The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Alan Bradley: Well, the Roman author Seneca once said something like this: “Hang on to your youthful enthusiasms–you’ll be able to use them better when you’re older.” So to put it briefly, I’m taking his advice.

I actually spent most of my life working on the technical side of television production, but would like to think that I’ve always been a writer. I started writing a novel at age five, and have written articles for various publications all my life. It wasn’t until my early retirement, though, that I started writing books. I published my memoir, The Shoebox Bible, in 2004, and then started working on a mystery about a reporter in England. It was during the writing of this story that I stumbled across Flavia de Luce, the main character in Sweetness.

Q: Flavia certainly is an interesting character. How did you come up with such a forceful, precocious and entertaining personality?

AB: Flavia walked onto the page of another book I was writing, and simply hijacked the story. I was actually well into this other book–about three or four chapters–and as I introduced a main character, a detective, there was a point where he was required to go to a country house and interview this colonel.

I got him up to the driveway and there was this girl sitting on a camp stool doing something with a notebook and a pencil and he stopped and asked her what she was doing and she said “writing down license number plates“ and he said “well there can’t be many in such a place“ and she said, “well I have yours, don’t I? “ I came to a stop. I had no idea who this girl was and where she came from.

She just materialized. I can’t take any credit for Flavia at all. I’ve never had a character who came that much to life. I’ve had characters that tend to tell you what to do, but Flavia grabbed the controls on page one. She sprung full-blown with all of her attributes–her passion for poison, her father and his history–all in one package. It surprised me.

Q: There aren’t many adult books that feature child narrators. Why did you want Flavia to be the voice of this novel?

AB: People probably wonder, “What’s a 70-year-old-man doing writing about an 11-year-old-girl in 1950s England? “ And it’s a fair question. To me, Flavia embodies that kind of hotly burning flame of our young years: that time of our lives when we’re just starting out, when anything–absolutely anything!–is within our capabilities.

I think the reason that she manifested herself as a young girl is that I realized that it would really be a lot of fun to have somebody who was virtually invisible in a village. And of course, we don’t listen to what children say–they’re always asking questions, and nobody pays the slightest attention or thinks for a minute that they’re going to do anything with the information that they let slip. I wanted Flavia to take great advantage of that. I was also intrigued by the possibilities of dealing with an unreliable narrator; one whose motives were not always on the up-and-up.

She is an amalgam of burning enthusiasm, curiosity, energy, youthful idealism, and frightening fearlessness. She’s also a very real menace to anyone who thwarts her, but fortunately, they don’t generally realize it.

Q: Like Flavia, you were also 11 years old in 1950. Is there anything autobiographical about her character?

AB: Somebody pointed out the fact that both Flavia and I lacked a parent. But I wasn’t aware of this connection during the writing of the book. It simply didn’t cross my mind. It is true that I grew up in a home with only one parent, and I was allowed to run pretty well free, to do the kinds of things I wanted. And I did have extremely intense interests then–things that you get focused on. When you’re that age, you sometimes have a great enthusiasm that is very deep and very narrow, and that is something that has always intrigued me–that world of the 11-year-old that is so quickly lost.

Q: Your story evokes such a vivid setting. Had you spent much time in the British countryside before writing this book?

AB: My first trip to England didn’t come until I went to London to receive the 2007 Debut Dagger Award, so I had never even stepped foot in the country at the time of writing Sweetness. But I have always loved England. My mother was born there. And I‘ve always felt I grew up in a very English household. I had always wanted to go and had dreamed for many years of doing so.

When I finally made it there, the England that I was seeing with my eyes was quite unlike the England I had imagined, and yet it was the same. I realized that the differences were precisely those differences between real life, and the simulation of real life, that we create in our detective novels. So this was an opportunity to create on the page this England that had been in my head my whole life.

Q: You have five more books lined up in this series, all coming from Delacorte Press. Will Flavia age as the series goes on?

AB: A bit, not very much. I think she’s going to remain in the same age bracket. I don’t really like the idea of Flavia as an older teenager. At her current age, she is such a concoction of contradictions. It’s one of the things that I very much love about her. She’s eleven but she has the wisdom of an adult. She knows everything about chemistry but nothing about family relationships. I don’t think she’d be the same person if she were a few years older. She certainly wouldn’t have access to the drawing rooms of the village.

Q: Do you have a sense of what the next books in the series will be about?

