Welcome to our stop on the Book Club Bash Tour!
We'll be reviewing her book later today,
but we wanted to share this guest post with you first!
A psychic told me when I was working on the first draft of my debut novel, BLUFF that
it would essentially be the one novel that encapsulated the story of my life.
Huh? Somehow I didn’t see how my protagonist, a 40-year old, pregnant lesbian being
kept alive by medical intervention, could echo any part of me. But the truth is, while I am
nothing like her, she and so many other characters in BLUFF, carry me inside of them.
When we write novels, though they technically are fiction because we make them up,
we authors draw heavily from our own human experiences in order to flesh out our
characters and then breathe life into them. I can relate to each one of my characters in
BLUFF: My protagonist’s self consumption, her best friend Frances’ blind loyalty, her
nurse Mary Shannon’s hard-hearted approach to her life, Hank’s single-minded need to
be the devoted husband, and even Paul’s duplicity.
Every character has to come from somewhere. And while I have drawn liberally from
those I have known and created composites of them in my characters, I have also injected
a little bit of me. Right down to their idiosyncrasies. For example, Frances has a habit of
drawing her hand through her hair when stressed. So do I. When Jude is having one of
her arguments with her mother Gay some of that dialogue is lifted from actual arguments
between my own mother and me—in tone and phrasing.
Parts of me also filter into the actual scenes in many of the chapters. Images that I have
seen, felt, tasted and examined. The first line: “Horror has a taste.” That has particular
meaning for me because I can even describe that taste for you—a bitter, burning bile that
prompts a gagging reflex. The hospital scenes, all of them from the Emergency Room
to ICU, come from my own experiences in hospitals over the years dealing with the
illnesses of my grandparents, parents and best friend. Anyone who has spent time with a
terminally ill loved one knows that hospitals are universes within a universe.
Having written both nonfiction and now fiction, I have to say, in my humble opinion,
novels are the much more formidable task. When I wrote the biography of Ida Lewis,
(“Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter,” Globe Pequot) America’s most famous female
lighthouse keeper, it was all based on historical fact. The biggest challenge I faced was
that she didn’t keep a diary, so I had to really dig to find her voice, her person. But once
I found it, the biography basically wrote itself. Because it was her story, from start to
finish. I couldn’t change the ending or even adjust her character development.
Novels are amazing things. They allow for so many choices and give us authors the
remarkable opportunity to embed ourselves in them, in essence, preserve ourselves
forever through the very characters we create.
it would essentially be the one novel that encapsulated the story of my life.
Huh? Somehow I didn’t see how my protagonist, a 40-year old, pregnant lesbian being
kept alive by medical intervention, could echo any part of me. But the truth is, while I am
nothing like her, she and so many other characters in BLUFF, carry me inside of them.
When we write novels, though they technically are fiction because we make them up,
we authors draw heavily from our own human experiences in order to flesh out our
characters and then breathe life into them. I can relate to each one of my characters in
BLUFF: My protagonist’s self consumption, her best friend Frances’ blind loyalty, her
nurse Mary Shannon’s hard-hearted approach to her life, Hank’s single-minded need to
be the devoted husband, and even Paul’s duplicity.
Every character has to come from somewhere. And while I have drawn liberally from
those I have known and created composites of them in my characters, I have also injected
a little bit of me. Right down to their idiosyncrasies. For example, Frances has a habit of
drawing her hand through her hair when stressed. So do I. When Jude is having one of
her arguments with her mother Gay some of that dialogue is lifted from actual arguments
between my own mother and me—in tone and phrasing.
Parts of me also filter into the actual scenes in many of the chapters. Images that I have
seen, felt, tasted and examined. The first line: “Horror has a taste.” That has particular
meaning for me because I can even describe that taste for you—a bitter, burning bile that
prompts a gagging reflex. The hospital scenes, all of them from the Emergency Room
to ICU, come from my own experiences in hospitals over the years dealing with the
illnesses of my grandparents, parents and best friend. Anyone who has spent time with a
terminally ill loved one knows that hospitals are universes within a universe.
Having written both nonfiction and now fiction, I have to say, in my humble opinion,
novels are the much more formidable task. When I wrote the biography of Ida Lewis,
(“Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter,” Globe Pequot) America’s most famous female
lighthouse keeper, it was all based on historical fact. The biggest challenge I faced was
that she didn’t keep a diary, so I had to really dig to find her voice, her person. But once
I found it, the biography basically wrote itself. Because it was her story, from start to
finish. I couldn’t change the ending or even adjust her character development.
Novels are amazing things. They allow for so many choices and give us authors the
remarkable opportunity to embed ourselves in them, in essence, preserve ourselves
forever through the very characters we create.
About the Author: Lenore Skomal is the author of the recently released novel Bluff. As an author, Lenore wants you to eat her books. She wants you to chew them in your teeth, savor them on your tongue, breathe them in, and feel her words in your skin. Her passionate desire is to touch your heart, inspire you, and luxuriate in the world of the written word. Winner of multiple awards for blogging, literature, biography and humor, Lenore Skomal’s catalogue spans many genres. With 30 years of writing experience, over 17 books published and a daily blog, the consistent themes in her work are the big issues the human experience and adding depth and voice to the intricacies involved in living a multi-dimensional existence. www.LenoreSkomal.com
Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this post for blog posting purposes, free of charge, from the author, via Novel Publicity! No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post.
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