We had a great time at the Bookfinders Grand Opening this past weekend. We met some great people, enjoyed Zest’s coffee and cookies, bought a a cookbook, met some authors, and played some music. Here are some pictures of our signing and the boys playing violin.
The new owners of Bookfinders in Stevens Point are having a grand opening celebration this weekend that includes coffee, food, face painting, music — something for everyone. I’m excited to see the changes they are making in the bookstore. I believe they will be selling used books, they will be promoting local authors, and they may even have a small coffee shop. I’m not really sure, so come out this weekend and see how much of this I’ve gotten right!
We will be there on Saturday, 3:00 – 5:00pm. Below is the full schedule of events:
1pm to 8pm Zest Bakery and Coffee House
free samples, coffee & bakery for sale
1:30-3:30pm Darlene Biese Schultz
Decision Or Destiny
~Romantic Fiction
6:30-8pm Pat Rothfuss
The Name of the Wind & The Wise Man’s Fear
~Fantasy
9am-8pm Zest Bakery and Coffee House
free samples, coffee & bakery for sale
9:30am-11am Charles Schoenfeld
A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to the Dementia Ward
~Humor/Bio
11am-4pm Face Paintings by Christie
11:30am-1pm Ken Danczyk FamilyGrandpa’s Farm
~Children’s book
3-5pm Felt Family
The Stolen Goldin Violin
Violin Performance by Children
~Children’s mystery
3-5pm Remington Crockett
We Interrupt this Marriage to Bring you Deer Season
~Outdoor Humor
5:30-7:30pm Justin Isherwood
Pulse, Book of Plough, Farm Kid & More
~Array of Regional Nonfiction
Bookfinders is at 1001 Brilowski Road, across from Fleet Farm.
To begin my series of author interviews, I’ve invited Cornerstone Press author Melissa Westemeier. I was fortunate enough to attend the release party for her novel Whipped, Not Beaten and get an early copy, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Whipped Not Beaten tells the story of Sadie Davis. Recently dumped and working for a boss she despises, she is determined to shake up her life as a single woman in the city of Madison, Wisconsin. She takes a side job as a home party consultant selling kitchenware, hoping that it will be the spice that turns her life around. Through failed recipes and cold ovens, Sadie works to create something that’s a bit sweeter, a lot richer, and oh, so very delicious.
Melissa, welcome.
Q: Tell us about Whipped, Not Beaten, and how you came to write it
A: The main plotline is about how Sadie starts selling home party products. When I quit my teaching job and became a stay at home mom, my social life became nonexistent. The only time I had a night out was when I got invited to a home party―and naturally I accepted every invitation. After attending several―Partylite Candles, Tupperware, Tastefully Simple, Mary Kay, Creative Memories, Pampered Chef―it struck me how a novel could appeal to women by poking fun at the entire set-up. I’d already written a couple of YA novels, and the idea of a romantic comedy, “chick lit” with home parties as the backdrop really appealed to me. Like I begin all my books, I just started writing and the plot and characters fleshed out as I kept at it. I chose Madison as the setting because all chick lit seems to take place in New York or Los Angeles. The Midwest gets almost no attention, unless someone’s writing about a rural setting. Also, I’m familiar with Madison, which made the book easier to write than if I had to research a different setting, like New York City.
Q: Many readers think that the main characters in novels are like the authors themselves. Is there a lot of Sadie Davis in you?
A: That’s a funny question! One of my best friends read the book with me as Sadie in her head. Needless to say, when Sadie has her first sex scene, Nicole had to set the book down…
I think there’s a little of any woman my age in Sadie. As far as specific traits that we share, I do fantasize about George Clooney, battle the occasional blemish, and find my medicine cabinet terribly disorganized. When I was younger I had to learn to stand up for myself at work and I enjoyed the mentorship of some great older women. Really, the character most like anyone in real life is Sadie’s mom, who I based almost entirely on my Grandmother, Gloria Volkman. If I were to BE like any of my characters, I confess that I wish I were just like Sadie’s older sister, Jane. She lives my fantasy.