AB: The second book, The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag, is finished, and I’m working on the third book. I have a general idea of what’s happening in each one of the books, because I wanted to focus on some bygone aspect of British life that was still there in the ’50s but has now vanished. So we have postage stamps in the first one… The second book is about the travelling puppet shows on the village green. And one of them is about filmmaking–it sort of harks back to the days of the classic Ealing comedies with Alec Guinness and so forth.

Q: Not every author garners such immediate success with a first novel. After only completing 15 pages of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, you won the Dagger award and within 8 days had secured book deals in 3 countries. You’ve since secured 19 countries. Enthusiasm continues to grow from every angle. How does it feel?

AB: It’s like being in the glow of a fire. You hope you won’t get burned. I’m not sure how much I’ve realized it yet. I guess I can say I‘m “almost overwhelmed”–I’m not quite overwhelmed, but I’m getting there. Every day has something new happening, and communications pouring in from people all over. The book has been receiving wonderful reviews and touching people. But Flavia has been touching something in people that generates a response from the heart, and the most often mentioned word in the reviews is love–how much people love Flavia and have taken her in as if she’s a long-lost member of their family, which is certainly very, very gratifying.

(Photo © Jeff Bassett)

Q: How did writing a book that you knew would be read so closely by so many compare to writing your first book, when few people knew who you were?
A: In many ways, Dreams from My Father was harder to write. At that point, I wasn’t even sure that I could write a book. And writing the first book really was a process of self-discovery, since it touched on my family and my childhood in a much more intimate way. On the other hand, writing The Audacity of Hope paralleled the work that I do every day–trying to give shape to all the issues that we face as a country, and providing my own personal stamp on them.

Q: What is your writing process like? You have such a busy schedule, how did you find time to write?
A: I’m a night owl, so I usually wrote at night after my Senate day was over, and after my family was asleep–from 9:30 p.m. or so until 1 a.m. I would work off an outline–certain themes or stories that I wanted to tell–and get them down in longhand on a yellow pad. Then I’d edit while typing in what I’d written.

Q: If readers are to come away from The Audacity of Hope with one action item (a New Year’s Resolution for 2007, perhaps?), what should it be?
A: Get involved in an issue that you’re passionate about. It almost doesn’t matter what it is–improving the school system, developing strategies to wean ourselves off foreign oil, expanding health care for kids. We give too much of our power away, to the professional politicians, to the lobbyists, to cynicism. And our democracy suffers as a result.

Q: You’re known for being able to work with people across ideological lines. Is that possible in today’s polarized Washington?
A: It is possible. There are a lot of well-meaning people in both political parties. Unfortunately, the political culture tends to emphasize conflict, the media emphasizes conflict, and the structure of our campaigns rewards the negative. I write about these obstacles in chapter 4 of my book, “Politics.” When you focus on solving problems instead of scoring political points, and emphasize common sense over ideology, you’d be surprised what can be accomplished. It also helps if you’re willing to give other people credit–something politicians have a hard time doing sometimes.

Q: How do you make people passionate about moderate and complex ideas?
A: I think the country recognizes that the challenges we face aren’t amenable to sound-bite solutions. People are looking for serious solutions to complex problems. I don’t think we need more moderation per se–I think we should be bolder in promoting universal health care, or dealing with global warming. We just need to understand that actually solving these problems won’t be easy, and that whatever solutions we come up with will require consensus among groups with divergent interests. That means everybody has to listen, and everybody has to give a little. That’s not easy to do.

Q: What has surprised you most about the way Washington works?
A: How little serious debate and deliberation takes place on the floor of the House or the Senate.

Q: You talk about how we have a personal responsibility to educate our children. What small thing can the average parent (or person) do to help improve the educational system in America? What small thing can make a big impact?
A: Nothing has a bigger impact than reading to children early in life. Obviously we all have a personal obligation to turn off the TV and read to our own children; but beyond that, participating in a literacy program, working with parents who themselves may have difficulty reading, helping their children with their literacy skills, can make a huge difference in a child’s life.

Q: Do you ever find time to read? What kinds of books do you try to make time for? What is on your nightstand now?
A: Unfortunately, I had very little time to read while I was writing. I’m trying to make up for lost time now. My tastes are pretty eclectic. I just finished Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead, a wonderful book. The language just shimmers. I’ve started Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which is a great study of Lincoln as a political strategist. I read just about anything by Toni Morrison, E.L. Doctorow, or Philip Roth. And I’ve got a soft spot for John le Carre.

Q: What inspires you? How do you stay motivated?
A: I’m inspired by the people I meet in my travels–hearing their stories, seeing the hardships they overcome, their fundamental optimism and decency. I’m inspired by the love people have for their children. And I’m inspired by my own children, how full they make my heart. They make me want to work to make the world a little bit better. And they make me want to be a better man.

