Welcome to day 18 of the Writer Mama Every Day In May Book Giveaway! Today we will be giving away two books to two winners. Please help me welcome too incredibly interesting women, Marci Nault and Barbara Claypole White!
Introducing Marci Nault
Marci Nault hails from a small town in Massachusetts. Today she can be found figure skating, salsa dancing, hiking and wine tasting around her home in California. Marci is the founder of a motivational website that encourages visitors to follow their improbable dreams. Her story about attempting to complete 101 of her biggest dreams has been featured in newspapers and magazines nationwide, and she regularly speaks on the subject on radio stations in both the United States and Canada. The Lake House, is her debut novel. Learn more at www.marcinault.com.
Learn about The Lake House from Simon & Schuster May 2013
Achingly tender, yet filled with laughter, The Lake House brings to life the wide range of human emotions and the difficult journey from heartbreak to healing. HEATHER BREGMAN. At twenty-eight, after years as a globe-trotting columnist, she’s abandoned her controlling fiancé and their glamorous city life to build one on her own terms. Lulled by a Victorian house and a gorgeous locale, she’s determined to make the little community her home. But the residents, fearful of change and outsiders, will stop at nothing to sabotage her dreams of lakeside tranquility.
As Victoria and Heather become unlikely friends, their mutual struggle to find acceptance—with their neighbors and in their own hearts—explores the chance events that shape a community and offer the opportunity to start again.
I asked Marci three questions about our giveaway’s theme topic, self-expression:
1. Is self-expression an important part of your life today, why or why not?
As a young woman I felt like there were four of me: the person I was to please my family; the persona I took on to fit in with my friends; the perfect student; and the person I became when I was alone lost in my imagination. For most of my life I wanted to be the fourth person, but I didn’t know how. I was taught to make everyone else happy first and that my worth was how I took care of others. I was incredibly shy and viewed criticism as failure; I had to be perfect for everyone.
When my life blew up in 2008, I decided to make a list of dreams; things I wanted to do; places I wanted to see; changes I wanted in me. I think through the list I was looking for a way to become that fourth person in the world. Three of my items out of 101 dreams were: to be imperfect; to communicate without need or expectation; to fall in love with life, the world, and myself. Out of the 90 dreams that have come true these three were some of the hardest. But something magical happened when I began to pursue my dreams. I found confidence and I was able to be comfortable in my own skin. I stood up for myself and I no longer let people walk all over me. More than that I was able to express myself more easily.
As my debut novel, The Lake House, goes out into the world I’ve had the chance, through questions like these, to realize why I wrote the story I did. The Lake House is about two women from different generations who pursue their dreams but in the process become outcasts with those they love. I think I was expressing my fear that if I went after the life I really desired and became that fourth person that I would no longer be accepted by those I loved. Thankfully, it turns out I was wrong.
2. What does self-expression mean to you and how do you do it in the world?
Self-expression means showing the world who I really am without barriers. Sometimes it feels a little like standing naked in front of the world. I created my blog, 101 Dreams Come True, to express all the emotions that took place while I was pursuing my dreams with everything I had. So many people believed that I was a trust fund baby or had a rich boyfriend as they watched me travel the world and try all sorts of different activities. But the truth was that I was alone, determined, scared, and without a safety net. I thought if I could express those feelings, explore them through my writing, I would understand my own journey better and help others to pursue their dreams.
I also love to salsa dance and figure skate. Through these two sports I feel free. There’s something about movement that releases all thoughts and allows the spirit to come through.
When I get to talk to women about my journey and my novel, I get to express the joy and the confidence and all that’s changed by realizing I was worth having my dreams.
Lastly, when I write I’m taken away. I love to describe settings because I get to express the way I see the world. It makes me look a little bit deeper at my surroundings – to taste, touch, feel, smell, and engross myself in this amazing world.
3. How does your self-expression impact the world—your family, your friends, your readers, and everyone else?
I’ve had letters come in from all over the world from people who’ve decided to change their lives and pursue their dreams because of the blog. When I speak to women about self-worth and giving to themselves, there’s a wonderful communication that opens and book readings turn into slumber-type parties. I believe by showing the world that dreams are possible even if you’re not rich or if you’re single that it opens the possibility for others to do it as well.
