Patti Callahan Henry

Patti is a contributor to the Southern Authors blog A Good Blog is Hard To Find.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Knowing what I'm doing even if I don't know what I'm doing.

This seems to be the theme of my summer so far. Often, during book tour this past month, I would get the question "Do you outline your novels?" And I'd flinch, because I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I don't. I want to be that girl. That girl who outlines and knows where the plot is going and why. I want to be the writer who can tell you how to structure and design the perfect plot. I fumble my way into a story and usually stumble my way out of it exhausted and complete. Then I fix the mistakes -- go back and rearrange the beginning (oh, if only we could do that in real life), strengthen the theme, build more tension, etc...I want to be the girl who KNOWS what she is doing. But I'm not.

And I'm finally beginning, only beginning, to be at peace with this as I've seen -- in the past days -- examples of ways in which I had no idea what I was doing, BUT I did know what I was doing.

I have a sixteen year old daughter -- her name is Meagan. We often call her Megs. I chose this name for no other reason (I thought) than the fact that I liked the name, it felt right and good. Sixteen years I've been saying -- "No, she's not named after anyone, I just liked the name." Then this week I was talking to a visiting friend and describing my favorite childhood memory, which is this: the endless and glorious days I spent in our summer cabin in Cape Cod on Megs Lane.

Oh, I get it.

I knew what I was doing.

I titled my most recent book Driftwood Summer because I'm fascinated with a glittering string of houses on Daufuskie Island named Driftwood Cottages. But it seems I knew what I was doing -- because I used the word Driftwood in my title, and USA Today included the book in a roundup of "Beach Titles". The article was all about beach-sounding titles.

Oh, I get it.

I knew what I was doing.

I won't bore you with more examples.

But maybe, just maybe, we know what we are doing even when we feel like we don't know.

And this more than anything might be what writing is like for me.

Doing something day after day even when I don't FEEL like I know what I'm doing.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

So I thought....

Those are champagne bottles we are holding!

God Bless Linda Brown from Milestone Books for being there with me!

I really thought today was shaping up to be the WORST DAY ever of book tour. (Read below from earlier this morning). When a day starts out like that, how could it possibly end? Really -- when you start out at 4AM with a stolen GPS and a late flight, how good can it get?

And that is what is so great, so fun, so amazing about life and its turns. This is why I love a good story -- because just when you think it is as dark as it can get; just when you think you can't take one more minute of ANY of this == light bursts through.

At five o-clock today my agent -- the amazing Kimberly Whalen --- calls my cell phone while I am at Milestone Books. I almost don't answer because after my book signing I must go back to the airport to find my LOST luggage. But I answer and she is hollering into the phone. The good kind of hollering.

DRIFTWOOD SUMMER hit the NYT Bestseller list.

I don't believe her. This is what kind of day it has been -- I don't believe her. I think she has read the list wrong. Or is delusional. Or I am.

But it's true. And I am dizzy with happy.

Truly amazing.

Is this real?

It is -- so I make a complete fool of myself in front of my friend Linda (who owns and runs Milestone Books in Birmingham, Alabama -- GREAT STORE). And then we go out and celebrate....

Just When You Think....

PICTURE with me: River Jordan, author of Saints in Limbo -- beautiful book. Beautiful author; Kathy Louise Patrick, the Pulpwood Queen in her Beauty and the Book combo beauty shop/bookstore.

Just when you think it is all working out so perfectly.....I mean here I was in a town so quaint and near perfect that I thought it might be a movie set. I had a great night meeting all the Pulpwood Queen book club members from ALL over Louisiana and Texas, and then slept in this perfect little BB.

THEN, bam!

Not so perfect.

I awoke at 345Am to leave the BB by 410AM so I could get to Shreveport for my 625AM flight. I tiptoe out of the BB, stumble to my rental car in the dark to discover that someone has stolen my portable GPS in my rental car.

I want to cry, but I don't. Really, it's 410 in the morning and I have no idea where I am or how to get where I'm going. Who do you wake up? Who do you call? What do you do?

I remember this: my iPhone. I love my iPhone now more than I ever did (and that is saying a lot) as it took me through backwoods Texas roads at 415Am to the Shreveport airport where I sit and wait on.....a delayed flight.

Oh, the glamour of book tour.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Jefferson, Texas

Today I'm somewhere I've never been before (that's not saying lot as I'm not some kind of world traveler). Jefferson, Texas. I flew into Shreveport, LA (beautiful from the sky), and then drove an hour or so across rolling hills and farms to Jefferson, Texas. This is a town that looks more like a movie set than a real place. The square with the statue; the white church steeples; the river with the covered bridge; the brick streets. Amazing.

My favorite new thing I've learned so far: Texas has a day speed limit. And night speed limit. I get so bored on the road alone that I wondered this: What is the speed limit during twilight -- that shimmery time between day and night?

My favorite new food this week so far: Cornbread Sandwich from Kitt's Kornbread Sandwich and Pie Bar. Yes, I also had the Coconut Buttermilk Pie.

And tonight I finally get to meet the famous Pulpwood Queen Kathy Louise Patrick.

I in a Bed and Breakfast where the owner has a dog named Money-Penny and a son named Atticus.

These are things you can't make up.

And these are good days....

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy....

Tell me -- does it look real or don't you expect Sandra Bullock to come strolling out of the Five and Dime?

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Crazy World

No, this isn't where I stayed during last week's travels. BUT I did make a screeching stop on I-17 to pull into this parking lot and take a picture of the sign. DRIFTWOOD MOTEL.

Seriously.

On my Driftwood Summer Book Tour I drive right past the Driftwood Motel. Not quite as cozy as the cottage in my novel, as far as I can tell.

