XXXVI - June 2010

Finally! On May 15 I sent in my completed Under the Skin - the fifth Elizabeth book.  I have not heard anything yet -- other than the fact that Herself received it. And I have no idea how long it will take Herself to get to it and even less idea what she's going to think about it.  I suspect she'll have some changes she wants me to make.

In  the original version of Art's Blood, Herself felt that the killer was too obvious and suggested a change. She was right -- she pretty much always is. And she wanted a fairly substantial rewrite of The Day of Small Things (still scheduled for a September 28 release.) 

So who knows what she may feels needs doing or undoing in this my sixth book? Not me. I just know it'll be better after I've responded to her suggestions.

I spoke to a large book club this month and a man asked if I didn't resent having to make changes -- if I didn't feel my artistic vision was being tampered with by my editor. (That's not exactly what he said but that was how I interpreted his question.)

And I replied, as  I always do -- for I get this question often, that I'm not writing great literature and that I see myself more as a craftsman and a storyteller than an artist.  And besides, even artists generally have teachers whose opinions they learn from. 


So I'm bracing myself for a learning experience any day now.  In the meantime, I've been working in the garden, repotting all my potted plants (some of which are huge and most of which were in dire need of this attention. I'm starting to catch up on some long overdue housecleaning; I'm working through those boxes of mysteries I told you about last month. 


And I watched a movie -- the first in a long time -- the newest Pride and Prejudice. Oh, it's been glorious to catch up on my own life after being totally consumed in Elizabeth's for so long!

Notes and Queries

Elaine in Hawaii says: I tried a Maisie Dobbs, didn't like it. I never like heros/heroines who are never wrong, except for, oddly, Nero Wolfe. The latest Christopher Fowler that I have, The Victoria Vanishes, is really, really good. Lots of English history taught here, not to mention the laughs.

 

Deana the Queena in Burnesville, NC tells me:  I recently read a heap of the Hamish McBeth mystery series by M.C. Beaton. They're very light, but give some glimpses into the world of the Scottish Highlands and have good characters.

Mary, here in my neck of the woods writes: I read "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"--and now you can't even tell me if you read or liked it. RATS!  I didn't think it was so wonderfully written, but it was so much fun reading!  I'm now reading the second one, "Girl who Played with Fire".  Don't think I'll read the 3rd one--they're getting a little too predictable.  98 lb. girl does major bodily harm, just in the nick of time, to 380 lb. man who can't feel pain.

Pat in East TN asks:

Sooooo, what are you going to do with ALL your free time?  HA, I only say that because folks always ask me, "What do you do all the time, aren't you bored?"  I could honestly smack them silly as there aren't enough hours in the day it seems, but so it goes.  We got so very much appreciated rain last night ... 1/2 inch in about 1/2 an hour!   We are dry, dry, dry here ... as of the other day 4+ inches behind for the year.  My poor berries, all varieties of them, are in such need of water at this time, and we were ready to haul out the hoses, but Mother Nature came to our rescue, + her water is much better then ours.  Potato bugs have invaded overnight AND on my tomato plants too, especially the Roma's!  Eeeeek!  Sooo, I'm out there with my soup can of kerosene picking those little buggers off.  They just about did the Roma's in, but I think/hope all but one will recover. 

Other then that it's just been this/that work outside and a ton of company lately.  I've been reading some.  Dr. Bass from UT-Knoxville/The Body Farm has a new book out, and I'm a huge fan of his, so I literally flew through that one.  Now I'm reading CAUGHT by Harlan Corben.  I did see that in the box of books you are to read ... JMO, but this one is blowing me away!  Enough said! 

Pat's garden is way ahead of ours but I can report that mine is looking pretty good in spite of a late start.  May 15 is the standard date around here before which one risks frost so as soon as the book was off to New York, I was in the garden setting out maters and peppers and all such tender plants.

The next step is to tackle the shrubbery -- all of which needs pruning and weeding.  Probably a lot like that book I just sent off. 

 Here's a slide show from May -- does it seem like all I do is look at flowers?

May 2010 -- XXXV

May already! I'm this close (holding thumb and forefinger very close, indeed) to being ready to send Under the Skin to my long-suffering editor. About four short chapters to go on what seems to have been an endless journey. 


Undoubtedly there'll be revisions -- there always are. And they always make the work stronger.  But I shall heave such a sigh of relief when this one is done!

And  then I have some reading to do.  Actually, I'm already reading -- at breakfast and lunch, a few minutes before dinner, just before bed . . .

I'm one of a committee of eight to choose five nominees for best novel (in the mystery field) of 2010.  The eventual winner will be voted by the members of Mystery Writers of America -- kind of like the Motion Picture Academy and the Oscars.

