SusanWiggs | Latest from the Blog

October 25, 2019 | Leave a comment

My friends always know when I have writer’s block because there’s usually a sudden explosion of baking around my house. I’m plotting my next book and it’s not going well, but the baking is!

The latest opus is banana bread. I’ve made many versions, mostly bland failures, until I came across this recipe with a crazy secret–banana syrup. Seriously. It’s super easy but I would never have thought about intensifying the flavor in this way.

And after all, that’s what plotting a book is about–seeing something in a new way. Thinking outside the box. And baking while you do it.

If you’d rather just read about baking, grab yourself a copy of The Winter Lodge, which is filled with recipes from my fictional bakery on the shores of Willow Lake. Happy reading!

Ultimate Banana Bread

Makes one 9-inch loaf

Note: Use ripe or even black bananas in this recipe, even the frozen ones taking up space in your freezer.

1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 ripe bananas, peeled (see note)

1 fresh banana for garnish, sliced

1 stick butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

2 teaspoons coarse sugar, like turbinado

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray, line with waxed paper or parchment, and lightly spray again.

Place 5 bananas in microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cut steam vents in plastic. Microwave on high for about 5 minutes. Transfer bananas to a strainer placed over medium bowl and allow to drain, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.

Transfer banana liquid to saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Add bananas to the liquid and mash until fairly smooth. Whisk in butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.

Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until just combined. Gently fold in nuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Shingle banana slices on top of either side of loaf. Sprinkle coarse sugar evenly over loaf.

Bake until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 60 to 75 minutes. Cool slightly, then remove loaf from pan and continue to cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The Things We Keep Hidden

September 19, 2019 | 6 Comments

When I started writing The Oysterville Sewing Circle, I never dreamed the topic would go viral, almost overnight. My writing and research began before the watershed moment when Ronan Farrow published his devastating expose in The New Yorker. That piece unleashed a tidal wave of #MeToo discussions among women who had endured slights, sexism, and outright abuse for years.

Looking back, we now wonder why we were silent. When confronted with those uncomfortable moments at work, at school, in public, and in our own homes, why didn’t we speak up?

What I discovered while talking with women about their experiences is that we didn’t have a vocabulary for the syndrome. A boss offering a too-affectionate shoulder-squeeze? We’d just cringe and bear it. A colleague joking about our boobs, our asses, the length of our skirts…he was just joking, right? How about the frat boy (sorry frat boys, but you know who you are) keeping your drink filled and then wrestling you to the bed? Boys will be boys. The husband or partner who lashes out with a cutting remark or a touch that hurts? He’s had a hard day. He’ll do better tomorrow. We’ve heard all the excuses and rationalizations. We’ve all been gaslighted into accepting it as “normal.”

The soul-searing lesson I learned from my conversations is something I’ve always known but rarely voiced–if it doesn’t feel normal, it’s not. If it makes you uncomfortable, it’s his fault, not yours. If it’s physically or emotionally painful, it’s wrong and probably illegal.

While writing this novel, I found my voice along with the characters in the story. If there is one takeaway I hope readers of The Oysterville Sewing Circle will carry with them, it’s the phrase emblazoned at the bottom of the book cover: We believe you. We believe in you.

Know that you’re not alone. Know that help is out there. You can reach for it, or maybe it will reach for you. My daughter and my friend Ashley, who are younger and smarter than we ever were, added their own hashtag to indicate what every woman needs: #WithYou.

happy tattoo-versary

September 03, 2019 | 11 Comments

Nine years ago, I emerged from a difficult time in my life. During that time, I discovered how toxic negativity can be to a person. It affects you in ways you don’t realize, until you step back and discover the constant bad energy is taking a toll on your health, your psyche, your emotions–and your work.

I made a clear decision to invite only positive elements into my life. I called this project “The Year of Yes.” I made a firm commitment to reply “yes” to everything–no matter what the question might be.

