Today, Wednesday, July 25th from 1PM-2PM (ET) we welcome Elin Hilderbrand for a live chat as our “Ask The Author” guest on Gather.com. Join the discussion on Elin's new novel Barefoot...
This summer, everything will change . . . Three women -- burdened with small children, unwieldy straw hats, and some obvious emotional issues -- tumble onto the Nantucket airport tarmac one hot June afternoon. Vicki, the mother of two young boys, is trying to sort through the news that she has a serious illness. Her sister, Brenda, has just left her prestigious job as a professor after being caught in an affair with an older student. And their friend Melanie, after seven failed in-vitro attempts, is pregnant at last -- but only after learning that her husband is having an affair. They have come to escape, enjoy the sun, and relax in Nantucket’s calming air. But the sweet cottage that has been in the family for ages may not be big enough to contain this hurricane of emotion sweeping through it.
Into the house, into their lives, steps twenty-two-year-old native Josh Flynn. Faced with an unpromising summer -- more late-night calls from his ex-girlfriend, more days working for his father at the airport --Josh can’t wait for the start of his senior year of college. Brenda hits upon an unlikely rescue for all concerned: she arranges for Josh to babysit Vicki’s boys, and in no time it’s hard for the women to imagine their lives without him. He provides Vicki with free time, encourages Brenda’s writing, and challenges Melanie to follow her heart. Josh needs them, too. But is he, like the summer, just a distraction from the daunting choices that lie ahead? As Vicki, Brenda, and Melanie come to depend on each other, will they be able to survive on their own?
Barefoot weaves these four lives together in a story with irresistible sweep and scope. Capturing both the power with which love can turn lives upside down and the enduring force of family, home, and place, Elin Hilderbrand has written a novel that is as fun and memorable and bittersweet as that one perfect day of summer.
About the Author:
Elin Hilderbrand has lived on Nantucket for fourteen years. She has written about the island in Barefoot and her five previous novels not only because it is her home but because it provides a rich ecological and historical background for her characters. Hilderbrand is married to hotel manager Chip Cunningham and they have three young children. Ms. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa.
Click Here to read an excerpt from “Barefoot”
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Comments: 59
What is your personal experience with cooking? Have you though about food writing?
I am an avid at-home gourmet cook, and I love writing about food in my novels. The Blue Bistro and the Love Season were great opportunities for me to do that -- and I was able to "research" at all of the great restaurants here on Nantucket. I try to make everything at home from scratch (pies, soups, bread, etc.) -- we have a gorgeous farm where I can pick up the best veggies, and of course there is fresh fish. Nantucket, in so many ways, is a foodie paradise.
I write during the day, normally from 11-2 or so. I write long hand in a notebook and then later I type everything into the computer, print it out, and read it again, to edit it. Right now, I am doing revisions for my novel which will appear next summer and it is painstaking work because I have 260 scribbled on and scratched out pages that I have to decipher and put into the computer.
My question is: Nantucket is a beautiful place to live. Do you find it hard to work during the nice weather? If you live there year round, do you find the quiet winters isolating?
Nantucket is, essentially, a small town and small towns are the best places to come up with stories. (so much better than big cities). I will never run out of material! Now, that said, my husband and I have traveled extensively on 6 continents (he proposed to me at 13,000 feet in the mountains of Nepal.) I would love to incorporate some of our travel stories into my ficiton. We have taken our children to Perth, Australia for 3 winters...the first year they were 1 and 3. OK, don't I deserve some kind of prize for that???
Nantucket is glorious any time of year. I do love the summer, go to the beach every day, etc but there is something to be said for having the island "all to myself" as any islander can in the off-season. Now, mind you, there is "nothing to do" in the traditional American sense (no malls, one movie which shows 8 nights in a row) so you have to be resourceful and very good at making and keeping friends!
My characters are all fictional beings. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! However, I always say that the truth is in the details. So, for example, many of my main female characters are joggers, and I'm a jogger. And they buy their sandwiches at Henry's on Nantucket, and that is where you'll find me buying my sandwiches. I have also been known to "borrow" a line or two from people I know. Generally, I'll warn them by saying, "Is it okay if I use that?"