If you’re hoping to find a simpler, less stressful way to end your marriage, you need Quickie Divorce, the guide that walks you through the divorce process step-by-step, showing you everything you can do to get an easy and cheap divorce.

Quickie Divorce is the resource you need to get a quick and easy divorce. This book, which is written by an experienced attorney, explains in clear, easy-to-understand language how to get a fast divorce. It reveals how to save valuable time and money so you can finally put an end to your relationship and move on with your life.

How to Get a Quick Divorce

Quickie Divorce, by attorney Linda H. Connell, explains all the steps involved in the entire divorce process so you can be prepared and feel confident about what to expect. This book covers:

• Hiring a quick divorce lawyer and working with your attorney
• Divorce without a lawyer and how to get a self-help divorce
• Legal research
• Grounds for divorce
• Divorce from another state or foreign country
• Dividing property and assets
• Spousal support
• Child custody, visitation, and support
• Domestic abuse, harassment, and kidnapping
• Enforcing child support and spousal support orders

This book also contains appendixes with helpful information and resources. It includes an extensive glossary, so you’ll never feel confused or intimidated by legalese again. Quickie Divorce contains a list of lawyer referral services organized by state to help you find a quick divorce lawyer, and it also explains each state’s divorce laws for those working on a do it yourself divorce. This book reveals the secrets to getting an easy and cheap divorce, such as how to:

• Be prepared for trial
• Work together and cooperate with your spouse
• Use mediation to save money and time
• Prevent pointless fights and long courtroom battles
• Enforce or change court orders

Quickie Divorce reveals an expert’s tips for how to get a quick divorce. All of the book’s quick and easy divorce strategies save you money and time so you can move on to bigger and better things.

by Attorney Diana Brodman Summers

With record-low home prices and hot properties for sale in every neighborhood across the country, there has never been a better time to buy your first home. Becoming a first-time home buyer can seem overwhelming, but How to Buy Your First Home, 2nd Edition explains the process step-by-step, giving an insider’s tips to help simplify the process and ease your stress.

How to Buy Your First Home gives you important tips in buying a house and answers all your most pressing questions, including:

” How much can I afford to spend on a house?
” How much can I afford to borrow for a mortgage?
” How do I find a mortgage company?
” Can I buy a house with bad credit?
” Where can I view property values for free?
” Where can I see a free listing of homes for sale?
” What are good questions to ask when buying a house?

You will also learn the advantages of buying your first home, like special tax breaks you may qualify for, as well as everything you need to know for your home search, from finding a mortgage loan that is right for you and how to hire a real estate agent, to handling appraisals and inspections, making an offer, and getting through closing.

Written by an experienced attorney, How to Buy Your First Home also contains the essenital tools and resources you need to be an organized, prepared home buyer. This book contains lists of useful websites that deal with every aspect of the home-buying process, and it also contains worksheets and home-buying checklists. To help you find your dream house and ensure you get a good deal, How to Buy Your First Home is the book you need.

“If you are ready to buy your first home or condo, reading How to Buy Your First Home, Second Edition, by attorney Diana Brodman Summers is a good place to start. … On my scale of 1 to 10, this very practical home-buying book rates a 10.”

-Bob Bruss, syndicated real estate columnist

You will soon learn How to Be a Frugal Millionaire through the essential steps of:

• Turning a negative money attitude into a positive, money-making attitude
• Making the highly effective habits of a frugal millionaire your own
• Accumulating wealth in 23 simple ways
• Using the frugal millionaire tips to finding your dream house
• Implementing simple, yet powerful, retirement strategies anyone can practice
• Conserving wealth and growing rich in 101 easy ways
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With checklists and assessments, you will create your very own frugal millionaire action plan that will put you on the road to financial freedom today.

You can also sign-up for her FREE 8-Part series, “How To Be A Frugal Millionaire” by clicking HERE.

Everyone makes mistakes… even the famous and successful. IF I ONLY KNEW THEN is brimming with jewels of wisdom from Charles Grodin’s friends and colleagues in the worlds of entertainment, sports, journalism, politics, and business. Alan Alda over-prepares for a much-anticipated interview with astronomer Carl Sagan, outshines his subject, and is ultimately embarrassed. Rosie O’Donnell considers her first love, and the importance of expressing deep emotions. Shirley MacLaine regrets none of her mistakes. Carol Burnett recounts hilariously her encounter with Cary Grant - and how it turned out to be her biggest mistake. Leonard Nimoy considers the consequences of not listening to the experts. Mario Cuomo offers advice on taking the moral high road in politics. Nicolas Perricone recounts the courage and wisdom he received from an 8 year old patient, dying of a heart condition. Carl Reiner writes of his first acting gig - and the positive side of ignorance.

