Newsletter May 18, 2020
Connecting Readers & Writers
during a pandemic
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Dear friends,
What in the world have we gotten ourselves into? That’s what I keep asking. Nine weeks into “staying put” has been an experience that has altered the way I work and cook and read and garden and generally live. A lot of things have grown in this time – some great, some not so great, and some awful. But one of those great things is FRIENDS AND FICTION.
One afternoon, at the beginning of stay-at-home, we all (Mary Kay Andrews, Mary Alice Monroe, Kristy Woodson Harvey, and Kristin Harmel) got together to say hello on Zoom. The next thing you know, we’d started this group that has turned into something wonderful and interesting and also fun. Please join us on Wednesday evenings! See below for details!
Friends and Fiction Facebook Group Virtual Meeting Join Five Bestselling Authors Celebrating Books and Independent Booksellers Virtually. For a limited time every Wednesday at 7 pm ET. Sign up now and join the group! We would love to see you and some "new faces."
What Else is Helping Me?
Poetry, daily poetry— I also restarted something I did over twenty years ago –The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, and it has been a daily touchstone. I try to be honest about how this pandemic is feeling, to be gentle with myself and others, and to have a sense of hope. A Book I've Read— Reading can be hard when our minds are filled with worry and existential dread and unknowing (oh, that’s just me? :)) But there are a few books that have captured my attention and kept it. May I recommend Writers and Lovers by Lilly King? It swept me away with both her language and her story; it doesn’t hurt that the main character is trying to write a novel during a time of upheaval and loss. It’s gorgeous. A Podcast I've Listened to— On Being seems to be my go-to lately and this episode hit the right notes at the right time: FINDING EASE IN ALONENESS. How fitting. How wonderful. How calming to listen to the truth in this podcast. A fantastic Blog Post I read— Odysseus and the mythical journey, and it hit me in just the right place. My friend, J. T. Ellison, sent it to me and she knew I’d love it (we all need friends like that).
What I have been working on?
A New Book—Although we can’t be together in real-time or space, I am thinking of you and working on next year’s book, Surviving Savannah. How could I have known that writing about how to survive tragedy and hardship would be so very prescient, how the human spirit and women, in particular, move toward life after tragedy? It’s astounding what we are living through right now, and who will we be when this ends? That’s a "now" question and a question I asked when writing this book. So much of this time has been so hard on all of us. One of my griefs has been not being on the road and seeing all of you. Interviews, Articles, Blogs, Events—I’ve done a few virtual events and will do more, and I’ve also written a few articles and blogs about Becoming Mrs. Lewis, as well as interviews. (see below)
Women, Writers, Women's Books Authors Interviewing Their Characters: Patti Callahan interviews her character, Joy Davidman in Becoming Mrs. Lewis PCH: Joy, tell me about the time you decided to write to C. S. Lewis. Your letter started an almost three-year pen-friendship that changed both your lives.
"It’s a delightful love story…" —lspectordc.com
Female First UK 8 Things I did to research my characters’ for BECOMING MRS. LEWIS by Author Patti Callahan Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis’s improbable love story is told in Joy’s voice in my novel Becoming Mrs. Lewis. So let’s take a ride through Joy’s voice and story!
“...this book, this historical fiction offers a plausible narrative for explaining how, late in his influential life, Lewis opened up himself (and his body) to a woman who had pursued him across oceans and years. I’m glad she did; and I’m glad she succeeded; and I’m glad Callahan put it on paper; and you will be glad when you also read this surprising and superlative story, a love story if ever there was one.” —The Meetinghouse
The Meeting House Dwight A. Moody, Host Radio Podcast Interview with Guest Patti Callahan For years I have appreciated the life and thought of C. S. Lewis; even taught a college class on the subject. So when this new book came out I reviewed "Becoming Mrs. Lewis”. This week on Meetinghouse Radio, I interview the author, Patti Callahan.
The San Diego Union Tribune In “Becoming Mrs. Lewis,” best-selling author Patti Callahan Henry explores the turbulent life of Joy Davidman, wife of renowned writer C.S. Lewis.
"Becoming Mrs. Lewis was meant to be read while sipping a London Fog Latte — simply grab some strong Earl Grey tea, add a hint of lavender and steamed milk — and prepare yourself for a thoroughly American-meets-British experience." —Perfect Pairings
Frolic Media Perfect Pairings: Books & Coffee Orders by Katherine Reay Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan & London Fog Latte The world knows C.S.Lewis. Now Callahan introduces us to the love-of-his life, his wife Joy Davidman. Read More
This novel explores their unlikely friendship through letters across an ocean and their even more improbable love story. You’ll love meeting Joy — and her strength, intellect, wit and perseverance make her a woman you’ll want to know better.
"We've all had such different experiences during this time, and I'd love to hear yours."
I hope all of you are well! Please be well. —Patti P.S. Check out the links below —my web page for the latest and upcoming events, Becoming Mrs. Lewis paperback and audiobook podcast collection details, and my new BookShop page.
Refer to my website page link (below) for more upcoming virtual events and hopefully more "live" events and appearances to come. Appearances and Events
Meet the Woman Beside C.S. Lewis New Expanded Edition Poet and novelist Joy Davidman once wrote in an essay, “What in the world would ever become of us if we should ever grow brave?” In this novel, we answer that question as we follow Joy on a decade long journey of transformation from a wife and mother in upstate New York to the beloved wife of C. S. Lewis. Buy the Book "Becoming Mrs. Lewis filled that knowledge void wonderfully. Davidman by all accounts was truly a brilliant and remarkable woman in her own right and a figure very much under appreciated.” —The Red Headed Traveler
If you do not feel like reading, check out the "Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis Podcast Collection."
About the Author & Podcast Host
Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of fifteen novels, including the (Historical Fiction), BECOMING MRS. LEWIS—The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis (writing as Patti Callahan). In addition, she is the recipient of The Christy Award—A 2019 Winner "Book of the Year”; The Harper Lee Distinguished Writer of the Year for 2020 and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year for 2019.
The author is also the host of the popular seven-part original "Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis Podcast Series" launched, October 2019. The podcast audiobook collection including bonus material was released on January 7, 2020, and available now. The new expanded BECOMING MRS. LEWIS paperback edition was released on March 24, 2020, and available now. In March of 2021, a new historical fiction novel based on the true story of the Steamship Pulaski wreck will be released. THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER (writing as Patti Callahan Henry—Southern Contemporary Fiction) was launched on June 4, 2019, and THE PERFECT LOVE SONG—A Christmas Holiday novella released October 8, 2019, and available now. A full-time author and mother of three children, she now resides in both Mountain Brook, Alabama and Bluffton, South Carolina with her husband.
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