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Friday, January 4, 2013

Leaves by Michael Baron (Author Guest Post / Book Review)

In association with Providence Book Promotions, Jersey Girl Book Reviews welcomes Michael Baron, author of Leaves!






Author Guest Post


A Day In My Writing Life


I’ve spoken to many writers over the years who have told me that they have very specific rituals for getting words on a page. Some grab a couple of hours in the morning before going off to their day jobs. Others work the flip side of this, kissing the spouse goodnight and then burning the midnight oil at the computer. I know a writer who spends two hours writing, then gardens for an hour, and then writes for an hour more before taking the afternoon off for herself. I’ve always been envious of this writer for multiple reasons.

I don’t follow any such ritual. As someone who makes his entire living from writing, the full workday is open to me. This isn’t necessarily a good thing. I’ve had writers tell me that they found themselves becoming less productive once they no longer had another job to worry about, and I can understand how this happens. Having the entire day to write creates the illusion that you have plenty of time to get everything done. This would be true if I used any part of this time efficiently.

My day starts with administrative tasks: managing correspondence, maybe writing a blog post, doing something my publisher requests, that sort of thing. Then it’s time for the most important function of the day: procrastination. I have become quite adept at procrastination, sometimes capable of deferring work in the middle of a sentence. I’ve even convinced myself that there’s some value in this, that I need to, say, check food blogs for a while in order to build up the momentum to get to the other side of a phrase. The procrastination phase of the day can go on for some time, even the entire day if I’m on a procrastination roll.

Often, though, I take a break from procrastination to write. Since I write both fiction and nonfiction, I’ll often assign one task to the morning and the other to the afternoon. These are tremendously different experiences for me, and I approach each differently. When I’m writing nonfiction, it’s a matter of opening multiple screens of research, combing through it, and finding the through-line to the portion of the manuscript I’m writing. For instance, I might be leafing through half a dozen Internet pages plus the transcript from an original interview looking for an angle that fits into the larger theme of the book. Of course, this can lead to an entire new level of “research” that is really nothing more than further procrastination. Recently, I was working on a book about sports and doing a piece on Babe Ruth’s “called shot” (anyone who has read my novel When You Went Away knows that I’m a huge baseball fan). I went onto YouTube to see if there was any available video and spent the next three hours watching various clips of Ruth or people talking about Ruth. This wasn’t particularly productive, but I had a very good time.

The fiction-writing part of my day is a bit more formal. I’m a dedicated outliner, so I know exactly which scene I’m going to be working on when I get started. Some writers are capable of sitting at the computer and just letting the inspiration flow, but I feel that I need much more structure than that, for reasons that are probably obvious to you at this point. With the scene in mind, I get myself into the head of the viewpoint character and plunge into the action. This is usually when I get my “roadwork” in, as I’ll often pace around my office or even the entire house between sentences. Writing fiction of course requires doing a certain amount of research as well, and by now you know what that means for me. For my latest novel Leaves, I managed to turn a quick Google search about the colors of the hickory into an entire afternoon of Internet browsing that ultimately led to my booking a day trip for my family and me on a boat that rides the Connecticut River.

In all, my workday tends to run about ten hours. Maybe three of those hours are actually productive. It would be nice to think that I could teach myself to be more efficient and therefore have all of those other hours back. Every time I try to work on being more efficient, though, I just start to procrastinate.



About The Author


I grew up in the New York area and I’ve lived there my entire life. I worked in retail and taught high school English before I got my first book contract. I have gotten several additional book contracts since then, which is fortunate because I didn’t have the patience to work in retail and, while I quite enjoyed teaching, my approach was a bit too unconventional for most school systems. One school administrator told me that, “there are more important things than being a dynamic teacher.” Since I couldn’t name any of those things (at least in the context of school), I figured I didn’t have a long-term future in the profession. Hence, I became a writer, where I believe people appreciate a certain level of dynamism.

Though I started with nonfiction, I have always loved fiction and I have always wanted to write it. Since I can remember, I’ve had a particular affection for love stories. In fact, the very first book-length thing I ever wrote, when I was thirteen, was a love story. Mind you, it was the kind of love story that a thirteen-year-old boy would write, but it was a love story nonetheless. I have a deep passion for writing about relationships – family relationships, working relationships, friendships, and, of course, romantic relationships – and I can only truly explore this by writing fiction. These novels have given me a way to voice the millions of things running through my head.

