<>I love the title of Amy Wallen's new novel: "Moonlight and Moonpies." Here's what the novel's about:
Ruby Kincaid has her hands full these days. In addition to
running the bowling alley after the death of her husband, Rascal, she
has the daunting task of caring for her two boisterous grandchildren,
since her daughter Violet disappeared without a trace four years
earlier. It’s 1976 and Ruby and her nearest and dearest in
Devine, Texas are watching their favorite soap opera at the bowling
alley when they see Violet in a Buttermaid commercial. Expecting
it will only take a little motherly guilt to rein in her wayward
daughter, Ruby loads up the Winnebago and heads for Hollywood to try
and bring Violet back to the Lone Star State.
Along for the ride are Imogene, Violet’s over-bearing and pretentious
mother-in-law (who’s ready to assume the title of “celebrity-in-law”),
and Loralva, Ruby’s wild sister who is itching to visit Tinsel Town
because it’s where all the game shows are taped – and nothing’s going
to stop her from making it to her favorite, The Price Is Right.
Rounding out the group are Ruby’s grandchildren Bunny and Bubbie who
are confused, sad, and excited at the prospect of finding their
mother. They give Ruby the courage she needs to track Violet down
and try to make things right.
Here's our interview with Ms. Wallen:
1) What was your inspiration for your book?
My Texas grandmother. She used to say to me, “How come you live out in
California and you ain’t been on one of them game shows?” She was a
wily woman with many sides to her. She’d been married 4 times and the
last time to a good-looking hunk of a man who was 25 years younger than
she. But unfortunately, he died before her. At his funeral she wanted
to wear her red dress. We asked her why she wanted to wear a red dress
to a funeral and she replied, “Because Richard always said it showed
off my legs!” She was 90 years old at that time.
2) Are you working on anything now?
Yes, I have a contract with Hyperion for another book. It’s based in
Burbank at a senior artist’s colony. So far, I’m having a lot of fun
with it.
3) What is something about you that would surprise your readers?
I had to learn to bowl to write the book, I’ve never been on the Price
is Right, and I took my first piano lesson at the age of 40. I’m 44
now.
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| Posted by Michelle and Blossom at | | | |
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Every March, my friends and I make our yearly
pilgrimage to Las Vegas for the first weekend of the NCAA tournament.
Part of it is that we love basketball, but we also love the glamor, the
adrenaline-fueled ambience, and that feeling that anything - ANYTHING -
is possible. In Melissa Senate's new novel "Questions to ask before Marrying",
Ruby Miller heads to Vegas to find the father of her sister's unborn
child and learns the answers to all of life's little questions along
the way.
Here's our interview with Ms. Senate:
What was the inspiration for your book?
A: I was inspired by three things: The first was my love of the movie
Sideways. Oh, how I wanted to write a road trip book after seeing that
wonderful film. The idea of two very different people trapped
together in a car, being on the road, really gripped me. Enter my
estranged twin sisters, one a conservative school teacher from Maine,
newly engaged but with serious feelings for another man, and the other
a professional muse and face reader from NYC who is searching for the
father of her unborn baby (would help if she knew his first name).
These two hit the road with many questions and get to know each
other—and themselves—very well three-thousand miles later. The second
backstory is my divorce, which I went through while writing this book.
I wanted to go “back to the start” and explore what you know when he
slips that ring on your finger. The third was a New York Times article,
the most popular of 2006, a simple and practical list of questions
couples should ask before marrying or (wish they had). The article gave
me my title and honed the theme for me, which is that asking questions,
even questions without answers or answers you don’t like, is the most
important thing you can do.
Are you working on something right now?
A: I just signed on with a new publishing house, Simon and Schuster’s
Pocket Books, for my next two novels. The first is about an unmoored
New Yorker who discovers she has a half-sister she never knew existed
in a small town in Maine. Off she goes. At this very moment, I’m
finishing my second YA for Delacorte. It’s called: The Mosts and the
Most Nots, about a Most (most popular) who is recruited by a Most Not
to change her into someone who won’t make the Most Not list this year.
Both girls go through a major emotional transformation. I was neither a
most or most not in high school, but for some reason I love to write
about girls on either end of the spectrum who change each other’s
lives. This is pretty much the core of all my noves, YA or adult.
What is something about you that would surprise your readers?
A: That I used to dream about being a forensic scientist. In college, I
was obsessed with true-crime novels, especially those by Ann Rule, like
The Stranger Beside Me and Small Sacrifices. I don’t think anyone who
knows me can see me as FBI Agent Senate, but I secretly could!
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| Posted by Michelle and Blossom at | | | |
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So having just seen "Sex and the City", I can't help but feel a craving
for more tales of fabulous women living fabulous lives.
