The Lovely Lisa Van Allen and The Night Garden

So I've been promising something exciting and the day has finally come when I can share!! :)  As I've posted about before, I am a huge fan of the genre "magical realism" which is a fiction genre that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into an otherwise realistic story.  
Last summer I was paging through an advance magazine at work and saw a cover that caught my eye (how can these covers not catch your eye??!).  The title was The Wishing Thread and I'd never heard of the author before…

I read the description and told my coworkers, "We have to order in this book and sell it!"  It was the perfect read to kick-off fall... a story of sisters who are left the "Stitchery," a yarn shop that offers more than just plain hats and scarves, by their aunt when she passes.  The Van Ripper sisters—Aubrey, Bitty, and Meggie—are said to knit people’s most ardent wishes into beautiful scarves and mittens, granting them health, success, or even a blossoming romance. But for the magic to work, sacrifices must be made—and no one knows that better than the Van Rippers.

The The Wishing Thread was Lisa's debut novel, and I loved it.  Lisa Van Allen's writing created a perfect story of family, love, and the choice of sacrifice... with a *hint* of magic.  I recommended it to lots of friends and family members as well as customers, and so many have told me how much they enjoyed it... it's the perfect read for a cool fall day, cup of coffee/tea/hot cocoa in hand :)

Skip forward to a couple months ago... a new Lisa Van Allen book on the horizon!!  The Night Garden... due out October 7th!  The Night Garden is a novel about the Pennywort farm and its beautiful enigmatic caretaker Olivia.  Olivia has spent her entire life immersed in the farm and its incomparable garden while harboring a secret.  But when her childhood friend, Sam Van Winkle, returns she just might finally have a reason to let someone into her world...

After the wonderful feedback I received from people about The Wishing Thread, I wanted to see what I could do to help promote Lisa's new book.  Lucky for me Lisa (and her publishing company) are incredible and offered to let me feature Lisa on this blog and feature a Q&A that was created just for this post!  (Yes I did a happy dance.  No I'm not embarrassed.)

I asked Lisa five questions about her books, writing and recommendations... here they are (even her answers are perfectly written!):

1. In your new novel, The Night Garden, one of the main characters, Sam Van Winkle, has a last name that connects him to Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle."  Why did you incorporate this legend in your book?

Part of my love for the Hudson Valley and the Catskills regions stems from the countless folk tales and ghost stories that abound in the rolling mountains. THE NIGHT GARDEN is set in the western Catskills near the site of the Woodstock festival; the regions green hills and acres of blue sky give it a sleepy, serene feeling. Sam's last name certainly calls on the traditions of the region and evokes a simpler, less frantic time. I hope THE NIGHT GARDEN is a quirky little vacation from real life. 

2. How do you come up with the "magical" elements in your novels?  Do you create the character first and then discover their "magic," or do you think of a situation, a "talent," or "curse" and then the character is formed from this idea?

For THE NIGHT GARDEN, Olivia's particular "curse" (if you can call it that) came about because of a short story by Hawthorne that I'd read waaaaay back when I was a sophomore in high school. I don't want to give away too much, but I'll say that I've wanted to do a story about a woman with her particular magical affliction for a very long time. The other magical elements arrive in the simplest way possible; it's me, sitting with me hands hovering over the keyboard, thinking "what would be really fun and surprising to write about right now?" I just follow where my interests lead--and yes, the results can be pretty unusual. 

3. This past year your debut novel, The Wishing Thread, accomplished amazing feats including making both the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists.  What was it like to achieve this, and what advice do you have for writers who are striving for similar recognition? 

It was the greatest thrill of my writing life so far. But I still have a long way to go and many more stories to tell. My advice to writers would simply be this: Set outrageous goals for yourself. But always focus on the joy of writing--love of the act has to be first, central, and last. It's the only thing that will keep you moving toward your goals. 

4. Who are some authors or what are some books you've enjoyed and like to recommend to readers?

I always like to recommend Alice Hoffman to anyone who has never read her. Sarah Addison Allen too, of course! These are both magical writers who speak strongly to me. 

5. Considering your novels have "magical" elements, do you believe that "magic," in some form, exists in our world?  Or is it all coincidence/chance? 

You've hit on the central question of THE WISHING THREAD, the story of three sisters who are said to "knit" magic spells. I believe in magic (and really, I mean miracles, and I mean God) because I want to, because I can't not. I believe life is a gift, a very real gift, and our life's work is to walk in gratitude and humility. But I won't tell you how to read THE WISHING THREAD. Every reader has to make her own decisions about what's really going on in that story. 

As if I didn't adore Lisa Van Allen enough.  Seriously such beautiful words!

Soooo even more big news.  Lisa and her publisher (Penguin Random House) are letting me give away not one... not two... but three copies of The Night Garden!!!  This means you have a chance to win one of these lovely copies of Lisa's new book!

All you have to do is like my facebook page and enter below!  You can even get additional entries by liking Lisa's facebook page and sharing this giveaway on your own facebook page!  You can actually get an additional entry each day you post about this giveaway on your facebook page!  Winners will be chosen in one week... good luck!

A huge thank you to Lisa Van Allen and the folks at Penguin Random house for giving me the opportunity to share Lisa's incredible novel!  And thank you to all of you for participating and sharing with your friends! 


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