What is the name of the book and when was it published?
I published The Novel Life Of Coral Ambrose in June of 2015.
What’s the book’s first line?
“Something terrible is coming.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
A quirky used bookstore owner gives bookworm Coral a messenger bag that appears to actually pull her into novels. Jumping from one genre to the next, she sees, hears, and even smells the action, interacting with characters and literally getting lost in the world of books.
It seems like the ultimate escape, yet each novel Coral enters brings her closer to understanding the truth behind a family tragedy and the secret she forgot she was keeping.
A page-turner fantasy told with wry humor, The Novel Life of Coral Ambrose is a mystery, romance, western, horror story, science-fiction epic, thriller, and children’s book all rolled into one. But most of all it’s the story of finding out who you are in life through books and a love-letter to the joy of living between the pages.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
My most recent writing experience had been writing for the stage. That’s a whole different style. For one thing, you don’t have to specify much about what the character is thinking, the internal life, because it’s the actor’s job to get that across. There isn’t usually a narrator spelling all of that out.
When I decided to write a novel I began a different book and I was unhappy with the narrative voice. I was used to putting all of my words into someone else’s mouth. So I sent myself back to writing school by analyzing books of various genres that I had loved and that were loved by millions of people, and wrote short stories trying to imitate the various styles of writing the best I could. Then I felt like I was back on solid ground. It was like writing for the theater again. I was writing in different voices. It was a lot of fun.
Then it dawned on me that it would be even more fun if I could figure out a way to write an entire book piecing together various genres in a way that made sense. I figured I could do it as long as I had one strong character to tie them together.
The book hoarding theme is based on a long running source of contention between my husband and me. One of us says we can’t keep them all. The other one can’t part with books. I’ll let you guess which one I am.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
Not everyone should read this book. It’s a book for “us” – the bookworms. If you’re not already a big reader you’re not going to be in on the jokes. People who have already read tons of books will love it.
I think my love for reading pours out of every page.