Kim Wright: Five Ways You Know You're in a Good Book Club...

Hi y'all! I've been a bit slow lately on my reading (what can I say, but "day job"!), and was feeling really bad that I didn't have reviews ready for this week when Kim Wright stepped up to the plate and said "how about a guest post?" I heart Kim!! Anyway. Without further ado, here's Kim. Thank you!

Five Ways You Know You’re in a Good Book Club

By Kim Wright

When Love in Mid Air came out in hardback last year I got invited to a lot of book clubs and pretty soon I developed a sense of when a group dynamic was working - and when it wasn’t.

Now that the book is debuting in paperback, I’ve got a new wave of book club visits coming up and I’ve been thinking of the factors that set a fun, thriving group apart from one that’s boring and anemic. It isn’t just about the food – although in my experience, there are few occasions in life that aren’t helped along by a bit of pinot and brie – and it isn’t even about how well the club members like each other, or how much they know about literature. Instead, the best clubs seem to have these factors in common:

1. People actually read the books. In some clubs the social elements outweigh the literary to the point where half the members show up without having read the book. In this case, conversation quickly switches from the book to general gossip. It might be fun, but it isn’t a book club.
2. The books chosen cover a wide variety of subject matter. Clubs seem to thrive when they have a mechanism in place so that the person who chooses the books is constantly changing – everyone takes one month at the start of the year, for example, or whoever is hosting selects the book.
   
   Otherwise, it’s just too easy for a mystery buff to turn the group into a mystery book club and one of the key benefits of being in a book club is to have the group nudge you into reading things you’d never otherwise have chosen.
3. The group isn’t afraid of a little controversy or at least of choosing books that not everyone likes. I was once in a book club that got completely bogged down in reading a series of historical dramas. Now, I love history and I love the Tudors, but after a while there was nothing left to say except “I really hated it when he cut off her head.” Part of the reason we got into this rut is that we were hesitant to pick books that we knew in advance wouldn’t be liked by everyone. So we stayed in the safe zone of our historical dramas and pretty soon conversation dried up entirely.
4. Everyone talks. It’s poisonous when one personality dominates the group, but I was amazed at how many times I spoke to groups where it was apparent that exactly this was happening. Some people will always be more gregarious and opinionated than others, but when it gets to the point where one or two people are calling the shots – not just in terms of the reading list but also in terms of how the discussion plays out - your book club is in trouble.
5. The group is willing to mix it up a little. The most fun groups will occasionally bring in a local author to speak. Connect their book choices to the seasons or topical events.vary their meeting places so that they’re not always in the same home or coffeeshop. Or even jazz it up so that the background music or food is tied to the theme of that month’s selection.

In Love in Mid Air, there’s a scene where the heroine throws a dinner party and I was astounded to show up at one book club where the hostess had recreated the four-course meal served in the book. If that’s a bit of a stretch, just tweak the music and the snacks to reflect the setting where the book occurs.

You know, for as much as I read, I'm more of a solitary reader... I've never done a book club, and I'm kinda embarrassed to admit that I wouldn't know the first thing about participating in 'em. *blush*

What about you? Are you, or have you been in a book club? What do you think of Kim's points?

April's FEATURED AUTHOR: Inevitable Envy...

Today, April's Featured Author Kim Wright shares some thoughts on envy, and its part in the writer's toolbox. Read on!

Inevitable Envy

People are loathe to admit it, but envy is an inevitable (and unenviable) part of the writing life. I have been on both sides of the envy seesaw, and it's no fun either way. Envy has always seemed to me such a sticky-feeling emotion, the kind of thing where you need to shower just after you admit to yourself that you're feeling it. No wonder we call it by so many other words.

But Shakespeare felt professional envy, probably directed toward Kit Marlowe - in fact, he wrote sonnets about it. Fitzgerald and Hemingway had a famously rivalrous friendship - as did Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath. Melville got tired of playing second fiddle to Hawthorne...and I just read that Virginia Woolf, after reading glowing reviews of the "The Four Quartets" by TS Eliot, went out to walk in the fields and tell herself "I am I, and must follow that furrow, not copy another."

