with Christina Berry

September 11, 2009

Hosted by: Anne McDonald

Dancing Word Publisher/Editor

Anne McDonald: Okies, we'll open up in prayer, go over protocol and then I'll introduce tonight's guest.

Lord, thank You so much for loving us. For guiding our days and providing for our needs and even some of our wants. Please be with us tonight. Guide and guard our conversation. Let this be a time of encouragement and learning. Be with those trying a new means of communication in trying to enter the chat room. Give them courage. Bless each of tonight's participants and especially our guest. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Protocol reminder: when we open the floor to questions, please raise your hand by typing ? for question, and ! for comment, and then wait to be called on in turn. To keep us from stepping on each others' toes, please type ga when you have finished typing your question/comment/response.

Tonight, I'm excited to introduce a newly published author...I've been snatching bits of her novel since Wednesday and it's fantastic. Please welcome Christina Berry.

* DragonRidingMouse applauds wildly

Anne McDonald: Christina, thanks so much for joining us. Please tell us a little bit about yourself....especially about the handcuffs...lol (sorry, couldn't resist)

Limey:Welcome to Annie's place

Jane: lol

Barbara: handcuffs?

Christina Berry: I'm thrilled to be here! I'm a mother of two, foster one, with three other children spending the night ...

Anne McDonald: (brave woman!)

Christina Berry: which makes me certifiable and leads to the handcuffs. A child put them on about 2 hours ago and I was afraid they would be real and I wouldn't be able to chat!

Limey: Put them on you ... or on herself?

Christina Berry: She put them on me for supposedly breaking the speed limit ... by one mile. I love that the first question I answer is about handcuffs!

* Annie opens the floor to questions

Anne McDonald: Christina, when did you first get an idea for The Familiar Stranger?

Christina Berry: In the summer of 2007, there was a HUGE national news story ...a few days later I read a local piece that was also fascinating. I begin to wonder what would happen if those two stories had a baby. The plot landed in my lap at that point.

But I'd been looking for a fictional vehicle to explore the issue of forgiveness, so it all boiled in a pot and The Familiar Stranger popped out.

DragonRidingMouse: How long did it take you to come up with the plotline?

Christina Berry: I saw the first scene like a movie. I knew it would start with the man getting out of the shower and covering himself as his wife walked in. Hugely symbolic, to me. I plotted it in about two days, but the subplot involving the teens in the book happened organically as I wrote.

Barbara: I'm not familiar with it, Christina, What genre is it ?

Christina Berry: It's contemporary fiction, written expressly to appeal to men as well as women. I've had a wide range of men read it, from 23-85 that I know of, and they've all enjoyed it.

Anne McDonald: My apologizies. Christina, could you give us a blurb of The Familiar Stranger?

Christina Berry: Sure, MY apologies. The story opens with Craig Littleton planning to leave his family – who knows nothing about his secret life. He's involved in a very bad accident and ends up in the hospital--with his family rallying around him. The only thing is ... he can't remember all the bad things he's done, so they get to discover all the secrets together. that's the really, really off-the-cuff blurb!

Spitfire: What were the initial crit./test reader reactions to The Familiar Stranger, and how did they affect the final version?

Christina Berry: It's written in alternating first persons of "His" and "Hers" ... some editors were wary about that format, but I knew it was the right way to tell the story

The readers really enjoyed it. My crit group loved it, and tore it apart in a loving fashion : ) Then I had 2 non-writers read it; incorporated their feedback;then off to a freelance editor. Those were really the only readers besides close family until now!

The crits deepened the emotions and twisted the plot even more. : )

Anne McDonald: How long did it take you to get from first draft to final version?

Christina Berry: I dabbled that summer ...started my 1500 words a day quota in Sept, and finished on Feb 28. Why I picked the shortest month of the year to be my deadline, I have no idea!

DragonRidingMouse: What first inspired you to start writing?

Read the rest of the chat

Get unlimited access to Dancing Word Writers Network

for only $5 a year

Christina Berry

Christina Berry

Congratulations to

Barbara Warren

for winning

an autographed copy of

The Familiar Stranger