The Mail Still Runs Teaser

In 2011, I reviewed Far From the War by Jeffrey David Payne, a book that I was very surprised with.  The sequel is coming out in Summer 2012 and here is a teaser trailer.  It doesn't tell you much about the book, but I am excited about it nonetheless.  Here is the blurb from Roche Harbor Books' website:

The second installment of the Far From The War series shows how the war effects Esther's family back at home on Orcas Island. Told through the eyes of her sister Charlotte, this volume shows the family's anguish as they wait for Esther's return and how desperate neighbors disrupt their idyllic life on the island.

Author Interview: Jeffrey David Payne

Jeffrey David Payne, the author of Far From the War which is due to be published September 17, has answered a few questions I had about him and his upcoming novel.

There are a lot of war experiences in this book.  How did you come up with these occurrences that seem so real?

I served in the military right after high school, but this was in the early 90's after the first gulf war, so I served in peacetime.  That was enough to give me a sense of how people in the military interact  with each other and I did pick things up from the veterans who'd been  at war and at sea.  I tried to refine this sense with old documentaries, war memoirs, lots of technical research, and talking with friends and relatives who've served more recently.  I think what  realism the book has comes from a combination of planning, technical research and an unwillingness to gloss over disturbing truths.  I also worked out the specifics of the war and its causes in advance.  Though the progress of the war seems clouded to Esther and most Americans in the book, I've got maps and notes that lay out the battle lines, force strengths, etc.  Once I did that, the next step was to figure out how much of the big picture Esther's choices would bring her into contact with.

Do you ever experience writer’s block and how do you get over it?

I don't get writers block very often.  What I get is editors block.  I love writing the story, but I can get impatient with editing because I'm so anxious to move on to the next project, in this case to carry on with the trilogy.  Another key issue for me is time.  When I get time to write, I try not to waste it.

What kind of books do you like to read?

I don't read as much fiction as I'd like to because it always seems like I'm doing research.  I read a lot of non-fiction relating to politics, history and economics - exciting, I know.  I do try to alternate back and forth between fiction and non-fiction.  I think while some people read to escape from reality, I tend to revel in the tragic side of human nature, so lean towards bleaker fare like Cormac McCarthy and George Orwell.

Who is your favorite character in this series and why?

The obvious answer is Esther, but I've got a special place in my heart for Gwen.  I think what I like about Gwen is what she represents for Esther.  Esther has a lot of flaws -- she's always put her goals ahead of every other consideration and in a larger sense, the confusion and frustration that Esther experiences early in the novel is well deserved (especially if you know all the unwritten back story like I do).  I think what Gwen gives Esther is a shot at redemption and becomes her first real friend.  I think kindness trumps most other considerations in life and Gwen sets the example of kindness for Esther and prepares her mentally to meet Matthew.  Writing you-know-what in chapter  you-know-which was difficult for me, but necessary to let Esther know what the real stakes are in war.

Do you base your characters off real people?

In some cases.  I think it's easier to create believable characters if you ground them in people you've met.  In the sequel to Far From The War, which I'm working on right now, the relationship between Esther and Charlotte is loosely based on what I've observed between my wife Kathryn and her sister Elizabeth.

Favorite color?

Black.

Favorite holiday/season?

Thanksgiving - it's the low key holiday.

Word(s) that best describes you and why:

Workaholic, because that's what everyone always tells me, but I'm working on it.

Optimist or pessimist:

I'd say I'm pessimistic at the macro level and optimistic at the micro level.  I don't have a lot of hope for the world at large, but there's plenty to be hopeful about in my own life and inner circle.  I have a nine month old boy who won't stop smiling.  How pessimistic can you really be when you're surrounded by that?

Favorite author/book/series:

My favorite non-fiction book is The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman.  My favorite novel is The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, though it's also a deeply flawed book and I wouldn't call Upton Sinclair my favorite author.  That distinction and that of my favorite series belongs to Patrick O'Brian and his Master and Commander series.

Favorite food/drink:

I'm trying to recover from a Diet Coke addiction.  No other drink has emerged to replace it yet, but mochas from the JavaBean seem promising. My favorite food is probably Clam Chowder from Duke's with their strong sourdough bread on the side.  I'm also a big fan of the Tacos de Machaca from Senor Moose here in Seattle.

Favorite place to read/write:

I have an office in my house where I do all my writing.  If I could just transport it to the Oregon Coast, that would be perfect.

I would like to thank Jeffrey David Payne for taking the time to answer my questions.  I encourage everyone to check out Far From the War when it comes out next week. 

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Far From the War

Jeffrey David Payne

Publisher: Roche Harbor Books

Tentative Publish Date: September 17, 2011

Format: Paperback review copy.  (Thanks Roche Harbor Books!)

Series: Far From the War

“Your roommates have not arrived yet.”

“Great.  Then I’m calling top bunk.”

“We don’t have bunk beds here.  Only the Senate pages do.”

“Then I will call nothing, I guess.”

Trevor tucked the clipboard under his arm and straightened himself, looking down at her from a steep angle.  “Would you like help with these items?”

“Are you offering, Trev?”

“Yes, I am,” he said dryly, still unwilling to be amused.

“I would love some help.  Take this one.  It’s the heaviest.”

“I don’t mind that.  I wanted the heaviest one.”

“Chivalry and all that?”

“I’m not Catholic.”

“What?”

“Chivalry is for knights and knights were all Catholic and I’m not Catholic.”

