Friday Book Pick: Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner

Two stories, two women--centuries apart. What connects them? A name, a ring and their ability to choose their own destinies. Author Susan Meissner weaves a spectacular story in her newest novel, Lady in Waiting.
Jane Lindsay can do nothing but watch as her husband walks away from their twenty-two year marriage. Returning, heartbroken, to her job as an antique dealer, she discovers a centuries-old ring hidden in a crumbling prayer-book. Why was it hidden? Who owned it? Finding her first name inscribed inside, she feels an immediate connection with the object and its original owner and embarks on a journey to find the answers to her questions.

In the sixteenth century, Lucy Day is dressmaker and confidante of young Lady Jane Grey. Lady Jane--like many women of noble birth--is little more than a political pawn used by her family to achieve power. Her desires are of little concern to those who decide her fate. Lady Jane finds love, but will she find the freedom to choose her own future?

As the story of the ring draws these two "Janes" together, both learn how their choices affect the courses of their lives.

I was unable to put this book down. Rather than finding myself jarred when the story switched centuries, I rejoiced that I would be reunited with a character I had come to love. Both Janes drew me in and I was desperate to learn their fates. Lady in Waiting is a work of beauty and Susan Meissner is a true artist.

Download and read the first four chapters of Lady in Waiting, courtesy of Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group. 

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review, but the opinions are my own.

Crazy? Then You Just Might Be a Writer.

Writers are all crazy. We have invisible friends. We lie on a regular basis--and get paid for it (sometimes). We can bring ourselves to tears while writing imaginary scenes. We actually feel guilty when we have to write a scene in which a favorite character has to experience something horrible. Face it, crazy comes with the business.

My family is starting to get used to it.

There was that day that I actually said to my husband, "Oh, whatever you do--don't check my browser history." That got a raised eyebrow. I had spent the day doing online research. I had read about the invention of heroin and the opium trade. I had studied prostitution in early Chinatown. I had looked at images of opium pipes. While trying to accurately describe a character's face, I decided to do a google image search to get some ideas. I typed in "Chinese women." Don't do that. You really don't know what you're going to get. Or maybe you do. Must learn to think before I google. I then googled "women's undergarments" looking for details about clothing in 1906. Yikes. My husband went and double-checked our virus software.

I don't spend every day trolling the underbelly of the internet. I've actually gotten some of my best ideas at church. That's much safer, right? One time during the sermon, I was inspired and began furiously scratching notes on my church bulletin. "What are you doing?" my husband asked, quietly. I replied, in an excited whisper, "I'm plotting!" A visitor sitting in front of us shot a worried glance over her shoulder.

My family still remembers the day I shrieked with joy while sitting at the computer. "What? What?!" My kids came bounding into the room. I bounced up and down in my chair. "You won't believe what I found!" Their faces grew wide with excitement. I pointed to the screen. "It's an X-ray tech manual from 1904! Can you believe it?" My son rolled his eyes. "I can't believe it."

So, do you agree? Are we writers crazy? How much more proof do you need?

When Characters Lie

I've been burning a lot of midnight oil lately, in the name of research. Okay, that's a lie--I've been watching a lot of TV. I have a new favorite show, Lie to Me, on FOX (and yes, I posted about this show last week, too). Thanks to Netflix, I've wasted away many hours catching up on the previous two seasons of the show. But I think maybe I can justify it as research, and here's why.

The premise of Lie to Me is that a scientist named Dr. Cal Lightman, after years of research, can now act as a human lie detector by reading people's faces and body language. He watches for what he calls "micro-expressions." These can be minute and quick--curls of the lip, shakes of the head, twitches of fingers, shifting of the eyes. Sometimes lies are obvious. Sometimes they are subtle and compelling.

How can this be research to a fiction writer? What a character says in dialogue is often less important than what he doesn't say. We can speak volumes through our actions--painting a vivid picture of what is going on behind our words.