Q: Whipped, Not Beaten was your first published novel. Have you written other things?
A: I co-wrote a chapter in Teaching Writing in High School and College (NCTE, 2002) and co-wrote Writing in a Changing World (Bridle Path Press, 2010). I’ve had some poetry and essays published, and like most writers, I have a drawer full of rejected or partially-developed manuscripts.
Q: You’ve worked as both a teacher and as an editor. How have those jobs influenced your writing?
A: After teaching high school English for almost 10 years, I really developed an eye for recognizing what makes a piece of writing strong or weak. I also developed the knowledge base to help writers tend to those issues. My writing group works well together because we all have teaching backgrounds, so instead of just getting together and pointing out what “doesn’t work” in each other’s manuscripts, we advise each other on how to make revisions, play to our individual strengths, and address the problems with suggestions. I think the best thing a writer can do for their own craft is to find other writers to work with―I really enjoy editing manuscripts for other authors and it’s a personal thrill when they get published, too.
The only drawback is when I’m with my book club―I need to learn to turn off my “editor eyes” and approach some books with only my “reader eyes.” Writers read books differently than other people.
Q: What can you tell me about working with the student-run publishing house Cornerstone Press?
A: They were lovely and so professional. From the content editing to the marketing, every step of the way demonstrated the investment they made into my book. I loved getting 100% of their attention, which I know wouldn’t happen in a larger press, and they were so creative, too.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Currently I’m working on 2 projects―final revisions on a nonfiction book I wrote with Jen Brecht, my co-founder over at Ecowomen.net. It’s a guidebook to making one’s lifestyle environmentally friendly by making one behavioral change a week over a whole year.
Also, I’m bringing a revised version of my latest novel, Across the River to a writing workshop this summer. It’s the story of a small town on a river, loosely based on my bartending days during college when I lived in Fremont, Wisconsin. The main characters are the daughter of a dairy farmer who sees a different future for her family’s farm and a bait shop owner who has dreams of big development moving into the area. It’s funny, but with a more earthy humor than Whipped, Not Beaten, in part because most of the characters are men, and it takes place during the white bass run.
We’ve now reached the time in our interview for the let’s-get-to-know-the-author-better, nearly-pointless, sort-of-silly, rapid-fire questions:
Coffee or tea? Coffee.
Ocean or mountain? Ocean.
Hiking or shopping? Hiking.
Violin or piano? To listen to, right? Violin.
Mystery or fantasy? Mystery.
Darcy or Heathcliff? Always, always Mr. Darcy.
Love scene or death scene? Love scene.
A great big thanks to Melissa for being the laboratory rat in my first interview experiment.
I encourage you to order her book, Whipped, Not Beaten, and to visit Melissa at Green Girl in Wisconsin
Syncopation, my novel about Adele Hugo has found a publisher!!! Cornerstone Press, the student-run publishing house at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point chose my manuscript from among the many submitted. (I don’t know how many were submitted, but I like to think it numbered in the thousands. And, please, don’t pop my bubble.)
Hooray! Hooray! [insert picture of me jumping around]
I had a marketing meeting with some students on Thursday so we could talk about my ideas, their ideas, and get a strategy put together. It was so exciting to talk about my book with people, people whom I barely know, who have read it!!
Hooray! Hooray! [insert slightly different picture of me jumping around]
Working with student publishers is so exciting! (Have I used the word exciting too many times?) They bring such energy and so many new ideas to the process. I’ve been working alone for so long, trying to sell The Stolen Goldin Violin, that when they were talking about things they were going to do, I just couldn’t believe that I didn’t have to do everything myself.*
Hooray! Hooray! [insert picture of me, tiring, as I jump around]
In other news, I’ve decided to expand what happens on this blog, and to make that happen, I’ve contacted a number of historical novelists whom I will be interviewing in the near future. I plan to do two interviews a month–they should be fantastically interesting. Think Fresh Air with Terry Gross, but in print, and with me.
