What Happened in Granite Creek

Reading Guide for What Happened in Granite Creek

Whew! Hard to believe it’s almost been a month since I officially launched What Happened in Granite Creek. It’s been such a fun ride so far!

I’ve been getting requests for a reading guide, so here it is. Opening this link will open a PDF on your computer. Warning, though: this guide is meant to be read AFTER you’ve finished WHIGC. Spoilers are contained within. Consider yourself warned!

As for the guide, I think it will work well as a starting point for book clubs. Aaand I’m happy to pop into your book club as well (in person if you’re local or via Skype). I don’t attend the full meeting (I find it’s much easier for members to tear a book apart without the author sitting right there), but I’m happy to join you halfway or three quarters of the way through when y’all have had a chance to discuss and tear and debate and are ready to ask the author some questions.

If you’re interested, just let me know. (Ditto with my other novel, Forgotten April.)

Thanks, as always, for your continued support!

xoxo

What Happened in Granite Creek

Shout Out to Hodgie’s and Markey’s

So far, almost all of my published stuff is based in New England. My short stories “Orange Pineapple” and “Crush” are set on Cape Cod. Forgotten April is set outside of Boston. And then, there’s What Happened in Granite Creek.

Granite Creek is a fictional town in New Hampshire, but some of the places I mention in the novel are very real and dear to me, including two places in particular:

Hodgie’s Ice Cream, which is in Amesbury, Mass., and home of the BEST ice cream I’ve ever had.
Markey’s Lobster Pool, which is located on RT 286 in Seabrook, New Hampshire, as you head towards the beach. It’s a place I’ve frequented since I was a kid, and a place where I enjoyed eating fish and chips and steamers with my mom and grandmother and feeding French fries to the sea gulls that flocked on the outside balcony (something that’s no longer allowed now, though it was common practice back in the day when I was 10 in 1983).

I like including as much “real” local flavor as possible since setting is critical to most stories, often playing a character in its own right. By including real places, I make it that much more enjoyable and relatable to readers who’ve been there or who have been to some place similar. Plus, real places are easier to describe. If I were to tell you about Markey’s Lobster Pool, I wouldn’t need to fake it and make stuff up…I’d simply dial up my memory, or, even better, go on a road trip for “research.” 🙂

How ’bout you? Can you think of books you’ve read where the location played a critical role…and were you happy to learn some of it was real? Share in the comments.

A Rose by Any Other Name Wiggles

I put a lot of thought into my characters’ names, as I imagine most writers do.

I’m particularly interested in a name’s meaning, both subtle meanings — like a name’s origins — and more obvious meanings. To wit: in one of my short stories, “Orange Pineapple,” one of the main characters has low self-esteem and is down on his luck; I named him “Les.” The Lolita-like character in the same story is named “Candy.”

But back to What Happened in Granite Creek. In the original version of the short story, “Support Our Troops,” (upon which the novel is based), the quadruple amputee who lost his limbs while serving in Iraq was named Jamie Wigglesworth.

Why Wigglesworth? A few years ago, I met a 100-year-old woman in a nursing home whose last name was Wigglesworth, and I always liked it. It was memorable, and it seemed like a good old-fashioned Yankee name. Oh, but my beta readers hated it.

HATED.

IT.

But why?

The main reason was the fact the character is a quad amputee, with four missing limbs. Since the word “wiggles” was part of the last name, some of my beta readers thought it was in poor taste, like a bad joke. Others thought it was distracting. Still other just thought the name was too weird. I could see their point.

So off I went, researching Yankee surnames, since Jamie’s family has deep roots in the small fictional New Hampshire town of Granite Creek. The name I settled on was “Briggs” — the origins of the name relates to the characters, particularly Barbara Briggs (I’m not going to give it away here, but if you’ve read the book and want to know the origin of the name, look here). I love placing these hidden Easter eggs in my books; I hope it makes for a richer reading experience. At the same time, this particular little egg won’t hurt the readers who don’t have any knowledge of the name’s origins.

As for first names, Koty’s name was always Koty, short for Dakota, which reflects where she was born. When I did some research into that name, I thought it was cool that the name means “friend,” since Koty is in desperate need of a friend, especially in the beginning. Wayne was always Wayne…it just came across as a strong name (it actually means wagon maker).

