Book Spotlight: Lady of the Vineyard (plus an interview)

Somehow, somebody decided Ereinne wasn’t allowed to write this post, so today, it’s me, Meriela.  Hi.  I haven’t written a whole post yet.

So one of Morgan’s fellow bloggers, Kellyn Roth, published a novella a few days ago!  Exciting, isn’t it?  I can barely write my own name (and before you ask, Raethl’s transcribing this for me, because sometimes he is nice like that, all you skeptics), so I can hardly imagine writing anything even as big as a novella.  But Kellyn did it, so now we’re here to talk about it.

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Judy has lived with her egocentric mother since her parents divorced when she was a baby. When her father, Troy Kee, shows up at her sixth birthday party and whisks her away to his vineyard in France, Judy is more than happy to go with him. But Adele, Judy’s mother, isn’t quite ready to give up her daughter. Can Judy forgive Adele? More importantly, can Troy?

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Sounds awesome, right?  Just in case you’re already so excited by that synopsis, here’s the link so you can go buy it right now.  We’ll wait for you to finish reading it.

…

Well?  Did you read it?  I didn’t (obviously, can’t read), but maybe I’ll get Raethl to read it to me later.  Until then, the rest of this post is an interview (by Ereinne, of course, because she always gets the cool things like that) of both Kellyn Roth herself, and two of her characters, Troy Kee and Adele Collier.

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Okay, it’s me, Ereinne.  Does anybody know what’s better than an author interview or a character interview?  Both at the same time!  So I alternate questions—one to Kellyn, the author, and one to her characters.

Ereinne: What inspired The Lady of the Vineyard?

Kellyn: To be honest, The Dressmaker’s Secret! The Lady of the Vineyard was the original title of TDS. At that point, it was the story of a little girl (Alicia) who visited her French father who owned a vineyard on the French Riviera. It wasn’t a ton like the current TLOTV (and it certain is nothing at all like TDS is now!), but it was the same general idea. Sorta. Kinda. Hardly at all. XD

Ereinne: How do you feel about your story?

Adele: Okay, I’m taking this one.

Troy: Fine. Take all the amusing questions. I’ll just answer the ones that are left over. *deep sigh of abusement* (And, yes, that’s a word …)

Adele: Anyway, I don’t really like it. I find it humiliating for me. Why must Kellyn drag us in the dirt all the time? I hardly think it’s fair.

Troy: Drag you in the dirt? Della! Kellyn changed the ending so you’d be satisfied!

Adele: No more than I deserved!

Troy: You deserved?! I’m the victim here!

Adele: And you call me dramatic!?!?!

Kellyn: They aren’t really on their best behavior right now … please excuse them.

Troy: Well, I’m not on my best behavior …

Ereinne: Oh, that’s interesting.  What made you realize that Dressmaker’s Secret and Lady of the Vineyard were two different stories?

Kellyn: I wrote a (long, rambly) blog post (Where do all these ideas come from, anyway?) about how the plot for The Dressmaker’s Secret had changed over the years of outlining, writing, rewriting, revising, and editing. I summarized the earlier plot and realized there was something to be had there!

Ereinne: I know the dragged-in-the-dirt feeling.  My author’s planning a few humiliating scenes for me in her next draft.  What would have made the story better for you?  (Keeping in mind that conflict makes stories interesting; nobody wants to read about a perpetual happy ending with no drama.  Or so I’m told.)

Troy: All right, it’s my turn.

Adele: Wait a minute! It’s mine.

Troy: Um … no it’s not. You did the last one.

Adele: Yes. But I’m doing two-out-of-three.

Troy: Oh, okay. No, wait! We’re not!

Kellyn: Yes, give Troy a turn, Adele.

Adele: Fine …

Troy: So, I think possibly the story would have been better if it had been briefer. As in, Della stopped being an idiot sooner. Otherwise, it’s a great book.

Adele: Now, wait a minute, Troy Ebenezer Kee!

Troy: SHHHHH!!!

Adele: What? That is your middle name, isn’t it?

Troy: Yes, but … some things need to go unspoken.

Adele: Like ‘Della?’

Troy: Ah, c’mon, Dell, it’s cute!

Adele: *deep sigh*

Ereinne: What’s your favorite part of the writing process?

Kellyn: Based on my track record, I’d say starting novels, but I really like the feeling of finishing them … especially if for some reason the last sentence strikes me as cool and I’m like, “Aaaah, I’m sooo awesome!” Of course, later is just looks weird …

Ereinne: What’s the best breed of dog?

Adele: There is no best kind of dog.

Troy: Ah, c’mon, Della! Sure there is!

Adele: All right, then. What is it?

Troy: Mutt! Like Holt.

Adele: That evil creature doesn’t deserve to live. No dogs deserve to live.

Troy: Why am I speaking to you again, person-who-I-no-longer-know?

Adele: Oh, for heaven’s sake!

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So there we are!  And in case any of you didn’t want to click Meriela’s link, here’s another one.  (This one goes to Goodreads instead of Amazon, in case that matters.)

Oh also, we have an Excerpt Critique coming up soon, with an excerpt from this very story!