An author friend of mine, Kristina McMorris, has asked that others who’d like to support her debut novel write something on their personal blogs today relating to surprises. I thought the real surprise here is that I’m posting at all, since I am guilty of severe blog neglect.

I have another surprise to report, for those who may not follow me on Facebook or Twitter: I’ve submitted the complete draft of my latest work to my new editor, and should hear from her soon with first-stage editing orders. “Second books” have a bad reputation — they’re difficult because there are so many doubts in a writer’s mind as to whether or not the feat can be completed a second time, whether the work will be as good as the first, whether readers will love you or abandon you for your sophomore effort, etc… I’ll admit that some of those fears crept into my head as I worked on story #2. But–and here’s another surprise–I am crazy happy about this story and can’t wait to surprise you with it. (Have I used “surprise” enough times to make this theme work?)

Now, let me tell you a little something about my friend, Kristina McMorris: She is one of the nicest people I’ve met online. She is witty, she is wise, and she is lovely. I wrote today’s post as part of the WOW-Women on Writing Blanket Tour for her novel, Letter from Home. This debut novel is the story of three young women during World War II and the identity misunderstandings they and the men in their lives have.

Like many authors, Kristina has had a wild selection of “real jobs”–everything from wedding planner to actress to publicist. She added novelist to that list after reading and pondering a bunch of letters her grandfather wrote to his sweetheart (a.k.a. Grandma Jean) while he was serving in the Navy during World War II. That made her wonder: How much can two people truly know each other from letter writing alone? Can a soldier fall in love with a woman through letters? The storyteller in Kris kicked in after that, made her ask new questions like: What happens if the woman writing the letters is different from the woman he met the might before he shipped out, the woman he thought was writing the letters? Is it still love or just a lie? These questions form the basis for Kris’s novel.

In honor of her grandparents, and all the other families kept apart by military service, Kris is donating a portion of her book’s profits to United Through Reading, a nonprofit organization that video records deployed U.S. military personnel reading bedtime stories to their children. You can learn more about the program HERE.

If you comment on today’s post here or on any of the other blogs participating in Everybody’s Talking About Surprises, you’ll be entered to win a special prize–including a personalized copy of Letters from Home, a Big Band CD, Victory Garden seeds, and more. To read Kristina’s post about surprises and a list of other blogs participating in Everybody’s Talking about Surprises visit The Muffin.

Have any surprises you’d like to share? Surprise me with a comment.

Today is National Poetry Day in the UK. What better excuse do I need to post a new poem? I hope you enjoy it.

The White Garden

There is a white garden thriving here that frightens me.
It isn’t white with lilies or crocus or snowstar tulips.
There is no heady scent of jasmine or violet wafting through the air;
there are no orchids.
This garden isn’t fragrant at all, actually.
Neither is it knit with beauty, colorless from snowfall or moonbeams,
or anything rooted in nature or poetry.
What it is is corpse white,
nuclear-holocaust white,
whites-of-the-eyes white.
Bloodcurdlingly white.

You can walk in this garden, though it’s overgrown
and people have gone missing in its ratty maze,
disappeared completely.
White-knuckled weeds choke out all that once lived and bloomed,
leaching all goodness from the soil until it’s white, too,
like dry, caking clay,
embalmed earth.
Still, people go, though the Why of that
becomes more a mystery as time passes.
Maybe they don’t believe it’s as bad as it looks or as they’ve heard.
Maybe they think there’s still hope,
that they’ll find a four-leaf clover
–something, anything green and rich and alive—
hidden beneath the unnatural blanket.

The gardeners are fanged and greedy beasts.
Hang them, or put a stake through their hearts.
They rarely appear, having moved on
to better flowing arteries than this;
certainly, I’ve never seen them tending to their plot of despair,
though I’ve seen them in it from time to time,
gazing with potted cheerfulness at their surroundings for the masses,
ignoring the crunch-crackle of some formerly living matter
beneath their feet
–dry stalk or bone; no matter; inconsequential.
“Isn’t it purdy,” one might say to the rest
and pluck at a white smear and call it a bloom.
He’d breathe in its unfragrance and sigh,
even while the vast fiction disintegrates in his hand.
White ashes drift up and stipple his nose,
and still the others nod and call it beautiful.

Photo courtesy Flickr’s Dendroica cerulea

I’m thick in the work of book two right now, making good progress. Things are slipping into place, finally, after months of questioning and rethinking and settling on various story elements–”Yes, bring that forward. Delete that plot point. Tweak that character arc.”

So I’ve been absorbed in all of that, but in the meanwhile I’ve neglected this blog. Today, I thought I’d produce a poem for anyone who stops by. Hope you enjoy.

Bear Mountain

Not many understand
wanting to hibernate,
losing valuable time
to deep slumber
when there is money to make,
and family to please,
and a house to keep
with its safe stockpile
of heat
and furniture
and food.

