Today I am playing host to my very first guest. Thank you, Kim, for agreeing to being my 'guinea-pig'! I have known Kim through her writing for several years now, and we have also met in person, so I am delighted to help to promote her lastest novel, The Tin Box.
Thank you, Raine, for letting
me visit today!
My novel The Tin Boxwas just released. One of the main
characters, William Lyon, is an introvert. He enjoys being alone. He tends to
feel awkward in social situations, especially when he doesn’t know the other
people well. He’s very analytical.
I’m an introvert too. No huge
surprise there—probably most writers fit neatly in that category. We like to
observe, to think about things, to take the time to express ourselves
precisely.
But being an introvert isn’t
the same as being a hermit, and it doesn’t mean we cower in corners. My day job
is university professor, which means I routinely stand up and speak for long
periods of time to large groups of people—sometimes over 100—and I feel
perfectly comfortable doing so. I even enjoy it. And I love having conversations with friends,
often intense conversations. I can talk all night. But eventually I am going to
need some alone time to recharge.
I have had the great pleasure
of meeting quite a few other authors, including the delightful Raine, who
played tour guide for my daughter and me in Cambridge (England, not
Massachusetts) a couple years ago. And you know what? It turns out authors are
a fun lot to hang out with—especially after a drink or two. In the end, though,
I think we all end up back on our computers or clutching our pencils,
scribbling away in solitude. And that’s the way we like it.
Despite his introverted
personality, William still needs friendship and love. But coming to terms with
his sexuality is a difficult process for him too. So it’s fortunate that he
meets extraverted Colby Anderson. And it’s also fortunate that William
discovers letters written by a man committed to a mental hospital in the 1930s
for being gay. William will always value his alone time—but perhaps the letters
and Colby can help him find happiness too.
Please follow Kim on Twitter
@KFieldingWrites
Or friend her on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/KFieldingWrites
Or visit her blog
http://kfieldingwrites.blogspot.com
Blurb:
William Lyon's past forced
him to become someone he isn't. Conflicted and unable to maintain the charade,
he separates from his wife and takes a job as caretaker at a former mental
hospital. Jelley’s Valley State Insane Asylum was the largest mental hospital
in California for well over a century, but it now stands empty. William thinks
the decrepit institution is the perfect place to finish his dissertation and
wait for his divorce to become final. In town, William meets Colby Anderson,
who minds the local store and post office. Unlike William, Colby is cute,
upbeat, and flamboyantly out. Although initially put off by Colby’s mannerisms,
William comes to value their new friendship, and even accepts Colby's offer to
ease him into the world of gay sex.
William’s self-image begins to change when he discovers a tin box, hidden in an asylum wall since the 1940s. It contains letters secretly written by Bill, a patient who was sent to the asylum for being homosexual. The letters hit close to home, and William comes to care about Bill and his fate. With Colby’s help, he hopes the words written seventy years ago will give him courage to be his true self.
William’s self-image begins to change when he discovers a tin box, hidden in an asylum wall since the 1940s. It contains letters secretly written by Bill, a patient who was sent to the asylum for being homosexual. The letters hit close to home, and William comes to care about Bill and his fate. With Colby’s help, he hopes the words written seventy years ago will give him courage to be his true self.
