Friday, April 12, 2013

Hello book fans--


I am sitting here on my back deck, under gray Pacific Northwest skies, trying to get everything ready for my upcoming book tour and the release of FLY AWAY on April 23rd, and I have to say, man the job of writing has become so much bigger in these wired-in, dialed-up, tuned-in social media days.  I remember when all I had to do was write a book and pretty much walk away.  :)  Now, it seems that there's always more to do.  I need a Kristin Hannah clone to do all the promotional duties that I am no good at.   All of this t is my way of saying I'm sorry I've been gone for a while, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you waiting for me.  As a little treat, here's a copy of a scrapbook I made and narrated that tells you a little bit about the new book--and the book that started it all, Firefly Lane.  What do you think?  Are the places what you imagined?

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XrBC2pGvOA&feature=share&list=UUUamFyjQIKBzPwXpPyBBmNw


As many of you know, Firefly Lane is the book that changed my career. Before it, I had already written eighteen novels, and really, I thought I knew who I was as a novelist.  Then along came Tully and Kate.  Following their story changed the way I saw my work.  For the first time, I wrote a novel that spanned decades and touched on popular culture and delved into the relationship between best friends.  The only viewpoints in the novel were the women.  Sure, there was a love story in Firefly, but that was secondary.  The real heart of Firefly Lane was the friendship between the women.  The story incorporated a huge amount of my own life and my own history.  It took me several years to write the novel, and when I finally finished, I was honestly exhausted. 

 But I always knew there was more to the story.  It’s the first and only time I’ve ever felt that way after finishing a novel. Usually, when I come to the final edit, I am ready to let the characters go into their happy endings world.  Firefly Lane was different.  Tully and Cloud, in particular, haunted my thoughts, tugged at me.  I couldn’t quite let them go, even when I went on to write other novels.

 One day, I just knew it was time to go back to Firefly Lane and check in.  You’d think it would be easy to step back into a world you’d created, but it was surprisingly difficult to find my way back to this story and these characters. I should have seen the troubles coming.  We all know how tough it can be to come home after years away, and that’s what I found when I began Fly Away.  There were too many stories to tell, too many ways for the characters’ lives to go.  It really threw me off my game.  I tried draft after draft, story after story.  I wrote so many versions of Tully and Cloud and Marah and Johnny that my head couldn’t hold them all.  I felt lost in the forest of too many choices.  Every road I chose ended up leading me in the wrong direction.  And then I realized what was missing:  Kate.  I simply couldn’t write about these characters without Kate.  In her life, she had been the glue that held them all together; without her, there was no way I could revisit her world.  Of course, that presented a bit of a problem, since she died in Firefly Lane.

 Fortunately, I am a spiritual person and I believe in much more than what I can see.  So, once I realized what was wrong, I knew how to fix it.  Even if it was a little…unorthodox, even if it asked my readers to accompany me on an extraordinary journey.  In that moment, Fly Away took shape in my mind.  It became a novel about what happens when the one person who matters to you—the person who holds a whole family together—is lost.  The funny thing is that I should have known it all along.  After all, I wrote Firefly Lane as a tribute to my mom, who died of breast cancer when I was young.  In Kate, I found a way to remember my mom.  So, of course, I should have known that the sequel was about how you go on when the one you love is lost.  When I found that theme, and the structure that accompanied it, I was able to do what I really wanted to do: write an emotionally powerful novel about familiar characters that stands on its own as opposed to a pure sequel.  I don’t think you have to read Firefly Lane first, but if you do, I think Fly Away is that much richer and more compelling.

 To be honest, the biggest challenge in Fly Away came because of you, my readers.  I have been blown away by your support of Kate and Tully and the world I created on Firefly Lane.  I thought of you all the time while writing this book.  It was so important to me that I not disappoint you--and I also needed to write a novel that would completely stand on it's own.  I look forward to your comments about the book.  It's always fun to hear what you think.  That's the best thing about all this social media.  It's great to get know my readers.  We always have so much in common.

