In the Garden of Stone by Susan Tekulve

Title: In the Garden of Stone
Author: Susan Tekulve

Genre: Fiction (Historical / 1920s / 1930s / West Virginia / Sicily / Immigrants / Coal Mining / Marriage / Family Saga)
Publisher/Publication Date: Hub City Press (5/2013)
Source: TLC Book Tours

Rating: Liked a very good deal.
Did I finish?: I did!
One-sentence summary: Spanning almost fifty years, the story of a family in rural West Virginia and their passion for place, each other, the foreign and familiar.
Reading Challenges: Historical Fiction, Immigrant Stories

Do I like the cover?: I do -- months and bees feature rather prominently for two of the main characters.

I'm reminded of...: Jennifer Haigh, Ursula Hegi

First line: On Monday, washday, the two boys standing outside the white frame house looked like wizened old men.

Buy, Borrow, or Avoid?: Borrow or buy, especially if you like fiction of place, immigrant stories, and the vignette-y look at family a la Jennifer Haigh's Baker Towers.

Why did I get this book?: The era, the place.

Review: I was interested in this book because my paternal grandmother's family were Sicilians who ended up in West Virginia and western Maryland coal country. We're a taciturn people on my father's side of the family; my wife and sister-in-law marvel at the long, drawn out conversations we have about weather -- the current weather, the past weather, the weather to come -- but for my brother and I, that's just how you communicate with those relatives.

My wife and sister-in-law, being bolder, nosier people who didn't get the memo that one talks about the weather, are unabashed questioners, a trait I've come to deeply appreciate as they've elicited some of the loveliest and surprising stories from that side of the family. Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away after she and my wife met only once, and that brief glimpse into her family's life was eye-opening and fascinating. It's one of my greatest regrets I didn't get to talk to her about more than the weather.

In some ways, this book felt like I got a chance to continue that conversation.

Spanning almost fifty years, from 1924 to 1973, this novel is a collection of vignettes following a West Virginia family. Emma, a 16-year old Sicilian immigrant, loathes her mother's joyless existence and marries impetuously. Caleb, her new husband, works for the railroads and has a generous but drifting kind of focus that emerges even more strongly in his son Dean. Tragedy forces Dean from his family's land and upon his return, his devotion to the ground, the earth, the animals, and even the people he crosses creates joy and anguish in equal part. His daughter comes of age when her immigrant Italian relatives are old and frightening and the lure of the world outside of her family's property lines calls her more than her family's link to the land.

Tekulve's writing style is pretty, poetic, but not ornate or obfuscated. Each chapter feels like a self-contained short story in many ways; together, they show the arc of a family and place, but individually, there's a brilliant, bright, or blinding moment that stings or illuminates. I got the sense that some of the pieces were composed independently of the volume: Tekulve occasionally repeats an incident or a particular turn of phrase from one story in another, as if trying to offer context to a chapter were it removed from the collection. I didn't mind the repetition as it sort of emphasized the almost fairy tale quality to the family: fatherless children, magical gardens, temptations.

The familiarity of Tekulve's characters and place resonated with me as much as the writing. She articulated the nuances of rural poverty that felt authentic rather than shocking or exploitative. In her description of the Sypher family property, with the creeks and trees, random cabins, farm animals semi-feral, men obsessively working the land -- hauling, pulling, cutting, chopping -- I was reminded of my grandfather, father, and even now, my brother. (A trip to see that part of the family isn't complete without something being hauled, a cabin or milk house explored.)

I will admit to laughing a few times Tekulve's characters remarked on the West Virginia landscape as resembling Sicily; my family was stationed in Sicily for a few years when I was a child, and the country was gripped in a terrible drought the entire time we were there. My memory of Sicily is of a dry, stony, yellowed place, scrub and withering trees rather than the sort of verdant hilliness I associate with West Virginia. It wasn't until a few years ago when traveling in the Mediterranean did I see Sicily as it usually is -- fresh, green, hilly but alive -- but I still can't shake the sense of it as I knew it. (This isn't a knock against Tekulve's description of place!)