As for Jamie, I wanted a male name that isn’t too common, but also a name that could be either gender, since Jamie’s mother had a hard time having a baby, and I could see her wanting a name that could work either way. (I went back and forth on the spelling; there’s a character named Jamie in the movie Love, Actually, and writers spelled it J-A-M-I-E, which was good enough for me. Yep, it’s the English spelling.)

Koty’s daughters are all named after flowers, something I could see a young idealistic Koty opting for as a way to make a tough situation a little easier. (The original short story also had a “Lily” who didn’t make it into the full blown novel, poor kid.)

As a reader, how much do you pay attention to characters’ names? Do you have any favorites? Any least favorites (or names that you encountered that affected your reading of the story). Share in the comments.

What Happened in Granite Creek

Writing What You Don’t Know

The best compliment I’ve received about What Happened in Granite Creek is this: “you write as if you were a mother yourself.”

I’ve received this compliment from a number of people, and not just with this book, but also Forgotten April and some of my short stories, most notably “Crush” and “A Touch of Charlotte.” One person went so far as to ask, “Are you sure you’re not hiding some kids in your apartment?”

I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. I’m deeply grateful and humbled and appreciative of those who’ve taken the time to share these kind and generous words with me.

When it comes to writing, the prevailing wisdom is to write what you know. And I absolutely agree with this because we writers need to start somewhere. But I think most writers go beyond this adage: we write what we’re curious about. We write what angers us. We write what scares us. So, in essence, a lot of what we write is about things we don’t know or don’t have first-hand experience in…but it’s stuff we take the time to research or to learn about.

I’m the youngest of six, and I have thirteen nieces and nephews (ranging in ages from five to 31), so I’ve been able to witness a lot of mothering first-hand. My own mom helped take care of one of my nephews, Dylan, from the time he was two months old. I was in my early twenties and still living at home, so I was around Dylan a lot when he was a baby and toddler: I changed his diaper (not often, mind you, but I did it), and I have a vivid memory of taking care of him when he was sick (because my mother was as well) and having him puke all over me. THIS IS NO WAY COMPARES TO BEING A FULL-TIME PARENT. I’M NOT SUGGESTING THAT FOR EVEN A MOMENT.

What I am saying is that I’ve been around a lot of moms and kids all my life. And, of course, I’m at the age (38) where most of my friends have kids (I was my best friend’s birthing coach and was one of the first to hold her newborn son). I listen and ~~steal~~ borrow from my family and friends all the time as they share tidbits about motherhood. I hoard these tidbits and take them out when I’m dealing with a mom character. Whatever I’m unsure about, I ask about. It’s as simple as that.

Again, this is nothing new. Writers have been doing this since the beginning of time. One of my favorite stories is from Stephen King’s book On Writing where he talks about how when he was drafting Carrie, he decided it stunk and threw it out. His wife, Tabitha, saw the balled up paper in the trash, read it, and told him that she thought he was onto something. King asked her how he could possibly write from a high school girl’s perspective, and Tabitha said she could help him with that stuff. Carrie, of course, was King’s first published novel, and it launched his incredible career.

Another book that comes to mind: She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb. It’s one of those books that when you’re reading it, you keep turning to the back cover to look at the author’s picture because you’re convinced a guy couldn’t have written it (the story is from a young girl’s perspective). Ditto Room by Emma Donoghue (who writes from a five-year-old’s perspective, and not any five-year-old, but one who was born into captivity in a backyard shed and who has no working knowledge of the outside world).

Can you think of other books that surprised you in this way? Share in the comments.

Creative Writing, What Happened in Granite Creek

I’ve Had the Time of My Life

What Happened in Granite Creek (WHIGC) plays with time. Part one alternates between “present day” (the fall of 2008) and the past, which starts in March 1995 and goes through November 2007. Part two takes place six years into the future (from the “present day”), so 2014.

I was inspired by The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I found it to be an incredible story, but as a writer, I was awed by the craft aspect. I can’t even imagine what Niffenegger went through to keep that timeline straight. Now, I realize Niffenegger’s book is about time travel. So the going-back-in-time-in-certain-chapters structure actually makes sense, but still.

Anyhow, while I was reading her book, I’d just started to seriously draft WHIGC. My novel felt right in first person, present tense, but I also knew I needed to weave in a lot of back story since two of my main characters — Koty and Wayne — had been married for twelve years and the landscape of this marriage — all its hills and valleys and craters — were important to the story and to the characters. I didn’t want to get mired in flashbacks. Unsure of what to do, I just decided to write the scene when Koty and Wayne first meet. I wrote it in first person, present tense and realized it worked. Well, why not keep it? I thought. I can play with time. As long as I make it clear to my readers, it should work. (Jodi Picoult, one of my faves, also uses this structure in some of her books — My Sister’s Keeper comes to mind).