I found myself saying yes to matters large and small. Yes to helping my elderly parents move to my town so I could look after them. Yes to rescuing a chihuahua puppy so Barkis could have a companion–and lookalike, bringing the now-legendary Lenny into my life. Yes to a multi-book contract with my publisher, including related yesses to audio books, foreign publishers and even a movie production company. Yes yes yes, it was all YES.

You won’t be surprised to learn that embracing the positive can be life changing. It opens you up to feelings and experiences you never dared to imagine.

Although I was happily single and determined to stay that way, I had to follow my own rule, and so I said a very small, tentative “yes” to a casual date. This led to more and bigger yesses, including an impulsive trip to Hong Kong where Jerry was working, a stay at the incomparable Peninsula Hotel, complete with Rolls Royces, a private spa and pink champagne.

Image result for peninsula hotel hong kong

Today is the 8-year anniversary of one of my most lunatic “yes” moments. I decided to have the word YES tattooed on my ankle. Happily for me, Jerry went along with the plan, and we both went to Ricky Tattoo in Wanchai, a district of Hong Kong. In the company of sailors young enough to be our kids, we submitted to the needle and thus sealed our fate.

me and the navy guys at Ricky Tattoo in Wanchai

A few months later, I said the biggest YES of my life when I found a marriage proposal in a message in a bottle on a secluded beach in Australia.

Since that day, there have been other tattoos, and other adventures.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” –Helen Keller [note: The “at all” was added; her original quote omitted those words.]

Saying yes has worked out well for me.

Readers :: WHAT HAVE YOU SAID ‘YES’ TO LATELY?

read THE OYSTERVILLE SEWING CIRCLE for FREE (cupcake sold separately)

August 27, 2019 | 1 Comment

Cupcake sold separately. Photo by @tarheelreader (via Instagram)

The library will help you! Placing a patron request or hold on a book is a powerful way to tell the library which books matter to you. Just print out the form below, or copy and paste it into an e-mail, and hand it (or send it) to someone at your local library. Most library systems also have their own forms online. Here’s the one from Seattle Public Library.

Library Purchase Request Form

Format ___Book ____Ebook ___Audiobook ____Large Print

Title :: THE OYSTERVILLE SEWING CIRCLE

Author/Artist :: Susan Wiggs

Product Details

ISBN: 0062425584
Imprint: William Morrow
On Sale: 08/13/2019
List Price: 26.99 USD

Your Name ____________________________________

Library Card Number ______________________________

Phone Number __________________________________

Email address ___________________________________

Additional Comments :: “Heaven is a kind of library.” ________________________________________________________________________________________

NOTE: If you’d like a collectible signed first edition, try this link: https://www.eagleharborbooks.com/preorder-offer-20-signed-first-edition-susan-wiggs-latest

#newfiction #libraries

I wrote a damn fine novel.

August 22, 2019 | 1 Comment

Dear Readers,
I wrote a thing.
Jennifer Weiner wrote an essay in Publishers Weekly deconstructing this phrase. I remember reading the piece on May 17–my birthday–and it felt like a gift.

“I wrote a thing is born of women being told, overtly and implicitly, that our stories do not matter—not the stories we write, which are still not reviewed as frequently or taken as seriously as men’s books, and not the stories we tell, which are still too often met with skepticism and shrugs.”

She’s reminding us that when we work our asses off, when we conceive of a story and spend months and months writing it, and revise it until it sings, and work with our very dedicated editor to polish and publish it, we’ve elevated that “thing” to a work. A pièce de résistance. A damn fine novel.

[People Magazine loves the book. Why shouldn’t I?]

Most of us squirm when we have to promote our own work. If we get a starred review, a bestseller ranking, a rave from a reader, a glorious peer endorsement, a mention in O Magazine, we balk at drawing attention to it. We’re concerned about seeming immodest, self-absorbed, insecure–any of those behaviors we’ve somehow come to think of as “unbecoming.”

Well, fuck that, dear readers.

