YA Cover

I’m so excited to reveal my cover for my YA debut, THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF SISTERS (Scholastic, February 23 ’16)  I love these two sisters and feel the cover captures their amazing connection (as well as their separate secret inner worlds,) and I can't help turning it upside down to look into each of their eyes. Here is the announcement from Publisher's Weekly:

Bestselling adult author Luanne Rice sold her YA debut, The Secret Language of Sisters, to Aimee Friedman at Scholastic. Andrea Cirillo at the Jane Rotrosen Agency brokered the world rights deal for Rice, noting that the book, scheduled for 2016, was pitched as The Diving Bell and the Butterfly meets If I Stay. In the novel a girl enters a coma-like state known as locked-in syndrome (a condition in which the victim is conscious but cannot move or speak) after getting into a car accident. The accident was ostensibly caused by the fact that she was texting with her sister while driving. The “locked-in” state allows the victim, Cirillo explained, to be aware of her surroundings as well as “the story of her sister, who blames herself for the accident.”

Northern Light

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It was winter, but I went north.  I wanted the deep and dark, and I dreamed of seeing the aurora borealis.  Living in New York City, I follow an aurora forecast on Twitter, and a blog about a Baffin Island expedition.  One Christmas I came close to booking flights to Iqualuit--it would have taken twenty-four hours to get there--because I longed for the polar dark.  I've held on to that desire for some time. My friend Bill Pullman was playing Othello at Den Nationale Scene in Bergen, Norway.  So although I had been a serious hermit for a few weeks, writing and not leaving the apartment, on February 16th I flew over to see the play. Bill is brilliant in it, uncovering dangerous truths about jealousy and solitude, and the way a specific kind of aloneness can make a person go mad.  Othello's undoing and explosion are exquisitely drawn.  The play is directed by Stein Winge.  It is one of Bill's great performances.

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I explored Bergen, the waterfront, and the National Theater itself.  Ole Friele, Information Manager, arranged a backstage tour.  Henrik Ibsen had once been writer-in-residence, and the theater is full of history and magic, with a gilded lobby ceiling and carved boxes.

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Later Gunnar Staalesen, a lifelong resident and author of mysteries set in Bergen, gave us--Kathryn and Sam, two other friends of Bill's, had also flown in from New York--a tour of town. We walked the Bryggen quay lined with colorful wooden buildings, past the 12th century St. Mary's Church, out to the 13th century stone Bergenhus fortress near the harbor's entrance.  There is nothing like being shown Bergen by one of the fathers of Nordic Noir.

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A steady rain began to fall.  Gunnar spoke about how the town had survived layers of war and fire, and how during World War II it had been occupied by Germans and bombed by Allied aircraft.  Visiting Europe always makes me look up at the sky, where my father flew a B-24 on thirty bombing missions--Bergen was not one of them.  I think about him, and how he was only twenty-three years old, and about the people on the ground, and all the ones who died.  There is a kind of sorrow to these visits, solemn and graceful.

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I had planned on flying straight back to New York, but during the walk to the fortress I saw a Hurtigruten ferry in the harbor, and everything changed.  The ships ply the fjords in a northerly route along Norway's west coast, from Bergen to Kirkenes, transporting cars, cargo, and passengers.  This might be my chance to go far-north.  I called on the off-chance and snagged the last cabin on the next ferry.

It was literally the last cabin--a small single all the way aft on the starboard side of Deck 6 of the MS Finnmarken--and it would be mine as far as Tromsø.  We steamed out of Bergen that night, up Norway's jagged west coast in mostly calm seas.  I was stunned and transfixed by the light: the silhouette of fjord walls in daylight, stark against the sky, and at night, blocking out great black patches among blazing stars.

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At night we passed tiny towns nestled in natural harbors and single houses perched on cliffs, lamps glowing warmly in the wilderness.  I watched until they were out of sight, and I wondered about the people inside.  Were they happy?  Were they lonely, or did their inner lives and the fact of being surrounded by spectacular natural beauty provide enough solace?  Did every lighted window represent someone on the Internet?  Is there a place on earth to find contentment, or do people everywhere imagine peace, love, and understanding to be greater anywhere but at home?   I wanted to believe in their coziness.

