Nadine Feldman, Author

celebrating strong female characters and whatever else strikes my fancy

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Random Five Friday

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Thanks to my friend Tina Fariss Barbour of Bringing Along OCD, I have hooked up with Nancy’s A Rural Journal for Random Five Friday. Don’t know what I’m getting into yet, but I’ll see how it goes! I invite you to visit these blogs and participate in Nancy’s Random 5 if you so choose.

My Random Five for the week:

  1. It’s been a great harvest week for the garden. Blueberries, onions, artichokes, and lots of tomatoes! I’ve had a bumper crop of peas and have frozen several batches, but they’re just about done for the year. The pumpkins are blooming and zucchinis are forming. 
  2. I volunteer at the office of our local public theatre, Key City Public Theatre. We’ve had a hectic week, selling lots of tickets to a musical history of the world, The Big Bang, and getting ready for Shakespeare in the Park. My husband is an actor who will be performing in Much Ado About Nothing.
  3. I didn’t write a regular blog post this week. Well, actually I wrote several, but nothing feels ready for prime time. Bear with me. I’m hoping that by doing this Random 5, I’ll get back to a regular routine, including book reviews and blog recommendations.
  4. My latest novel concerns a Manhattan-based financial planner who gets unwittingly swept up in the Madoff scandal. At the same time, her estranged aunt has died and left her a house on *cough* the Olympic Peninsula. Soon I plan to start sharing my draft with you.
  5. I’ve learned that it’s impossible to predict the weather here on the Peninsula. When we lived in Houston, we would not only know that a storm was headed our way, but we would know when it would  arrive. Here, the forecasts are useless. The other day we had a predicted high of 81, but it hit 63. There was no rain in the forecast, but my deck was wet this morning. Go figure.

Have a great weekend! See you next week!

Cover Crop

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The garden is quiet; most of my vegetable beds are empty, and the fruit trees have gone dormant as the winter darkness descends. I have many plans for the garden and dream eagerly of spring when I can load the beds with fruit, vegetables, and herbs. In the meantime, the beds beg for cover crop, a mix of plants that fertilize the soil and protect it from winter conditions. “Green compost,” it’s called. One of the eight beds has a thriving crop, while the others wait for my loving attention. Come spring, I will chop up the cover crop and turn it into the soil, where it will work its magic.

Gardening creates a balance for my writing. The physical work and time outdoors offsets the hours spent hiding behind a computer. Every time I harvest a vegetable or clear out a weed, plot problems resolve more easily. Scenes appear that provide juice for the story. It’s as though the ideas are in the very soil, and I need only dig my hands in to pull them out like so many beets.

I have avoided the garden lately for reasons I cannot detail here. In my absence, weeds have cropped up, and the remaining greens wonder when I will harvest them. The naked beds call to me to protect them from the winter elements with cover crop or mulch. I long for the day when I can once again dig my hands into the dirt without looking over my shoulder in fear, and I long for the day when I no longer feel the need to restrict and censor what I write here.

Being a spiritual sort, I have puzzled about this, asking myself and my higher power, “What is the lesson here?”

Yesterday I took a deep breath and walked outside, bucket and trowel in hand. I dug up weeds. I planted my cover crop. Is it too late to do that? I don’t really know, but all I can do is try. Somehow it felt that as I created protection for my garden, I was protecting myself as well. By confronting my fears, I could start to take my power back.

One of my fictional characters is having a tough time of it these days. She’s unwittingly gotten involved in a scandal that has cost her her job and her relationship. I’ve toppled her from a high perch, and now she will have to find out what stuff she’s made of. She’s going on her hero’s journey, and I’m not sure how I’m going to dig her out of her many jams just yet. All I know is that for her to have her journey, I must have mine.

As I dug in the dirt, I had a plan. If anything bad happened, I reminded myself, I could walk away without a word and return another time. Thankfully, though, the negative force was nowhere to be found, and I had sweet peace in the garden. I nearly wept with joy, as though reconnecting with a dear friend. I wrapped my cover crop of self-compassion and protection around me, reminding me that I am strong. This, too, shall pass.

 

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.

Good Books Tuesday: Healer by Carol Cassella

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Each week I am on the hunt for good books to recommend. It’s not always easy, and there are plenty of books that don’t make the cut.

These days, though, I seem to have hit a string of good books. Not so long ago I reviewed Carol Cassella’s debut novel, Oxygen, and I was so intrigued that I couldn’t wait to read her follow-up, Healer.

This book begins with our heroine, Claire Boehning, living in reduced circumstances. Her husband is a mover and shaker in the biotech field, but problems with a drug he was developing have halted his ability to gather funds, run tests, and get the drug to market. He has bet their life savings and lost. They’ve had to sell their home and have set up in a run-down property once intended to be razed for a second home. He is traveling, continuing to seek investors, leaving her home with a sullen teenager.

A trained doctor who didn’t follow through on board certification and who never worked once her daughter was born (her complicated pregnancy adds dimension to this relationship and explains some of its complexities), she visits clinic after clinic to look for a job and provide income that she desperately needs. No one wants to take a chance on her. Finally she ends up at a clinic that runs on a shoestring, treating poor individuals, most of them migrant workers. The salary is low, but it allows her to keep her family fed.

As the book progresses, her life continues to unravel as she tries to hold home and family together. The marriage is strained. Questions about medical ethics unfold. Healer touches deeply on the ins and outs of a marriage that had lost its way, and the journey back to what really matters.

Cassella, a doctor herself, did substantial research on the biotech industry for this book, and it shows. She takes a complex topic and breaks it into bites that a reader can understand, without bogging down the narrative.

The great thing about good books is that I hate putting them down. Carol Cassella has done it again!

What good books are you reading?