Here is a link to the Fly Away tab on my Facebook page.  https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/AuthorKristinHannah/app_465047440203515
You can find my tour information there.  I hope to see some of you next month.  Until then, please come onto my facebook page and keep in touch!  I try to answer as many of the comments as I possibly can.

And have a great summer!

Aloha,
Kristin
 
 

FLY AWAY available 4/23/2013

Thursday, November 8, 2012

 
 
 
 
Hello everyone!!  First and foremost---drum roll please---here's the new book!  It will be available on April 23, 2013!!!  I know you've been waiting a long time and I appreciate your patience.  Here's the link if you'd like to preorder it.  http://on.fb.me/SwMUnSI'm   What do you think of the cover?  And maybe you'd like a little scoop of what it's about...

There's a conversation going on about it on facebook.  Join in!  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  http://www.facebook.com/#!/AuthorKristinHannah?fref=ts

I'm sorry it's been so long since I was here---so long in fact that I had to scramble to find my password!  It has been a wild and crazy year for many.  In some ways crazy-good and in some ways not so good. 

I'll start with the easy stuff.  After twenty years in the same house, my husband and I decided to move.  We didn't plan this.  Honestly, we fell in love with a house we weren't even looking for, and suddenly it was a go.  I spent most of the spring packing and throwing away (note to self: don't collect stuff you don't need).  My library was the hardest part.  I simply didn't have room for all of the glorious books I have read and collected over the years, so I had to find them good homes.  :)

And then there was the book.  This book.  FLY AWAY. 

It was a strange journey with this novel from the very start.  For the first time in my career, I made the choice to revisit characters I'd created before.  In this case, characters you may have met in Firefly Lane, five years ago.  The simple truth is that these characters, more than most, stayed with me.  I often found myself wondering what had become of them, and so I decided--at last--to find out.  Turns out Thomas Wolfe was right.  It's not so easy to go home again, or to turn back the clock, or to revisit the people and places of one's past.  And so it was the the book that I thought would be easy, turned out to be the most difficult and trickiest of my career.

Why?  Because of the characters.  I loved them, quite simply, and I know that many of you do, also, and this became a pressure I didn't anticipate.  I felt an incredible burden to accomplish what began to seem impossible--a great story that felt fresh and original with characters that made you laugh and cry and think.    And it had to stand alone.  It had to resonate and make sense and sweep you away even if you've never read Firefly Lane.  Yikes.  No wonder it was susch a tough year.

But the good news is this--after a long and creatively exhausting journey through words and lands and people, I am really happy with FLY AWAY and I can't wait to share it with you all.  I can't wait to hear what you think about what has happened to Tully and Marah and Johnny and Cloud in the past few years. 

Again, thanks so much for waiting for me--and for this book.  I have gotten thousands of emails and letters asking for it, and I really hope you love it as much as I do.  :)

With aloha,

Kristin

Home Front pub day 1/31!!!! It's almost here...

Thursday, January 26, 2012













Happy January, fellow readers! This is a big month for me, as many of you know. It generally takes me about fourteen months to write a novel, so to have two books out in the same month causes quite a stir around the Hannah household. My Home Front tour is coming up fast. I'll be in the following cities between Jan 31 and Feb. 17: Seattle, Poulsbo, Santa Monica, Pasadena, San Diego, Washington DC/Bethesda, Raleigh-Durham, New York, New Jersey, Long Island, Miami and Vero Beach. You can find exact times and dates for these events at Kristinhannah.com or on the events tab on my facebook page. I hope to meet a lot of you!


