Paula Reed's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-scarlet-letter"

The biggest criticism I've faced thus far has been on my choice to "give" Hester Prynne the ability to perceive the sins of others. It was mentioned in Publishers Weekly and again here at Goodreads as being a highly improbable plot element. I suppose I can't argue its improbability. I don't think this is something you would find in a real-life person. My only defense is that, well, it's fiction, and it was Hawthorne's idea before it was mine. True statement. Reread chapter five of The Scarlet Letter, or if you don't feel like hunting down a copy, check out my website: http://www.paula-reed.com. The "Readers' Group" page has questions for your book groups and excerpts from The Scarlet Letter that influenced Hester.

It has been exciting following Hester's latest incarnation as a trade paperback. There have been new surprises, like the number of people who entered to win one of the 20 copies St. Martin's Press gave away here on Goodreads, and those of you who won them writing about how you are looking forward to reading it. I hope it lives up to your expectations! There was also the unexpected thrill of seeing stacks of my book at Costco!

Now that Hester is in paperback, more book clubs are choosing it as one of their books to discuss, and I have had the honor of participating at local gatherings. I've even participated in faraway ones via speaker phone. I'm hoping to do a few by Skype. I love book clubs! The participants are always interesting and fun, and I love getting to interact face-to-face or voice-to-voice with readers.

If your book club decides to read Hester, please feel free to contact me. If it's at all possible, I will be happy to make room in my calendar for an appearance--physically in the Denver area or virtually elsewhere. My email is paulareed@comcast.net.

As always, happy reading!