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Where I Write by Beth Hoffman

May 19, 2010 by

Beth Hoffman‘s debut novel Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a New York Times bestseller that is set in late 1960s Ohio and Georgia.  The young protagonist Cecelia (CeeCee) Honeycutt has a hard life with a mother who has lost touch with reality and a father who is hardly at home.

Stay tuned for my review of this novel on Friday, May 21.

Today, we’re going to get a peek into Beth Hoffman‘s writing space.  Please give her a warm welcome.

When I made the decision to leave my career in interior design and pursue my dream of writing a novel, I had the idealistic thought that I’d take my laptop to the local park and sit at a picnic table overlooking the Ohio River. I imagined my fingers would blaze over the keyboard for hours, and now and then I’d stop to watch a coal barge lumber its way toward West Virginia. Oh, the serenity of that image was burned into my mind and I couldn’t wait to make it a reality. But, I soon discovered that I was the kind of writer who needed to be at a desk working on a big screen.

I live in a restored Queen Anne (circa 1902), and on the second floor I created what I call the writing library. The room isn’t very large, but it’s cozy, filled with bookshelves and artwork that I love, and, it’s the perfect size for my needs. Three large windows are set in an ashlar-cut stone bay that overlooks the front gardens. Morning light floods into the room, and it has a fireplace that I keep burning throughout the winter.

This is the room where I imagine, create, and dream. I’m happiest when I’m sitting at my desk in a totally quiet house, writing, researching, and developing characters and scenes with my cats sleeping at my feet.

Though I don’t strive for a specific word count for each day, I’m quite disciplined and will spend a minimum of six hours working on my writing. When the muse is with me, I’ll often write well into the late night hours, or, until my hands grow numb! And, on those days when the muse is maddeningly silent, I’ll spend time researching and editing.

Do I have a special totem? Yes, I do. My great aunt Mildred had a powerful impact upon when I was a child. She was a true Southern lady who possessed great charm and wit. She lived in a big old Greek revival home that I fell in love with, and, it was she who lit the fire I carry to this day. My great aunt introduced me to historical homes, antiques, and the power of the written word. In fact, the character of Tootie Caldwell in my novel, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, is based upon my great aunt Mildred. One summer’s day I plucked a stone from her walkway and brought it home with me, and it has since become my totem. I keep it on the fireplace mantle and will oftentimes pick it up and hold it for a moment.

The other thing that I look at to help me stay grounded is an antique carousel horse and teddy bear. From my desk I can peek around my computer screen and look into the den. By the fireplace sits these two happy creatures, and they remind me to smile easily and often, nurture a childlike spirit, and not take anything too seriously—the good or the bad.

Thanks, Beth, for sharing your writing space with us. Wouldn’t you just love to get a sneak peek into those shelves?

Global Giveaway Details — three copies for US/Canada readers and one copy of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman for international readers:

1.  Leave a comment about what book you think is on those shelves.

2.  Blog, Tweet, Facebook, or spread the word about the giveaway and leave a link here.

3.  Become a Facebook Fan of Savvy Verse & Wit and leave a comment.

Deadline June 2, 2010, at 11:59 PM EST

Also, stay tuned Friday for another chance to enter the giveaway.

Filed Under: giveaway, guest post Tagged With:

Winner of the Raven Stole the Moon Red Umbrella

May 18, 2010 by

In the recent giveaway for a Raven Stole the Moon by Garth Stein red umbrella giveaway, I shared with you a video interview with the author.  Please take some time to check them out on the  Garth Stein’s YouTube channel.

Out of only 4 entries, Random.org selected #3:

Anna from Diary of an Eccentric

Congrats and thanks to all who entered.

Please check out the other giveaways in the right sidebar.

Filed Under: winners

Winning Posts of National Poetry Month Blog Tour

May 18, 2010 by

Thanks again to all my participants and all the readers that stopped by the National Poetry Month Blog Tour.

It was fun to put together and a lot of work, but I enjoyed it and hope everyone else did too.

So I have some winners to announce from the poll.

#1, receiving 11 votes, was from Estrella Azul.

#2, receiving 4 votes, was Valerie’s Life is a Patchwork Quilt.

#3, receiving 3 votes, was Liviania’s In Bed With Books.

Finally, I had a 5-way tie between these great posts:  The Girl’s post at  Diary of an Eccentric, The Betty and Boo Chronicles, West of Mars, She Is Too Fond of Books, and Boston Bibliophile.

Each received 2 votes.

Congrats to all the winners.

