VBT Interview: Ruth Rymer

This is the first of two posts to go up on Lyrique Tragedy Reviews today for Ruth Rymer’s Virtual Book Tour for her new book Susannah, A Lawyer: From Tragedy to Triumph. (For the review, click here). Ruth was kind enough to answer a few questions that the book raised for me as I was reading it for review. Considering the topic of Susannah, Ruth’s background is that much more relevant and influenced the questions I asked:

About Ruth Rymer (From the Author’s website):

An early women’s rights scholar, Ruth Rymer practiced Family Law and lectured on “Women and the Law” in California before retiring to write. She holds a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems from The Fielding Institute and wrote her dissertation on the historical, sociological, and psychological aspects of divorce.

Dr. Rymer, listed in Best Lawyers in America 1988-2000, is Past President of both Queen’s Bench (Bay Area women attorneys) and the Northern California Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

The author lives in the Bay Area with her husband. Susannah is her second book.

Dawn: Why historical fiction? Did you develop the legal and social issues you wanted to address first, or did you choose the time period and then extrapolate issues based on the period?

Ruth: Both. I like the time period. I know something about my great grandmother who was born at the same time and same place as Susannah. I am fascinated by the period thirty years after the first women’s rights conference, as women timidly began to shatter their chains. And finally, as a lawyer, I wanted to explore how hard it was for women to become attorneys initially. I’d read and taught about Myra Bradwell, the first woman lawyer in America, and wanted to bring her in as a mentor to my protagonist.


Dawn: Susannah is a very modern thinking character. How did you balance historical accuracy with modern notions of women? Was any aspect more difficult than another?

Ruth: Where women are concerned, there is always a first–the first woman lawyer, the first woman doctor, dentist, Congresswoman, Governor. No woman breaks out of the women’s sphere prison without “modern thinking.” To me, it is survival thinking–living one’s life by relying on oneself.

I loved the research and the writing. Editing and birthing the book were difficult.



Dawn: Do you consider Susannah, A Lawyer a feminist novel?

Ruth: I could argue that both ways, but in general I find feminism more shrill than it should be to bring women into full partnership in society with men. I tried to avoid lacing Susannah with feminist anger. That’s for the reader, if she would like, or not.


Dawn: You tackle domestic violence, rape and stigmatization of the victim, divorce, social and legal boundaries for women, and the right to independence and education of women in Susannah, A Lawyer (to name just a few). Why include all of these issues in one novel?

Ruth: I wanted to present a slice of life from 1877 to 1880. Any woman living during that period would encounter at least some of the issues presented in the novel, and a woman lawyer would deal with all of them in her quest to bring justice to her clients.


Dawn: Susannah, A Lawyer is historical fiction, but your protagonist and her struggles are anything but incidental. What do you want readers to walk away with once they finish reading?

Ruth: I think I’d like readers to miss Susannah after finishing the book. I’d like readers to appreciate the freedom we have now and to understand how much better we control our destinies than women did in 1880. Most of all, I hope readers will find Susannah a really good read!


Thank you, Ruth, for taking the time to answer my questions and to address some topics for discussion. Readers can get the book at Amazon and Ruth’s website (among other places). And read an excerpt of Susannah, A Lawyer on the book site, so go check it out and get reading. I promise it will leave you with plenty to talk about!

Temporary Hiatus & Updates

It's been far too long since I've updated here at Lyrique Tragedy Reviews. A large reason for that has to do with the complete 180 my life has taken over the course of the past year. It also has a lot to do with the fact that my library is still in storage from the move from Pittsburgh, Pa to Baltimore, MD. As it stands I'll be moving (yet again) in October to a location closer to work to cut back on the 1 1/2 to 2 hour commute I have each way (if only I had 10 more hours a day, things would be a cake walk). Ideally, once that happens I can rescue my books from storage and jump back in the reviewing saddle and hopefully add on a few new voices who would like to contribute.

That being said, I've been reviewing Comic Books and Graphic Novels over at my other site Reality 101 and there promises to be an exciting announcement regarding that coming very soon. This may lead LTR down some interesting new avenues, but until the nuts and bolts are worked out, LTR will remain a general review site that will regain activity once I can get to my books. I'll be re-posting some of those reviews here in the coming weeks. So, if you see some changes around here in terms of layout and organization (let's not forget to clean up the blog roll and links while we're at it), don't be too alarmed.

