Her Book Self

Back in August, I reviewed a powerful and intriguing book called The Last Bridge by author Teri Coyne.  Four months later, that post still receives several hits a week and it has nothing to do with the quality of my review and everything to do with the amazing book and author on which I was commenting.  It is my extreme pleasure to revisit The Last Bridge and to interview Teri Coyne!  In case this isn't exciting enough, read on after the interview for details about the chance to participate in a phenomenal giveaway to win your own copy of The Last Bridge...plus a bonus!  Without further ado, meet Teri Coyne!

*applause, applause*

Hi Teri!  I was first led to read The Last Bridge when I heard the description about Cat being drawn home and the note left for her which read, "He is not who you think he is." How did you develop the idea for these words?

I’m not really sure. The whole idea for the story came to me as an image of a farmhouse kitchen with garbage bags taped to the walls and a note on an old kitchen table. I heard a voice speaking the opening line of the book…and as hard as I tried to shake it I could stop thinking about the image, the voice and what the heck was on that note.
The story was the process of discovering what had happened in the kitchen and what the note meant.

Was Cat a difficult character to write? Were you ever tempted to make things easier for her or did you always know that she had to walk a rough road?

Cat wasn’t a hard character to write or for me to love but telling her story was hard. I discovered early in the process of writing the story that while I loved Cat many readers found her unlikeable. That hurt my feelings as I knew what happened to her to make her that way and I wanted the readers to stay with the story long enough to find out the whole story.
I knew the road would be rough for Cat – the road to redemption always is don’t you think? While Cat struggles with the impact of her early traumas she is also perpetuating pain with Addison and her son. This is often the case with people who have experienced abuse, while they continue to suffer the effects of the trauma, they often act out their abuse in ways that are destructive to others. Cat’s only chance for happiness is to take responsibility for her choices and to own her own actions. In order for her to do that she had to confront the past and that was hard to write.

Bridges - both real and symbolic - played an important role in the story. At what point in constructing the book did you choose the title?

I’ll let you in on a little secret a writing mentor of mine told me early in the process of writing the book – she said not to get too attached to your titles. While I pride myself on being able to spin a good yarn I am not good at titles. So the title of the book changed a few times before we settled on The Last Bridge. My agent read it when it was called “Chasing Venus” which referred to a scene in the book which was edited out, then she sold it to Random House as “Skin and Bones” and then right before we went to publication it was renamed “The Last Bridge,” which my agent came up with.
I loved the title because, like you mentioned, it refers to both the real bridge in the story and the one we all have to cross to find our way to the truth.

What do you hope that your readers take away from Cat's story?

I really want readers to appreciate the importance of being able to own your own truth, the tell your story and to own the choices you make in your life. I know, it’s a tall order and not a very long book!
While we accept the concept that sexual abuse happens, we do not accept the reality. In speak with many women who experienced various forms of abuse what was most painful to hear was not their story but the fact that many of them have never had the chance to tell the people close to them the truth of what they went through. Often we assume it will be too painful for someone to tell but I think what we really believe is that it will be too painful to hear.
It is but loving someone is letting them tell their story and helping them feel safe to tell it.
I fervently believe that if women told the truth about their lives we would feel more empowered and able to stop so much of the abuse that goes on. Okay – I’m off my soapbox now!

What authors or works would you say have inspired or influenced you?

So many authors have had an impact on my life and on my writing. One of my favorite writers is Tom Robbins, I loved the passion and imagination he brings to his stories, his compelling point of view and his incredible sense of fun and humor. Sue Miller writes thoughtful and engaging stories with women characters who are flawed in real ways and struggling. Lionel Shriver is one of my current favorites, she has a keen awareness of the dynamics of love and of the impact our experiences have on our relationships. And finally Sarah Waters is my go to writer for finely crafted and amazing stories.

From your website I see that you have a background in acting - and even stand-up comedy. Do you prefer being on stage to writing? Do you still perform as an actress or comedienne?

I haven’t performed in a while and I do have moments where I miss it. Stand-up is very immediate, you know right away whether you hit the mark or not, whereas with writing you don’t always know. Both stand-up and writing allow me to tell stories, which is one of my passions while acting afforded me the chance to inhabit someone else’s story. I am hoping to do stand-up again at some point.

You also have some great writing samples on your site of your poetry and some shorter reflective works. ("Helping Hands", "The Easiest Way to Ruin Your Birthday", "Water" and "Good Fences" were my favorites!) Do you prefer writing smaller pieces or full novels? Do your shorter works ever develop into longer things?

Thank you so much for your kind words about my other writing. I love writing poetry and have been doing it since I was a young girl, in fact it was the first writing I ever did. I also love writing my blog and sharing my observations.
I feel like every story or idea has the right form it should take so as much as possible I try to let the form speak to me rather than try to shove it into a format. Sometimes I think I have an idea for a novel but as I start to write it I realize it wants to be a short story. On the other hand I thought The Last Bridge was going to be a short story and it turned into a novel so you never know.
Like most things in my life I am trying to just go with the flow.

