Ask the Author: Kristin Harmel
Answered Questions (16)
Kristin Harmel
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Kristin Harmel
I'm so sorry for the delay in reply; I somehow missed this! Thanks for the very kind words; I'm so glad you enjoyed the book! My next novel, set again in France during World War II, should be out sometime in summer 2019! Thanks so much for asking!
Kristin Harmel
Hi Alice! Thanks so much for the kind words. Yes, The Room on Rue Amelie is schedule for publication in late September, I think, by Garzanti, under the title Farò di tutto per tornare da te.
Kristin Harmel
Hi, Kat! Thanks for the very kind words. And what a crazy coincidence. I'm glad you felt I wrote accurately about the Rue Amelie! In answer to your question, I *think* my next book will be out in mid-2019, but that's not confirmed yet. Working on it now. :-) Thanks again for your kind words!
Kristin Harmel
Well, thank you so much, Jordan! What a nice note! I'm so glad you enjoyed the book. Yes, the book I'm writing now is also set during World War II and has a similar feel to it. Also, my 2012 novel, THE SWEETNESS OF FORGETTING, takes place partially in WWII France, and 2016's WHEN WE MEET AGAIN also dips into that time period! Thanks again!!
Kristin Harmel
Thanks for the kind words, Kevin. And thanks for the nice review! I'm glad you enjoyed the book!
Kristin Harmel
Hi, Kevin. You're absolutely right! Unfortunately, the ARC (advanced readers copy) is, by nature, an uncorrected version of the book, and as such, there are a handful of errors and typos. Most (hopefully all!) have been caught and corrected by the final version, but because we want to give people the chance to read (and judge) the story itself, ARCs are often printed before all the final fact-checking is done, with the understanding that errors and typos will be caught and changed before the final. It's always interesting (and a bit mortifying for the author) to find the differences between the ARC and the final. In this case, I think the "jet" reference has been corrected in the final version, which will be out in three weeks, but honestly, I'm not positive. Thomas was indeed flying a Spitfire, which you are correct in saying was not a jet. I did a lot of research about RAF aircraft, but I think this is one of those regrettable errors in which a pass-and-go assumption on my part overrode my instinct to fact-check that single word. I spent a lot of time focusing on what would have been involved inside the cockpit and probably used "jet" as a synonym for "aircraft," "plane," or "fighter" in an effort to avoid distracting word repetition, without giving a second thought (in that passage, which is about a plane going down) to the mechanics of the Spit's power source because I was focused on what was going on inside the cockpit--and if this indeed snuck through, it wasn't caught by the aviation expert that I had read over the flight chapters either. My mistake, absolutely, and in doing a quick word search, it appears that's the only instance of using "jet" in the book. Ugh, how frustrating. How interesting about your dad being an aircraft engineer during the war. I hope you enjoyed the ARC aside from that error.
Kristin Harmel
Thank you so much, Miriam! I really appreciate that!
Kristin Harmel
I'm soooo sorry that I missed seeing this question, Rhonda!!! Thanks so much for the kind words. I have several earlier novels that are more like "chick lit" (from an earlier phase in my career, 2006-2010), and I have a new one (more like The Sweetness of Forgetting -- it's about an Allied escape line through Paris during World War II) called The Room on Rue Amelie coming in March 2018. Sorry it's so far away... I wish it was out sooner! Oh, and I have a novella called How to Save a Life that's about half the length of one of my novels; it's only available in ebook form (like for Kindle), but it's pretty cheap--either $1.99 or 99 cents. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks again!
Kristin Harmel
Hi Brooke. Sorry for the delay in reply! Thanks for the kind words! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed WHEN YOU WISH!! I had so much fun writing it. I wrote a novel called AFTER a year after I wrote WHEN YOU WISH, and it's also about a teen girl, but it's a bit more serious. I actually like it a little better than WHEN YOU WISH, just because it has a bit more depth. I hope you can find that one somewhere and that you enjoy it too!
