Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Rosie Alison puts herself out there and has a book show for it (and give away)



**Giveaway is now closed**

Today we have a guest post from London based author, Rosie Alison. "The Very Thought of You" was shortlisted for the UK's Orange Prize and is also Rosie's first novel. Rosie directed television documentaries for ten years before becoming a film producer at Heyday films. She is married with two daughters.

She's here today to share her experience of writing her first novel. And two lucky readers in the US have a chance to win this novel, thanks to Cristina Suarez from Simon and Schuster.


Writing a First Novel
by Rosie Alison


It’s a peculiar experience, putting a novel out into the world. Particularly a personal, heartfelt novel such as "The Very Thought of You." For me, it was a long, solitary and secretive process to excavate this novel, my first: I wrote it on and off over eight years, after work, once the children were asleep, late at night. I never dared to take time off from my day job to write; I feared that pressure to deliver would have spiked my fragile private writing bubble. So the novel had a slow gestation and naturally I was delighted when I finally finished it and found a publisher.

But I had very mixed feelings about publication: a part of me longed for the book to find readers – yet at the same time, I dreaded discovering that those readers might just be left cold or puzzled or irritated. To begin with, I was euphoric whenever anyone wrote a kindly blog, and sliced to the marrow if someone disparaged it. And my novel seems to have attracted both passionate readers and contemptuous ones. I’ve learned to be philosophical that any novel which attempts to tackle romantic feeling will divide people – but I have to respect, too, those readers who picked up the book and either disliked or misunderstood what I was attempting to do.

My guiding instinct was to write a story about love. The longing for an intimate other is surely the most abiding universal impulse, and I wanted to explore different kinds of love – not just romantic love, but two people reaching out to each other in some way. "The Very Thought of You" is a book in which most of the characters are holding the thought of somebody in their heads and hearts. I’ve tried to tease out that invisible thread which runs between potential lovers – delving into how love takes root and evolves, all those elusive staging posts. The heart of the novel is an adult love affair, and much of the time I was trying to get inside these two lovers as they feel this unspoken connection between them, but don’t know whether it’s their delusion or not. This affair is framed by the more unusual story of a young evacuee, Anna, who develops her own complicated attachment to one of her hosts, which endures through her life in unexpected ways.

Although this novel begins and ends with Anna (the evacuee), in many ways, the novel actually grew around her host Thomas Ashton. Thomas undergoes many reversals of fortune – yet he’s sustained by his abiding capacity for love, which becomes an act of faith for him, even after his lover has died. I wanted to write about a character who is emotionally disconnected or blocked at the beginning – but who finds himself transformed by love, which endures despite his loss, in (I hope!) an inspiring way.

Anna Sands, the displaced child, has a different fate. Unlike many evacuees who were deeply scarred by their wartime experiences, she seems a lucky survivor. She ends up at a beautiful house, with kind teachers, safe from the war. And yet in the absence of parental love, she develops an inappropriate attachment to one of her teachers which skews her emotional development, with unexpected repercussions right through her life. She ends up as one of life’s emotional witnesses, stranded on the sidelines of other people’s lives, always hankering after a relationship which could never be hers. It was this notion of becoming a witness – somebody with a face always pressed against a window, instead of joining in – which interested me in Anna. For me, that’s the poignancy of the Raymond Carver poem which I chose to preface the novel – that everyone longs to be ‘beloved’, yet some people are fated not to be, often unable to escape the long shadows of childhood.

Attempting to write romantic fiction is a high wire act: what for some will be heartfelt, for others will be cloying. I’ve noticed some people find my prose too purple, while others find it too detached. My own hope is that it can express heartache and longing in a way which is consoling for at least some readers. Kafka wrote that
“a book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us,” and that was very much the case for me, it took me a while to crack through my own ice, and realise that I wanted to write as deeply as I could about human longing. When friends ask me what kind of book I’ve written, I describe it as a torchsong – perhaps that’s why I chose a song title. But it’s definitely not a book for romantic pragmatists.

Thanks to Rosie for sharing her thoughts with us and to Cristina for sharing "The Very Thought of You" with some lucky readers.

How to win "The Very Thought of You":
Please comment below with your e-mail address.
(Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: What is something that was strange or scary for you the first time you tried doing it?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines, as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.