Fortunately, "Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club", Maggie Marr's tale of four high-powered women in Hollywood sounds like the perfect dish to sate that particular appetite.
Check out our interview with Ms. Marr:
1) What was the inspiration for your book?
Prior to becoming a full time writer, I was a motion picture agent
for ICM. I worked full time repping writers and directors. So
Hollywood is my home. I started hearing a character voice in my head
and late at night when I couldn’t sleep or on the weekends, I would
write down the story. My husband convinced me to give four chapters
to my friend and colleague (and now agent) at ICM. I gave her four
chapters without my name on them, guessing she’d pass and then I
could go on about my life repping my screenplay writers and directing
clients. But instead she loved it. I finished the manuscript and
when she took it out, there were two houses that wanted the book…so I
ended up going with Crown. And suddenly, I was a writer.
2) Are you working on something right now?
I am. I turned in a one hour television pilot. I also just
completed a new manuscript, a stand alone book that is women's
fiction. I really love this new book. It's my first manuscript set
outside the world of entertainment.
3) What is something about you that would surprise your readers?
Hmmm....Unlike my characters in Hollywood Girls Club and Secrets of
The Hollywood Girls Club I rarely can find the time for a mani-pedi.
I hope that once both the girls are in school, I can squeeze this
little bit of luxury into my life at least once a month. But right
now, with two children under the age of five and writing full time
some days I am lucky to grab a quick shower and get my hair up into a
pony tail.
Thanks again for touring me! Please let me know if you want a jpeg
of the book cover or a publicity photo of me.
Speak soon,
Maggie Marr
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| Posted by Michelle and Blossom at | | | |
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Reading all the stories about Hilary and Barack's secret meetings can't
help but add to the image of our nation's capital as the center of
intrigue with power brokers and mysterious government figures lurking
in every corner. In Sara Rosett's
new novel "Getting Away is Deadly", pregnant Ellie's sightseeing trip
to Washington D.C. takes a detour when she witnesses a fatal accident
in the Metro.
Here's our interview with Ms. Rosett:
1) What was the inspiration for your book?
I accompanied my husband, who is military pilot, when he went to
Washington D.C. for two training classes and those trips inspired the
book. I didn't witness a fatal accident in a Metro station, but I
couldn't help thinking what dangerous places they were. And then I made
the typical mystery writer leap-what if someone fell into the path of an
incoming train? It would be a great place for a murder since there
aren't any guardrails to prevent someone from falling into a train's
path. I also saw the tourist sights and included some in Getting Away is
Deadly, including the Lincoln Memorial, the museum of natural history
and the air and space museum. Washington D.C., also seemed like an
appropriate setting for a series about a military spouse and I knew I
couldn't have Ellie move there, since I'd never lived around D.C. A book
about a semi-vacation to D.C. seemed perfect. Little did I know that I'd
end up moving to Maryland. I live about 25 miles from downtown D.C. now!
2) Are you working on something right now?
I've just turned in the fourth book in the series, Starting Over is
Lethal. It will be out next April. I'm doing promotion for Getting Away
is Deadly and also thinking about the fifth book in the Mom Zone series.
I'll start writing it this summer.
3) What is something about you that would surprise your readers?
In the book, Ellie loves Hershey Kisses and is always popping one her
mouth for a chocolate fix. People ask me if I eat as many Kisses as she
does. I don't. I like them, but I don't keep a constant supply on me.
Don't get me wrong, I love chocolate. Right now, I'm into dark chocolate
covered pretzels.
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| Posted by Michelle and Blossom at | | | |
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If there's an author after my own heart, it's
Wendy Tokunaga. Wendy is like our Japanese soul mate, and her new book
- Midori by Moonlight - is a story about a young woman who leaves Japan
for San Francisco to marry the American man of her dreams, only to have
her hopes dashed when her fiance dumps her for his ex. Broke,
heartbroken, and too ashamed to go home, Midori decides to try and make
it on her own. With the help of her platonic new Japanese transplant
roommate, Midori tries to make a new life as a pastry chef - and maybe
find another chance at love.
Here's our interview with the wonderful Wendy Tokunaga:
What was the inspiration for your book?
~ MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT is about 30-year-old fresh from Japan Midori
Saito, who finds herself lost in translation in San Francisco searching
for her American dream and the perfect dessert. It is inspired by my
Japanese husband’s story of how he never felt he fit in Japan and ended
up trading his native culture for a new one when he settled in the
United States.
Are you working on something right now?
