The Savvy Reader

The Savvy Reader Interview - Joyce Maynard

Joyce Maynard was in town at the end of October for the International Festival of Authors. We were lucky both to have her here in Toronto and also to find time in her busy schedule for me to speak to her about her latest novel, Labour Day. Joyce Maynard and I sat down in a conference room here on the 20th Floor of 2 Bloor Street and chatted for about a half-hour. By the end of it, I was thoroughly inspired. And not just as a reader, but as a writer as well.

DEANNA MCFADDEN: What was the first kernel of inspiration for your book Labour Day?

JOYCE MAYNARD: I’ve never had an experience like this before where a book sort of came to me in my dreams. I woke up and I heard the voice of this boy in my head and I wrote the book in ten days, I think because I had to find out how it would end. I didn't know. I knew the boy and he’s not anybody that I have met. I raised two sons, I have been the mother of a thirteen-year-old boy, but this was a very particular thirteen-year-old boy. I have been a single mother, I have lived with a child, with children in a small New Hampshire town, but it really was this magical gift of that boy coming into my dreams.

And I wrote it so fast because I just had to find out what was going to happen. There was only one way to find out which was to write the book.

Rebecca Gowers On Her Twisted Heart

Just kidding, our author Rebecca Gowers' heart isn't in a twist. Instead, she's written a book called The Twisted Heart, and provided us with this lovely, engaging piece for The Savvy Reader about making the complex and diverse parts of the novel work. 

Putting the Pieces Together

The Twisted Heart was a real challenge to construct. Right from the start I knew I wanted to combine elements that would usually be found in separate books. It would be based around the unfolding of an imaginary 21st-century romance, but it would also explore the genuine puzzle of a horrendous murder from the 1830s. It would be fiction, but my fictional characters were going to be pursuing a non-fiction crime thread. Charles Dickens would be the focus of the real-life crime puzzle, but I would covertly lean on Jane Austen for my romantic plot. On top of all this, The Twisted Heart was going to be a sort of university novel -- worse still, one set in Oxford.

These ingredients were potentially defeatingly at odds, but my wish was to make them play off each other, and speak to each other, in interesting ways. I intended nineteenth-century concerns about fact, fiction, and truth (whatever that is) to be integral to the novel, and planned to question the entertainment value of extreme violence, partly through dishing it up myself. Meanwhile, I was hoping to create a book that readers could find sheerly enjoyable. Although a lot of thought would go into the book, I didn’t want this to trouble the person who wasn’t inclined to stop and wonder about it.

A Spooky, Scary Event for a Saturday!

This Saturday, October 31st from 2-4 PM, World Literacy of Canada presents:

A HALLOWEEN DAY FAMILY CABARET at The Gladstone, 1214 Queen St. W with readings from Ken Oppel, Lesley Livingston, and Allan Stratton. To reserve your spot please call 416-977-0008. Suggested donation at the door is $10 per family. Wear a costume! Do the monster mash! And get totally creeped out by our Half-Minute Horrors.

Theo Fleury: The Cut

Theo Fleury's bestselling Playing with Fire has been all over the media these past few weeks. Here's the ONLY piece of content we're allowed to put up online. It's Chapter 2 from the book, a piece entitled "The Cut," which tells an utterly compelling story of how Fleury's hockey career was almost stopped short, before it truly began, by a tragic accident on the ice:

Our team, the Russell Rams, had just obliterated the number one team, Portage La Prairie, in the final at a tournament in Minnedosa, Manitoba. Portage could not believe it -- how did this s****y little team of 12- and 13-year-olds from Russell beat them? After all, Portage was a town of 13,000, while Russell was only a tenth the size. They were convinced it was a fluke. So they invited us to a two-day, two-game tournament a couple of weeks later. The first game was held on March 21, 1982. There were eleven seconds left in the second period, and we were coming out of our zone when our defenceman Greg Slywchuck, the same buddy I had been playing with since the first day I laced up, went around the net to break out the puck. I skated up the ice too fast, landing at the blue line far ahead of the play. Because I was not in a good position, I had to turn back to pick up the puck, and when I did, their defender, who had been rushing my way, suddenly tripped and rocketed down the ice toward me on his butt. His skate came straight up and caught me under the right arm...

Read the balance of the excerpt.

Tal Ronnen's Different Take on Sushi

Fresh from his appearance on Oprah this week, revolutionary chef Tal Ronnen arrives with The Conscious Cook -- a satisfying solution to every omnivore’s dilemma. A former meat lover who found himself unfulfilled by standard vegan fare, Ronnen set out to create his own diverse menu of hardy, delicious vegetarian dishes that the finest restaurants would be honored to serve and any food lover would love to eat! As a result, The Conscious Cook is loaded with a treasure trove of fine, healthy dining from the master chef who has reinvented vegan cooking. In this recipe, use one of his favourite grains for a twist on a perennial favourite, sushi.

QUINOA MAKI WITH AVOCADO AND CAJUN PORTOBELLO FILLETS

This is a different take on sushi. The blackened mushroom is crispy and spicy, and the avocado offers a nice cooling contrast. Instead of white rice, which isn’t very nutritious, I use quinoa. It has a lot of protein and a great toothsome texture.

