What does C.S. Lewis have to do with erotic romance, you may well ask. One thing I find fascinating about writing is how my reading cross-pollinates my writing, particularly books I read long ago. The C.S. Lewis link to my recent release TELL ME MORE is a little obscure, but here’s how it came about.
While I was writing the book I read Lev Grossman’s THE MAGICIANS, a brilliant and complex novel that starts out at a sort of Potteresque school for magicians. The book becomes darker and more dangerous as its characters travel to a fantastical land invented by a writer who wrote a series of children’s books. Just like Narnia?—no, Narnia gritty and grownup and cruel.
So I had THE MAGICIANS on my mind and that led to me thinking about C. S. Lewis’s books which I read and loved as a child, totally oblivious of the rather heavy-handed Christian subtext.
But back to my book and my heroine and her adventures. At one point in the book she becomes involved in a community with a rigid social structure that gets together for various sexual activities. Jo, as a newcomer, is one of the apprentices who serve the higher levels, but she finds a way into the main part of the house, seeking her fascinating mentor who she’s spoken to only on the phone. Almost immediately she takes refuge in a coat closet. This coat closet does not lead to enchanted lands. Instead, she finds herself an unwilling voyeur when a couple uses the closet for other activities:
Clothing rustled. A zipper slid down.
One of her hands emerged from between the coats and almost smacked me in the nose.
I ducked.
Her hand grasped, fluttered, and grabbed the coat rack. I squeezed myself away from them.
It was a bit too late to reveal myself to them at this point; what the heck could I say?
Jo escapes from the closet and explores the rest of the house. Here’s an excerpt from THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER by C. S. Lewis.
Now she had come to the top of the stairs, Lucy looked and saw a long, wide passage with a large window at the far end. Apparently the passage ran the whole length of the house. It was carved and paneled and carpeted and very many doors opened off it on each side. She stood still and coul
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The official blog of The Knight Agency, a boutique-style literary agency with offices on both the east and west coasts. TKA specializes in discovering authors of vivid fiction, particularly in the areas of young adult, middle grade, women's fiction and romance. We are open to unpublished authors, newly published ones, and certainly top-tier published authors who are looking to take their careers to the next level. We believe in a multi-pronged approach to career management that focuses not only on front list titles, but nurturing the backlist in all subsidiary rights categories. With four agents in-house, our tastes are broad and widely represented at TKA, and that translates to a diverse author base--and means that we never get bored! What are we eager to find in 2008? More authors of young adult and middle grade, nonfiction authors of all types, and women's fiction authors. Some romance also, especially in the teen lit area.
By: Jia Gayles,
on 8/2/2011
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14 Comments on Guest Blogger Janet Mullany Shares Details on TELL ME MORE + Giveaway!, last added: 8/3/2011
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CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY has stuck with me for years. I should've realized in fifth grade that I was destined for an obsession with all things romantic :-)
I should add, I can be reached at what_ever_for (at) cox (dot) net
I read the entire Anne of Green Gables series in hardcover when I was 8 and loved it. That was the only style of book at the time way back then. still pine for it.
i read alot as a kid and there were alot of books that stayed with me. Off the top of my head there's The Boxcar Children, Homecoming/Dicey's Song, Are You There God It's Me Margaret?, and all the books by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. I think the Variety has stayed with me as I still read across the genre board. Thanks for the chance to win a copy of Tell Me More!
dani3222001(at)yahoo(dot)com
Reading was my entire and favorite form of entertainment. It still is. When I read A Wrinkle In Time I was transported to another world.
Books from my childhood that have resonated with me include Nancy Drew (love the smart heroine), Little Women, Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairies.
Hi whateverfor, traveler and lolarific--sorry I haven't been around until now to chat, I've been on a bus back from NYC most of the day and the wifi was very iffy.
I think it's fascinating how our early, best loved books resonate all our lives, and if you have kids you have the pleasure of returning to them for reading aloud!
Great post and excerpt, Janet. The LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE books were my favorite. I loved reading about how they conquered their struggles and surroundings. Talk about strong heroines! ;)
I loved Nancy Drew, Encyclopedia Brown, and the Little House series. Fun memories!
Thank you for the chance to win!
carlsoncl70(at)yahoo(dot)com
The other comments list some great books. The first one I thought of was On A Pale Horse by Piers Anthony. It's not actually for kids and I read it as a teen but it stands out as one of the funniest things I have ever read.
jepebATverizonDOTnet
Hi, Janet,
Fun blog. It seems like I spent most of my childhood reading, but often I read history series I found at school. Lots of individual books that I don't remember - so they don't answer your question :D A different type of recognizable series I do remember was Nancy Drew :D Eclectic, even then :D
Hi Janet--
The books that have stuck with me would be Anne of Green Gables and Little Women--and I couldn't get my daughter to read either one, much to my chagrin!!!
I also loved My Side of the Mountain, which fueled my desire to run away from home and commune with nature. (I got over it.)
Beth Werrell
Its like you invaded my library in my sleep - I adored CS Lewis (and I starred as the Witch in a musical version of Lion, Witch and Wardrobe). My book club read the Magicians, and I'm now eagerly awaiting the sequel. My favorite would have to be Madeline L'Engle's Ring of Endless Light. Magical!
I was always fond of Black Beauty and Little Women. I think with Black Beauty it was all about a horse and I loved horses when I was young.
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