FRIDAY MORNINGS AT NINE
by Marilyn Brant
Commercial Fiction
Kengsington
www.MarilynBrant.com
3 autographed copies will be given away on Friday, Frebruary 4, 2011!
About the Book:
Every woman remembers her firsts: Her first kiss. Her first lover. And her first time contemplating an affair…
Each Friday morning at the Indigo Moon Café, Jennifer, Bridget and Tamara meet to swap stories about marriage, kids and work. But one day, spurred by recent e-mails from her college ex, Jennifer poses questions they've never faced before. What if they all married the wrong man? What if they're living the wrong life? And what would happen if, just once, they gave in to temptation…?
Soon each woman is second-guessing the choices she's made—and the ones she can unmake—as she becomes aware of new opportunities around every corner, from attentive colleagues and sexy neighbors to flirtatious past lovers. And as fantasies blur with real life, Jennifer, Bridget and Tamara begin to realize how little they know about each other, their marriages and themselves, and how much there is to gain—and lose—when you step outside the rules.
Exclusive Interview with the Author!
1) What is the inspiration behind this novel?
I’ve talked with a lot of women about their marriages -- and, in some cases, about their affairs. Sometimes these revelations came in the form of random comments thrown out unexpectedly. Other times they were part of well thought out discussions about whether the women in question should or shouldn’t stay married. I met my husband 20 years ago and we’ve been married for almost 18 of those years. I consider us to be pretty happy together, but I don’t know anyone who’s been married that long who hasn’t experienced some ups and downs. I think the fortunate couples are the ones who keep choosing to be together and work on their relationships despite all of those years and the inevitable changes.
Of course, it takes both people to do that, and it also takes a lot of time and effort. The individuals involved have to want to get to know now these people they married (who may be different creatures than the ones they met a decade or more before), and they need to really pay attention to their own needs and desires, too. Sometimes, in the process of that kind of deep analysis, it turns out there was a profound disconnect somewhere along the line. In some cases, it’s possible to reconnect. In others, not so much. So, essentially, I wanted to write a story about three women who have marital disconnects to varying degrees that make them wonder what would have happened if they’d chosen differently. Then I wanted them to finally take the time to examine their lives so they could mindfully choose where to head next.
2) Is your relationship with your friends similar to or different from the relationship between the women in the novel?
For the most part, it’s different...and thank goodness! While my friends and I often get together for coffee to talk about our lives, just like the women in the book, the friends in Friday Mornings at Nine have a few things to learn, not only about each other but about themselves. (Big time!) I think they make a fair bit of progress during the course of the novel, but I also think it’s pretty clear that it’s difficult to be a good friend -- or a good spouse, for that matter -- if you’re not examining your needs and your motivations with a clear eye. I've certainly been in group situations with other women where there were secrets and hidden agendas. Where the people involved still had so much personal stuff to work out that they couldn’t be honest -- even with themselves -- about who they were and what they wanted out of their lives.
By contrast, my friends and I, while hardly Zen-like creatures of calm and poise (although I can hear one friend saying, “What?! I am too Zen-like!”), we tend to be pretty straightforward with each other. We have varying levels of comfort when it comes to revealing deeply personal information, and our personalities are different, too, but we also know each other well enough by now to trust that we have each others’ best interests at heart. That none of us would do anything intentional that might hurt another. That sort of trust allows for a great deal of candidness in our conversations. And while we spend FAR more time talking about baked goods than about any subject someone might consider racy (LOL, it’s the truth -- talk of hot, muscular guys sadly takes a backseat to discussions about caramel brownies), I’m so grateful to them for being people who know the over-analytical geeky girl that I am and still want to spend so much time with me.
3) Did you run into any challenges or roadblocks while writing this book? If so, how did you overcome them?
There were the usual writing challenges -- especially that pervasive author fear that I’d never finish it or it wouldn't make sense to anyone but me, etc. -- but the only really big hurdle was in trying to tell this story the way I’d wanted it to be told. I’ve read and enjoyed novels where thoughts of infidelity were contained to one woman’s perspective and they were these really intimate, deeply personal portrayals. With Friday Mornings at Nine, I wanted to feature three individual women but, also, show the group of friends as almost a 4th character. In fact, in my earliest draft, I even wrote the first chapter as “we” and “our” instead of “they” and “them” -- i.e., “We met on Friday mornings at nine because that was when...” etc. (You can read the final draft of Chapter One here!). In the end, I decided to write those group chapters with more of a traveling 3rd person/omniscent point of view, but I hope it still gets across that, in a way, the group of friends are an entity onto itself.
4) What other art form inspires you as much as writing?
Music, hands down. Playing and listening to it. Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Music is the favorite passion of my soul,” and I agree with him!
