Nadine Feldman, Author

celebrating strong female characters and whatever else strikes my fancy

fiction

Bad Boys and Nasty Girls: The Unlikeable Characters We Love

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Apparently my lead character in my work in progress is not “likeable” enough. “She’s shallow and materialistic,” one person declared.

I know. I made her that way. On purpose. I’ve also heard this before, about other characters I’ve written. One of those novels is now so overwritten it may never see the light of day. It tries to hard to somehow apologize for my protagonist, in that case a promiscuous young woman with an alcohol addiction.

I’m not dismissing the critiques. Writers benefit from having fresh eyes looking at our manuscripts, and as I work on my latest revisions, I have kept my readers’ valuable comments in mind.

But something bothers me about this likeability thing.

Turning to that vast repository of information and opinion, the Internet, I found other authors who are bothered by it, too. Daniel Swenson of Surlymuse.com wrote a thoughtful piece about this very subject. Roxane Gay also weighs in on Buzzfeed.com.

Granted, characters should be enticing. They should fascinate. But we don’t have to like them.

Take two of television’s most iconic antiheroes: Tony Soprano and Walter White. Believe it or not, I’m just now watching The Sopranos, and we didn’t catch up on Breaking Bad until after the finale. Both men are violent, sociopathic, despicable. Yet these are characters we remember.

Granted, in both cases we are watching the skill of extraordinary actors. In Tony Soprano, we see the lost, wounded little boy who suffers from depression and panic attacks as an adult. We also see, in spite of his mobster lifestyle, a guy having to deal with mouthy teenagers, aging parents, and other life problems we can all relate to. In Walter White, we feel the frustrations of a brilliant Everyman, for whom life has dealt repeated doses of unfairness.

These are also men, though Woody Allen’s caustic Blue Jasmine could give both men a run for their money on the female side. Television has also given us Glen Close’s Patty Hewes in Damages, though methinks the writers tried a bit too hard to soften Patty’s mean streak. She’s a lot more fun when she’s at her worst.

Truth is, my protagonist interests me. In all of my work, there seems to be a focus on redemption, on people growing into better versions of themselves. It feels more like the human journey to me. It’s why I prefer Spiderman and Batman to Superman. It’s why, from a story perspective, I prefer the Old Testament to the New. Those people were messed up…much like we all are.

What do you think? Who are your favorite heroes or antiheroes from books, television, or movies?

Random 5 Friday — Preparing for Change

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As I write this, we are wrapped in a blanket of fog. Outside, the garden is quiet, save for a few fall veggies that are coming up in between cover crop. Each day we see less and less sun; by the solstice, we will be dark by 4:00 p.m. The daily routine turns ever more inward — “reading season,” a farmer friend calls it. Perhaps it means I can get my blog back to a regular routine? I hope so.

Thanks to Nancy at A Rural Journal for offering Random 5 Fridays. Please check her out, as well as the many great bloggers whose work delights me in so many ways!

Here is my Random 5:

  1. I’m in Day 11 of the 14-day Colorado Cleanse, and I’ve had some profound experiences around my relationship with food and stress. I’ll write more about this soon, but wow! Today is the last day of the “main” cleanse, so tomorrow begins a three-day regimen that adds more food and resets digestive fire.
  2. We’re preparing for travel! We don’t like to leave from May-September. Between the needs of the garden and the many activities, home is the best place to be during that time. Still, we love to travel, and I’m getting itchy feet. Next up: New York City to visit my stepdaughter. We will also spend some time in Pennsylvania, in Amish country.
  3. I recently attended the Write on the Sound writers’ conference in Edmonds, WA, where I returned home exhausted but inspired. I’ve now started draft #3 of my next novel, ready and eager to do the hard work involved to shape it!
  4. I’m one of the last people in the universe to watch Breaking Bad. We’re watching online and are now late in season #2. What a strange show! And yet, we keep watching.
  5. I just finished reading an Advance Reader Copy of Karen Wyle’s Division. Karen writes character-driven sci-fi, and her strengths lie in the way she writes about family relationships. I don’t normally read sci-fi, but this tale of conjoined twins with different and conflicting ideas about how to navigate adulthood is a touching read. She’s releasing the book toward the end of this month.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

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To my friends in the Northeast:  I hope you all are safe and dry wherever you are. I know this storm is far from over, but we hope that you are through the worst of it.

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If someone dies and no one knows about her life, does that mean she didn’t have one?

Lara’s having a tough time. Her business partner has run off to India, where she’s pursuing a romance. Her boyfriend has dumped her. She’s the poor relation to her Uncle Bill, founder of a major chain of coffee houses and creator of a well known motivational seminar series. Her parents feel sorry for her, and she spends most of her energy pretending that nothing is wrong.

When her great-aunt Sadie dies at 105, the last thing Lara wants to do is to attend the funeral of a woman she never knew. Imagine her shock, then, when the ghost of Aunt Sadie appears at the funeral as a young, petulant, demanding young woman whom only Lara can see.

