Fascinating Authors

FASCINATING AUTHORS: Tell us a little bit about your book.

Author: What would you do if the wealthy father who abandoned you to a cruel stepfather twenty-eight years ago returned today, begging for a chance to make amends?” It sounds like a fairy tale come true, doesn’t it? In Cracked Bat, Linnea Perrault is the editor of The Edge, a successful community newspaper when her dearest childhood wish comes true. Happily married to Dan, Spinning Wheel Bay’s premier coffee roaster and owner of The Mill, she is the mother of an adorable four-year-old daughter who insists upon lugging a fifteen-pound garden dwarf everywhere they go.  She resurrects her father’s place in her heart and he buys the local baseball team.

Before long, fairy tales, Islamic mystics, and a host of cross-cultural avatars come into play as the team is propelled to the top of the league. After a foul pass and an accident at the stadium, Linnea finds herself locked in the stone tower of pain as she realizes how much the man she married is like the father she never knew. Doctors can’t diagnose her debilitating condition, but kind, magical strangers give her a chance to save her soul.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: What inspired you to create a work of fiction?

Author: Cracked Bat is a unique story, but millions of women have experienced and continue to live different parts of it. Creating a work of fiction gave me more options for exploring the deeper truths about abandonment, chronic pain, and the power of Love and integrity.

FASCINATING AUTHORS:    What is Intuit-Lit?

Author: It’s my genre. Ten Pentacles promotes Intuit-Lit, as opposed to what the publishing industry calls Chick-Lit. Like old folk tales and multi-cultural myths, Cracked Bat is intended to entertain and encourage readers to tap into their deep inner wisdom.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: What did you do to prepare for writing your book?

Author: I have my own office right now, but I wrote Cracked Bat in the middle of my children’s playroom. Preparation involved pushing piles of Legos aside and using masking tape to draw a line in the toys. I worked part-time as a school librarian at that time, so I’d rush home, skipping lunch to type as fast as I could until it was time to pick my son up from school.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: How did you develop the plot?

Author: The plot unfolded as the characters became more real to me and began directing the story themselves. I did try to impose a different ending on them in the first draft, but my editor, Anne Mini, urged to me to “go with the energy of the story.” Linnea ended up with a much better Happily-Ever-After.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: Are any of your characters based on anyone – or any type of person – you know?

Author: Most of my characters are a combination of people I’ve known or heard about, mingled with my own imagination (or projections). A few of them are fairly close to their real life inspirations, but I’m not telling which ones! Honestly, I’ve always been intuitive and I sometimes struggle with appropriating parts of people’s psyches for my art and amusement. I do intentionally alter them and appease my guilt by invoking my own version of the Fair Use Clause. I’m only “using” a small percentage of their personality, right? When I think of my characters, I see them as very distinct people, separate from those who may have played a similar role in my real life.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: How long did it take you to write the book – (was it longer or less time than you expected)?

Author: It took my whole life and then a year and a half.  Once I was ready to write, it took six months to draft Cracked Bat and another year to revise it and, as I said, allow the characters to have the ending they wanted.  I cringe at timelines for creative writing. In my experience, when the story (or a part of it, like a character or the structure) is ready to come, it will. If it’s not ready, there’s plenty of real life to live until it is.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: Did you seek the support of a writer’s group or class?

Author: When I was writing Cracked Bat, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I returned full-time to the day job (teaching, which I love), so I chose to spend the time I could devote to writing, writing. It would have been great, though, to have also had the support of others who could empathize with why I’d chose the Muse over a cocktail party or a bridal shower. I’m very fortunate that I had a great editor to ask the tough questions that elicited some of the best writing in the book.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: What surprised you the most about this process?

Author: It surprises me how many readers think Cracked Bat is a true story. People ask questions as if I really were Linnea. It’s fun, but a little unnerving. Their eyes dart around as if they hope to catch a glimpse of my imaginary friends while we chat in line at the grocery store or over the copy machine at school. It probably doesn’t help that I talk to myself a lot, especially in those particular places.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: What tips would you offer to anyone writing fiction for the first time?

Author: I would say imagine finding the very book you’ve always wanted to read, but have never actually encountered. And write it yourself. Oh! And once you get started on this amazing journey, take care of your body every step of the way. Stretch, and dance, a lot.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: What can we look forward to in your next book?

Author:  Ten Pentacles publishes auspicious fiction for the intuitively inclined, so you can look forward to more myth and magic. My next novel is about a modern day single mom raising teenage boys in a world that does not help them transition into wise men.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: Is there anything we haven’t covered that you would like to include?

Author: The artwork is currently underway for the Cracked Bat Oracle. Using the archetypal energies in the novel, the cards and their interpretations are designed to help readers further access their intuition. If you’d like a free online Tarot reading, using a prototype card, please visit www.tenpentacles.com  and click on my blog for more information.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: Thank you for taking the time to be part of this interview!

Thank you. It has been my pleasure.