Marc Acito: "This is how I paid for college. This is how I misspent my youth."

How I Paid For College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater (Amazon) by Marc Acito is a unique coming of age story, set in the eighties, about a boy named Edward Zanni. His dream is to go to Juilliard and become a famous actor. As if typical of a high school theater student, he's fairly eccentric and runs with a very eccentric pack-Paula, a girl with strong morals and shoes that never match, Kelly, his surprisingly preppy girlfriend, Doug, a jock turned theater nerd, Natie, an annoying tag along computer geek, and Ziba, a snobbish girl unfazed by anything. What better group of friends could a person have?

So, overall life is good for Edward Zanni. That is, until his father decides to marry Dagmar, a gold digging, outright evil woman. Then his father suddenly decides that he doesn't want to pay for Juilliard, leaving Edward-about to start his senior year of high school-in quite the lurch. Lucky for him, he has friends willing to do anything to help.

I really enjoyed this book. I think it captured the essence of being a teenager very well. Besides the main plot line, there is also a lot of discussion of sexuality, which is definitely something on the forefront of a lot of teenagers minds. I think that this book is worth a read by almost anybody, parents included. Perhaps especially parents, because the various parent-child relationships throughout the book are something that parents might be able to appreciate from the other side of the fence, so to speak.

The author does not have an email posted on his website, just a twitter account-which looks like it doesn't exist anymore-and a facebook page. However, his website is definitely worth checking out-the About Marc Acito page is fairly humorous-so check it out here!

Tomorrow or the day after, expect a review of Hairstyles of the Damned! If a review isn't posted, an author reply will be.

Interview: Haywood Smith

As promised, here is the interview with Haywood Smith, author of Wedding Belles among other things. This is a lovely interview, and she was very thorough in answering my questions. Check out her website here if you're interested to hear more about her.

Your newer books-what your website deems "Hell Hath No Fury" books-are about very realistic women. Do you draw inspiration from the people around you? Are there any notable scenes or plots that are based on true stories?

First, let me stress that there are no new stories, despite what people think. Even though we consider ourselves unique, there are always others who have shared our experiences, plus or minus the technology. That's why archetypal characters exist and are so successful in fiction. We all fall into one of a few basic personality types and life situations. Writing teachers have told me that there are only seventy-nine basic plots, or some such number, and every story is either a version or a derivative of one of those classic plots.

The same goes for characters. Every writer is influenced--consciously and unconsciously--by everything he or she has experienced, read, or seen. So when we create characters, we draw from that reservoir of experience, whether consciously or unconsciously. But the characters I create are always fictional in my mind, whether they're archetypes or stereotypes. Though some people have told me I can use their stories, I learned the hard way that I must get written permission to do so. Someone once said I could use some stories from her divorce, than conveniently "forgot" giving me permission and sued me and won some money. (Fortunately, it was covered by E&O insurance.) So now I am very careful to get written permission if I use anyone's anecdotes. Even when I do, though, the character is always someone I have made up in my mind to satisfy certain needs for the story. My purpose in writing is to entertain and uplift. I never wrote anything with the intention of hurting or depriving anyone, and I never will.

Is there a large difference between writing historical fiction and your newer books? Which do you find more difficult?

Writing an historical novel is a completely different experience from writing humorous contemporary Southern women's fiction, though I use the same production process, the objectives for each are distinct and very different. With the historicals, I focus more on the relationship between hero and heroine and the actual historical characters and events, using more action and adventure. With comedy, I focus on creating a memorable main character, then taking the reader along for the ride while the heroine endures exaggerated trials and tribulations, then ends up better in the end, despite everything. The situations in comedy are often exaggerated for dramatic effect. As far as difficulty, I find each genre has its own demands, and I always end up having to work very hard to produce each book. It's a real challenge writing complex stories that are easy to read.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

The best advice I can give any aspiring writer is to find a writers' group that allows you access to professional, published authors and learn everything you can. If you want to be published, you must be able to learn and grow, detaching from what you write and considering it product. As for the craft of writing, writing is rewriting. And rewriting. And rewriting. I had to rewrite my first novel six times before it finally sold, and another time for my editor. All writers are in a constant state of becoming. We learn and grow and hone our craft with every revision and every book. I never would have succeeded without what I learned from Georgia Romance Writers.