In this rollicking, sometimes laugh-out-loud treasure of a book, Sophie Kinsella deftly reveals both Lara and Sadie, thrown together by chance, with neither of them happy about it. Sadie thinks Lara is boring, and Lara is upset because Sadie shows up at the worst times, leading friends, colleagues, and family to believe that Lara has gone off the deep end.

As we all face our own mortality, we may find ourselves questioning our own legacy. Who will know our stories? Will we, in fact, understand what stories we have left behind? Fall in love with Sadie as you ponder these questions. Walk side by side with Lara as she struggles with confidence. Perhaps, in the end, you’ll see your own life differently. It’s Hallowe’en week after all…why not read a fun ghost story?

 

 

Book Recommendation Tuesday is Back!

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Hey, everyone! I’ve spent much of the summer with my nose in Vietnam-era fiction and memoir as research for the upcoming Blood & Loam. I’ve also read a lot of fiction and nonfiction set in the Pacific Northwest, as a way of acquainting myself with this area and its unique, rich culture. The net result is that I haven’t read a lot of books to recommend that fit in with this blog’s primary audience. In spite of all that, I have some books lined up that I can talk about, and I’m glad of it! I’ve missed these Tuesday blogs.

I’d like to take a moment to address anyone who might want me to review his or her book on this site. First, I’d love to consider each book that comes my way. As a working artist myself, I am soft-hearted toward other writers and artists. If you have a book for me to read, send me a query through the “Contact” section of this website. Here’s the deal, though: you must let me know how your book fits in with the subject matter of this blog. Don’t just tell me how much I’ll like it, tell me why. I’d also like a sample, maybe a chapter or two. If I like it, I will purchase it and read the rest. Bear with me, though. I have a big pile of books, so it may take me a while to get to yours — though I will try to not keep you waiting overlong.

The same thing goes for guest blogging. I get inquiries on occasion, and I’d love to host guest bloggers…but your content needs to be compatible with this blog. I promise to be flexible if you promise to show me that you did your homework and are acquainted with the subject matter that I focus on.

Now that the housekeeping is done, let’s get going with this week’s recommendation!

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Marlene Dotterer’s Bridgebuilders, her follow-up to The Time Travel Journals: Shipbuilder, comes out on November 1! I loved Shipbuilder, and I’ve waited eagerly for the next installment in this series.

The good news is, you can read the first five chapters for free online! Start your journey here.

If you haven’t read Shipbuilder, it’s best to start there before moving on to Bridgebuilders. While Dotterer helps the reader “catch up” in the new book, and introduces a whole new set of characters, Shipbuilder helps set the tone and flavor of the series…plus, it’s a great story.

Shipbuilder creates an alternate universe around the sinking of the Titanic. Bridgebuilders takes us to the year 2080. With time travel as the basis, Dotterer can take us anywhere, or I guess I should say, anywhen. Both books are set in Belfast, though the Belfast of the future is profoundly affected by climate change.

Though I’ve read only the first five chapters of Bridgebuilders, it’s apparent that Dotterer, who takes her time with her stories to polish them with care, has created another winner. So far there’s plenty of romance and intrigue to keep the action going. Yes, there’s some technical sci-fi stuff going on, but Dotterer uses just enough to add believability to the story.

Marlene Dotterer is an author to watch! Enjoy these free chapters, and let’s support good writing by buying a copy on November 1!

Best Blogs Thursday and Then Some!

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The lovely and talented M.H. Gerber has tagged me for a blog hop called The Next Big Thing. Thank you, M.H.! She’s been one busy lady, with three books out. I’m so impressed!

After I take care of my weekly Best Blogs business, I’ll answer some questions and point y’all in the direction of some authors to watch.

Some weeks it’s easier than others to find new blogs worthy of recommendation, but yesterday the indomitable Totsymae, one of my all-time favorite bloggers, tossed me a gift when she turned me on to The Good, The Bad, The Worse. Blogger Linda Medrano covers a variety of topics with intelligence and humor. She’s fun and interesting, the kind of person I would like to get to know better. I’ve been catching up on her posts with great delight. Check her out!

Now, back to The Next Big Thing. Here are my answers to M.H.’s questions:

1. What is the title of your book/WIP?

Currently, I am completing Blood and Loam, a Vietnam-era book about a young woman coming of age in a time of social and political upheaval.

I’m also drafting a series of essays and a new novel with the working title House on the Hill. I’m sure that will change several times, though!

2. Where did the idea for the book come from?

With Blood and Loam, I wanted to write about the confusion I felt growing up in the 60s and 70s. Women’s roles were changing, and I was getting a lot of mixed messages. I’d had some turbulent relationships in those days, so I wanted to explore the life of a young woman with little self-esteem. Originally it was set in 1980, but when I switched it to 1970, it opened all kinds of exciting doors! A lot of things happened that year that reverberate through our current political climate, so the setting has become its own character.

