Book of the Week: The Truth About Delilah Blue & An Author Interview

This week, in addition to the usual book review, I'm very excited to be hosting author Tish Cohen on the blog tour for her new book, the wonderfully written The Truth About Delilah Blue. The eponymous heroine of Cohen's novel is an aspiring L.A. artist, originally from Toronto. Delilah moved to the States with her father when she was just a child, after being told that her mother no longer wanted to be part of her life. Growing up without a mother is hard for any child, but being told your mother no longer wants you (when of all things in this world a mother's love is supposed to be sacrosanct and unconditional) does something to a young character.

Today Delilah is vulnerable and slightly broken, wanting to be a famous artist to catch her mother's eye, but ripping up every piece of art she produces. To compound Delilah's problems her father has begun to act strange--getting confused and acting forgetful--and also refuses to bankroll art school, forcing her to drop trou (or robe, as the case may be) as a classroom model in hopes of soaking up some knowledge while she poses. When Delilah's mother reappears with an explosive secret the young woman's world gets turned upside down as she struggles to figure out who, if anyone, she can trust.

I enjoyed this novel and I found Delilah to be a charming heroine. She is flawed, but tries her best to be fair and loving to those around her. The parents in this story, Victor and Elisabeth, were a little harder to swallow and I found that I had more sympathy for the former. I think it goes to Cohen's credit, however, that she didn't choose to cast her characters as good-guy, bad-guy types, and didn't make the issues dealt with in the book so black-and-white either, showing that in people and in life there are always shades of grey. I also liked the way Delilah's budding romance was handled--not as the centre of her universe, but as a relationship that helped her grow and realize things about herself.

After reading The Truth About Delilah Blue I was so excited to have the opportunity to ask the author some questions about her writing, the film adaptations of her books and what is next on her schedule. Read on for my Q and A with Tish Cohen:


I understand that the seed for this story came from your father needing care after back surgery, so while it’s clear the plot is not exactly autobiographical did you pull anything from your own childhood to add to the story?

My own father owned a Datsun 240Z, a sporty hatchback with no backseats, when I was young, so that particular car factored into my existence in a big way. There were four kids in my family, so when we went out to dinner and took Dad’s car, our parents sat in front and we lined ourselves up on our backs in the hatch area like little pieces of chalk. The whole way to the restaurant, when we weren’t pinching each other or jostling for more space, we would stare up at the sky and watch the streetlights pass. Punch buggy was more about spying seagulls or red lights than about Volkswagen Beetles.



I thought you did a wonderful job capturing the viewpoint of the young in this book—both with Delilah and Kieran—as well as approaching the central issue of the story from the viewpoints of both parents and Lila herself. How do you get yourself in the frame of mind to be able to write the same story from different perspectives and keep it authentic?

Thanks, Connie. It is always a matter of living through the story within the life of each character. It was important to me to examine how parental abduction alters the non-abducted children in a family, which brought the young stepsister into the story. With Victor, I researched Alzheimer’s and imagined how terrifying it would be to realize your mental faculties are no longer where you left them.



Do you think being a mother yourself changes the way you approach a story of this nature and how you feel about the characters—especially the parents Victor and Elisabeth?

I do. As a parent, having made many mistakes myself, I am very aware that mothers and fathers are mostly doing the best they can with what they have to work with. No parent is wholly good or wholly bad and most lived through a somewhat imperfect childhood themselves, so it was important to me to reflect this in the story.



I always enjoy it when I can see my hometown in print, was including Toronto in the story important for you and how do you choose where to set your stories?

In my work, the book always determines where the story is set. Town House had to be set in a city with history, where four-storey, centuries-old townhomes can be found in abundance: hence, Boston. Inside Out Girl required a property on the side of an eroding property beside a river; I chose the Hudson River Valley. The Truth About Delilah Blue demanded two different countries. Luckily, I’d lived in Toronto and California, so these places felt natural for me to write about.



The movie rights for your first novel, Town House, were purchased by Fox Studios. How is that project coming along and when writing a new novel do you ever wonder how it will translate to the silver screen and does this affect what or how you write?

Town House is on track for filming next February with Zach Galifiniakis and Amy Adams as lead stars. Also, Inside Out Girl is moving forward in terms of film development; our script is polished and ready to go out to actresses. Since Town House sold for film, I definitely think about whether a book will or will not work for film, but I don’t think my writing or my process has changed in that regard. More likely, any suitability for film that my books may have might come from the way I watch a scene unravel the night before I write it.



What can we expect next from Tish Cohen?

I have just finished my next adult book, and am revising a new teen novel that should be out next year!



Thanks Trish for stopping by and taking the time to answer some questions!




