The last you all heard from me on this topic, I was working single-mindedly to finish While My Sister Sleeps. So what happens once I type THE END on the final page?

Actually, I don’t type THE END on the page, since the powers-that-be would only have to delete it. When was the last time you read a book with THE END printed on the last page?

But it’s there in my mind. Filled with joy, relief, and no small amount of apprehension, I email the whole manuscript to my editor in New York. Then I settle in for a few days of mind-rest. I mean, for the first time in nine months, I can’t work on the book. It’s out of my hands. I wait for comments from my editor. In the course of my career, this has taken anywhere from three days to three weeks. My current editor is the three-day person. Literally, I emailed the manuscript to her on Friday and on Monday she called me with a few suggestions for revisions. The operative work here is “few.” She loves the book (as does my agent, who read it at the same time)! But there were several things she wanted me to rework.

A writer’s dream is for her editor to say, “It’s perfect – there’s absolutely nothing I’d change.” But I am not a prideful person. When my editor says, “I love this book but think it would be even stronger if you brought David in sooner and made Nick simply Molly’s friend, rather than her lover,” I listen. And doing revisions is nowhere near as difficult as the initial writing of the book. It’s modifying what already exists. Easy.

I made the revisions, emailed the new manuscript to my editor, got one or two additional small requests. Then it was done. The whole revision process took a month. And While My Sister Sleeps is now in the production pipeline in New York.

That’s it? Not quite. Now the business side starts. To begin with, I flew down to New York for meetings about the publicity and marketing of this book. These were fabulous meetings – really brainstorming sessions – and we came up with some great ideas. Doubleday has set the pub date at February 21. Mark your calendars, please.

Back home, I’ve set to work doing web stuff for While My Sister Sleeps. You can already read a summary of it on the book page. BTW, no final cover yet. We had a preliminary one, but the art department wanted to reshoot one of the characters. While they’re doing that, I’ll be writing the script for a trailer, to be taped in August. I’m also researching locales for new author photos for the HOME page of this site. Think lush plants and gauzy greenhouses … Boy, do I hate having my picture taken. Always a challenge.

More challenging, I now have to come up with a plot for my next book. Any ideas?

Posted by Barbara Delinsky at 09:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My blog of 6’18 referred to An Accidental Woman as a “companion” to Lake News. Does that mean sequel? In my mind, no. I think of a sequel as a book that picks up the same characters where they leave off in an earlier book and tells more of their story. An Accidental Woman does use the same little lake town and does revisit the same characters as in Lake News, but the main characters from the first book become secondary to allow focus on a different group of people.

OK. Maybe I’m arguing semantics here. But I truly don’t see An Accidental Woman as a sequel. Both books stand on their own.

I first conceived of the Lake Henry books as a foursome, each celebrating a different New England season. There would be apple cider making in the fall, maple sugaring in the winter, leafing out in late spring, and tourism in summer. Truthfully, it was a marketing move; readers love revisiting the same places. And hey, I’ve designed and built more towns than you’d ever believe. The idea of not having to create a town from scratch was appealing.

I wrote Lake News in 1998, wrote The Vineyard in 1999, The Woman Next Door in 2000, then, in 2001, wrote An Accidental Woman. I thought it would be easy. Wrong. Although An Accidental Woman focused on Poppy Blake, the handicapped sister of Lake News’s Lily Blake, many of the other characters carried over – and I had to get them right. By “right” I mean keep them consistent with the first book. Their appearance, their interests, even the streets of the town had to be consistent – because if there’s one thing I’ve learned as a writer, it’s that if I make a mistake, you readers pick it up.

Way back, in Coast Road, I referred to a Volkswagen having radiator trouble; an astute reader pointed out that Volkswagens don’t have radiators. More recently, in The Secret Between Us, I referred to Dylan Monroe playing in the ninth inning of his Little League game; a savvy reader reminded me (how could I have forgotten, after sitting through so many of my sons’ games?) that Little League games only have six innings!

By the time I was done writing An Accidental Woman, my copy of Lake News was riddled with so many Post-Its that I didn't know which ones marked what. More importantly, by that time, I was tired of Lake Henry. Creating a town from scratch, with the freedom from accountability that allowed, suddenly didn’t seem so bad!

Many readers have asked if there will be a third or fourth Lake Henry book. Right now, none is on the drawing board. Perhaps you can understand why?

Posted by Barbara Delinsky at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As of Tuesday, June 24, Family Tree is out in mass market paperback. To mark its publication, I’d like to give away the two final knitting kits I have here at my house.

Those of you who have read about Family Tree on my site know that knitting is part of the protagonist’s past, something she loves doing, something that soothes her. The same goes for me. I have always been an avid knitter, which is why our partnering with the Berroco Yarn Company for the Family Tree tour was so exciting. Prior to the book’s original publication, I had the joy of visiting Berroco and working with master designers Margery Winter and Norah Gaughan to create the “Family Tree Knitting Collection,” which consists of patterns that are either knitted by or worn by various characters in the book.

