HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHING AND MY BOOK ADDICTION AND MORE PROUDLY PRESENTS…..
AUTHOR, HEATHER BARBIEBI!!
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WITHOUT FURTHER ADO,WELCOME HEATHER!!
MBA&M: Good morning Heather and welcome to My Book Addiction and More!
Good morning! I’m happy to be here and chat with you.
MBA&M: Please tell our readers a little about Heather Barbieri?
HEATHER: I was born in the Pacific Northwest, daughter of a judge (who unlike the husband in Cottage, is scandal-free) and a stay-at-home mother who sang opera and loved to read—which she passed on to me. I grew up at a time when children were allowed a great deal of freedom, and opportunity for developing creativity (sometimes too much—as when a friend and I mixed the chemicals in my dad’s workshop together, trying to make rocks; fortunately the house is still standing to this day). After an early stint as a journalist, I married and began raising a family and writing fiction, eventually publishing Snow in July, The Lace Makers of Glenmara, and now The Cottage at Glass Beach.
MBA&M: What made you decide to write “The Cottage at Glass Beach”? 
HEATHER: I’d been interested in exploring the selkie (seal wife) myth in a modern context (as it turns out, selkies can be male too), but it wasn’t until the sudden loss of my mother that the book began to take shape, unlocking my subconscious in ways I didn’t expect, and casting new light on the struggles—and unique gifts—such experiences can offer us. During the course of the novel, the main character, Nora, navigates the disintegration of her marriage and the mystery surrounding early disappearance of her mother, and in so doing, learns deep truths about herself.
MBA&M: What where some of the challenges in writing “The Cottage at Glass Beach”?
HEATHER:Going through the grieving process while meeting a deadline—and having three teen/young adult kids home for the summer.
MBA&M: Why did you choose New England for the setting for “The Cottage At Glass Beach”?
HEATHER: The book dictated its setting, a place on the Atlantic seaboard with rich cultural and personal associations. (My paternal ancestors lived in the East before moving to Montana.)
MBA&M: Do you feel this title is more complex than your other titles? If so,why?
HEATHER: I view writing as an apprenticeship—as is life itself—so my hope would be that each book I write demonstrates artistic growth.
MBA&M: Can you tell our readers in a brief statement the story behind “The Cottage At Glass Beach”?
HEATHER: The novel is a story of loss and personal empowerment, in a certain sense (though not literally), mirroring my own journey as a writer and daughter that summer. It poses the question: what does it mean to be a wife, a daughter, a mother, a woman in today’s world?
MBA&M: Where can readers find “The Cottage At Glass Beach” and where can they find you?
HEATHER: The novel is available from various local booksellers, online retailers, and libraries. Readers can get in touch with me through my website, www.heatherbarbieri.com, or visit me on facebook.
MBA&M: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Just a heartfelt “thank you,” both to readers, and to you!
Thank you for visiting with us and our readers today!
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The Cottage at Glass Beach byHeather Barbieri
Hardcover:320 pages
Publisher:Harper (May 15, 2012)
Language:English
ISBN-10:0062107968
ISBN-13: 978-0062107961
*from the author’s website*
Married to the youngest attorney general in Massachusetts state history, Nora Cunningham is a picture-perfect political wife and a doting mother. But her carefully constructed life falls to pieces when she, along with the rest of the world, learns of the infidelity of her husband, Malcolm. Humiliated and hounded by the press, Nora packs up her daughters—Annie, seven; and Ella, twelve—and takes refuge on Burke’s Island, a craggy spit of land off the coast of Maine. Settled by Irish immigrants, the island is a place where superstition and magic are carried on the ocean winds, and wishes and dreams wash ashore with the changing tides.
Nora spent her first five years on the island but has not been back to the remote community for decades— not since that long ago summer when her mother disappeared at sea. One night while sitting alone on Glass Beach below the cottage where she spent her childhood, Nora succumbs to grief, her tears flowing into the ocean. Days later she finds an enigmatic fisherman named Owen Kavanagh shipwrecked on the rocks nearby. Is he, as her aunt’s friend Polly suggests, a selkie—a mythical being of island legend—summoned by her heartbreak, or simply someone who, like Nora, is trying to find his way in the wake of his own personal struggles? Just as she begins to regain her balance, her daughters embark on a reckless odyssey of their own—a journey that will force Nora to find the courage to chart her own course and finally face the truth about her marriage, her mother, and her long-buried past.
Available at:
Amazon
Indiebound
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062107961
Barnes and Noble
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*COMING SOON*
Our “Thoughts” on “The Collage At Glass Beach” by Heather Barbiebi!
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We hope you have enjoyed our guest today and will spread the word!!
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As always HAPPY READING!!
What a nice interview, thanks for sharing! The book really sounds great & I am going to hop over to Amazon or Goodreads here in a minute to check out some reviews. I'm *very* intrigued!
Thank you, Ms. Barbieri, for sharing your story. I cannot imagine trying to write – having to be productive *and* meet that awful thing we call a deadline! – and take care of your own family, while also grieving the loss of your dear mother (especially since, as you said, it was a sudden and unexpected loss). That must have been an incredibly difficult summer for you. However, I have a feeling it gave your story an even greater feel of truth and reality. Of course I'd rather you hadn't had to go through losing your mother
. But I will definitely be checking out your book, it sounds fabulous. Best wishes!
Wow, what a touching post. I think that your interview was fantastic, it really helped to understand more about the book, even though I've not read it yet. Wonderful!
New to your blog!
Steph @ Stepping Out of the Page