Deal Sharing Aunt: Monday, Sunday by Fenton Grace Interview & Review

Monday, Sunday by Fenton Grace:

Publisher: Hanover Press (May 4, 2015) Category: Women’s Fiction, Literary, Contemporary, with a Noir edge ISBN: 978-0-9961534-0-9 Tour Date: August/September, 2015 Available in: Print & ebook, 287 Pages

Set in a small town in Colorado, Monday, Sunday tells the enthralling story of Laney Secord. She is a 32-year-old single mother who finds herself attracted to a 16-year-old Eagle Scout, Christopher. Unable to accept her feelings, Laney becomes involved with Christopher’s father, Bill. In the course of a week, a romantic triangle envelops the trio and changes their lives in ways in which none of them could have imagined. A gripping story of a complex woman at a crossroads in her life. A woman who is determined to rediscover herself. She becomes powerfully aware that every decision she makes could mean life or.. death. "In this beautifully written and compelling novel, author Fenton Grace explores the consequences of flawed choices, the nature of betrayal and forgiveness, and the boundaries of sexual attraction." Noah, Book Reviewer

About Fenton Grace:

Fenton Grace was born and raised in New England. She graduated from Brown University with a degree in French. She enjoys playing piano, tennis, and keeping in shape with Pilates. She’s worked in the entertainment industry at several television and movie studios in a variety of business services roles. Happily married for 17 years, she is the proud mother of two kids and currently lives in beautiful Southern California. Monday, Sunday is her first novel.

Interview:

1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
That’s an interesting question, and something I hadn’t thought about in those terms: When did I want to be a professional writer? I knew that I liked to write since junior high and high school. However, it wasn’t until I was graduating from college that I decided I wanted to write professionally. First, I thought I would be a poet. I wrote poetry for a while, but realized that I wouldn’t likely make a living at it. I then turned to screenwriting, and following that, novel writing. Most people can write – it’s a skill we’re all taught. Some discover a “talent” for it. Some of those decide to act on this. The next step is to tell yourself that you’d like to earn a living through writing. Many follow the route of writing non-fiction pieces, be it for newspapers, blogs, or other commercial writing. Inside though, the writer usually has aims of creating works of fiction. This leap is one of the hardest to take and to accomplish. It’s not like applying for a job, or becoming a doctor, lawyer or teacher. It’s much harder, with no set route or path, and lots of failed starts and stops.
2. How long does it take you to write a book?
That depends. I generally write a first draft in about three months. But it won’t be very good. If I want it to be better, I need to spend about nine more months revising it. That takes me to about a year, and I’d say that would result in a mediocre novel. If I want it to be better, I’ll spend another year, and then possibly another. The more time you spend, the better the novel generally becomes. Three years is all I’d likely spend – any more than that I think there would be diminishing returns. If the book were 900 printed pages, however, I might need to spend a few more years to polish and fine-tune all the storylines.
3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
I have a full-time job, and I work eight hours a day, five days a week. If I’m writing a first draft, my writing schedule during those times would be an hour a day before work. I’ll also spend two to three hours on Saturday writing. I’ll take one day off each week. When I rewrite, I’ll spend at least an hour a day, often more.
4. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I think my interesting quirk is that when I’m writing a first draft, I always try to stop writing in the middle of a scene or a paragraph. That way, when I set to write the next day, I know exactly where to pick up. There’s never a question of “What do I write now?” This removes the fear of a blank page constantly staring back at you. There’s always a partially filled page beckoning you to put pen to paper, pixels to screen.
5. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
I get them from all sorts of places. From my real-life experiences, from reading current events in the newspaper, from reading about historical events or watching documentaries about them. When I read in general, ideas about characters or situations will come to me, sometimes slightly related to what I’m reading. What usually influences me are not the main storylines or characters, but some minor character, event, or place that is mentioned in passing, with perhaps only a sentence given to it and no more. That tends to spark something in me, and I sometimes come up with a story or a character from it.
6. When did you write your first book and how old were you?
I think I was 29 when I wrote my first novel. That was quite a while ago, so long that I don’t recall with certainty. It was really a first draft, something that I didn’t revise. It was a long, meandering story. Most of what I wrote initially tended to be tortuous. I was more interested in putting words on a page and creating characters, scenes, dialogue, narrative and the like than adhering to any tight plot structure. I think I was revolting against screenwriting, where everything had to be mapped out in three acts, with major story beats at 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 90, and so on. All of my early works had dark characters at their core, antiheroes of sorts.
7. What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I like to read. Perhaps an odd quirk is that I don’t tend to read much fiction while I’m writing. I tend to read when I’m not writing, during breaks. If I weren’t working full-time, I’d probably be able to balance the two, but I find that if I were to work, write, and read, I’d have no time for anything else in my life.
8. Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
I think the first thing any writer needs to do is to be him or herself. You shouldn’t try to imitate any other writer, be it Anne Rice, Margaret Atwood, or Dan Brown. Every writer is different. Find who you are. Write about the stories and characters that interest you. Don’t be concerned if they’re not marketable.
Second, learn the craft, and learn it by reading good writers. I mean really good writers – Tolstoy, Flaubert, Dickens, James, etc. There are so many good ones out there. You don’t have to read them all, and don’t worry if you haven’t read some of the great ones. Read the ones that interest you. There’s no harm in reading a bit of a master and finding that you can’t relate. Put him down in favor of another. You will learn at least a little from each, perhaps a lot. No matter what kind of genre you end up writing in, reading works from great writers will greatly enrich your work and abilities as a writer.
9. What do you think makes a good story?
I think true-to-life characters that want something are at the heart of most good stories. The character is on a journey, has opposition that is represented by other characters or internal or external forces, and succeeds or fails at reaching his or her goal. The best stories offer some measure of growth for the main character – they’re not flat characters that fail to evolve. I think The Old Man and the Sea is a useful study in what makes a good story. I don’t believe the idea has to be “original” – there are so many great works that tell essentially the same story but in remarkably different ways. I admire writers who have this ability to take the mundane, the tried-and-true, and weave it into a compelling story that feels fresh and new. “There is nothing new under the sun” – I believe this is true. But there are so many ways to view and interpret what happens beneath the sun and moon.

My Review:
This is not a book for everyone. Love Triangles are never easy, especially when the two men are father and son. What was she thinking letting Christopher think that he had a chance? The age difference would not have bothered me, once he turned 18. However Laney then starts to date Christopher's father Bill. In my opinion she was leading them both on. As the story progressed and I was let into Laney's mind I realized that she is definitely unique. She overthought and made immediate decisions. It was hard to keep up with her thought process. The author has the ability to create characters that I really disliked at times. I am giving this book a 4/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.

Website: www.FentonGrace.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/fentongraceus