Each of the kits I’m giving way in this contest contains 20 (yes, 20!) balls of Berroco Pure Merino, a pair of gauge-appropriate needles, and the “Family Tree Knitting Collection” pattern book.

What do you have to do to enter the contest? Simply visit CONTACT and send a note asking to be entered in the drawing. The deadline is Labor Day – that’s Monday September 1, so that the winners will receive their kits just as they’re starting to plan their knitting for fall and winter. Not a knitter yourself, but know someone who is? Why not enter to win a kit for them? They’ll love you forever.

Posted by Barbara Delinsky at 02:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What with the cost of gas, it’s getting harder to plan trips. Want a quick escape that won’t use any gas at all? Why not pick up a book and visit a tiny lake town? Lake Henry, of Lake News, is just the one.

What’s so great about tiny lake towns like Lake Henry? Well, for starters, they’re on lakes, which immediately makes them special. They’re picturesque and they’re clean. For another thing, they’re small, caring places where people know each other and notice when something’s wrong. For a third, they’re seasonal, which means that summer brings an influx of visitors, which means income for locals, while the arrival of Labor Day brings a sigh of relief. For a fourth, they have charm.

Charm is one of the first things I think about when I think about Lake News, which recently made its debut in trade paperback. Lake Henry, where this book (and its companion, An Accidental Woman) is set, has that charm. Lake News takes place in the fall and talks about the making of apple cider; An Accidental Woman takes place in late winter and deals with the making of maple syrup. Both are quintessential New Hampshire and have a charm even beyond the characters.

Is there a real-life Lake Henry? Not formally. In my mind, it’s a combination of Squam Lake and Lake Winnipesaukee, right up there in the lakes region of New Hampshire. If you’re one of those readers who are planning a “Barbara Delinsky Tour” of New England, definitely make central New Hampshire one of your stops.

If not New Hampshire, where? Tell me if you’ll be traveling this summer and, if so, where you’re headed.

Posted by Barbara Delinsky at 09:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Focus. Concentrate. Think about your book 24/7. Do not read anyone else’s book, lest your mind shift to another story. Put in the hours – if ever there was a time to work long and hard, it’s now.

And that, dear friends, is why I haven’t blogged in a while. Blogging takes effort, concentration, and creative energy, all of which I’m putting into While My Sister Sleeps. I’m working on the final quarter of the book – the last 90 pages – and, in fairness, lest you start feeling sorry for me, this is the easy part. I know my characters intimimately, and I know what they have to do before the book ends. Their emotions are running high, which means that mine are as well. Self-discipline isn’t a problem at this stage, as it was at the start of the book. Back then, knowing that the whole book was ahead of me was slightly daunting. Good reason to knock off, have lunch with a friend, go shopping, or knit.

Now I have no such temptations. I’m running the final leg of this race (one of the characters in While My Sister Sleeps is a runner -- good analogies here). No way am I stopping until the last words of this book are done.

That said, I’m still talking with book groups on the phone, though I try to group them together so that my actual writing time is unbroken. I’m also delivering the occasional speech, as those of you in New England who received my recent eblast know. This is the business side of my work, and it isn’t very sympathetic to the creative side. I discipline it, but only to a point. It's part of my career.

Which, by the way, is something I’ll be saying to my Boston College audience of writers-to-be Wednesday night (click here for details). Writing a good book alone isn’t enough to make an author successful. She has to be able to handle the business of writing as well, which means managing a website, giving speeches, making appearances, doing interviews, and, yes, blogging.

I’m aiming to finish While My Sister Sleeps by Memorial Day. I’m actually hoping to finish a week earlier, so that I’ll be able to read through the whole thing one last time and make final edits before sending it on to my editor in New York. Then I’ll hold my breath, waiting to see whether she likes it. If she doesn’t, there will be revisions to do on my end. If she does, we’ll be into the afterwork work of novel writing. But that’s easier. No blank screen each morning. Just refining. It’s very satisfying work.

I’ll write more then. Thanks for understanding! Remember, I’m doing this for YOU!

Oh, and my publisher is working on a cover for While My Sister Sleeps. As soon as it's done, I'll post it with a summary of the book. Sound fair?

Posted by Barbara Delinsky at 07:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Okay. So I’m two-thirds of the way through While My Sister Sleeps, and I’m working 12-hour days and, between you and me, am slightly exhausted -- and now here come three new releases to discuss. I’ve put this blog off for a while because it’s tough shifting gears. But it’s time. Those of you on my mailing list will have received notice about these books, but I’ve promised more info, so here it is.

First, to clarify, "New Old Books" are old books of mine that are being published in new formats. Suddenly will go on sale in hardcover for the first time on April 1; For My Daughters and A Woman Betrayed are on sale in trade paperback now. BTW, these trade paperback releases are based on the success of Family Tree in trade paperback. This format -- hardcover size with a soft cover and much lower price -- has become a reader favorite. I’m no exception. I love this format.