Late one night we pulled into Kristiansund.  A woman's voice came over the loudspeaker, animated and proud, telling about the heritage of the port, how it was known for dried and salted cod, that no place in Norway had produced more.  She said the ship would be docked for about thirty minutes, and if we wanted we could walk to the square to see the sculpture of the "fish girl."  It was midnight, and I was in my bunk.  But the emotion in the speaker's voice made me get up, and I left the ship. The statue was a few wharves away.  The bronze woman stands tall and proud, holding a slab of dried cod.

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I found it so moving.  The fishing industry is full of danger and hardship, economic uncertainty, and deep family connections to a way of life that depends on nature.  Traditionally the fish haul was prepared and spread on the rock cliffs, to be dried by wind coming off the sea, and women and children tended the klippfish drying process.  The fish girl worked hard, I had no doubt.

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We crossed the Arctic Circle at latitude N66.33 one night.  The captain told us what time to look off the starboard side.  I climbed out of my bunk and saw as we passed the Arctic Circle Monument, an illuminated tilting silver globe standing on a promontory.  I felt I had arrived at something, a place I had needed to be for a long time.

The feeling continued.  I was in the Arctic.  This was a strange emotional homecoming to a place I'd never been.  I watched the landscape grow even more austere and dramatic.  I scanned for whales, but was told it was the wrong time of year, they had migrated to other feeding grounds.  Around Trollfjord we passed a Snowy Owl resting on a ledge, and I saw many raptors including White-tailed Eagles, also known as Sea Eagles, circling bays and mountaintops.

My reading has long taken me north.  Salamina by Rockwell Kent; fiction and essays by Joe Monninger; Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez; This Cold Heaven and The Future of Ice by Gretel Ehrlich; The View From Lazy Point by Carl Safina (especially the arctic sections); and Great Heart: the History of a Labrador Adventure by James West Davidson, are some favorites, but there are many more.  To actually be so far north during February, observing the landscape I had only dreamed about, eased my heart.

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The planet seems less fragile there.  That's an illusion, of course.  The ice caps are melting, species are endangered, overfishing is a reality, and birds are losing habitat all along their migratory paths.  But to see so much empty space, open ocean and uninhabited land, gave me hope that there are still some places that humans haven't totally ruined by imposing themselves everywhere and maybe won't.  Then we passed an oil rig.

Being on the ferry reminds me of hibernation, a waking dream.  Everything is so beautiful and extreme out there, beyond the ship's rails.  Most days were cloudy, but even on the bright days the February light was muted somehow, it didn't assault the eyes and spirit, it didn't demand that a person's mood match it.  The Arctic felt safe and comforting to me, as I somehow knew it would.

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That is not to say that depression drives a love of the north.  But depression is an edge, and so is the Arctic, of an internal landscape and of a continent.  The north is remote and rugged, and the difficulties of living there are epic.  Light during the winter months is clear and rare.  A person who is depressed has a similar complicated relationship with light: you know you should seek it, and you sometimes feel grateful to it when you do.  But the instinct is to hide from it, to find comfort and stillness by going inward.

One night, my last on the ship, I saw the aurora borealis.  It might have been my first time, although I am not 100% sure.  Once in about 1989, in the Old Black Point section of Niantic, Connecticut, I saw what I swore was an aurora.  My sister Maureen remembers me calling to tell her to look northwest.  We saw something bright and unusual and lasting in the sky, but to this day I'm not sure.  And it looked very different from what I saw from the deck of the Finnmarken.

We had had just left the town of Stamsund heading north through the fjord when the captain announced there was an aurora dead ahead. He turned off the deck lights, and the night was very dark, cold, and crystal clear as we gathered at the rail.  There was no moon.

The aurora began as a white band, an elongated half-oval similar to mist, ghostly but with a distinct curve just above the horizon. Within moments it had spread high and wide, above the low mountains off the port side, colors ranging from pale to bright green in organ pipe-like spikes, in parts swirling blue and pink. Over a period of thirty minutes it morphed into different patterns while maintaining the ghost of the original oval.  The Big Dipper was just overhead, the handle arcing towards the port horizon, with Arcturus deep in the shimmering lights.