Esther Casey lives on Orcas Island.  This is off the coast of Washington.  She earned the right to become a page for the US House of Representatives in Washington D.C. by submitting an essay and being nominated by Congressman Kamerlin.  The page program is pretty strict with strict rules.  You earn 15 demerits and you are sent home.  One morning, while in the page house, tanks moving into Washington D.C. were heard and woke everyone up and following that, were the introduction of Marines who were assigned to the pages as security.   The pages try to keep doing their assignments as normal, but this is difficult when there is military in Washington D.C.  When the president, who has left the capital, declares war against the military already in the cities across the U.S., Esther, along with other pages, decide it is time to leave.  They try to leave via Reagan National Airport, but airports are closing due to the war.  She ends up making her trek across the U.S. with her friend, Gwen Farmer.

“Dad, all the minority pages are still here, except for Rachel.”

“Have you heard from her?”

“She e-mailed me once or twice, but not really.”

“What did she say?”

“She just called me a whore and told me to stay in touch, typical Rachel stuff.”

“Did you call her a whore back?”

“I certainly did.  I think I called her a strumpet, though.   I like to switch it up.”

“I know you do…”

I really liked this novel.  At first, I wasn’t too sure about it but then after I started to read it, I got hooked.  The way the novel was written, it is easy to understand what was happening and the emotions the characters were feeling. I found myself believing that Esther and her friends were really in the middle of a Civil War.  I was always wondering what would happen next and would she get to Orcas Island.  I could easily see the confusion between the two sides, the Arnies and the Pinkos, and see how both sides thought they were in the right.  An astounding read, Payne really surpassed my expectations and I cannot wait to read more from him.

A man behind them in line grew impatient.  “Move along ladies.  You’re holding up the line.”

“Let’s go,” he said again after Esther persisted in ignoring him.

Esther wheeled around to face him, startling him.  “We will get out of line when we have concluded our business and not one second earlier and if I hear so much as a peep out of you in the meantime, I will hit you so hard you will forget what time zone you’re in.  Don’t you frickin’ doubt that for a second.  A sigh, a whisper, a mumble and your lights are going out.  You got that douchebag?  You got that douchebag’s hot Asian wife?”

The hot Asian wife reached out one of her manicured hands and touched Esther on the shoulder.

“Thank you,” she mouthed sincerely.

Economic ruin and partisan rancor have pushed America to the brink of a new civil war. Esther is caught in the middle, serving as a page in the United States House of Representatives when rogue politicians and military leaders stage a modern day coup d’état. When the coup turns violent, she abandons Washington, D.C. for home. She must learn to survive on her own as transportation and financial networks fail, as the war disrupts food and water supplies. The result is a cautionary tale about political extremism and the true cost of war.

“What are you doing with such a great big house with all these rooms anyway?”

“Oh, it’s not mine personally.  The deal is my mom and dad bought it and then told me I had to live in it with them.  When I’m emancipated and what-not, I might get my own place or something, but until then I just sort of hang with the fam…”

*Esther’s witty humor in this book.  From reading it, she seems like a person that I would like to know.  I tried to portray that in the quotes that I chose for this review, but alas, it has not done the book justice.  Some of the things that Esther says, I have incorporated into my vernacular.

*The experiences that are told in this book during the war are some that you would expect and some that I didn’t even think about.  It makes the story seem more real.  As if you were really stuck in the middle of a Civil War trying to get back home to Orcas Island.

*Esther doesn’t use her social standing as a crutch.  She is from a wealthy family and she doesn’t act like that is all that matters and will get her anything she needs.

*Esther doesn’t follow the social norms of the pages – liking Gwen for a friend even though they were on opposite parties in the page house – and stays true to who she is even amidst all the turmoil.

*The references to Ferris Bueller.  I LOVED that movie!!

*Matthew.  He seems like a good match for Esther.  It will be interesting to see how this series plays out.

“On Orcas, you can get olive oil drizzled on top of your clam chowder, but you cannot get this.  You cannot get a sausage-like substance and an egg-like circle sandwiched between two bread-like discs with cheese.”

“This is vile and you’re sick and wrong,” Gwen said.

*The cover.  I am one who usually “judges a book by the cover” and if a book doesn’t have a good cover, I won’t necessarily give it a chance.  I understand the reasoning for the cover; I just thought it was a little drab.  Stories about war are not supposed to be colorful, I guess.

*Colin.  I just do not like his character. 

“This isn’t a skanky ho joint, is it?” Esther asked.

“I don’t think so.”

“Just know going in, that at no point during the evening will I drop it, pop it or lock it.”

“No,” Matthew said.  “Please don’t do any of those things.  They frighten me.”

In My Mailbox

It has been a good week for receiving books!

Journal of a Schoolyard Bully by Farley Katz. I received this book to review from St. Martins Press.  This book is along the lines of Big Nate, Dork Diaries and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Bargains and Betrayalsby Shannon Delany.  I have been wanting to read this book for awhile.  I was so happy when I received it in the mail.  I won this book from:

Hades by Alexandra Adornetto.  I haven't yet read Halo, the first book in this series, so I'll have to read that book before Hades.  I received this book to review from Macmillan.

Far From the War by Jeffrey David Payne.  I received this book from Roche Harbor Books to review. 

I want to thank everyone who sent me books to review.  Reviews of Far From the War and Bargains and Betrayals will be posted this weekend.