Charles Grodin is the recent recipient of the William Kunstler Award for racial justice and of the Help Hero Award for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of the homeless. He is perhaps best known as a movie actor in films such as The HeartBreak Kid, Midnight Run, and the Beethoven films. He has written five books, including the bestseller It Would Be So Nice If You Weren’t Here.

All of the author’s proceeds from the book will be donated to Help USA, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to empower the homeless and others in need to become and remain self-reliant.

In her father’s studio, Frannie discovers a beautiful hand-carved box with her name inscribed on it that contains a thousand wooden puzzle pieces her father cut and painted by hand. Feeling broken into pieces herself, she starts putting the puzzle together, saving the blues of water and sky for last because they, like the blues in her life, are the hardest to confront. As the puzzle slowly comes together, Frannie is catapulted into an ancient Italian village, a place suspended in time where she discovers her father as he was B.F.—before Frannie.

With a solid dose of mystery, a bit of magical realism, plenty of humor, and a character so real I feel I’ve always known her, Frannie in Pieces is a stellar debut from a celebrated screenwriter who wrote Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and You’ve Got Mail. Although this is her first YA novel, Delia’s trademark is the same—she makes you laugh as much as she makes you cry—often at the same time!

What Are You Hungry For? invites kids and parents to explore what children need to satisfy them both emotionally and nutritionally – from favorite foods to time with family and friends. The book follows a one-of-a-kind narrator as she hungers for different kinds of treats throughout the day–from a crisp red apple to a cozy cuddle with her dog; from a cheesy slice of pizza to a big bear hug from her brother–until she finds the special thing that ALWAYS makes her feel just right: being tucked in bed by her parents every night.

With bold and playful illustrations, What Are You Hungry For? is not about weight. It’s about being nurtured and finding the things that make us feel warm, safe, happy and satisfied.

“I was so thrilled to write What Are You Hungry For? because it is in direct relation to my life’s work,” says Emme. “As the mother of five year old daughter, I want to do my best to give her the tools that will help her to be the best that she can be, not a fabrication of what others want her to be. I want her to grow up feeling confident in her own body, and not wish it were someone else’s. I want her to eat when she is hungry, and speak about her emotions when she feels the need to.”

Emme Aronson lives in New Jersey with her husband Phil and their daughter, Toby Cole. As a multi-faceted supermodel, television host, best-selling author, creative director of her own full-figured clothing line, and the inspiration for her realistically proportioned Emme® doll, Emme has proven that you can be successful at any size. She has been selected by People magazine twice as one of the “50 Most Beautiful People” and has been honored by Ladies Home Journal as one of the “Most Important Women in America” and one of the “Most Fascinating Women of the Year” and as Glamour magazine’s “Woman of the Year.” She was the first full-figured model ever awarded a cosmetics contract and the first to grace a billboard in Times Square. For four seasons she hosted the E! Entertainment/Style Network television show “Fashion Emergency.” She is a published author, most recently co-writing Morning Has Broken with her husband. In 2004 she penned Life’s Little Emergencies: Everyday Rescue for Beauty, Fashion, Relationships, and Life. Emme is the Chair Ambassador of the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). She is a vocal advocate for women of all ages to be fit and healthy and to increase awareness and raise funds to help treat eating and body image disorders. For more information on Emme visit www.emmestyle.com

Erik Brooks is the author and illustrator of The Practically Perfect Pajamas and Octavius Bloom and the House of Doom. Erik visits schools and coaches cross-country running and skiing when he is not working on books. He lives in Winthrop, WA with his wife and daughter. You can visit him online at www.erikbrooks.com

Well before John McCain began his quest for the 2008 Republican nomination for president, he and his long-time collaborator, Mark Salter, began to write their most ambitious work to date: an examination of the art, process, and character involved in important historic decisions. The result is HARD CALL: Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them (Twelve Books; Aug. 14, 2007).

Their publisher asked them to write this book in 2005, on the assumption that McCain’s insights on decision-making would provide a useful perspective on difficult issues, both national and personal. No one knew for certain that McCain would again be a presidential candidate, nor did anyone have any idea that McCain’s own hard calls on Iraq and immigration would figure so prominently (and controversially) in his campaign.