So far I've received over a hundred books -- by the end of the year there'll probably be over 500.


But the sad thing is, I'm not allowed to tell you all about them. All the members of the committee signed pledges not to discuss the books they read (except among themselves) -- not now, not ever.


So for the rest of this year, I'm not posting about what I'm reading.


Bummer.

After the long winter, Spring has been gorgeous. So far (fingers crossed) there's not been a killing freeze. Peas and lettuce are up; potatoes are planted; chickens are laying; and the pastures are growing lush and green. 

There's a lot of pruning and cleanup to be done around the yard -- the winter was hard on the shrubbery. Places that used to be shady are sunny -- and vice versa. A garden is always a work in progress and I'm looking forward to seizing some slim margin of control over bits of it. There's been a lot of benign neglect on my part while Mother Nature moves ahead with her own plans. 


The whole idea of a garden is Man (or Woman) trying to impose order on freedom-loving Nature -- one may win a battle but the war is never over and those same battles must constantly be re-fought.


Once more into the breach, dear friends!

Here's a walk through our April -- complete with Easter party and pre-party pictures.

Notes and Queries

Pat in East TN writes:

I just finished reading LUCIA, LUCIA by Adriana Trigiani.  I really enjoyed her Big Stone Gap series ... this was quite a change from that, but a really good story.  Now I'm ready to start THE STORYTELLER by Margaret Coel.  I've heard a lot about her books, and, as it goes, this has been sitting on my shelves for quite some time!    

Eleanor says:

  I loved The Irresistible Henry House, just out, by Lisa Grunwald. 

Barb says:

I've been a fan since reading Signs In The Blood and Arts Blood. I am currently reading Old Wounds. I have to tell you that I absolutely LOVED the part where Elizabeth was trying to use the cell phone that she had recently acquired and was having so much trouble with it.I could definitely relate to her experience!

   Also,I do have one question.I was wondering why Laurel and Rosemary refer to Elizabeth as Mum and not Mom. Just curious as to why you chose a British reference to their mother.

Re cell phone -- I wrote that, as you might guess, shortly after getting my first cell phone. I still don't use one much -- it stays in the car for emergencies.

Why Mum?  Well, I guess because my older son ( who is, like me, an Anglophile) started calling me Mum at some time and I liked the sound of it. He'd begun with Ma when he was very young  and then switched to Mom at some point. It became Mum when he was in his teens. (My younger son still calls me Mom. ) 

Janie in Morganton sent me this picture and 'recipe.' --Our associate pastor, Betty Henson, grew up in the mountains north of Boone, and she dyed the Easter egg in this photograph with onion skins. 

Here are her directions: Take the thin brown skin off onions and soak them in water for a couple of hours. Then wrap them around an uncooked egg and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in a 250 oven for hour. Eggs used to be colored this way in the ashes of a fireplace and the  skins tied on with string. Each egg is an one of a kind creation and is colored in shades and designs of brown.

Too late for Easter this year -- but still sounds fun!

Even though I can't discuss my reading, I hope that you'll share your favorites! Or questions, recipes, household hints, love potions, funny stories . . .

XXXIV - The Goodweather Report, April 2010

Oh, dear. The cover woes continue. I told you back in February about the cover Bantam Dell proposed. That's it, above.  And I was finally able to share it over on my daily blog.  They even put it up on Amazon and now, after I've gotten all used to Birdie with dark hair, not to mention rewriting the book to make her a brunette, the folks at Bantam Dell Marketing have decided that blond would sell better. 

So they've come up with a new cover they're quite enthusiastic about.  They've also insisted on a title change -- seems they felt that The Day of Small Things was a real yawn and wouldn't sell. 

Arrgh!

I don't know . . . of course the name of the game is selling copies of the book. But this new look isn't exactly what I had in mind. . . 


Oh, well . . . I'm only the author. What do I know?

They haven't gotten around to making the change on Amazon yet -- but for those of you who've pre-ordered The Day of Small Things, (for which, many, many thanks!) no need to re-order -- they'll just switch you over to Untamed Love.