Throughout the night we passed through narrow straits lined with towering mountains, and the aurora came and went.  At times it seemed to surround the ship.  The stars were so bright behind green fire.  Orion walked through it, balanced on the horizon.  I stayed on deck for a long time.  My hands were cold and numb, but I kept watching.

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The next day we docked in Tromsø.  I nearly asked if there had been any cancellations, if I could stay in my cabin and just keep going north.  This might sound strange, but after the experience of the night before, seeing the northern lights, I didn't want to keep chasing them.  I felt I had gotten more than I'd dreamed of--to see them above the cliffs of the fjords on a totally moonless night, with all the constellations in the background.  Even now I can't explain how meaningful the light, and the dark (especially the dark--so blue and beautiful) was to me.  The north in winter is a nocturne, a luminist painting.

After I got off the ship, I flew to Oslo.  I had seen my friend play Othello, and I'd finally made it to the Arctic, and I'd seen the northern lights.  I had every intention of returning straight to New York, but there in the Oslo airport I realized I wasn't quite ready to go home.  So I hopped a flight to Paris instead.

But that's another story.

Photos of Norway, all taken on my iPhone:

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Connecticut College Magazine Photo Shoot

I was so honored to learn Connecticut College wanted a profile of me for CC Magazine.  Amy Martin, the magazine's wonderful editor, made it all happen.  Ben Parent, art director, and Bob Handleman, photographer, and Bob's assistant--and fine photographer in her own right--Lindsey Platek came over one August day and we had a great time on the photo shoot.  Ben Parent is a real visionary, and Bob is a great artist, and they made my little cottage at Hubbard's Point look so magical.  Not only that, Ben provided a great soundtrack, thanks to his band Rivergods.  Here are some photos from that day...

Talking Bruce Springsteen

Today at 4 pm I'll be the Guest DJ on SiriusXM's E Street Radio, talking about Bruce Springsteen and playing ten of my favorite songs of his. I am inspired by Bruce's music.  From the beginning I was captivated by his passion for storytelling, the way he focuses in on the places and people he loves most, the issues he cares about, the underdog and the downtrodden, people's stories that otherwise might not be heard.  He's been a voice for migrants, the deeply human story of immigration, and that touches me so much.  I love his song Matamoros Banks, which he introduces with these words:

"Each year many die crossing the deserts, mountains, and rivers of our southern border in search of a better life. Here I follow the journey backwards, from the body at the river bottom, to the man walking across the desert towards the banks of the Rio Grande."

There is so much to say, and I make a start during my hour on E Street.  I hope you'll join me.

the songs:

~matamoros banks live from devils and dust tour, along with bruce's psa about immigration.

~land of hopes and dreams (from live in nyc)

~ghost of tom joad (acoustic)

~my city of ruins from the concert for new york city after 9/11

~born to run

~incident on 57th st from the june 22 2000 show including bruce's psa for new york cares.

~youngstown

~badlands from the october 1, 2004 vfc concert in philadelphia

~if i should fall behind (live in nyc)

~the river, if enough time the live version with bruce's intro from live/75-85

JFK Library/Boston Globe Panel on Immigration's Humanitarian Challenges

BESTSELLING AUTHOR LUANNE RICE FEATURED IN GLOBE TALKS

ON IMMIGRATION’S HUMANITARIAN CHALLENGES

Luanne Rice, Paul Bridges, Jennifer Hochschild and Marcela García

Joined The Boston Globe & The Kennedy Library

to Offer Insight on the Human Face of Immigration Reform on October 7

(Oct.15, 2014) – New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice participated in an all-star panel at Globe Talks: Immigration’s Humanitarian Challenges at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston on October 7. Rice shared her thoughts on the humanitarian challenges that undocumented immigrants face, based on her own professional and personal experiences. Video of the panel is available here on the JFK Library website.

Rice shares her passion for humanitarian challenges facing undocumented immigrants in her most recent novel, THE LEMON ORCHARD. Her experiences with the thousands crossing the desert near her home in Southern California, her volunteer work with immigrants and research for her latest novel, give her deep insight to a cause and issue currently being debated in our nation’s capital.

