A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: SINS OF THE FATHER -- A FAMILY-CENTERED DRAMA

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

SINS OF THE FATHER -- A FAMILY-CENTERED DRAMA

Sins of the Father

by Lisa Beth Darling

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Family centered drama

Readers, don’t you love Lisa Beth Darling’s name. Lisa Beth will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

Lisa Beth Darling has shared an interview.

Where did you grow up? Siblings? Locale? Were you considered a “bookworm” or a jock? Married, single? Children?

I was born in Norwalk, CT but grew up in New London, CT—a typical small New England city in the southeastern corner of the state—and I live in my ancestral home. I was adopted in 1967 and grew up an only child only to discover much later in life that I had three brothers; one full and two half. I have met and have a good relationship with one of my half-brothers. In school, I was the quiet artsy girl in class who loved to write. Although, like most quiet types, if you rile us up you'll be sorry, and if you take the time to get to know us you'll find we have a wicked sense of humor. I've been married for the last 30 years to my wonderful husband, Roy, and together we've raised two daughters, Nicole and Rebecca, to adulthood. They are now out of the nest and living on their own. No, I don't suffer from 'Empty Nest Syndrome', my husband and I are quite enjoying this stage of our lives.

Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?

My all-time favorite author is Stephen King, I love horror…good horror, that is and it's very hard to find. I started reading his books when I was 10 and instantly fell in love. I am still a big fan of VC Andrews, Harold Robin, Jacqueline Susan, and Irwin Shaw.

What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge?

I'm a big movie buff and have a large collection of films on DVD and Blu-Ray, in the winter I just adore long movie marathons by the fire on our new reclining couches. They're wonderful! I'm so glad we bought them. In the nice weather, I garden in containers on my deck. I used to do in-ground gardening but we became over-run with critters and it was very difficult to keep them out of the garden, they got far more vegetables than we did. Doing it this way keeps the animals at bay as most of them aren't brave enough to venture up onto the deck. For decades, we went for long rides on my husband's motorcycle but, unfortunately, he had a bad accident last year and the bike is no more. Fortunately, he's fine though the road to recovery was a bit long.

Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life?

"Get busy living or get busy dying"—Red, Rita Hayworth, and Shawshank Redemption, Stephen King

How long have you been writing?

I've been writing since 4^th grade which is roughly 42 years.

Where do you prefer to write? Do you need quiet, music, solitude?

My favorite place to write is in my home office where everything I need/want is right at my fingertips. I'm surrounded by all of my favorite books, a few letters from Stephen King, family photographs, and a plethora of "Americana" in the forms of KISS dolls, Star Trek dolls, an original Star Trek phaser, Twinkie the Kid (given to me by my brother), and a wide assortment of other such items. I burn incense and candles when I write. Solitude is a must, that's why I had my husband install French doors on my office where there was once just a huge open archway. I close my door, draw the curtains so no one can see me, and get to it. I always write on a PC, laptops are nice for something but I find them very difficult to write on, the keyboard is far too small. I use special ergonomic keyboards at home and at work.

Are you a plotter or a panzer?

I never plot anything out anymore, I found it got in the way more than anything. I always have an idea of where a story is going but not exactly of how The Muse and I will get there. That's the fun part. I'm as often surprised by how something unravels just as much as my readers are.

Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories?

Yes, I think that writers draw on all types of things to keep a story evolving and moving forward after The Muse has drafted them into writing it. We're great observers of human behavior, in fact, I think we observe others quietly from the shadows almost as much as we write. We pay attention to the news and what's going on in the world around us. Then we squash it all together to make putty that fills in some of the gaps of a given character's personality or motivation or to set the backdrop of a story.

Very well put. I always say we are the sum of all of our experiences. Do you set daily writing goals? Word count? Number of chapters? Do you get a chance to write every day?

Absolutely not, I found that was the quickest way to become discouraged. This isn't a sprint it's a marathon and there's no prize for getting to The End first. I write every day from 2:15pm to about 4:30pm, which is when my husband comes home from work. Once he arrives home, it's Us Time and all writing is put away for the night. On the weekends, anything goes and you can often find me at my desk still in my PJs at 4 in the afternoon.

What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

A good story and not much more than that, I hope they come away feeling satisfied and as though they got their money's worth. I hope it brings them some joy or provides a distraction for them.

What long-term plans do you have for your career?

Just to keep going and keep doing what I do. I'm not interested in making a heap of money from my writing, I just hope to keep doing it until the day I die.

What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

I wish I had some magickal advice on that one, but in the end, I guess I'd say; just don't give up and don't quit your day job. Chances are you will not make a million dollars 'overnight' with your book so if that's your goal you may be in the wrong business. If what you want is to tell a good story and have your voice be heard then keep plugging along, eventually you'll find your audience.

Share a fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you.

I get up around 2am to eat a bowl of cereal and can't sleep without a fan going.

Share something about you that would surprise or shock readers.

I've done everything I've ever written about in my more adult oriented novels…all of it. After all, writers write what they know.

Is your book a series?

Sins of the Father is book #2 in the Sister Christian series of family dramas. When completed later this year the series will contain 4 novels. Genesis is the first book in the series and Mysterious Ways is the third.

How about an excerpt?

The last box was a bit of rummage sale it had several old framed family photographs and many nick-knacks wrapped in tissue paper from small finely cut crystal vases to colorful bowls and cups of blue and iridescent Carnival Glass. Hannah unwrapped as though it were Christmas Morning and told him of how their mother liked to collect glassware. Often they went to antique shops on Sundays to see what they could find, just the two of them, they would get hamburgers and ice cream at David's Roadside on the way home.

Lovingly and excitedly, she told him the story behind each and every piece as she gazed upon it with gleaming eyes, turned it over in her hands several times, and finally placed it gingerly atop of the piano. Including the story of the rather magnificent black porcelain horse tucked in with the other treasures. Her mother gave it to her the day they got Hannah's new pony, Ares.

Hannah reminded Mason of the day when the two of them took Ares and her mother's horse, Daisy, from the stables and rode through the woods for the day. Mason had forgotten all about it but as she spoke bits and pieces of the day came back to him. He couldn't recall why they were alone, why he wasn't hanging with some of the guys and how they'd gotten together that day. But, being a Summer Kid, one made alliances and took friendships where one could get them. Mason was no different.

As he remembered, it had been a very good day. Full of sunshine and wide blue skies. Looking back now it was so obvious that Hannah knew he was her brother, the way she looked at him, smiled for him, talked to him. Once or twice even Mason wondered if little Hannah Rice had a crush on him but that wasn't quite it. The adoration shining so brightly in her eyes wasn't the glow of a crush but richer kind, the kind that a little sister held for her big brother. Again, he wished he'd known, wished someone had told him.

"Where's the Ren-oir?"

Mason was startled out of his daze, "The what?"

"The pain-t-ing. The Ren-oir?"

"Are you pulling my leg?"

Hannah frowned and shook her head even though it hurt, "No."

Mason sprang off the desk and yanked the printed inventory from it. Three pages in there it was; Box #98 Renoir Original. "Well, let's get that."

Hannah smiled, she loved the painting but, like the hutch, it was very large and she was uncertain whether or not Rick had a big enough bit of wall space for it.

Tossing the inventory on the table he sat next to her, "Here, I'll read, and you pick three more boxes."

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about you?

My life is quite literally an open book, anything you want to know about me, just ask me. Other than that you're welcome to walk into my particular brand of insanity by visiting my blog http://lbdarling.wordpress.com Warning: I don't hold back in my blog.

SINS OF THE FATHER Blurb:

As Hannah recovers from emergency brain and heart surgery, memories of the past overtake her dreams with such clarity they cannot be denied. As the last of the painful family secrets come to light it's up to her brother, Doctor Richard Mason, and his unconventional methods to help her confront the ugliness.

SINS OF THE FATHER Excerpt:

Running a hand over the side of his close-cropped gray head Frank tried to keep his cool as he pled his case, "Look, I just want to see Hannah, are you going to let me in there or not?"

Mason seemed to think about it for a second even though he really wasn't. "Ummm…not." He said finally. "She doesn't want to see you."

"She told you that? I don't believe it."

"Well, you could go and ask herself…oh, wait, that's right…you can't go in there. Guess you'll just have to take my word for it."

"Yeah, like that's worth anything."

"Some people think it is." Mason retorted as he held out his cupped hands, "Some people put their lives right here. Crazy, right?" From the look on the man's face Mason thought he'd stand there and bitch all day long. "While you're waiting for noon to come around, why don't you do Hannah a favor?"

"What's that?"

"Tell me about the two years between her accident and the birth of my pre-maturely deceased nephew." He watched Frank's mouth drop open. "Take a load off." Mason said and gestured toward the chair opposite his desk. "In fact, why don't you just tell me everything you know?"

"She told you about Little Ricky?" Frank asked as he leaned forward but the question was more directed to the air than anyone in the room. "She's never spoken about him…ever."

Purchase Links:

Kindle/Amazon (paperbacks available on Amazon)

http://amazon.com/author/lisadarling

Nook

http://barnesandnoble.com/c/lisa-beth-darling

iBooks

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/lisa-beth-darling/id411650358?mt=11

Smashwords

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/lisadarling

Lisa Beth Darling, Author

It was in the 4th grade when Lisa Beth Darling discovered she was a naturally gifted writer. For her very first creative writing assignment, the teacher asked the class to pen a story about a baby bird's first flight and read them to the class. Putting pencil to paper, Lisa was instantly whisked away by a force she couldn't explain. When they were finished, all of the children read their happy stories to the class. Not Lisa. She got up and told of how the baby bird flew too high, hit a plane, crashed to the ground and died. She told of how the mama bird and daddy bird cried of how even God was upset sending the rains pouring from the sky. The class was speechless when she finished all they could do was stare at her. The teacher kept her after class told her the story was very good but it was different from the others. She asked Lisa if she'd ever heard of Icarus and had she based her story on him. Lisa had yet to encounter Greek Mythology or hear a whisper of Icarus. As Lisa left the classroom the teacher again told her how good the story was but suggested she might want to write something happier next time. Perplexed, Lisa turned and asked her teacher: "Why?" The teacher had no answer. Luckily for us, Lisa never took that teacher's advice.

Today she brings us complex multi-layered stories rich with the trials and tribulations that make up the world in which we live. Not one to be pigeonholed into any single genre, Lisa's stories revolve around the intricacies of couples from range the intimacy of lovers, to mothers and sons, and brothers and sisters.

Lisa Beth Darling lives in her hometown of New London, CT with her husband of nearly 30 years, Roy. She is the author of more than fifteen novels along with several short stories and non-fiction books.

Author web links: (web, blog, twitter, facebook, goodreads, etc)

Website: http://www.lisabethdarling.com

Blog: http://lbdarling.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lb_darling

Facebook: http://facebook.com/lbdarling

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1577311.Lisa_Beth_Darling