Lie to Me is teaching me to think carefully about expressions and mannerisms. Frequently during the show, Lightman will point at another character and say in his charming British accent, "Did'ya see that? See that eyebrow? He's lying, he is." So now, I find that as I'm writing dialogue, I'm thinking about how my characters appear instead of just what's coming out of their mouths. If Dorothy detests Max, she may say, "Yes, I have the utmost respect for the man." But her actions could say differently: her lips twitch, her finger scratches her nose and she subtly shakes her head as she speaks. Which should the reader believe? The subtle differences between her words and actions adds tension to the scene.

Author Brandilyn Collins has a wonderful chapter about this in her book Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors. In secret number three (subtexting) she explains, "As an actor interprets the subtext through such means as gestures and facial expressions, the lines become layered with meaning, often far deeper than what is actually spoken. They express a character's strengths, weaknesses, passions. They bare a human soul."

So, the next time you observe two people having a discussion, take a moment to observe. What are they saying? What are they not saying? How do they look? How do their expressions change as they are speaking? What are their hands doing?

But be careful. You may just learn something that you weren't really supposed to know.

Friday Book Pick: You'll Lose the Baby Weight and Other Lies...by Dawn Meehan

Sometimes life gets so crazy and heart-breaking that you just need a good laugh--do you know what I mean? A great place to find that is in the writing of blogger/writer/supermom/funnywoman Dawn Meehan. Her most recent book, You'll Lose the Baby Weight (and Other Lies about Pregnancy and Childbirth) is packed with stories that (if you've been there) will have you remembering the joys, embarassments and griefs of pregnancy. I laughed out loud countless times while reading and--just ask my poor husband--found myself reading sections aloud because they were just too funny to keep to myself.

Dawn Meehan got her writing start on Ebay by listing for sale a pack of Pokemon cards that her kids had slipped into her grocery cart. In the description section, she described (in hysterical detail) what it's like to go grocery shopping with six children. The listing (read it here) went viral, receiving nearly 100 thousand hits in a single day and thrusting Meehan into the national spotlight. Her blog, Because I Said So, is one of the most popular Mommy-blogs on the internet.

Dawn Meehan is the type of person who often finds it easier to laugh than to cry when life throws her challenges, but in recent months this single mom of six kids has hit a challenging stretch including a child in the hospital and insurance battles. The family is in emotional and financial crisis mode. On Thursday, her friend (and web site designer) Kelli Standish hijacked her blog in an effort to help out. If you are interested in supporting this amazing writer, check out Kelli's post which includes many practical ways that you can help (including Paypal donations). Another way you can support her is by picking up one of her books. She's considering stepping back from writing/blogging in order to take a "real job." But, let's face it folks, we NEED this kind of writer to keep all the rest of us frazzled mommies sane.

And just to add...I had planned on blogging about You'll Lose the Baby Weight today, long before I read Kelli Standish's post. That's how much I loved this book.

Dawn, if you happen to read this... hang in there, sweetie and keep writing. The rest of us moms need you to help us laugh at our situatation. Otherwise, we'll all be crying. And that would not be a pretty sight!

The Devil is in the Details

Details enrich story. They help to create a story world in which your reader can dwell for the length of your book.

They can also throw them out.

A few days ago, I was watching an episode from the television series, Lie to Me (A big favorite of mine). A young girl had gone missing and the father flashed the photograph to the investigator. I immediately gasped and then laughed. The girl was wearing one of my daughter's favorite sweaters.

This detail shocked me out of the story for a moment, but it was just an odd coincidence, right? Costume designers have to get the actor's clothes from somewhere. So, this one shops at Gymboree. No big deal. I frequently spot our kids' play table (from Ikea) on television shows. It always makes me smile.

But what followed really threw me for a loop, story-wise. Several scenes later, another photo emerged--someone had seen a girl wearing the same sweater, but you can't see her face. "It HAS to be her," the father insists. "Her mother knitted that sweater herself, it's a one-of-a-kind!"