3. What genre would your book fall under?

Good question! I am calling it historical fiction because the Vietnam-era setting is essential to the story. The main characters are female. Just as in The Foreign Language of Friends, I write about women who don’t get along very well – in this case, a mother and daughter. For some reason I am fascinated by the friction that can exist in female relationships. So, I suspect that some people will call it “women’s fiction,” but I don’t think it really qualifies.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Stella: Lindsey Lohan. Yes, you read that right. I’m rooting for her to make a comeback. She needs to stop messing with her face, though.

Ruth (Stella’s mother): Sarah Jessica Parker. I need someone petite and blue-eyed. She needs to die her hair black, though.

Adrian: Colin Farrell or Johnny Depp. I need someone who can come across as dangerous and sexy at the same time.

Luke: John Goodman. Well, John may be a little old for the role these days, but I need a big, beefy, blue-collar type of guy.

Grandma Hannah: Dianne Wiest.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When the violence at Kent State erupts, new graduate Stella Kellar returns to her small, Midwestern hometown to escape the turmoil, only to find that some wars are personal.

6. Is your book published or represented?

No.

7. How long did it take you to write?

Years. Seriously. I first drafted the novel more than 20 years ago, but made the mistake of getting it critiqued too soon and ended up tossing the whole thing in the trash. It was originally a horror novel, but I didn’t want to end up being stuck writing horror — that’s not what I do. In 2010, I used NaNoWriMo to rewrite it in its current form. It’s now been through two developmental edits, and I think one more will do it.

It’s a hard book to write, but I think I have the right story now. I had to be older, wiser, and a better writer to do what needs to be done. There are big themes and some events in the book that are so controversial, I was told by one expert, that no major publishing house would touch it. I’m uncomfortable with it, but it’s the story that wants to be told, so I’m sticking with it.

8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to?

Good question. I’m reading some other Vietnam-era fiction now to see what other people have done. Right now I have no idea.

9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?

None and all. This book has no real roadmap – it’s unlike anything else I’ve read. That’s one reason it’s been so hard to write.

10. Tell us anything else that might pique our interest in your book.

It’s sexy and violent, with multiple taboo topics!

Some writers to watch whom I have tagged:

Juliet Greenwood: Check out her elegant, lovely Eden’s Garden.

Ute Carbone: The author of a fine novel, Blueberry Truth, Carbone has some new work out that I’m excited about reading.

Karen Wyle: Author of a powerful, character-driven sci-fi novel called Twin Bred. I recently had the privilege of being a beta reader for one of Karen’s WIPs, currently called Reflections, and she’s working on other stuff as well.

Have a great weekend, y’all! I’ll be busy the next several days at the Port Townsend Writers’ Conference. I’m sure I’ll have lots of news to report next week!

Good Books Tuesday: The Language of Trees

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THIS JUST IN: The Foreign Language of Friends has won a gold medal in the eLit Book Awards “Women’s Issues” category. I came home from my volunteer shift at the arts center to find a nice certificate waiting for me. Very cool! I did my happy dance, and then I made dinner. There’s an irony in that, eh?

Anyway, on to this week’s book recommendation:

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Some books entertain, some inform, some move us. Good books, though, really good books, do some of all three, and then they astonish. They remind us of why we read, and we fall in love all over again with the act of reading. Ilie Ruby’s The Language of Trees fits in to this final category.

Set in upstate New York, The Language of Trees blends Seneca folklore, a family torn apart by tragedy, and the regrets of lost love in a healthy brew of magical realism. The end result, poignant and uplifting, heartbreaking and hopeful, left me breathless and satisfied to my core. It’s the difference between eating a fine, nourishing meal vs. junk food. The calories are the same, but in the end we feel more alive and whole.

The story begins with a horrific accident on Canandaigua Lake during a sudden, intense storm that wounds an already troubled family to the core. Twelve years later, oldest sister Melanie, who has struggled with addiction since the incident, disappears. Most people assume she has abandoned her new life and young son for drugs. At about the same time, Grant Shongo has returned to Canandaigua and his roots to nurse a broken heart after the end of his marriage. Grant, of Seneca heritage, has the curious ability to heal wounds. As he connects with his roots and his destiny, his story intersects with Melanie’s in unexpected ways.

Along the way, the spirits are restless, with mysterious footprints, dimes, and paper airplanes reminding the living of the untold stories of the dead. With raw intensity, Ruby draws disparate characters together seamlessly, revealing both their greatness and their failings. Though magic threads its way throughout the story, it never cheats it or dilutes the power of the story.

It’s been hard to pick up a book after this one. I just want to savor it longer and let it settle in to my spirit. The one I’ve picked up after, though not a bad book, pales in comparison. If you love reading, read The Language of Trees. If you love writing, read it and learn.