But these are the things that entertain me on the road.

This past week -- 1216 miles. Yes. Over a thousand miles logged. So many wonderful people and beautiful stories.

Old friends find me. New friends show up, and my life is enriched.

My favorite question so far: "Why can't you write more books and faster?"

I'm still trying to answer that one!

Favorite new discovery so far: Clay Rice and his silhouettes. Very cool.

Favorite food so far: Ms. Margaret Anne Johnston fried me up some fresh fish on Fripp Island.

Least Favorite Stretch of Highway -- I-17, which I usually love, but is completely under construction...

Best surprise so far: High school friends found me in Charleston at the Barnes and Noble. I forgot I had high school friends. :)

Best beach I've never been to so far: The stretch of beach behind my friend, Jenny's house on Pawley's Island. The full moon stretched across the water and it all looked like something out of a movie; all photoshopped and fake, but it wasn't. At all.

Next week -- Greenville, SC; Jefferson, TX; Birmingham, AL; Fairhope, AL; Atlantic Beach and Vero Beach, FL.

And more favorites.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

On The Road

It's TODAY.

Yep, the book was released today -- DRIFTWOOD SUMMER that is. You'd think I write books to have parties -- because that's all I've been doing the past three days -- celebrating. You see, we as authors spend most of our time alone in a room typing. And typing. And staring at a computer screen hoping that the story we see is the story that we write.

And then we walk out into the light of day where readers hold our book in their hand; we celebrate! (before we go back into our office alone to do it again and again).

These past three days have been amazing -- and I have to hit the road again in an hour, so I'll tell you a few of my favorite moments.

--An old patient of mine (I was a pediatric nurse, and then a research nurse) came to my launch party in Norcross. It's been thirty years since I last saw him. He read an article about me. When I asked how in the world he remembered me, he said, "I saw your picture and felt a jabbing pain in my hand." (I once put an IV in this man's hand once a month). I'm still smiling about that one.

--My dearest college friends, Cate, Laura and Beth ALL came to see me. Of course I'm still smiling.

--I discovered I'm the launch book for a new book club. How very cool.

--My son turned 11 years old on my release date (June 2nd). Almost a double birthday -- in a way.

More Word Wondering -- "REVIEW"

Sometimes a simple word can change its meaning at different points in life.
For example: REVIEW.
Simple word. Until you're an author and it is a week until book release. Then this word suddenly morphs and becomes this monster with sharp teeth and an evil grin OR a gentle giant with kind words and sweet smile.
One word: Many meanings.

So here is an example of the kinder, gentler review.
I love it.

SECRETS SURFACE AS FAMILY RECONNECTS
Novel unfolds against romantic beach backdrop in Georgia. Sisters confront issues from the past.

By Don O'Briant
For the AJC
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Some families, in fiction and real life, seem to have trouble dealing with the past. Incidents as insignificant as an overcooked Thanksgiving turkey or a remark about a relative’s drinking habit can fester into a family feud that lingers for years until somebody either dies or apologizes.

The Sheffields in Atlanta writer Patti Callahan Henry’s sixth novel, “Driftwood Summer,” have problems with the past and present. In the past, a romantic rivalry between sisters Riley and Maisy resulted in Maisy leaving their small Georgia coastal town and moving to California to become an interior designer. A younger sister, Adalee, has left home for college, where she treats life like one big party.

Riley, who became a single mother after one impetuous act, has stayed to run the family’s Driftwood Cottage Bookstore with Kitsy, her widowed —- and controlling —- mother. Doubtful that she will ever find anyone as good as her lost true love, Riley instead seeks comfort in the pages of novels where everyone lives happily ever after.

Maisy has troubles of her own. Although she’s a successful designer, she seems to be attracted only to men who are married or otherwise unavailable. She has refused to return to her hometown for years, but now she has no choice. Her mother is celebrating her 70th birthday during a week of special events to mark the 200th anniversary of Driftwood Cottage and the 12th anniversary of the bookstore.

Like many independent bookstores, the Sheffields’ business is in financial trouble and Kitsy is hoping the celebration will raise enough money to keep Driftwood open. Before the festivities can begin, Kitsy is hospitalized after a fall and diagnosed with a serious illness. Riley is asked to summon her sisters to help with the celebration, but she is sworn to secrecy about her mother’s medical condition.

This begins a bittersweet tale of long-buried family secrets, misunderstood motives and the return of Mack Logan, the man who created the rift between Riley and Maisy during one pivotal evening. Mack, whose family previously owned Driftwood Cottage, had fished and sailed with Riley when they were teenagers. Mack and Riley were best friends until Maisy decided she wanted him.

“Since that night thirteen years ago, Riley had spoken to her sister only when necessary. The gulf in their relationship was easy to blame on Maisy —- after all, she’d been the one to leave Palmetto Beach and move to California, then refuse to come visit. But Riley understood that mere physical distance was not what kept them apart; their bitterness and anger did.”

The author skillfully weaves the stories of the sisters against a romantic backdrop of a beach town and the kind of bookstore any reader would appreciate. In addition to a cafe with fresh-baked muffins, the Driftwood Cottage Bookstore is the social center of the community with comfortable chairs and a meeting place for the Beach Babes Book Club, the Blonde Book Club and the Page Turners Club.

As in “Between the Tides,” “When Light Breaks” and her other novels, the coastal setting is as much a character as the people. Her descriptive prose evokes a lush landscape of oaks draped in Spanish moss and the scent of the sea on soft breezes. Most of all, her keen insights into relationships and the healing power of storytelling questions the statement that Scarlett O’Hara’s father made when he insisted that land was the only thing that mattered.

In Patti Callahan Henry’s world, it’s family.