~ I have recently turned in my second book to the publisher. Here is a brief description:
After receiving a puzzling phone call and a box full of mysteries,
33-year-old fledgling singer Celeste Duncan is off to Japan to search
for a long, lost relative who could hold the key to the identity of the
father she never knew. Lost in translation, she stumbles head first
into a weird, wonderful world where nothing is quite as it seems; a
land of gaijin worshippers, karaoke boxes, sushi fortune tellers, and
unbearably perky TV stars. But when she learns to sing a Japanese song
called “The Wishing Star” Celeste finds herself on a path to finding
real love, understanding the true meaning of family and, most of all,
discovering her own voice.
What is something about you that would surprise your readers?
~ That I love to sing in Japanese.
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| Posted by Michelle and Blossom at | | | |
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It used to be that the big milestones in my friends' lives
revolved around their weddings. Lately though, I've been
disturbed by a new milestone many of them seem to be experiencing: the
mid-life crisis (or at least the mid-mid-life crisis). In Jenny Gardiner's new novel, "Sleeping with Ward Cleaver", her heroine Claire Doolittle wakes up one day and finds herself in the middle of the throes of a full-blown mid-life crisis.
Here's our interview with the lovely Ms. Gardiner:
1) How did you get the idea for your book?
The title came to me one day. I guess I have always been a sideline
observer of relationships and we were talking about some couple or
something and the guy was so paternalistic, and I said "Well, it'd be
like sleeping with Ward Cleaver! Ugh!" And the more I thought of it the
more I thought, that's a great title. I like that. Now, to write a book
to go along with it!
2) Are you working on something right now?
I recently finished my WIP, MARY KATE GOES OVER THE FALLS, which
my agent will start shopping soon. It's about a woman trapped in an
abusive marriage who goes out to pick up her husband's dry cleaning and
instead picks up a handsome hitchhiker along the side of the road, the
lure of whom reminds her of the lip of Niagara Falls, said to taunt
people into wanting to jump into the falls. The two embark on a road
trip of self-discover, en route to Niagara Falls, where Mary Kate is
determined to leap into the falls, her first ever act of defiance in
life.
3) What is something about you that would surprise your readers?
Good question. Maybe that I'm REALLY outgoing. LIke I'm the person who
talks up complete strangers in elevators. I know, weird, isn't it?
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| Posted by Michelle and Blossom at | | | |
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So I had a lot of reasons to look forward to this past Thursday's book reading at the Borders at Kips Bay. First, the reading was at my very own neighborhood bookstore, whichis just around the corner from my building. Second, the reading was going to be one of our first readings for the paperback release of "China Dolls." Third, this was going to be our first Manhattan bookstore reading since last February when the hardcover came out. Fourth, did I mention the reading was right around the corner from my building?
As it turned out, the most exciting thing about the reading was something completely unexpected: an appearance by New York City Councilman John Liu . Not only is Councilman Liu a wonderful, charming man (and an inspiring council member to boot) who took the time out of his busy schedule to come to our reading, but he had a surprise for us as well: he awarded us with Citations for outstanding achievement by a New York City citizen.
A Citation? Us? All I was expecting was hopefully some interested listeners and readers and a scintillating question or two during the Q&A. As I sit here watching the nonstop news coverage of "Client No. 9", it's kind of nice to know that there are still some New York politicians who spend their time attending little neighborhood book readings instead of holding court with "Emperor's Club" employees.
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| Posted by Michelle and Blossom at | | | |
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Back when CHINA DOLLS first came out,
Michelle and I did book readings galore. Even after our book tour, we
were averaging a signing a week. I won't lie to you though - we were
exhausted after a while. Which was why it was a nice respite to take a
break and focus on writing our next book. Well, after a five-month
hiatus, Michelle and I decided to dip our toe back into the pool and do
a reading at the KGB Bar for the NYC Writer's Circle.
After I exited the F train and was hustling my
way up First Avenue, I got an email from Michelle that she didn't think
our audience was going to like our book. Bursting with curiousity - and
not a little trepidation - I raced into the KGB Bar and asked Michelle
what she meant. Turned out we would be doing our reading after an
"opening act" reading that consisted of a lot of "thrusting",
"bursting" and "climaxing." Or as Michelle put it so succinctly -
"PORN."
Okay, so this wasn't exactly what I was
envisioning for our first reading in almost half a year. It didn't help
that some of the audience members told Michelle we had a hard act to
follow (no pun intended). Well, as it turned out, the reading was great
(so maybe we put a little extra oomph into it) and the Q&A was a
big hit (so maybe Michelle was a little extra "edgy"). It was fun to be
sharing our experiences with our audience, as well as imparting a
little hard-earned writing wisdom. In the end, Michelle and I had a
great time - and we can't wait to start doing it all over again.
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| Posted by Michelle and Blossom at | | | |
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