Sunday, September 27, 2009

love those book clubs

Recently I met with a book club which is reading The Frontiersman's Daughter and we had a wonderful time. I talked a bit about the inspiration behind the novel and then there was a question and answer time. Judy, the hostess, has a lovely home right on the beach and we bookies had a hard time leaving. Some suggestions for future reads: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (905 customer reviews on Amazon!) and those Alexander McCall Smith books all the rage right now. Someone volunteered Mere Christianity, always a biggie. Also, A Cup of Tea. The problem is there are so many great books it's hard to make a short list:) I'd love to hear from you readers if you have any books that shout, "read me!"

I'm getting very excited as I should see the cover for Courting Morrow Little this week. Nothing like looking your protagonist straight in the face! Revell has been turning out some stunning covers this year. As soon as I get the green light I'll show it here. Last time the cover was up on Amazon in November, a good 8 months ahead of release date.

I've been having an amazing time finishing the last part of The Locket. As I write lately I literally move sentence by sentence, unsure of what will happen next. That has never really occurred before as I usually have some inkling, at least a little bit, as to what will transpire. So here I am sentence by sentence, praying in between, not sure how it is going to end. And I'm thrilled to find it's better than anything I could have thought of on my own! It's His book, after all.

Okay, any good book recommendations out there?

Reading and weeping opens the door to one's heart, but writing and weeping opens the door to one's soul.
-MK Simmons


How little people know who think that holiness is dull...when one meets the real thing, it's irresistible.
-CS Lewis

15 comments:

  1. I liked the Will of Wisteria and I read Tom Sawyer again today which was funny. It's always interesting how you'll read a book and then months or years later read it again and come away with new things or things you hadn't caught on to before.

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  2. I won a copy of Guernsey in a blog contest...I'm really looking forward to reading it once it arrives.

    Looking forward to seeing the cover for your 2nd book! When is it due to release?

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  3. how exciting for you!! to have a book club reading your book!!

    that's great that you had the opportunity to meet them and share with them.

    you look beautiful in that picture!

    i've been meaning to tell you, my kids think it is very cool that you wrote a little note and autographed my copy of Frontiersman's Daughter. And then the other day, my daughter was looking through the new CBD catalog and saw your book cover and she exclaimed,"Mommy!! You have that book, and the author knows you, huh?!!"
    I answered, "Yes, I have that one. And yes, we kinda know each other. Just by reading and commenting on each others blogs."

    So happy day to you, my bloggy friend!

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  4. Oooh....I can't wait to see what Morrow Little looks like!

    I am currently reading another "Daughter" book, 'The Apothecary's Daughter' by Julie Klassen. It's very good. It's actually the first book since TFD that I've been able to get completely lost in. Klassen's first book 'Lady of Milkweed Manor' was also very good.

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  5. I love the title The Locket. I can just picture a cover for it,although I'm sure Revell will come up with something even more beautiful.

    Don't you just love it when you feel God controlling your story?

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  6. Laura,

    How exciting indeed, soon to see the cover of your book. I daydream about covers sometimes. :) I look forward to seeing it too. STILL waiting for my copy of TFD to arrive, but it should show up any day now. Hopefully today!

    I can't recommend The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society highly enough for a book club read--or anyone's read. I listened to it on audio, and apart from it being a rich, profound and uplifting story, peopled with memorable characters, it's also one of the best performed books I've ever heard, right up there with John McDonnough's reading of the Mitford books. Definitely one to hear again, on some long drive or rainy fall day while I'm baking something to warm the house.

    May the Lord guide you along that sentence by sentence path today.

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  7. Adge, You've given me something to look up - Will of Wisteria:) I think Twain is remarkably funny and love Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. Keep hoping my boys will get into those soon. Funny how a book speaks to us at different times like you said. Love that!

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  8. Hi Ruth, I'll be checking your blog to see your review of Guernsey in future:) I'm sure you will have a wonderful take on it like usual.

    Hoping I recognize my heroine/protagonist when I meet her on that cover:) Apparantly, and I'm probably not supposed to say this, she was having a hard time fitting into the gown for the photo shoot, etc. I can certainly relate to that:)But I think it's because the dress was so tiny. And Morrow is not slim! So it sounds as if they've gotten that right.

    Book 2, CML, releases August 1st, just TFD. Wish there was someway to speed up the process but I lament I'm not a fast writer. Bless you this week!

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  9. Grrr...these typos! I meant to say, Courting Morrow Little is released Aug. 1 just like TFD was. Book 3, The Locket, will be released Aug. 2011.

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  10. Mary, thanks so much for your enthusiasm about my cover:) And I'm glad you've found another book to lose yourself in - they don't come often enough.

    I have read Klassen's Milkwood book and think the cover for Apothecary is so well done. She is a very good writer and I enjoyed the baby/nursing angle of the first. She's an editor at Bethany House and submitted to them under a pen name and they picked her up! Hope you have some good reading time today.

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  11. Lorna,
    You understand that aspect of His story very well, so much better than writing solo. I can't wait to see your cover as well! I hope it resembles the pics of the lake you have and also that they keep your wonderful title, Summer of Truth. Lots of fun in store for you in future:)

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  12. Lori,
    I wonder why the covers are the one thing we writers always think about? Maybe because they send such a message to the reader. Liz Curtis Higgs said she cried when she saw the cover of Lena in her first Scottish novel. She was just as she'd dreamed she would be.

    Guernsey must be an incredible book! I need to try audio formats of books as I think that would be a neat switch from the printed page. Hearing it must be a very different experience. I loved the Mitford books and have each and every one. Will have to check the audio out. Guess you need just the right voice.

    Can't wait to get back to my sentence by sentence finish and see what happens next:) Hope you have some great writing time today.

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  13. Lisa,
    Your daughter is so sweet! I look at the catalogs too and think, "Is that really me?" It's been such a blessing reading your blog and becoming blog buddies and playing blog tag. I used to wonder what all the fuss was about but now I'm hooked:)

    Thanks for the book club compliment. They are a great group of ladies - 16 in all! That smile on my face is because they made it so much fun. I hope there are more book clubs in my future.

    Thinking of you today as you go about quilting, reading, cooking, and all the rest!

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  14. Laura, I'm eager to see the cover of Courting Morrow Little. Revell did so well on the first book, I'm sure this one will be just as grand.

    I trust the words for The Locket come and be even better than you imagined. When writing in "wait and see" mode, we get to witness the Lord at work guiding the story, and He is full of awesome surprises.

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  15. Yes, Keli, writing for Him is quite an adventure as he is full of surprises! I don't know how people write under their own steam.

    I wonder if the cover art is so important to we writers because it conveys the very heart of our books (or should). We all carry around that perfect cover in our minds and hearts. I get a bit nervous wondering what the finished product will look like. There are only so many ways you can pose a woman on the front of a book, but the art team usually manages to make it original every time. I hope we all love Morrow when we see her:)

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