books

Writer Updates #amwriting #womensfiction

August 9, 2017 by admin

I continue to read, read, read, but I am refilling my well with new books. Not to worry, there are plenty of good ones out there! No doubt next week I’ll be back to share my latest good reads.

In the meantime, I thought I’d share an update on my own work.

I’m revising two separate projects, both of them very different, and I’m having a wonderful time! First is Factory Girl, set in late nineteenth-century Scotland. Though the inspiration for the book is my great-great grandmother, Factory Girl includes a fairy rebellion as well! It wasn’t my intention, but they showed up in my story, and I decided to let them stay.

The other is untitled as yet. It’s a contemporary women’s fiction work about Elaine, a 60-year-old woman who has been the rock, support, and head cheerleader for her family, but who now wants to explore her own dreams. With a husband who has decided to jump into politics and a daughter who drops off the grandson without much notice, Elaine is meeting a fair amount of resistance! There’s also a handsome art teacher and an untrustworthy friend in the mix. I just finished the second draft, so this may take a while, but it’s a promising project.

Meanwhile, we continue to try to sell our home in the Pacific Northwest so we can move full-time to the East Coast. So far, the market is oddly quiet, so our move date remains uncertain. But these are good problems to have! In the meantime we’re enjoying a summer that is generally mild and pleasant (with the exception of air quality — we’re affected by fires in British Colombia), and I’m getting lots of yummy fruit from the garden.

See you next week!

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Nadine’s latest novel, What She Knew, is available on Amazon.

The Butterfly Garden #bookreview #fiction

July 25, 2017 by admin

What a sweet title! One would expect a lovely story about a group of women sipping tea in a butterfly garden. Yet this butterfly garden is unlike any other. This garden is created by a serial killer who decorates his young, lovely victims with butterfly tattoos.

I’m not even sure why I bought The Butterfly Garden. I always read the descriptions and it’s unlike me to purchase something so grisly and disturbing. But I’m glad I did.

Author Dot Hutchison begins the story in a police station where a young woman called Maya is being questioned. Maya is a tough young woman who isn’t exactly forthcoming at the beginning, so there is some question as to whether she is somehow complicit in a series of gruesome murders performed by a man known only as The Gardener. Drip by drip, word by word, she tells the story of the Garden and the young women in it: women The Gardener kidnapped, tattooed, killed, and preserved because butterflies have a short life span.

The Gardener has a lot of contradictions. He can be charming, loving even. In fact, everything he does is out of love, even when he’s at his most twisted and brutal.

The interplay between Maya and the detectives, Hanoverian and Eddison, helps bring the story to life. Through the telling of the story, we learn more about these detectives and what motivates them to continue working in a field that can be exhausting, frustrating, and draining. Since The Butterfly Garden is the first in a series, one presumes we will continue to follow the detectives in future books.

This type of story normally isn’t my cup of tea, but I have to say I liked it very much. Maya emerged from her cocoon, as it were, as the story unfolds, and I found myself aching for the lost years (and lives) of these fictional characters.

Vertical: Passion and Pinot on the Oregon Wine Trail

June 20, 2017 by admin

If you loved the novel Sideways by Rex Pickett or saw the movie of the same name, you know the story of Miles, a frustrated novelist, and his devil-may-care buddy Jack. In Sideways, Miles and Jack go on a road trip to explore the California Wine Country. Jack’s about to get married and wants a wild week before he hangs up his bachelor shoes. Miles, down and out two years after a divorce, just wants to drink wine and play golf. Jack manages to create chaos wherever he goes. The strength of Sideways is this friendship between opposites. Sideways is one of my favorite movies and stays true to the book.

Vertical: Passion and Pinot on the Oregon Wine Trail brings back Miles and Jack for another road trip, this time to Oregon. Miles has found success as a novelist and is riding a wave of fame after a successful movie version. He’s getting paid big bucks to talk at wine conventions, and women are throwing themselves at him. Yes, he and Maya have broken up — something that made me not want to read this book. However, Pickett handles the situation well, and Maya makes a few appearances in Vertical. I ended up forgiving Pickett for this and agreeing with him that it’s the right move for both characters.

