The Book Pusher: June

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It's Summertime and the books are here! Go to the beach, mountains, deck, backyard--I'm not picky--and read! ;-)

LAND OF SILENCE Tessa Afshar: Christian Women's Fiction

Like a tapestry, Land of Silence has to be woven from disparate threads. Afshar's talent for weaving Biblical truth and stellar storytelling will leave you breathless. Read it now!

THE HIDEAWAY Lauren K. Denton: Women's Fiction

Family secrets and enduring love, both past and present, are tucked into every room and crevice of The Hideaway. Sara Jenkins must uncover her grandmother Mag's life to find her own life. Wonderful read!

THE SISTERS OF BLUE MOUNTAIN Karen Katchur: Women's Fiction

How many secrets does it take to create an avalanche? Katchur's mystery has as many twists as a mountain road. Great read!

THE DISTANCE HOME Orly Konig: Women's Fiction

Emma Metz must find the path home through loneliness, loss, and rejection, but the destination is all the sweeter once she reaches her safe harbor and destined home.

ELISHEVA: PART I--THE PRICE Michelle Levigne: Christian Women's Fiction

In the tradition of older novel's like The Robe, Levigne's first century residents experience Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. Relive this story of life with these vivid characters and find hope in the story that gives life.

A BRIDGE ACROSS THE OCEAN Susan Meisner: Women's Fiction

With multiple POVs and timelines, Meisner weaves another spell-binding story with war brides, with their stories of love and resistance, and a present day woman with the gift that ties them together in amazing ways.


Links:
Pansters unite! "The Case for Writing a Story Before You Know How it Ends"

"One Habit Every Writer Needs Right Now" I'm so big on goals--tiny, small, medium, or large--that I help other writers make and keep them at the Community CompuServe Books and Writers Forum. Truly this link will change your writing.

And queries, of course--"How to Immediately Improve Your Query Letter's Effectiveness"

Next post: Insecure Writers Support Group, of course!

The Book Pusher's July Mini Book Reviews: J. Blackwell, U. Carbone, C. di Maio, S. Meissner, C. Ruchti

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THE PARIS KEY Juliet Blackwell: Women's Fiction

Genevieve Martin thought that not all locks should be  opened, but maybe some secrets shouldn't be under lock and key. Moving to Paris teaches her that happiness can be hidden away as easily as pain. Good Read.

BLUEBERRY TRUTH Ute Carbone: Women's Fiction

This is a sweet story about hard truth. Add a great main character and you have a good read with genuine heart.

THE MEMORY OF US Camille di Maio: Women's Fiction

This poignant story of love and loss, repentance and renewal, will take you into the heart of Julianne Westcott. The journey will renew your hope for all who have their dreams stolen.

A FALL OF MARIGOLDS Susan Meissner: Women's Fiction

If you haven't read any of Meissner's books, A Fall of Marigolds is a good place to start. Meissner is a master of stories with two setting--in this one we have a 9-11 widow and a nurse working at Ellis Island in 1911. A Fall of Marigolds is a beautiful story of two young women--Taryn and Clare--who must discover the freedom to love and be loved will never be found if we are stuck in between choices. This is a must read! I'd give it ten stars if I could.

SONG OF SILENCE Cynthia Ruchti: Women's Fiction

This gentle story of grace, hope, forgiveness, and love reveals how music and life both benefit from rest.


Next Week: July Links!

The Book Pusher's February Mini Book Reviews Part 2: L. Bujold, D. Gabaldon, K. Hannah, S. Meissner

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GENTLEMAN JOLE AND THE RED QUEEN Lois McMaster Bujold: SF Romance

 A fabulously twisty and rewarding SF Romance by a master in the field. Must Read, but only if you've read the entire Vorkosigan series beforehand. 

BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE Diana Gabaldon: Historical

You can't go wrong with Diana Gabaldon's books! This one is a great read that cuts to the heart of one of her beloved characters, Lord John Grey. Add a neat mystery and Jamie Fraser and it's as good as a read gets. 
 

THE NIGHTINGALE Kristin Hannah: Historical Women's Fiction 

A deeply felt and stirring story of the choices two sisters must make in occupied France in World War II. Must Read! 

SEA CHANGE Darlene Marshall: Historical Romance

Take one delightfully handsome rogue. Add an unexpectedly unconventional heroine. And you have the perfect recipe for a light, historical romance. 

 STARS OVER SUNSET BOULEVARD Susan Meissner: Historical Women's Fiction

This is a beautiful story of the risks and rewards of friendship that survives all strain of reaching for what one holds most dear. Susan Meissner delivers as usual. 

Next Week: Where Do You Read?

 

March Author Interview: Susan Meissner

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Susan Meissner's books first came to my attention through an article in the American Christian Fiction Writers Association journal. She was included in a list of Christian literary fiction writers and I had to investigate. I started with A Sound Among the Trees. I've been mesmerized by her lyrical prose, intricate plots, and deep characters ever since.

 
Here’s my mini book review of my latest Susan Meissner read:
Secrets of a Charmed Life is a lyrical exploration of the effects the choices we make have on our lives. Set in the disruptive time of the Blitz of London and the evacuation of the city's children, the story will hold you mesmerized. A Must Read.

ZM: I’m so thrilled that I get a chance to interview a writer whose writing embodies what I’m reaching for in my own work. This quote from your interview on Women’s Fiction Writers says it all to me: 

“I was a Christian who wrote fiction, so I started out writing Christian fiction thinking that’s where I belonged. But I found that what I was really writing was fiction that fit my worldview, which happened to be Christian. I knew I was more like a baker who is a Christian and who wants to bake amazing bread that people can’t stop talking about rather than a baker who bakes Christian bread.”

Tell us about your journey into publishing.