That is the gold star question of the day. How do I do it??? (I wonder.) All I have to say is this: It's not easy. The best word to describe me is overcommitted. However, I do make time in my day to work, and I try to be as organized as possible with the kids. I have a baby (21 months) and she is demanding of my time. In fact, as soon as I'm done the book for next summer, I'm going to take a break so that I can enjoy her one-on-one before she goes to pre-school. Anyway, to answer your question, I have a lot of help and I try to stay organized.
My no-fail signature dish for summer is...corn salad. I will tell you how to make it in a second, but let me say that this is no-fail because you can pair it up with burgers or a purchased rotisserie chicken or tuna steaks on the grill and you have a summer meal. OK, cook 5-6 ears of corn for 5 minutes, cut the kernels off, add a handful of chopped chives, a handful of chopped dill, 2 T white wine vinegar, 1 T good olive oil, 1/4 c toasted pine nuts and 1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese. salt and pepper. Heaven on earth!
I noticed that in your acknowledgements that you thanked your au pair...does she live with you so that you can concentrate on your writing? I have four kids, work full-time (hubby's a SAHD), and I can barely string two words together in a month's time. Can I borrow her for a while? =:o)
My au pair is the only reason Barefoot is in your hands right now. She is from Thailand and she came to our family in DEcember of 2005. She is the best best best!!! It's so great for my kids to have consistent care -- we have to go out at night a lot with guests from the hotel that my husband manages (there was a stretch this month where we were out 9 nights in a row.) So it is vital to me to have someone who loves my kids (and me) and who can hold down the fort while I write.
Without a doubt, if I placed my characters elsewhere, it would be in Perth, Australia, which is my second favorite place on earth. My husband and kids and I have spent 3 winters living there and we love it -- the weather, the beaches, the wine country, the friendly Australians with their beer and their love for children and their accents. It's clean and safe and sun-drenched. Perth is also the most isolated capitol city in the world. I like the idea of a novel where someone runs away and ends up there.
The internet has made it easier to buy books and read reviews and talk about books, so in those instances, we're all winners. (Though I do still favor independent bookstores).
Josh is (loosely) based on the "manny" I had three summers ago when my boys were 2 and 4. (His summer, however, was not as interesting as Josh's was.) He did give me the idea, though, for the character, primarily because of the way the kids loved him, worshipped him, etc. And our manny was very mature, very grounded, and he had experienced sadness in his life that gave him a mature perspective.
I'm a 'newbie' at this writing thing and internet writing sites. I have just started dabbling in the writing -- actually putting it down in the computer as opposed to just letting it run wild in my head -- so with that being said, where do you suggest that a 'youngster' go to get started? I've written a little tidbit for more of a romance type of thing as well as finally written a bedtime story that I've been telling my kids for a few years now. Although I havent read your book yet, I'm definitely going to go pick it up...it sounds wonderful!
And thanks, Gather, for hosting this chat and for introducing me to an outstanding writer with your book giveaway!
The most important thing (this is easy to listen to but hard to execute) is to get started, plug away, stick with it, even when it's not going well. 99% of writing is hard work and making yourself do it. Make the time to work on it and give it a dedicated effort. I can't tell you how many people want to be writers but never do it because they don't make it a priority.
as for writer's block, I always do one thing: listen to my characters. a lot of times I'll write an entire scene then take it all out, but I try never to think of that as wasting my time, but rather as experiencing the learning process. some things go in, some things come out, but no act of writing is wasted; it's all part of the process.
Thanks for the insight. I will definitely keep plugging at it. It's absolutely, I find, therapuetic to take true to life events, add a few twists, and recreate a whole new world! And, man, do I have a ton of those events to twist!!! Thanks for allowing us the opportunity to escape, if even for a few moments at a time, to a place that's exciting and full!
I like nothing more than to "leave work." In fact, I think I might "leave work" today (despite the impending deadline) and go to the beach -- it's so gorgeous out! However, I will take a notebook and pen as I had some ideas this morning while I was running...so, yes, what I meant to say was 24/7.
Thank you to all the Gather members who participated today. Until next time!
Thank you for coming out! I really enjoyed my first ever live chat! xo elin
But the read is great ELIN...