With all the free wine, Miles is also making a fool of himself and becoming a caricature. He’s all too aware that he’s not working on his next book. Those of us who write and get distracted from our work can relate!

Jack’s marriage has fallen apart, and so has his acting career, and he’s now bumming money from Miles. Miles gets the idea they should go on the road together — Miles has speaking commitments in Oregon. He wants to pick up his mother, who has been living in assisted living post-stroke, and take her to Wisconsin after the Oregon gigs to live with her sister.

As with the first book/movie, all the characters manage to get into some hilarious scrapes. Jack is as outrageous as ever. Underneath the mayhem, though, this is a more serious book. All of the characters except for Mom’s nurse are descending deeper and farther into alcoholism, and there are a number of cringeworthy moments courtesy of Miles’ favorite grape, Pinot.

This is really a story about a mother and son whose relationship has never been close. Near the end of her life, she and Miles are really just getting to know each other. There’s a sense Miles might finally grow up — though we don’t know that for sure (there’s a third book, so I’m withholding judgment). There is a lot of heartbreak along with the humor.

If I were conducting a novel-writing class, I could find a lot wrong with this story. It could be better edited and in particular, Pickett’s overuse of clunky adverbs is a distraction (hypochondriacally, as an example). However, he’s a good storyteller, with an ability to create empathy for characters who by all rights, we shouldn’t like very much. I spent many years around alcoholics, so this is no small accomplishment. And readers who aren’t writers, who don’t know all the “rules” of writing a novel, most likely won’t care. I still wanted to turn the page.

If you like wine, or if you like Miles and Jack as I do, you’ll enjoy this book. Flawed as it is, there’s a lot to love about it.

NOTE: This book is a rerelease. It’s been revised and updated, and some of its original fans are not happy with the changes. Since I didn’t read that version, I cannot comment. I was provided a copy of this book in return for a fair review.

Nadine Galinsky Feldman is the author of What She Knew and The Foreign Language of Friends, as well as the nonfiction When a Grandchild Dies: What to Do, What to Say, How to Cope.

Before I Begin (Again) #reinvention #bookreviews

May 30, 2017 by admin

If you’re one of my regular readers, you know I’ve been away for a while. Part of it was “life”; getting co-op approval on a shoebox apartment in Manhattan, which is no small feat; moving; and welcoming our first grandchild into the world. Part of it was the election, but I promise not to say anything more on this blog about that. I’m also working on multiple long writing projects, one of which is causing me a certain amount of heartburn.

However, I also took the opportunity to reflect on what I want for this blog. In the past I’ve mused a lot about my garden, which is fun for me, but might confuse readers who are visiting to see what my fiction might be about. So from here on, you’ll find my gardening metaphors at my new blog, Sustainable Granny. Take a look if you get the chance. I’d love to have you visit me there.

For this blog, I will stick primarily to book reviews. I’ll likely throw in a few other things here and there, but let’s talk fiction here. Mostly I’ll write about women’s fiction, but sometimes I’ll tread into different genres. I’ve managed to run across several interesting books lately, so I have a lot to share.

If you’re an author wanting a review or would like to do a guest post, you’re welcome to submit a query at info@nadinefeldman.com. I’m interested primarily in women’s fiction. Indie authors are welcome, but any books for review must have been edited by a professional. No erotica, please.

I’ll also be offering some discounts and giveaways, so stay tuned.

If you’ve been with me for a while, thanks for hanging in there with me. In many ways I am starting over, and the work ahead feels daunting…but it all begins with one post at a time.

Take care, and I hope you’ll join me in the love of books and reading!

Amazon Celebrates Indie Authors! #poweredbyindie

October 5, 2016 by admin

In the month of October, Amazon is celebrating indie authors through its “Powered by Indie” promotion, and I am proud to be one of them. If you’re an author who wants to participate in this month’s activities, there’s also a Facebook page for you to visit.

