Writers who are serious about their craft work with Robin to elevate their novels and create the stories readers crave. Let her be your novel whisperer.

Learn how to work with Robin and Readerly Book Coaching at http://readerly.net

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PATSY C. ROBERTSON is a native North Carolinian. Her entire career and educational achievements were in computer technology. This fascinating industry allowed her to travel extensively, domestically and internationally, and meet various types of people along the way. These experiences stoked a sense of adventure, finally leading her to write her first novel.

A Concoction of Lies

She wants to engage readers in thrilling multicultural fiction that depict the blended relationships and experiences of African Americans and people within the communities that make up the global African diaspora.

Find out more about Patsy and get her novel here: https://patsyrobertson.com/

Books Patsy recommends:

The Color of Water by James McBride

The Baker’s Secret by Stephen P. Kiernan

Writers who are serious about their craft work with Robin to elevate their novels and create the stories readers crave. Let her be your novel whisperer.

Learn how to work with Robin and Readerly Book Coaching at http://readerly.net

Subscribe to the Tea Break Newsletter to get monthly notes to your inbox about books and writing.

Submit Your First Page for a Critique on the Podcast Here.

Background

Published in 2023 by Farrar, Straus, Giroux. This is Jemc’s fifth book. She has written three novels and two short story collections. Her breakout might be considered The Grip of It, which is a horror tale about a house that has a mind of its own.

Genre: Historical fiction, loosely defined; Literary, with a dash of humor.

Setting: Bavaria, Hungary, Vienna

Additional Notes and reviews:

Review by Annie Sauveur

Interview with the author

If you choose to pick this one up, keep in mind that it is literary and takes a LOT of liberties with the historical facts, as generally agreed upon.

If you are enamored of Sisi and are always looking for more about her, then give it a try. If you are inclined to be frustrated with anachronisms, maybe don’t.

Theme: Questions about identity, about how people can have everything and still be miserable. About how an existence without purpose makes us unhappy.

Things we thought AUTHOR did well as a writer

that we would like to emulate.:

• The Story Questions: the main question seems to be: What does it mean to be happy? How can humans be happy? Or you could substitute satisfied for happy. What makes a meaningful life? Ludwig and Sisi are immensely privileged, but they seem determined to squander every advantage and be unhappy and without purpose in their lives. They embrace things they think will give them purpose , but none of them do. They are, essentially, performing to an Empty Theatre.

• Author Voice: The author does an excellent job of inserting a chatty narrator who comes across like a gossipy aunt telling the reader the story. It is engaging, and often intrusive, but for the kind of story she is telling, it works. Even though the novel jumps around in time and places, the narrator keeps the reader engaged and grounded in the story of these two very unhappy people.

• Literary Fiction: Read this for a good example of what it means to be experimental. This is not linear, it is also not strictly historical in the way that most historical fiction is. There is commentary, there are anachronisms, but it is done with a light touch and with an effective telling to get to the point the author is making, which is not to strictly tell the story of these two people’s lives, but rather to examine how it is that they had everything and nothing at the same time.
  Satire: Part of the challenge of reading this book is that it is satirical. It never pretends to be giving the reader the real events or the real people. If the reader expects traditional historical fiction, they will be disappointed. If they read with an open mind to see what the author has to offer on this topic as an admittedly non-historian, though decent researcher, then they may enjoy it immensely. Looking at the cover is your first hint that it might be a little out of the ordinary, and it is a good example of why covers are important and how much work they do in setting the reader’s expectations.

Writers who are serious about their craft work with Robin to elevate their novels and create the stories readers crave. Let her be your novel whisperer.

Learn how to work with Robin and Readerly Book Coaching at http://readerly.net

Subscribe to the Tea Break Newsletter to get monthly notes to your inbox about books and writing.

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Carol Plum-Ucci is best known for her young adult novels that explore themes of psychological suspense, mystery, and the complexities of human nature. Her debut novel, The Body of Christopher Creed, won a Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award along with many other national honors. The novel’s dark, atmospheric tone and exploration of identity and social alienation resonated with young readers, earning Plum-Ucci a spot as a notable voice in contemporary YA literature. Following her debut, Plum-Ucci wrote six successful novels, five of which won national awards. She has twice been a finalist in the Edgar Allan Poe Awards and has received seven citations from the American Library Association.

Get a copy of Insane Possibilities here!

Books Carol Recommended:

Secret Windows by Stephen King

(This was the only book I could find that fit the criteria Carol mentioned, so I hope it is the right one!)

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Writers who are serious about their craft work with Robin to elevate their novels and create the stories readers crave. Let her be your novel whisperer.

Learn how to work with Robin and Readerly Book Coaching at http://readerly.net

Subscribe to the Tea Break Newsletter to get monthly notes to your inbox about books and writing.

Submit Your First Page for a Critique on the Podcast Here.

Terry Northcutt is a Writing Coach and book lover! She coaches fiction and nonfiction. You can find her at https://www.terrynorthcutt.com/

On today’s episode, Terry and I will be giving feedback on first pages submitted by writers. Writers who submit receive their first page back with written notes. Comments on the podcast are not the complete feedback, but give an idea of what to expect when you submit a page.

Below are the elements we will be use for evaluating the first pages:

• Orienting the reader to the time and place

• Introducing the main character and providing a key aspect of the main character relevant to the conflict—a strength or the hint of a flaw

• Giving a sense of an initial problem or conflict or introducing the main problem or conflict

• Hinting at the theme—bonus points!

• Hooking/engaging the reader. Readers generally give a book 1-3 pages before they decide to continue reading. It is super important to hook them early.

