If you Google my name, you will see my Cinderella story: welfare mom to millionaire. Every word is true, though the reality is I was a starving artist for a much longer period of time than I was on welfare. With two young children to support on my own, I often had to forgo purchasing the office supplies and stamps needed for submitting the articles and short stories I wrote on spec. Instead I used that money to put food on the table.
The lean years were the making of me, though. When I wrote my first adult novel, Garden of Lies, the story of babies switched at birth, one of whom grows up rich, the other poor, I knew what it was to go hungry. I knew what it was like for Rose putting on the skirt she wears to work every day, ironed so many times it’s shiny in spots. Garden of Lies went on to become a New York Times bestseller, translated into twenty-two languages. I attribute its success in part to my having suffered.
I’ve also had my share of romantic ups and downs. More grist for the mill and the reason my fictional characters tend to be of the folks-this-ain’t-my-first-rodeo variety. I’ve been married more than once. At one point, I was married to my agent. His client list boasts some notable names, and just recently I was struck by the realization that I had dined with two of the famous people depicted in the movies The Theory of Everything and Selma: professor Stephen Hawking and Coretta Scott King, respectively. How extraordinary! I witnessed history and saw it reenacted on film.
I met my current and forever husband, Sandy Kenyon, in a Hollywood meet-cute, which seems fitting given he’s in the entertainment business, as a TV reporter and film critic. He had a radio talk show in Arizona at the time. I was a guest on his show, phoning in from New York City, where I live. He called me at home that night, at my invitation, and we talked for three hours. It became our nightly ritual, and when we finally met it was love at first sight, though we were hardly strangers. We married in 1996, and he became the inspiration for talk-show host Eric Sandstrom in Thorns of Truth. Though, as Sandy’s fond of saying, he never killed a coanchor while driving drunk.
I have many people to thank for the support and guidance I’ve received along the way.
First and foremost, my husband, Sandy, who’s been there every step of the way and who reads multiple drafts of my novels. He’s patient, kind, and wise. He understands when I’m there in body but somewhere else in my mind, and doesn’t get too upset at having to repeat himself more than once to get through to me. From him I learned the true meaning of romantic love, which has enriched my fictional love stories immeasurably. He’s also partly the reason I’m still walking this earth. More than once it was his hand on my arm, pulling me to safety, that kept me from stepping into the path of a moving vehicle while in one of my preoccupied states.
To my children, Michael and Mary, for being the quirky, loving individuals they are. Whenever I beat myself up for having been a less-than-perfect parent (which pretty much describes every single parent), they tell me they couldn’t love me any more than they do. They also both have a wicked sense of humor, which they get from me. When I was exploring the idea of having another child, with Sandy, I was told I’d need an egg donor. Which led to the what-if scenario that would have me giving birth to my own grandchild (and writing the bestseller that would come of it!), at which point my daughter remarked dryly, “Mom, would you like that over easy or sunny side up?”
To friends and family who have made their vacation homes available to me through the years. Their generosity has allowed me to go away for extended periods of time to write in solitude amid serene settings. Bill and Valerie Anders. Frank Cassata and Thomas Rosamilia. Miles and Karen Potter. Jon Giswold. Thanks to my friend Jon, I was introduced to the scenic wonders of northern Wisconsin and befriended by the good people of Grantsburg, which I now consider my home away from home.
To my friends and author pals, who are my cheering section. Whenever I’m at a low point or feeling blue, they’re always there to offer a hug, a pat on the back, or a word of encouragement. I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for them.
I smile, and brush away a tear, whenever I think of my oldest friend, Kay Terzian, who had every single one of my titles, in multiple editions, when she passed away. She would always say she was my biggest fan. I never doubted it.
I am also blessed to have many loyal readers. They range in age from fourteen to ninety-four and come from all walks of life and all parts of the globe. One, a prisoner doing time on a drug offense, sent letters commenting intelligently on my novels, which I was happy to know were available in prison libraries. Shortly before his release, he sent me a Mother’s Day card. I had written a few times in response to his letters, but would hardly describe myself as a pen pal, let alone a surrogate mom. I think he regarded me fondly because he felt he knew what was in my heart, which I pour into the pages of my novels. That is the greatest compliment of all and the best part of what I do for a living, worth more to me than fame or fortune.
Thank you for taking this journey with me. If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read, leave a comment on Amazon or Goodreads to help spread the word, so I can keep doing what I do.
Eileen Goudge
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to thank my dear husband, Sandy Kenyon, without whom this or any book would not be possible—at least not in any kind of reasonable time frame. Each fall when I kiss him goodbye and head off to my Pacific Northwest hideaway to beaver away for an extended period of time on the second draft of my manuscript, I am reminded all over again of why I fell in love with him. How many husbands would be such a good sport and never once complain about having to eat takeout every night for more than a month?
Along those same lines, I owe a giant debt of gratitude to Bill and Valerie Anders, who have been so generous in allowing me the use of their guest house on Orcas Island.