For a homebody like me, the tour-a-palooza is a big undertaking. I'm supposed to be preparing for it, and I guess I am. As I sit here, in my cozy living room, sipping a cup of tea while I talk to you, I have a pile of clothes and shoes that need to be gone through. I make it a firm rule to take only carry on luggage on tour--so yes, this means that many of you will see me in the same outfit, but it also means that its easy as pie to move through the airports and there's no waiting for luggage when I land. I guess we all have to prioritize, and for me, I pick time over fashion. :) This will come as no surprise to any one who knows me...



I'd like to thank all of the book clubs who have read and embraced Night Road. It has been so much fun to hear from you--both here and on facebook. The book seems to be doing exactly what I'd hoped--sparking lively debate and conversations. It's so cool when a book can make a group of women come together to share their feelings and opinions and thoughts.



To everyone who bought Night Road and read it and told their friends, I want to say thank you so much. Your support and enthusiasm helped propel the novel onto the New York Times list and to keep it there. You rock!



And now, on to Home Front. Drum roll, please, this is my newest novel, and it will be available for sale on Jan 31. If you want to get it on day one, you can preorder your copy on Kristinhannah.com today.



As you all know, I have written a lot of books, and many of those books have touched on some powerful, emotional themes. I can honestly say that this one, Home Front, has become my favorite. There are probably a lot of reasons for that--it's a timely, provocative story about a husband and wife who have stumbled into hard times in their marriage and just as they're trying to decide what their future holds, the wife--Jolene--is deployed to Iraq. Her husband, Michael, is left at home, waiting for news, and must handle fatherhood in a whole new way. This is not a story you've read before--I promise you. I truly fell in love with my heroine this time. Jolene is a true hero, both at home and in wartime. I won't say any more, because its more fun to discover a book's secrets for yourself. But be sure and let me know what you think!!!



And now, I guess I better haul myself back over to that pile of clothes that need to be sorted through. Anyone on my tour route--tell me what the weather's like in your neck of the woods. :)



Thanks again for joining me here. I'll be sending out a newsletter next week with all kinds of cool interview links. So, I hope you're on my mailing list. If not, you can go to my website and sign up.


Man, I wish I knew how to post a link here... :)



Sending you sunshine and aloha on this rainy January day. Hope to see you soon!





xo



Kristin




























Free Thank You gift to readers...

Sunday, November 6, 2011





Hello friends---




As many of you know, my upcoming novel, HOME FRONT is about a couple whose marriage is in crisis...and then the wife is deployed to Iraq and the husband has to stay home and become the kind of father he's never been before. It's about the price of war on a single, ordinary American family. It's about going to war, and coming home, and the challenges inherent in both.




I am really proud of this novel. I learned a lot about myself writing it, and a lot about the world, and about the sacrifice our citizens make on a daily basis to keep us all safe. I can't wait to hear what you think about it. I'll be touring in early February--hope to meet many of you then.




As a thank you to all of you, my faithful readers, and in honor of Veteran's Day, I'd like to offer you all a FREE downloadable copy of a short story I wrote several years ago. (I'm sorry that it's not available in print--maybe another time; I hope). Along with the short story, you'll receive an excerpt of Home Front. I hope you enjoy both. And thank again for all of your support over the years...




Let me know what you think!




Aloha,




Kristin






Aloha again to my blog friends---

Sunday, September 18, 2011



Aloha my blog and firefly friends---


It has been far too long since my last post, and for that I am really sorry. It's not that I haven't thought of you all, or that I've had nothing to say, it's simply that for the past few months I've been inundated with life. Work, friends, family, travel, reading, social networking---I honestly adore all of it, and yet I find that I can't keep up with everything that I want to do. There just aren't enough hours in the day. I'm sure you all know what I mean. We women are movers and shakers--we get a lot done. A super human amount, actually, but every now and then the To Do list overpowers the available time list. That is where I've been. Tell me I'm not alone. Has this summer been crazy for you, too?


Although I've clearly fallen into the deep end of the blogging pool (help, I've fallen and I can't get up!!), I really truly haven't forgotten you all. The conversations we've all shared over the last few years and the e-friendships we've made have meant something to me. Which is why I wanted to check back in and let you know that I'm still here.