• Writing style and language use.

Writers who are serious about their craft work with Robin to elevate their novels and create the stories readers crave. Let her be your novel whisperer.

Learn how to work with Robin and Readerly Book Coaching at http://readerly.net

Subscribe to the Tea Break Newsletter to get monthly notes to your inbox about books and writing.

Submit Your First Page for a Critique on the Podcast Here.

Terry Northcutt is a Writing Coach and book lover! She coaches fiction and nonfiction. You can find her at https://www.terrynorthcutt.com/

Background

Published in 1927 by Heinemann (a London Publisher). It is a collection of related short stories about an agent during WWI, based on Maugham’s own experiences during the war as an agent.

Notice how he draws character (but there is still a plot for each story, and an arc over the course of the whole).

If you read this one to contrast with The Sympathizer, you can see similar themes—isolation, double life, wish for love that remains unfulfilled, duality.

Genre: Literary/Classic/Spy Stories

Setting: Mostly Switzerland, but some other locations

Additional Notes and reviews:

There is a Hitchcock film, Secret Agent (1936) based on two of the stories.

If you enjoy this, or like Maugham, try The House of Doors, a Booker shortlisted title from a few years ago.

Preface and advice to writers, plus Terry will discuss—why he wrote this preface

Theme: Isolation/Duality/Secrets/Love Lost

Things we thought AUTHOR did well as a writer that we would like to emulate.:

• Character: Maugham is able to draw characters with a fine brush. We get details, but we are never given boring descriptions. “The Hairless Mexican” is a favorite for this.

• Tragedy and Humor: Most of Maugham’s characters have tragic arcs. In particular in this one, “Love and Russian Literature” and “Mr. Harrington’s Washing.”

• Spy Conventions: Maugham is writing a more realistic than heroic novel

Other favorites by Maugham:

• Howard’s End

• The Painted Veil

• Of Human Bondage

There have been many film adaptations of his work as well. He is a master of character and the tragic arc. His novels tend to be quiet, but beautiful and compelling. If you write quieter novels, try reading his for some pointers.

Writers who are serious about their craft work with Robin to elevate their novels and create the stories readers crave. Let her be your novel whisperer.

Learn how to work with Robin and Readerly Book Coaching at http://readerly.net

Subscribe to the Tea Break Newsletter to get monthly notes to your inbox about books and writing.

Submit Your First Page for a Critique on the Podcast Here.

Terry Northcutt is a Writing Coach and book lover! She coaches fiction and nonfiction. You can find her at https://www.terrynorthcutt.com/

Background

Originally published in Lippincott’s Magazine as a novella in 1890. Expanded into a novel and published in 1891 by Ward Lock and Co.

Genre: Literary Fiction (Classics)

Setting: London with Occasional forays into the English countryside.

Additional Notes and reviews:

Wilde made some edits to his original in order to tone down the homoerotic references. He simplified the themes to create the central story questions around appearances, consequences, and narcissism.

There is an uncensored version of Wilde’s original, which was published in 2011 by Belknap Press.

Theme: What happens when there are no consequences for our bad actions? How does evil seduce innocence? What is the power of appearances in society?

Things we thought AUTHOR did well as a writer that we would like to emulate:

• Tension—Wilde sets this up from the beginning when the artist Basil Hallward asks Lord Henry not to corrupt Dorian. The reader knows right away that Hallward considers Henry to be a corrupting influence and that he wishes for Dorian to remain innocent. This is the main conflict of the story—how corruption happens little by little through our choices, by letting our desires overtake our reason. It is also the story of privilege, in a way. How without consequences, there is very little to keep people from becoming monsters. It is a cautionary tale, and I wonder if it might be a good idea for billionaires to read it.

• Using Character Motivations and Decisions to drive the plot—The artist obviously wants to keep Dorian innocent and Henry wants to play with him. It is a similar plot to Les Liaisons Dangereuses, except in that case it is a contest to see who can corrupt the most. It is the spider and the fly writ large. The fly is trapped and doesn’t know it. Readers keep reading hoping that the fly will escape, but knowing it is unlikely. It is the “train wreck” effect, which is the experience I had reading Lolita. It is terrible, but you cannot look away.

Beautiful Language—Wilde masters creating beautiful lines that make you go back and read them again. Listen to that first page!

Writers work with Robin to elevate their novels and create the stories readers crave. Let her be your novel whisperer.

Learn how to work with Robin and Readerly Book Coaching at http://readerly.net

Subscribe to the Tea Break Newsletter to get monthly notes to your inbox about books and writing.

Submit Your First Page for a Critique on the Podcast Here.

Terry Northcutt is a Writing Coach and book lover! She coaches fiction and nonfiction. You can find her at https://www.terrynorthcutt.com/

Background

Published in 2022 by Alfred Knopf.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: Renaissance Florence and rural Italy

Additional Notes and reviews:

Reviews were mixed. Some readers objected to what they see as a “modern” woman portrayed as historical, but I would submit that none of these people has read any Renaissance literature by actual women. They are making assumptions and do not present evidence for their opinions. Some readers object to what they call overblown, melodramatic prose. I found it beautiful, but I liked Hamnet, too.

New York Times Review

Review at Readerly.net

Theme: Agency in the face of a power structure that is aligned against you.

Things we thought AUTHOR did well as a writer that we would like to emulate.:

• Dual Timeline Both timelines were equally compelling, which can be difficult to do. She managed to keep us curious and keep the tension mounting with how questions and why questions, because we knew the what.

• Centering Women in the Narrative—The women are the stars of the show.