Reader Nina Lillardand Author Emelle Gamble discuss the novel SECRET SISTER

 

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 Nina:What was your biggest reservation about putting your work out there, and whatgave you the final push to become an Author? Did you have a full-time occupationbefore you published your first book?

Emelle: I had noreservations – was totally gung ho to share my stories and entertain as soon asI felt like I knew how to actually structure a story. Pretty arrogant, huh? I’vealways worked in marketing and yes, when I first started writing, I worked forAT&T.

 

Nina:Somewriters do research in different ways to develop or frame up their story. Haveyou ever done something unusual to build a character or a plot? Like Travelingto a weird place, developing a ritual, sacrificing various writing instruments*LOL*, anything that was memorable, funny, intense, or something that became“your thing” to get you in a zone of inspiration.

 

Emelle: Veryinteresting question, and I am shocked to answer No. I think my characters –particularly the lead characters – come from a very personal history place, andI know them as aspects of myself, or those closest to me. This isn’tto imply my characters are me or anyone I know, but I do understand them andthink I get what makes them tick. They seldom get away from me and act out –although that happens. Zoe, the hero’s sister in Secret Sister, was one ofthose. She had so much insight and spunk, and I had imagined her more passive.

 

Nina:Sometimesreaders experience the stories you write in a completely different way than youintend. Have you ever been swayed to write additional pieces to a story to helpyour readers see your characters the way you see them?

 

Emelle: I have alwaysbeen a huge believer in ‘the story stands alone’. I resisted, when I was anEnglish major in college, reading criticism of works that based points ofso-called insight on the author’s personal life. I realized once I beganwriting, that this of course was foolish of me, as all work is a chunk of theauthor’s soul, and reveals certain things. What has been a true revelation tome is how often my characters are viewed differently by my readers than by me.Now, a smart author would probably question their skills as writer and work ontheir technique (HA!), but of course, as your insightful question asks,something else is going on. I wrote a blog post once that said, ‘books belongto readers’. And that is the revelation – once a book is out there, the readerbrings their own reality and life experience and personality make-up to thestory, and very often sees things an author might not realize or simply seesthings differently. It’s been shocking, and intoxicating at the same time. Butno matter how carefully an author thinks they are crafting a character or a story, itwill often, if not always, be seen to mean, or succeed or fail, for reasonsthat are different than what was intended, and that is completely legitimate. So no, I don’t try and convince someone of a character’svirtue. I let them meet the reader, and the rest is up to those two!   Books Belong to Readers blog post

 

Nina:Forme personally, Secret Sister was an incredibly remarkable story. I’m not sureif I would have felt as emotional had I read the book on my own, instead ofexperiencing it through the audiobook. I thought Stephanie Bentley was nothingless than perfect narrating it; and the combination of the story with the performanceof it moved my heart in a very unexpected way. What was the process of pickingthe perfect narrator like?

 

Emelle: I contractedwith ACX, who is the company who puts the narrator and the producers/actorstogether for audio books, and then sells them at Audible.com or Amazon or iTunes. You post a request for audition on their site, andprescreen actors and producers, who read and then submit short (5 to 15 minute)tapes. Stephanie was immediately empathetic as Cathy Chance, in particular. Sowhile she wasn’t a ‘perfect’ match to how I heard the characters inside my head– I still feel she has a bit of a ‘valley girl’ tempo that I had not imagined –her depth of emotion and grasp of the drama of the story sold me immediately.In fact, listening to some of the story from her lips, I felt like I was notthe author – she made me forget that I already knew what was coming nextbecause she built the tension so beautifully.  

 

Nina:Pleasetell us a little bit about Secret Sister and what is was like to write thisstory.

 

Emelle: Secret Sisteris truly the book that best expresses what I feel about true love. I am a hopeless romantic, and believe that some peopleare meant for each other, and are fortunate beyond blessing when they findtheir true love. The idea for the book came when I was sitting around with my critique group.  I threw out the notionthat my true love, my husband of thirty-plus years, would know me ‘no matterwhat’…and hence the story was born. I found it fun beyond belief to imagine thecircumstances of what happen to Cathy, and how difficult itwould be to try and convince someone of your identity if you looked completelydifferent.

 

The book deals with love on many levels, love of a parent, or abest friend, of your spouse. And it certainly is about the secrets we all keep from even those closest to us. It was emotionally taxing to write, but if I had to use oneword, I would say creating Secret Sister and those characters was exhilarating.No matter what else I ever write, it will be always be my favorite creation.   

 

Nina:AQuestion for a character in the book…Nick’s best friend Bradley. One ofthe best quotes I ever heard is Bradley’s comment to Nick, “The heart remembers”. Having that in mind, do you believe you canallow yourself to love and be happy with a new person, as you once were?

 

 “Yes. I think you honorlove by opening yourself to love again. You can never recreate what you hadwith another – especially if that other was your soulmate – but you can behappy again. I believe that, just as I believe I will never love as completelyas I loved Mitch.”  Audio book link 

Love is all there is, it makes the world go 'round Love and only love, it can't be denied No matter what you think about it You just won't be able to do without it Take a tip from one who's tried - Bob Dylan