As for the novel, one of the first people who read it realized he was still in love with a woman he’d left and they got back together. So many women have told me that they curled up with my book and it took them to a way of life that they didn’t realize they desperately needed and it caused them to reconnect with family members or their community.
My family is very private and I think at first it was hard for them to have me blatantly putting myself out there, but they’ve been nothing but supportive. Even if some extended family members roll their eyes and shake their heads at the way I live my life.
Introducing Barbara Claypole White
Barbara Claypole White writes love stories about damaged people.
She grew up in rural England with dreams of becoming a novelist, but after a detour through women’s and medieval history at York University, landed a job in London fashion. One day her boss sent her to New York, and she fell in love with an American professor who followed her around JFK Airport. Eighteen months later she was a faculty spouse, freelance writer, and marketing director in a small Midwest college town. She also started writing her first novel.
After her husband was offered a distinguished professorship at UNC Chapel Hill, Barbara moved to the North Carolina forest and became a stay-at-home mom and a woodland gardener—factors that would shape her writing voice. She returned to her manuscript and slammed into another detour: her young son developed obsessive-compulsive disorder.
From that moment, fascination with mental illness framed her life. She ditched her first novel and began writing the manuscript that would become The Unfinished Garden (Harlequin MIRA, 2012). She also joined a nonfiction project for parents of children with invisible disabilities and blogs through the highs and lows of OCD at www.easytolovebut.com. (Her son is now an award-winning teen poet, lyricist, and indie rock musician.)
Her second novel, The In-between Hour, will be published in January 2014.
You can find her on Facebook or at barbaraclaypolewhite.com.
Learn about The Unfinished Garden
James Nealy is haunted by irrational fears and inescapable compulsions. A successful software developer, he’s thrown himself into a new goal—to finally conquer the noise in his mind. And he has a plan. He’ll confront his darkest fears and build something beautiful: a garden. When he meets Tilly Silverberg, he knows she holds the key…even if she doesn’t think so.
After her husband’s death, gardening became Tilly’s livelihood and her salvation. Her thriving North Carolina business and her young son, Isaac, are the excuses she needs to hide from the world. So when oddly attractive, incredibly tenacious James demands that she take him on as a client, her answer is a flat no.
When a family emergency lures Tilly back to England, she’s secretly glad. With Isaac in tow, she retreats to her childhood village, which has always stayed obligingly the same. Until now. Her best friend is keeping secrets. Her mother is plotting. Her first love is unexpectedly, temptingly available. And then James appears on her doorstep.
Away from home, James and Tilly forge an unlikely bond, tenuous at first but taking root every day. And as they work to build a garden together, something begins to blossom between them—despite all the reasons against it.
I asked Barbara three questions about our giveaway’s theme topic, self-expression:
1. Is self-expression an important part of your life today, why or why not?
I’ve always been emotionally wide-open, and I’ve always celebrated the individual. However, when my young son was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), I had to rethink the boundaries between public and private. I had a strong desire to protect the family, but I also needed to speak up and become an advocate. I have always believed that hiding mental illness brings only shame.
My son is about to graduate from high school as an award-winning teen poet and indie rock musician. We both use writing as therapy; we both believe art can make a difference; and we have both found our voices. I can’t imagine how we would move through the darkness of mental illness if we kept things hidden. My son talks about pulling back the rug to reveal the dirt beneath. I feel that way when I talk, blog, or write about OCD.
2. What does self-expression mean to you and how do you do it in the world?
I hope to create believable characters whose struggles can start a dialogue off the page. The hero of my debut novel, The Unfinished Garden, has battled OCD for most of his life. I wasn’t trying to make a statement about OCD with my beloved James. I wanted only to show readers the courage it takes to live with a diagnosis of mental illness, the courage it takes to be open about struggles with that diagnosis, and the courage it takes to fight back.
At book clubs, I often answer questions about the stereotypes James contradicts. Even if readers come to those meetings believing all people with OCD are hand washers, they leave knowing the truth: that OCD is a highly individualized anxiety disorder. It manifests differently in everyone.
3. How does your self-expression impact the world—your family, your friends, your readers, and everyone else?
We have the best group therapy conversations at the book clubs I visit! I’m also thrilled when readers contact me to share their own stories of battling mental illness. We all need support systems. Sharing is good, people! It keeps us emotionally healthy.
