Emily’s Comments (group member since Sep 14, 2012)

Emily’s comments from the Ask Emily Colin group.

Maryellen, I'm glad you could relate to them--when I was writing, I got to the point that they were more vivid to me than the 'real world.' I kept thinking I'd see them driving around town or at the grocery store--so funny!

Interesting, Maryellen. I feel the same exact way...I loved J.C., and never empathized much with Grace. Actually, I liked J.C. far better than Maddie--is that a strange thing to say?

I agree, Mina, it's a bit hard to understand how Maddie could turn to J.C. so soon after Aidan's death, if the love between her and her husband was that strong...I think the conclusion I eventually came to, as a writer, was that J.C. was so much like her--a calm, safe harbor--whereas Aidan pushed and challenged her in different ways, made her take chances that she might not have otherwise. But yes, the book does beg the question--what chances are we willing to take in the name of love, and when are they worth the risk?

Those of you who have read the book, I'm curious...who was your favorite character and why? Conversely, who was your least favorite character?

What are your feelings for Grace? Is she a moral person when she hides the truth of her relationship to Nicholas?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Thanks, Christy! Check out the first outtake on my blog: http://www.emilycolin.com/category/blog/

Would love to know what you think!

Maryellen and Mina, I will definitely do it ... I think I have about 6 or so scenes that fell to the cutting-room floor. Look for them on my blog this week!

Hi Mina,

I've said this before, but...thank you for your wonderful and insightful blog post about TMT. To answer your question, yes, it was my intention from the start to use multiple POVs. I know some folks find books that are written in this fashion to be confusing or distracting, but personally I love having the chance to see a situation from multiple perspectives, to peek inside different characters' heads. There was never any doubt in my mind that that was how the book would be structured. In fact, initially the book was written from six POVs instead of three--J.C., Gabe and even Grace had the opportunity to tell their sides of the story. I loved it, but some of my beta readers and agents who expressed interest in the book early on told me that it was too much--and so I whittled the POVs down to three.

I still have all of the scenes that I wrote from these characters' perspectives, though--many of which wound up in the final book, told from Maddie, Nicholas or Aidan's POV--and have actually thought about releasing them on my blog as outtakes. What do you think? Would you have any interest in seeing them? Because if so--and if others concur--I could probably be persuaded to make it happen...

Hi Christy,

Thanks for your question! What drew me to mountain climbing...hmmm. The short story is, I went to the library, searching for something new and unexpected to read, and wound up borrowing a memoir written by a woman who'd lost her mountaineer husband in an avalanche. Her story made me think--what kind of person is drawn to climbing mountains? And what must it be like to love a professional climber, who takes their life in their hands every time they go to work--for no other reason except the fact that they love to climb and feel called to make it their life's work?

I became fascinated by climbing, and yes, I did a lot of research in order to make the book work. But in the end, when I'd written the last page of TMT, I realized that mountain climbing was really a metaphor for the larger issues that the book addresses--being unafraid to follow your dreams, even when they terrify you and even when they break your heart. And I think I was going through a similar process when I sat down and decided to write the book, with no knowledge of what would happen--would anyone want to read it? Would it ever find a home? Ultimately, I guess the book is about the issues I was struggling with as I wrote it--a realization I only had much later. Such is the nature of creativity, I suppose!

Hello all,

I'd like to welcome you to my discussion group for THE MEMORY THIEF. Feel free to ask whatever you'd like--about the writing process, the characters themselves, why an acrophobic person would choose to write about mountaineering, or anything else book-related that strikes your fancy.

I'll be back on October 20th to chat!

Thanks for reading,
Emily