So here's the bottom line on professional envy. If you feel it...or rather when you feel it, first of all take comfort that you're in the very best of company.

Secondly, use it as an impetus to write. You can't let your friend get that far ahead of you, can you?

Thirdly, remember that this is a street which goes both ways and that at some point, if you keep writing, you will be on the receiving end of someone else's envy. It might just be a well-turned phrase in a writing workshop, it might be the Pulitzer. Either way when you notice it you're going to feel...a little sticky. Because here's the weird thing about envy. It feels no better to be envied than it does to envy other people.

When I sold my novel my friend Dawn said "The publishing process will be full of surprises. And one of them is that your friends are not going to be particularly happy for you." It's a harsh realization....for years you and your friends are lolling around in the same muddy pasture of despair. No one can get an agent, much less published. It doesn't seem possible. It seems as far away as if you were sitting there saying "Some day one of us is going to fly."

But then it happens. Someone sells her book. And the reaction is not just envy but surprise. Wait a minute. She sold her book? Actually sold it, and she has an agent and an editor and a title and a cover and all that sort of stuff? The land shifts beneath you all a little bit and it's hard not to have a jumble of emotions, with envy certainly among them.

Now here's the conundrum. If your group is full of good writers and you're committed to helping each other, the news that the first of your group has published is both an occasion for envy and, on the other hand, a boon for everyone. There's a little more of a crack in the gate....maybe your friend will ask their agent to look at your book. Maybe they'll help you when it's time to negotiate your own contract or publicize your own book.

But even if the stars align and you're able to help each other beautifully - and indeed it has happened among me and my writing friends - you still have to go through that gate one at a time. Some people have to hang back and watch their friends precede them into the land of the published and that hurts. So I guess the fourth point about envy is...

Accept it as a rite of passage. And in some ways, evidence of how far you've come. Melville envied Hawthorne because he knew him. Ditto for Shakespeare and Marlowe, Sexton and Plath, Fitzgerald and Hemingway, Woolf and Eliot. We envy people who are nearby, who seem just a step or two ahead of us in the process. The language of envy begins with "It could have been me..."

We don't feel that about people who are far above us. You don't lie on your couch and re-read Pride and Prejudice of the 700th time and envy Austin. She's Austin, for God's sake, it would be like feeling envy for an angel. So when your friends begin to improve in their writing....to publish....to win awards or be admitted into colonies, your envy is a sign that you're not that far behind them. Painful as it is, you've moved a step closer to publication.

Because if it could have been you, someday it will be.

I never looked at it that way before, but I so get what you're saying. Thank you for doing this feature for us. I've enjoyed having you over this month, and hope you'll come back again! 

April's FEATURED AUTHOR: What Kim curls up with...

Today, our Featured Author Kim Wright shares her favorite reads with us. Read on!

I've always been crazy about books. One of the advantages of being single is that I can literally pile books in the bed beside me. If you walked into my bedroom right now you'd find I'm currently sleeping with A Fortunate Age by Joanna Smith Rakoff, A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick, and Blue Angel by Francine Prose. I have books in my car, books in the kitchen, books stacked on the back of the toilet, books permanently packed in the zip pocket of my suitcase. Maybe it's a phobia - I'm terrified of the thought of being stuck somewhere without a book.

In terms of classical influences, my favorites are Heart of Darkness, The Great Gatsby, Moby Dick....I've always had a yen for first person narration. I like the feeling that I'm standing right behind the narrator, looking at everything through his or her eyes. But when I started thinking about writing my own book the modern book that influenced me the most was Little Children by Tom Perrotta. That was such an incredibly bold book. And proof that a lot of stuff actually does happen in the suburbs. Heck, I've always believed that it's ALL going down in the suburbs.