Though Hard Call is principally a work of history, it offers valuable insight into how McCain made those difficult decisions, and why the best decisions often run counter to the heat of the moment and are best appreciated through the long view of history. Hard Call is the fifth book by John McCain and Mark Salter. Each of the previous four was an acclaimed national bestseller. Mr. McCain’s instinctive storytelling talents seem to have been sharpened during his years as a prisoner of war, New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani wrote recently in a round-up of political memoirs. The Los Angeles Times has praised McCain and Salter’s writing as not only moving but wise.

In Hard Call, McCain and Salter tell the stories of how great individuals confronted a specific hard call in their personal and professional lives: in science, business, literature, the military, national leadership, even sports. In business, crucial entrepreneurial decisions by Samuel F. B. Morse, Alexander Graham Bell, Marshall Field (creator of the world’s largest department store of its time), William McPherson Allen (the legendary president and chief executive of Boeing), and King Camp Gillette (father of the disposable razor).

In science, Robert Goddard, the father of modern rocketry; and cancer specialist Judah Folkman, who devoted over thirty years of his career to a heretical vision of treatment that was later proved to be correct. In sports, Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball’s color barrier through quiet determination and careful planning; and Gertrude Ederle, who faced widespread doubt and opposition in her quest to become the first woman to swim the English Channel.

In literature, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s decision to allow the publication of Gulag Archipelago; and Reinhold Niebuhr’s humility in deciding to abandon his pacifist views and endorse the use of violence against persecution in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union  an example which resonates in McCain’s own thinking on Iraq.

In the military, Robert Gould Shaw’s decision to command one of the first all-black regiments to fight the Confederacy in the Civil War; and combat commander Fred C. Weyand’s correct decision to challenge conventional wisdom in Vietnam  another example that serves as a metaphor for Iraq.

In national leadership, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin’s decision to seek peace, against the wishes of many of their citizens; Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev’s decision to agree to the first major nuclear arms reductions in history; Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s decision to risk imprisonment, return to Liberia, and seek public office; and the story of how faith influenced Abraham Lincoln’s decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

Woven into these stories are McCain’s own views on the process and art of decision making, when to listen to your gut and when to think longer, what to do when you realize you’ve made a bad decision, how to know when it’s time to change your mind, and how to maintain your resolve amid a storm of opposition. Jonathan Rauch, writing in Washington Post Book World, has called John McCain one of the most inspiring public figures of his generation.
Hard Call offers further proof of why that opinion remains true.

HARD CALL: Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them by John McCain, with Mark Salter, was published by TWELVE on August 14, 2007. ABOUT THE AUTHORS John McCain was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 and was named one of America’s ten best Senators in Time magazine in 2006. Previously, he served in the U.S. Navy and two terms as a U.S. representative. He has seven children and four grandchildren. He and his wife, Cindy, reside in Phoenix.

Mark Salter has worked on Senator McCain’s staff since 1989. He lives in Virginia with his wife, Diane, and their two daughters. Together, John McCain and Mark Salter have written four books: Character is Destiny, Why Courage Matters, Worth the Fighting For, and Faith of My Fathers, all of them New York Times bestsellers.

Dog spent the first twenty-three years of his life on the wrong side of the law and it took a Murder One conviction for him to go from committing crime to fighting it. In YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE, Dog talks candidly about his life, his unshakable devotion to God, and his most infamous bounty hunts. Dog’s capture of Max Facto heir and convicted rapist Andrew Luster made international headlines when Dog was taken to a Mexican prison for nearly two weeks on suspicion of kidnapping. He also shares the inside stories of his days as a gang member, being the number one Kirby Vacuum salesman in the world, and how serving 18 months in a Texas prison helped him  rediscover his faith.

YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE is one man’s story of how, against all odds, he was able to turn his life around and become the fearless leader of his own destiny. Dog reveals heart-wrenching moments, including the death of his beloved mother, the agony of burying two of his children, and fighting his extradition back to Mexico. Dog’s openness and candor about his dark years of addiction and abuse will rattle even the hardest of hearts. Surprisingly funny, wonderfully moving, and startlingly open, YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE is the real-life story of Duane “Dog” Chapman, the modern-day hero who has gone from ex-con to American icon.

About the Author: Duane “Dog” Chapman is the most famous bounty hunter in the world and the star of A&E’s most-watched show, Dog the Bounty Hunter. He lives with his wife and children in Hawaii, where they own and operate Da Kine Bail Bonds.