Month: November 2016

My 30 Day Challenge for November?

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A new month, a new 30 day challenge.  For those of you who are friends on Facebook or check out My 30 Day Challenges blog regularly, you already know that I’m participating in NaNoWriMo this November.  Thirty days, 50,000 words, local events, and the permission to completely suck.  At least that’s what I was told at the kick-off event last Saturday 🙂

I’m two days in (after I write this I’ll start writing toward my 1700 word daily goal) and already my story is not going quite as planned.  I’ve added a main character who I adore and taken out the love interest in my romance.  That’s right.  He’s gone. Someone else jumped into that role in chapter 1 and I’m rolling with it.  Oh, and as I was writing in Bob Evans the first morning, my waitress got into the novel too (her name anyway).

I’m asking people on the 30 Day blog and on the Facebook page to help me decide things.  Right now voting is up for the name of my heroine – please stop by either place to see the finalists and cast your vote.

I’ve found a couple other bloggers who are participating too.  If you or someone you know is signed up let me know so we can be buddies.

Care (Care’s Books and Pie)

Michelle (True Book Addict)

It’s going to be a fun month 🙂

The Lovers by Vendela Vida

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Title: The Lovers, Author: Vendela VidaThe Lovers. Finished 9-12-16, rating 2.5/5. fiction, pub. 2010

Unabridged audio read by Suzanne Toren. 7 hours.

Twenty-eight years ago, Peter and Yvonne honeymooned in the beautiful coastal village of Datça, Turkey. Now Yvonne is a widow, her twin children grown. Hoping to immerse herself in memories of a happier time—as well as sand and sea—Yvonne returns to Datça. But her plans for a restorative week in Turkey are quickly complicated. Instead of comforting her, her memories begin to trouble her. Her vacation rental’s landlord and his bold, intriguing wife—who share a curious marital arrangement—become constant uninvited visitors, in and out of the house.

Overwhelmed by the past and unexpectedly dislocated by the environment, Yvonne clings to a newfound friendship with Ahmet, a local boy who makes his living as a shell collector. With Ahmet as her guide, Yvonne gains new insight into the lives of her own adult children, and she finally begins to enjoy the shimmering sea and relaxed pace of the Turkish coast. But a devastating accident upends her delicate peace and throws her life into chaos—and her sense of self into turmoil.       from Goodreads

I listened to the majority of this in the car but followed along in the book.  I admit I didn’t felt a twinge of interest until page 68.  There were many discussion worthy storylines, but overall it just didn’t speak to me.

Yvonne is a recent widow who decides to go back to the place of her honeymoon, Datca, Turkey.  She rents a house and meets a few people who help her heal in different ways. As the days unfold we get the whole story on her marriage and children.  I enjoyed learning a little about the Turkish culture.

This might appeal to readers who like introspective international stories.