Fans and readers of Lesley MM Blume's "Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters" will be thrilled that this talented author has published yet another fantastic novel for readers 11 and up. This thrilling book is about a ten year old girl named Franny Hansen who is a piano prodigy, living in Rusty Nail, Minnesota. Once the "Coot Capital of the US", now Rusty Nail's just a sleepy farming town. Things aren't great for Franny. Her talent has exceeded her lazy piano teacher and now she only plays the piano the the rare school concert.
But then a mysterious Russian woman named Olga Malenkov comes to town. Franny believes that this talented pianist could be her ticket to fame out of town, but the townspeople of Rusty Nail believe that Olga is an evil Communist spy, set out to destroy them all.
Will Franny defy the townspeople-people she knows and loves-to follow her dream of being a world-class pianist?
"The Rising Star of Rusty Nail" is an exciting, fast-paced book about music and the importance of following your heart!
4 comments:
Hi Bookworm,
Is this book a sequel to lesley mm blume's first book?
Thanks
cristy
Hi cristygrl909,
No, "The Rising Star of Rusty Nail" is not a sequel to "The Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters", also by Lesley MM Blume. However, readers that enjoyed Ms. Blume's first book will also greatly enjoy her second! Keep on reading!
Your reading friend,
~~Bookworm~~
Hi girls,
This is Lesley Blume, the author of CORNELIA and RUSTY NAIL.
Actually, originally I had planned for RUSTY NAIL to be a PRE-quel to CORNELIA! In the first draft of RUSTY NAIL, the 'Franny' character was called 'Lucy' ... in other words, she was supposed to be Cornelia's mother during her childhood. But I changed my mind later and made the character an entirely new person (and set the whole story a few decades earlier, in the 1950s).
I hope that you enjoy both books! I can be reached through my website:
www.lesleymmblume.com
- lmmb x
Interview with Lesley MM Blume:
1) WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE "CORNELIA AND THE AUDACIOUS ESCAPADES OF THE SOMERSET SISTERS" AND "THE RISING STAR OF RUSTY NAIL"?
The ideas for both books simply occurred to me, so I sat down and wrote them. Writing CORNELIA made me both happy and sad, since both wonderful and tragic things happen in the book ... but I snickered and laughed the whole time I wrote RUSTY NAIL. I really loved the characters in RUSTY; they amused me a great deal.
2) WERE ANY OF THE CHARACTERS BASED ON PEOPLE THAT YOU KNOW OR YOURSELF?
Cornelia Englehart (from CORNELIA) was based on me ... and Franny Hansen (from RUSTY NAIL) was based on my mother as a child. Many of the secondary characters in both books were inspired by real people from my childhood.
3) WHAT WAS YOUR CHILDHOOD LIKE?
I somehow managed to be a gritty, wild tomboy and still have every Barbie ever produced by Mattel. I read all the time and we had cocker spaniels and labradors. My mother was a concert pianist. My father was a news producer, so I got to spend a lot of time in TV studios, which was always exciting.
4) DID YOU PLAY PIANO?
I did, but I quit taking lessons when I was in sixth grade. Franny's hilarious piano-lessons-gone-awry in the beginning of RUSTY NAIL were based on my own experiences.
Incidentally, mother told me that I would regret quitting, and she was right.
5) DID YOU ALWAYS KNOW THAT YOU WERE GOING TO BE A WRITER?
No, I wanted to be a war reporter, believe it or not. But then I followed in my father's footsteps and went to work in a newsroom. I found that it wasn't for me. So I started writing fiction instead and I LOVE it.
6) WHICH OF YOUR BOOKS IS YOUR FAVORITE?
I love all of them, of course. But TENNYSON, which comes out on January 8, is particularly precious to me. This is unlikely because it's the first of my books that is not autobiographical in some way. Ironically, I feel that there's more of me in TENNYSON than either CORNELIA or RUSTY NAIL.
I'm curious how I'll feel about each when I am an old lady and sit down to re-read them.
7) DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN FRENCH BULLDOG?
I do indeed, and his name is Mister Kinyatta, after the French bulldog character in CORNELIA. I keep hoping that someone on the street will pass by us and say, "That reminds me of Mister Kinyatta from CORNELIA!" And then I'll get to say, "Why, this IS Mister Kinyatta!"
Ugh - that sounds really dumb, doesn't it.
His nickname is Yaya.
8) DO YOU HAVE CHILDREN?
Not yet! I actually just got back from my honeymoon. But I hope to have children and already know what their names will be.
9) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK/AUTHOR?
I don't know that I can answer that question. I like to re-read different books at different times. I read tons of biographies ... I'm addicted. My husband and I have a 2,000 book library and I collect vintage books. One of my life goals is to build up a truly magnificent library, like the one belonging to my character Virginia Somerset (in CORNELIA).
10) WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR KIDS WHO WANT TO BE AUTHORS?
Keep a journal. Write about your life in detail. This will train you to notice details in the first place. That's what makes someone a good writer: he or she notices things that no one else notices and describes them wonderfully. Write stories. Never get discouraged, never give up. Don't be afraid to write about sad things. And most of all: read, read, read.
On my Amazon blog, I often write columns that give advice to aspiring writers. The world definitely needs more good writers - especially women!!
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