My biggest regret as a writer is that I'm not strong on short stories because I absolutely love them. A collection by Alice Munro is my idea of heaven. I loved Olive Kitteridge, of course, and I admire Amy Bloom's first collection, Come to Me. Hmm...and Pretending the Bed is a Raft by Nanci Kincaid. That's another good one.

Oops....just went back into my bedroom and found another book among the sheets. This is funny, it's How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely. Talk about wishful thinking! But the book is hilarious. A real send up of the craziness of the whole publication process.

Thank you so very much for sharing with us, Kim!! Some of these look really interesting, I should add them to my list. =)

April's FEATURED AUTHOR: Kim's book!

Yay, it's Wednesday! And today, we will feature our lovely guest's--April's Featured Author Kim Wiley--book. Love in Mid Air was just released, so congratulations, Kim!

FTC Disclosure: I am an IndieBound and Amazon affiliate, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation.

A chance encounter with a stranger in an airplane sends Elyse Bearden into an emotional tailspin. Suddenly, Elyse is willing to risk everything: her safe but stale marriage, her seemingly perfect life in an affluent Southern suburb, and her position in the church. As Elyse embarks on a risky affair, her longtime friend Kelly and the other women in their book club begin to question their own decisions about love, sex, marriage, and freedom. In the end it will take an extraordinary leap of faith for Elyse to find--and follow--her own path to happiness.

Check out what I thought of Love in Mid Air, and enter the contest to win your own copy!

April's FEATURED AUTHOR: Kim Wright!!

Good morning, y'all!! Today, please welcome April's guest, author Kim Wright! I've put her to the wringer (ha ha!), see what she has to say below!

drey: Hello, Kim! Welcome to drey's library, and thank you so very much for taking the time to swing by this month!

Let's get busy, shall we? When did you know you wanted to be an author? What were you doing?

Kim: I am one of those sad souls who always knew she wanted to be a writer. When I was a little kid I would take typing paper, fold it in half, draw a picture on the front and make a "book." It's true. I absolutely never had any other dream.

drey: Who/what inspires your writing?

Kim: Real life. My background is journalism - plus I'm nosy by nature - so I've gone through life asking questions. I'll ask the questions that no one else asks and I'll do this for friends, neighbors, and complete strangers. Love in Mid Air is the result of a series of journals I kept during the year following my own divorce... People just kept telling me their marriage stories and I kept writing them down.

drey: Tell us more about Love in Mid Air. What prompted you to write Elyse's story? Did you do any research for it, and if so, how/where?

Kim: Well I had all those journals and originally I thought the book would be nonfiction. That's my experience as a writer, nonfiction, and I was terribly intrigued by the statistic that nearly 2/3 of the time it's the woman who initiates divorce. That's so different from the cliche most people have in their heads - i.e., the man walks in, says he's fallen for a younger woman, and the wife is left surprised and bereft. But the reality is that the older the woman is, the more likely she is to be the one to initiate divorce. That grabbed me. What would make a woman who has a pleasant, safe, tolerable life suddenly decide she wants more - and be prepared to risk everything to find it?

drey: What do you indulge in when not writing?

Kim: I am a competitive ballroom dancer. Other than writing, it is my passion. I LIVE to tango.
drey: That is so cool!!!

drey: What is your favorite accompaniment to chocolate? mmmmm chocolate...

Kim: A nice red earthy wine like a barolo or a rioja.

drey: Electronic readers are becoming more affordable and available. There's been quite a bit of discussion about their impact on paper books, the environment, people's reading & buying habits... What's your take?

Kim: God bless anything that gets more people reading but digital books aren't for me. I'm old fashioned. I like the feel of a book in my hand....the weight, even the smell of the paper. And I don't think the rain forests are in danger because people are reading entirely too much literature - that just seems like a strange argument to me.
drey: I'm liking my nook quite a bit. And not for the rainforests, lol, but because I can bring tons of books with me without packing up the house!

drey: On the publishing side--what do you think publishers and authors ought to do about the digital revolution? Jump in wholeheartedly, and blaze the path for others to follow? Watch from the sidelines till there's some consensus on what the new business model is going to be for the digital age? Cross their fingers that this is all just a fad & will blow over soon?