What are your favorite books?

My favorite books are the ones in the Bible, and anything by Thomas Hardy, Pearl Buck, Aristophanes, Philippa Gregory, Taylor Caldwell, Hemingway, Shakespeare... I could go on and on. I like writers from every genre but erotica. But I no longer read "downer" books, because the challenges of my own life have been significant enough; I don't need anything that drags my spirits down, no matter how wonderfully written it is. (Cold Mountain comes to mind.) My imagination is so vivid, I live what I read and write. That's why I write books that offer hope, humor, and encouragement to my readers, even though I deal with deadly serious woman's issues.

Is there anything you can tell us about your new or recently released projects?

I have just finished rewrites for my next book, out January 2013, titled OUT OF WARRANTY. It's a send-up of the heath insurance industry, the medical profession in America, and falling apart physically ten years before Medicare. When my widowed heroine is diagnosed with a rare form of arthritis (same as mine), she spends all her money and then some trying to get well, then decides she needs to remarry for better healtlh insurance. Needless to say, her efforts at fix-ups and e-dates don't pan out, so she ends up marrying a one-legged curmudgeon with the same condition, and they live platonically ever after in her mold-remediated house.

I am currently working on a sequel to my first women's fiction best seller, QUEEN BEE OF MIMOSA BRANCH, titled QUEEN BEE GOES TO COLLEGE.

I'm also working on two non-fiction books, one of my grandmother's wise and funny sayings, and one that's a wheat-oat-milk solids-gluten-rice-soy-free cookbook of recipes I've developed for my strict medical diet.

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That's all! I hope you enjoyed the interview-I certainly did! I have another author who has agreed to do an interview, so stay tuned for more information!

Author Reply: Pamela Klaffke

I'm actually pleasantly surprised at the recent promptness of author replies. I have another one to share as well, though I'll probably leave that for tomorrow. For today, I'll just post this reply and the interview with Haywood Smith later. Tomorrow I'll probably post a review of How I Paid For College and the other author reply.

Anyway, Pamela Klaffke sent me a very interesting reply. She said that she agrees that Mason is difficult to deal with, but that she is more interested in writing interesting characters, not characters that are necessarily always likable. She said she's most interested in inner dialogue and that she doesn't think there's a woman out there whose thoughts aren't occasionally nasty. She also said that her relationship with her own mother is very good, and that she thinks her mother was a bit horrified when she read Every Little Thing, because Britt is very different than her mother.

What a wonderfully thorough reply! I definitely think you should write to her if you've read something by her. I'm sure she'd love to hear from you! If you want to learn more about her, check out her website.

Author Reply: Haywood Smith

I got a lovely reply from Haywood Smith, author of Wedding Belles (among other things). She informed me that Wedding Belles is part of a trilogy, called the Red Hat Club trilogy. She also told me that so far all of her other books are standalone, and that soon she'll be releasing revised versions of her historical novels as e-books for younger readers. She said that these offer "accurate history, adventure, romance, strong heroines, and upbeat endings."

For anyone who's curious, her website can be found here. As I mentioned earlier, she agreed to be interviewed, and the interview will be posted either tomorrow or later in the week, depending on what I get done.

Other notes: The next book up for review is How I Paid For College by Marc Acito, and I updated my What I've Read So Far page. If anyone has any suggestions for books, please let me know in a comment. Thanks!

Pamela Klaffke: "They think they invented irony."

When I first picked up Every Little Thing (Amazon) by Pamela Klaffke, I was expecting a Gossip Girl-esque novel. I'm pretty sure this is because I didn't read the back cover carefully enough. Every Little Thing is the story of a woman named Mason, who has serious mommy issues. Her mother, Britt, was a columnist in San Francisco who loved to write painfully detail accounts of embarrassing moments in Mason's life. The story opens after Britt's death, and is the tale of Mason dealing with her strange new situation.