In the meantime, you should look for a post on October 5, 2009 both here and at Reality 101! I've agreed to be one of the stops on Ruth Rymer's upcoming Virtual Book Tour promoting her new novel Susannah, A Lawyer. Ruth has graciously also agreed to answer a few interview questions, which will also be posted here. While you wait, pop over to her website and read an excerpt from the book! I'm always suspicious of Historical Fiction, but I've really enjoyed reading Susannah, A Lawyer thus far, and I'm looking forward to writing the review.


As always, write well...

Dawn

Interview: Chris Dolley on Resonance

In honor of Chris Dolley's Virtual Book Signing Tour for his new Sci-Fi novel Resonance, released today, I'm posting a brief interview of the author:

LTR: Who are your major influences? Are they only authors, or other genres of art as well?

Chris Dolley: I don't really have many influences. I made a conscious decision as a teenager that I was going to make it by being original - I was going to stun people with ideas that no one had else had imagined. And to do that meant I had to cut myself off from 'corrupting' influences - like books.

Bad decision. It made my work original but it set my writing back years by cutting me off from my chosen craft. You need to read to improve technique and to see what other people are writing.

Now, I read a lot and watch 'good' TV even more. 'Good' TV is great for learning the art of writing snappy dialogue. Joss Whedon and David E Kelly are brilliant writers. I also read P G Wodehouse to soak up his effortless style for humour. And sample Dean Koontz and Michael Connelly for their economical thriller narrative style.

But mostly it's me.

LTR: Why Sci-Fi?

CD: Because it, along with fantasy, allows the imagination a freer rein. It allows the writer to concoct complex mysteries that no one had ever considered before - to create worlds, universes, mechanisms and then tie them together in a story that both captivates and makes sense. It's a challenge and a fulfilling genre.

LTR: When did you decide that you wanted to be an author?

When I was ten. I was either going to be that or a professional footballer (soccer) - preferably both. I'd sign books at half-time and then go on to score a hat-trick in the second half.

Then real life intervened. I had professional trials with my home club - AFC Bournemouth - but never made it. And my first rejection letter from a publisher came when I was fifteen. Recognition took time.

LTR: Do you work from a strict outline when you write, or do you allow the characters to take you to, perhaps, a different ending?

CD: I used to allow my characters a free rein but they kept taking too many liberties. And were forever getting sidetracked. Now, I write a detailed outline - to do otherwise when writing mystery driven fiction is madness. But, having said that, the final book always departs from the outline as improvements are always found and glitches uncovered during the writing process.

So, I start with an outline. I plot it, juggle scenes, revise and tweak until I'm happy, then write the opening scene. As new ideas crop up I go back and revise the outline.

LTR: What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

CD: Read widely, write often and never give up. And be lucky. If asked to quantify what it takes to get published I'd say it comes down to luck, talent, determination and contacts. And, unfortunately, talent is not top of the list. Talent is what you need to get the second and third book published. Talent sustains your career. But to make that initial breakthrough you need luck. You need to have the right manuscript placed before the right editor/agent/first reader on the right day. You can have the best vampire book in the world but place it before a reader who doesn't like vampire fiction, or is having a bad day or has just bought a vampire novel from another author...

So you need determination. You have to keep submitting your book, be willing to listen to criticism/advice, to keep reading, to keep writing, to keep learning ... until someone buys your book.

LTR: Would you recommend a virtual book tour to other first time novelists?

CD: I would. It takes a lot of work but what book tour doesn't. The biggest enemy of a new author is anonymity. If no one knows your book is out there, they won't buy it. So you need to get out there and wave your book.

So what is Resonance about? It's a SF mystery novel set in London, and the story of two people whose lives appear fragmented across alternate realities and how, together, they hold the key to the future of a billion worlds. Resonance was also chosen by SFBC as a featured book.

So if you have a chance today, hop on over to check out the other interviews that have been posted for Chris Dolley, and go to his Resonance page to read the sample chapters if you're so inclined.

~D.M. Papuga