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Karen White | Do-Overs
January 21, 2013
When I was a child and playing board games with my family, or running a race
outside in the front yard with my best friend, or arm-wrestling with one of my
brothers, I would often invoke the magic word, "Do over!" This usually meant
that I had made a disastrous mistake in misjudging my opponent or—more
than likely—was trying to disguise the fact that I was a sore loser. Now that I'm an adult, I often find myself wishing that there was a do-over
button I could press—just like that "easy" button in the Staples
commercials. There would certainly be less awkward moments and a lot more hours
spent sleeping instead of lying awake at night thinking about something I wish I
hadn't said. Or worn. Or eaten. Maybe that's why I like being a writer. Because of the joys of word processing,
my characters can have the most sparkling and witty banter, but only because of
the magic button on my laptop—the delete key. I can spend days working on
a scene, thinking of more and more clever things for my characters to say, yet
my readers will only see the end product. Which makes me look like a genius.
:-) If they only knew... At the beginning of my career, I wrote two books—FALLING HOME and
AFTER THE RAIN—for
a small publisher. Selling to this publisher was a beginner's career mistake as
I soon learned. They paid me what equated to grocery money for a month, and
then printed about 5 copies with really horrendous covers. Both books were out
of print within a couple of months after publication. I soon parted ways with
that publisher and went on to larger print runs, bigger advances, better covers,
and the New York Times bestseller list. But I never forgot those two
books. They were favorites of mine and it bothered me that my new readers would
never have a chance to read them. And then my agent made a real life do-over happen. According to my contract,
the rights for both books would revert back to me after seven years. All we had
to do was ask. So we did, and suddenly I had a second chance to birth these
"babies" back into the world. While keeping the characters and stories the same—since that's what
readers had loved so much—I reworked both books. I tightened the writing
(since I'd written them ten years ago and I like to think that I've learned a
think or two), added a few scenes and points of view. I think the changes
enriched both books and made them more like the books I write now. My agent sold both books to my current publisher. FALLING HOME was published
in November 2010 and AFTER
THE RAIN was published December 2012, both with beautiful covers that nearly
made me weep with joy. And the best part of this story is that FALLING HOME hit the
extended list of the New York Times and AFTER THE RAIN debuted in
the top twenty at number seventeen! If only the rest of life could work out like that. The holidays are now over
and I'm left to ruminate over everything I ate over the last month while I
studiously avoid the scale. If anybody knows where I can find the do-over
button, please let me know! So—what in your life would you like to do-over? Two commenters will
each win a copy of AFTER
THE RAIN
Comments
51 comments posted.
Re: Karen White | Do-Overs
I have often wished I could take back words I have said in haste.
(Gladys Paradowski 2:17am January 21, 2013)
What a beautiful cover! I'm so glad you have got your rights back and are able to make the most of your hard work.
If I would change anything it is not being a bit braver so losing out on opportunities or wasting time waiting for others to get back to me.
(Clare O'Beara 5:44am January 21, 2013)
If I could do-over, I would go back to when I was younger and follow the career path I really wanted, and not listen to anyone who doubted me.
(Michelle Donaldson 7:13am January 21, 2013)
So glad you got your second chance. The book looks like a true winner! Thanks for sharing.
(Stephanie Strausberger 8:46am January 21, 2013)
What a great story. I don't think there's anything major I would change, but certainly there are small things I've said or done that I wish I'd handled differently. Love your Tradd Street books, Karen.
(G S Moch 8:55am January 21, 2013)
Lucky for you and very lucky for us...can't wait to read them both.
(Bonnie Capuano 9:52am January 21, 2013)
I don't think there is many things I would do over... I
would change a couple stupid things i did when i was younger
but of course i learned from them so there was a lesson
learned... I would change that how i responded to somethings
as my mouth tends to work before my brain sometimes lol.
Love the new cover glad you got to do a redo on stories you
felt could be expanded on. Thanks
(Jeannie Platt 10:01am January 21, 2013)
I think your story about the chance to "do over" your books is a great one. If I could do over one thing - it would be to have more self confidence - but I'm working on that now, so I guess I don't have to do it over, just do it NOW. Your books sound great and I think I'll be a winner yet because I'm getting both to read as soon as I can. Best of luck!
(Nancy Reynolds 10:10am January 21, 2013)
I wish I had studied more in school. I wasn't planning on going to college
so I just "phoned it in" in high school.
(Susan Falkler 10:20am January 21, 2013)
Be a traveler and live.
(Sharon Berger 10:40am January 21, 2013)
What an interesting story! If I could do-over, I would probably worry less and do more traveling around the country to enjoy the sites.