I would also like to thank my publisher, Roger Cooper, and his caring staff; my editor, Francine La Sala, for her thoughtful and respectful comments and corrections, the delivery of which, amazingly enough, coincided with that of her second child; and, as always, my tireless and devoted agent, Susan Ginsburg of Writers House.
One small disclaimer: If I’ve taken liberties with what is a familiar part of the world to many of you, please chalk it up to literary license. I grew up in Northern California and still think of it as home in many ways, but I’ve been away enough years to feel entitled to a certain amount of romanticizing. The same holds true for any small liberties I’ve taken in describing the workings of the state and local government as well as the various legal procedures depicted in these pages. When faced with the choice between strict authenticity and maximum dramatic impact, I always choose the latter.
A Biography of Eileen Goudge
Eileen Goudge (b. 1950) is one of the nation’s most successful authors of women’s fiction, beginning with the acclaimed six-million-copy bestseller Garden of Lies.
Goudge is one of six children, and the joys and strife that come with a large family have informed her fiction, much of which centers on issues of sisterhood and family. At eighteen she quit college to get married, a whirlwind experience that two years later left her divorced, broke, and responsible for her first child. It was then that she started writing in earnest.
On a typewriter borrowed from a neighbor, Goudge began turning out short stories and articles. For years she had limited success—selling work to McCall’s, Reader’s Digest, and the San Francisco Chronicle—but in the early eighties she took a job writing for a new young adult series that would become the phenomenally successful Sweet Valley High.
Goudge moved her family from California to New York City, where she spent several years writing young-adult fiction, creating series such as Seniors, Swept Away, and Who Killed Peggy Sue? In 1986 she published her first novel of adult fiction, Garden of Lies, inspired by a childhood anxiety that, because she did not resemble her brothers and sisters, she had been secretly adopted—a suspicion so strong that, at twelve, Goudge broke into her father’s lock
box expecting to find adoption papers. (She did not.) The tale of children swapped at birth was a national sensation, spent sixteen weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and eventually yielded a sequel, Thorns of Truth (1998), which Goudge wrote in response to a decade of fan mail demanding she resolve the story.
Since then, Goudge has continued writing women’s fiction, producing a total of thirteen novels to date. Her most popular works include the three-book saga of Carson Springs—Stranger in Paradise (2001), Taste of Honey (2002), and Wish Come True (2003)—a small, secret-ridden town that Goudge based on scenic Ojai, California. She has also published a cookbook, Something Warm from the Oven, which contains recipes that Goudge developed as a reprieve from the stresses of writing novels.
Goudge met her current husband while conducting an interview over the telephone. Entertainment reporter Sandy Kenyon was so taken with the author that he asked if he could call her back when the interview was done, and after weeks of late-night conversations they met in person and were married in 1996.
Goudge lives with Kenyon in New York City.
Goudge at age two, sitting on her father’s shoulders at the San Francisco Zoo. Goudge’s father was a talented painter. In the 1940s he painted caricatures at county fairs though once his family grew he focused on his insurance agency and self-taught skill at architecture.
Goudge, age three, and her sister, Laura, in a playhouse built by their father. In addition to being a painter and insurance agent, Goudge’s father also designed and built houses.
Goudge at seven years old, before her First Communion. The photograph was taken in the backyard of her parent’s first house in San Mateo, California. One of six children, Goudge loved being singled out from her brothers and sisters.
Goudge, second from right, smiling with her three sisters in matching dresses. Goudge’s mother used to make clothes for her children. By the time Goudge entered high school, she had picked up sewing from her mother and begun to make all of her own clothes.
Goudge with her younger sister, Patty, at a book signing for Garden of Lies in 1986. For Goudge, one of the most exciting aspects of the book’s release was being able to share with her friends and family a project she’d been working on for so long.
Goudge dancing with her son Michael on her and Sandy Kenyon’s wedding day in 1996. The ceremony was held at a garden restaurant in New York City and the newly weds honeymooned in Quebec City.
Goudge with Barbara Walters on The View in 1999. Goudge said of Walters, “It’s no wonder why she’s famous. Barbara instantly puts you at ease. She also has the best lighting—there was an apricot glow that is so calming and flattering.”
Goudge with her husband, Sandy Kenyon, near his homestead in Vermont. Goudge’s own real-life romance reads like those in her novels: After three failed marriages, she met Kenyon while being interviewed for the radio. When the interview ended, they continued the conversation, talking up to three hours each night, and married soon after.
Goudge with her mother looking at old family photographs at her mother’s beach house in Santa Cruz, California.
Goudge in her condo in midtown Manhattan in 2010. Sandy Kenyon, her husband, took the photograph. On Saturdays, Eileen’s favorite activity is to walk around the city with Sandy, exploring new neighborhoods.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
These are works of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2009 by Eileen Goudge
Cover design by Kat Lee
ISBN: 978-1-5040-1563-9
This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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EILEEN GOUDGE
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