Kim: Everyone's in shock. No one knows how much of an effect it will have. On one hand the writers are nervous because we get only a small percentage of a book's purchase price anyway and now, with cheaper books available digitally, we'll be getting a small percentage of an even smaller pie. The jury is still out on how much this will affect publishing but I did see one report that most of the books that are being read digitally are genre books - thrillers and such, kind of airplane books - and that literary and mainstream fiction is being less affected by the trend. I guess people who read literary fiction tend to be like me. Old fashioned, and content to just hold a book in their hands.

drey: What are you looking forward to next?

Kim: I am currently working on two more novels. One is a sequel to Love in Mid Air, ten years in the future and this time told from Kelly's point of view. The other is a book set in a suburban ballroom dance studio. I couldn't resist. There's just so much drama!

drey: Your favorite swear word is? *grin*

Kim: I tend to say "Fuck a duck" a lot.

Thank you for coming by, Kim!  I hope April is a good month for you here on drey's library!

Tour: 41. Love in Mid Air by Kim Wright...

Today's tour is for Kim Wright's Love in Mid Air, a story about a woman's journey to find happiness.

Title: Love in Mid Air
Author: Kim Wright
ISBN-13: 9780446540445
ARC: 312 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2010
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon

FTC Disclosure: My ARC of Love in Mid Air was provided by Hachette Book Group for this blog tour. I am an IndieBound and Amazon affiliate, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation.

About the author:
Kim Wright has been writing about travel, food, and wine for more than 25 years and is a two-time recipient of the Lowell Thomas Award for Travel Writing.

drey's thoughts:
Love in Mid Air is a story of a woman whose chance encounter in a plane starts her off on a journey that she never would have anticipated taking. On the cover, Elyse Bearden has the "perfect" life. You know, the husband who works and provides all, the child who's lovely and doing well, the big beautiful house, the girlfriends who knows everything about your life... But take a look between the pages, and you'll see that she's not happy. Maybe it's from the little things, like living life with a husband who leaves vague post-it notes instead of having a conversation with her. Or who asks "what are you doing?" and "what are you trying to be?" when she buys sexy lingerie and wears it to bed to surprise him.

Not that Phil is a bad man. But neither he nor Elyse know quite how to talk to each other in this marriage. Is this what happens when you've been married for a while and have gotten into a routine that you can't seem to find the exit sign for? When she suggests counseling, he sends her to the doctor to rule out medical issues, then reschedules from an impartial counselor to their pastor (and his best friend). He is confused by Elyse's demands, even though he doesn't seem to be surprised by them. I guess I'd say that he was content with the status quo, and doesn't think that she would ever do anything. After all, their entire support group--the church, her friends, his friends, their friends, in short, everybody--think that marriages should be saved. As she says, "You think I'm just some dentist's wife living in a four-hundred-thousand-dollar house with twenty bucks in her purse who talks this big game but doesn't have the balls to see it through."

But Elyse needs to be more than just that dentist's wife, Tory's mother, Kelly's best friend... She even needs to be more than Gerry's lover. She needs to be herself. And it is the journey to finding herself that makes this a book worth reading. Pick it up!

drey's rating: 4/5 Excellent

Challenges: 100+, Pub

Giveaway!
Thanks to Hachette Book Group, I have three (3!) copies of Love in Mid Air for you. This is open to US and Canada residents only, no PO Boxes please! To enter, comment below: Why do you think women stay? Please remember to include your email address! Do it all before 6:00 pm CST April 29th. Yes, this one's longer than I normally do for giveaways, but that's because guess who's my Featured Author for April? Why, Kim Wright, of course!! Good luck!!