My wife and kids are the center of my life. My wife is the inspiration for all of my love stories and my children enthrall me, challenge me, and keep me moving (and have served as the inspiration for several of the kids I’ve written about). One of the primary reasons I wrote my first novel, When You Went Away was that I wanted to write about being a father. Aside from my family, I have a few other burning passions. I’m a pop culture junkie with an especially strong interest in music, I love fine food (as well as any restaurant shaped like a hot dog), and I read far too many sports blogs for my own good.


AUTHOR WEBSITE
GOODREADS
THE STORY PLANT - PUBLISHER
Michael Baron ~ Leaves ~ Virtual Book Tour Page ~ Providence Book Promotions



Book Review


Leaves by Michael Baron
Publisher: The Story Plant
Publication Date: September 25, 2012
Format: Paperback - 352 pages / Kindle - 733 KB / Nook - 2 MB
ISBN: 0984190546
ASIN: B008TSRPSA
Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Women's Fiction


BUY THE BOOK: Leaves


Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Providence Book Promotions. 


Book Description:

Welcome to Oldham, CT, a small town rich in Colonial heritage while being utterly contemporary. Situated along the Connecticut River Valley, Oldham bursts with color every fall, as the leaves on its trees evolve into an unmatched palette of scarlet, orange, purple, yellow, and bronze. For more than three decades, the Gold family has been a central part of Oldham in the fall, its Sugar Maple Inn a destination for “leaf-peepers” from all over the country, and its annual Halloween party a stirring way to punctuate the town’s most active month.

But this year, more than just the leaves are changing. With the death of their parents, the Gold siblings, Maria, Maxwell, Deborah, Corrina, and Tyler, have decided to sell the Sugar Maple Inn, and this year’s Halloween party will be the last. As October begins, the Golds contend with the finality that faces them, and the implications it has for a family that has always been so close. For some, it means embracing new challenges and new love. For others, it means taking on unimagined roles. And for others, it means considering the inconceivable. Complicating it all is a series of “hauntings” that touch each of the Gold siblings, a series of benign interventions that will remain a mystery until October draws to a close.

Filled with romance, tension, and unforgettable family drama, Leave is the first in a series of novels about a world and a family that readers will want to make their own.


Book Excerpt:


The River Edge Café had been open for business since the late ‘90s, when a husband-and-wife team made a killing during the tech stock boom and decided to “chuck it all” and follow their passion for fine food. Located on the water between Oldham and Essex, it was popular for its ambitious menu, its beautiful setting, and its attentive staff. However, it had recently lost two executive chefs in quick succession, leading to rumors that the owners were impossible taskmasters and maybe even a little abusive. Deborah didn’t necessarily believe these unfounded stories, but they made her wary through the entire interview process, and even now, in her third meeting with the couple, she wondered if there was something less than genuine behind Carla Bonner’s ubiquitous smile or Vince Travers’s persistence.

“We want you here, Deb,” Vince said. People didn’t really call her “Deb,” but Vince seemed to insist on it. He had been doing so since they first met half a decade ago. “There are maybe two dishes on the menu we think we need to keep. The entire rest of the menu would be yours.”

“It would be like having your own restaurant without the hassle of ownership,” Carla said. Deborah had been in precisely that situation her entire adult life, so she wasn’t sure why Carla thought this was a selling point.

“I’m completely willing to wait until the middle of November if you want to take a couple of weeks off between jobs,” Vince said. “Trina’s an excellent sous chef and she’s doing a great job of holding the fort for us. To be honest, if we weren’t so intent on recruiting you, we’d give her the job right now.” 

“That’s very flattering,” Deborah said, wondering how resentful Trina would be of her if she decided to take the position.

This wasn’t the first offer Deborah had received, though it was certainly the most aggressive. She got a couple of calls as soon as word got out about the sale of the Inn. The people buying the Sugar Maple even made her an extremely attractive offer to stay precisely where she was. She never seriously considered it, though. It was hard enough cooking there now that both of her parents were gone. It would be impossible to take direction there from someone else and even harder to watch the inevitable changes they made. Deborah imagined herself collapsing into tears the first time they replaced a table lamp. She was convinced that when she walked out of the Inn at the end of the Halloween party she would never again set foot in the place just so she could remember it forever the way she wanted.