Rice was incredibly honored to share the stage with pre-eminent immigration experts Paul Bridges, former mayor of Uvalda, Georgia and winner of the 2014 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award; Harvard Professor of Government Jennifer Hochschild; and writer and Boston Globe contributor Marcela García, who moderated the event.

While volunteering with the group Water Station in the Anzo Borrega desert, Rice saw firsthand the dangerousness of the treks through the perilously hot and barren desert. She discussed her character Roberto from THE LEMON ORCHARD, who was based on a real man she knew and who experienced that treacherous trek and the challenges of assimilating as an undocumented worker. Rice also shed light on what she learned about the extortion and sexual assaults by “coyotes”—human smugglers who bring immigrants over the border—and the post-traumatic stress disorder that often follows. She also talked about her own Irish descent, and looked at the similarities in immigration history that transcend culture, location and time.

Luanne Rice is the New York Times bestselling author of 31 novels that have been translated into 24 languages. In her latest book, THE LEMON ORCHARD, she crafts the story of an undocumented immigrant who lost his daughter in the desert when crossing the border in search of a better life, a scenario that is both heart-wrenching and all too real.

Globe Talks: Immigration’s Humanitarian Challenges took place on October 7, 2014 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston and was co-sponsored by the The Boston Globe and the JFK Library.

About Luanne Rice:

LUANNE RICE is the New York Times bestselling author of 31 novels that have been translated into 24 languages. The author of The Lemon Orchard, Little Night, The Silver Boat and Beach Girls, Rice’s books often center on love, family, nature and the sea. Rice is an avid naturalist and bird-watcher and is involved with domestic violence organizations such as the Georgetown University Law Center’s Domestic Violence Clinic. Born in New Britain, Connecticut, Rice divides her time between New York City, shoreline Connecticut and Southern California. Visit Luanne Rice online at 

Globe Talks: Immigration's Humanitarian Challenges

On Oct. 7 I will be joining a panel at the JFK Library in Boston to discuss undocumented immigrants & the humanitarian challenges they face.  This came about because of The Lemon Orchard, but it started even before, with the undocumented families that inspired my novel.  You can RSVP here: http://bit.ly/1sV5KWY

BESTSELLING AUTHOR LUANNE RICE JOINS GLOBE TALKS

ON IMMIGRATION’S HUMANITARIAN CHALLENGES

Luanne Rice, Paul Bridges, Jennifer Hochschild and Marcela García

Join The Boston Globe & The Kennedy Library

to Offer Insight on the Human Face of Immigration Reform on October 7

(Oct. 3, 2014) – New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice will join an all-star panel at Globe Talks: Immigration’s Humanitarian Challenges at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston on October 7. Rice will share her thoughts on the humanitarian challenges that undocumented immigrants face, based on her own professional and personal experiences.

Rice shares her passion for humanitarian challenges facing undocumented immigrants in her most recent novel, THE LEMON ORCHARD. Her experiences with the thousands crossing the desert near her home in Southern California, her volunteer work with immigrants and research for her latest novel, give her deep insight to a cause and issue currently being debated in our nation’s capital.

Rice is incredibly honored to share the stage with pre-eminent immigration experts Paul Bridges, former mayor of Uvalda, Georgia and winner of the 2014 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award; Harvard Professor of Government Jennifer Hochschild; and writer and Boston Globe contributor Marcela García, who will moderate the event.

While volunteering with the group Water Station in the Anzo Borrega desert, Rice saw firsthand the dangerousness of the treks through the perilously hot and barren desert. She will discuss her character Roberto from THE LEMON ORCHARD, who was based on a real man she knew and who experienced that treacherous trek and the challenges of assimilating as an undocumented worker. Rice will also shed light on what she learned about the extortion and sexual assaults by “coyotes”—human smugglers who bring immigrants over the border—and the post-traumatic stress disorder that often follows. She will talk about her own Irish decent, and look at the similarities in immigration history that transcend culture, location and time.

Luanne Rice is the New York Times bestselling author of 31 novels that have been translated into 24 languages. In her latest book, THE LEMON ORCHARD, she crafts the story of an undocumented immigrant who lost his daughter in the desert when crossing the border in search of a better life, a scenario that is both heart-wrenching and all too real.

