02/04/2009

By Amanda Linsmeier

Lullaby (Tyndale House Publishers, 2002) is a novella by Jane Orcutt. I had no idea when I picked it up that it was a Christian book. Not long into the first chapter I figured it out. This novella is liberally sprinkled with bible verses and remarks about God, faith and Christianity. Merilee, is a 15-year old pregnant girl from Texas. Her father abandoned her when she was little, she was raped and then abandoned by the father of her baby, whom she now heard might be dead and to top it all off her mother committed suicide just a month ago. Wanting to get away from the gossip and unkindness in her small town, Merilee decides to put the baby up for adoption and travel to Austin to meet the prospective adoptive parents. There she lives in a Christian adoption agency setting with other pregnant girls. Merilee chooses Steven and Nora Ray as the future parents of her baby. Having dealt with infertility for several years, this older, wealthy couple couldn’t be happier for Merlilee’s gift but as Nora grows to care for this young girl as a person, not just as the carrier of her soon-to-be-baby, she realizes she cannot turn her back on Meriliee. Lullaby is a sometimes interesting novella with I suppose, good Christian morals.

Here’s the thing: without spoiling it, I must say this book should come with a disclaimer: Do Not Read If You Are Pregnant. That being said, it was an alright book but I would not read it again. As a novella, it was obviously extremely short and I think somewhat unbelievable as well. I also didn’t care for the sometimes heavy religious content throughout. No matter what faith someone is, Christian included, I would think having to read about it over and over would just be annoying. Also, I know the author might not have been trying to do this, but I felt that one message was that mostly uneducated, poor teenage girls get knocked up and have to put their babies up for adoption, and only after being raped first. All in all, I didn’t much care for Merilee. I thought Steven was the best character, but after really thinking about it, I’d have to say I liked the family dog Lucky the most. Lullaby is probably a great book for a non-pregnant woman with strong religious values. It would probably appeal to people who have been part of the adoption process as well. As for me, I’m looking forward to returning this to the library and starting my next novel.

By Carlotta G. Holton

In 1692, nineteen men and women were murdered as witches in Salem, Massachusetts. The underlying root of this atrocity lay within the mob psychology of the village. Living in an isolated community, led by rigid patriarchal figures, family turned on family to save their own skins.

The familiar tragedy is told this time through the eyes of ten-year-old Sarah Carrier. Partly because I have researched and read some of the transcripts and written on this subject and because Kent is an ancestor of Martha Carrier, one of those hanged, I hoped to really connect to this first novel. It gets off to a promising start as the child is sent to her aunt and uncle’s when one of her brother’s contracts smallpox. The author advances an interesting connection between smallpox and witchcraft. Reverend Nason speculates that “disease follows a decline in virtue and brings a rise in witchcraft.”

To save the Carrier children they are move in with the aunt and uncle where Sarah is treated well and befriended by her cousin, Margaret. She is quick to make comparisons to her own family and soon finds herself wishing to stay.

At the heart of The Heretic’s Daughter is the mother-daughter relationship. We learn that her mother, Martha, had a “cast iron manner” and her “face was as smooth and cold as a gravestone.” Martha, like many of the flat characters in the book is an unsympathetic victim. I expected more emotions through the eyes of a child whose hellish experiences surely should have elicited more emotional reaction. With time, Sarah learns of her mother’s form of love and the true nature of those she had loved. Using a poisoned mushroom as an example, her mother alerts her to the realities of life. “The signs are varied and subtle. You must look carefully, not just at the top of the thing but at its underside, where the poison often gathers… People too are not often what they seem, even those whom you love.”

Though the language is lyrical, at times it seems almost affected and unnecessarily forced and flowery. Nor does the language do anything to advance the expected tension, fear and frenzy of the psychology that motivated the witch naming. We are told about spectral evidence but never get to witness the imagery of covens in the woods. We hear about wild dreams and spells but have no descriptions. We are told about the horrors but not sufficiently shown them. When Allen comes to claim the family’s property the scene lacks sufficient tension.