US only. Giveaway ends September 12th at midnight EST.

26 comments:

Colleen Turner said...

Wow, this book sounds beautiful! Hmm....something scary the first time around....I would say the first time I got a "real" job after college. I was finally going to be responsible for making my own money and taking care of myself at the same time, and I worked at a Behavorial Health Center so my job actually did affect people's lives. It was terrifying but in a very liberating way!
candc320@gmail.com

Jeryl M. said...

I would like to win.

jeryl.marcus@gmail.com

Jeryl M. said...

Something I did that was scary the first time act in a play.

I am a subscriber.

I am a Facebook follower.

jeryl.marcus@gmail.com

Tiffany Drew said...

Really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of this book, it looks excellent.

Something scary the first time I tried it would have to have been giving a speech during college. Ok, maybe not just the first time but every time. I am horribly shy and having to speak in front of a crowd is my worst nightmare.

GFC follower Tiffany Drew

Facebook member Tiffany Drew

Tweet: https://twitter.com/#!/enterthedrew/status/108958423806259200

jaidahsmommy(at)comcast(dot)net

BRN2SHOP9 said...

Roller coasters are extremely scary for me.

brn2shop9 at gmail dot com

BRN2SHOP9 said...

brn2shop9 at gmail dot com

I follow via facebook

BRN2SHOP9 said...

I follow via gfc

brn2shop9 at gmail dot com

BRN2SHOP9 said...

I follow via twitter

brn2shop9 at gmail dot com

Linda Kish said...

This book sounds terrific.

What was strange or scary? I have to Agree with Tiffany above me... speeches. I hated my speech class and never have been comfortable speaking in front of a group of any sort. Just the thought terrifies me.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Linda Kish said...

I am a GFC follower

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Qandthebooks said...

+1 Something that was scary for me at first was learning to drive, I was totally scared of crashing!

+1 Following via GFC! (Blissfulrains)
+1 Tweeted https://twitter.com/#!/Neku234/status/109101018339483649

Thanks for the giveaway!

blissfulrains(at)yahoo(dot)com

karenk said...

thanks for the chance to read this beautiful novel...

i'm a follower :)

karenk
kmkuka at yahoo dot com

Susan @ The Book Bag said...

Thanks for the chance to win this fabulous sounding book.

I remember the first time I had to teach a class in the library. I am not a public speaker and hated speech class - I do not like to get up in front of people. But when I realized that these students were the same age as my children, I thought "I can do this - it'll be like talking to my kids and their friends. Got thru it!

I am a GFC follower and I 'Like' CLC on Facebook.

suzebomb(at)gmail.com

vilma said...

vlopes@plymouthrock.com

Anita Yancey said...

Love to read this book. Please enter me. Thanks!

Something that was scarry for me the first time I did it was driving a car. It terrified me.

ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

Anonymous said...

Even the very best of classics don't appeal to everyone. I think it would be the hardest part of sending your book out into the world. The criticism.

Carol N Wong said...

I am one of those "old fashioned drivers", hate drive on freeways when there is a lot of traffic. I am fine when it is vacant which is only in some states. The scary thing that I did was drive on the interstate for six meetings and back for a trading program. Also, late drove from Joliet, Illinois on to Loop from the Loop to Field Museum. I still have a freeway phobia bur I did it!

CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

Carol N Wong said...

I follow you on Facebook.
Carol Naomi Wong


CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

Carol N Wong said...

I follow you on GFC as Carol N Wong.

CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

Carol N Wong said...

I posted this on Twitter under my user name of Carolee888.

http://t.co/MvsnIHT

Nancye said...

Sounds like a great book! Thanks for the chance!

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Nancye said...

Something scary I did the first time was flying. I flew from Kentucky to Atlanta then to Ft. Myers for my first plane ride. I was 30 and white knuckled the whole time! I still don't like to fly! :)

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Nancye said...

GFC Follower

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Nancye said...

Tweet! Tweet!
@NancyeDavis

http://twitter.com/#!/NancyeDavis/status/113371659439833088

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Nancye said...

I posted this on my FB Wall

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/nancyecdavis/posts/269330873092190

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Charlotte said...

c.semenchuk@comcast.net

I cannot wait to read your book. I posted the link on my fb page.

I was terrified the first time I drove my car.. and the first time that I went to my first job!