Unfortunately, I can't listen to it while I'm actually writing because I get too distracted (and am too tempted to sing along -- badly -- LOL). I reference songs quite a bit, though, in the narrative itself, so I listen to a lot of music while I’m working on a story -- just not when I’m actually sitting at the computer doing the typing. I love going on walks with my iPod and thinking about scenes, testing out different songs to see if they provide the right musical subtext. For my debut book, According to Jane, I have an entire soundtrack of ‘80s tunes amassed. For Friday Mornings at Nine, I returned to the sounds of the '70s. And for my upcoming novel, A Summer in Europe, I'm referencing musicals, especially those of Andrew Lloyd Webber. (I have a "Soundtrack" link for each novel on the Books page of my website!)
5) What are your other books about and what are you working on now?
My debut novel, According to Jane, is the story of a modern woman who has the ghost of Jane Austen in her head giving her dating advice. It’s light and quirky and pretty romantic. Also, the heat level in certain spots is very high in that book, so consider yourselves forewarned! Friday Mornings at Nine is my second novel and more firmly in the women's fiction realm. And, finally, my upcoming third novel, which will be out on November 29th of this year, is called A Summer in Europe. It’s about a woman who gets a five-week trip to Europe as a 30th birthday present from her eccentric aunt. The only catch? The trip is a bus tour with her aunt’s wacky senior-citizen Sudoku and Mah-jongg club! And while abroad, she has some adventures—both educational and romantic. It was a LOT of fun to write and, I’ll admit, I ate tons of Italian gelato while doing “research” for the story *grin*.
About the Author:
Marilyn Brant is the award-winning women's fiction author of ACCORDING TO JANE (2009), FRIDAY MORNINGS AT NINE (2010) and A SUMMER IN EUROPE (coming 11-29-11), all from Kensington Books. She's been a classroom teacher, library staff member, freelance writer and national book reviewer. Since turning to writing, her novels have won a number of awards including the Golden Heart, Single Titles Reviewers' Choice, Booksellers' Best and Aspen Gold Reader’s Choice, and also selected as Doubleday Book Club and Book-of-the-Month Club featured alternates. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and son, surrounded by towers of books that often threaten to topple over and crush her. Visit the author online at: www.MarilynBrant.com.
**Please enter to win using the form on the left side bar of our website. Comments left on the post are not used as entry.
Commercial Fiction
Kengsington
www.MarilynBrant.com
3 autographed copies will be given away on Friday, Frebruary 4, 2011!
About the Book:
Every woman remembers her firsts: Her first kiss. Her first lover. And her first time contemplating an affair…
Each Friday morning at the Indigo Moon Café, Jennifer, Bridget and Tamara meet to swap stories about marriage, kids and work. But one day, spurred by recent e-mails from her college ex, Jennifer poses questions they've never faced before. What if they all married the wrong man? What if they're living the wrong life? And what would happen if, just once, they gave in to temptation…?
Soon each woman is second-guessing the choices she's made—and the ones she can unmake—as she becomes aware of new opportunities around every corner, from attentive colleagues and sexy neighbors to flirtatious past lovers. And as fantasies blur with real life, Jennifer, Bridget and Tamara begin to realize how little they know about each other, their marriages and themselves, and how much there is to gain—and lose—when you step outside the rules.
Exclusive Interview with the Author!
1) What is the inspiration behind this novel?
I’ve talked with a lot of women about their marriages -- and, in some cases, about their affairs. Sometimes these revelations came in the form of random comments thrown out unexpectedly. Other times they were part of well thought out discussions about whether the women in question should or shouldn’t stay married. I met my husband 20 years ago and we’ve been married for almost 18 of those years. I consider us to be pretty happy together, but I don’t know anyone who’s been married that long who hasn’t experienced some ups and downs. I think the fortunate couples are the ones who keep choosing to be together and work on their relationships despite all of those years and the inevitable changes.
Of course, it takes both people to do that, and it also takes a lot of time and effort. The individuals involved have to want to get to know now these people they married (who may be different creatures than the ones they met a decade or more before), and they need to really pay attention to their own needs and desires, too. Sometimes, in the process of that kind of deep analysis, it turns out there was a profound disconnect somewhere along the line. In some cases, it’s possible to reconnect. In others, not so much. So, essentially, I wanted to write a story about three women who have marital disconnects to varying degrees that make them wonder what would have happened if they’d chosen differently. Then I wanted them to finally take the time to examine their lives so they could mindfully choose where to head next.
2) Is your relationship with your friends similar to or different from the relationship between the women in the novel?
