Scenes from a novel: special thanks to Rena Rossner

I got an email the other day that blew me away.  Rena Rossner, who lives in Israel, was still thinking about scenes from Night Swim--a year after reading it. She wanted to ask me a few questions, too. The result is this post from her blog: My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors. 

Rena has lots to say about different kinds of books, her reading experiences, and her own writing, which you can explore on her website and blog.  Her first novel is called "Framing the Sea." I hope you'll see what else Rena is up to. Here's where you can find her online:

Rena on Twitter: http://twitter.com/renarossner
Rena on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/renarossner
Rena's website: www.renarossner.com

And, now, here's the first half of Rena's post about Night Swim:

Night Swim – One Year Later and a Q&A

"I read Jessica Keener’s Night Swim one year ago. The book arrived in the mail to my office and I was immediately intrigued by the cover and the story. I read the book in nearly one sitting – I could not put it down. At the time, I really wanted to write a review of the book, but life got hectic, as it tends to do, and I never got around to it. When I saw Jessica post recently on Facebook that she was celebrating her book’s 1-year anniversary with a 50-state Skype book-club blog tour, I realized that even though I read the book a year ago, so many things still stuck in my mind. And that made me think, wouldn't that make a great blog post? To talk about a book one year later and specifically highlight the things that stayed with you. What higher compliment to pay an author than to be able to say: “I still remember…” Then I talked to Jessica about her experience of the past year and asked her some questions – Q&A is below after I record my thoughts about the book “one year later.”

So, this is what I still remember:

• Peter’s guitar, his chats with Sarah

• How a discreetly placed hand on the small of someone’s back at a party can mean so much, and be so striking an image

• Sarah’s mother who is not only described as sitting with a back as straight as a violin bow, but whose life and actions mimic the sound and sigh of the violin she can no longer play

• Sarah’s mother’s car approaching the intersection – the crash – I can still see that moment in my mind

• The house, which becomes a character in the novel – dark, heavy, sad, depressed in its own right

One year later I still remember these moments, and I suspect that if I remember them now, so vividly, I will likely remember them for many years to come."

Rena then asked me  a few questions that no one else had asked. To see my answers, and the rest of her post, click here.

Thank you, Rena!

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