None of the offers she’d received so far had seemed very appealing. She knew that she was running the risk of seeming like a prima donna and she also knew that she should be eternally grateful for the attention, but she couldn’t allow herself to take a position unless it sang out to her. She even considered trying to find a job in a diner or a coffee shop somewhere – something completely one-dimensional with little or no room for personal investment – just to recalibrate. But of course that was ridiculous. How long could she flip burgers before she started slipping exotic ingredients into the ground beef? She had enough money saved to get by for about six months, and if it took that long to find the right spot, that was fine with her.

“I’m not trying to flatter you,” Vince said. “I’m trying to employ you. Your customers will flatter you every time the waitstaff delivers one of your inventions.”

Deborah smiled. The “Deb” thing aside, she’d always liked Vince and she wished the rumors weren’t causing her to question his sincerity. That was the pernicious thing about rumors.

“The package you’re offering is great,” she said, nodding to both Vince and Carla. “I’ve always been fond of this restaurant, and you have a great kitchen. I just need a couple of days.”

“Of course,” Carla said. “Take as long as you must.”

Vince patted her hand. “We’re here for you, Deb. Call me anytime if you have questions. I gave you our home number, right?”

“You did, yes. I just want to take a little longer to think. I’ll call you on Monday.”

Deborah stood and shook their hands. The fact was, she already made her decision, but it didn’t seem polite to turn them down flat. The River Edge Café was a fine restaurant and it did have a sensational kitchen. The more time she spent there, though, she realized there wasn’t anything about this place that felt like home.

She drove through downtown Oldham on the way back to the inn. Waiting for a couple of pedestrians to cross Hickory, she noticed the sign for Sage, the gourmet shop that had opened a couple of weeks earlier. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t visited it yet. When a car pulled out of the parking space across from the store, she decided the time was right.

The store was in a moderately large space between a music store and a bookstore. Deborah had a hard time remembering what was in the space before (there had been several shops there over the past few years), but the new owner had done a great job of remodeling it. Lots of blond wood fixtures, warm lighting, and handwritten signage. There was a refrigerator case housing artisanal cheeses and sausages in understated, small-production packages. 

Deborah liked being here immediately. Maybe it was the slack-key guitar music coming from the sound system or that one of the front tables was dedicated to the small Tuscan pasta manufacturer she “discovered” a couple of years ago and had used exclusively at the inn ever since. Deborah knew this would be a place she’d visit often. She’d been to all the gourmet shops in the area, and was frustrated by the sameness of them. It was almost as though some food rep came along and set each one up based on some model. This place had a decidedly individual point of view, though. The shelf of spices was an asymmetrical jumble of bottles and tins of different sizes. Next to it was a card that read, “This might not be the prettiest display of spices you’ve ever seen, but it’s hopefully the best. I’ve compared everything on this shelf to the competition and only carry the ones I love the most.” Deborah agreed about the mustard seed, the ground coriander, and the smoked paprika, but she would have chosen a different Telicherry peppercorn.

A man walked up to her while she was standing at the display. “Find anything you like?”

She turned to look at him. He was a little over six feet and lean. And he had very expressive eyes. “Krendahl has better peppercorns,” she said.

“You’re right, but they only sell from their catalog. I tried, believe me. They also import this fabulous five spice powder, but again, I couldn’t get it. Think I should change the card in the spirit of full disclosure?”

Deborah laughed. “Your secret is safe with me. You’re the owner?”

He extended his hand and Deborah took it. “Sage Mixon.”

“Deborah Gold. So the store is named after you and not after” – she reached for a bottle – “Brookfield’s hand-rubbed Albanian.”

He smiled. “You obviously know your spices. Are you in the food business?” 

“I’m the chef at the Sugar Maple Inn – at least I am until the end of the month.”

“Moving on to bigger and better things?”

Deborah rolled her eyes. “That part isn’t at all certain at the moment.” She turned toward another display. “I’ve never seen these preserves before.” 

“They’re incredible. They’re all made by a single dad out of a barn in New Hampshire. He sweetens them with a ‘proprietary blend’ of fruit juices and balances each with some kind of spice or infusion. The lemon marmalade is mind-boggling.” He picked up a jar and handed it to her. “He adds a touch of Thai basil. It’s amazing what happens.”

Deborah examined the jar in her hand. If nothing else, Sage was an excellent salesman. Of course she would buy this. Before she did, though, she spent another half hour in the store walking from display to display. Sage stayed with her when he wasn’t helping other customers, and it became obvious that there was a story behind everything he carried. She hoped the visitors who flitted in and out appreciated the thought that went into this. More importantly, she hoped that – appreciative or not – the visitors were plentiful. Oldham needed more stores like this one.