Perhaps one of the most disappointing relationships is that between Martha and husband, Thomas. Though he is dutiful in bringing her meager bits of food to her jail cell, he shows no outward emotion regarding her dire situation. He does not try to talk her out of her stubborn refusal to admit being a witch in order to save her children.

Kent propels us through the book relying on the commonly held belief that the psychological concept of scapegoat was an inherent part in the naming of the witches. Fear breeds fear which has been repeatedly explored in other works about the witchcraft epidemic. The author baits readers with the right questions: Who can trust whom? Does a cold mother who guards a family secret deserve to die? Can a daughter who has for the most part distrusted and been angry with her mother let her do so? Yet this reader did not care about the characters to struggle with these moral dilemmas.

The hangings at Salem are a blemish on early America. The Heretic’s Daughter is a mediocre rehashing of this tragic psychological phenomenon. It was a disappointing read; a tepid brew not worth the trouble.

Okay seniors (and others). We’ve written about research, writing what you know, learning from others, writers clubs, a comfortable work area, spending a lot of time at your computer and a bunch of other things that are very important in writing. The two worst things I think you could do is not spend enough time writing and not having the most important tool – a computer. In short that means purchasing a computer and printer. A search will net you a very good and reasonably priced outfit. For some, buying it won’t be easy, but if you are intent on writing, it should be your main requisite.

I’ve been typing for fifty years --- professional sports publicity and promotion, college, newspaper reporting and feature writing, public relations and writing stories, and I easily recall how erasing or whiting out errors or wrong phrases was such a pain. A computer eliminates those problems. It makes writing fun instead of work. A backspace with a processor and your problem is solved, and more importantly, much time is saved.

Now – back to writing. A goal: Like a sprinter, get off the block fast. While you are sprinting toward the tape, give serious thought to the following, some of which is pointed out in The Writer’s Digest Handbook of Novel Writing.

Point of View: Be clear from the story’s beginning so readers won’t have to guess whose perception they are seeing through (1st person, 2nd person, etc.)

Conflict: Action proceeds from characters in conflict and pulls readers into your story. (The faster, the better.) By clearly posing conflict for the reader, you may surprise yourself by reaching for more active phrases and situations that create immediacy (something that is happening).

Exposition (setting forth the meaning and purpose of the writing) and background: Avoid, long, mundane descriptions of characters and places. That often time becomes boring, unbelievable, and intrudes on illusions. A single sentence, if well imagined and worded can do far more immediately than long drawn out passages. In other words, keep sentences short and active and well written. Go over sentences or passages a dozen times. Cut out unnecessary words. That is so important.

Activate all the readers’ senses – smells, sounds, feelings and tastes.

There is more, but right now think about these and try to follow them as you write. Ask yourself questions like: Is this too mundane? Is this passage believable? Well cover more in my next column. A good idea: Start a reference file.

Questions/Comments? Contact Jim at james@jamesfalk.net, or visit www.jamesfalk.net.

James Falk, as a teen-ager, used to dream of being a big-time racketeer. Fortunately, his dream didn't come true. A 10th grade dropout, he finished highschool after four years in the Marines and went on to earn a B.A. in Journalism and an M.A. in Communications.

Elizabeth Robards (a pseudonym Nancy Robards Thompson uses) writes contemporary and historical women’s fiction.

Q: You have a degree in journalism, but were bored with it. How have you been able to incorporate the skills of a reporter into writing fiction?

A: The research skills I learned in college have come in handy while researching my novels. But beyond that and the basics of sound sentence structure and good grammar, fiction and journalistic writing are two completely different animals. In fact, once a newspaper editor told he didn’t want me to be creative. He simply wanted me to report the facts. I had to bite my tongue to keep from uttering, “Just kill me now.” That’s when I knew it was time to make a change.