What projects are you currently working on?

I am currently working on my second novel – which is going through a major rewrite and I’m working on a few essays . I also have a third novel outlined…if there were only more hours in the day!

Where can we find out more about you and your work?

My website, www.tericoyne.com is chocked full of more information than you would ever want to know about me and my blog is updated weekly with observations, thoughts, etc. I’m also on Facebook and Twitter so feel free to join me there!  Thanks so much for supporting the book I really appreciate it!

And now for a fabulous opportunity to win not one but TWO copies of The Last Bridge!  Since this is the season of giving, Ms. Coyne has generously offered to sponsor a very special contest here.  One lucky winner will receive a copy of The Last Bridge for his/herself and another copy to be gift wrapped and sent to a friend!  (Image not representative of actual gift wrapping.)

To enter, leave a comment below with your email address (ex: herbookself AT gmail DOT com) telling us to whom you would like to give this book as a gift and the reason why.  Contest is open internationally and will run until December 13th.  Winner will be contacted by email and asked to provide two valid mailing addresses.  Good luck!

The winner of the Fall Into Fantasy  Firelight Swag Giveaway is.....


In the book Firelight, Jacinda has the power to turn into a dragon but on transforming into a mythical creature, Kristina said,


Great choice!  Interestingly enough, I could see Firelight also being an appropriate title for a book featuring a Phoenix!   Congratulations, Kristina and enjoy your prize!

I like this quote because I can consider the word "gift" in two ways.  On the one hand it could be used in the context of having a gift for something, as in a passion for reading is a talent you can possess.  But I can also look at this as seeing gift in terms of something we can pass on to others.  Looking at the second meaning of gift, is there someone in your life who you would say has given you a passion for reading?

For the fourth year in a row, I have written a (draft of a) 50,000 word novel in less than 30 days.  I sit here now with a sigh of relief and a strange bit of pondering that I really don't know where two thirds of this story actually came from.  But I finished.  And it feels good to have this accomplishment under my belt.

For those that took on this endeavor with me, thank you for coming along on this wild ride.  I congratulate my fellow 50K club, and I also applaud all participants, regardless of word count.  Even writing a few thousand words in the month, is a few thousand words that you otherwise would not have put to paper! 

I'm not currently seeking to seriously edit or pursue publication for my work, but I enjoy and I celebrate the simple task of creating. Let us never underestimate or undervalue the joy of creating simply for creation's sake.

Here's to all my fellow writers and here's to thinking ahead - even now! - to NaNoWriMo 2011! 

Since this is a day about showing gratitude, I want to say a big thank you to Authors, and especially Independent Authors, because your writing makes my life richer. As I dabble in NaNoWriMo and attempt to create my own novel length work of fiction, I recognize that good writing is not something that just happens.  Constructing a story and putting it to paper in creative and artful words is a challenging task. And that's not even mentioning the world of editing and polishing.  Authors, I admire you.  I salute you and I thank you. Indie authors, doubly so.  There's a bit of a stigma attached to embracing the title of published author without the protective shield of a publishing house, but I know that some of my favorite works this year have been by those courageous writers.  Thank you for daring to put your work out there.  It is every bit as brilliant as those that publishers choose to print and I, for one, am glad to support your efforts!  

On that note, I'm pleased to spotlight a novel I read last month by author J.C. Phelps.  If any readers out there hesitate to check out independently published books fearing a lesser quality of writing, be assured that Phelps composes novels of high caliber and tons of fun.   

Move over James Bond, there's a new secret agent hitting the scene. Petite and polished Alexis Stanton hardly seems the type, but raised in a family that gave etiquette equal time with special ops training, she proves she's not one to be underestimated.

After quitting her dullsville job doing data entry, Alex responds to a mysterious newspaper job advertisement and realizes right away that her special training is exactly what White and Associates are looking for. Employed by the mysterious and attractive Mr. White, Alex is given the new moniker Ms. Grey and instantly thrust into secret missions with her life on the line. She may be in over her head, but she's not about to show it because she's also having the time of her life.

Color Me Grey was a fun and exciting book. J.C. Phelps keeps the action and suspense high and manages to hint at romance just enough to make the characters exceptionally intriguing. I loved Alexis Stanton as the heroine - she's tough but also smart and sensitive; larger than life but still easy to relate to. The book was well written with a perfect pace, and as all my favorite series entries do, it tells a succinct story while still keeping readers eager for its sequels. There's nothing Grey about whether or not Phelps knows how to write - clear as black and white, she is a wonderful storyteller and an awesome author to check out!

And while I'm on the topic of thanking people, thank you to all my blog readers that have joined, followed, and commented in the past six months.  I never knew that book blogging would be such a fun and rewarding experience.  I've really enjoyed interacting with so many other readers through this blog and I've loved every bit of it.  Before I get too sappy, I'll throw out a question for discussion: Do you read independently published books?  Why or why not? 