The vignette-y style reminded me immediately of Jennifer Haigh's Baker Towers and Ursula Hegi's Floating in My Mother's Palm, so readers who enjoy those kind of family sagas will enjoy this volume (grandmother with Sicilian background not needed). Highly recommended for fans of immigrant stories and rural American life in the first half of the 20th century.

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GIVEAWAY!

I'm thrilled to offer a copy of In the Garden of Stone to one lucky reader! To enter, fill out this brief form. Open to US readers only, ends 6/7.

Interview with David Morrell

Yesterday I reviewed David Morrell's wonderfully grim, deliciously dark Murder as a Fine Art.  I'm excited to share my interview with Morrell, who reveals, among other tidbits, that he's working on a sequel to Murder as a Fine Art! (I am so excited.)  Read on to learn more about him, his writing, and this great novel, and don't forget to enter the giveaway!

What was the plot of your very first piece of fiction?

My debut novel, published in 1972, was First Blood, the novel in which Rambo appeared. It’s an anti-war novel about the damage done to a man who was sent to war and discovered that he had a skill for killing, hating himself in the process. Ten years later, the film adaptation appeared, which follows the plot of my novel for the most part but reinterprets the story. It’s an odd feeling to be associated with a character that’s among the top five in the thriller world, using the criterion of characters who started in novels and then gained worldwide recognition through their film adaptations: Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, James Bond, Rambo, and Harry Potter. This is my forty-first year as a publisher author, an eternity in the publishing world where most careers last 15 or 20 years. I think the reason I’m still here is that I keep trying to find new ways to extend the idea of what a thriller can be.

Do you have any writing rituals or routines?

I work from 8:30 to 5, with an hour for exercise in the middle of the day. Exercise is important because I sit for so many hours. I write five pages each day and print them out. In the morning, I read those printed pages in a place that is different from where I write. Then I type corrections into the digital version and write another five pages, printing them out at the end of the day. This process gives me a fresh perspective on the previous day’s work.


Was Murder as a Fine Art the original title of your book?

Yes, Murder as a Fine Art was the original title. In 1854, my main character, Thomas De Quincey, invented the true-crime genre in the third installment of his essay, “On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts.” My novel is based on the notorious Ratcliffe Highway murders that De Quincey wrote about in his essay. I knew that my title would need to echo De Quincey’s title.

As you were writing Murder as a Fine Art, was there a particular scene or character that surprised you?

Although Murder as a Fine Art is a Victorian mystery/thriller, it is also a father/daughter story. In 1854, when the novel occurs, De Quincey was 69. His 21-year-old daughter, Emily, was his companion. The more I researched Emily’s relationship with her controversial father, the more fascinating she became to me. When I introduced her about 40 pages into the novel, I suddenly had the idea of having her speak to the reader via a journal (a common device in Victorian literature). I started the journal with this sentence. “This morning, I discovered Father again pacing the back courtyard.” Really, it was as if Emily were talking to me. With her bloomer dress and independent ways, she took over every scene in which she appeared and is the character that readers most ask about.

When you’re not writing, what do you like to do?

To research aerial scenes in my novel about the mysterious Marfa lights of west Texas, The Shimmer, I became a private pilot. I try to spend once a week in the air. I enjoy hiking and swimming and am also an avid vegetable gardener.

Read any good books recently?

I tend to read a lot of non-fiction because the style of some novels can get into my head and affect the tone of the fiction I’m working on. In my recent reading, I was impressed by Glenn Frankel’s The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend. Frankel discusses the Indian abduction of Cynthia Parker in 1836 and the many ways that the abduction and the search for her was recounted, especially in Alan LeMay’s novel, The Searchers, and John Ford’s film adaptation of it. The book is a fascinating blend of historical and cultural analysis. Otherwise, I’m continuing my research into Victorian London in the 1850s for a sequel to Murder as Fine Art. In both novels, my goal is to convince readers that they are actually in Victorian London.

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GIVEAWAY!

I'm thrilled to offer a copy of Murder as a Fine Art to one lucky reader! To enter, fill out this brief form. Open to US readers only, ends 6/7.

Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell

Title: Murder as a Fine Art
Author: David Morrell

Genre: Fiction (Historical / 19th Century / London / Thomas DeQuincy / Laudanum / Serial Killer)
Publisher/Publication Date: Mulholland Books (5/7/2013)
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Rating: Loved -- will likely make my top ten of 2013.
Did I finish?: Oh yeah.
One-sentence summary: A serial killer in 1854 London replicates -- and exaggerates -- a series of violent crimes from decades before, and laudanum-addicted writer Thomas DeQuincey is seen as the prime suspect.
Reading Challenges: Historical Fiction

Do I like the cover?: I do -- it's not super compelling but certainly evokes the feel of the novel: soot, fog, London, guys in hats.

I'm reminded of...: Matt Rees, Dan Simmons

First line: Titian, Rubens, and Van Dyke, it is said, always practiced their art in full dress.

Did... I die of surprise when I learned the author was the guy who invented Rambo?: YES. Morrell wrote First Blood in 1972 and was involved in the subsequent films. Crazy! I actually enjoyed this one so much I went out and got First Blood to read.

Do... I love the videos Morrell shares on his website about his research?: YES. He especially talks about how weird London in the mid 1800s was, which I appreciate, because hello, the Victorians were weird.

Buy, Borrow, or Avoid?: Borrow or buy if you like historical mysteries, the Victorian era, or unusual historicals.

Why did I get this book?: I've never seen DeQuincey featured in fiction -- how could I resist?

Review: I had such a flippin' great time with this book. From the first page, I was sucked in, and the only reason I didn't finish this one in a day is that I made myself slow down and enjoy the journey -- I could have taken another 300 pages and been only slightly satisfied.

Set in 1854, the novel opens with 'the artist', a violent serial killer bent on replicating -- and improving upon -- a series of violent murders from 1811.  (And ew, are they grim.)  For the police and the London public, these crimes are chilling and frightening, and one suspect immediately comes to mind: writer/philosopher/laudanum-addict Thomas DeQuincey whose essay 'On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts' detailed the 1811 murders and seemingly offered admiration for the killer.

DeQuincey, now in his 60s, is still infamous for his Confessions of an Opium-Eater, perhaps the first tell-all drug memoir published.  Chased by creditors, DeQuincey returns to London after a mysterious missive promises to reunite him with a woman from his past, accompanied by his smart, pragmatic, bloomer-wearing daughter, Emily.

Two London police officers -- an Irish detective named Ryan and a British constable named Becker -- are tasked with arresting notorious writer/drug addict Thomas DeQuincey for the murders -- and that's when things get really hairy.

This book hit every note for me: wonderful sense of place and era, fascinating characters, a gossipy treatment of history, and a narrative style that has as much personality as the characters. In the (wonderfully fascinating) Afterward, Morrell explains this novel is his take on the 19th century novel; he employs a third-person omniscient viewpoint and intersperses the narrative with excerpts from diary entries. The effect is fun without being exhausting (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was fun, but felt a bit much at times) and offered that lovely mix of 'education' (the narrative is peppered with trivia about the era) and escapism (there were some moments that were positively cinematic).

Hands down, Emily was my favorite character -- she might rank up there with my favorite heroines -- as she was smart, sympathetic, 'modern' (for the times), and vibrant. Morrell conveyed a Victorian woman raised with a rather unconventional thinker of father who still felt authentic to the era. She wasn't a contemporary woman in corsets (because Emily doesn't wear them, but you know what I mean.). I enjoyed every character, though, even our creepy 'artist of death', and I couldn't stop reading. There's non-stop action but the feel of the book isn't bombastic or exhausting -- having the cerebral DeQuincey helped temper the speed, I think, and balanced out the police officers and murders. He was certainly a fascinating foil for the story.

If you like Victorian London, take this trip. If you like historical mysteries, consider this one: the focus is less on the mystery since we know 'who' the murderer is (just not his name) and has a hint of the police procedural with a good helping of psychological profiling. I can't say whether or not DeQuincey nerds will approve of Morrell's portrayal of him and his daughter, but I just loved him and am super eager to read his works. (I kind of wish this would become a series with DeQuincey and company.)

