Susanna Daniel

STILTSVILLE is a winner!

August 11, 2011

Congratulations are in order!

One of my all-time favorite books, Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel, has won the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize. The Prize is awarded to a fiction writer whose debut work, published in 2010, represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise. (The runner-up in this category is Harper Perennial’s Kapitoil by Teddy Wayne. For more info on all award winners, visit the PEN website).

I have been a huge fan of this book since I read the manuscript years ago. It’s a quiet yet powerful love story that spans nearly 3 decades – and is set against the backdrop of Stiltsville, a community of houses built on stilts in Biscayne Bay, Florida. The setting plays a significant role in the book – and serves, in a way, as an analogy for the relationship: It has a strong foundation but, over time, in stormy seas, the stability of the house – and the relationship – become a bit tenuous.

So, you won’t find any vampires, shape shifters or bio-wizardry in Stiltsville. (not that there’s anything wrong with that!)

What you will find is a very moving story about two people – genuine and flawed – who meet, fall in love, and experience the all the highs and lows of life.

I have given this book to so many librarians. They all come back with the same response: they loved it, they couldn’t put it down, they needed Kleenex.

I’d love to share this gem with you.

To receive a copy of STILTSVILLE, please send an email to librarylovefest@harpercollins.com

I’ve got 50 copies to give away.

Send me an email – and get out your Kleenex…

And check out this page from the author’s site to see photos of her childhood spent in Stiltsville.

-Virginia

Just Kids, Lean on Pete, Librarians, Libraries, Patti Smith, Robin Beerbower, Stiltsville, Susan Henderson, Susanna Daniel, Up from the Blue, Willy Vlautin

Robin Beerbower’s ‘Best’ List

December 28, 2010

Here's a list of top titles you won't find anywhere else! Over in Salem, Oregon, Fiction Selector Robin Beerbower makes it her business to choose the best of the best fiction. Sometimes, we're just lucky enough to land in her graces and get a shout-out! Here's Robin's full list of fiction favorites for 2010.

LEAN ON PETE by Willy Vlautin. Set in Portland, 15-year old Charley searches for a home with the help of a broken down race horse named Lean on Pete. Spare in its use of language, this is an amazing novel by an Oregon author.

CRASHERS by Dana Haynes. Wow! You may never want to fly again after reading this thriller about a jetliner that goes down north of Salem and the investigation that follows by the “crashers” who try to determine why it fell out the sky. The gross out factor is a little high at times but it is fascinating.

STILTSVILLE by Susanna Daniel. Absolutely terrific first novel about a long marriage set against the background of Miami and the now defunct summer community of houses in the water of Biscayne Bay known as Stiltstville. Why this novel is so effective is hard to say, but the setting and historical events form an effective background for the story. Keep a tissue handy.

THE GIRL WHO FELL FROM THE SKY by Heidi Durrow. After a tragic accident kills her two siblings and mother Rachel is sent to Oregon to be raised by her grandmother, but as she grows older starts to question her mixed racial heritage and the mystery of the accident. This is a great choice for book groups.

IN THE DARK by Brian Freeman. This is the fourth in the suspense/thriller series that features Jonathan Stride, a homicide detective in Duluth, Minnesota. These are fast-moving and best read in order (IMMORAL, STRIPPED, and STALKED).

PACKING FOR MARS by Mary Roach. This look at the mechanics and biophysics of traveling in space was my favorite nonfiction book of the year. I found myself giggling and chortling while reading various “who knew?” moments such as the description of burping toilets on the space shuttle, what the "vomit comet" plane is like when one is weightless for 20 seconds, and exactly how one eliminates in space. I'll bet you never thought of what could happen if a spacewalker hurled in his helmet (if you read this you will find out, and for the record, you don't want it to happen to you).

UP FROM THE BLUE by Susan Henderson. Told from the viewpoint of Tillie as an 8-year-old girl and also as a grown woman preparing for the birth of her first child, this haunting novel relates her struggle to make sense of her mother’s mental illness. An excellent choice for book groups.

…

Robin Beerbower’s ‘Best’ ListRead More »

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Free copies of STILTSVILLE!

October 12, 2010

Send your email to me (librarylovefest AT harpercollins DOT com) and while supplies last, I’ll send a copy of Stiltsville to you. Here’s a recent review from Andrea Lapsley, Director of Development of University Libraries at Colorado State University.

“Somewhere early on, I forgot that this was a novel. The characters were so true, so real that I was in the room with them, on the boat fishing and they were talking to me. These wonderful people couldn’t be fiction. They were so real with experiences and emotions so true and pure. I loved going on the journey with them for 30 years of marriage, friendships, parenting and so much more. The author has told a story of life’s problems and ordinary joys in beautiful prose. The story is a loving portrait of a family, friends and marriage as they all grow old together facing life’s many challenges. And, I can’t forget to add Florida as a character and integral part of the story. It is beautifully written and an extraordinary book for one to savor individually or as a fantastic choice for book clubs.”

-Virginia

Books, Stiltsville, Susanna Daniel

Stiltsville – will you review this?!

August 19, 2010

Ever since I picked up the manuscript of this novel, I have been talking about it – to my friends, to my family, to my co-workers, to librarians – to anyone who would listen. This book very quietly wrapped itself around my heart and it has stayed there ever since. Set against the backdrop of Miami, this affecting debut novel offers a gripping, bittersweet portrait of a marriage—and a romance—that deepens over the course of three decades. I just love this book and it seems I’m not alone:

Nina Sankovitch on the Huffington Post writes, “Stiltsville is a compelling portrait of a marriage, a sweet serenade to Southern Florida, and a moving account of a woman’s life.” Read the rest here.

“I fell in love with Susanna Daniel’s characters, Dennis and Frances. The dialogue, the pacing, and the tenderness between this married couple is so authentic and true. But it’s the setting of Florida, and especially the place that is Stiltsville, that literally elevates this story to magic.”
— Hannah Tinti, author of The Good Thief

“Set against the wild and changeable landscape of South Florida, Stiltsville is a wise and loving portrait of a marriage, written with keen insight into the ways two lives grow together over the years. This is a rare first novel. Susanna Daniel writes beautifully of matters of the heart.”
— Jennifer Haigh, author of The Condition, Baker Towers, and Mrs. Kimble

“Like the narrator of this wonderful novel I fell in love in the opening pages of Stiltsville. There was nothing I wanted more than to spend time in the company of these vivid characters and keep reading Susanna Daniel’s lovely, lucid prose. Sadly, like all good books, this one came to an end-for me at two in the morning. Happily I can go back and be transported all over again. Many readers, I’m sure, will follow me.”
— Margot Livesey, author of The House on Fortune Street

I’ve got 50 finished copies that I’d like to send to anyone who wants to write a review. Send us an email (librarylovefest AT harpercollins DOT com) if you’re interested.

Thanks!

-Virginia