Susan: I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love to write. It’s always been an itch that I had to scratch. I started out career-wise in journalism, but after ten years in newspapers, I knew what I really wanted to write was fiction. I quit my job as editor of a little weekly newspaper to write my first novel. It was published, by the goodness and favor of God because I had no idea what I was doing, in 2004. I’ve been writing books ever since. I started out in the inspirational market but moved to the general marketplace in 2014. Secrets of a Charmed Life is my sixteenth novel.

ZM: I love how many of your books weave the past with the present. What was the process that led you to this type of storytelling?

Susan: I’ve always liked mulling over how the past informs the present. History shows us what we value, what we fear, what we are willing to fight for, and what we don’t want to live without. When two separate and perhaps even unrelated story lines revolve around the same theme, we can see that there are aspects about us that don’t change, even though the years change. In The Shape of Mercy, which is the first book I wrote using this kind of past and present construction, I used a diary to link the two stories together. That book seemed to strike a chord in my readers. They wanted more books like that. In Lady in Waiting I used a ring to dovetail the story of Lady Jane Grey with a modern-day Jane. In A Fall of Marigolds the item that bridges both stories is a scarf. With Secrets of A Charmed Life, Thistle House is the constant in every time change as are the paintings of the Umbrella Girls.

ZM: I’ve classified your books as literary fiction, but I want to include them as women’s fiction, too. Would you agree? Do you think women’s fiction is limiting for writers? Do you favor a specific genre? 
 
Susan: “Women’s Fiction” is really just a way of describing a novel’s intended audience rather than how to find that book by genre in a bookstore or online. Men read literary fiction, but would not necessarily read what is classified as Women’s Fiction. WF can have a decided literary feel, but it’s not targeted to male readers. It can also have a definite comedic slant, which I don’t think of as being literary in tone.  I have heard my kind of book called an “upmarket novel,” which Writers Digest defines as literary fiction with commercial appeal – my favorite genre.  I don’t think classifying my books as Women’s Fiction has any kind of limiting effect if we understand it’s just a way of describing who the books are primarily for.

ZM: Ha! I like the sound of "commercial appeal", too. Many craft books stress that writers must read and read a lot. Who is your favorite author, or what is your favorite genre? What draws you to a book you read for enjoyment?

Susan: I have a number of favorite authors whose storytelling skills just amaze me. Two of those writers are Geraldine Brooks and Kate Morton. I like books that deal with historical events and multiple time periods, and that are peopled with memorable characters. I can usually tell by the first two or three chapters if a book is going to completely woo and wow me. What I am usually carried away by is voice. Every novelist I love has the ability to give their characters a believable voice. The books I like best are the ones where I forget the author even exists and that I am reading stuff she pulled out of her imagination.

ZM: Finally, what question do you wish interviewers would ask, but they never do?

Susan: What a fun question! And a hard one… I suppose I wish interviewers would ask if writing novels gets easier the more I write so that I could answer with an emphatic “No!” I used to be under the impression that when you do something long enough it becomes second-nature to you. But that’s not the case with writing novels; at least it’s not that way for me. Even though I’ve written sixteen books, I still approach every blank page with a healthy dose of apprehension and trepidation. I raise the bar higher with every book I write but I still start out the same way when I begin a new one – with a whole lot of nothing. That part thrills me, but it also scares me to death. Starting a new book always feels like I am writing one for the first time and haven’t a clue as to what I am doing!

ZM: It terrifies me, too! Thanks, Susan, for taking the time to let me "grill" you. ;-)

Susan Meissner is a multi-published author, speaker and writing workshop leader with a background in community journalism. Her novels include A Fall of Marigolds, named by Booklist’s Top Ten women’s fiction titles for 2014, and The Shape of Mercy, named by Publishers Weekly as one of the 100 Best Novels of 2008. A California native, she attended Point Loma Nazarene University. Susan is a pastor’s wife and a mother of four young adults. When she’s not working on a novel, Susan writes small group curriculum for her San Diego church. Visit Susan at her website: www.susanmeissner.com on Twitter at @SusanMeissner or at www.facebook.com/susan.meissner

October Mini Book Reviews--K. Callihan, C. Holmberg, S. Meissner, L. Saville

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Just when you've run out of books...

I have a few for you to consider. There's something for every taste in this list. Enjoy!

THE PAPER MAGICIAN Charlie Holmberg: Older Middle Grades fantasy

 The Paper Magician is the story of a young magician apprentice and her journey through the heart as she learns the magic of folding. While I'd peg it as Upper Middle Grades, I think lovers of Harry Potter would enjoy it at any age.

EVERNIGHT Kristen Callihan: Historical Paranormal Steam Punk Romance

Kallihan's Darkest London series continues with her usual genre bending. The romance is on the side of steamy and the plot is a baroque as her readers have come to expect. Evernight takes two unlikely lovers and builds a tale of love, torment, sacrifice, and resilience.

A FALL OF MARIGOLDS Susan Meissner: Women's Fiction

If you haven't read any of Meissner's books, A Fall of Marigolds is a good place to start. Meissner is a master of stories with two setting--in this one we have a 9-11 widow and a nurse working at Ellis Island in 1911. A Fall of Marigolds is a beautiful story of two young women--Taryn and Clare--who must discover the freedom to love and be loved will never be found if we are stuck in between choices. This is a must read! I'd give it ten stars if I could.

HENRY AND RACHEL Laurel Saville: Literary Fiction

Henry and Rachel is an intensive character study told in eight POVs. The language is rich, detailed, and hypnotic. From the jungles of Jamaica to the cold apartments of New York, Henry and Rachel traces the story of Rachel and shines a light into a deeply repressed character.

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Next Week: Author Interview with Kathryn Craft!