Wednesday, 24 April 2013
Brook Cottage Books is thrilled to be taking part in the virtual book tour for Things are Going to Slide by Rangeley Wallace. This excellent tour has been organised by Fiction Addiction Book Tours!
So, whats the book all about? Here's the blurb:
Marilee Carson
Cooper, daughter of a good southern family, had expectations, but now they are
dashed. After her husband leaves her for a young man when she is pregnant with
their second child, she pins her hopes for financial and career salvation on
winning the coveted Chair of Clinical Law at Alabama Southern University.
The Chair goes to
Dwight Hurley, a hometown boy who once broke her heart. He is favored because
he claims to have written a forthcoming textbook, while Marilee’s job is now
endangered, despite her success at the clinic. Dwight’s mysterious reappearance
leaves Marilee burning for revenge.
At the same time, the
troubled clients of the legal clinic are presenting Marilee and her student
lawyers with grave issues. One of them—an unwed teen mother whom Marilee has
known for most of her life—is accused of child abuse and murder.
As her feelings for
Dwight become increasingly confused, Marilee realizes that her rival could be
her only hope in saving the teenager.
Things Are Going To
Slide grips the heart with
its twists and turns of romantic love in a legal clinic and illuminates the
dynamics of justice in a closely knit town.
"Rangeley
Wallace has beautifully rendered the texture of Southern life in this
gripping tale of love, betrayal, and the strength of family," wrote
Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump. "Things Are Going to Slide
is a remarkable achievement."
One reviewer described Things Are Going to Slide as "smart chick lit, mom-lit, and law-lit." Midwest Book Review called Things Are Going to Slide "a powerful novel of chaos and recovery that will attract any interested in strong stories of professional women." A romantic, smart page-turner, steeped in the tradition of southern literature, Things Are Going to Slide is "the kind of book that makes you keep reading long after you meant to turn out the light."
The lovely Rangeley Wallace was kind enough to come to Brook Cottages and sit in the interrogation interview chair!
JB: The book is
centred around a law clinic. What made you yourself decide to follow a career
in law?
Rangeley: Growing
up I read a few books featuring lawyers I admired, in particular Atticus Finch
in To Kill A Mockingbird. Later, I met a handful of lawyers who worked for
social justice and they inspired me as well.
JB: Did you find
your own experience in the legal world a help in writing the book and did you
get any advice from colleagues?
JB: You are obviously a very busy woman, raising children, having a
career and writing. How do you find the time to fit in writing a book with all
your other commitments?
Rangeley: I do not do everything at once! I’ve taken breaks from my
career to be with my children and to write and I sometimes work part time as
well. I am very lucky to have that flexibility.
JB: Marilee finds
herself in quite a predicament, pregnant and abandoned and her career in
jeopardy and has to find inner strength. Where did the idea of the story of
Marilee come from and is she based on anyone you know?
Rangeley: I knew I
wanted to write about a young woman clinical professor who was facing a number
of difficulties and I also knew I wanted to write about someone strong, who
perseveres in the face of those difficulties. Marilee appeared. She wasn’t
based on anyone I know.
JB: Did you at any point of writing the book make any major changes to
the plot or did you remain fairly focused on keeping to the original plot?
Rangeley: Yes, many changes! Unfortunately, I took Marilee down a number
of different paths before I figured out the plot that worked best with her
character. At one point I had two story lines, one involving a dark past event
in her mother’s life intertwined with something close to the current story. It
didn’t really work though!
JB: If you hadn’t pursued a career in law what else do you think you
would have been doing?
Rangeley: I might have been a journalist or a psychologist; I am
fascinated by the things people do and equally fascinated by the reasons they
give for the things they do. I love to listen to people’s stories.
JB: Your books are obviously based on a subject matter you have
extensive knowledge of. Are there any other subjects you’d like to write about
or venture into a whole new genre?
Rangeley: I would like someday to write in different genres, perhaps
something more literary, perhaps a mystery. And, I would like to write a book
about the sixties.
JB: How long, from initial planning to final edits did it take you to
write the book? A few years.
Rangeley: It takes me a long time because of my legal work and my
children – and because creating a world that’s (hopefully) believable isn’t
easy.
JB: Do you have any
advice to any budding authors out there? Any words of wisdom?
Rangeley: Nothing
ground breaking: Just write and write and write and get tons of feedback, from
other writers, from editors and from friends and teachers.
JB: Do you write every
day and if so how much time do you devote to writing? When I’m working
part-time I write five days a week for a few hours each day.
Rangeley: When I’m
working full time I only write a few hours here and there.
JB: Do you have any plans in the pipeline for another book?
Rangeley: I’m almost finished revising and editing another book,
STUBBORN LOVE. In the book I address issues of work-life balance, motherhood,
love, and the impact of the past on the present.
Thanks for taking the time to interview me! I enjoyed it.
Here's a little more background on Rangeley Wallace................
Rangeley Wallace was born in
Birmingham, Alabama, and lived there (except for one year of boarding school in
Memphis) until she went to college at Emory University in Atlanta. After
graduation, she moved north to Washington, D.C., to attend Washington College
of Law, American University. The year following, she was a fellow at Georgetown
University’s Institute for Public Interest Representation, where she received
an LLM.
Rangeley has written two
novels. No Defense and Thing Are Going
To Slide.
Great interview JB and Rangeley. Having read (and loved) Things Are Going To Slide I've really enjoyed reading this and getting a bit of background info!
Donna :)
I love the sound of this book, Rangeley! If I don't win it, I suspect I will be buying it. Oooh, was I supposed to admit to that? Best of luck, sweetie. You are obviously a passionate soul, fitting your writing in between family and work. It's a balancing act (balls frequently dropped), but worth it. :) xx
Thanks, Sheryl. I hope you win!