Writing with Heart

My children and I have been reading Barbara Park's, Junie B. Jones series, together before bedtime. Although I occasionally have to put a disclaimer out, "it's not okay to say you hate people," when reading, I find Junie B. to be a fascinating, entertaining character. One of the reasons I believe this to be true is because she is so stunningly real. She's passionate, says whatever comes to mind, and transverses through life with a single mindedness that only a young person (or a complete narcissist) could possess.

I once told a friend my writing wasn't complete unless I could make people cry. By people, I'm selfishly referring to myself, as I routinely mist up when my characters hurt. Consequently, that's what I look for in quality writing...characters who are real enough to bring out emotions because we feel empathy when they hurt.

Real life is messy. Marriages fall apart, engagements break up, spouses get deployed, children are up all night with ear infections, families spend months or years watching loved ones suffer from illnesses, once close relationships unravel and sever completely. The ability of an effective writer is to channel those emotions from real life into a believable manuscript.

I suppose this is why I'm drawn to both reading and writing literary and women's fiction. I like stories that have the ability to merge a strong plot with characters who tug at your heart, therefore making them impossible to forget. A perfect example of this is Miriam from Khaled Hosseini's A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS.

Of course we all need a love story, too. I think there's a part of us who needs to believe that it's possible to meet our one true love on a weekend in Paris. We all need tension, love triangles, stolen kisses, and the intensity of young love to balance out the drama of our own lives.

Luckily, I get to do both as a reader and a writer. I'm fortunate to write with my own heart while reading the words coming from someone else's. 

But at the end of the day- while trying to balance life with writing, and query letters with hopes of publication- you can always read about a funny kindergartner named Junie B. Jones. As she said in SOME SNEAKY PEEKY SPYING, "A 'pology is the words I'm sorry. Except for you don't actually have to mean it. 'Cause nobody can even tell the difference."

Maybe that isn't completely true, but some days it's worth a shot.     

Novels to Look Forward to in 2012

As promised from my previous post, these are the novels I am looking forward to, highly anticipating, (writing release dates on my calendar for), in 2012.  

LONE WOLF by Jodi Picoult. Release date, February 28, 2012.

"Edward Warren, twenty-four, has been living in Thailand for five years, a prodigal son who left his family after an irreparable fight with his father, Luke. But he gets a frantic phone call: His dad lies comatose, gravely injured in the same accident that has also injured his younger sister Cara.

With her father’s chances for recovery dwindling, Cara wants to wait for a miracle. But Edward wants to terminate life support and donate his father’s organs. Is he motivated by altruism, or revenge? And to what lengths will his sister go to stop him from making an irrevocable decision?

Lone Wolf explores the notion of family, and the love, protection and strength it’s meant to offer. But what if the hope that should sustain it, is the very thing that pulls it apart? Another tour de force from Jodi Picoult, Lone Wolf examines the wild and lonely terrain upon which love battles reason." -Goodreads

HOME FRONT, by Kristin Hannah. Release date, January 31, 2012.

"In her bestselling novels Kristin Hannah has plumbed the depths of friendship, the loyalty of sisters, and the secrets mothers keep. Now, in her most emotionally powerful story yet, she explores the intimate landscape of a troubled marriage with this provocative and timely portrait of a husband and wife, in love and at war.

All marriages have a breaking point. All families have wounds. All wars have a cost. . . .

Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life---children, careers, bills, chores---even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm’s way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a solider she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own---for everything that matters to his family.

At once a profoundly honest look at modern marriage and a dramatic exploration of the toll war takes on an ordinary American family, Home Front is a story of love, loss, heroism, honor, and ultimately, hope."  Goodreads

WHERE WE BELONG, by Emily Giffin. Scheduled for release, July 31, 2012

"The author of five blockbuster novels, Emily Giffin, delivers an unforgettable story of two women, the families that make them who they are, and the longing, loyalty and love that binds them together Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six year old television producer, living her dream in New York City. With a fulfilling career and satisfying relationship, she has convinced everyone, including herself, that her life is just as she wants it to be. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door . . . only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had sealed off forever. From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s perfectly constructed world—and her very identity—will be shaken to its core, resurrecting ghosts and memories of a passionate young love affair that threaten everything that has come to define her. For the precocious and determined Kirby, the encounter will spur a process of discovery that ushers her across the threshold of adulthood, forcing her to re-evaluate her family and future in a wise and bittersweet light. As the two women embark on a journey to find the one thing missing in their lives, each will come to recognize that where we belong is often where we least expect to find ourselves—a place that we may have willed ourselves to forget, but that the heart remembers forever." -Goodreads

THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME, by Allison Winn Scotch. Scheduled for release, April 12, 2012.

"One of only two survivors of a plane crash, Nell Slattery wakes in the hospital with no memory of the horrific experience-or who she is, or was. Now she must piece together both body and mind, with the help of family and friends, who have their own agendas. She filters through photos, art, music, and stories, hoping something will jog her memory, and soon, in tiny bits and pieces, Nell starts remembering. . . .

 It isn't long before she learns to question the stories presented by her mother, her sister and business partner, and her husband. In the end, she will discover that forgiving betrayals small and large will be the only true path to healing herself-and to finding happiness." -Amazon

THE NEXT BEST THING, by Jennifer Weiner. Scheduled for release, July 10, 2012.

