I have been editing my second novel Quicksand. Here is a mockup of the cover, which may or may not be the final cover. I am interested in feedback.
The image used on the cover is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license by anyjazz65 on Flickr.
The first chapter of the novel can be found after the break.
Continue reading “Quicksand, Chapter One”
[amazon_image id=”B0058M62OS” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” class=”alignleft”]The Winter Sea[/amazon_image]Susanna Kearsley’s novel [amazon_link id=”B0058M62OS” target=”_blank” ]The Winter Sea[/amazon_link] is the story of writer Carolyn McClelland, who relocates to Cruden Bay in Scotland in order to get the feel of the location for the novel she is currently writing about the 1708 Jacobite uprising—one of the lesser known skirmishes of the Jacobite Rebellion. Carrie takes a cottage in the village near Slains Castle and becomes friendly with a local family, Jimmy Keith and his two sons Stuart and Graham. After her agent suggests she try telling her story from the point of view of a female character, since Carrie can’t seem to find a male character’s voice, Carrie decides on a whim to write one of her ancestors, Sophia Paterson McClelland, into the story. Suddenly she is writing faster than she’s ever written before, and when she discovers that many of the things she’s writing actually happened, even though she hadn’t consulted history books before she wrote, she begins to wonder if she is remembering her ancestor’s life. Meanwhile, both Keith brothers begin to show an interest in more than Carrie’s writing, but Carrie finds herself drawn to the one with eyes like the winter sea and begins modeling her hero, John Moray, after Graham, a history lecturer at the university in Aberdeen.
One of the reasons I liked this book was the genealogy thread that ran through it. Genealogy happens to be one of my own interests, and I can always sympathize with characters who find it interesting, too. Carrie’s discoveries about the lives of her ancestors fascinate her father, who is able to trace the family tree back one more generation due to Carrie’s insights as she writes. I expected to find myself more interested in Carrie’s novel, the part of the book that takes place in the past, because I have an absolute fascination for Scottish history. However, I found myself more drawn to the characters in the present—Jimmy, Graham, Stuart, Carrie’s agent Jane, and even Carrie herself. This book covers a topic that I myself have wondered about: is it even possible that memories can be passed down genetically? It seems far-fetched, but it works well in this novel. It’s a fun idea, anyway, and a nice alternative to some of the other paranormal tropes that have gained traction in recent years.
Kearsley is able to capture the past vividly in the sections of Carrie’s novel intertwined with the present-day story. She has included a historical note, and explained her painstaking attention to historical events as much as possible. I was surprised to discover that few of her characters were invented. It can sometimes be hard to make real historical people do what you want them to do when you’re writing about them, which is why, I think, that some writers of historical fiction prefer to use fictional characters.
The ending of the novel satisfies both the requirements of history and the requirements of historical romance. It’s a solid novel, and I would recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in Scotland or genealogy.
Rating:
Two other reviews I found:
Although I’ve finished the Historical Fiction Challenge, this book (or the half of it that Carrie writes) counts. For the Take a Chance Challenge, it counts for the Challenge 6: Book Seer Pick, because Book Seer directed me to it after I read [amazon_link id=”055338483X” target=”_blank” ]Garden Spells[/amazon_link] by Sarah Addison Allen. Scottish castles on the coast during winter? So Gothic.
I have several writing updates to share. First, you can buy my novel A Question of Honor in the iBookstore, now. This is great news. I had hesitated trying to submit it because I had heard, apparently erroneously, that you had to have an ISBN in order to submit your book to the iBookstore. I don’t have an ISBN because you have to buy them in blocks of 10, and a block of 10 costs over $200, which I just couldn’t afford when I threw the book together (and still can’t, really).
Second, I have downloaded a trial of Scrivener, and I have absolutely fallen in love with the software. It was created with writers in mind. It’s not really a program for producing quick documents, like MS Word. I wouldn’t use it to make flyers or handouts or to write letters. But I won’t ever use another program to write novels ever again. It’s very easy to use, for one thing. And for another, it makes the arduous job of creating a final publishable document, whether it’s a paper book or e-book, extremely easy. It also creates both ePub and Kindle Mobi documents. The e-books have a working HTML table of contents and chapter markers, which I love. If you write, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, I can’t recommend it highly enough. If you are thinking of doing NaNoWriMo or writing a book, do yourself a favor and at least try this program first.
Scrivener enabled me to figure out how to format A Question of Honor properly for the Kindle. Amazon says that PDF files are OK for creating Kindle books, but it didn’t work as well for me. The formatting was haywire. I feel really bad if you bought my book on Kindle and got that crazy layout, which I just learned how to fix and can only now correct. Does anyone know if Amazon lets you download books you’ve already purchased again for no additional fee? Once Amazon finishes processing the new file, I’ll update here and on Twitter. Don’t buy it right now, or you’ll be getting the old PDF file (I think—if you can even buy it at all).
Finally, I have been editing a second novel, Quicksand. I wrote it during NaNoWriMo in 2009. I have put aside a third project (currently untitled) based on the Irish legend of Deirdre of the Sorrows. I will be sharing an excerpt of Quicksand tomorrow. It takes place in the Kentucky coal fields of Breathitt County, where my ancestors lived, during the 1930’s. It’s heroine, Imogen, is the daughter of an alcoholic coal miner with a penchant for Shakespeare (hence her name) and a the shrewish woman who is the descendant of one of the worst feuders in Breathitt County history. Imogen discovers the body of her stepfather Frank, and she sets out to discover what happened. It’s a little bit of a retelling of Hamlet. Anyway, look for an excerpt tomorrow.
photo credit: Markus Rödder
I found a few interesting books this week. First, in searching out more information about [amazon_link id=”0312558171″ target=”_blank” ]The Ballad of Tom Dooley[/amazon_link] by Sharyn McCrumb, I discovered she has written a whole series of novels based on Appalachian murder ballads (I know, slow me). Anyway, I added her novels [amazon_link id=”0451202503″ target=”_blank” ]The Songcatcher[/amazon_link] and [amazon_link id=”0451197399″ target=”_blank” ]The Ballad of Frankie Silver[/amazon_link] to my TBR list.
I read about [amazon_link id=”1401323901″ target=”_blank” ]Witches of East End[/amazon_link] by Melissa de la Cruz in a Washington Post review by Brunonia Barry. It’s the first in a series, and it looks interesting. Plus I love witches.
Stephanie at Reviews by Lola recently reviewed [amazon_link id=”1590514440″ target=”_blank”]The Reservoir[/amazon_link]. It crossed my radar before, and I can’t recall where, but it looks good, and Stephanie’s review prompted me to add it to my list.
This morning my Any New Books email mentioned Richard Miles’s history [amazon_link id=”0670022667″ target=”_blank” ]Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization[/amazon_link]. I immediately remembered my college Latin exercise in Wheelock in which I translated Cato’s famous “Carthago delenda est.” I had mistranslated it as “Carthage must go.” Latin scholars: is that a more literal translation? Or just flat out wrong?
I remember my professor helping us with that one because, no joke, it was clear that many classmates had the most trouble with what on earth “Carthago” meant because it wasn’t in our glossary or word bank. I had at least figured that part out. I wasn’t shocked by my classmates’ lack of knowledge or anything because I didn’t and still don’t know much about Carthage either beyond two things: 1) Dido was a queen in love with Aeneas, or so the stories say (I plead ignorance on the history), and 2) their great general Hannibal rode over the Alps on elephants, which is totally badass. Now, I can’t tell you why I remember it because I even misremembered “Carthago delenda est” as a quote by Cicero. Thank goodness for Google so I don’t look like too much of an idiot. After recalling this whole event from college, my interest was piqued. So naturally, this book looks like a great opportunity to learn, and it’s available on Kindle, which is a requirement for all history books I read now so that I can highlight and take notes without feeling like I’m defiling a book.
Has anyone read it? I am so scared it will be dry, which is why I tentatively put it on my pile until I can gather more evidence that I will enjoy it while I’m learning something from it. Plus, it is really expensive on Kindle, so I want to be sure it’s good.
[amazon_image id=”0451202503″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The Songcatcher[/amazon_image] [amazon_image id=”0451197399″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The Ballad of Frankie Silver[/amazon_image] [amazon_image id=”1401323901″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Witches of East End (The Beauchamp Family)[/amazon_image]
[amazon_image id=”1590514440″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium”]The Reservoir[/amazon_image] [amazon_image id=”0670022667″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization[/amazon_image]
This week’s Booking Through Thursday asks a question that will amuse just about anyone who knows me: “What’s the latest you’ve ever stayed up reading a book? Is staying up late reading a usual thing for you?”