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GIVEAWAY!

I'm thrilled to offer a copy of Murder as a Fine Art to one lucky reader! To enter, fill out this brief form. Open to US readers only, ends 6/7.

Winners!

Just two giveaways this weekend!

The winner of The Golem and the Jinni is ... Leah!

The winner of Fear in the Sunlight ... Nadia!

Congrats to the winners!

 I've emailed folks who have until end of day Tuesday to respond. If you didn't win, be sure to check out my open giveaways.

Weekend reads and feeling funky...

No cute picture today; I'm not exactly between books so much as sandwiched in a pile, all half started. 

Real life has me a bit funky lately -- the last four weeks or so -- and I'm having a hard time focusing on reading, never mind reviewing.  (Funk isn't helped by the pile of review books staring at me!)

What are you reading this weekend?



[image credit: Mo Willems]

Historical Novel Society 2013 Conference Panelist: Meet Stephanie Cowell

I'm excited to share another Q&A with an author participating in the 2013 Historical Novel Society Conference this year, Stephanie Cowell.  Her books have long been on my TBR and now I'm breathless with anticipation for her newest (see her second to last question).  

Stephanie Cowell

What got you first interested in historical fiction?

Since an early age I believed I belonged in an earlier time, that my real life and were waiting for me there. I read historical children’s novels such as A LITTLE PRINCESS and felt that was my life, if I could only get to it. Even today certain places and times are a home I miss with all my heart.

How do you find the people and topics of your books?

Oh I am interested in many people and topics, and they come rushing at me. I can hardly leave a street in Europe or England without some fictional character tapping me on the shoulder and pouring out her story. Years ago I was walking behind my parents in a tiny village full of stone houses in Switzerland, and my father called back, “Daughter, where are you?” And I replied, “A character is following me.” My poor stepmother got SO upset and rushed back, thinking some deranged ragged person was trailing me. After that when I lagged behind, I simply called out “I’m just twenty feet and four centuries behind you.”

Do you follow a specific writing and/or research process?

I research as I write. I know something about the person or the times of course to begin with. In the last stages of the novel, I drop in all sorts of specifics…hat pins, things like that. I rewrite each novel several times trying to make a rising dramatic plot line out of a life.

For you, what is the line between fiction and fact?

I think it is most important to get the essence of a story, which means my character may have one big argument with her husband rather than seven, and live in one place in steady of fourteen. You have to change things a little to make a dramatic piece. We can’t change when Marie Antoinette died or the way she died, but we can change when she was playing with her children.

Do you have an anecdote about a reading or fan interaction you'd like to share?

Someone e-mailed me photos of the bookshop in Salzburg which sold my Mozart novel in German; it happened to be the same very old shop where Mozart himself bought books. So many things have happened! And Monet’s house in Giverny has a bookshop which carried my novel on him.

Where do you feel historical fiction is headed as a genre?

I don’t know. We go through fads. Considering everything from the beginning of time thru WWII is considered HF, we are taking over the world! That leaves us contemporary fiction and books set in the future.

Is there an era/area that is your favorite to write about? How about to read?

Oh many different times…I prefer to read about people in the arts than kings and queens on a whole.

Is there a writer, living or deceased, you would like to meet?

I would like to be with Shakespeare at rehearsals of HAMLET.

What book was the most fun for you to write?

Marrying Mozart…it took nine months and was pure joy. I adore Mozart. It was my love story for him.

Can you tell us about your latest publication?

My newest novel which will not be out for some time is about the Victorian poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. She was a invalid with great family problems when the handsome gifted Robert Browning swept her away to Italy where her passionate love for Robert was in conflict with her family devotion, her laudanum addiction, her refusal to consider her health and her newly freed genius…among which were the sonnets she wrote for him. “How do I love thee?” etc.. It’s about a woman of genius handling love, health and life.

Do you have a most interesting question or crazy anecdote related to your writing you would like to share?

