooks. That is to say--I save stuff, and put it in a box, thinking SOMEDAY I'll make a scrapbook. Maybe. Kind of. Well, probably not, truth be told, but I have a big box of stuff.

And it's fascinating to think what could be learned by pawing through that box, right? Not only what's in there, but why. Why we save the stuff that we do--why we think it has import.  Why it changed our life. Why it matters.

My cookbooks are kind  of like scrapbooks, too. You can take my favorite ones, prop the spine on a table, and they'll open to a favorite recipe. And most likely, the page is water-spotted (or worse), or crinkled, and probably has some reminders I've written in: needs more salt. Needs less salt. Too much thyme! Or the like.

But I did not have the brilliant idea to put all that togther in to a book-book. Not a scrapbook, but a mystery about scrapbooks. That was the genius idea of cookbook author Mollie Cox Bryan, and why I invited her over to visit today.

She's new to the mystery world--her first novel SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS is now a nominee for the Agatha Award for Best First Novel! But she started out--writing cookbooks. 

HANK: You’re a cookbook author! How does that compare to writing fiction? Was it strange to make stuff up? Or is writing cookbooks fiction? (!)

MOLLIE COX BRYAN:  I've always been a storyteller and my cookbooks are narrative, especially the first cookbook, which was about the life of the incredible Mrs. Rowe (Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant Cookbook: A Lifetime of Recipes from the Shenandoah Valley, Ten Speed Press, 2006). As much as I could, I used creative nonfiction techniques in telling that story. It reads like a novel. That said, there are a lot of differences, of course. I was able to be creative in the storytelling in the cookbook, but not with the facts. I spent a lot of time researching, interviewing, going over recipes, checking and re-checking the facts and sources. I also do that for some of my mystery writing. But the story comes from within me. I found that to be an incredibly freeing experience. One of the reasons I love the mystery genre so much is that blending of research and facts with story and character building.

HANK: Scrapbooking is kind of like cookbooks—I mean, if we looked into a person’s cookbook, we’d find the pages they love the most, the ones here they’ve made annotations, the pages that are splatted with gravy or sauce. Right? So you’re really exploring people’s minds and what they care about…

MOLLIE: Absolutely. As part of my cookbook research, for example, I dove into Mrs. Rowe's handwritten notebooks and recipe files, clippings, and so on. It was fascinating to see the notes she made along the side of the recipes or and the bottom. If she had been a scrapbooker, it would have made my life a little easier at the time. But she told her story with her food. It was my job to organize it.

And my love of scrapbooking really helped me when it came to writing the cookbook, which is not what I had in mind at all when I started writing about Mrs. Rowe. I wrote a 250-page biography that we couldn't sell. Ten Speed Press came back and asked if I could make it into a cookbook and I said certainly--you always say yes, right? Well, let's just say I had quite the learning curve. At one point my editor said, "Think of this book as a scrapbook. Pick out the best stories for the narrative. But also use the photos, recipe head notes, and sidebars as part of the story." That was my "light-bulb" moment.

In SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS, my characters make scrapbooks for children belonging to a woman who has mysteriously died. They piece together more than photos and pretty paper. They piece together a life full of depth, complexity, and secrets.


In my third book, due to be out next year, DEATH OF AN IRISH DIVA, one of my characters discovers an old scrapbook that relates to an event happening around her. The past leaves footprints everywhere, and scrapbooking can be a bridge between the past and the present.

Scrapbooking has a puzzle-like quality to it that makes it perfect for mysteries.

HANK: Pushing the analogy—writing a mystery means you have to use a recipe, in a way. Know what I mean? ANd how did you learn how to do it?



Mollie's newest book! Available now!



MOLLIE: Yes, I know what you mean. When I first started writing SCRAPBOOK Of SECRETS, I had no idea where I was going with it. I had characters. I had a story that I'd been thinking about for a long time. I wasn't sure I was getting anywhere with it. I talked with my agent about it and she said it sounded like a mystery novel to her. Something clicked. It gave me the structure I needed. I knew that along with my characters, I needed certain "recipe ingredients," like clues, red herrings, and a resolution to the mystery. I've always read mysteries, though mostly I'm a non-fiction reader. I went back and re-read some mysteries I liked and analyzed them. I also read books and articles about writing mysteries, sort of teaching myself along the way. Also, I feel like this is important to say--I really do feel like I'm still learning. I soak up all advice I can find then use what works best for me.

Besides all of this, scrapbooking is visual storytelling. What a great companion to novel writing.

HANK: Sigh. Mollie, can you come over to my house? I have this very interesting box of stuff... How about you, Girlfriends?Do you scrapbook? Did any of your family? Leave your comment here, and you will be entered to win a copy of SCRAPPED!

*********************************************

Mollie Cox Bryan is a food writer and cookbook author with a penchant for murder. Her stories have many forms: cookbooks, articles, essays, poetry and fiction. Mollie grew up near Pittsburgh, Pa., and attended Point Park University, where she received a B.A. in Journalism and Communications. Her first real job out of college was as a paste-up artist at a small newspaper, where she was allowed to write “on her own time” and she did.