One of my beta readers asked if I thought this “looping timeline” would become a signature of my work. I don’t think so. My first novel, Forgotten April, went in chronological order (although there were plenty of flashbacks). My third novel, which I’m working on now, is moving forward (so far).

But I did have fun playing with time in WHIGC.

What books have you read that play with time? Do you like it, or does it feel like cheating to you (I won’t take offense — I know not everyone will like the style)? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Remember, if you tweet this post, use the hashtag #WHIGC.

Creative Writing, What Happened in Granite Creek

From Short Story to Novel

What Happened in Granite Creek evolved from my short story “Support Our Troops,” which I wrote in November 2007. I always knew the short story wanted to be a novel and even scribbled a climactic scene when I was drafting the short story, holding it in my “Extras” folder, knowing I’d come back to it eventually.

The people in my writers’ group, the Nobscot Niblets, were the first folks to read the short story. Reaction was mixed: people either loved it or hated it. The lovers made me feel good, but the haters were some of the members whose opinions I respected most, and I took their comments to heart.

One member felt the story was a bit cliché, and he was right since I’d originally set it in the south with every stereotypical thing you could attach to a southern family. Another member hated—and I mean HATED—the story, mainly because she couldn’t understand why Koty would stay in such a miserable situation. This same member also hated (rightfully so) Koty’s husband, because he was hateful…a total flat character. A person is never all good or all bad, but you wouldn’t know it by the way I’d written Wayne four years ago.

I revised and revised, believing in the story in a way I’d never believed before. Life got in the way for a while. In May 2008, I was moving and finishing up my grad school thesis – I included “Support Our Troops” in it, having worked on it under the gaze of my wonderful faculty advisor, the writer Leah Hager Cohen.

After that, I sent the story out to some literary journals and received some rejections and a few encouraging notes. I shared the story with a friend, Stacy, who sat me down and reminded me that the story was not done, that I had to finish it. She was right, and I knew it, but I didn’t have a clue how to go about completing it. This was the summer of 2008.

Finally, in the spring of 2009, the story was accepted by the editors at FictionWeekly.com. The editors wanted to know if I’d be willing to do some trimming – they felt the story began around page 6, and they wondered if I could condense some of the details and weave them in elsewhere. They were absolutely correct, to the point where I felt many of the details weren’t even necessary. I literally lopped off six pages and started the story without doing too much backtracking or re-weaving.

The short story was published in June 2009. The reaction I got from readers reminded me—once again—that the story needed to go longer. People wanted to know what happened with Koty and Jamie. So that summer, I sat down and tackled it, having a hazy idea of where the story was going, but not the first clue how to get there.

When you meet two of the main characters in the short story and novel – Koty and her husband, Wayne – they’ve been married for 12 years. It’s an unhappy marriage, but that characterization is unfair, I think, since what marriage is ever entirely happy or entirely sad? It’s usually a combination of both, and I knew it was important to show the full landscape, not simply one close-up shot. Wayne and Koty had a history, and not all of it was bad—parts of it were happy, normal even, and I wanted to show this without getting weighed down in clunky flashbacks.

At the same time I was figuring this out, I was reading The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, which is a book I love because of the story, but also because of the crafting behind it, specifically how the author handles time. Her book inspired me to play with time in the draft of the novel. This was extremely liberating — it gave me the freedom to show scenes from the past by alternating my timeline between chapters: one thread runs in chronological order from September 2008 to December 2008 (in Part I) while the second thread runs in chronological order from 1995 to 2007 (again in Part 1). Part II then jumps ahead six years and takes the reader from March 2014 to May 2014.

Once I figured out the structure, the writing went smoothly — easily, actually. I finished the first draft in the spring of 2010. I did a little work here and there through July 2010. Then, I didn’t touch it again until March 2011, which was when I revised and took a hard look at everything. It went off to my beta readers in June 2011. With their feedback, I revised the final draft in July and August 2011 and fit in some last-minute research that came about in an unexpected manner (more on this in another post). And here we are today with the final version: from “Support Our Troops” to What Happened in Granite Creek.