Filed Under: winners

Mailbox Monday #82

May 17, 2010 by

Marcia at The Printed Page and Kristi of The Story Siren both sponsor memes in which bloggers share what books they’ve received in the past week.  I’m going to continue calling these Mailbox Mondays, but The Story Siren also has In My Mailbox.  Just be warned that these posts can increase your TBR piles and wish lists.

Here’s what I received in the mail:

1.  The Map of True Places by Brunonia Barry, which I received for review.

2.  Tipping Point by Fred Marchant, which I purchased because its one of the only books I don’t have by this poet.

3.  Huck by Janet Elder, which I received from Shelf Awareness as part of a mother’s day giveaway. My mom got one too and I think she’s done with it.

4.  The Hypnotist by M.J. Rose, which I received from the author for review.

5.  Darcy’s Voyage by Kara Louise, which I received from Sourcebooks for review.

6.  Mr. Darcy’s Little Sister by C. Allyn Pierson, which I received from Sourcebooks for review.

What did you get in your mailbox?

Filed Under: mailbox monday

Matterhorn, Vietnam War, Read-a-long

May 16, 2010 by

Last month, we highlighted the publication of Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes, which was pared down from 1,000 pages to a cool 600 pages.

As participants of the Vietnam War Reading Challenge, I urge you to check out and think about joining the Matterhorn readalong on Twitter. Everyone who is participating seems to be reading at their own pace and discussing it online. All you have to do is follow the hashtag #MHorn.

I hope to be joining and reading along with everyone on Twitter as well, but we’ll see how far I get before Book Expo America.

Filed Under: announcements Tagged With: , ,

45th Virtual Poetry Circle

May 15, 2010 by

Welcome to the 45th Virtual Poetry Circle.  The poetry doesn’t stop here on the blog just because National Poetry Month ends.

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite National Poetry Month Blog Tour post; today’s the last day for voting.

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s books suggested. Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

Our return to classic poetry brings us to the verses of George Herbert:

The Collar 
I struck the board, and cry'd, No more.
                 I will abroad.
     What? shall I ever sigh and pine?
My lines and life are free; free as the rode,
     Loose as the winde, as large as store.
        Shall I be still in suit?
     Have I no harvest but a thorn
     To let me bloud, and not restore
     What I have lost with cordiall fruit?
                  Sure there was wine
Before my sighs did drie it: there was corn
        Before my tears did drown it.
     Is the yeare onely lost to me?
        Have I no bayes to crown it?
No flowers, no garlands gay? all blasted?
                  All wasted?
     Not so, my heart: but there is fruit,
                  And thou hast hands.
     Recover all thy sigh-blown age
On double pleasures: leave thy cold dispute
Of what is fit and not. Forsake thy cage,
                  Thy rope of sands,
Which pettie thoughts have made, and made to thee
     Good cable, to enforce and draw,
                  And be thy law,
     While thou didst wink and wouldst not see.
                  Away; take heed:
                  I will abroad.
Call in thy deaths head there: tie up thy fears.
                  He that forbears
        To suit and serve his need,
                  Deserves his load.
But as I rav'd and grew more fierce and wilde
                  At every word,
Me thoughts I heard one calling, Child!
                  And I reply'd, My Lord.

Let me know your thoughts, ideas, feelings, impressions. Let’s have a great discussion…pick a line, pick an image, pick a sentence.

I’ve you missed the other Virtual Poetry Circles, check them out here. It’s never too late to join the discussion.

Filed Under: virtual poetry circle

Peering Through My Window by Karen White

May 14, 2010 by

I hope everyone enjoyed my review of Karen White’s On Folly Beach yesterday.  I’ve really enjoyed all of her books, which you can find reviews of the Tradd Street Series, here and here.

Today, I have a real treat for you.  Karen is going to take us on a journey through her writing space.  Please give her a warm welcome.

In the days when I was a young and blissfully naïve reader, I imagined my favorite authors (Victoria Holt, Katherine Woodiwiss, Rosemary Rogers, Susan Howatch) creating the books I loved to read.  I had a fuzzy picture of them relaxing on chaise lounges, wearing feather boas and either dictating each word to a handsome stenographer or slowly pecking away on a manual typewriter in a glamorous office as seen in the movies.

And then I became a writer (imagine old-fashioned needle screeching across vinyl record).

For the record, I don’t own a boa, feathered or otherwise.  Nor do I have a handsome stenographer (or a pool boy).  I’m a working writer, emphasis on the working part.  I haven’t calculated how many hours each day I work—but I get up at 6:15 each morning and go to sleep around midnight and I’m usually filling quite a lot of those hours in between either writing or editing, or attending to the non-writing parts of my career:  fan mail, Facebook, website, pre-publication planning, mailings, back and forth contact with editor, agent, publicist, book club visits etc.  I also work seven days a week because besides all of the above, I’m also a wife and mother and SOMEBODY has to do the laundry and feed the dog!