Q: With Violets is about a love triangle involving Berthe Morisot, the impressionist painter who was a friend and lover of Édouard Manet. How was a visit to Paris the inspiration for this storyline?

A: I’ve always been infatuated with the French Impressionists. So when my husband, Michael, and I went to Paris, we planned a daytrip to Giverny, Claude Monet's home and famous gardens. Before we boarded a train at the Gare Saint-Lazare to make our way to Giverny, we stopped at the Musée Marmottan to see Monet's famous Impression, Sunrise (Impression: Soleil Levant), the painting that launched the French Impressionist movement.

It was there that I first met painter Berthe Morisot. Not literally, of course, because she died in 1895. However, I did see her work and a photograph of her with her family. Something about the photo haunted me and urged me to research her life. In doing so, I discovered the tale of a deeply complex, richly talented woman who bucked nineteenth century convention to become one of the world's greatest artists and the heroine of With Violets.

Q: What did you learn about crafting characters from the pages of history and taking them on a fictional journey?

A: As I researched and wrote With Violets, I realized that writing about real people (as opposed to crafting a fictional character) added an extra layer of responsibility to the process. I took care to be true to Berthe and Édouard (and the others) by portraying them as accurately as possible. After I sold the book, I went back to France to walk in Berthe’s footsteps. I visited her neighborhood, went to several of the locations she painted, sat in the church where she was married, and finally went to the cemetery where she and Édouard are buried.

The book is written in first person – Berthe’s point of view. So, reading her journals helped me get a sense of her voice and the strength of her character. I went to great lengths to portray her as accurately as possible.

Q: What was it like participating in the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance tradeshow in Alabama? How important is this kind of participation to a writer? Describe the "Moveable Feast" of authors.

A: The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance tradeshow was a phenomenal experience! My publisher, HarperCollins, sent me so that I could participate in the "Moveable Feast" luncheon. It’s an event where about thirty or so authors move from table to table (on a timed basis) telling the booksellers about their books. It presented a unique opportunity to meet and talk to about a hundred people who love books as much as I do. I think events like this are very important because it gives the bookseller and author a chance to meet and make a connection. That means that not only will the bookseller be more likely to stock your book, but also to hand-sell it.

Carlotta Holton is the author of Salem Pact and Touching The Dead, and is a member of the National Federation of Press Women and an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association.

Carlotta Holton has just received her second award for Touching the Dead from the National Federation of Press Women Communications Contest. Click here to purchase the book.

Staggering numbers released by the U.S. Education Department last month show that approximately 32 million U.S. adults cannot read a newspaper or the instructions on a bottle of pills. David C. Harvey, president and CEO of ProLiteracy, says in response to the study, “The crisis of adult literacy is getting worse, and investment in education and support programs is critical.” ProLiteracy also estimates that 774 million people worldwide are illiterate, and that two thirds of the world’s illiterate are women.

Thanks to HarperStudio for posting this!
http://www.26thstory.com/blog/2009/01/how-publishing-really-works.html

Wuthering Heights
Written by Emily Bronte

Psychologists in the U.K. have concluded that Victorian novels have evolved us into better people. According to the team of evolutionary scientists, classic Victorian novels not only reflect the values of the society but help shape them. The researchers also believe that novels such as Dracula, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights and Middlemarch have the same effect on society as oral cautionary tales do.

The Morgan Library & Museum in New York has invited technicians and scholars to create a digital facsimile of one of its Gutenberg Bibles, according to The New York Times. All 1,026 pages of the Bible will be available on the library’s website. The Gutenberg Bibles, printed in Germany around 1455, is considered to be the first significant printed book in the West.

New York Book packager Alloy Entertainment is launching Alloy Entertainment Collaborative, with plans to launch 12 partial or complete manuscripts in women’s fiction, young adult and middle grade books category. Alloy has made a name for itself by optioning its books into TV and movie properties, including the hit TV series “Gossip Girl,” and the movie “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.”