My hope is the story and characters are real in each reader’s mind. No cardboard characters, no clichés, plenty of surprises, but all grounded in a nitty-gritty reality. That’s my hope, anyway, but, of course, I leave the final assessment up to you, the reader.

Read on!

Twitter hashtag: #WHIGC

eBooks, What Happened in Granite Creek

“What Happened in Granite Creek” is Here!

I’m happy to announce the official launch of my second novel, What Happened in Granite Creek. It’s available on Kindle and Nook. Soon to be available on iPad and in paperback. If you have another e-reader, you can buy the ePub file from Lulu and side load it to your device.

Here’s the product description:

When Koty Fowler’s husband volunteers her to visit Jamie, a quadruple amputee who lost his limbs in Iraq, neither Koty nor Jamie is happy. Jamie resents being “babysat” every day. Koty resents her lot in life: almost 30, mother of three, and trapped in an unhappy marriage in Granite Creek, a small New Hampshire town. But when Koty and Jamie come together in a sexually-charged situation, everything changes.

While Koty continues to explore her relationship with Jamie, her life at home spirals out of control: her sometimes-abusive husband drinks too much, and her middle daughter is on a destructive path, skipping school and getting into fights, while Koty’s other two girls are left to watch.

What happens next, however, leaves everyone reeling, and the Fowler family must learn how to move forward, even as they struggle to understand what happened in their own backyard.

Told in multiple viewpoints and spanning across nearly two decades, What Happened in Granite Creek brings readers on a journey of intrigue and unexpected twists while reminding us that nothing is ever what it seems.

I’m incredibly excited about this book, which evolved from my short story “Support Our Troops.” I’ll be spending the next two months devoting these blog posts to all things related to What Happened in Granite Creek, including how it evolved from a short story to a novel, the soundtrack that inspired me along the way, some in-depth discussions about the characters (which will likely contain some spoilers, so I’ll be saving those posts for December so I can give readers a fighting chance to keep up).

Also, in celebration of this book’s birth, I’ve registered this hash tag for Twitter: #WHIGC. If you tweet about this book or retweet any of my blog posts or whatever, I’d love for you to include the #WHIGC tag. Let’s get people talking…and curious about the book!

As always, I love hearing from my readers, so don’t hesitate to connect with me here, on Facebook, Twitter, or via email at robyn@robynbradley.com. I’m doing book club visits – local and in person before Christmas – and via Skype for however long people want. (I’ll pick up with in-person visits again in April 2012.)

Thanks for your continued support!

Oh, and here’s the official trailer:

What Happened in Granite Creek

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Just a quickie to let you know that I’m making my list and checking it twice for all the final things I got going on for the official launch of What Happened in Granite Creek (#WHIGC), which is happening ~~this Saturday~~ Saturday, October 22 (long story).

Regarding this here blog, I’ll be devoting the next two months to topics related to #WHIGC, including how I transitioned from short story to the novel, how I named characters, 10 things I think I think about Wayne and Jamie (two of the main characters), and much more. I hope you’ll join me and help spread the word.

Oh, and I’m taking requests, so if there are any topics or questions you have once you’ve read the book, email me at robyn@robynbradley.com or tweet or leave a message on my Facebook wall.

Thanks, as always, for your continued support!

xoxo

Contests, What Happened in Granite Creek

Hash Tag Alert: #WHIGC

For those of you on Twitter, I’d love for you to help me spread the word about my new novel, What Happened in Granite Creek, which is coming out in less than a month.

I’ve registered a hash tag for the novel on Twitter: #WHIGC

Any time you mention it, I’d love for you to include the hash tag.

Ready to get started? I posted a contest on Tuesday, asking people to come up with the craziest thing that they think happened in Granite Creek, the fictional town in my book (and the crazier the comment, the better).

For every legit comment I get, I’m donating $2 to Smile Train (the “2” representing my second novel), AND the craziest, most inventive comment will receive his or her choice of an eBook or signed paperback of What Happened in Granite Creek plus a $50 gift certificate to Amazon or B&N.com. Details here.

I’d love for you to tweet the following (just copy and paste into Twitter – it’s fewer than 140 characters): What do YOU think happened in Granite Creek? Share the crazy here & help Smile Train while you’re at it: http://bit.ly/n9fRqP #WHIGC

Thanks, everyone. And remember, you’ll be able to find out what REALLY happened in Granite Creek in October.