My first B&N reading for my first novel (NICHOLAS COOKE) outside the city was a disaster! The book had debuted well as a People Pick, great printed reviews, etc so off I went to Albany. The reading space was situated between the busy front door and loud café and there was no mike. I screamed out my readings….then many many people came through the door but not one of them stopped for me. Finally I asked the manager where they were all going. She said, “Oh, Spot the Dog is appearing here today!” It was profoundly depressing! I had an ice cream sundae after and was almost too sad to eat any of it.

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Learn more about Stephanie Cowell: check out her website or see her speaker profile here (scroll down).

A Prince to be Feared by Mary Lancaster

Title: A Prince to be Feared
Author: Mary Lancaster

Genre: Fiction (Historical / 15th Century / Eastern Europe / Romania / Ottoman Empire / Court Intrigue / Historical Figure Fictionalized / Romance)
Publisher/Publication Date: Self published (4/2013)
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Rating: Liked a good deal.
Did I finish?: I did.
One-sentence summary: The lifelong friendship and love affair between Vlad the Impaler and a Hungarian noblewoman in 15th century Transylvania.
Reading Challenges: E-book, Historical Fiction

Do I like the cover?: I do -- it's ambigu-royal but I think it conveys the more serious (non-paranormal) heft to the story.

I'm reminded of...: Jeanne Kalogridis, Matt Rees

First line: He made a perfect villain.

Buy, Borrow, or Avoid?: Buy -- the ebook is $2.99!

Why did I get this book?: I love hist fic in unusual settings, and having traveled through Transylvania over the winter, I'm eager to return -- in person or via book!

Review: A novel about Dracula that doesn't involve vampires?! Be still my heart!

Needless to say, when I was offered to be on the tour for this one, I leapt at the chance, and my leap was rewarded: this is a great novel of court intrigue, war, and love -- and I'm happy to say, this isn't a Tudor-esque fic simply plunked into Transylvania.

Alternating between 1474 and 1454, the novel follows Ilona Szilágyi, a Hungarian noblewoman, and her friendship, courtship and love affair with Vlad Dracula.

My historical knowledge of Vlad Dracula is fuzzy (or, really, nonexistent), and Lancaster's novel quickly and neatly delves into his violent and heartbreaking life -- hostage to the Ottomans, a pawn during war, an ambitious military leader regarded with awe and horror for his unapologetically brutal ways -- who becomes a Prince and eventual political prisoner.  Vlad's ambitions are boundless as is his determination to remain a ruler, and he allows himself to be used by the Wallachians and Hungarians to remain in power. Lancaster opens with Machiavelli's quote (better a prince be feared than loved), which is coined some forty years after Vlad's reign and yet exemplifies his leadership style.

And still, knowing all that, I was kind of into Vlad. Even with a mustache and his cruel military prowess, I was digging him! It helped that our heroine, Ilona, was fun, a realistic mix of innocence and boldness, a bit fiery and a bit shy; I could relate to her, and when she was smitten, I was a tiny bit smitten.

Lancaster's writing is effortless, geeky with detail without feeling like infodumping or oversharing. She plunges us into the story, opening with the end of Vlad's imprisonment before taking us back to his youth, when he first met the impetuous Ilona. The political tangle of that region is lightly explained but really offered through context, and I appreciated that. (For those who are curious, you can read Chapter One on Lancaster's website.)

There's a long cast of characters at the beginning of the book as well as a map of the region. There's no Author's Note or Afterward, which I would have liked -- I'm intensely curious about this era and the players now!

I'm unsure how to describe this one: it's beach-y fun to read, but it isn't a bodice ripper or a sexed up historical ala Philippa Gregory. It isn't the weighty military historical necessarily but it's obviously a novel of war and conflict. It's a tiny bit coming-of-age for our young noblewoman; it's a bit middle-age-looking-back-at-youth as well. Whatever it is, it's fun, and effortless to read, and worth picking up if you like court intrigue but want a little variation, or if you're curious about Eastern Europe in the 15th century, or even if you just want to know a bit about the historical Dracula. (And, at the moment, it's $2.99 as an ebook.)

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GIVEAWAY!

I'm thrilled to offer an e-book copy of A Prince to be Feared to one lucky reader! To enter, fill out this brief form. Open to US and international readers, ends 5/31.