Questions and Observations

Pat in east TN says: love the part where everyone shares what they read.  I saw where you read THESE IS MY WORDS and immediately went to Amazon to check it out ... boy I thought this sure sounds interesting, yet vaguely familiar.  Mmmmm ... you got it, I have this book, and have had it for quite some time!!!  This is what's bad when my TBR pile keeps growing because of others recommendations, and the new ones keep going on top of the older ones.  I've done this so many times and then could kick myself for not reading a certain book when I 'just had to have it', yet it got pushed aside for this/that 'must have' book!  So, I will be reading that book when I am done with BLOODROOT, and must thank you for rattling my brain and putting me 'in search of' it.  

and later Pat added:I tried to read PEACE LIKE A RIVER and simply could NOT get into it, so back on the shelf it goes for another day.  LAST GIRLS seems good, but, IMO, FAIR AND TENDER LADIES  is hard to beat.  I have to look and see if she has anything since ON AGATE HILL. 

From Tipper: I  just finished Bloodroot-and really liked it! But I've been wondering what Elizabeth Goodweather is up to. : )

Beth E. reports: I've taken up knitting, so haven't been reading much except at bedtime.  My latest is "Secrets of Eden" by Chris Bohjalian.  I'd read a lot of stuff on your list, not the mountain-themed ones yet.  There will be a new Maisie Dobbs and Ariana Franklin in April.  (I keep referring to her as Ariana Huffington.)


I recently discovered that some authors put knitting patterns in their books (FAmily Tree)--do you know of some good ones?  Did I tell you about that site "Crimes through Time?"  I've really gotten interested in WWI--I read so many of them for a while.  "Stone's Fall" was excellent.


Chris Bohjalian is 1 of my faves!  He wrote "The Midwives", "Peasants at the Feast" (my favorite), others I can't remember, and now "Secrets of Eden."  One of those men who have the sensitivity to write like a woman (how sexist I am).
 
Eleanor W. asks: do you like police stuff? If so you might enjoy Leslie Glass' April Woo series...I got addicted and read 'em all!

And from Katie B. what she's read this so far this year:
·     Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
·     The Help
·     Birds in Fall Brad Kessler (2nd time)
·     The Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith
·     Noah’s Compass by Anne Tyler
·      Where the God of Love Hangs Out by Amy Bloom. Fabulous collection of short stories. Author is a poet, novelist, and psychotherapist. The collection includes two series of 4 linked stories, and a couple of stand-alones. I am breathless in the face of this author’s prose, wicked humor, and insights about marriage, life, death, sex, choices.
·      The Red Door by Charles Todd
·      Brooklyn by Colm Toiban,
·      The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer
·      The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
·      The Weissmans of Westport by Catherine Schine
·      Elegance of the Hedgehog
·      Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
·     Nemesis by Jo Nesbo
·     The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
·     A Poisoned Mind by Natasha Cooper
·     The Cruel Stars of the Night by Kjelll Eriksson (didn’t like, didn’t finish)
·     Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Recent Reads and Re-reads
(the ones that are hot links are discussed on my other blog)

The Road to Wellsville by T. Coraghessan Boyle

The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt

Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot by Al Franken- During the Health Care debate, I was getting frustrated and fed up with the Party of No and reread this for some fun.


I mentioned the two below last month but since then I've discussed them on my other blog.
 
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain  


These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner

 Happy April 1!  Were you fooled?

Here's an album of pictures from the past month.

XXXIII - March, 2010

We've had a gracious plenty of snow here on the mountain and I know that a lot of you have had even more. I continue to believe that Spring will come someday.


I still haven't received my final cover copy that I told you about last month.  Publishing has always moved glacially anyway and the many layoffs, due to the economy, in the past year haven't speeded things up at all. But, like Spring, maybe next month . . .


We lost another dog in February.  Jack, one of the Border Collies, was operated on for a tumor and, in spite of seeming to be recovering, suffered a seizure the next day from which he didn't recover.


Jack wasn't the prototype for one of Elizabeth's dogs -- although we had five,  I limited her to three so she wouldn't seem like a crazy dog lady. But he was a much loved member of the family and we miss him.

Dear me, this is sounding awfully down so far. I don't mean it to.  Suffice it to say that all is well on the mountain. I'm working to finish up Under the Skin  -- the fifth Elizabeth book -- even as I'm longing to get  outside and get to work in the garden.

Questions and Observations

Pat in TN says: Finished WENCH and wasn't too thrilled about it.  Definitely NOT like THE HELP, which many compared it to.  Mmmm, what were they thinking!?!?!  Now I'm reading BLOODROOT by local author Amy Greene.  A good Appalachian novel ... the kind I like best! . . . I highly recommend it and I've only just started.

Joan C. recommends Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts for a different take on history.

Nancy B writes: Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder is quite a story of the founding of Health Care Partners in Haiti. In fact, quite a description of Haiti's history. This book is a must-read!

Sue P in Dallas was snowed in and read all three John Hart novels and two of the Ann Cleeves Shetland Isles mysteries! Eight inches in sunny Dallas!