For the most part, it’s different...and thank goodness! While my friends and I often get together for coffee to talk about our lives, just like the women in the book, the friends in Friday Mornings at Nine have a few things to learn, not only about each other but about themselves. (Big time!) I think they make a fair bit of progress during the course of the novel, but I also think it’s pretty clear that it’s difficult to be a good friend -- or a good spouse, for that matter -- if you’re not examining your needs and your motivations with a clear eye. I've certainly been in group situations with other women where there were secrets and hidden agendas. Where the people involved still had so much personal stuff to work out that they couldn’t be honest -- even with themselves -- about who they were and what they wanted out of their lives.
By contrast, my friends and I, while hardly Zen-like creatures of calm and poise (although I can hear one friend saying, “What?! I am too Zen-like!”), we tend to be pretty straightforward with each other. We have varying levels of comfort when it comes to revealing deeply personal information, and our personalities are different, too, but we also know each other well enough by now to trust that we have each others’ best interests at heart. That none of us would do anything intentional that might hurt another. That sort of trust allows for a great deal of candidness in our conversations. And while we spend FAR more time talking about baked goods than about any subject someone might consider racy (LOL, it’s the truth -- talk of hot, muscular guys sadly takes a backseat to discussions about caramel brownies), I’m so grateful to them for being people who know the over-analytical geeky girl that I am and still want to spend so much time with me.
3) Did you run into any challenges or roadblocks while writing this book? If so, how did you overcome them?
There were the usual writing challenges -- especially that pervasive author fear that I’d never finish it or it wouldn't make sense to anyone but me, etc. -- but the only really big hurdle was in trying to tell this story the way I’d wanted it to be told. I’ve read and enjoyed novels where thoughts of infidelity were contained to one woman’s perspective and they were these really intimate, deeply personal portrayals. With Friday Mornings at Nine, I wanted to feature three individual women but, also, show the group of friends as almost a 4th character. In fact, in my earliest draft, I even wrote the first chapter as “we” and “our” instead of “they” and “them” -- i.e., “We met on Friday mornings at nine because that was when...” etc. (You can read the final draft of Chapter One here!). In the end, I decided to write those group chapters with more of a traveling 3rd person/omniscent point of view, but I hope it still gets across that, in a way, the group of friends are an entity onto itself.
4) What other art form inspires you as much as writing?
Music, hands down. Playing and listening to it. Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Music is the favorite passion of my soul,” and I agree with him!
Unfortunately, I can't listen to it while I'm actually writing because I get too distracted (and am too tempted to sing along -- badly -- LOL). I reference songs quite a bit, though, in the narrative itself, so I listen to a lot of music while I’m working on a story -- just not when I’m actually sitting at the computer doing the typing. I love going on walks with my iPod and thinking about scenes, testing out different songs to see if they provide the right musical subtext. For my debut book, According to Jane, I have an entire soundtrack of ‘80s tunes amassed. For Friday Mornings at Nine, I returned to the sounds of the '70s. And for my upcoming novel, A Summer in Europe, I'm referencing musicals, especially those of Andrew Lloyd Webber. (I have a "Soundtrack" link for each novel on the Books page of my website!)
5) What are your other books about and what are you working on now?
My debut novel, According to Jane, is the story of a modern woman who has the ghost of Jane Austen in her head giving her dating advice. It’s light and quirky and pretty romantic. Also, the heat level in certain spots is very high in that book, so consider yourselves forewarned! Friday Mornings at Nine is my second novel and more firmly in the women's fiction realm. And, finally, my upcoming third novel, which will be out on November 29th of this year, is called A Summer in Europe. It’s about a woman who gets a five-week trip to Europe as a 30th birthday present from her eccentric aunt. The only catch? The trip is a bus tour with her aunt’s wacky senior-citizen Sudoku and Mah-jongg club! And while abroad, she has some adventures—both educational and romantic. It was a LOT of fun to write and, I’ll admit, I ate tons of Italian gelato while doing “research” for the story *grin*.
About the Author:
Marilyn Brant is the award-winning women's fiction author of ACCORDING TO JANE (2009), FRIDAY MORNINGS AT NINE (2010) and A SUMMER IN EUROPE (coming 11-29-11), all from Kensington Books. She's been a classroom teacher, library staff member, freelance writer and national book reviewer. Since turning to writing, her novels have won a number of awards including the Golden Heart, Single Titles Reviewers' Choice, Booksellers' Best and Aspen Gold Reader’s Choice, and also selected as Doubleday Book Club and Book-of-the-Month Club featured alternates. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and son, surrounded by towers of books that often threaten to topple over and crush her. Visit the author online at: www.MarilynBrant.com.
**Please enter to win using the form on the left side bar of our website. Comments left on the post are not used as entry.
1 comments:
"What if I married the wrong man?"--an interesting question I'm sure is on the mind of every married couple. But I've often wondered what keeps them together? What keeps them from choosing someone else? I don't know if I can ever choose the married life. But this book sounds interesting.
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