Posts Tagged ‘the heroine’s bookshelf’

It should come as no surprise that reading is a huge part of my writing process.  I’m a compulsive reader, so any word that comes around my eyes will get read at some point.  What surprises me is the breadth of work that helps me through my own writing.  I tend to approach nonfiction like fiction and vice-versa.

Though some complain that reading like a writer is exhausting or depressing, I find it particularly pleasurable.  What’s the voice?  How is the story told?  What details catch the writer’s attention and which are jettisoned?  What about subject matter…what brings the author closer to the story?  What does the actual page look like?  Are the sentences dense or curt or do they vary?  I try to let myself get swept up in the story, but once I’m done, I look back on the experience and try to glean some broader lessons. 

My day job is marketing and brand strategy, and it brings a lot of nontraditional reading material my way.  I inhale everything from long-form investigative journalism to tweets about Britney Spears’s boobs.  Both help me look at words and information in a different way.  Add in some biographies and a few Georgette Heyer novels and you’re just about right. 

I can’t imagine wanting to write without my ongoing reading habit, nor can I imagine being the writer I am/becoming without reading widely and curiously.  For some reason, I’m not worried about other voices imbuing themselves in my writing.  I really can’t afford to miss a thing. 

What about you?  How does reading fit into your writing process? 

I’m deep in writing mode lately, which means that I slip off the radar socially.  The social media strategist and marketer in me is cringing, believe me. I don’t know about you, but the real work of writing occurs under the surface for the most part, as things are thought through and sorted out. That’s no excuse, however, for falling out of touch with you. So I’m giving myself a challenge: post ten new blogs over the next ten days.  Just to shake things up a bit, I’m going to be focusing on my own writing process (as opposed to that of my literary heroines). 

Today’s topic?  Ideas. 

I think there’s a myth that writers wake up in the morning, float over to the desk, look out the window on the glistening springtime or pastoral view, and are visited by a gentle muse who bestows a Good Idea.  “Ah,” they say, stroking their chins appreciatively.  “That’s it!”  Then they begin to write in a whirl of inspired bliss. 

Maybe that’s how other writers do it, but my experience is way messier and infinitely more frustrating.  Here’s my process:  Get one idea that kind of stinks.  Go down the path of research, thought, planning, figuring it out.  Realize it’s total crap.  Get new idea.  This one seems downright brilliant.  Tell someone about it—they blanch and stammer something polite but unenthusiastic.  Suffer from crisis of confidence and abandon idea. 

Et cetera. 

This process is repeated multiple times, with fits and starts.  Sometimes it takes a long freaking time (Only this month have I become confident enough about an idea for a new nonfiction project…yes, almost two years since my first book appeared.  Sorry, Harper.). Sometimes it doesn’t.  Sometimes I desperately need the input of my partner, my business partner, or a few trusted writing buddies.  Sometimes I have a sense that if I tell another human being, it will be jinxed forever and will surely fail. For me, the important part is to remain open to the right idea.  Nothing is perfect, but good thoughts sometimes take time to percolate.  I try to read widely, talk to new people, eavesdrop on conversations, give myself long walks and time for random, unstructured thought.  Given all of those inputs, ideas usually come. 

Before I go public with an idea, I always ask myself several questions.  What’s the idea? Is it really unique? How? More importantly, what can I bring to the idea that nobody else can?  Is this something I’m willing to talk about all day, lose sleep over, and devote at least a quarter of my working brain capacity to for the near future? 

If the answer is yes, I freak out.  Oh, God.  Here we go again.  And that’s the place I’m in right now.  Here we go again…

What about you? Where do you find your ideas? 

 

At long last (or is it long?), the paperback of The Heroine’s Bookshelf has been published in paperback by Harper Perennial!  What does this mean for you (aside from a chance to buy stocking stuffers for the many bookish women in your life)? Why, giveaways, of course!

• Buried In Print is doing a fun giveaway of the book at her blog
• I’m honored to be participating in both #indiethursday and #fridayreads this week…chances to tweet with fellow book lovers, support indie book stores, and win a copy of my book!
• Bitch Magazine is running a contest on Friday
• AnneofGreenGables.com is gracious enough to host a daily trivia question and giveaway on their Facebook page…

…and that’s just the beginning! 

Prizes are currently being shipped to the winners of the Their Eyes Were Watching God readalong…my love of malls was exposed in my author interview with the Vail Daily…and there’s a lot more to come.

If this sound exhausting, it is. And it isn’t, because all of you are so supportive and awesome. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I’m delighted to announce that there’s another readalong in the works!

As you may know, the paperback of The Heroine’s Bookshelf will be released by Harper Perennial on November 15, putting the book in some pretty illustrious company, including that of Zora Neale Hurston, the Harlem Renaissance writer who gave us Their Eyes Were Watching God.  Aside from Colette, it’s the book that’s least known by readers I’ve encountered, and it’s a quick, lush read that grapples with issues of religion, love, and coming home.

Their Eyes Were Watching God: The Readalong will take place on three consecutive Mondays starting November 28. The schedule is as follows: 

November 28: Chapters 1-6

December 5: Chapters 7-13

December 12: Chapters 14-20

Best of all, Harper Perennial has generously offered to give away copies of Their Eyes Were Watching God to ten lucky readers before the readalong, and they’ll be providing some great Zora-related prizes during the readalong itself!