Recent Reads and Re-reads

Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island. Anne of Windy Poplars

Chronicles of Avonlea  - all by Lucy M. Montgomery. Books from my childhood, definite comfort reads

Little Men - Louisa May Alcott - another much-loved comfort read about an  early progressive school

Heaven-High, Hell-Deep- by Peggy Poe Stern, a NC native  and farm woman, writing from the heart about a tough mountain girl in the early 1900's.

Kitchen Confidential  by Anthony Bourdain. Could NOT put this down! A look behind the scenes in various high dollar eateries. (Don't order fish on Monday.)

 

These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner - the (fictional) diary of woman in the Arizona Territories, 1881-1901. I really loved this.

 

SCHEDULE ~ 2010

May 17 - meet with Read Between the Lines book club in Morganton, NC

September 28 -  The Day of Small Things (aka the Miss Birdie book) will be released!

XXXII ~ February 2010

It's still winter here, though we had a lovely day in the fifties before the snow began to fall again. Eighteen or more inches is a possibility -- and that includes the possibility of another power outage. We're prepared -- generator, wood, gas, kerosene, dog food, people food . . . and in further preparation, I'm posting this a few days early -- just in case we're without power on the first.

I've seen some preliminary cover art for The Day of Small Things -- I can't show it to you yet but I was very pleased with it. The cover features a young woman atop a rail fence, looking off into the woods -- very much like the young Birdie I'd imagined but for one little detail.

In my manuscript, the young Birdie's hair is a pale, moonlight blonde. This cover shows a girl with long dark hair.

Arrgh!

When I pointed this out to my editor, she asked the Art Department to try to photoshop the hair color to blonde and they gave it a try but the results were less than pleasing.

So, I went back through the manuscript and turned Birdie's pale tresses to dark brown. It wasn't that big a deal -- and I wasn't that attached to a blonde Birdie. But for all of you who think that authors have input or control over their covers, I say to you, ha! ha! and au contraire.

Maybe by next month I'll be able to show you the cover. The book is listed on Amazon now, for presale, which does make it seem a little closer to reality.

Here's a slide show of various and sundry photos from January. Click on the picture to view.

January 2010

QUESTIONS AND OBSERVATIONS FROM YOU ALL

Mary B. writes: The Beauty School of Kabul was interesting and kind of fun. Have you read it?
It was interesting and kind of fun. It's about an American hairdresser who started a cosmetology school for Afghan women -- non fiction. You can imagine the problems she had! Also -- have you read The Lacuna?... I love Barbara Kingsolver and am anxious to read it. I'm interested in the whole Frida Kahlo/Trotsky/Diego drama.


Pat in east TN says: I'm reading The Coal Tattoo right now and they're talking about the mineral rights that folks had signed years before not really knowing what they were signing... now the coal company was coming in to do more mining and all ~ell was about to break loose. It's a good book but then I am a fan of Silas House.


Tipper in Brasstown (who has a terrific blog - The Blind Pig and the Acorn - about all things Appalachian asks: Have you ever heard of Peggy Poe Stern? I just finished reading one of her books and loved it. She too writes about Appalachia. The book was so good I just cannot figure out why I haven't heard of her before.

Elaine in Hawaii says:I have been reading Christopher Fowler: Full Dark House, 77 Clocks, etc. He's a v. funny guy...or he writes funny stuff.

RECENT READS AND REREADS

High Tide in Tucson by Barbara Kingsolver - Wonderful essays --what a writer this woman is!

What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool - If you read (or write) novels with a 19th century English setting, this is for you. Or if you're just curious about that era. I loved it!

Growing Up in Davie County by William Jamie Moore and Jamie W. Moore, ed. -- a detailed glimpse at life in small town North Carolina in the early 20th century. Great archival photographs!

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott -- a recent mention of this book by a comment from Miss Yves in France sent me to the book shelf to get reacquainted with this old friend. Next, Good Wives and Little Men.

SCHEDULE
2010

Monday, May 17 ~ Meeting with the "Read Between the Wines Book Club" in Morganton, NC.

SEPTEMBER 28 -- MISS BIRDIE FLIES!! Release date for (the long-awaited) The Day of Small Things!!!!!!!!!!

XXXI - January 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I hope you all have your black-eyed peas and hog jowl for good luck, along with the collard greens to put money in your pocket.

Resolutions? I resolve not to make them.

Peering out from the dark winter time into another year . . . somehow, unbelievably it's 2010! These are uncertain times . . . in the book world as elsewhere. Book stores closing, newspapers cutting review sections . . . 'Don't quit your day job,' I tell the aspiring writers in my classes.