When I was asked to send a picture of my workspace, I was so tempted to send a picture of my laundry room.  I’ve joked (semi-seriously) about setting up a desk in there to spare me the trouble of walking down the hall fifteen times a day.  But I digress.

I actually have several work spaces.  I have an office on the main floor of my house where I have all my files and books and my desktop computer.  This is where I do the non-creative parts of my job.  There’s a door in this room that leads to the driveway—very convenient since my dog, Quincy, likes to go in and out about one thousand times a day and having the door so convenient to my desk makes the trek back and forth to the door easier for me.  I’m currently working with a professional organizer to organize all of my research books on the large bookshelves on the long wall of the office (which is why everything looks a mess—I’ve just yanked off and donated about 100 books).

Supposedly, this office is supposed to be off limits to other members of the household (except for Quincy).  My husband has his own office, and the kids have a bonus room upstairs with their own computer.  But everybody still uses mine.  Sigh.

For my creative writing, I use the large chair and ottoman up in my sitting room.  I have a fireplace for when it’s cold (I turn it on with a switch <g>), I have a mini-fridge for my Diet Dr. Pepper (I’m addicted), and a little bar area for my coffee maker.  My bookshelves on both sides of the fireplace are for my keeper books and books I’ve not yet read, and the small black bookshelf next to my chair is for the reference books for my current work-in-progress.  Right now they’re filled with books about Charleston, its gardens, houses, and ghosts since I’m working on book three in my Tradd Street mystery series.

Please note the wideness of the chair.  I had a smaller chair but my writing companion (aka Velcro Dog) couldn’t fit in it with me.  Since he insists on pressing against my side while I write, I had to accommodate him by buying a larger chair.  Sigh.  I guess being always in my sight is the reason why I’ve written him into the Tradd Street series as the protagonist’s dog, General Lee.

When the weather is nice (and the pollen is gone—we had a pollen count of 6,000 last week here in Atlanta so not quite yet), I love to sit out on my screened-in porch.  It’s almost as long as the width of the house and looks out over our back yard (we’re three stories up since we live on a hill and on about an acre) and the horse pasture behind us.  I’ve got a bird feeder, stereo speakers, ceiling fans, and quick access to the kitchen—pretty much the perfect setup for a writer and her laptop.  And her dog.  When the temperature gets too high (which it does since I live in Georgia) I move back indoors to my writing chair in my sitting room.  With my dog who doesn’t like the heat either.

It’s not glamorous or exotic.  Especially since when I’m at home writing I dress like a candidate for What Not to Wear.  Notice how I didn’t share any pictures of me actually writing. But it gets the job done.  I suppose it’s because when I’m writing I’m transported to a completely different place altogether where it doesn’t really matter what’s around me.

Maybe I should get that desk in my laundry room after all.

Thanks, Karen, for showing us your writing space.

I had a feeling that General Lee was your dog when I saw the photo of Quincy!  I hate to disagree, but those writing spaces look gorgeous and exotic to me, though I live in a tiny apartment!

If you’ve missed the giveaway for 2 copies of On Folly Beach for readers in the US/Canada, go here.

Filed Under: guest post Tagged With:

Winner of Map of True Places

May 13, 2010 by

Out of 35 entrants to the Map of True Places giveaway, Random.org selected #33:

Colleen (Books in the City), who said, “I haven’t read anything by this author yet – I have been introduced to the author by reading all the excellent reviews of late for The Lace Reader and Map of True Places. I would love to read this book – it sounds good!”

Congrats to the winner and thanks to all who entered.  Check out the other giveaways in the right sidebar for other great books and don’t forget to vote for your favorite National Poetry Month post.

Filed Under: winners

On Folly Beach by Karen White

May 13, 2010 by

Karen White‘s On Folly Beach shifts between two time periods — 2009 and 1942 — and between two women’s lives — Emmy Hamilton and Lulu.  Emmy lost her husband six months ago to the war in Afghanistan and loves solving mysteries with old documents and books, and Lulu is a complicated older woman with a lot of secrets and a penchant for bottle tree artistry.