But getting back to the topic at hand, let me tell you more about each of these books.

First, because it’s an all-time favorite of mine, For My Daughters. Like so many women in the '90s, I read and loved The Bridges of Madison County. I was bothered, though, by the fact that Francesca had her wonderful affair, then returned to her family without missing a beat. The psychologist in me felt that a small something in her would have changed and given her away. For My Daughters addresses this issue. Ginny St. Clair has always been cool and distant to her three daughters, and they to each other. The summer of her 70th birthday, she abruptly invites them to help her settle into a newly-purchased, flower-strewn mansion on the rocky Maine coast. Annette, the good mother of five, hard-edged Caroline, a Chicago lawyer, and Leah, the twice-divorced youngest sibling, arrive at the estate, each aghast to find the others -- but no Mom. Though the three grimly assume battle positions, enforced proximity fosters grudging respect and the opening of minds. For Leah, there’s also a scalding affair with the groundskeeper, echoing the forbidden love between a gardener and the mistress of the house half a century before.

I cry every time I read For My Daughters. I have no daughters, no seventy-something mother. But I do have sisters, as do many of my readers, for whom this book has resonated as well.

Second, A Woman Betrayed. Owning a restaurant, two wonderful children, and a twenty-year marriage, Laura Frye has it all. When her husband mysteriously vanishes, she fears he’s been victimized and is lying dead in a ditch. As time passes without the recovery of a body, it becomes apparent that he harbored secrets Laura never imagined. As her world crashes around her and she works to rebuild her life, she discovers new strength, new independence, new love.

A Woman Betrayed reminds us of the old maxim that the wife is the last to know. But why is that? Weakness? Absolutely not. Laura is a strong woman who is optimistic and trustful. Her husband takes advantage of that. But he, interestingly, is the sleeper in A Woman Betrayed. I wrote him in a way that suggests life isn’t black and white. Jeff isn’t all bad. Enough said …

Finally, Suddenly. This book tells of four friends who are partners in a pediatric practice. When one dies suddenly under conditions that suggest suicide, the others are devastated. Told largely through the eyes of Paige Pfeiffer, this is a story of self-examination as each of the characters look long and hard at their own lives. There is growth here -- and much on a happy note, not the least being the arrival of the baby their friend had been in the process of adopting. We never do know whether Mara’s death was an accident or not, but the lives of her friends have been forever changed. Mara’s legacy is sealed.

My original title for this book was “Mara’s Story.” Gotta tell you, I still like it best!

BTW, I love the new cover of For My Daughters. What do you think?

Let me know think about these new old books, and, in the meantime, enjoy! Me, my nose is back to the grindstone.

Posted by Barbara Delinsky at 07:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Last night I made my first visit to a book group discussing The Secret Between Us, and I have to say I was a little nervous. For one thing, I had laryngitis and had been whispering for two days to “save” my voice, but even then, I wasn’t sure could make myself heard. If you’ve ever had a bad case of laryngitis, you know the sheer effort it takes to produce sound.

Secondly, I wasn’t sure what I’d be asked. I’ve made many dozens of visits to book groups discussing Family Tree, but The Secret Between Us? This was the first. Okay, now, I have loads of things I would ask if I were talking with the author of this book. But what would this group ask? I had no idea.

An hour before the meeting, drinking hot tea laced with lemon and honey, I pulled The Secret Between Us off my shelf and flipped through just to remind myself of the story. If that sounds awful, take pity, please. I am up to my ears in my next book, which means total immersion in the characters, the plot, the themes. Wrenching myself from that and reimmersing myself in a whole other book takes some doing. Funny, though, the act of flipping through the pages did the trick. That quickly, it all came back.

Dinner was a silent fifteen minute thing with my husband, who is getting tired of my not having a voice, but there was no help for it last night. Leaving him to clean up, I came up here to my office to read up on the group I would be visiting. In planning each of these visits, my assistant asks for as much information on the group as possible. It helps me envision them and makes the time more fun.

My phone rang at eight on the dot. I took a breath and answered, forcing out a hello as best I could. It wasn’t pretty. But at least the women on the other end could hear me. So the voice worked. And the questions they asked? Amazing. They started by observing that I have children (they’d done their homework, too), and asking whether I would have done the same thing as Deborah if what happened to her daughter and her had happened to one of my sons and me.

It was a really thoughtful question. The answer is “yes,” to which several of the women voiced their agreement – and that set the tone for the evening. We went back and forth discussing what mothers do, agreeing for the most part but raising thought-provoking points – like after reading the book would we still have done the same thing in that situation? These women made me think in the way friends around a table would do.

Thirty-five minutes passed in a wink, and though my voice was growing worse for the wear, I would have talked even longer if – would you believe? – I hadn’t had another group to visit at nine.

The Secret Between Us turned out to be a terrific discussion book. Let me tell you, that’s a relief. And my voice is better today. Still not great. But better. And I don’t have another book group visit until next Tuesday. Should be perfect by then!

Posted by Barbara Delinsky at 04:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)