The biggest piece of my lost time puzzle has definitely been the new book. HOME FRONT is coming out Jan 31, 2012, and I can tell you that I've never had such a difficult time writing a novel--at least not that I can recall. The only upside to all of this hard work, all of these extensive edits, is that I'm really proud of this book. You all know me well enough to know that I don't say that lightly or often. It is, hands down, the most honest and real novel that I've ever written. I can't wait to hear what you all think of it.


For months now, I've been keeping the story under wraps. Maybe that's because the book feels so special to me...or maybe I've been scared. Who knows what goes on in the minds of a nervous writer? Only the Shadow knows. :) Anyway, (with a drumroll, please), here is the first tidbit about the story:


Like many married couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to balance the pressures of everyday life--children, careers, bills, chores--even as their twelve year marriage is falling apart. Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm's way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, struggling to care for his frightened, worried children. At once a profoundly honest look at the landscape of a disintegrating marriage and a dramatic exploration of the price of war on a single American family, HOME FRONT is a story about love, loss, heroism, honor, and ultimately, hope.


For the next few weeks, I'll be talking about the book on my facebook page. I know that most of you are already there, and I encourage the rest of you to please join us. I'll be giving out all kinds of information and answering questions and doing a few giveaways as we get closer to publication. I look forward to seeing your posts both here and there. But I won't give up blogging--honestly.


Thanks for still being here---


aloha,

Kristin


Summer Aloha Slowdown...

Friday, May 20, 2011





Aloha to all my web friends!






As you can see from the following photos, I am back in my favorite place in the world: Hawaii.
(This first photo is sunset on the night my girlfriends showed up!)









Although the weather has not been quite as good as I would have liked, it's still a LOT better than the gray and rain in my beloved Washington State.






As most of you know, I was touring with NIGHT ROAD for much of March. I was flying across the country, touching down here and there to meet you, and what a blast I had. Thanks so much to all of you who took time out from your busy lives to meet me. I was thrilled to talk with each and every one of you! (Above is the photo of me and good friends, Megan Chance, Jill Marie Landis and Jill Stadler at my favorite tiki bar in Hawaii--girls just wanna have fun!)




I thought you'd like to see this photo of Megan Chance and me (below). I'm sure I've mentioned her on this blog before, over the years. Megan and I met twenty-three years ago. It was kismet, really. We were both young, unpublished writers at a day long workshop. We met, decided to become critique partners and have worked together ever since. She's my first reader, always, and one of the people with whom I brainstorm ideas. She has a book coming out in June--City of Ash, which just received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Woo hoo, Megan! And this was her first trip to see me in Hawaii. What a blast we had...









This is the three of us---me, Jill, and Megan, at a beautiful hotel on our last night in paradise. We had delicious drinks and pupus on a lanai, and watched the sun set into the Bay. Can't say a better aloha than that...













And now, all of my guests are gone and it is just me and my books and my husband and the island...





Right now, as I write this entry, I can hear the trade winds blowing through the coconut palms in my yard. I can also hear birds, and children laughing down on the beach, and the waves rolling in. It's absolutely perfect--the perfect place to rest, rejuvenate...and think of a new idea.



Yes, sports fans, it is that time again. I need a new idea. And why? Because my book for 2012 is an eyebrow hair away from finished. Yay!!! I am awaiting word from my agent and editor, but the great news is that I really love this book. I may have to do some more work on it, but I'm thrilled at the opportunity to roll my sleeves up and edit AGAIN because I really want to make this book even more special. I can't wait for you to read it!!! I can say with confidence that it has the best heroine I've ever written. I know I'm being a little mean, even saying anything, but I wanted you all to be the first to know how happy I am with the book. Soon--hopefully in a month or so--I'll feel comfortable releasing some more information about this novel, which has a MOST unusual setting for me. I really walked into a world I know nothing about for this one...



