I'm SO pleased to tell you about my friend, Holly Robinson. She's a gorgeous writer and a fellow Penguin NAL writer. She wrote my favorite blurb for Splinters of Light. Because of that, I wrote to introduce myself and thank her for taking that time, and we fell immediately in friend-love, and now I'm keeping her for myself! (I swear this is true: I appropriated her as a friend before I learned she lives half-time in Prince Edward Island. I am SO crashing at her house someday.)
BOOK GIVEAWAY – Penguin sent me a copy of the book that I'm going to send to some lucky commenter! Please ignore the fact that my terrible, awful mailman sailed it over the fence into a stand of weeds and the cover is a wee bit wrinkled. Damn his eyes. (I'll also be sending another copy (not mine or wrinkled- I'm keeping my precious signed one*) to someone subscribed to my email list next week, so make sure you're signed up there, too!)
Hi Holly!
You wonderful smart thing, you. I loved Haven Lake and I'm thrilled to ask you a few questions about it. You know me – I love that it incorporates SHEEP and KNITTING. (You even have a knitting male teen!) You say you're a beginning knitter – what's been your favorite part of learning so far? (I bet no one else has asked you this!)
Thanks, Rachael—and thank you for having me on your wonderful site. What a treat! You're right: nobody has ever asked me this particular question, but it's an easy one to answer. I started knitting a few years ago, when a new friend invited me to her Wednesday night “Knit night.” The invitation came via a phone call, and because lice was rampant in our elementary school at that time, naturally I thought she meant “Nit night,” as in, we would check each other for nits! When we got through THAT little conversational hurdle, I told this new friend that I didn't know how to knit and would probably stab myself in the eye with a needle or something. She convinced me to come, finally, by saying, “We have lots of wine.” I've been knitting ever since. My favorite part of learning to knit is that it has given me opportunities to meet and chat with women of all ages. Our own knitting group has women ages thirty to sixty-five. I also go for extra help sessions (yes, I'm a slow learner) to our local library, where they have a Monday night knitting help session run by women in their seventies and eighties. Listening to other people's stories has always inspired me as a writer, and knitting brings so many great life stories my way.
I will seriously never think of Knit (Nit) Night the same way again.
Your main character Sydney is a therapist, and a good one. Did this require a lot of research? (I always put research off till the end. Are you a procrastinate-by-researching writer or a panicked-at-the-end kind, like me?)
Thanks for that! Sydney's career is one I might have pursued if I hadn't become a writer. I started out wanting to be a doctor—picture me in a multi-pocketed Safari vest, trotting around villages in Africa with a miracle cure—and didn't discover my passion for writing fiction until I was about to graduate from college. (You can imagine my father's reaction when I said I wanted to forget medical school and be a writer.) Anyway, I've had five children to get through school, and along the way, I've occasionally needed help from therapists like Sydney to figure out what's going on with them. One of my best friends is actually an educational psychologist, and she was very generous in sharing stories with me, too, so the research was actually more like fun conversations over wine. (Do you detect a theme in my answers?) In general, the research I do for my books tends to be hands-on; for instance, in order to write the sections about raising sheep, I actually contacted a shepherdess in New Hampshire, the wonderful artist Wendy Ketchum, who let me come see her Icelandic herd and talk to her about what it takes to live that kind of life.
Catherine Friend! You mention her at the end of your book. Isn't she great? I adore her. That's not a question. I just thought I'd mention it. 🙂
Yes! I've read all of Catherine's books, and in my fantasy life, she calls me up to say she likes Haven Lake, and we become pals! (Over glasses of wine, naturally.) An anecdote in her book Sheepish inspired one of the key early scenes with Hannah trying to retrieve an escaped lamb—if you've read that book, you'll know which one.
DUDE. I loved that book. I knew that scene reminded me of something, and now I know why! Ha!
I'm flattering myself when I say that I think our writing voices are similar, that both of us go deeply into complex characters, and that both of us enjoy exploring all aspects of love. Whatcha think?
Absolutely. When I read Splinters of Light, I was brought to my knees emotionally several times throughout the story of Nora grappling with her illness and trying to imagine how her daughter Ellie will cope. What struck me most about your novel was how adeptly you managed the voices—and complex interior lives—of both mother and daughter. Plus, you never lost that spark of humor that saved the book from being maudlin. Your imagery was also stunning throughout—I often feel that novelists today rush their work and don't take the time to truly describe settings in a way that will transport readers. Oh, and I admire how you write about love: the love between mother and child, between sisters, between romantic partners. You do it all with tenderness and class in Splinters of Light. I'm flattered that you think our voices are similar. I think of my novels as “emotional family mysteries” because there is always some dark family secret (or several) that the characters need to discover and understand before they can resolve their emotional conflicts. Like you, I hope to create characters who are complex, imperfect people grappling with issues. I hope that, by the end of each of my novels, readers feel they have been both entertained and enlightened as they accompany my characters on their journeys of self-discovery and love.
NOW I FEEL REALLY FLATTERED. Thank you, friend.
Novelist, journalist and celebrity ghost writer Holly Robinson is the author of several books, including The Gerbil farmer's Daughter: A Memoir and the novels The Wishing Hill, Beach Plum Island and Haven Lake. Her articles and essays appear frequently in publications such as Cognoscenti, The Huffington Post, More, Parents, Redbook and dozens of other newspapers and magazines. She and her husband have five children and a stubborn Pekingese. They divide their time between Massachusetts and Prince Edward Island, and are crazy enough to be fixing up old houses one shingle at a time in both places. Find her at www.authorhollyrobinson.com and on Twitter @hollyrob1.