From time to time my traditionally published friends will ask me: why indie? Why not find a “real” publisher?

Many years ago I wrote When a Grandchild Dies: What to Do, What to Say, How to Cope. For a year I queried publishers but found no one, other than a vanity press, who wanted to take on the project. Why? In part, there weren’t other books to compare it to. At the time I found just one book on grandparents’ grief, and it was out of print. Publishers like it when there are other books to compare with. I can’t blame them. Publishing is a tough business, and I understand and appreciate the need to make good business decisions.

That said, I wanted grandparents’ grief to be recognized and appreciated. As I interviewed grandparents, the complexity of the topic surprised me. For some, it was the first time someone had really taken the time to hear their grief and pain.

Indie publishing allowed me to bring a much-needed topic out into the world to the people who needed it in a timely manner, and the letters I received from grateful grandparents and their families made it all worthwhile.

Switching to fiction has been more challenging. It’s not easy to find readers when so many people are doing what I’m doing. It’s hard to get heard above the noise, and I’m not comfortable making noise. However, indie publishing allows me to play with blending genres and to write exactly what I want. Yes, I work with an editor, and I try to produce quality work…but it may not be deemed “marketable” by traditional publishers.

I have nothing against traditional publishing, and as they say, never say never. However, as long as indie publishing feels fulfilling and enjoyable, I’m proud to be an indie author!

Nadine Galinsky Feldman is the author of contemporary (and soon historical) women’s fiction novels. Her debut novel, The Foreign Language of Friends, was a 2012 finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and a 2011 Gold Medal Winner in the eLit Book Awards. What She Knew, released in 2016, has received numerous favorable industry reviews and was named a finalist in the 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

The Badass Trinity Part I: Shonda Rhimes

November 25, 2015 by admin

Happy Thanksgiving! May you have a wonderful holiday with friends and/or family.

Before we enjoy our turkey and trimmings, let’s dish about a topic so big it needs three separate posts.

Are you a badass?

The Urban Dictionary says (among other things) that a badass is:

“The epitome of the American male. He radiates confidence in everything he does, whether it’s ordering a drink, buying a set of wheels, or dealing with women. He’s slow to anger, brutally efficient when fighting back.

The badass carves his own path. He wears, drives, drinks, watches, and listens to what he chooses, when he chooses, where he chooses, uninfluenced by fads or advertising campaigns. Badass style is understated but instantly recognizable. Like a chopped Harley or a good pair of sunglasses: simple, direct, and functional.”

Note that the badass is listed as a “he.”

Yet television writer and producer Shonda Rhimes has carved her own path, reaching the pinnacle of television success in an environment that continues to limit opportunities for women and minorities.

This success, however, is not what makes Shonda Rhimes a badass. It’s the way she confronted her self-imposed limits, which had taken her joie de vivre from her.

In her new book Year of Yes, Ms. Rhimes tells of a moment when she realized her life had become too much about work and not enough about play. “You never say yes to anything,” her sister said…so Rhimes decided to say yes to everything that scared her. And, though Rhimes is a first-class badass, she’s scared by a lot. She considers herself shy and introverted, so speaking in public, as she did at the 92Y a few weeks ago, is a challenge.

In a book that is often laugh-out-loud funny, Rhimes writes the way she would talk to a friend. She reflects on speaking at graduation ceremonies, interviewing with Oprah, and more. In the Year of Yes, she learned to say “yes” to saying “no.”

As the year passed, with layers of shyness removed (along with a lot of excess weight), she blossomed…and she tells us we can, too.

The Year of Yes wasn’t always fun and games. Sometimes she had to say “yes” to ending friendships that weren’t as healthy as she imagined them to be. Saying yes often brought pain and discomfort.

But a badass always prevails.

Stay tuned for more badassery from authors Elizabeth Gilbert and Cheryl Strayed.

Nadine Galinsky Feldman is the author of The Foreign Language of Friends and the upcoming What She Knew, available March 2016. If you enjoy this blog, please consider purchasing a book or signing up for the newsletter to be kept informed of upcoming promotions and giveaways.