I have very mixed feelings about this novel. It has some shining moments, such as when Mason realizes that her mother truly cared for her. Unfortunately, Mason seems to suffer some sort of short term amnesia, as only a few scenes later, she is once again whining about how awful her mother was. That's really what killed the book for me. There's no way around it-Mason is a whiny woman. She does exhibit some character growth throughout the novel, eventually participating in various public-spotlight activities to empower herself, similar to her mother. However, Mason stubbornly insists the whole time that she is not anything like her mother, and even gets into huge fights with her friends when they dare to compare the two.

Overall, I thought that the concept was good, and there were definitely moments when I was on Mason's side. However, by the end of the book, she did start to get on my nerves. However, other readers may find the character more relatable and sympathetic, so my description should not dissuade any interested readers. If you've read the book, please feel free to comment and let me know what you think!

I wasn't entirely sure if I should write to this author or not, but in the end I decided to.

"I just finished reading Every Little Thing. I found this book to be a very interesting dissection of a mother-daughter relationship. Unfortunately, I was unable to sympathize very much with Mason, but that could perhaps be because I have a very different, and healthier, relationship with my mother. However, the book definitely kept me reading, wondering what would happen in Mason's life next."

Later today, I'll post the author reply from Haywood Smith, who also graciously agreed to do an interview. Tomorrow either the interview or another book will be posted. Have a great day!

Thomas Kaufman: "Why would I ask you to find a daughter I don't have?"

Drink The Tea (Amazon) is the tale of private investigator Willis Gidney, a man who spent most of his childhood in the foster care system. This has given him a set of unique skills and a keen sense of street smarts. One day, a friend of his asks him to find a daughter. A daughter whose existence is only a rumor. Little does Gidney know, his search for her will lead him into troubles he could never have predicted.

Drink The Tea won the PWA Best First Private Eye Novel Competition, and I can see why. This is a fascinating tale with numerous twists and turns. I would almost say too many twists and turns-2occasionally it was hard to keep up. However, the characters were believable and interesting, and there was never a dull moment to be found. This is definitely a must read for anyone who is a fan of the genre.

In searching for the author's contact information, I discovered that there is a sequel called Steal the Show. I'll have to pick that up too! Anyway, here is the note I wrote to the author:

"i just read Drink the Tea, and I must say, it was excellent. I didn't have any strong expectations going into it, but as I read, I found myself not wanting to put the book down. I plan to pick up Steal the Show, and I hope that there are more WIllis Gidney books to come!"

I actually received a reply from Haywood Smith, so I'll probably post that tomorrow, because I don't think I'll have my next book (Every Little Thing by Pamela Klaffke) finished by then. Until then, have a great day!

Haywood Smith: "Other people's secrets, I could keep, but not my own."

I have to admit, I am a complete sucker for books about groups of women getting together and talking, a la Divine Secrets of The Ya Ya Sisterhood and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Wedding Belles (Amazon), by Haywood Smith is another delightful addition to this genre.

The basic plot is this: Georgia, Linda, Diane, Teeny and Pru are southern women in their fifties who have been friends since high school. They meet once a month at a local restaurant wearing red and purple to discuss their lives and provide one another support. This time, Georgia, the narrator, is the one with a problem. Her 27 year old daughter, Callie, is engaged to Georgia's husband's best friend, a man that the group went to high school with. He was known as Wild Man Wade, and has a history of alcoholism, among other things. Together the group sticks together and helps Georgia through this unforeseen situation.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. It is definitely a comfort food/guilty pleasure sort of novel, which is exactly what I needed when I read it. Occasionally, the religious references got a bit heavy handed-but hey, it's the South, right? Religious references seem to come with any book set there. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a comforting story about mothers, daughters, or weddings.

I wrote a quick note to the author:

"I recently read Wedding Belles, and I just have to say, I found it absolutely delightful. I absolutely love books about mother-daughter relationships and the friendships of women. I was having a rather bad day when I picked up your novel, and it was just what I needed to perk me up. Thank you so much for writing it!"

That's all for today. I'm hoping to start posting to this blog much more regularly again. I have a lot more time to read right now. Hope to see you soon!