"May you live in interesting times" is said to be an ancient Chinese curse. And these are interesting times, for sure.

But the days are getting longer again; the snow -- 'poor man's fertilize' as the old farmer calls it -- has enriched our fields; and the seed catalogs promise that Spring is coming.

I expect it to be good.

















Here's a slide show with pictures from the big snow that knocked out our power for five days. Click on the picture to enlarge and to read the captions.

QUESTIONS AND OBSERVATIONS FROM YOU ALL

Deborah E. says: Your photos have inspired me to get out and take photos of the everyday places and things around me, and I have enjoyed it so much. Some of the photos will be used to paint from, others just to enjoy or share. Some I have enlarged for my husband's office. This really make me happy. I enjoy taking pictures so much -- I'm delighted if I've been the cause of someone else discovering this wonderful pastime.

Pat in east TN writes: I read your newsletter and noticed that several folks have read THE HELP. It's an all time favorite of mine and I can't help but recommend it to anyone/everyone. I am anxious to see what this author comes up with next. I'm now reading ALEX STEWART, a book I won on THE BOOK HOUSE blog. Very interesting man who lead quite a life way back in the mountains of east TN. Both on on my TBR list, Pat! It's just a matter of time . . .

Eleanor in Florida loved Olive Kitteredge, btw...and will now do Time Traveler's...I too am tempted by The Help. You should read Julius Winsome too. Thanks, Eleanor -- I always like your recommendations!

Sue P has been reading: The Inspector Rutledge series by Charles Todd, The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, The Last(?) Inspector Wexford by Ruth Rendell - The Monster in the Box. As always, so good. Necessary As Blood by my sort-of neighbor, Deborah Crombie.
I'm definitely a Charles Todd and Deborah Crombie fan -- will have to check out the others as well.

Sue also says:Got a Kindle for Christmas, and while I will NEVER give up real books, this will be fun for traveling, or instances like now when I am trying to read the new Stephen King (Under the Dome) - all 1100 pages of it. Especially in bed. It keeping conking me on the head. If I traveled more, I'd be very tempted by the Kindle.

Esta writes: I recently picked up a copy of the children's book The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree, and thought it might be something you'd enjoy. It's set in Western NC, the story is simple and moving (and rings true), and the illustrations are gorgeous.

Carol from Fletcher is: Reading thru the Liz Reader, Exerpts from the Late Elizabeth Daniels Squire, Miss her and Her Peaches Dann character!

MY RECENT READS AND RE-READS

The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad: A look at a world I can hardly imagine.

Passenger from Frankfurt by Agatha Christie: One of her much later books --- and it was on the NYT Best Sellers for twenty something weeks. Far-fetched fun.

The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys: Historical vignettes that are poetic evocations of London over seven centuries. Amazing writing. And good reading at this cold time of year -- for a reminder of just how deadly winter can be.

Shop Class As Soul Craft by Matthew B. Crawford: An examination into the dignity and satisfaction of doing things with your hands. I really liked this -- considering it's something I already believed, not surprising.

The corrected page proofs of Miss Birdie's book, The Day of Small Things, are on their way back to New York. So now the ball's in their court.

Next up -- cover art. I sent a suggestion for a cover some while back but have no idea what they're planning. Sadly, Jamie, the woman who's been responsible for all my other covers, was let go in the significant down-sizing that went on at Random House a while back so I really don't know what to expect. Jamie read and liked my books and I think it showed in the covers she designed.

We shall see.

And eventually there will be ARCs - advance reading copies -- to be sent to reviewers and potential blurb writers. And at long last, come September 28, there'll be the book itself.

But now I have to concentrate my efforts on finishing Under the Skin -- the next Elizabeth book.

And after that . . . who knows? Another spin off about the Melungeons, Ish and Mariah, perhaps? An Elizabeth book using all the Myrna Lou story that got removed from Birdie's book? I have several other good ideas percolating in the back of my head, but the uncertain climate in the publishing world may be a factor in whether I get another contract . . .

Like the blue heron, I shall cultivate serenity . . . and a wait-and-see attitude.

A Very Merry Christmas!

I'd hoped to make this a longer, more thoughtful Christmas greeting to all of you but our power has been out and our Internet was only restored today. So, before we lose power again, this is just to wish you all a Happy Solstice, a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, and a Joyous New Year.

After several days of snow and gray skies, the sight of sunlight was the best Christmas present we could have.

And when the power came back on, the lights on the Christmas tree sparkled even more brightly than before.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support of the Elizabeth Goodweather books. I look forward to hearing from lots of you in the coming year.