Kristin Harmel
Hi Kris. Since HOW TO SAVE A LIFE is a novella (and is about half the length of a novel), it is only out in e-book. Many authors, myself included, write novellas with the plan of releasing them at a very reduced cost (in this case, 99 cents to $1.99), which wouldn't be possible if our publishers also had the physical cost of printing and distributing the book. Fortunately, my next novel, which will be out in paper as well as e-book, will be out on June 6, so you won't have long to wait! It's called WHEN WE MEET AGAIN. In the meantime, if you're dying to read HOW TO SAVE A LIFE, I'm pretty sure you can download it in PDF format to read on your computer directly at http://books.simonandschuster.com/How.... You can also buy it from Amazon as a Kindle book and read it right there on your computer using the Kindle Cloud Reader (which is just a web site that connects to your amazon account). (I recommend doing this if you already have an Amazon account.) You can find it here: https://read.amazon.com/. Thanks for your interest!
Kristin Harmel
Very sorry for the delay in reply. I never saw this question! My answer: I woke up one morning with almost the whole plot of the book in my head! That has never happened to me before (or since), and of course I still had to work out a lot of details, but I always call this my "book intended" for just that reason!
Kristin Harmel
Very sorry for the delay! For some reason, I never saw this question! To be honest, I'm much better at the actual writing of the novels than I am at promoting them in a sensible, consistent way (which makes me very grateful that I have a publishing company to do much of that for me). I enjoy interacting with readers via Facebook, Twitter and my web site, but I'm not sure if that necessarily counts as an author platform tool!
Kristin Harmel
The Deaf community has always fascinated me, and I liked the idea of exploring something unexpected: the way that music therapy is used with people who are hard of hearing.
Kristin Harmel
Every situation is different. For some people, the wide open world of self-publishing, or publishing with a small press, might be the best idea in the world, whereas a few years ago, many of those types of options didn’t even exist. There are so many more ways now to put your book out into the world. But at the same time, if you hope to be published traditionally by a major publisher, as I am, I believe it’s important to be thinking in terms of both the quality of your writing and the heart of your story. In other words, competition is tough. So if you’re writing a novel, make sure the writing itself is good before trying to find an agent. Just as importantly, your story has to be good, and when it comes to mainstream fiction geared toward women – the kind of novels I write – I think the feelings and emotions you put into the story really matter. Your characters should be experiencing big transformations in their lives, big moments where their worlds are changing. And from the standpoint of making your story appealing to agents and editors, you also have to be able to sum up your book in less than a paragraph in a way that would make the average reader saying, “Oh cool! I think I might want to read that!” So think in terms of that elevator pitch, that short description of your book, and if you can summarize it in a tantalizing way, then it will help you as you write and as you edit to nail down exactly what makes your book special. In my experience, I’ve also found that focusing on family dynamics is just as important as focusing on romantic dynamics between characters. Our families really make us who we are, and that’s something I love exploring in fiction. It makes books much richer, much more well-rounded and impactful, I think. (First answered in this interview: http://www.lizandlisa.com/2014/12/liz...)
Kristin Harmel
Whereas every other novel I’ve written has evolved over months – or even years – of thinking and reflecting, the genesis of THE LIFE INTENDED was a bit unusual. I actually dreamed the plot almost whole. I know that sounds kooky, especially since the novel centers partially on the dreams that the main character has of her dead husband, but it’s true. I woke up one morning a couple of years ago, and the entire book was already in my head. I jumped out of bed, rushed to the kitchen table, grabbed a stack of paper, and began scribbling as quickly as I could, to get as many elements of the plot down on paper as I possibly could. The finer details – the sign language lessons, the kids’ cochlear implants, Patrick’s and Kate’s personalities, etc. – evolved later, but the basic structure of the plot and lots of the broader details were there from day one. Weird, right? Maybe this is the book intended!
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