My answer? How late have you got? I have stayed up ALL NIGHT, BABY! On many occasions, as a matter of fact. I am actually scheduling this post to publish at about 8:00 A.M. to disguise how late I stayed up reading last night, as a matter of fact. I don’t make a practice of staying up so late during the school year, but my husband made a crack on Google+ the other day to the effect that summer is the time of year when he discovers he’s married to a vampire. I have always been more of a night owl than a morning person, and when I have any sort of lengthy holiday from work—even one week will do it—my body clock naturally rotates around to the same time that creatures of the night keep. I always thought when I read Anne Rice’s vampire books that I would have made an outstanding vampire. Even during the school year when I must report to work by around 7:30 A.M., I feel off—sluggish, sleepy, and generally not with it—until afternoon. I love the evenings and early night the best. I do start getting tired on the other side of about 2:00 A.M., even during the summer, and I am no longer at any sort of creative peak. During the school year, I usually have to conk by 10:00 or 11:00 P.M. or I will never make it through the next day.
I am so going to laugh if some participants post that they have stayed up all the way until 10:00 once! All kidding aside, this is a morning person’s world in many ways, and sometimes it really stinks to have a body clock that is out of sync with what almost everyone else has decided is wakey time.
Image by Simeon
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
I am currently reading Susanna Kearsley’s [amazon_link id=”1402241372″ target=”_blank” ]The Winter Sea[/amazon_link]. I am close to half way finished with it. Incidentally, there is a really good deal on the [amazon_link id=”B004DCB32K” target=”_blank” ]Kindle version[/amazon_link] of this book right now. I was glad I happened upon that sale price because I had wanted to read this book for a while, but I wasn’t sure when I’d be able to get it at its full price (either on Kindle or paperback).
I recently finished reading [amazon_link id=”B000BLNPIW” target=”_blank” ]More Than You Know[/amazon_link] by Beth Gutcheon, which was OK, but did not light my fire (review).
I am not sure what I am going to read next. Last week, I said it would be Tracy Chevalier’s [amazon_link id=”0452289076″ target=”_blank” ]Burning Bright[/amazon_link], but that was before the Kindle book deal I snagged on The Winter Sea. I may still go ahead and read it next, or I may read [amazon_link id=”0312304358″ target=”_blank” ]Moloka’i[/amazon_link] by Alan Brennert, [amazon_link id=”0152053107″ target=”_blank” ]A Northern Light[/amazon_link] by Jennifer Donnelly, [amazon_link id=”0060791586″ target=”_blank” ]The Widow’s War[/amazon_link] by Sally Gunning, or [amazon_link id=”0679781587″ target=”_blank” ]Memoirs of a Geisha[/amazon_link] by Arther Golden, all of which I received in the mail this week via PaperBackSwap. Lots of good books to choose from! But do you know what book I’m dying to read? [amazon_link id=”0312558171″ target=”_blank” ]The Ballad of Tom Dooley[/amazon_link] by Sharyn McCrumb. Alas, it doesn’t come out until around the end of August. She had such a smart idea, creating novels out of those old Appalachian murder ballads. (I love murder ballads, by the way. I made a murder ballad playlist on Spotify, which you can listen to if you have Spotify.)
I have been editing my second novel, Quicksand. I originally drafted it during NaNoWriMo 2009, and I set it aside for quite a long time before looking at it. On the one hand, this was helpful because it gave me quite a lot of distance, so I was able to review it with fresh eyes and perhaps more impartiality. Some observations I have about my writing:
I downloaded a Mac writing program called Scrivener on a trial basis to see if it helps me with some of the weaknesses I need to shore up. I haven’t tried the program yet, but what I really like is that the 30-day trial is a true 30-day trial: if I use it tomorrow and then don’t open it again for a week, those two days count as two days, not seven. That’s pretty awesome of them. Most software trials have a clock running whether you use it each day of the trial or not. I also like the education discount they offer.
On a completely related note, editing is so so so much harder than writing a first draft. I want to tear out my hair and cry when I think about how much work I need to do on this draft. Another related observation: reading as much as I have over the past couple of years is really helping me figure out what I need to do better as a writer. Models are the best teachers.
photo credit: Unhindered by Talent
I wasn’t scouting for books much this week, but I also have to say I didn’t see too many that caught my interest.
No cover available for it yet, but I just found out that Jude Morgan is writing a book about William Shakespeare called [amazon_link id=”0755358236″ target=”_blank” ]The Secret Life of William Shakespeare[/amazon_link]. I just loved his books about the [amazon_link id=”0312343698″ target=”_blank” ]Romantic poets[/amazon_link] and the [amazon_link id=”B004P5OPAW” target=”_blank” ]Brontës[/amazon_link]. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for the release of that one.
I was looking around for more books set in France, and I found [amazon_link id=”0767904559″ target=”_blank” ]On Rue Tatin: Living and Cooking in a French Town[/amazon_link] by Susan Herrmann Loomis. Loomis bought a 14th century convent in Normandy and set up shop. The book has 50 recipes!
