Spotlight/Q&A/Giveaway: The Mill River Redemption by Darcie Chan

About the Book

A Ballantine Trade Paperback Original

On Sale August 26, 2014

 

“A satisfying read with sympathetic and relatable characters that will be good for book group discussions and vacation reading.”

—Library Journal

Selling more than 700,000 eBook originals, New York Times bestselling author Darcie Chan mesmerized readers with her breathtaking prose and memorable characters in her debut, The Mill River Recluse, set in the enchanting, fictional locale of Mill River, Vermont. This August, Chan presents readers with a brand-new novel, THE MILL RIVER REDEMPTION (Ballantine Trade Paperback Original; On Sale August 26, 2014), featuring character cameos from The Mill River Recluse. Once again, Darcie skillfully weaves together themes of family, self-discovery and forgiveness to create a truly remarkable tale. A rising star in the literary world, Chan’s knack for storytelling is one that readers won’t soon forget. 

In THE MILL RIVER REDEMPTION, Josie DiSanti, recently widowed, flees her New York City home with her two young daughters to take refuge in Mill River, Vermont, and live with her only remaining relative, Ivy Collard, the local bookstore owner and a woman Josie barely knows. There, the young mother and her girls build a new life—until a shocking tragedy tears the sisters apart. Years later, the sisters are forced together for the reading of their mother’s will, and what they discover shakes up their worlds, forever shaping their futures.

THE MILL RIVER REDEMPTION

By Darcie Chan

A Ballantine Trade Paperback Original • Publication date: August 26, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-345-53823-9 • Price: $15.00 • Pages: 416

About the Author

 

Darcie Chan is the New York Times bestselling author of the eBook sensation The Mill River Recluse and the novel The Mill River Redemption. She has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal. For fourteen years, Chan worked as an attorney drafting environmental and natural resource legislation for the U.S. Senate. She now writes fiction full-time and lives north of New York City with her husband and son.

 www.darciechan.com

• 

 Q&A

I would like to welcome Darcie Chan, author of The Mill River Recluse and The Mill River Redemption,  to Socrates' Book Reviews.  Darcie was gracious enough to answer a few questions for us.

1) Who is your greatest influence in your writing career?

Undoubtedly, my parents. They taught me to read and write when I was very young, and I can't ever remember a time when I didn't love books. They also instilled in me a strong work ethic, self-confidence, and stubborn determination, all of which kept me going when I was struggling down the road to publication and encountering nothing but rejection.

2) How were the Mill River books born?

Initially, I set out to write a single debut novel, which became The Mill River Recluse. After a long, strange journey, it found a large readership as an e-book in the United States and then in both print and electronic forms in several foreign territories. I was then offered contracts by a division of Penguin Random House for two more novels set in the same fictional village, as well as for the pickup of the Recluse for republication in the U.S. and Canada in print and e-book formats. The contracts allowed me to start writing full-time -- my childhood dream come true.

As for the fictional setting itself -- having grown up in several small towns throughout the United States, I wanted my stories to take place in a similar place, one that is safe and cozy and where people still have close relationships with others in their community. Because I love snow and winter, and having seen so many photos of the beautiful little towns in Vermont, I thought a fictional village there would be the perfect setting for the kind of books I wanted to write.

3) With the first book under your belt, did it make the second book easier to write?

In some ways, yes, and in others, no. I think I was more comfortable handling the various aspects of a novel -- character and plot development, voice, dialogue, point of view, pacing, etc. -- by the time I'd finished my first novel. Also, many of the characters from my first book appear in my second, and the setting was the same, so there were some comforting elements of familiarity there. I was able to finish writing my second book much more quickly than the first. However, I also had to deal with the pressure of following a first novel that ended up being pretty successful. I wanted very much to write a second novel that was at least as good as, and preferably better than, my first. That desire was in the back of my mind at all times while I was writing, and I truly put everything I had into achieving that goal with The Mill River Redemption.

4) How does your family feel about your writing career?

Although they were as surprised as I was that I found myself in a position to be able to pursue a writing career full-time, my family is hugely supportive and proud of it and me. My parents and sisters are all avid readers, and both my father and mother had long careers in education (my father in school psychology and special education administration and my mother as a junior high English teacher) before they retired.

5) Do you have any other books on the horizon that we can look forward to reading?

I've recently completed the first draft of the third Mill River book. Like my first two, it takes place in the little Vermont village and will feature characters that my readers already know, as well as a few new ones. It's tentatively scheduled for publication in fall 2015, although I don't have an exact date yet.

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit us, Darcie!

BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!!

Thanks to Lindsey at Random House, I have one copy of The Mill River Redemption by Darcie Chan to giveaway to one lucky winner.

Just a few simple rules...

1) You must fill out the rafflecopter form below.

2) Contest is open to anyone over 18 years old

3) US Residents Only

4) For one extra entry: Tweet about this giveaway.

5) For one extra entry: Leave a comment for the author.

6) For one extra entry:  Follow this blog...old followers, too!  Just let us know how you follow and under what name.

No purchase necessary.  Void where prohibited.

The giveaway begins on August 26th (midnight est) and ends on September 2nd (midnight est).

The winner will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter. The winner will be notified by email and has 48 hours to respond, otherwise a new winner will be chosen. I will announce the winner here on my blog.

Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway