AND THE WINNER IS: Amaryllis in Blueberry by Christine Meldrum

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GIVEAWAY & 20 QUESTIONS WITH: Christine Meldrum author of Amaryllis in Blueberry

 20 QUESTIONS WITH CHRISTINA MELDRUM

AUTHOR OF AMARYLLIS IN BLUEBERRY

Christina Meldrum received her Bachelor of Arts in religious studies and political science from the University of Michigan. After working in grassroots development in Africa, she earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. She has worked for the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva, Switzerland, and as a litigator at the law firm of Shearman & Sterling. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family and is on the advisory board of Women of the World Investments

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I would like to thank Christina for stopping by BookHounds today to play 20 Questions.  You can read my rave HERE.  If you are looking for your next book club pick, this should be a serious contender since there is a lot to discuss  and wonderful themes to ponder.  There is a great Reading Group Guide HERE.

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 1.      Bookmarks or dog ears?

 Neither, really.  I love reading hard cover books—or paperbacks with French flaps—and using the jacket flap as my bookmark.  (Notice the French flaps on AMARYLLIS IN BLUEBERRY. :)


2.      Dust jacket on or off when reading a hard back?

On!  My handy bookmark...


3.      Favorite author?

Oh my...  That's like asking me to pick my favorite child! 


4.      Favorite genre’?

 Literary fiction—although I do love a good plot.

5.      What is the best book you have read in the last year?

 I love Michael Cunningham's writing, and I read his new book BY NIGHTFALL in the last year.  It wasn't my favorite of his books.  (THE HOURS is by far my favorite.)  But Michael Cunningham uses language in such a powerful way.  Every sentence seems a masterpiece.

6.      What book would you most like to see made into a movie?

MADAPPLE and AMARYLLIS IN BLUEBERRY would make amazing movies.  And I'm NOT biased!  :)  Seriously, though, after seeing the movie MOMENTO, I thought its director Christopher Nolan would be the perfect director to make my books into novels.  Then I learned Christopher Nolan also directed THE DARK KNIGHT.   Hmmm. 


7.      E books:  Friend or foe? 

Friend.  After a lot of arm twisting. 

8.      Was there a book that inspired you to write?

 I had a wonderful high school English teacher, Chuck Spencer, who really taught me how to read literature.  Every book I read became a treasure chest after that.  More than any one book, Mr. Spencer inspired me.

9.      What are you reading right now?

 Abraham Verghese's CUTTING FOR STONE and Orhan Pamuk's THE MUSEUM OF INNOCENCE.


10.     What is the last book you bought just for the cover?

 Well, I can't say I bought it JUST for the cover, but the cover helped:  Orhan Pamuk's THE MUSEUM OF INNOCENCE.  (The paperback cover.  I know, I know, I said I like hard covers...already breaking my own rules.)


11.     What is the last book you received in the mail?

 AMARYLLIS IN BLUEBERRY!  I received a gigantic box of copies from my publisher.

12.     What is the number of books you own? 

I can't count them all.  Seriously.  I don't think I've ever gotten rid of a book.  When I can no longer fit them in the bookshelf, they're boxed and put into storage.  Not very eco-friendly of me, I know.  But I do recycle everything else! 

13.     What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?


 Harold and the Purple Crayon.

14.     Do you have a favorite place to read?

 The Danish Landing, Michigan, which is a location in my second novel, AMARYLLIS IN BLUEBERRY.  My family has owned a cottage on the Danish Landing for over 100 years.  I spent my childhood summers there and currently my children and I spend a month or so there each summer.  Be it in the cottage, on the dock, in the boat, on the porch...for me, there is no better place to read than on the Danish Landing.

15.     What is next for you, publishing-wise?

 I'm currently writing another novel for Knopf.


16.     Do you have a favorite place to write?

 In my study at home, surrounded by the books I love and photos of the people I love—and the smell of the dogs at my feet.  (See below.)


17.     Do you have any pets ?

 We have two escape artists (terrier mutts), one very plump cat and a dragon—bearded, that is.  The bearded dragon eats crickets and mealworms, so we tend to have a lot of those around as well.  Not exactly pets, but...   (Yes, I am the mother of boys.)


18.    How does your garden grow? 

Mostly in my mind and books.  (We have a very shady yard!)

 19.  The last thing you Googled?   

BookHounds!

20.     What makes you cringe?   

Mealworms.  (Cringing now.)



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Contest is open to anyone with a US mailing addresses (no PO Boxes)

Contest ends on 3.8.11 Winner will be chosen by Random.org on 3.9.11
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen.
This giveaway is sponsored by Simon and Schuster Publishing and ONE copy of the book will be available.


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REVIEW: Amaryllis in Blueberry by Christine Meldrum

 Description

In the stirring tradition of The Secret Life of Bees and The Poisonwood Bible, Amaryllis in Blueberry explores the complexity of human relationships set against an unforgettable backdrop. Told through the haunting voices of Dick and Seena Slepy and their four daughters, Christina Meldrum's soulful novel weaves together the past and the present of a family harmed--and healed--by buried secrets.

"Maybe, unlike hope, truth couldn't be contained in a jar..." 

Meet the Slepys: Dick, the stern doctor, the naive husband, a man devoted to both facts and faith; Seena, the storyteller, the restless wife,  a mother of four, a lover of myth.  And their children, the Marys:  Mary Grace, the devastating beauty; Mary Tessa, the insistent inquisitor; Mary Catherine, the saintly, lost soul; and finally, Amaryllis, Seena's unspoken favorite, born with the mystifying ability to sense the future, touch the past and distinguish the truth tellers from the most convincing liar of all.

When Dick insists his family move from Michigan to the unfamiliar world of Africa for missionary work, he can't possibly foresee how this new land and its people will entrance and change his daughters--and himself--forever.

Nor can he predict how Africa will spur his wife Seena toward an old but unforgotten obsession.   In fact, Seena may be falling into a trance of her own. . . .

About the Author

Christina Meldrum received her Bachelor of Arts in religious studies and political science from the University of Michigan. After working in grassroots development in Africa, she earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. She was an intern with the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva, Switzerland, and a litigator at the law firm of Shearman & Sterling. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family and is on the advisory board of the West African micro-financing organization, Women of the World Investments.

Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Gallery; Original edition (February 8, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439156891
• ISBN-13: 978-1439156896

SOURCE:  PUBLISHER

 MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

All I can say is WOW!  This book reminds me when I first read The Help and The Secret Life of Bees and has a very strong balance of characters that will make you think.  This is going to be THE book for book groups this year and one that I can't stop thinking about or telling people about.

The story revolves around 4 sisters and their mother and the father is the catalyst for their actions.  Each girl tells her own story and relates the events through their own eyes while interweaving the story between them. Seena, the mother, is the cornerstone and finds ways to intertwine Greek mythology while relating her own history.  Each of the Mary's, Grace, Catie and Tessa are the core while Amaryllis, while still a Mary, is not truly one of the family. Each one is so distinct and the plot so well developed that I hate even saying one word about it because you must read this book!

Just Added:  The ideal of all the girls named Mary is not that uncommon.  My French - Indian Grandmother was one of seven girls all named Mary and of course they went by their middle names.   From what I remember, it was a Catholic thing.  There are two girls in my family, but I am the only Mary. 

I received this book from the publisher at no charge in exchange for my honest review.