“The shirt was a poor substitute for his arms, and wearing it in Ben’s absence was something her mother had told her was like swimming with a raincoat.”  (page 2)

Emmy is empty in her grief and unwilling to move on, but her mother convinces her to move from Indiana to South Carolina and buy a bookstore, Folly’s Finds, which served as the model for her mother’s bookstore.  Once in her newly rented house, she meets Lulu, her grandson Heath, Heath’s mother Abigail, and the rest of the family.  But her journey begins with a box of old books, and she strives to unravel the mystery of two star-crossed lovers.  Emmy has a journey back to the living to embark upon as well.

“‘Like right now? Don’t you need a bathing suit?’

He smiled and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes reminded Emmy of his mother.  ‘Don’t need one.’  He walked past her, then stopped when he realized she wasn’t following him.

‘I’ll wait here.’

“I’ll keep my shorts on, promise.'”  (page 129)

White’s characters have their own personalities and evolve carefully over the alternating chapters.  The WWII chapters transport readers back in time, making the fear of war as vivid as the dances on the ocean pier.  But with the prevalence of chapters in the present, it is clear that this is Emmy and Lulu’s story. Emmy becomes the amateur detective that Lulu played when she was a young girl living with her sister, Maggie and cousin Cat.

On Folly Beach by Karen White uses a variety of water and wind imagery to mimic the foolish choices made by the main characters and mirror the dramatic choices that they make out of loyalty and love.  White creates dynamic characters who are deeply flawed and who are in search of peace and love, like many of us.  Bibliophiles will enjoy the literary references, the characters named for Elizabeth Bennet and Heathcliff of Wuthering Heights, and the quotes in the margins.  Another Karen White novel that engages, mystifies, and satisfies readers as they unwind the puzzles of On Folly Beach.

Please check out the rest of the stops on the tour. And check back tomorrow for a guest post on Karen White’s writing space.

About the Author:

Karen’s novel The Memory of Water was a WXIA-TV Atlanta & Company Book Club Selection. Her work has been reviewed in Southern Living, Atlanta Magazine, the Atlanta  Journal-Constitution, and by Fresh Fiction, among many others, and has been adopted by numerous independent booksellers for book club recommendations. Last year her 2007 novel Learning to Breathe received several honors, notably the National Readers’ Choice Award and the Booksellers’ Best Award, which in 2009 was again presented to Karen, this time for The Memory of Water.

US/Canada Giveaway for 2 copies of On Folly Beach by Karen White:

1.  Leave a comment about what historical period fascinates you and why.

2.  Blog, Tweet, Facebook, or otherwise spread the word about the giveaway and leave me a link.

Deadline May 20, 2010, at 11:59PM EST.

Filed Under: giveaway, historical fiction, Penguin, Read in 2010, review copy, reviews Tagged With: ,

Winner of Letter to My Daughter

May 12, 2010 by

Random.org selected #4 as the winner of George Bishop’s Letter to My Daughter.

Congrats to Pam!

Thanks to all who entered, and don’t forget to vote for your favorite National Poetry Month blog tour post.

Filed Under: winners

College in a Nutskull by Professor Anders Henriksson

May 12, 2010 by

Professor Anders Henriksson has compiled a list of mistakes made by students in higher education in College in a Nutskull.  The spiral bound notebook with lined pages with doodles in the margin is filled with mistakes, misinformation, wrong facts, and spelling errors.  These answers are taken from essay tests all over the world, which were sent to Henriksson.

“Cast aside all worry and savor this text as an opportunity to visit a world remarkably different from the reality we think we inhabit.” (page viii)

The blunders, malapropisms, spoonerisms, and poor facts are arranged by subject, ranging from religious studies to all kinds of history and science and technology.  Many of these examples could be attributed to test-taking jitters as students rush to finish their timed essays, but it makes them no less amusing.  However, some of these lines read more like a “smart ass” spouting off “witty” comments, such as “Descartes began this by stating, ‘I think, therefore I’m Sam.'” (page 11) and “Some of these ideas are unfortunately too long for my attention spam.” (page 69)

Here are a couple malapropisms and spoonerisms:

“A vassal was a kind of servant, only rounder.” (page 63)

“Slavery was the big issue in the Anti-Bedlam South.” (page 76)

Beyond the unintentional word usage, there are just some major factual errors, from “The executive branch exists because Congress allows it to exist” to “Laws are invented by the courts.” (page 90-1)  What is likely to trouble readers, including me, is that the mistakes made are a sad commentary on the state of public education and its ability to prepare students for college.  Terrible grammar, improper word usage, Freudian slips, and other factual mistakes merely demonstrate how ill-prepared students are for college or a career, especially since they cannot communicate clearly.