And Now, Your Turn…
You remember how this works right?
Please read the complete rules at least once!
I ask you a question.
You answer in the comments for your chance to win a book each day.
Please just respond once, even if you make a typo. 
Answer in the comments in 50-200 words (no less and no more to qualify to win one of today’s books).
Do you have any quirks? List them in an accepting way.
Ready, set, comment! I will hold the drawing tomorrow and post the results here in my blog.
Thanks for participating in the Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway!
And thanks for spreading the word. We will be giving away great books by wonderful women authors all month.
View the complete list of authors and books.
View the giveaway Pinterest board.
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Thank you so much for hosting us, Christina! I love this question, because I never think about my quirks (since I live in the OCD household). I do, however, create piles of paperwork that I then ignore; write to-do lists on colored sticky notes, which I then lose; and leave the clean laundry in groups on the bedroom floor for days. To quote Mary Poppins, these are just some of my favorite things.
Before having my son my house was super organized and clean. I vacuumed weekly and things were always put away. In my kitchen the dishes were always done and the counters wiped down every evening. Now there are Legos and army men strewn the length of my living room, I’m lucky to remember to vacuum twice a month, and my kitchen is usually neat and clean by evening, but not always. We were discussing counting quirks at work the other day and I thought, “How strange!” But I’m a copy editor there so I’m sure my obsession over commas and sentence structure is strange to many of them. I still like to have my kitchen in usable form when I need it and I’m still obsessed with getting my copy right, especially the copy I write for my blog or even in an email. It might take me an hour to write a very important letter or email or a three paragraph blog post. I’ve struggled with perfectionism and people-pleasing as Marcia Nault has and I look forward to reading her blog to discover ways I can find myself and pursue my dreams more and let go of a neat house and perfect copy!
My husband says I am a quirk-
I have two standards, a one tolerant for others and a rigid one for
myself.
I don’t like house cleaning, but I dislike having a cleaning person more.
I have unreasonably positive expectations of others- I believe in them more than they do themselves.
I don’t like watching TV programs when the character does dumb things.
When this happens I carry on a running narrative about what is dumb and drive my husband crazy. I tell him it’s only a putt.
I am a rabid equal rights and responsibilities advocate- in all aspects of life.
I’m an extremely private person, yet I’m driven to share the most painful part of my life in hopes of helping others.
Despite my quirks or perhaps because of them, I am happy with who I am.
As your son grows older you will have less time and yet you will find time for yourself, because for your family to be happy you need to be happy. Enjoy every minute, you are likely perfect just the way you are. Good luck.
After reading this question I had to walk into the kitchen to ask my husband to list some of my quirks. I told him to tell me honestly and I wouldn’t get mad:)
He mentioned my habit of constantly having to click my computer mouse while I’m working on something. I absentmindedly click it into blank space in a document or click from window to window. I can’t seem to keep it still while I’m working.
I also have to keep straightening the pile of cards when I’m playing a card or board game. The stack has to be perfectly straight and smooth at all times.
I absolutely don’t like driving next to concrete medians. I will deliberately drive in the slow lane in order to avoid them.
I’m bit of a hoarder. I get a twinge in the pit of my stomach when I throw things away because I wonder if I might need them someday. Getting rid of stuffed animals makes me sad because few places will take them as donations. In fact, I can’t do it. My husband takes them away and tells me they went to good homes. My office is stacked with magazines I don’t have time to
read and papers I don’t need. I inherited this trait from my paternal grandmother. Her entire basement was crammed with “things.” Such fun to explore!
I attended a clutter-clearing seminar years ago. The speaker said if you clear out unused items, abundance will come your
way, because the universe abhors a vacuum. If I get a free weekday I’d love to do some spring cleaning. I can’t do it on weekends because after five 12-hour days in front of a computer, I desperately need two days of garden therapy.
That’s a whole ‘nuther quirk. I talk to my plants. I swear it makes them grow better, although rational folk with say it’s the attention, not the words, that does the trick.
