Join us here in The Bistro for a discussion on the entire Gamache series. Feel free to ask or answer any questions about any of the books or the series as a whole.
Located in the Equitable Building in Manhattan, Minotaur Books publishes bestselling and award-winning crime fiction ranging from thrillers and suspense to traditional mysteries. Minotaur has published Louise Penny since 2007.
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Hi, Sonia – welcome! I think that all of Louise’s books are available on tape, all with the same great voice speaking them. Sadly, Ralph Cosham passed away late last year, so a new actor is being sought to read the books now. I know that others have mentioned how beautifully he read the books – I haven’t heard them myself. But you ought to be able to find them all so far, very readily. They are wonderful, aren’t they?
I have enjoyed the 6 out of all the Three Pines books, they have not been in sequence. My first one was “How the light gets in” and it got me hooked. I find the books interesting and really love the comedic dialogues. I would like to see all of them on books on tape, it is easier for some of us. I do not do Kindle so the actual DVDs are great. Keep writing them.
There are a lot of links to different videos and this audio on Louise’s website as well. I always find her a joy to listen to, very practical and down to earth, very us and so inspirational. More so because she doesn’t set out to be, she doesn’t hail herself as a guru. She is simply a thoughtful and remarkable person.
I am not sure if we have had this link before, and hopefully it works, but it is an audio interview with Louise. I hadn’t listened to it previously and I apologise if someone else posted it and this is a repeat but it had loads of insight into her work. Maybe the newbies or floaters who visit will enjoy too.
http://youtu.be/0V0HaM4mjQw
Thanks, Anna – this was very interesting. It also opened up a You-tube page with lots and lots of interviews and things with Louise, that I will have to work my way through. The speakers on my computer are terrible, so often I can’t hear them properly, but there are a few that are plenty loud enough, and this was one!
I have visions of lurking evil like the Hadley House but wonder if this evil will have a physical presence!
We have been crying out for more Ruth backstory. Looks like we were heard.
Now its even harder to wait. Not sure I should be wishing this year away even faster as it is flying by already.
It sounds wonderful!!!! What more could we want? Placed in Three Pines with Ruth playing an important role. I’m searching my brain to try to think of some tie-in from another book. A book far back I think. Thanks LP, Can’t wait.
It IS Ruth!!!! How exciting!
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Thank you Paul, for posting this link. I couldn’t get it to work from Louise’s blog or from typing it out and was SO frustrated that I wouldn’t be able to read it. But, this worked! Now I’m in the loop!
My pleasure, Nancy.
Just read Louise Penny’s posting of the plot of her new book. I love it!
Ohhhh – it gives me a feeling of the Brutal Telling….
I am more than anxious to read it, but I will be patient. This is new territory! It seems to me that you have come amazingly far already.
That’s a thought Cathryne. I can actually develop the characters more and see if that changes how I perceive them in the original story. I imagine they become more limber over time, less stiff. They don’t feel stiff per se but even thinking about the second story they are becoming more known to me. Mind you part of the attraction of reading a series is watching the characters grow and change so not sure I would alter too much in the first book but I do like how you are thinking. I am in no rush but I do want to fulfill my promises to let you, the team, see it. I think it is wonderful that you are inspiring.
I think that’s a great idea. I remember Louise saying that when she finally got an agent the first thing she had to do was to have three books written so they could be shopped to publishers. I think that would allow for lots of story development and character development to be fully underway while it can still be edited…
Anna, maybe you will actually BE more ready to complete the editing on your first book when you have written the second. Interesting idea, anyway.
One more day for the synopsis.
Yes, I like my childhood self. It’s good to remember that childhood wasn’t all beer and skittles though. Helps me when my daughter has a bad day. The dramas of youth were so huge when they happened. Mind you, with what I know now, I would gladly deal with some of those rather than the politics of adulthood! Other things not so much. Do remember how cruel kids could be? I think Stephen King remembers the fears of childhood as that comes across in some of his books. And in mine.
Editing on my novel has slowed as the new one I want to write seems more exciting than the hard work. If I had a way to show you all, but not the whole world my book, I would use it. I have shown a couple of people and they enjoyed it. In many ways that is mission complete….wrote a book and it was read and enjoyed. All else is cream
Anna – that’s the thing to hold onto – that you have accomplished the goal already – written a book, had it read and enjoyed by people! There has to be a way to put it up online in a private forum that can only be read by those invited. Of course, you’d need to trust all those you invited…
Thanks Julie. It would basically be you guys. I am sure there is a way but still thinking. If I put a link here then anyone can access. Maybe password protected with a the password a clue from a Louise book……mmmmm…….bit like a treasure hunt!
I can’t wait for the synopsis to come out, too – though it might just end up being such a tease… I have loved reading about the books you’ve been contemplating for your daughter, Anna. I agree that our childhood self is still “there” under a lot of baggage, sometimes. Our pure selves, I think of those children – before office politics and the drudgery of work came along. I am always delighted to catch of glimpse of the little girl I used to be.
Can’t wait, can’t wait, can’t wait!
I see on Louise’s Facebook page that she will release a small plot synopsis for the new book on Thursday Northern time. Now that is exciting! Makes a great day feel better.
Thanks Cathryne. She still loves being read to which is lovely. I am glad you have a new series to read thanks to Nancy. It’s always good to find something you need!
The Talisman is a very different kind of book. Interesting that Stephen King touches on early adolescence in a few of his stories…It and The Body (which became Stand By Me) leap immediately to mind. It’s a very unique time when childhood and adulthood start to merge. I watch my daughter almost seem to blink in and out between being a child and an older teen. I am not sure we outgrow our childhood natures. I think they are absorbed into our adult selves as an intact entity.
Anna, I like what you said about pulling out from your bookcase the book with the most bends in the spine. There is nothing like the comfort of a well-loved book. I’m planning to read “The Talisman” after your description.
I felt great pleasure when you said you started reading it to your daughter, another of life’s joys.
Nancy, thank you for recommending the Steven F. Havill Posadas County books. I’m enjoying them so much. I especially like the setting, characters, and somewhat leisurely pace. Havill gives the reader a real feel for southern New Mexico and the small town(s) there. This series is just what I needed right now!
I seem to remember floods and landslides earlier in the season Julie so you are just as entitled to a spell of kinder weather as the East Coast. The cold in the rest of the country is extreme though. I see sleet and ice for my sister today in Dallas. Not good for driving to work tomorrow.
After thinking about books for my daughter yesterday I went and pulled out the book with the most bends in the spine…..it’s almost white from use instead of black. It’s a thick book with small print so not quite what I was aiming for. I read her the first chapter at bedtime. Language is rich and the story grabbed her attention.
I chose The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. It’s a book I come back to a lot. The story is about a journey and growth. It’s a very different take on adolescence. Despite the pedigree of the authors the book is more fantasy than horror…..mostly.
We shall see how it goes.
The snow here has been unbelievable – however by “here”, I mean “there”… The east coast of the US, and especially Boston has been hit with snow that I find hard to fathom. I am often just as quiet as can be on this subject, because we’ve been sitting here in the Pacific Northwest, having one of the best winters ever. Hardly a killing frost – no snow whatsoever and very little rain, really. We’ve had way more than our share of sunny days and have been breaking records for warm temperatures in February. I’ll take it, even though the rest of the country seems to be paying for our good luck.