In a way, I wish I could keep working on it forever. Anything is better than trying to come up with a new idea. That is definitely the hardest part of the whole process for me.



Finally, I want to thank you all for your support of both NIGHT ROAD and WINTER GARDEN. Winter Garden has spent twenty weeks on the NYT bestseller list. Wow. That is absolutely amazing and humbling, and I can't thank you enough. I have also been blown away by your love of and support for Night Road. You guys rock!!!



And now, I guess I'm going to take my book down to the beach. In the past weeks I've read Harlan Coben's Long Gone, Lisa Gardner's Love you More, Discovery of Witches, and the Paris Wife, and Water for Elephants (I know, I know, I was the last person to read it, but I ADORED it). What have you read? What's on your summer TBR pile?



Aloha for now---



Kristin










tour 2011

Saturday, April 16, 2011


Aloha everyone!

As you know, I always like to begin my posts from magical Hawaii in the same way, with an e-gift of flowers from my yard. So here there are. I'll admit it's a small bouquet, not exactly stunning or eye catching, but these are among my favorite plants over here. And well, not eveything has to be top drawer, does it? Sometimes the very best things are those that are more often overlooked. Not that I mean to get philosophical. Frankly, after the last two weeks, I don't think I have enough brains cells left to philosophize well. :) For those of you that have been following me on facebook, you know how crazy busy I've been. What was it eight cities in ten days? For a girl who spends most of her life in sweats and flip flops, it was a blistering pace, that's what I know. The good news, no, the GREAT news is that I got to meet two Fireflies--Patricia and Linda. It was so great to meet them; after all the exchanges on the blog over the years, I felt instantly as if I'd know them forever. Thanks for showing up, girls! Patricia---post a pic on facebook!

Here are a few photos from along the way. This shot to the left is from Anderson's Book store in Naperville, Illinois. As usual, I had a wonderful time at this store. The staff is fabulous and so supportive, and of course, my good buddy, Susan Elizabeth Phillips lives not too far away, so she and her charming husband took me in and fed me until I couldn't eat another bite. Spending time with her was really one of the highlights of the trip. This is me at the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta. How cool is that? Me...at the Margaret Mitchell House. Like most of you, I grew up with Gone with the Wind. It was one of the most influential books of my teen years, and the movie was equally special. My mom took me to see it when I was thirteen--we had to drive over two hours to see it on the big screen. Of course, because I was a teenager, I'm sure I complained the whole way... She knew, as always, what was best. I know that somehow, she knew I was there...

This was one of my favorite stops. Raleigh Durham, North Carolina. First off, it was the first place I saw sunshine (maybe the ONLY place I saw sunshine) for the whole tour. But even more than that, I experienced a ton of good old fashioned Southern hospitality. The crowd was lively and friendly. We had a great time. At least, I did! Here I am in the Big Apple. As you all know, New York is one of my favorite cities in the world, and I had an absolute ball here...



Especially because I got to see my wonderful, darling, beloved agent, Andrea Cirillo (left), and her partner, Meg Ruley. What book signing event isn't just a little more fun after a glass of nice champagne with girlfriends?


And now, after all of that travel, I am back in paradise. I just finished reading Harlan Coben's new book, LIVE WIRE, which, of course, I loved. He just never disappoints.


Tonight I have a luau/birthday party to attend, and then it's back to work. I have--hopefully--one more draft to do for the 2012 book. (I say hopefully, but in fact I have no hope at all--it will definitely take two drafts at least). The good news: I heard back from my agent and she loved it. The bad news: she could like it better. :) I can't wait to dig into her edit letter and get started. I think this really has the potential to be a special book and I don't want to let you all down!


Thanks again to everyone who visited me on tour. You can't know how much I love meeting all of you, and hearing from you. And to those who lived in places far from where I landed--I hope to meet you next year. Keep posting here and on facebook!


Aloha and all my best,

Kristin