All you have to do to enter is comment below with your name and why you’re participating in the readalong.

As a fun bonus, if you tweet, blog, or Facebook post about the readalong, just drop me an email with a link to your post to have another entry thrown in the pile. You’ll increase your chance of winning and we’ll increase the chance of having another great readalong! 

Entries will close on Monday, November 14 to give Harper time to mail books to the winners.

Want to share on your blog? Click the small image for blog-ready badges to share!

So…who’s with me?

By Kj Swanson, with Column Five’s Ian Klein

To celebrate the one-year publication anniversary of The Heroine’s Bookshelf, Erin and I thought it would be fun to create a literary-inspired cocktail list. Okay, truth be told, the idea came from us making fun of the pronunciation of St John River’s name from Jane Eyre. “Sin Jin.” “Sin Gin.” “Sounds like a cocktail!”

Having bartended primarily at theaters for the past decade, I’ve picked up a hobby of inventing cocktails inspired by the plays being performed. Thus, it didn’t take much prompting for me to say yes to creating cocktails inspired by the amazing authors, characters and stories featured in The Heroine’s Bookshelf. I brought in my longtime mixology collaborator Ian Klein, and we stretched our imaginations to consider what ingredients, flavors and spirits best evoked the “spirit” of each chapter’s heroine and author. We adapted some pre-existing cocktails and created some originals as well. Try some of these at your next book club gathering or ask your local bartender to give one a go.

Erin, I raise my glass to you. Here’s to another year of reading and living heroically!

The Lizzie Bennet | Spy-Glass of Faith | Anne With An “E” | The Color Purple | For Francie | The Complete Claudine | Scarlett O’Hara | The Scout Finch | The Long Winter | The Currer Bell | Jo Meets Apollyon | The Mary Lennox

The Lizzie Bennet

As sparkling as her wit, this cocktail in honor of Pride & Prejudice’s heroine evokes popular tastes of the Regency era.

3 parts Sparkling Lemonade, such as R.W. Knudsen
1 part Cream Sherry

Serve over ice; top with floating raspberries

Spy-Glass of Faith

In honor of Zora Neale Thurston and her heroine, Janie Crawford, enjoy this lush drink and its exotic flavors that emerge with every sip.

3 parts Mango Nectar, such as Goya
2 parts Vodka
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon rose water

Shake and serve up

Anne With An “E”

“Carrots” may have been her least-favorite nickname, but we think Anne would approve of this cheerful reinterpretation.

1 1/2 part Carrot Juice
1 1/2 part Gin
1/2 part Ginger Liqueur

Shake and serve on ice; sprinkle cinnamon to top

The Color Purple

In honor of Alice Walker and Celie, an elegant drink as lovely as night and sweet as friendship.

3/4 part Galliano
1/2 part Gin
1/4 part Creme de Violette
1/2 egg white
1 dash Orange Flower Water

Shake and serve up

For Francie

Enjoy some Brooklyn nostalgia with this fun twist on an fountain-style cherry cola.

1 part Vodka
1 part Cherry Brandy
1 part Cranberry Juice
2 parts Cola to top

Stir and serve over ice with a cherry

The Complete Claudine

Raise a glass in honor of Colette with this indulgently Parisian blend of herbs and citrus.

½ part fresh lime juice
3 parts Gin
1 part Triple Sec
1 splash Green Chartreuse

Shake and serve up in an Absinthe-rinsed glass

Scarlett O’Hara

Peggy Mitchell said “Fighting is like Champagne. It goes to the heads of cowards as quickly as of heroes,” and this champagne cocktail is as tough and sweet as Scarlet herself.

2 parts Scotch Whiskey (Please note: if you can’t tolerate the idea of a drink for an Irish girl made with Scotch, feel free to sub Irish Whiskey.)
1 part Strawberry Liqueur
3 parts Champagne

Serve up in a champagne flute with a strawberry slice.

The Scout Finch

In honor of Scout and her creator, a perfect drink to enjoy on the front porch after a day of adventure and discovery.

Muddle 2 blackberries
1/2 part simple syrup
3/4 part fresh lime juice
2 parts sweet tea vodka

Shake and serve on ice

The Long Winter

Pull up your favorite quilt and warm yourself with this delicious drink in honor of Laura Ingalls.

3 parts Hot Chocolate
2 parts Brandy
1 part Kahlua

Top with nutmeg

The Currer Bell

Jane Eyre’s original readers might not have known Currer Bell was a woman, but we can now enjoy this audacious cocktail in honor of Charlotte Brontë.

2 parts Madeira wine
1 part White Rum
1 part Passion Fruit Juice, such as Vasso
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake and serve up

Jo Meets Apollyon

Named for a chapter from Little Women, this cocktail is as daring and endearing as Jo March.

2 parts Bourbon
1 part Cointreau
Shake and serve up in a Honey-laced glass

Fig garnish

The Mary Lennox

This cocktail starts a bit sour but ends with gentle floral accents, expressive of Mary’s transformational experience in The Secret Garden.

½ part fresh Lemon Juice
3 parts Brandy
1 part St Germain Elderflower Liqueur

Shake and serve up with a lemon twist

Note from Erin: This list was made with love by a dear childhood friend. Thanks so much, Kj and Ian, and thank you to all of the readers, friends, and publishing companions who have made the last year a truly heroic journey. I raise my glass to you!