Mollie moved to the Washington, D.C. area, where she held a number of writing jobs, and has written about a diverse array of subjects, such as construction, mathematics education, and life insurance. While working in the editorial field, Mollie began taking poetry classes at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Md. Soon, she was leading local poetry workshops and was selected to participate in the prestigious Jenny McKean Moore Poetry Workshop. Mollie still writes poetry— not as frequently— and believes that her study of poetry informs all of her writing.

The first in her series, Scrapbook of Secrets, was published by Kensington in February 2012 and is nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel; the next one Scrapped, was just published in January 2013.

 Plans for the series include three more novels and two novellas. She is also the author of Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant Cookbook: A Lifetime of Recipes from the Shenandoah Valley, Ten Speed Press, 2006) and Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies, (Ten Speed, 2009) which was named "A Cookbook to Watch" by the New York Times. She lives in Waynesboro, Va. with her husband and two daughters.

Website/blog: Http://www.molliecoxbryan.com

And come find HANK on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hank-Phillippi-Ryan-Author-Page/250706175034817?ref=hl#!/pages/Hank-Phillippi-Ryan-Author-Page/250706175034817

How To Write A Novel In Ten Minutes A Day

by Samantha Wilde

In New England, if you don't pay attention, you miss spring altogether. Winter lingers, wind keeps blowing, one day the snow melts and then the next day it's ninety degrees and you're sunbathing in a bikini on your front lawn. The time I have in my day to write is exactly like that. If I don't pay serious attention, I've lost if before I can fix myself a cup of tea.

Now I won't say that I don't occasionally envy full-time writers the leisure they enjoy, the luxury of writing an entire sentence without interruption, but the absence of writing time has a few upsides and I want to share them with you. If you are having trouble finding time to write, if you want to write but can't quit your day job, if you want to write but stay-at-home with your children, if you have put off writing until the time in your life when you can do it, I am here to say: if you have ten minutes, you too can write a novel!

LOOK! I wrote a book!

When I wrote my first novel, This Little Mommy Stayed Home, I did actually write the entire thing during my nine month old son's nap times. One hour in the morning, one hour in the afternoon. If you don't believe me, you can ask my son. I don't doubt he really remembers it! Seriously, you can ask my husband. During that time, he worked fourteen hour days except when he worked for sixteen hours so I never actually saw him when the sun shone. All right, you'll have to take my word for it! For my second novel, I'll Take What She Has, I did have a few hours of childcare a week, until my advance money ran out, and then I went back to the nap time routine. More recently, virtually every last word of my third novel got onto the paper after my children went to sleep, after 8:30 p.m. until I fell asleep.

My husband and I watched this movie, Get Bruce, the other night about the behind the scenes writer, Bruce Vilanch, who works with  many of the biggest comedians. At one point toward the end of the film, he makes an astute observation about himself and the hugely famous people he works for (I'm paraphrasing here): to be really big, you have to want it and nothing else.

Here's the truth about writing. No one can make you do it. My six year old will testify to that. If you have ten hours a day to write a novel, you can spend five of it on Facebook and the other five on Tweeter. You have to really, really want to write to make it happen.

You know what else I learned from the Get Bruce film? Comedians work terrifically hard. In a way, this surprised me because I thought, since it looks so effortless, that these were simply funny people who stood up and talked. To the contrary. The same goes for writers. We imagine that a writer magically writes like a robin sings. Not so, my friends. Except for those people who channel enlightened beings, no book has ever really just written itself.

And now you probably want some kind of practical tips.

1. First, let go of the myths that writing needs lots of time and comes easily. You can write in the time you have. Really. You need to believe this. If you don't, say it to yourself. A lot.

2. Get single-minded. If you have only thirty minutes a day, you can't allow yourself to get distracted by the dust bunnies, the inbox, or your insecurities. You must really want to write, then take the time you have, however paltry, and do it like you're dying.

3. Get good at quilting. Not real quilting, writing quilting. In other words, write a patch. Use your ten minutes to write one patch. Later, use another few minutes to write a patch. The next time you have ten minutes, stitch the patches together.

4. Write mentally. When you can't write, work the story/plot/character issues out in your head. Showering is good for this, or driving, walking, or waiting in line, but probably not when you're talking to your spouse.

5. Let the other stuff go. You have to be willing, for the sake of doing one thing, to let go of some of the other stuff. For me, my house is not so tidy most days. I can't tell you I love the heaping pile of clothes at the end of my bed, but I'm willing to neglect it in order to write.

Your turn. Tell me how you've written your book on the back of a grocery receipt or during a PBS fundraiser or in one all-nighter.

Samantha Wilde's latest novel, I'll Take What She Has, was an RT Reviews Top Pick, "With her easy, amusing, narrative style, Wilde speaks the language of women and communicates what lies in their hearts...a gem of a read." Publishers Weekly wrote, "With wit, compassion, and a keen ear for dialogue Wilde explores issues of insecurity, envy, young motherhood, and friendship in this fast-paced work." Her mother, bestselling novelist Nancy Thayer says, "It's almost as good as mine!" The mother of three small children, she's also a yoga teacher and an ordained minister. Like her on Facebook because it makes her feel good. Check out her blog on mothering or find out more about her on her website.