29-Nov-2004
JERRI CORGIAT’S NEWSLETTER
November/December, 2004
www.jerricorgiat.com
CONTENTS:
News
Feature Article:
Best Book(s) I’ve Read This Month
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Dear Readers,
I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’m still full (not surprising, considering I stuffed myself fatter than the turkey)!
Because this time of year can be so busy, I’m combining the November and December newsletters and only cluttering your e-mailbox with one more thing to read, instead of two, so we can all get more done. :)
I hope you have a warm and wonderful holiday season!
Jerri
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NEWS
UNABASHED BRAGGING
FOLLOW ME HOME was released in early November to some glowing reviews and I’m thrilled. For the last couple weeks, it’s even held a spot among Barnes and Noble’s bestselling romance novels. Romance Reviews Today called it “a powerful tale.” Romance Junkies said it was “emotionally charged...(a) book you won’t want to pass up.” Harriet Klausner praised it as “Intriguing... brings the message of hope...” If you’ve read FOLLOW ME HOME, I’d love to hear what you thought of it—your opinions matter more than reviewers!
MEGA-CONTEST
If you haven’t already entered New American Library’s mega-contest, visit my contest page for details on how to enter. This contest is sponsored by my publisher—the winner will get dozens of books throughout 2005.
TALK TO ME TOMORROW!
FOLLOW ME HOME, released earlier this month, will be the featured book of the week at the NAL Authors web site beginning tomorrow, November 30. Visit: www.nalauthors.com/forums/. Click on the category “Book of the Week” and look for the title. Feel free to join in the discussion—or just lurk!
Ongoing...
I’m online at least bi-weekly (sometimes more than bi-weekly dependent on how much I’m procrastinating on my real work) at the NAL Authors web site, and would love to see you there. Chat with me and other NAL authors: Visit http://nalauthors.com/forums/. Browse around, see what’s cooking. There are lots of discussion threads, as well as ongoing contests listed under (who’da thunk it?) “Contests and Games.”
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FEATURE ARTICLE: WHAT IF?
(Third in a series on creating a novel.)
Last month, I created some characters. Next in line is figuring out what in blazes to do with them. This is where What If comes in. And comes in. And comes in. It’s the time when the imagination can take off and soar.
First there needs to be a Big Premise. Take FOLLOW ME HOME for example... Before I’d completed SING ME HOME, I knew I’d write a story about Lil’s sister Alcea. She intrigued me. She was married to a serial adulterer—why didn’t she walk out? Did her apparent self-centeredness mask insecurity? Was there a different woman lurking inside, one that would emerge if she was knocked down a peg or two? I thought so. And that’s the kernel of the story. So...
What if...
She divorced her husband.
Okay. Divorce is traumatic, dramatic, and often complex. But, is it a big enough idea to carry 350 pages or more? Given that divorce is (unfortunately) all too commonplace, maybe not. But what if...
We take away her wealth.
Now we’re cooking. We’ve stripped her of what kept her stuck in her marriage—heck, stuck in her life. And, without her money, what if...
The bank (that her ex- owns, by the way) forecloses on her house.
Still... she has this big family to help her. But she also has a lot of pride—maybe too much. If that pride overrides her love of luxury, what if...
She refuses their help.
Much to her fourteen-year-old daughter’s chagrin.
Who now wants to move in with Dad.
So, in FOLLOW ME HOME, Alcea faces the loss of her daughter as well as her husband, her wealth, and her home. “What if” indeed!
That’s the kind of thought process I follow when creating a novel. But it doesn’t stop there. It’s kind of like peeling an onion. Eh, noxious image. How about the opening of a nearly-endless set of doors in a maze? As the protagonists make it through each new doorway, What If is there waiting to push them in a different direction.
Obviously, if she wants to continue to eat, Alcea has to work for a living. What If....
...She never has? ...She has no post high school education? Or any particular skills or experience?
And if she can’t get a good job, where is she going to live? What If...
...There’s a trailer out back of an old auto shop? ...And it belongs to a pulse-quickening wanderlust writer? ...And he was someone she once had a crush on? And now rapidly falls in love with? Even though she knows he won’t share her life.
Because, What If...
He’s a rolling stone? ....Uninterested in marriage, ties, or commitments? Because he had an odd upbringing. And was abandoned by his mother. For reasons he doesn’t know.
And What If..
He finds out the truth.
I spend a lot of time with What If. Each possibility leads to even more possibilities. And given my characters’ personalities, strengths, weaknesses, they’ll react to each situation in ways—often unexpected—that will present me with yet more scenarios. What If? is one of my favorite parts of the process. It’s where the imagination flies unfettered.
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BOOK(s) I’VE READ THIS PAST MONTH:
THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING by Laura Moriarty. I found this bestselling debut novel set in the middle of Kansas and following a girl’s journey to young womanhood exceptionally moving.
A RAKE’S REDEMPTION by Susannah Carleton. A fun and romantic dip into the world of the ton by one of my favorite NAL Regency authors!
TRAITOR TO MEMORY by Elizabeth George. If you haven’t tried this American born-and-bred, yet very British author (figure that one out), and you like a mystery mixed in with a deep study in family dynamics, this is a good read.
LEAVING EDEN by Anne D. LeClaire. Another coming of age story that I thoroughly enjoyed. This one is told from the viewpoint of a young girl growing up in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Happy Reading and Happy Holidays!