Globe Talks: Immigration’s Humanitarian Challenges, will take place on October 7, 2014 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. Immediately following the event, Luanne Rice will be available for book signings.

The forum is co-sponsored by the The Boston Globe and the JFK Library, and is free and open to the public. To register, visit the event’s website.

About Luanne Rice:

LUANNE RICE is the New York Times bestselling author of 31 novels that have been translated into 24 languages. The author of The Lemon Orchard, Little Night, The Silver Boat and Beach Girls, Rice’s books often center on love, family, nature and the sea. Rice is an avid naturalist and bird-watcher and is involved with domestic violence organizations such as the Georgetown University Law Center’s Domestic Violence Clinic. Born in New Britain, Connecticut, Rice divides her time between New York City, shoreline Connecticut and Southern California. Visit Luanne Rice online at www.luannerice.com

THE LEMON ORCHARD  Luanne Rice  Penguin Books

On-Sale: May 27, 2014  $16.00  978-0-14-312556-3  Also available as an e-book

2014 Connecticut Governor's Arts Award

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On Saturday June 14 I was very honored to receive the 2014 Connecticut Governor's Art Award for lifetime achievement in literature.  The ceremony was held at the Yale University Art Gallery.  My fellow honorees were Christopher Plummer and Tim Prentice, and Governor Dannel Malloy presented us with the award.  My family was there, along with close friends, and we had a wonderful day.  Mom and Dad, , I wish you could know about this!

#TheLemonOrchard Suggested Social Media

To promote to other book clubs:

• Our book club is reading #TheLemonOrchard by @luannerice. Join us & share your thoughts! bit.ly/lemonCover
• Are other book clubs out there reading #TheLemonOrchard by @luannerice? What do you think so far? bit.ly/lemonCover
• Our book club’s favorite character in #TheLemonOrchard is XXX. What about you? @luannerice
• Use #TheLemonOrchard Book Club Kit and you won’t be hosting your average book club bit.ly/lemonkit @luannerice
• A conversation with author @luannerice, some discussion questions, and of course, cocktail recipes #TheLemonOrchard bit.ly/lemonkit

To promote to members of a book club currently reading The Lemon Orchard:

• Stay hydrated this summer! Cocktail recipes inspired by Malibu’s Santa Monica Mountains bit.ly/lemonkit #TheLemonOrchard
• What goes great with #TheLemonOrchard – a cocktail, of course bit.ly/lemonkit via @luannerice bit.ly/lemonCover
• Was there a real-life John Riley? Read a conversation with @luannerice bit.ly/lemonkit #TheLemonOrchard
• Did @luannerice spend much time along the Mexico-US border while researching #TheLemonOrchard? bit.ly/lemonkit
• What actor(s) from Hollywood’s Golden Era did @luannerice base Lion Cushing on? bit.ly/lemonkit #TheLemonOrchard

Discussion questions, Twitter-ized:

• Is staying in a marriage for the sake of children ever a good idea? #TheLemonOrchard bit.ly/lemonCover
• How do Lion’s feelings for Graciela change the way you feel about him? #TheLemonOrchard
• Is there an object you cherish because it belonged to a lost loved one? #TheLemonOrchard
• How might Roberto & Julia’s story have turned out if Jack hadn’t become involved? #TheLemonOrchard
• #TheLemonOrchard ends on an ambiguous note. Do you think Roberto & Julia’s story ends there, too? bit.ly/lemonCover
• America is a land of immigrants. Did Roberto’s experience resonate with your family’s journey to America? #TheLemonOrchard
• Do you think that most would-be immigrants have a clear picture of what life in the US is really like? #TheLemonOrchard

The Lemon Orchard: Limited edition free gift

Pre-order The Lemon Orchard in paperback before May 27, 2014 — online or from your favorite local bookseller, send in a proof of purchase — and Luanne will send you a FREE tote bag featuring the cover art from the hardcover of THE LEMON ORCHARD.  You'll also receive a signed bookplate.  Shipping and handling are on Luanne! This offer is for U.S. and Canadian residents only. Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for the delivery of your tote bag. Already pre-ordered? Keep reading!

Send your name, mailing address,and proof of purchase via the form below. You can take a photo of the receipt with your phone, or scan it, and submit the jpeg!