I ooze anxiety about driving to unfamiliar locations and about being late. Having to drive to a new location and arrive on time is, therefore agonizing. (I get to do that just two hours from now, so wish me luck!) I deal with this by leaving absurdly early and bringing books, knitting and writing projects with me to do once I’ve arrived. Another quirk – I have amazing hearing, particularly in my right ear. My kids learned early on never to try and whisper in my ear – I cringe, hold them at arm’s length and ask them to whisper from there. Loud noises send me into a fight or flight response. Life with teenagers will be a challenge!
I do have a lot of strange quirks. I hope I can think of most of them. I probably won’t be able to list them all because I have so many! I have quirks about food. Like they are certain foods that I have to drink a particular drink with. For example, I can’t eat pizza without diet coke and I can’t have mexican food without diet coke. Same thing for popcorn and diet coke. Plus it’s almost impossible to watch some of my shows without eating. Every day I watch General Hospital and I have to eat a snack during it. There are more but I can’t think of them right now!
Thanks so much for this awesome giveaway! I actually had to also ask my hubby what are some of my quirks. Let’s just say he laughed. I tend to start to do something then walk away, go to something else, then walk away, and so on and so forth. Oh, and a big quirk of mine (hubby is saying now this is a huge one of mine) is how particular I am when it comes to making the bed. Let’s just say the sheets have to be exactly tucked in and the bed has to be made exactly the way I like or it’s “unsleepable” in. Oh, and how about the fact that I’m 36 I have to take my pillow with me whenever we go away, even if it’s just for one night. I also have to sleep on the left side of the bed ALL THE TIME. Okay, I think that’s enough for right now.
When I think of quirks I think of funny little idiosyncrasies rather than big character traits (like perfectionism or fastidiousness). I’d say I am quirky about textures of foods (can’t cope with eggs cooked in any way — unless they are baked in a cake — or with mushrooms, caviar, or anything else that seems slimy). I hate sleeping on the left hand side of the bed, and I’ll sleep head to foot if I have to in order to be able to sleep on my right side instead of my left. I like to get up early, even if I am on vacation. In fact, the idea of laying in bed doing nothing except snoozing is just not appealing to me. Of course, if I am in bed with a pile of books on the nightstand…watch out. I could stay all day. Oh, and I have a bit of a thing for fizzy water. If the water came out of my tap already carbonated, I’d be positively giddy.
There are so many… sigh. But the one my dog has benefited from is that I can never eat the last bite of food. So the dog gets lettuce pieces from the hamburger I had at lunch the last few french fries and a bite of bun. It’s a failing I suppose but at least I have a dog to cover this up a bit. I too live in an OCD household so all things considered my quirks are pretty harmless.
My husband thinks some of my seasonal eating habits are rather quirky, though they make perfect sense to me. I like lighter, fresher food in the summer, and heavier comfort-type foods in the winter. I think the one that really got him was that I only eat peppermint stick ice cream from Thanksgiving to New Years. I suppose that is a little specific, but I enjoy it more that way.
I have a lot of quirks, at least according to my husband. I can’t stand any irregular or loud noise in a room that I am trying to sleep in. For instance, I can handle a fan blowing, but if the fan makes any irregular clicking sounds, I would rather turn it off and be hot than leave it on. Also, I like the taste of meat, but if I happen to bite into a piece of fat or gristle, I am done. I can’t eat any of the rest of the meat on plate, and I probably can’t eat any of the rest of the dish, period. Even the next day. I can’t stand clutter. I would rather file papers away in a drawer than leave them out on the counter overnight. And those are just a few of my idiosyncrasies. I am just a quirky person!
Quirks? Really? What are those? Ha! Here are a few of mine:
Books are my best friends. I love books, love having bookshelves on every wall, and abhor the idea of letting go of a book I own,
although I have had to recently in order to make room for more. Every book has its special place among the others: all categorized so I can easily go to specific shelves by category/genre and find what I want. When I can’t find a book, I go nuts! And my husband laughs because it’s a “here we go again” moment. I won’t quit until I find what I’m looking for.
When I make a sandwich, the mustard or mayo must be spread
edge to edge on the slices of bread. There can’t be any blank spaces on the bread at all. I won’t eat heels from the loaf of bread. Ever!
I like an organized refridge too, much like my bookshelves.
Sections contain “categories of food.” But ask anyone else, and whatever logic I use defies their understanding. Clearly, it’s not me! It’s them, right?