* Note: This is an apology to my husband and kids who have often worked harder than me to promote The Stolen Goldin Violin. When I said I was “working alone” I was thinking of my family as being a part of myself. We are one, and all that. Yes?
My family went skiing today, and I stayed home to think. I thought all day.
I dyed my hair with henna and thought. I sat in front of a football game and thought. I did the dishes and thought. I vacuumed and thought.
Then I typed up some of those thoughts.
After about eight straight hours of focused thinking, I’ve come up with a basic outline for my next novel: a children’s fantasy. I’m thrilled with this new story idea. It’s a little bit Artemis Fowl, a little bit Harry Potter, a little bit Ella Enchanted, a little bit Despereaux, a little bit Septimus Heap, and all my own.
A few minutes ago, I danced around the living room to Alanis Morissette to celebrate my day of thinking. Now it’s time to get off the computer and dance a little more.
Yippee!!
2011 sucked. I had to deal with the death of both of my parents, and so I spent a lot of time reading as escapism. I read eighty-one books this past year, but I was in such a low psychological state that I didn’t find many new books that wow’ed me. I started a lot of books that I didn’t finish. (Wolf Hall, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, London by Rutherford, Water: the epic struggle for wealth, power and civilization, and probably others I can’t now remember. If I didn’t finish a book, it didn’t count toward the eighty-one.)
For comfort, I re-read books that I knew I would enjoy. Every now and then, I read a new book that hit me just right, and I’m completely aware that if I had read it two weeks earlier or later, it might not have affected me the same way.
So, enough of my prose. Here’s the list:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The main character/narrator is autistic. Because he is telling the story to you, and doesn’t understand the world the way you do, you understand things before he does. Through his voice, you learn how his mind works, so you clearly understand why he responds the way he does to difficult circumstances. Fascinating and emotional.
The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
Rothfuss’s long awaited sequel to The Name of the Wind was all I’d hoped for and has me eager for the final installment in the trilogy. This is an enormous book (almost 1000 pages) and I’ve been sitting here for about ten minutes trying to figure out how to summarize it, and I’ve just decided not to try. If you like fantasy and haven’t read these books yet, get The Name of the Wind. If you aren’t a fan of fantasy, I still recommend them. The writing is almost poetry (actually, there is a bit of poetry in there), and the story multi-layered.
The Circle Cast: The Lost Years of Morgan le Fay by Alex Epstein
Epstein skillfully blends the coming-of-age, the fairy, the revenge, and the legend. Revenge is the sustaining force in Morgan’s lost years, and success in battle and magic are what give her power. Epstein holds true to the legendary woman Morgan le Fay in creating this story of the child. Fans of Arthurian legend will love this book, and so will everyone else. Great characters, great writing, great story.
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
I read this book straight through, staying up until about 2:00 in the morning. Once part of the popular high school crowd, Annabel Greene is now a social outcast. Something traumatic happened, but Annabel won’t talk about it—not to her overpowering mother, not to her troubled older sisters, and not to us, the readers. Fellow outcast Owen befriends Annabel, and their relationship slowly becomes romantic. Dessen is flawless at creating the female teenage world. I’m not sure why anyone would want to return to that horrible time and place, but I love Dessen’s writing and characters, and if she’ll keep writing about it, I’ll keep reading.
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
Twelve-year-old Elijah was the first child born free in the Canadian community of Buxton, where escaped slaves live freely. He is a sensitive child who wishes he were less sensitive, or “fragile” as his mother calls him. Through a series of funny, emotional, and gripping events, Elijah proves himself and an able young man. I loved Curtis’s Bud Not Buddy, and I loved this book too. This is a middle-reader story that adults will like as much as their kids. It’s a good read-aloud, as the funny scenes are even funnier when a small child is laughing along with you.
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
This is a fairy tale story of a mouse who falls in love with a princess. It was made into a movie, which I haven’t seen, but which according to my son is good but quite different. DiCamillo’s writing is poetry.