*photo of tote bag by Luanne's reader Michele Collard

[gravityform id="1" name="Free Lemon Orchard tote bag"]

world book night 2014

 

i wrote "why i love libraries" to celebrate world book night & you can download the free ebook on 4/22!   @wbnamerica #WBN2014

MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD in the Berkshires

Please come see MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD in the Berkshires to benefit the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers and WAM Theatre. I will be doing a talkback after the Friday 3/28 performance and would love to see you there. Jayne Atkinson will direct, and Jane Kaczmarek and Michael Gill (currently appearing as the president on "House of Cards") will star. Very excited and happy to see Jane again--she performed my monologue at the Geffen Playhouse in LA. My friend Susan Rose Lafer is producer; Joan Stein also produced, and I still miss her every day. MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD continues to be a wild, wonderful ride. You can get tickets here.

EVERY MOTHER COUNTS Book Club Pick

Here is a note from Elizabeth Benedict: "I'm thrilled that Christy Turlington's fabulous organization EVERY MOTHER COUNTS chose WHAT MY MOTHER GAVE ME as its book club pick this week. Turlington writes about her favorite gift from her mother: 'While I am just grateful to still have my mother in my life, the gifts she gave me that mattered most were the ones she gave herself: Mothering my sisters and me, traveling the world and continuing her education. The fact that she was born in El Salvador provided me with an early connection to a larger world than the one I would have known otherwise...'  Shout out to Judith Hillman Paterson, Luanne Rice, Elinor Lipman, Caroline Leavitt, Karen Karbo, and all the other wonderful contributors to the anthology."

Liz edited and wrote for WHAT MY MOTHER GAVE ME.  My essay is Midnight Typing, about how my mother gave me the gift of...perhaps you'll read it.

I am touched by Christy Turlington's words about her favorite gifts from her mother, and about the important work she is doing. According to a story in The New York Times, the goal of her organization is to help "people understand that pregnancy and childbirth, even though it’s a joyous experience for so many women, really is a risky endeavor for millions of other women,” according to Erin Thornton, executive director, who happens to be expecting right now herself. “To this day, hundreds of thousands of women will die in pregnancy and childbirth, but 90 percent of those could be prevented just with basic, simple access to health care.”

Liz Smith

Love being mentioned in Liz Smith's great New York Social Diary column today. I'm right up there with Cher!  #TheLemonOrchard 

An American Dream I Couldn't Share

 

My essay, An American Dream I Couldn't Share, appeared in the New York Times Modern Love column on July 5, 2013.  It tells some of the story behind my novel The Lemon Orchard.

Review of The Lemon Orchard

Thank you to Kris Phillips for this lovely review.  I'm lucky to have such a supportive reader. I’ve been a huge fan of Luanne Rice’s novels for many years now and was thrilled when I won the first copy of her novel, The Lemon Orchard, in a contest on her Facebook page. I quickly devoured the wonderful book and was honored when Luanne asked me to review it for her blog. While Cloud Nine will always hold a special place in my heart as my favorite of her novels, The Lemon Orchard is now a close second. I love that Luanne believes in angels, in second chances, in the power of the human spirit, in true love and in the importance of family above all else – and she will make you a believer, too! Julia and Roberto’s story touched my heart so much; I didn’t want to put it down. As a mother to a little girl, my heart broke for them both for the loss of their daughters. The bond – the love – between these two lead characters is palpable. And the story of how Roberto and his young daughter, Rosa, try to cross the border into the United States from Mexico was so heart wrenching, I actually dreamt about it and woke up exhausted, my legs aching, my throat parched. No book has ever affected me like that! I’ve always had a strong opinion about illegal immigrants, but Luanne’s story changed my heart. I could not imagine what Roberto, Rosa and the others went through to try to make it into this country and a better life. Julia and Roberto not only find love with one another, but help to heal each other’s broken hearts over their mutual losses. While this book did leave me wanting more (don’t expect a “happily ever after” ending), it was a satisfying ending that touched my heart and gave me hope. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves stories about the resiliency of the human spirit. It will not disappoint! Here’s hoping that Luanne is already working on a sequel.

By Kris Phillips