But I love the woods,
cold and quiet,
where pines wear their pride
and naked branches stand in stark silhouette,
doped out on icy barbituates.
I can think of no better place to lie down.

There’s danger, yes,
from frostbite and avalanche,
from lack of food,
but there are no people.
Well, I should rephrase:
There are a few,
but though we’re aware
of one another’s presence
the way you’re aware
that spring will eventually put paint
to the pencil-drawn world of winter,
we never hear or see evidence of this.
So no people.

No people to make me feel like
my waking seasons are wasted ones,
that I’ve taken the wrong path
when my tingling block feet crush
(newborn plants,
small children,
others’ happiness
—splat).
These feet are useless.

But the seconds I spend asleep
are harvested ones,
treasured ones,
and in them I recuperate my spirit
and dream of
the brightest sun.

Photo courtesy Flickr’s Alaskan Dude

I don’t know about you, but oftentimes when I watch I book trailer, I feel less compelled to buy a book than I might have otherwise. But this? This is a great book trailer, made by my friend, Kristina McMorris, whose debut novel, Letters from Home, will be published in February of next year. Kris chose to be conversational, explaining what drove her to write the book. That compelling factor, in my opinion, is absolutely catchy. Watch and see if you don’t agree.

That trailer makes me want to read the book more than I already wanted to read the book. Definitely a novel to look out for.

I really enjoyed this interview with Jen Haupt for the Psychology Today blog. I hope that you enjoy it!

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/one-true-thing/201008/interview-therese-walsh-the-last-will-moira-leahy

If you walk into any Target store across the country, chances are good you’ll find a copy of The Last Will of Moira Leahy in the book section. Friends have been taking pictures of the novel on the shelves at Target and sending them to me or posting them on my author page on Facebook. I hope you’ll look for it next time you’re out shopping.

The trade paperback release of The Last Will of Moira Leahy is TODAY! Promotions this time around are somewhat low-key, though I am running a wonderful contest on my Facebook author page from 8/3-8/10. People who come to the page and “like” it, then comment on the contest note will be entered for a chance to win TWO copies of one of *49* novels in a “My Sister and Me” contest. Most titles in the giveaway are women’s fiction, though there is a wonderful ecclectic mix in the group. If you’re chosen as one of the winners (a random draw), you’ll receive two copies of a book–one to keep and one to share with a sister or a friend.

Come visit Writer Unboxed today to read the comprehensive list of authors involved in the giveaway, and drool over the many lovely covers and descriptions. Or just come directly to my Facebook Author page and read my contest note. (I think you’ll have to *like* the page before you can access and comment on the note.)

Best of luck!

Photo 49 courtesy Flickr’s cpradi

Guess what Fed-Ex man just brought? A first-edition, hot-of-the-presses copy of the trade paperback of Last Will of Moira Leahy! Yes, I’ve seen the jpg plenty of times over the last several months, but it’s still a stunning moment to hold it in my hand now.

Two weeks until the trade paperback is available!

Happy to have made reviewer S. Krishna’s Summer Reading List!

What are you reading this summer?

This post first ran at Writer Unboxed, but I thought you might be interested to see it here, too. I hope you don’t mind the recycling.

“Did you have any influence on your cover?” is one of the most asked questions whenever I do a presentation with book clubs or writing groups. (I’ve done ten since The Last Will of Moira Leahy was published, if you can believe it.)

The short answer is yes. But it’s way more complicated than that, so let me take you through the steps–or at least explain how it worked for me.

The Cover Concept Meeting

Almost a year before the book was released, I was told that a cover concept meeting would soon be taking place to discuss Last Will–a meeting when lots of ideas are thrown around by the editor, possibly the publisher, and others involved in the book. This is when the author’s voice may be presented to the art department. I was invited to submit any ideas I had, including any jpgs of images that I felt spoke to the work.

Of course I took them up on their offer, and submitted about a page of description about twins, the book’s water themes, and magical realism, and named some setting possibilities–Castine, Maine and Rome, Italy. I also sent 36 pictures along in a Word document, which now feels over the top, but at the time felt just right. (You know how I love a good picture.) Of those 36 shots, 24 were of twins or included water imagery, and many featured saturated colors–great for pop, to attract attention on a bookshelf. One of them even contained a picture of a woman with red hair covered in bubbly, magical looking water. I included jpgs of a few book covers I’d liked, too, including Amy MacKinnon’s Tethered and Kate Brallier’s The Boundless Deep. (Erm, you think I was subtle about what I wanted? Oh, lunacy, thy name is debut author.)

Designers Designing

Everything is shared with the cover designer–the memo and the photos–before the designer sits with all of those thoughts, digesting before the real design work begins. And then it does begin. Take a look at this great video showcasing the birth of the cover Blameless, a novel by Gail Carringer. Continue Reading »