I also discovered [amazon_link id=”0670018775″ target=”_blank” ]My French Life[/amazon_link] by Vicki Archer. Like Loomis, Archer bought an ancient home—a seventeenth century farmhouse in Provence. I’m not jealous. I’m not jealous. I’m NOT jealous.
Can you imagine being able to pick everything up and move to the French countryside? Ah well, at least we can read about others who can.
I’m still on the lookout for more books like this, preferably fiction. Know of any?
[amazon_image id=”0767904559″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]On Rue Tatin: Living and Cooking in a French Town[/amazon_image] [amazon_image id=”0670018775″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]My French Life[/amazon_image]
[amazon_image id=”B000BLNPIW” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” class=”alignleft”]More Than You Know: A Novel[/amazon_image]Beth Gutcheon’s novel [amazon_link id=”B000BLNPIW” target=”_blank” ]More Than You Know[/amazon_link] is the parallel story of Hannah Gray, reflecting on her first love in Dundee, Maine, and Claris Osgood Haskell. Hannah fell in love with wild boy Conary Crocker, but it’s clear something didn’t work out as she begins her narrative sadly reflecting on how she married Ralph, whom describes as “a good man and I loved him, but he wasn’t the great love of my life, and he knew it, thought we never spoke of it” (8). Hannah is reading over a diary she kept as a teenager during the time when she met and fell in love with Conary. As a teenager, Hannah developed an interest in the Haskell family on Beal Island. One day, Danial Haskell was murdered with an ax, and though his daughter Sallie was tried twice for the crime—one ended in mistrial and the other in acquittal—she was never found guilty, and no one was imprisoned for the crime, though some suspicion also fell on the Haskells’ boarder Mercy Chatto.
The Haskells’ story is told in third person, while Hannah herself narrates her own story. The two stories intertwine as both Conary and Hannah see a ghost associated with the Haskells both on the island and in the schoolhouse the Gray family is living in. The schoolhouse originally stood on Beal Island, but was moved over to the town of Dundee. The island is uninhabited when Hannah begins her story.
The Maine setting is beautifully evoked, and the Haskell ax murder was clearly influenced by the Lizzie Borden story—many of the elements of the two stories are similar. I found the characters hard to sympathize with, and I felt more like I was hearing gossip about a local family I barely knew than being let into the lives of people I cared about. I expected the two storylines to mesh more tightly by the end of the novel, but I never felt they did, and Hannah never resolved her curiosity about the murder (though the reader does learn what happened). The one connection I did make was to wonder if Gutcheon showed us the end of the “what-if” story. If Conary and Hannah had been able to marry, would they have been happy together? Or would they have ended up more or less like Claris and Danial Haskell? In the end, it felt incomplete, as though some connection I was supposed to make had been withheld from me as it had been from Hannah. It’s a pity because it started out strong, and I thought I would like it in the end, but I found it left me feeling kind of hollow. But other people clearly liked it, and if you’re thinking about reading it, please read their reviews.
Rating:
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?
I’m currently reading a book my mother passed on to me called [amazon_link id=”B000BLNPIW” target=”_blank” ]More Than You Know[/amazon_link] by Beth Gutcheon. It was published over a decade ago, and I think she found it at a library or paperback book sale. I’m over 1/3 the way in, and it’s really good so far: New England setting (love those), ghosts, and an ax murder that has a familiar Lizzie Borden taint. I hadn’t actually heard of this book or seen it mentioned on book blogs. Let’s bring it back! I’ll save more for my review.
This week, I finished reading [amazon_link id=”055338483X” target=”_blank” ]Garden Spells[/amazon_link] (review) and [amazon_link id=”0553384848″ target=”_blank” ]The Sugar Queen[/amazon_link] (review) by Sarah Addison Allen since my last WWW Wednesdays update. Both of them were very enjoyable, but I liked Garden Spells better. I will probably read the rest of Allen’s books. It’s fun to find a new author you like.
The next book I read will probably be [amazon_link id=”B001P3OLEM” target=”_blank” ]Burning Bright[/amazon_link] by Tracy Chevalier. She’s another author I enjoy, and this is one of only two books of hers that I haven’t read, the other being [amazon_link id=”B000234N76″ target=”_blank” ]Falling Angels[/amazon_link]. Also, how did I not know that Tracy Chevalier was on Twitter? Followed. If I don’t read Burning Bright next, I’m not sure what I’ll read, but I have a huge TBR pile, and I daresay if you are at all interested, you’ll find out what book I pick next soon enough. 😉
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