I've passed 40,000 words which I suppose makes this the home stretch.  The only problem is, I have no idea how to end this thing.  Just when I thought I'd reached some sort of denouement, one character had a surprise revelation about another and now they don't even know if they can trust each other, let alone solve the massive problem looming over the world.  I guess for me it's easier to write conflicts than resolutions.  It seems it's always easier to find problems than to solve them.  Eighty percent done with this thing, the end is in sight.  Thanks so much for all the encouraging comments along the way!

I want to thank Casey over at The Bookish Type for inviting me to participate in a multi-blog review-fest of some very exciting new releases in the Young Adult Fantasy genre!  Throughout the months of October and November various bloggers have been reading and reviewing a host of really intriguing books and several of them are quickly climbing up my TBR list.  For this event I'm pleased to share with you my review of Firelight by Sophie Jordan.  I hope you enjoy my review and check below for details about the swag giveaway!  Also, click over to The Bookish Type and check out all the other great reviews, interviews and contests going on with Fall Into Fantasy!

Sophie Jordan's Firelight tells the story of Jacinda, one of a strange race of draki - dragons that can take human forms. Jacinda is especially unique in that she is a fire breather, possessing a talent that many in her tribe thought to be extinct. Of course, standing out is not always a good thing and when her gift places her in danger, her mother decides to take Jacinda and her sister and leave the tribe of draki for a life as normal humans.

After moving to the desert, Jacinda finds the draki side of her dying and fights to keep her heritage alive. One boy at her school seems to ignite her dragon side, but Jacinda recognizes him as a hunter that she once escaped from. He rejected the chance to kill her when he first saw her as a draki, but none of the hunters know that the draki can appear human and Jacinda's relationship with him puts her entire species at risk.

I really enjoyed how Sophie Jordan handled the dragon mythology in this book. Instead of sticking to traditional dragon lore, Jordan created her race of draki as unique and original creatures. I liked how there were unique talents among them and was intrigued that some members of the tribe were not able to transform at all. The details of the urban fantasy world drew me into the story and led me to care more about Jacinda and her friends.

For me, the biggest downside of Firelight is that it has a very unsatisfying conclusion. I didn't know before reading it that this was the start of a series, but even with books that have sequels planned, I prefer when the first book is still a succinct standalone story. There was very little resolution in this one and the novel definitely left me eager for Jordan's next book. All in all, Firelight is an interesting fantasy work that sets up a unique story. Hopefully fans will not have to wait too long for a sequel to extend Jacinda's adventure.

As a special bonus for Fall Into Fantasy, Casey is sponsoring a Firelight Swag Giveaway!  If you would like to win a Firelight bookmark, sticker, and postcard autographed by author Sophie Jordan leave a comment on this post between now and November 30th!  Contest is open internationally and the winner will have three days to respond by email to claim the prize before a new winner is chosen.  To enter leave a comment below including an email address (ex: herbookself AT gmail DOT com) and answer the following question inspired by this novel:  If you could transform into any mythical creature, what would you become (and optionally, why)?

The Ear of Corn is a story by The Brothers Grimm that is more a fable or a legend than what I usually think of when I hear "fairy tale".  I've lived in the Midwest region of the United States my entire life so I'm no stranger to fields upon fields of corn which often are, as the saying goes, "knee high by the fourth of July".   And yet, I've never given much thought to the origins of corn.  It's something I just take for granted as having always been here.

At the same time, I love stories that involve how things came to be.  As a child I remember loving Just So Stories by Kipling and others in that same style - the ones that had fables of how the camel got his hump or why the elephant has a trunk and the giraffe a long neck.  I think The Ear of Corn story fits in with these types of origin tales.  The story relates how corn used to grow with multiple ears on a single stalk.  Because mankind didn't appreciate the plentiful nature of corn, God removed the crop and only returned it to it's single ear per stalk form after hearing cries from the people.

I really like the quote from this story that says,

"Men however are so made, that when they are too well off they no longer value the blessings which come from God, but grow indifferent and careless."

I think this is an interesting reminder about living life with a spirit of gratitude.  Often times on or around Thanksgiving and Christmas people talk about how blessed they are to have things like family, shelter, food, jobs, clothing, and other things that they otherwise take for granted.  I certainly won't speak out against this notice of life's everyday blessings, but why not make it a point to appreciate them every day, all year long?  Similarly, around the holidays people often take the time to recognize those less fortunate and give more to charity, participate in service projects, and make an effort to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and heal the sick.  Why not take these same steps to help others in January, April, and August?  I think this story makes a good point - that holds true today - about how we recognize blessings most when times are leanest.  I'm glad that we have a holiday in the US that's devoted to giving thanks, but I also wish that more people (regardless of religious or nonreligious affiliation) would take the opportunity to do so on a daily basis.  

What are your thoughts on this story?  Do you agree that people appreciate blessings less when they are well off?  Do you give thanks - and give to others - daily or only around the holidays?  Share your thoughts here or post your own Fairy Tale Fridays post and link up with Tif at Tif Talks Books!

Fairy Tale Fridays is a weekly meme hosted by Tif of Tif Talks Books.  Check out Tif's site for more information on upcoming Fairy Tales to read and discuss!