Uh, no, it's NOT--a perfect match is hanging in my daughter's closet. Mom knitted it herself? Not unless she works in a factory in Hong Kong. It doesn't even look hand-knitted.

So, what's the big deal here?

A major plot point hung on this detail. If it was hand-knitted and one-of-a-kind, then the costume designer should have made sure that it couldn't be purchased off of a rack at Gymboree (or at Ebay, here, here and here and dozens of other listings). The vivid story-world created by the screen writer had collapsed, because I was no longer thinking about the poor missing child--I was focused on the sweater mistake.

Am I being nitpicky? Yes--for a reason. When you are careless about details, your story world becomes unstable. When your story world is unstable, readers (viewers) become distracted. When they become distracted, they put down your book. They may never finish it. If they don't finish it, likely they won't buy another.

So, consider the details in your story--historical, medical, geographic, use of language, etc. Do you have a cop making an arrest? Maybe you'd better interview one and make sure you have it right. A patient has a stroke? Talk to a doctor and/or a stroke survivor. Your character was at Gettysburg? Review the timeline of events and closely examine the maps. Lives in New Orleans? Maybe you should walk the streets and see what they see.

Don't forget--the devil is in the details. Make sure he's not prowling around in your story-world.

Now, I'm off to hand wash that one-of-a-kind hand-knitted sweater.

E-Book Addicts

There's a fascinating discussion going on over on the Between the Lines blog, written by Books & Such Literary Agency's Janet Kobobel Grant. It pertains to the surge in e-readers and electronic books and how they are reshaping the way people read and how books are sold.

In the comments section, several people have brought up the practice of offering free titles on Amazon (and others) in order to promote new authors or create buzz for new books in a series. Will this create an atmosphere where people believe that e-books should always be free and where books (and authors) have no real monetary value?

Just two nights ago, I was sitting at my computer looking at book titles on Amazon. I have downloaded many "freebies" (and promoted many of the great deals here and via facebook), but I had yet to purchase any titles for my new kindle. I was ready to make the plunge. My kids and I had been reading out-loud from Erin Hunter's Warrior books and were ready for the next book in the series, Omen of the Stars: The Fourth Apprentice. I went to Amazon. The kindle price was $5.99. The paperback price was $6.99. Get this--the hardcover prices was $6.80. It was less than a dollar difference between the e-book and the hardcover. Was there an advantage to having the kindle version? Well, it would be delievered in a split-second. It wouldn't take up more space on a bookshelf. I decided to leave it up to my kids and surprisingly, they opted for the hardback. They could then read it in bed (because Mom frowns on having her kindle disappear into their messy rooms) and they could loan it to their friends.

So, if there isn't a huge discount for e-books, why are we using them? Is the convenience factor enough to make them worth purchasing?

I had a strange feeling of deja vu when I was staring at the Amazon screen. It took me back just a few years when I was staring at iTunes, struggling with the same decisions. Why don't I just buy the cd? I could load it to other people. I could give it away. Sell it on EBay. I could have it in my hand and enjoy the cover art. What if my computer crashes and I lose all my songs? How much memory will this eat up on my computer?

Several years have passed and I no longer ask those questions about digital music. When I want to buy a song, I just go and click it. In fact, a friend was telling me about this great song and that she'd have to loan me the cd. I found myself saying, "Just tell me the title and I'll grab it off iTunes."

What changed?

Not much. I had time to ease into the idea of digital music and now I'd never go back.

Will this happen with e-books? I think it probably will. I cringe when I think of the impact on libraries and bookstores, and yet I love reading on my new Kindle for many reasons. The freebies being offered on Amazon and other providers are getting us accustomed to reading e-books. Will it make us expect that all books will be free? I doubt it. It reminds me of reading stories of drug dealers offering potential clients free samples in order to get them hooked. The new addicts would soon return, cash in hand.

So, excuse me... but I'm heading off to Amazon. I need to feed my book habit.