I have a new book out and it’s not a thing. It’s a damn fine novel. I wrote my heart out and it’s getting rave reviews and I’ve already heard from some readers that reading The Oysterville Sewing Circle has been life-changing for them in ways I never imagined while writing it. If ever I needed to switch from being bashful to boastful, it’s for this book, a story of women supporting women.

So I hope you’ll read it. I’m not going to say, “Do me a favor and maybe read it.” No. Do yourself a favor and read it. Just on my say-so. So there.

You can get signed copies, order from an indie bookseller, get it before you take the next breath of air, or have it read aloud to you in dulcet tones. And I hope you’ll come see me–in Grand Rapids, in Cleveland, or in Franklin, Indiana. Or who knows, maybe you’ll spot me on my soapbox somewhere.

Thanks for reading. And kudos to Jennifer Weiner for opening the conversation.

Image result for the oysterville sewing circle

#books #writing #writerslife #newfiction #reviews #booksbywomen

Espresso Brownies

July 02, 2019 | Leave a comment

This recipe is a twist on the regular brownies adding an espresso kick. It is a recipe featured in my new book The Oysterville Sewing Circle.

Makes 16

½ cup unsalted butter

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 ½ cups sugar

2 Tablespoons instant espresso powder

½ teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8×8 baking dish and set aside.

In a heatproof bowl, melt chocolate and butter over a double boiler (or in the microwave) until fully melted, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Once cooled, whisk in sugar, espresso powder, and salt. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour just until mixed. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool, then cut into 16 pieces.

saying goodbye to a piece of your heart

June 26, 2019 | 2 Comments

I wrote The Goodbye Quilt because it was cheaper than therapy. Honestly, I did not expect my daughter’s departure from home to hit me as hard as it did.The first draft of this novel came out fast, in a matter of weeks, fueled by emotion and a sense of urgency to get the feelings out.

“There is something about losing your mother that is permanent and inexpressable – a wound that will never quite heal.”
― Susan Wiggs, The Goodbye Quilt

Several years ago, I talked to my agent and great friend Meg Ruley about the book, but the story, like me, was a work in progress. I needed the perspective of time and my cold writer’s eye to transform the story from a self indulgent rumination into a novel readers could truly embrace and relate to.

I also needed to find a way to conclude the story that felt true and satisfying. This is something I struggled with for a long time and when I finally hit on the right ending, it was glad day chez Wiggs. At last, I got it right. I proudly submitted the piece to my publisher, only to hear the dreaded words, “This ending doesn’t work. You have to change it.” After much gnashing of teeth and ritual smearing of ashes, I realized that this was true. Back to the drawing board. The perfect solution came from the perfect source, my own daughter, the ever fabulous Elizabeth Wiggs, now grown and a wonderful mom and an author in her own right.

She didn’t give me the answer, but she reminded me of the true meaning of the goodbye quilt in the story. It is a record of one woman’s days as a mom, and as such, it was an unfinished story.

Whether readers of the novel will agree or not remains to be seen, but for me, it’s the grace note at the end if a long and beautiful piece.

And now this heartfelt novel is being published in the most fun way imaginable, as a two-in-one collection with one of my favorite writers and best friends in the world, the incomparable Sheila Roberts. Sheila is more than a writer-friend. She’s one of the most important early readers of my work. Since time began, we’ve been reading and critiquing each other’s work, so it’s fun that we get to go public at last!

Two reader favorites … one fresh new book!

When we saw the cover, it reminded me of one of our zaniest adventures. A photo shoot in Sheila’s vintage convertible. We didn’t get far on the road, but it was definitely worth the trip.

“There can be no fooling ourselves into thinking this is something other than what it is—the willful ejection of Molly from our nest. It’s too late for second thoughts, anyway. She has to be moved into her dorm in time for freshman orientation. It’s been marked on the kitchen calendar for weeks—the expiration date on her childhood.”
― Susan Wiggs, The Goodbye Quilt

Readers: WHERE WILL YOUR NEXT ROAD TRIP TAKE YOU?

#newfiction #summerreading #SheilaRoberts #SusanWiggs #roadtrip #college