Browse Inside The Truth About Delilah Blue

Links to next blog tour spots can be found here

Book of the Week: 13 to Life & An Author Interview

This week we're changing it up a bit. On hold is the usual Book of the Week review, in its place I'm very happy to feature an interview with Shannon Delany, the author of the new book 13 to Life, and a snippet of the novel for you to read. The cool thing about this novel--which is slated to become a series with the second and third books already on their way--is that it began life as a serial textnovel. The whole idea of the textnovel was intriguing to me as it seems to harken back to the serials written by authors like Dickens and Henry James. I was also very interested in the process Delany went through, transforming her serial into a full-length book. Here is a rundown of the plot from the publisher:

"Something strange is stalking the small town of Junction…

When junior Jess Gillmansen gets called out of class by Guidance, she can only presume it’s for one of two reasons. Either they’ve finally figured out who wrote the scathing anti-jock editorial in the school newspaper or they’re hosting yet another intervention for her about her mom. Although far from expecting it, she’s relieved to discover Guidance just wants her to show a new student around—but he comes with issues of his own including a police escort.

The newest member of Junction High, Pietr Rusakova has secrets to hide--secrets that will bring big trouble to the small town of Junction—secrets including dramatic changes he’s undergoing that will surely end his life early."

Intrigued? So was I. Read on to find out what else Shannon Delany has to say about her novel, her characters and her creative process:



I'm always interested in the inspiration of artists, where did the idea for 13 to Life come from?

It all started with the random phrase “thirteen to life” which was rolling around in my head for no good reason and the fact I was tired of seeing so many vampire novels (unlike my main character, Jess) and was wondering why there weren’t more werewolves. That was back in late 2008.


Did you find the process of converting your textnovel into a printed novel series difficult?

No, by the time I was done with the textnovel.com version, I knew where the characters wanted to go and had ideas about other characters and subplots to make it all work. The hardest part was just finding the time to get the full manuscript created.


What are some of the differences between writing a text novel and a traditional book?

A textnovel tends to have (in my opinion) a more sparse writing style or an “economy of language.” With every entry (and I did two “chapters” a day most days) you have to focus on making it very memorable and completely clear—people read an entry then go back to work for another six or eight hours before they can return for another brief section. It’s easy to forget what was going on if you’re reading a serial in a true textnovel serial format. I also had to remember to create a little cliffhanger for each “chapter” to encourage readers along. Writing that way makes you micromanage your words (especially if you’re naturally verbose, like me).


Does main character Jess Gillmansen have any similarities to you at that age?

Bless her heart, yes. She’s opinionated, a bit snarky, loves horses, edits the school newspaper and has been a competitive shooter.


How do you think 13 to Life sets itself apart from the vampire and werewolf novels that have risen in popularity lately?

I’m told pretty often that people like my new take on werewolves. Although I wrote the serial version very organically (it sort of grew on its own) I did a lot of research. I delved into science, “fringe science,” history, legends and lore. I don’t throw all that info out at readers at once (because I don’t like that in books I read) but let readers discover things as Jess discovers them. And much of the research we authors do never shows up in the books directly but just helps build the world. I think another difference is the way the series is told to readers. Jess has a distinct voice. She’s self-involved and self-critical and it takes her a while to pull her head out of her own troubles and see what’s going on with others. Although Jess is very involved in the action and drama, she’s a lens we view the action and drama through. Her opinion, her doubts and fears color everything she perceives (and everything we know and learn) in the story.


What can we expect from you next?

At this point, my 13 to Life trilogy (at least my part in writing the manuscripts) is nearly wrapped up. Book 2 will be released in February 2011 and Book 3 will follow about six months later. Now I’m playing with brand new characters, new settings and new trouble. Every day’s a new adventure when you’re creating worlds and the characters that populate them!


What would you like others to know about your novel?

13 to Life is designed to be read at different levels. Most readers can (and do) zip right through it in a day or two enjoying the tangled teen relationships, action and danger. Others read it and realize later they’re asking themselves the same (or very similar) questions about love, friendship and Shakespeare that Jess and Pietr are exploring. And others will get the importance of the names and start subconsciously lining things up for the second book. And any way you read it is fine—we all bring different things to our reading and we all should leave with a slightly different experience after reading.


Thank you Shannon for taking the time to talk with me and sharing your experiences in writing 13 to Life.  Additional Links: 13 to Life Blog, Where to Buy.

In anticipation of the debut release of 13 to Life, Shannon Delany has created a unique blog tour she calls Start Your Day with Serial. Each day of the tour a new blog will feature an excerpt from the novel and today is my turn. Visit the link below if you would like to get caught up on the previous installments before reading today's snippet located below.

Welcome to Shannon Delany's Start Your Day with Serial Tour! Shannon's debut novel (and first in her YA paranormal series) 13 to Life started as a winning cell phone novel written in serial segments. During the tour you can read bits of the book in order. Miss a day? Hop to Shannon's blog http://13toLife.us/blog and check the link to the blog tour calendar in her sidebar.

{Start Your Day with Serial}

13 to Life: Chapter 4, Part H (used with the author’s permission)

He wrote: Fearing the Forest. “Man has always tried to tame the wilderness. We timber ancient forests, we strip mine… We have an instinctual fear of wild places and wild beasts, so we have historically tamed them so we feel more in control. This primitive fear impacts how we live and how we react in strange situations.”





Shannon's debut novel, 13 to Life, hit stores just 7 short days ago and is the beginning of a new YA paranormal series from St. Martin's Press. Find out more about Shannon and her series at http://ShannonDelany.com and http://13toLife.us/blog or follow Shannon on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/Shannon_Delany.