Escape - Barbara Delinsky - Author Interview & Giveaway

Q. Emily, the main character in your new novel 'Escape', has a realisation that her life isn't what she thought it would be, and escapes it. Have you ever felt the need to escape an area of your life temporarily?

A. Absolutely.  My life tends to be busy, with me jugglng too many balls at once.  There have been times when I would have loved to escape.  Having family and responsibilities, I never would, though, so I live vicariously through Emily.

Q. I think that many readers will be able to identify with Emily, how she feels she has been on a treadmill and wants to get off. Is this something that you think a lot of people experience these days?

A. I do.  This particular plot was one I’d been considering for several months, all the while trying to find another.  Then I posted a note on my Facebook page asking readers where they would go if they were to drop everything and flee.  The response was overwhelming!  At that point, I knew I had to write this book.  People not only experience this, but fantasize about their escape.

Q. At one point in the novel, Emily sends a text to her husband and the reply comes back, simply 'Working'...'which told me nothing and pointed out one of the worst things about electronic communication.' Do you think we rely too much on texts, emails and so on, and have lost something with respect to closeness in relationships by having less face to face contact or even telephone calls?

A. I text and email all the time – and it’s wonderful in many instances.  In others?  Bad.  We misinterpret remarks, read incorrect things between the lines, and avoid confronting important issues.  The bottom line, of course, is we need a mix of technological communication and face to face and/or voice to voice contact.

Q. Nature has an important element to play in this story, especially for Emily when she escapes. Is this something that is close to your own heart? 

A. Oh yes.  I love green things, fresh air, and the sound of water.  Nature has been around a lot longer than we have, a lot longer than our Blackberrys, iPads, and PCs.  I believe that we have to reacqaint ourselves with nature, to preserve both it and ourselves.

Q. I think this novel is very strong on dealing with relationships, love, friendship and everyday life. Are these the things that you are most keen to write about?

Yes.  Writing about these thing is truly my niche.  I understand people.  That is my strength in life and is, I believe, what makes my books work.

Q. Can you tell us about what you are working on now?

A. I’m working on a novel titled Sweet Salt Air.  It is set on an island off the coast of Maine, where two friends reunite after ten years apart.  One is a food blogger, the other a journalist, and their plan is to compile a cookbook of recipes and local lore from the island where they spent childhood summers.  Once there, details of their lives clash in unexpected and heart-wrenching ways.  This is exactly what you just said – a novel very strong on dealing with relationships, love, friendship, and everyday life.

Q. Where do you write - do you have a special place? 

A. I have an office in my house.  It’s bright, with skylights above, pine trees out the back windows, and a trio of beautiful birches in front.  And bird songs?  Of course! 


Read my review of Escape.

You can win a copy of Escape by entering the giveaway below, just complete the rafflecopter form.

The giveaway closes on Wednesday 18th April 2012. UK entrants only on this one as specified by the publicist. The novel will be sent to the winner direct from them.

Thank you for reading and good luck. 

Escape - Barbara Delinsky

'Have you ever woken up in a cold sweat, thinking that you've taken a wrong turn and are stuck in a life you don't want? 

Emily Aulenbach suddenly realises one morning that her life isn't what she had hoped it would be, and she needs to escape, both from her career and from aspects of her relationships that aren't bringing happiness. In fact, she is deeply unhappy and decides she must make a change. She walks out of the law firm she works at in New York there and then, hurriedly grabs some of her things, and drives out of the city. But the place she ends up in, Bell Valley, brings with it's own faces from the past, and doesn't provide an answer to everything, and she has to work out how to deal with her life now, and determine what she really wants for her future. 

Emily is 'having a personal crisis'; she has been on such a continuous daily treadmill and feels in need of escape and of rescue. She loves her husband James but bitterly regrets the fact that due to their incredibly demanding jobs as lawyers, they hardly ever see each other, and even when they do have time together, they are exhausted from their long working hours. Their attempts at starting a family have so far been unsuccessful, and what's more, Emily feels that the friendships she has in the city are not genuine. She wonders if we aren't all similar in some ways: '...searching for what we wanted, not quite knowing what it was until we stumbled on it.' 

After getting away, and taking time to become involved in the community with old friends and new in Bell Valley, Emily begins to realise what, and who, is most important to her in life. There is a interesting legal sub-plot involving one of the characters in Bell Valley, which builds to a climax towards the end of the novel. Nature also plays a significant role in this story. Whilst Emily is living in Bell Valley, she revisits the woods where she spent time in her past, and observes the animals, most significantly the coyote. She feels no fear in it's presense; rather she feels a kind of connection to it. 

The author writes really well about relationships, and about real-life situations, creating a character for us in Emily that it is possible to identify with, and having her ponder all of the things that can make or break a happy life depending if they are happy or miserable - career, family, friendships. I really think Emily's position is one that many people will be able to relate to, to some extent; heading from school to University and then onto a career ladder, marriage and a home with a large mortgage and so on, with no chance to stop for a moment and take a breath. Equally readers will understand the need and desire to make a change when life feels like it is running away from you and nothing is what you had imagined it might be when you were younger. It's an emotional journey and I enjoyed accompanying Emily through this and finding out how things might change for her. At times the story surprised me, in a positive way, as it took a different direction to what I had perhaps expected.

The author acknowledges that this act of breaking away, of escaping, is far from easy, and there are no guarantees that you've made the right decision. Equating the pieces that may make up her future life with baking, Emily muses: 'If life was about getting the recipe right, I had to figure out the ingredients before I could tinker with proportions. The problem, of course, was that I couldn't do a test batch in the kitchen one afternoon.'

Published by new imprint Canvas, part of Constable and Robinson, on 5 April 2012.


You can visit the author's website here to find out more.


Thank you to the publisher for sending me a proof copy of this novel to read and review.