Nadine Feldman, Author

celebrating strong female characters and whatever else strikes my fancy

novels

Delight!

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When the Fair Folk, the Fae, the Fairies, showed up in the manuscript for Factory Girl, my first impulse was to shoo them away. I had an idea of what the story was about, especially since it is based in part on an actual life.

But the magic of the Fae will not be denied. As with other stories I have written, the story that wants to be told will stomp its feet and hold its breath until I pay attention. Woe be to me when I do not!

As I have finally surrendered to this development, I have moved beyond researching Scottish folk tales and into the play of it. I ordered fairy houses and other delights for my new garden. I am enjoying The Faerie Handbook: An Enchanting Compendium of Literature, Lore, Art, Recipes, and Projects by the editors of Faerie Magazine (now called Enchanted Living). Yes, there is a magazine! Who knew? I’m also reading Faeries by Brian Froud and Alan Lee, filled with art and essays about the Fair Folk.

These new activities are activating something unusual in my ordinarily serious nature: delight. At 60, it appears I am finally reclaiming the joy of childhood.

Yesterday I added some text to Factory Girl where Jane sprouts wings for the first time. It was an extraordinary moment for me. Jane’s life is filled with challenges, and Factory Girl takes a hard look at life in industrial 19th-century Scotland. The magic of Factory Girl does not diminish the harsh realities or even make them easier to bear. Rather, it is about the curious thing that happens in our lives when great sorrow and great joy coexist side by side with each other.

Delight is not about ignoring the suffering of the world. It is about finding that which is beautiful so ugliness does not consume us. It is about finding joy that resides within us even when life is hard. It appears I still have much to learn from the Fae. I’m so looking forward to share with you what they are sharing with me!

Writer Updates #amwriting #womensfiction

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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.

Legacy of Hunger #bookreview #historicalfiction

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Legacy of Hunger by Christy Nicholas is set in Ireland during its famine, and combines history with fantasy…a wonderful combination when it comes to stories set in the Celtic countries. It is the first book in a three-book series.

Valentia is an independent young woman who travels to Ireland in search of her family and a brooch she has only seen drawings of. Perils await as she travels overseas and visits her ancestral home. I don’t want to say more about this because I don’t want to include any spoilers.

Nicholas paints a moody picture of Ireland in its dire straits. Valentia, daughter of a civic-minded mother, immerses herself in the politics of the time and does her best to support those who struggled wherever she could. As she faces challenges both at sea and in Ireland, she matures in a natural, organic way.

Though there’s plenty of drama to be had, Nicholas is not graphic or over the top in her descriptions, and I like her approach. Though I like the Outlander books, for example, they are sometimes more graphic and gratuitous than I would like. Also, the fantasy element is subtle and gradual, and Nicholas includes some interesting details of Irish folklore. As a student of Irish history and folklore myself, I appreciated some of the details she included, and she did so in a way that didn’t disrupt the story itself.

A few elements near the end feel as if they are wrapped up a bit too quickly, but this is a minor detail. I am eager to continue reading the rest of the series.

On a personal note, Legacy of Hunger appealed to me because of my own work on Factory Girl, my WIP that combines historical fiction with fantasy. LoH is set in Ireland, while Factory Girl is set in Scotland, and we are both drawing from similar sources. Since I don’t normally delve into fantasy realms in my work, it’s an uncomfortable area for me, and Legacy of Hunger had the effect of giving me “permission” to continue with my revisions and to explore a path I hadn’t expected to travel.

 

Before I Begin (Again) #reinvention #bookreviews

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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

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51Hj2RJUX0L._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_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 II: Elizabeth Gilbert #IWSG #amwriting

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IWSG BadgeThis is a week where two events collide: the First Wednesday post of the Insecure Writers Support Group, and the second of my three-part Badass series.

They go together, I promise.

On the first Wednesday of every month, the IWSG members post encouragement and support to other writers. Join us!

This month’s co-hosts are:

Sandra Hoover, Mark Koopmans, Doreen McGettigan, Megan Morgan, and Melodie Campbell

And, special thanks to Alex J Cavenaugh, the founder and fearless leader of this group.

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Big Magic CoverNow, on to Badassery. Last week I posted Part I, in which I opined on Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes. This week, I feature another Badass: Elizabeth Gilbert.

Are you feeling discouraged, confused, or disappointed with your writing career? If so, I can offer you nothing better than Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.

Big Magic isn’t a self-help book per se. Gilbert doesn’t offer a series of exercises, nor does she give you the secret keys to success. However, as she shares her own writing journey, you’ll learn from her.

She calls Big Magic her “permission slip” to writers…the thing that says, “do it” when those sneaky, clever self-doubts threaten to upend our dreams. Most importantly, she puts our writing in perspective. Yes, it’s hard work, but so are other jobs. Yes, sometimes our writing is received more at other times than others. Yes, some days we don’t want to do it. But if we persist, we can find those moments of Big Magic.

Filled with compassion, Big Magic also provides a gentle, but loving, kick in the pants. By demystifying and deromanticizing the creative process, Gilbert makes it easier for us to approach it.

Best of all, Big Magic is beautifully written. After reading some books lately that weren’t so good, sitting down with Gilbert’s chatty, humorous, literary style felt like I’d walked into a fresh spring day. Reading it, I found myself nodding my head…a lot. I said yes, over and over. Sometimes she hit a nerve. I kept on reading because this book is pure pleasure to read.

Gilbert has strong opinions, which is why I include her in the “badass” category. She doesn’t like it when we talk of our writing as though it’s our baby. After all, what if someone tells us our baby is ugly?

She’s also not impressed by Hemingway’s counsel to “open a vein and bleed” on the page. We don’t have to suffer for our art…just apply regular practice and discipline to the process.

In short, she sticks pins in the balloons of what we’re told as writers, those things that cause us to cut and run (or, as I’ve seen a lot of lately, to whine on Facebook instead of writing).

I’ve no doubt I will turn to Big Magic over and over again when I need motivation. I hope you will, too.

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 learn about upcoming promotions and giveaways.