2 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sambal oelek
(thai chile sauce)
1 cup quinoa, cooked in water according to package directions and cooled to room temperature
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
5 or 6 nori sheets
1 avocado, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
2 Cajun portobello fillets (page 112), cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
2 scallions, chopped
Soy sauce

1. In a small bowl, mix together the vegan mayonnaise and sambal oelek. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the quinoa, vinegar, and sugar. Spread a thin layer of the mixture on a sheet of nori, covering the sheet except for a 1-inch space along the far edge of the sheet. On the full length of the near end of the nori sheet, place single strips of avocado and portobello, a sprinkle of scallions, and small dollops of the sambal mixture.

3. Moisten the clean edge of the nori sheet with a bit of water. Beginning at the filled end, roll up the nori sheet very tightly (you may want to use a sushi mat). Press firmly when you get to the moistened edge to seal the roll. Repeat with the remaining nori and filling. Cut each roll into 6 pieces. Serve with soy sauce for dipping.

Makes 4 entrée servings or 8 appetizer servings
Prep time: 15 minutes, not including quinoa cooking and cooling

From The Conscious Cook. Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. copyright (c) 2009 by Tal Ronnen and Melcher Media. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

"The Sound of the Book of Negroes"

That's what the Quill and Quire called their post on this awesome new subway advertising campaign we launched this month. But in addition to Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes  the campaign also includes the books: I Met the Walrus, Next and The Raw Shark Texts.

We're excited to do something so different. Don't they look striking? What's even cooler is that commuters can plug directly into these ads through an earphone jack embedded in the poster to hear short excerpts from the book. Better than listening to the latest Lady Ga Ga track on your way to work in the morning I say.

Let us know if you see them on your subway ride this month!

--Cory

 


 

10 Terrifying Reads for Halloween

Our intern, Ben, is back at the top 10s, this time with his take on books for the 18+ crowd for Halloween.

10 Terrifying Reads for Halloween

You may feel the need to sleep with a light on while reading any one of these books we’ve got for you below. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
A frighteningly good collection of modern day horror stories, 20th Century Ghosts includes an astonishing variety of styles. From terrifying to bizarre, sad to s trangely comforting, Joe Hill’s stories will linger with you even after your hairs stand down. Interesting factoid: Joe Hill comes from an impressive writing family -- his father is author Stephen King.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Dennis Lehane, bestselling author of The Given Day and Mystic River, brings you Shutter Island. Rachel Solando, a serial murderer and psychopath, has escaped from her cell despite around the clock surveillance. U.S. Marshals Teddy Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, are sent to the Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane on Shutter Island to investigate her disappearance. What happens next will a) scare the crap out of you and b) shock your pants off.

10 Books For Kids Of All Ages This Halloween

Our newest intern, Ben Wylie, has tried his hand at his first top 10, this one for Halloween. He's spent the last few days up to his eyes in pumpkins, vampires, prom nights and 30 terrifying seconds. Not so bad for your first week at work.

10 Books For Kids Of All Ages This Halloween

It’s that spooky time of year again and we have ten books that will either make your hair stand on end or make you die laughing…

Half-Minute Horrors
Think a 30-second story can’t scare you? Then we dare you to open Half-Minute Horrors, a book loaded with tiny, terrifying tales and creepy illustrations by bestselling talents like Lemony Snicket, Neil Gaiman, Melissa Marr, Margaret Atwood, Jon Scieszka, Brett Helquist and many more. Get your flashlight, turn off the lights and prepare to be spooked out of your socks!

Prom Nights from Hell
Ah, the prom! Tuxedos, fancy dresses, flowers, ties, balloons, flying bats…wait! Who invited Dracula? Bestselling authors Stephanie Meyer (Twilight), Meg Cabot (How to Be Popular), Kim Harrison (A Fistful of Charms) and Lauren Myracle (ttyl) present five prom horror stories like you have never read before. These fast paced and frightening stories range from angel and demon battles to vampire hunter vendettas.

Where The Wild Things Are: A Contest

We've got six prize packs to give away to celebrate the opening of Where the Wild Things Are on October 16th. Included in each prize pack, you'll find:

• 1 Where the Wild Things Are t-shirt
• 1 copy of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are
• 1 crown
• 1 soundtrack
• 1 poster

How to enter? Browse Inside the book here and answer the following skill testing questions:

1. What kind of suit does Max wear to make mischief?
2. Which award did the book win?
3. When was it first published?

Send your answers and your mailing address to me (deanna.mcfadden@harpercollins.com) by next Friday for your chance to win.

NOTE: DO NOT leave any responses and/or contest entries in the comments. These will be disregarded. Thanks!

In Transit: A Two Stop Edition

From Rachel: "Yesterday, I was leaving the gym and walking to through the subway station with a large tea when a woman in tweed coat and black toque, nose stuck in a book, not paying attention she was so carefully reading, bumps into me and splats tea all over my shirt.

I should have been upset but I wasn’t: because she was reading and thoroughly engrossed in Wolf Hall.  And how can I be mad at that? So I smiled instead and wiped the tea off me (*ouch*)."

Then this morning, as I was heading into the office via the Bathurst streetcar, there was a woman reading The Best American Science Writing 2009 (great cover BTW). There were seats but she preferred to stand and read, swaying with the motion of the car as it trundled its way to the station.