Leave a comment to enter the drawing, and I'll randomly draw a winner next week. Alternately, tweet or FB a link to this post and tag me to enter, as well, if that's more your style. And someone on my mailing list will win another copy, too!
(Winner of the Elizabeth Haynes thriller is the darling RedSilvia! I swear I'll get it into the mail tomorrow!)
* Holly sent me a signed copy. And get this: it was her first copy. Authors, if you ever think to do this, you should. Sending your very first copy to a writer friend? Tears will happen, I promise. We get it.
** Amazon affiliate links provided in this post because MAMA JUST PAID OFF HER STUDENT LOAN DOING SHIT LIKE THIS, BAM.
This sounds like such a wonderful book! (Nit night… hilarious)
this sounds like a very good read!
Now you understand how all of us feel when you talk/write/respond to us!!!!
Taht sounds great. And wine has lured many a non-knitter to Knit Night and converted them. We used to let a friend do Soduku but she eventually succumbed. (Also, I am going to PEI at the end of May. Be jealous.) I would love to read this.
Well….if she writes like you, Rachael, I want a copy–count me in. Loved the Nit night part–whodathunk?
This is hilarious. Holly wants to meet me? I want to meet her. When I teach classes in writing memoir I often use “The Gerbil Farmer’s Daughter” as an example of how interesting,non-famous lives can make for great memoir. People always giggle at the gerbils.
That she even knows who I am stuns me. Please tell her the wine sounds good. Now I must find a copy of Haven Lake!
I would love to win this copy! Going to see if my library has the others!
Thank you!
I love your books and you love her book so I can’t wait to read this! Thank you for the chance to win it!
What a treasure – you – her – Catherine – the books – the stories!!! I’d love to enter and will share this post too.
I’m hoping to go back to Summerside and the school I visited on Prince Edward Island in 2011 One child asked my Kindergarten teacher friend about “her friend from far far away” a couple of years later. Last year I sent them an amazing huge Gracynjoy prayer shawl with the colours of New Zealand and PEI as an island nation. So if you do get there let me connect you and go see it. I’m looking forward to visiting there this year if all goes to plans.
I would a chance to win this book! I loved the interview too! We were at PEI last fall to see the fall foliage and it was a beautiful place! The people were so nice there too.
This sounds like a book that is just my style…thank you for this chance
Sounds like a good read. Congrats on paying off the student loans, that is a good feeling.
Oh my gosh–I want to drink wine with ALL OF YOU. Maybe even on Prince Edward Island! And, Catherine, that is too funny that you have read my memoir while I’ve been adoring YOURS. So glad to meet all of you here, and thank you again, Rachael, for letting me hang out with you today!
Dude! (I have told my mostly male coworkers that this is a gender neutral word.) This sounds soooooo up my alley. Count me in!
Rachael
You are so fun! I love reading your blogs! I wish I had more time to read and craft (ah-the life of a teacher!)
I started Splinters of Light!
Please pick me.
This book sounds interesting; I’d been wondering what it was about. Thanks for doing the interview!
Great interview! It is definitely a book I will read.
Congrats for paying off the student loan! YAY!
Congrats on paying off your student loan! How awesome is that?!
Loved this interview. I have added another book to my must-read list.
Sounds like an awesome book and I am throwing my name in the hat. Even if I don’t win, I’ll end up buying it like I always do based on your recommendation.
Love free books! Also, huge congrats on paying off the student loans!!
Love your books and your recommendations. I would love to win!
Love this giveaway! Thank you for the chance to win!
PAID OFF student loans are the best! Congratulations.
Loved the interview, want the book. Nit Night *snort*
Sounds great!!
This sounds like it would be a great read!
I’m having to ration myself on reading Splinters right now because I love it so much I don’t want to finish it too soon. I want to prolong the enjoyment as long as I can 🙂
Congratulations on paying off the student loan! What an accomplishment; you should be very proud of yourself for sticking to your goals.
And thanks for the heads-up. I will have to check out both Catherine Friend and Holly Robinson; they sound like such interesting people with great stories to tell! Nit night – hah! And gerbils?
Wonderful interview! Book went right into my “to read” list. It would be awesome to. Ump it up the list by winning a. Ops of the book. Thanks for the opportunity.
You had me at Nit Night. Great interview. Congrats on paying off the student loans — makes one feel like a real, responsible grownup!
Wonderful interview! I’d be honored to have a copy.
You paid off your student loan??!! Now, that’s special! Well done.
I would love to win a copy!
Thanks
I so enjoy a writer that takes the time to tell allllll of the story for each of the senses-gives you time to wander in, settle and watch the story unfold. It’s like an armchair vacation. If I find myself pondering what I would do, who I would see on a Saturday morning if I lived in the book, then I know it’s a well written tale. Glad you made a new friend (can never have too many) and one that writes in a similar style. Now if the two of you would please coordinate your releases so as soon as I finish one book,the other’s is being released I would be most grateful.
I laughed at the nit/knit story and the book looks interesting. Thanks for sharing the interveiw.
And a BIG congrats on paying off your loan!
Just finished Splinters of Light, and looking for my next read – this looks like a great one. BTW – for any of you who have not yet read Rachel’s latest, she continues to shine brighter and brighter with each book. Pack up the Moon and Splinters of Light are both amazing!
Wow…just came across this. would love to get a copy of the book…wrinkled and all also would be gr8
Love… from India