I love when I discover a new author. One that I’ve never read before. One that I love instantly. Which is exactly what happened when I happened upon Christine Lemmon on Facebook. (Btw, Facebook is the greatest and easiest way to connect with your favorite authors!) I saw that she was running a fabulous contest (more on that in a minute) for her latest book, Sand in My Eyes. I became intrigued: who was this author who had already published three other books? Always excited by a chance to fall in love with yet another writer, I dove right into the novel that was a finalist in the Fiction Category of the 2010 National Indie Excellence Awards.
I LOVED the story of empty nester Anna Hott who, twenty years ago, tried desperately to stop her life from spinning out of control around her by quitting her job and moving her family to the peaceful Sanibel Island, Florida (where all of Lemmon’s novels take place). But despite the move across hundreds of miles, she wasn’t able to let go of her anger over her husband’s infidelity or leave her desire to write a novel behind her. And when her husband and children leave the house for a week, Anna’s life changes. She meets a wise elderly neighbor, Fedelina, and has a test of passions (yes, another man is involved) and truth. Now at age 56, Anna pulls out that unfinished manuscript to find closure for her life and a conclusion for her novel (I love that this is a novel within a novel) and travels to visit Fedelina to seek out more answers.
I especially connected with the theme of this book: women helping women overcome tough times. And I wanted to find out more about this author I was now crushing on! And lucky for me (and you!) she took time out of her busy schedule to answer some of my “hard-hitting” questions.
But first, let me tell you about the contest I mentioned earlier! Between today, July 12th, and July 16th when you order Sand in my Eyes, Christine is giving away some of the best beach books of summer!
Order Sand in my Eyes, from B&N now, email your receipt to christine@christinelemmon.com with the subject line Beach Bag Giveaway, and you’ll be entered to win a beach bag full of 7 fabulous new summer beach reads including Seven Year Switch by Claire Cook, The Island by Elin Hilderbrand, Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner, The One That I Want by Allison Winn Scotch, The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen, The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst, and Thin Rich Pretty by Beth Harbison.
Added bonus: She's throwing in a sweet pair of women’s Oakley sunglasses and a $50 B&N gift card for even more reading fun! (Hello! Score!)
So without further ado, here’s the very generous (can we talk about that B&N gift card?) and talented Christine Lemmon:
Lisa Steinke: WHAT BOOKS ARE IN YOUR SUMMER BEACH BAG?
Christine Lemmon: The Complete Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen; The Best Loved Poems of the American People; Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs; The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst; Seven Year Switch by Claire Cook; and The Island by Elin Hilderbrand
LS: WHAT’S YOUR SUMMERTIME “CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT” ITEM?
CL: A plane ticket up north for a couple of weeks
LS: WHAT ARE THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE WHY PEOPLE SHOULD READ YOUR BOOKS?
CL: Passion, Wisdom, and Hope
LS: WHAT’S ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE HOW YOU THINK PEOPLE WILL FEEL AFTER READING YOUR BOOK?
CL: Inspired
LS: WHAT’S SOMETHING YOUR READERS DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU?
CL: I create in my books characters that help pull me through specific phases or difficulties in my own life. And while writing Sand in My Eyes, I felt as if the older me was talking to the younger me, telling me not to hurry through the phases of my life because they all shall pass and when they do, my life will be over so I might as well see the beauty all around me even in the difficult phases.
LS: WHAT’S ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?
CL: Show my three kids Europe; bring good news and hope to people living in poverty; learn to play the piano; master the making of authentic paella like I had when living abroad in Spain; spend a night in a lighthouse; have a nationally syndicated column (currently I have a column called Long Story Short in the Island Sun on Sanibel—a barrier island off Florida’s Gulf Coast); mountain bike with my husband through northern California while staying at B&B’s along the way; paint a masterpiece on an enormous canvas; buy my dream home; throw a Great Gatsby–like party; pick olives and make olive bread in Tuscany; plant a garden and for a season eat only foods that I grow myself.
LS: WHO’S YOUR AUTHOR CRUSH?
CL: The young Ernest Hemingway
LS: WHEN YOU DO FIND TIME TO WATCH TV, WHAT DO YOU WATCH?
CL: The Home Garden TV Network but when writing a novel I go six months to a year without watching television.
LS: NOOK OR BOOK?
CL: Book until someone buys me a NOOK as a gift and I can try it!
LS: SUMMERTIME DRINK OF CHOICE?
CL: French-pressed iced coffee.
Lisa Steinke, along with her best friend Liz Fenton, co-authored the chick lit novel I’ll Have Who She’s Having and co-created the popular Chick Lit blog, Chick Lit is Not Dead.