Overall, College in a Nutskull by Professor Anders Henriksson is a humorous compilation of mistakes by college students that may make an unintentional commentary on public education and student preparedness.  For those who find student errors amusing or for those that enjoy malapropisms, this collection will have you chuckling, shaking your head, and spitting out your coffee.

Check out this article on Henriksson.

FTC Disclosure:  Thanks to Workman Publishing for sending me a free review copy of College in a Nutskull for review.

About the Author:

Photo credit: Kevin G. Gilbert

Dr. Henriksson is a professor at Shepherd University is located in historic Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and the author of Vassals and Citizens: The Baltic Germans in Constitutional Russia, 1905-1914, and The Tsar’s Loyal Germans. The Riga German Community: Social Change and the Nationality Question, 1855-1905. He is co-author of The City in Late Imperial Russia and has published articles in Russian Review, Canadian Slavonic Papers, the Wilson Quarterly, the Journal of Baltic Studies, and the Modern Encyclopedia of Russian, Soviet, and Eurasian History. His research interests focus on the role of class, ethnicity, and gender in the development of civil society in Russia and Eastern Europe. He is currently at work translating and editing the memoir of a Russian nurse in the Russo-Japanese War. Also a chronicler of the humorous side of campus life, Dr. Henriksson is compiler of Non Campus Mentis: World History According to College Students. A second humor book, College in a Nutskull, is due to appear in 2010.

This is my 32nd book for the 2010 New Authors Challenge.

Filed Under: humor, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2010, review copy, reviews Tagged With: ,

Fool by Christopher Moore (audio)

May 11, 2010 by

Christopher Moore‘s Fool is loosely based upon William Shakespeare’s King Lear.  If you haven’t read King Lear, what are you waiting for?  Talk about a tragedy of one’s own making.  The source material centers on a king who splits up his kingdom between his daughters based upon their professions of love for him, but of course, one daughter deigns to tell the truth rather than gush and engage in hyperbole.

“‘I’ve never even seen them,’ Taster said.

‘Oh, quite right.  What about you, Drool? Drool? Stop that!’

Drool pulled the damp kitten out of his mouth.  ‘But it were licking me first.  You said it was only proper manners–‘” (page 40)

In Moore’s version, King Lear’s fool of many years — an appropriately named Black Fool — Pocket plays a significant role in the downfall of a king and a kingdom.  Pocket has a hidden past of his own that involves an abbey, an ankress, witches, and more.  He’s sarcastic, runs rampant with his verbal barbs at the royal family, but he’s got a darker streak that trends toward manipulation behind the jokes.  Pocket is great at planting the seeds in the players’ minds from the Bastard Edmund to Lear’s daughters Regan and Goneril.  In a way, Pocket is a comic relief fool, but he does have a sidekick who is — Drool.

“‘I shagged a ghost,’ said Drool to the young squires.  They pretended they couldn’t hear him.

Kent shuffled forward, held back some by the alabaster grandeur of my nakedness.  ‘Edmund was found with a dagger through his ear, pinned to a high-backed chair.’

‘Bloody careless eater he is, then.'”  (page 168)

Some of the best parts of the book are the jibes at the main royals, but also the references to other works by Shakespeare.  Moore definitely knows his literature, and is a master at rearranging syntax to create new images and environments within the Shakespearean middle ages  He stretches the edges of that world and tosses it out into the moat.  Readers who need a laugh out loud book to chase away the blues, are looking for clever prose and outlandish characters, and seeking a literary jaunt should pick up Fool.

“‘So, it sounds as if you’re thinking of conquering more than just the petting zoo?’

‘Europe,’ said the princess, as if stating the unadorned truth.

‘Europe?’ said I.

‘To start,’ said Cordelia.

‘Well, then you had better get moving, hadn’t you?’

‘Yes, I suppose,’ said Cordelia, with a great silly grin.  ‘Dear Pocket, would you help me pick an outfit?'” (page 255)

However, the ending of the novel could leave readers feeling flat or unsatisfied.  Overall, Fool by Christopher Moore is a “bawdy tale.” Moore has a number of fun books, and readers who enjoy humor, particularly dark or raunchy humor with a bit of whimsy, will love his books.  Moore is always a riot.

My husband enjoyed the audio version on our daily commute, laughing and giggling into work, but was seriously disappointed with the ending.  In his words, “The sexual jokes were funny and the ending sucked.”

Check out this great video:

FTC Disclosure:  I listened to the Fool by Christopher Moore on audio CD, which I borrowed from the library, and read portions of the book from another library copy.

Filed Under: audiobooks, borrowed copy, fiction, Harper Collins, Read in 2010, reviews Tagged With: ,