Read on! 🙂

NOTE: I originally had #WHIG-C as the hash (and have it registered as well), but after using it on Twitter the other day, I learned that Twitter doesn’t recognize the hyphen. So the hyphenless #WHIGC is what I’m using now.

Contests, What Happened in Granite Creek

What do YOU think happened in Granite Creek?

Oh, it’s time for some fun! And giveaways! And crazy! Because, let’s face it: we all love a little crazy sometimes, right?

Right?!?

I’m all sorts of excited for my new novel, What Happened in Granite Creek, which comes out in less than a month.

To celebrate the pre-launch, I’m holding a happy little contest on this here blog…and helping out one of my favorite charities, Smile Train, while I’m at it.

Help me celebrate, won’t you?

Here’s how to play:

What do YOU think happened in Granite Creek, my fictional town in New Hampshire? I want crazy, outlandish comments, people! Maybe aliens landed. Maybe Dick Cheney penned his memoir there. Maybe aliens took over Dick Cheney’s body while in Granite Creek and turned him into…wait for it…Michele Bachmann! Let your imagination run wild, have some fun, keep it PG-13,and leave what you think happened in Granite Creek in the comments below.

Then what?

For every legitimate comment I get (no spam links, thanks), I’ll donate $2 (in honor of this being my second novel) to Smile Train (up to $500, which would cover TWO surgeries — I’d be psyched to get 250 legit comments, so have it and spread the word!).

On or about October 4, I’ll choose the most inventive comment and declare a winner. The winner will receive his or her choice of:

An ePub or Mobi file of What Happened in Granite Creek OR a signed paperback

AND a $50 electronic gift certificate to either Amazon.com or B&N.com

And then, I’ll tally up the comments and make my donation to Smile Train! Win all around!

Terms and stuff:

Anyone 13 or older can enter.

Winner must have a valid email address (which should be included with your comment) in order to receive the e-gift certificate to Amazon.com or B&N.com and the electronic file of the book. If winner opts for paperback, he or she must also provide a valid snail mail address.

Entries are being accepted now (approximately 7:00 AM EDT on 9/27/11) through midnight on 10/3/11.

Winner will be announced on, around, or in the same century as 10/4/11.

You can enter up to three (3) times (by leaving three different comments, which also counts as $6 for Smile Train!).

Void where prohibited.

My family may enter, but anyone with the last name “Bradley” (who is legitimately related to me) will be ineligible to receive the grand prize; however, your comment will count toward the money raised for Smile Train.

All decisions by the judge (me, me, me!) are final.

All entrants will receive an email newsletter from me (via Constant Contact) announcing the official launch of my book. But I won’t email you after that, unless you sign up for my newsletter on your own.

These rules, terms, and dates are subject to change at any time and for any reason without notice, because that’s what will happen should George Clooney drop his latest dancing babe and show up on my doorstep instead.

If the winner opts for the paperback, the wait might be a month or more, depending on when the paperback is finalized. The electronic file will likely be delivered right away, but this could change depending on tech issues. Ditto with the e-card for Amazon or B&N.com.

I’m not responsible for tech glitches, problems with submitting comments, computer issues, the national debt, Donald Trump’s hair, or any other issues remotely related to this contest.

What now?

Submit a comment below!

Tell people about it.

Here’s a tweet (copy and paste — it’s fewer than 140 characters as is): What do YOU think happened in Granite Creek? Share the crazy here & help Smile Train while you’re at it: http://bit.ly/n9fRqP #WHIGC

Here’s a Facebook status update (copy and paste): Help author Robyn Bradley raise money for Smile Train…and possibly win some fun swag while you’re at it. Leave a creative comment on her blog about what YOU think happened in Granite Creek, the fictional town in Robyn’s upcoming novel: http://www.robynbradley.com/what-do-you-think-happened-in-granite-creek

Have fun! And, as always, thanks so much for your support!

xoxo

Questions? Email me robyn@robynbradley.com

Reading Guide for What Happened in Granite Creek

Shout Out to Hodgie’s and Markey’s

A Rose by Any Other Name Wiggles

Writing What You Don’t Know

I’ve Had the Time of My Life

From Short Story to Novel

“What Happened in Granite Creek” is Here!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

What do YOU think happened in Granite Creek?

Here’s how to play:

Then what?

Terms and stuff:

What now?

Robyn Bradley, Writer

Novels & Short Stories

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