Updated: Feb 6
I don't normally read fantasy. I mean, I don't think I ever finished The Hobbit. I gave Map of Shadows a try because of Joanna Penn's non-fiction work - and found myself drawn into the world and finishing it in two sittings. Some cringey bits but really fine descriptive writing and excellent pacing.
This says two things:
It's good to step outside your comfort zone for reading.
As an indie author, build connections whenever, wherever you can.
Updated: Feb 6
So, with two books ready to publish, I've been reading to find comparable authors - someone who writes like me - and I think I found one. Kristin Hannah.
After I read Firefly Lane in July, I saw some similarity but that book was about sisters, which mine are not. I pretty much forgot about it. Then in August a beta reader for Peg's Story: Detours suggested The Great Alone as a comp. Once I started reading it, I realized I'd already read of one of Hannah's books and felt the similarity more strongly. So I kept reading to figure out why we both had that impression. In the last month or so I've read eleven of Kristin Hannah's books and I haven't found one I didn't like.
She does a lot more description than I do - I tend to be very sparing with a few key details to create the mood whereas she has made me want to visit the northern coast with her vivid description of settings. However, after reading so many of her books, I understand why the beta reader and I both sensed a similarity - it's in our characters and their journeys. I definitely recommend reading her books - all of them - and if you already know you like hers, try mine. I think you'll like Running Away: Maggie's Story and Peg's Story: Detours.
Here's my brief review for The Great Alone:
Kristin Hannah excels at developing her characters and exploring mother-daughter relationships with vivid backdrops. In this case, a teenage girl tells the story of her co-dependent parents as her Vietnam vet father sinks further into his PTSD and abusive behaviors in the long winter nights of 1970's Alaska. A page-turner.
Updated: Feb 6
A delightfully well-written family saga/romance/women's novel with two blended story lines: Nana Elaine's passionate wartime (WWII) romance with a famous photographer and the contemporary life of her granddaughter - a woman whose husband has left her for a younger woman at the outset. While there are definitely romances in both lives, the book is more than that. It is a powerful description of the women who stepped up during the war and were then sent home once it was over, and while her grand romance is key, Elaine's story entails much more. Her granddaughter recognizes parallels between them and must decide what choices to make for her own life.
An excellent book for writers to read:
Historical Fiction: Page doesn't bury the reader in her research. Instead she selects details that are pertinent to her characters' lives. For example, the dichotomy between the general scarcity of food and that available to the wealthy shows up as Elaine goes between scraping together bits at home and eating out with her lover.
Women's Fiction: This book is categorized as family saga because it embraces the generations. That is valid, but I'd also place it firmly in women's fiction because Page's characters are realistic women facing universal situations. While Elaine's romance may be the high point of her life, there is so much more about her journey included in this story. While her granddaughter, Jen, is not privy to all of the details we as readers have, the outline of Elaine's story and her direction hints at decisions she made. Recognizing parallels between them, Jen has to make her own life-determining decisions.
Romance: The core of Elaine's story is her grand romance and Jen is dealing with a philandering husband, a possible romantic interest, and decisions to be made. These are nicely handled. If your goal is to write romance that goes above and beyond, this is an example to read.