By the time she’d finished shopping, Deborah had the marmalade, a salsa from Nogales, a bottle of raspberry thyme vinegar made a half hour away, and a package of stroopwafels made in Montana, of all places. She didn’t need any of it. She certainly had access to just about everything she wanted from the network of suppliers she’d developed over the years. But it was fun buying here and she definitely wanted to support the place.

“Come again soon,” Sage said as he packaged her purchases.

“I will. Definitely. Hey, come by the Inn for dinner sometime in the next month.”

“I might just do that. I mean if you know this much about food, you might actually be able to cook.”

Deborah laughed. “Yeah, it’s a possibility.”

He smiled and his eyes danced. Deborah would definitely be back soon.


My Book Review:

The Gold family's Sugar Maple Inn has been a popular tourist destination in Oldham, Connecticut for thirty-two years. Autumn in New England, where the leaves change their glorious colors, draws a faithful legion of "leaf peepers" to the area every fall season. But for the five Gold siblings, this is the final autumn that they will own the inn. After the death of their parents, Joseph and Bethany, who had moved their family from Long Island to Oldham to start a new life, the five Gold siblings: Maria, Maxwell, Deborah, Corrina and Tyler have made the reluctant decision to sell the inn to an organization that operates country inns all along the Eastern seaboard. The Gold family will hold their final traditional Halloween party before the inn officially changes hands on November 1st.

Leaves follows the Gold siblings throughout the month of October as they count down the remaining days of owning the Sugar Maple Inn, culminating in the hosting of the inn's traditional Halloween party. As the days count down, the siblings struggle to let go, move on, and start anew. Each sibling has their own individual memories and issues that they are dealing with in their lives, but the ending of their family owned business adds a bittersweet element to the tumultuous and emotional time that they are going through. Will the upcoming sale of the family inn tear the family apart? Will the once close family bond loosen as they focus on their individual personal lives? Or will the family traditions and bonds of love forged by their beloved parents bring them closer together?

Leaves is a poignant story of a New England family's changing dynamic ... similar to the autumnal seasonal leaves changing of colors in their hometown. Author Michael Baron weaves a heartfelt and riveting tale of loss, rebirth and renewal for the siblings in the Gold family, who each struggle with life changes within their family relationships. As the month of October counts down the days to the inn's final traditional Halloween party, the story chronicles the sibling's ups and downs of their individual lives, as they move towards the end of the ownership of their family inn. Just like the seasonal changes, life also changes, and for the Gold family, the changes will redefine their lives and family relationship.

The reader is drawn into the Gold siblings lives, magically transported to the scenic New England town of Oldham and the quaint family owned Sugar Maple Inn. As the individual life stories of the Gold siblings (Maria, Maxwell, Deborah, Corrina and Tyler) unfold, the reader can't help but become emotionally invested as if they were their own family members. The author builds upon the drama of the siblings personal lives and their family relationship with the calendar countdown of the final days of their family inn. Like a emotionally charged roller coaster ride, the author keeps the reader engaged with the riveting twists and turns of the changing Gold family dynamic, only to leave the reader emotionally spent with a bittersweet cliffhanger ending as the Gold family saga continues in the next book in the series.

Author Michael Baron's storytelling is reminiscent of my favorite author, Nicholas Sparks. His thoughtful creative style of writing simply captivates the reader and holds them spellbound.

Leaves is an emotionally moving story about family relationships and life changes that will simply tug at your heartstrings. I just know that the Gold Family series is going to be one that will resonate with the readers long after the last page has been read.


RATING: 5 STARS *****










5 comments:

  1. Extraordinary review and post. NY Times worthy. KUDOS!!! Thank you!!

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    1. Hi Cheryl! Thank you for the kind comment, you have me blushing! lol

      Thank you for the opportunity to read, review and host the virtual book tour event. This was a wonderful story, can't wait to read the next installment in the series. :)

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  2. Hi Gina! Thank you for the opportunity to read, review and host the virtual book tour event for this wonderful book. :)

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  3. I love this book. Michael Baron is truly the best!

    Federal Way Bankruptcy

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    1. Hi Irene! Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I loved this book too. This is the first Michael Baron book that I have read, but I have the others on my TBR list. :)

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