"Blockbuster #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner returns with an irresistible story about a young woman trying to make it in Hollywood…At twenty-three, Ruth Saunders headed west with her seventy-year-old grandma in tow, hoping to be hired as a television writer. Four years later, she’s hit the jackpot when she gets The Call: the sitcom she wrote, The Next Best Thing, has gotten the green light, and Ruthie’s going to be the show-runner. But her dreams of Hollywood happiness are threatened by demanding actors, number-crunching executives, an unrequited crush on a boss, and her grandmother’s impending nuptials.

Set against the fascinating backdrop of Los Angeles show business culture, with an insider’s ear and eye for writer’s rooms, bad behavior backstage and set politics, Jennifer Weiner’s new novel is a rollicking ride on the Hollywood rollercoaster and a heartfelt story about what it’s like for a young woman to love, and lose, in the land where dreams come true."- Amazon 

A Look Back at 2011

I read a lot of terrific books during 2011. Thirty-one in all. Not nearly enough by my standards, but I do need to sleep and feed my children at some point.

Below are some of the books I read, and enjoyed, in 2011. (I should also note that not all were published last year.)

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult. I loved this novel, and really, with Jodi Picoult, you can never go wrong.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. Admittedly, I watched the made-for-TV movie before reading the book. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the novel and was deeply touched due to losing a child to a chromosomal abnormality.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Great work of literary fiction. Loved the love story and even persuaded my husband to read it.

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. Hands down, the best book I read last year.

Don't Kill the Birthday Girl by Sandra Beasley. This was a gift from a cousin who saw it on a bookstore shelf. As a person with celiac disease and the mom of a child who outgrew a serious egg allergy, I highly recommend it to everyone. Whether you suffer from food allergies or intolerances, or not, you should at the very least, have an understanding of what it's like to live with a food allergy. 

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I tend to stay away from war stories, but could not put this book down. A wonderful piece of nonfiction about World War 2 and the resiliance of Louis Zamperini. 

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah. Admittedly, I cried for the final forty pages.

The Hunger Games Trilogy: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins. Yes, they lived up to the hype. Yes, I intend to watch the movies.

Next up...book releases I'm anticipating in 2012. Stay tuned.

How Stephanie Plum Saved Me

Yesterday I bought Explosive Eighteen, the latest novel in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. To say that these books are addicting is an understatement. I love both the characters and story lines. Besides, I credit Stephanie Plum, actually Janet Evanovich, for saving me once.

In 2004 my husband prepared to leave for his first deployment, to Iraq. During my teens and twenties, I lamented over turning thirty, as if it was a dark day looming in front of me. Yet never, in my wildest dreams, did I envision packing up my husband's belongings for a twelve month deployment, along with ensuring that our wills and finances were in order in case he didn't return. That was the winter when my three-year-old daughter ran out to her daddy's car, before he left to complete his training, hitting it repeatedly while screaming, "Don't go Daddy. Iraq is far!" I was crying, my husband was crying, she was sobbing, and our eighteen-month-old son was yelling for strawberry milk. Not a good day.

The following spring four U.S. contractors were killed, set on fire, and hung from a bridge by insurgents. As Marines battled in Fallujah, my husband traveled by convoy from Kuwait to Balad, passing through Baghdad along the way. They were attacked by direct fire, the vehicle in front of him, hit. Luckily, no one was injured or killed. Not so lucky- daily rocket and mortar strikes pounded his Base. Members of his Brigade didn't make it home. I couldn't sleep, had nightmares of officers knocking on my front door to deliver devastating news, developed canker sores the size of pencil head erasers, and almost smashed our computer monitor to smithereens when it ceased working. Yes, adult temper tantrums are permissible when the only source of communication between home and war is threatened.

It was also that spring when my mom suggested I read One for the Money. I was skeptical at first, wondering how this particular book would keep me from hearing the voices telling me I'd soon be a widow. Eventually, I relented, because moms usually happen to know best. Within two months, I'd read the entire series, up to that point.

Stephanie Plum is a former lingerie buyer who, after losing her job, starts working as a bounty hunter for her sleazy, Cousin Vinnie. She's not a very adept bounty hunter, but despite that, things always work out with the help of her hot, on-and-off again boyfriend, Joe Morelli, and the shady security expert, Ranger. FYI...it's one of the greatest and most addictive love triangles ever. Her best friend and sidekick is the hilarious, Lula, and her Grandma Mazur keeps things interesting as she lives for viewings at the funeral home.

Yes, Stephanie Plum's trials brought me through a really rough time. Janet Evanovich introduced me to a world where a taxidermist skips to avoid jail because he doesn't want to miss the cable guy, Lula outsmarts a pet crocodile with fried chicken, and Ranger makes me swoon just by saying, "Babe..." I've read the hilarious- Plum family dinners, the psychotic- Benito Ramirez, and the downright hysterical- Lula carrying bacon in her purse because she's trying the Atkins Diet.

I guess only one question remains. Morelli or Ranger?

Book Recommendations

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

The Diary of Anne Frank

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

Something Borrowed and Something Blue by Emily Giffin

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich