I will say very quickly, before any of my readers totally freak out, this is not a new cover for one of my books. Not even a recent cover. But my last post led to a discussion on book covers and author input, so I thought I’d use this truly scary example as a jumping off point.

This cover was the Norwegian edition of my third (and perhaps my personal favorite) novel, Secret Lives. I hasten to add that Norway has improved greatly in its book covers since then as you can see by the cover for The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes, below.  When I saw the Norwegian Secret Lives cover for the first time, the only thing I could figure out was that the art director wanted to give her three-year-old a chance at the big time. I wonder if a single copy of this book sold. 

But back to the real world and 2009. The reality is that authors rarely have a say in what goes on their covers. Some big name authors do, but even they will often sit back and allow the publisher to make the final determination, because while writers may know what people love to read, they may not know what will draw people to a book’s cover. As with everything else in art, different things draw different people. Publishers sometimes get it right and sometimes they don’t. I have to say that I’ve had some hideously bad covers in the past, but I believe my publisher, Mira Books, has found the “right look” for me in recent years–evocative and thought provoking–and I’m very pleased.

So do I have any input at all? Absolutely. Early in the process, I fill out a form that very briefly summarizes the story, defines the “take-away” message, and describes the characters. Then the various departments–art, editorial and marketing–meet and come up with a cover concept. Once the cover is complete, the publisher seeks feedback on it from the various departments and their main accounts. And me, of course. Aside from tweaking, however, it is very difficult to make changes at this point unless there is something seriously amiss with the cover. As is the case with this early Norwegian cover. I’m glad someone finally kicked the three-year-old out of the art department!

Thank you for the feedback you provided on the new cover for The Lies We Told in my last blog post. It was very positive and lets me know  what appeals to you and what doesn’t. What touches me most, though, is hearing that you’ll read my books no matter what’s on the cover. While I hope my covers won’t disappoint you, it’s the stories themselves that I want you to love and remember.

During my twenty-eight years of writing, I’ve heard plenty of advice from other authors. One tidbit stands out: tighten the relationship between characters. I know exactly where (in Albert Zuckerman’s Writing the Blockbuster Novel) and when (1995, as I wrote Reflection) I read this suggestion. It’s stayed with me all these years and I draw on it with every book I write.

I thought of how critical that piece of advice is recently, as I read Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale, which I thoroughly enjoyed. In The Thirteenth Tale, the young female narrator is tasked with writing the biography of a popular elderly author. I would have found it difficult to care about either character, strangers to one another, had Setterfield not found a way to tie them together. She did this by making each woman a surviving twin: the elderly author had lost her twin in a fire, while the narrator had been a Siamese twin at birth, losing her sister during the surgery that separated them. The powerful impact “twinhood” had on each woman links them together and makes the story truly work.

When I was writing Reflection, one of my central characters, Michael, was in conflict with the town’s mayor, a woman. That was fine. But as I read Zuckerman’s book, I realized I could make the conflict better than fine: I made the mayor Michael’s cousin, instantly upping the tension as they butt heads during the story. In my recent reissue, The Courage Tree, the aging actress and the lost little girl seem to have completely unconnected storylines until their stories–and their survival–become inextricably linked. In my most recent novel, Secrets She Left Behind, the links are everywhere! Some of them surprised even me.

In my upcoming (November) re-release, Breaking the Silence, the major link is a mystery: A woman’s dying father asks her to take care of a stranger, an elderly woman with Alzheimers. Readers won’t know what the link is between the elderly woman and the protaganist’s father, but they’ll know it must exist and (I hope) they’ll want to keep turning the pages to discover exactly what it is.   

I’m thinking about this advice now as I work on the revisions of  my June 2010 book, The Lies We Told. The two central characters are linked not only by virtue of being sisters, but also because they’re doctors and even moreso because they shared the same harrowing situation from their adolescence.

As a writer, it’s fun to come up with new and intriguing ways to tie characters together, knowing that each link will pull the reader deeper into the story. If you’re a writer, think of how you can create new links between your characters. And if you’re a reader. . . just sit back and enjoy the story!

I belong to Novelists, Inc, and we’ve been having an interesting discussion on our email loop recently.  A member asked about the pros and cons of addressing controversial topics in our fiction. As you can imagine, the comments of the authors have varied just as much as their opinions on the topics themselves.

I am a very opinionated person–there are not many subjects where I’m sitting on the fence. But that’s “Diane Chamberlain” the person. “Diane Chamberlain” the author is a little different. She has opinions, but her characters don’t always feel the same way she does on a particular topic. I’ve occasionally written about characters whose perspectives are the polar opposite of my own. I find that very challenging, but also illuminating, because it helps me understand “the other side” a bit better, even if I may never embrace that view.

My whole reason for writing is to entertain, not to convince someone else to think the way I do. So do I shy away from controversial topics in my books? No I don’t, but I’m quiet when writing about them. Who likes being clobbered over the head with someone else’s agenda? The rule in fiction is “show, don’t tell,” and I think that applies doubly when it comes to writing about controversial issues. Harper Lee never needed to tell us that Atticus Finch was not a racist in To Kill a Mockingbird, did she? We got it.

For that reason, I rarely address an issue head on.  Some of my characters have had abortions, and some of them have lived to regret that choice while others have not. In my most recent book, Secrets She Left Behind, fifteen-year-old Andy has a girlfriend who is half African-American and half Indian. Nothing is ever made of that fact. It’s simply accepted by the other characters. In several of my books, there are gay secondary characters who make up an ordinary part of the landscape. In The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes, a guilty character receives the death penalty, while an innocent character comes precariously close to the same sentence. (Side note: although I’ve been interviewed repeatedly in the US with regard to CeeCee Wilkes, no American interviewer has ever asked my opinion of the death penalty. Every single interviewer from the United Kingdom, though, has wanted to know my take on the subject). 

What I find most fascinating and rewarding about the subject of controversial topics in fiction is this: I have fans who are on my wavelength when it comes to opinion, and I have fans who are way, way, way off my wavelength. I know this because I hear from both “camps,” and they both think I am writing for them. I love them all, and I love that they all seem to feel touched by the writing, regardless of their personal perspectives. I hope that means that I’m reaching readers on a human level that skips over politics and religion and differences and goes straight to the heart.

That’s what it’s all about.

 I’ve been thinking lately about something Alex Sokoloff says in her screenwriting tips for novelists workshops (and in her blog). She talks about how characters in both books and movies) often start out wanting something that they never get, but end up getting what they need instead. If you think about your favorite movies or books, you’ll see how often that’s the case. John and I recently watched Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino. Excellent movie! Clint plays a man grieving the loss of his wife, a curmudgeon who wants to be left alone, especially by his Asian neighbors. Of course, he doesn’t get what he wants. Instead he gets what he needs: a family.

I think it’s important for writers to ask themselves these questions about the characters they create: What does this character want? How is it different from what he or she needs?

In Secrets She Left Behind, Keith, a seventeen-year-old boy who was burned in a fire, wants two things: the return of his mother who has disappeared, and a girlfriend who accepts him the way he is. I won’t tell you what he ultimately gets in case you haven’t yet read the book, but it’s definitely what he needs.   

Is it the same in real life? It’s so much harder, because there’s no writer pulling the strings to make sure everything turns out fine. I’ve spent the last fifteen minutes trying to figure out which of the zillion examples from my own life to share with you. Here’s one: I wanted to set my work-in-progress in Ecuador, but my editor vetoed the setting  midway through my first draft. Ultimately, the new North Carolina setting led me to create a story I truly needed to write. Or on a much grander scale, my treasured first marriage ended, but that loss ultimately brought three  stepdaughters and three grandchildren into my life. Or how about the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, which forced my lily-livered self to become quite remarkably strong?

I think it is the same in real life: we don’t always get what we want, but we often get what we need. The difference is, we have to help make it happen. More importantly, we have to recognize when it happens . . . and count it as a blessing.  

It’s very early–the reissue of Summer’s Child won’t be out until April 2010–but I can’t resist sharing the cover that’s in the works. I love it and hope you all do, too.

When I work on a manuscript, I take shortcuts. For example, one of my characters in my work-in-progress is named Rebecca, so I have my Word software set so that when I type “reb”, it actually types Rebecca. The same with my character Dorothea. I type “doro” and Word types Dorothea.

(On a side note: my ex-husband once set up his poor secretary, Joan’s, Word program so that every time she typed the word “the”, it would show up as “Ouch, Joanie! Not so hard!”)

Anyhow, I have a character in my current work-in-progress whom I love. She’s this tiny African American woman named Lady Alice. I have my Word software set up so that every time I type the word “lady” it types “Lady Alice.” This is causing me problems. I never realized how often I type the word “lady” in other documents and email. “The lady at the drugstore” becomes “The Lady Alice at the drugstore.” “First Lady Michelle Obama” becomes “FIrst Lady Alice Michelle Obama.” You get the idea.

Needless to say, I’m proofreading everything!

The contest continues! Win a vacation on Topsail Island and help me celebrate my 20 years as an author by clicking here to learn more. You may enter once a day. 

Yes, it’s that time of year when I start to lose my marbles. It always happens around now, three months before deadline. Deadlines are always challenging, but this one is particularly crazy making. You faithful blog readers may remember the following:

• I have nine months to write this book
• I spent the first month or so writing a proposal for a book tentatively titled The Midwife’s Confession, which my editor, agent and I all loved
• I started working on the book. Then my editor realized the marketing “hook” was too similar to another book they had coming out around the same time. Much teeth gnashing on my part followed!
• Back to the drawing board. I took another couple of months writing a new proposal for what is now titled The Lies We Told, set partly in North Carolina and partly in Ecuador after an earthquake. The proposal was accepted.
• I outlined the book and began writing the story.
• About two thirds of the way through the rough draft (mid March), I decided I wanted to make a change and told my editor. The change would move more of the story to Ecuador. My editor and agent then decided Ecuador was a bad idea altogether. My readers wouldn’t want to read about it. More teeth gnashing ensued.
• I decided my editor and agent were right, as usual. I moved the setting entirely to North Carolina and changed the earthquake to back-to-back hurricanes. The move changed absolutely everything in the story. No longer did I have the gut-wrenching drama of collapsing buildings and the need for my surgeon characters to mend many, many broken bones. No longer did I have the language and cultural barriers that had been such a necessary part of the plot.
• Early April already: cue heart-pounding panic.
• Mid April, everything started falling, magically, into place. My Ecuadorian pregnant woman became a backwoodsy North Carolina pregnant woman. The earthquake aftershocks became massive flooding. The person I was going to kill stayed alive. And best of all, I started falling in love with the story again. Finally!

So why am I going crazy now that things are a bit more settled? I have so much more to do and feel so behind! I’ve moved into the “can’t sleep” phase, because as soon as my head hits the pillow I hear voices and see scenes. Dialogue. Action. I grab my pen and pad. Jot notes in the dark. I had three hours sleep last night, but wow, did I get up this morning with a bunch of great notes!

I’m also losing track of things, such as, my mind. Several times a week, I speak by speakerphone with bookclubs around the country as they discuss one of my books (sign up here, if you like!). I sat down the other night to call one of the clubs, thinking they were Central Standard Time only to realize I had them mixed up with another club. This one was EST, so I called them an hour late. Ugh. They were immensely understanding, but I don’t usually make that sort of mistake. And yesterday, I took my notes and Alphasmart with me to the doctor’s office and left them there! For a while, I couldn’t figure out what I’d done with them, and was terrified that all the work I had on my Alphasmart (not to mention all my notes) was lost. But they were safe and sound and I picked them up this morning. And the staff at the doctor’s office wasn’t chuckling and smirking, so I don’t think any of them read any of my very rough draft.

So, that’s what I’m up to. Going crazy. And I know the drill: it’s only going to get worse from here. 

Actually, it’s five o’clock here and I’m quitting for the day. I worked on my Alphasmart at Starbucks today and haven’t transferred the file to my desktop yet, so I’m not sure how many pages I wrote today, but it’s just plain going to be enough. I’m a teeny tiny bit burned out! The week at Weymouth was fantastic, but my brain needed a bit of a rest from writing today. Instead, I worked on ‘admin stuff’. When I tell non-writers how much time I spend on admin stuff, they don’t understand, so I’m going to give you a glimpse into what that entails. (writers: bear with me. I do have a tip for you once I get this out of my system!)

Today I:

• autographed four of my out of print books for people who ordered them on my website, packaged them, and printed the mailing labels
• updated my bios and emailed them along with author photos and book cover images to the various organizations requesting them
• searched for and added ISBNs to a requested booklist
• the big–but truly fun–time sink: tried to find footage to use in the video trailer John is making for Secrets She Left Behind
• returned library books
• dealt with a Word problem (I’m still a Word novice, having used WordPerfect for most of my writing career, and I cuss at Word regularly. Could they make it any more complicated??)
• Put together half of a long email full of tasks for my assistant. The other half will have to wait until tomorrow.
• Started working on the update for my website. It’s going to be a big one because of all the books coming out in ‘09, and I’m stressing.
• Caught up with business email I had to ignore during my week at Weymouth.

But all that whining was not really the point of this post. Here is the point: when I stop writing for the day, I always try to stop in the middle of a scene. I highly recommend that fiction writers stop for the day when they are truly in the groove. I know it sounds counterproductive, but it’s not. When I sit down in the morning, I will know exactly where I’m going with the writing because I stopped in the middle of a scene and can easily pick up where I left off. If I’d wrapped up the scene, I can guarantee I’d be floundering around for the first hour, trying to figure out exactly what to write.

So now it’s six o’clock and I’m going to heat up the roast chicken for dinner and then chill with John and the pups for the rest of the evening. It’s good to be home!

ch. 2 Rebecca 2009  Overhears rumor, realizes must flee, sees Brent before leaving, lies to him

I’ve finished the first draft of these two chapters and it totals seventeen pages–seventeen pages during which my creativity had very free reign. By page eleven, for example, Rebellious Rebecca (my new nickname for her) had already altered part of my story in a major way. You see, I thought a particular character had died of cancer, but she actually died in an overturned bus. Much, much better! Thanks, Rebecca! My outline shows me where I want to go; it’s my characters who create the maze to lead me there.

So you don’t need to be afraid of outlining. Neither do you need to be afraid that you’re doing something wrong if you don’t outline. You may be more comfortable being a “panster”–one of those writers who is more productive flying by the seat of her pants. Time and experience will give you that answer. Until then, the most important thing is to keep writing.