The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James
This was the last book my mother read before she died. She told me all about it on the phone, the day before her stroke. I read it way back in January and can’t remember a bit of it—I was in a fog of grief. This book will always have a special place in my heart.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen
Really? you ask. Yes, I answer. I picked up this book at the perfectly right time. It is the story I know practically by heart, interspersed with zombie attacks. Fun.
Bringing Yoga to Life by Donna Farhi
I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but I had to include this self-help book. Again, good timing for me. After my father’s death, stress caused in me some physical ailments that have been helped by a daily yoga routine. However, this book is about more than yoga poses; it explores how to live a healthy, centered life.
and the series . . .
Thursday Next series by Jasper Fford
Clever fantasy/mystery/English-major type story. Very funny. I read these aloud to my younger son, who enjoyed them immensely. There’s a new one out I need to get.
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
I read these when my older son was in elementary school, and now I’m reading them out loud with my younger son. Such clever writing.
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
I keep re-reading this. Fast-moving story, incredible characters, fantastic writing. Is there anyone who reads this blog and hasn’t read this yet? Why haven’t you? You better get going; the movie comes out in March. I’ve watch the trailer four times and cried each time. Powerful story.
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series by Stieg Larsson
I debated including this. The thriller is not my favorite genre, and I usually avoid books filled with sicko sexual torture. This made the list because of Lisbeth Salander. She is perfectly drawn—a powerful female character, perhaps a bit autistic, a survivor.
Pat Rothfuss, a colleague of mine and a New York Times best selling author, is once again running World Builders, a fundraiser for the Heifer Project.
Pat, who has become hugely famous because of his fantasy novels The Name of the Wind and A Wise Man’s Fears, has gotten novelists, publishers, and generous individuals to donate books, illustrations, maps, trinkets, and all sorts of really cool stuff.
For every ten dollars a person donates to the Heifer Project, that person gets one chance at having his name drawn from a hat for a cool, donated item. ($20 earns 2 chances, etc.) Although Pat is a fantasy writer and much of the cool stuff comes from the world of fantasy, there are exceptions, including a couple signed copies of The Stolen Goldin Violin.
Other donated items are so desirable that they are not a part of the lottery but instead will be auctioned off.
If you don’t feel like hoping to win the lottery, and don’t want to bankrupt yourself at an auction, you can visit the very cool “Tinker’s Packs” and purchase cool, donated items straight up.
All proceeds benefit the Heifer Project. You can visit Heifer to learn more about that organization, but to be a part of the lottery/auction/Tinker’s Packs, you need to donate through the World Builders page.
I encourage you to visit World Builders, check out the cool stuff, and make a donation today !
The Stolen Goldin Violin is being featured on Free Book Friday. Visit to learn about the book, read interviews with the authors, and sign up to win!
Once again, we will be selling The Stolen Goldin Violin at this year’s Holiday Fest. Holiday Fest is one of Stevens Point’s biggest and best arts and craft shows.
Saturday, Nov 12 from 9am to 3pm
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 600 Wilshire Blvd.
Proceeds from the show benefit community holiday baskets. So come and check out our booth, have lunch, buy some crafts, and know that you are helping feed the needy in our community !
It’s that time of year again, and I don’t mean Halloween.
It’s time for writers to put pen to paper or fingertips to keyboard!
It’s NaNoWriMo time!
This will be my third year as a NaNoWriMo participant. The first year, if you remember, I wrote The Stolen Goldin Violin. The second year, I upped my word count on Wilde Wagers. This year, I plan to spend the month of November completely revising Syncopation and getting it ready to submit to Cornerstone Press in January.
So, I’m a NaNoWriMo cheater. The idea of NaNoWriMo is to turn off one’s internal editor and write an entire novel, from start to finish, during the month of November. I did that the first year, but these past two years that system hasn’t really fit into where I’m at as a writer, so I’ve adapted the program to suit my own needs. I love the supportive emails I get from NaNoWriMo, and being part of a writing community is amazingly wonderful.
I’ll keep you updated on my progress, and I encourage anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel to sign up. It’s great fun! Just go to NaNoWriMo.org and sign up today. You are running out of time for 2011!!
Elizabeth Caulfield Felt 