Guest post: Ilie Ruby
Last year, I read and enjoyed Ilie Ruby’s first book, The Language of Trees, and was lucky enough to interview Ilie afterward. I’m excited about her next book, The Salt God’s Daughter, which will be released on September 4, 2012 and I’m thrilled to have this guest post about the book from Ilie.
I wrote THE SALT GOD’S DAUGHTER entirely at night. This story absolutely captured me—it wouldn’t let go.
There are sensitive themes in this book. There is real life—harsh and glaring. There is magic and enchantment, as the story is woven with a Scottish folktale and Jewish mysticism. This is where my passion for stories lies—in weaving lyricism and magical realism with real life issues that speak to me, that move me, those things that most often reveal raw truths about love, healing, and the evolution of identity.
My main character, Ruth, embarks on a journey of discovery and survival. She lives in an enchanted landscape filled with the spirits of sea lions, with unspoken histories caught in the wind. When Ruthie has a daughter who is born “different,” with a secret that connects her to the ocean it will challenge everything she believes about who she is, and the nature of the maternal bond.
Here’s an excerpt from The Salt God’s Daughter:
We kicked our cowboy boots up on the empty chairs, confident there was nothing to be saved from. We were not holding our breath, hoping to be found. We had climbed out from under the weight of our childhood. We had already won.
We wanted to be not like some girls. We wanted to be all girls, all those who would come after us, and all of those who had come before. We wanted the questions asked by women generation after generation. We wanted to hold the labels in our hands, to turn them around, to take them apart. (…) We’d been raised with the need to know where we stood. We wanted to draw lines and yet our spirits bucked at the thought. We craved what dwelled inside the circle, and we craved the circle itself, to cross it, and to be that lovely curved line that found itself where it had begun. We ached to capture the essence that was ours, to run like mad with it, holding it like a kite with colored tails in the air. We wanted to feel the light of youth under our feet as we ran.
Oh, it sounds so good. Love your review. Enchanted sea lions, Jewish mysticism and Scottish lore make me really want to read it.
It sounds like a very magical book.
I so love Ilie and her book.
Sounds like a fantastic book!
Oh, I love the sound of this one.
I think this book sounds cool. Thanks for the excerpt and the guest post.
I very much want to experience the author’s writing with this book!!
Whoa. Fascinating. I can’t wait to read more reviews of it.
What an amazing guest post! I just got this book, and now I am more than a little anxious to read it. It seems like something that I would really love, and speaking as a girl who was once teased (as I am sure many of us were) this story sounds very interesting to me. Fantastic post today! I can’t wait to get started!
All the elements of a wonderful read, thank you so much.
Sounds like a great read.
This sounds like a powerful story. Excellent guest post!
This book sounds amazing. And the crazy thing is, I bet MOST of us were teased or bullied at one point or another. In high school, even the “charmed” ones (the student body president, the cheerleaders, etc.) had their day. So how could this not resonate with all of us?
Ms. Ruby has an amazing talent for writing. I remember her prose as being beautiful, but when I think that she writes when her kids are sleeping, I’m totally blown away. I needed that time to recover!
Sounds good 🙂 I really must read a bit more fiction
This book sounds so tremendously good!
Ilie is someone I’m proud to call friend and I’m so eager to read her newest offering!
WOw! Awesome guest post and I fell in love with her prose from that extract. Wow.
Loved her first one so I’m sure this one is a winner too. It’s the way she weaves the mystical with reality. Great post!
Wonderful words. Thank you everyone, and thank you for having me, Kathy!
I love love love this book!!
Author’s who write books after their kids go to sleep make me feel very unaccomplished! I love the reason behind the book.
Sandy, I agree. What struck me when I was researching this book — and reading the stories of these girls — was how difficult/complex the problem of bullying is today given the added online component. It broke my heart to read about 10-, 13-, 15-year old girls who dealt with this. Absolutely motivated me to get this story onto the page, and to discover amazing organizations working to guard against this sort of thing. It has been incredibly inspiring.