Thursday spotlight

I love Lucy!

No, I'm not talking about that Lucy, but since today is Blog Me MAYbe's "May I tell you something about someone else?" day, I'm excited to introduce you to another Lucy: Lucy Banning, the heroine of Olivia Newport's debut novel, The Pursuit of Lucy Banning (Avenue of Dreams, Book 1).

From the publisher:

She has a secret to keep. But will she give her heart away?

Lucy Banning may live on the exclusive Prairie Avenue among Chicago's rich and famous, but her heart lies elsewhere. Expected to marry an up-and-coming banker from a respected family, Lucy fears she will be forced to abandon her charity work and squeeze herself into the mold of the well-dressed wife who spends most of her time and money redecorating.

When she meets Will, an unconventional young architect who is working on plans for the upcoming 1893 World's Fair, Lucy imagines a life lived on her own terms. Can she break away from her family's expectations? And will she ever be loved for who she truly is?

Get swept away into the lavish world of Chicago's high society as Olivia Newport brings to life an age of glitz and grandeur, stark social contrasts, and one woman who dares to cross class lines for what she believes.


When I begin a new book, I'm always drawn first to the main character: Is she likable? Is she portrayed realistically? Is there something compelling about her that makes me want to spend the precious few reading hours I have immersed in her world? And as I discovered from the first page of The Pursuit of Lucy Banning, without a doubt, Lucy is a character worth getting to know.

In fact, the thing I find most impressive about this debut is Newport's ability to create a strong, memorable heroine. In a time when women of her social class are expected only to marry well and devote their lives to their families and homes, Lucy decides she wants more--an education--and she takes the initiative to go out and get it, even though doing so means keeping a secret from her family and friends. But while she is passionate about following her dreams, for me it's Lucy's heart for others that truly makes her a character worth investing time in. She's very aware of the disparity between her world of privilege and the world of those less fortunate, and she works to better the lives of those in need. And when she learns that Charlotte, a member of the household staff with a secret of her own, is in need of help, Lucy unhesitatingly offers both friendship and support. (Charlotte herself is an intriguing character, and I was pleased to discover that the next book in the series will focus on her.)

The Pursuit of Lucy Banning is a love story, but it's more than that: Newport weaves in elements of suspense, intrigue, and humor in a way that had me turning pages late into the night. I enjoyed this well-paced debut. Lucy Banning is exactly the type of heroine I hope to find within the pages of any book, no matter the genre, and I'm looking forward to the next two novels in this series.

Olivia Newport's novels twist through time to discover where faith and passions meet. Her husband and two twentysomething children provide welcome distraction from the people stomping through her head on their way into her books. She chases joy in stunning Colorado at the foot of the Rockies, where daylilies grow as tall as she is.

Visit Olivia at her Web site.

(Thank you to Revell Publishing for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.)


So tell me, what criteria do you use for selecting the books you read? Have you read any great ones lately that you'd like to recommend?

Going along for the ride

"Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable." ~Francis Bacon, Sr., English lawyer and philosopher

There's nothing better than a story idea that comes out of nowhere, sparking the imagination with no provocation. Each morning as a writing warm-up, I write 100 words on whatever topic comes to mind. This morning I was penning words about my WIP when I found myself writing instead about an octogenarian named Jed. I have no idea where this character came from or why he started to tell me his story at that moment, but I allowed him to talk. And talk. He's been walking beside me all day, and I've listened carefully as he's shared stories about his life: about his father, who died at a young age; about the years when Jed ran away from home; about the wife that Jed recently lost and the children who rarely visit... All day long, the words have continued to flow. I'm not sure exactly where this character will lead me--I don't know whether he's a main character in a short story or a minor character in a novel--but I'm thrilled to be going along for the ride.

These moments don't come to me often; a character I've never met before doesn't usually start whispering his life story. But I'm always grateful for these unsought thoughts, these ideas that come unbidden to take root in my mind and heart.

What I'm trying not to do

When I plan a story, I tend to get bogged down in the details. I panic if I don't know things like the names and ages of all the characters, their hair and eye colors, their backgrounds, their jobs, the kinds of cars they drive, where they live, whether they like Chinese food or Italian, if they favor their right or left hands... You get the picture. Often, by the time I've sorted out the details and sat down to write the story, I discover that I'm frustrated or bored or no longer interested in pursuing the idea. I've set aside quite a few projects because I'd allowed myself to get so wrapped up in the small things that I completely lost my desire to write the story; my inner perfectionist had taken all the fun out of the process, egged on by my inner critic and my inner procrastinator, both of whom tend to work hand in hand to keep me from writing.

Now, details are important, there's no doubt about that, but I don't feel they're as important in a first draft--despite what my nefarious inner mob would have me believe. So with my current project, my plan is not to plan. I mentioned in a previous post that I have the beginning of my story, know what happens through much of the middle, and have an idea where I want it to end. That's it--and that's considerably less than what I usually have at this point in the process. I'm not even entirely sure right now what my main character's name will be. I have an idea of course, and also a vague notion of what she'll look like, but I've decided not to let myself stress about having every little detail set in stone before I begin writing. I'm not even going to outline this time, which is something I normally do. This project will be an experiment in which I attempt to free my mind and write organically, to just let the story spill out as it wants to rather than force it into being what it's not. It's the first draft, and first drafts can always be fixed; telling the story is the most important part at this stage in the process. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.

What's your writing process? How do you handle the details?

Welcoming the unexpected

I find that the best story ideas are the ones that sneak up on me, often when I find myself unprepared and suddenly scrambling for paper and a pen. One of those wonderful ideas hit me today, and I spent some time writing notes and talking to that lovely character who had chosen that particular moment to make herself known. Did she give me a short story? A novel? I'm not sure yet, but I do know that the story has ignited a passion in me that the story I had been working on didn't. I'm excited again--about an idea, about writing, about sitting down at the computer and opening a document file. I think the difference between this new idea and my current WIP is that my WIP feels forced--I'm having to work really hard to brainstorm and outline; the ideas and words haven't come easily. My new project feels more organic. The idea flows. I'm excited to start working on it. 

Forty Days, Forty Boxes Update: Today's box (and many, many boxes in my future) was filled with books, mainly old textbooks I either used when I was teaching or had received as review copies from publishers. I decided to get rid of all but my favorite one or two. After all, I'm no longer teaching, and even if I do teach again one day, I'll need new books, of course. Two boxes down, thirty-eight to go...