(Bonnie H 10:45am January 21, 2013)
Wow! If I could yell "do-over" I would not be who I am today at all. The first big change would have come when I was about five years old and that would change the trajectory of my entire life. If I could have handled that one thing differently I have no idea where I would be today. I am who I am now so I guess that is all I get. So my do-over is learn self-acceptance. (NOW!) LOL Can't wait to read your book it sounds great.
(Patti Paonessa 11:37am January 21, 2013)
To all of the above--ditto!! I agree that sometimes the mistakes we make are
the building blocks of learning. I also believe that sometimes mistakes propel
us into changing, or moving forward, or into action. All of these are very, very
good! But yes, sometimes, when I yell at my kids (or my sweet dog for
shredding the tissues in my wastebasket), I wish I could call the words back.
Because in the grand scheme of things, the little annoyances really don't mean
a thing.
So, I make it a point and try everyday to do better--which is a lot easier than
looking for that "do-over" button!
(Karen White 11:51am January 21, 2013)
If I had a do-over I'd make my brother go to a different doctor when he was first diagnosed and maybe he'd still be with us today.
(Sue Galuska 12:11pm January 21, 2013)
I don't believe in do-overs. I try to learn from every mistake I make.
(Pam Howell 12:13pm January 21, 2013)
looks good...
(Kent Cook 1:32pm January 21, 2013)
My daddy asked me about life insurance. I didn't recommend
for it and he later died of cancer...without insurance. Can i
do over???
(Mary Hay 2:30pm January 21, 2013)
Having more patience while understanding my parents and making them understand my point of view and then working out the way together will be on the top of do over list.
(Pratikhya Alexis 3:02pm January 21, 2013)
I think there's a relationship or two I might want to do over,
but really, I think I have to say go to college. I wish I did
it right out of high school and got the whole four year
experience and picked a great career rather than waiting to go
back after my kids were born. That was a tough route.
(Margay Roberge 4:17pm January 21, 2013)
Saying something I can not pull back and swallow. Words can and do hurt.
(MaryEllen Hanneman 4:17pm January 21, 2013)
My life has been wonderful---I would not do over anything
(Shirley Younger 4:26pm January 21, 2013)
I could certainly do without arthritis.
Blessings,
Marjorie
(Marjorie Carmony 4:40pm January 21, 2013)
I WOULD TAKE BACK THE MEAN THINGS I SAID TO A VERY VERY DEAR
FRIEND OF MINE. BUT I CAN'T SHE DIED THE NEXT DAY IN AN CAR
ACCIDENT. I WISH I CAN TAKE BACK WHAT I SAID TO HER.
(Shelly Caggiano 4:42pm January 21, 2013)
If I had a chance to do something over, I would have taken the time off to spend with my mom while she was home, I waited because she wasn't at the point she needed me 24/7, so I continued to work to save my time up, but, she got sick the weekend of my birthday, we thought she would just go in and have the Lasik treatment and come home, but she didn't .. so, I sometimes wish to do that part over... I was living with her so was with her every night for supper till I fed her breakfast and did her meds at 5am before I got ready to go to work, so I did have lots of time..but I miss her and wish I was there more..
(Rosemary Foley 4:50pm January 21, 2013)
Maybe a few classes in college could use a do-over. There are a few that
if I tried just a bit harder on one paper or one test, I would have had an A
instead of a B...
(Kelli Jo Calvert 4:52pm January 21, 2013)
If I could go back and have a do-over, I would not have gone along with my husbands (now ex-husband) choice to relocate to another state for a new job. I would rather have stayed where we lived where both our large families were. It's a long story, but a female co-worker of his in the process of divorcing, started hitting on my husband and having an affair with him. We divorced and he married her (5 mos. later)! We had a wonderful marriage for 25 yrs. and I was blindsided. I had no idea this was going on. So, I'd love a do-over and have back my high-school sweetheart and best friend! I've had to try to put it behind me and it's been a tough road to travel.
(Linda Luinstra 5:48pm January 21, 2013)
I do not
Imesfore to contemplate do-overs,I always resolve to look forward not
back.
(Liesl Lane 5:55pm January 21, 2013)
Wow--lots of great comments. I think wishing for a do-over is tied to regret.
Regret, to me, is looking back on roads taken---roads that are no longer an
option. I like to write characters who are all about looking backwards---and
the book is usually about them figuring out how to move forward. To me,
that's the toughest part. We always see the past with 20/20 vision! If only
things could always been so clear!
I think I've reached a point in my own life that I make the best decision I can
at the time, and don't look back. After all, worrying about a past mistake is a
lot like sitting in a rocking chair: it keeps you busy but it doesn't get you
anywhere!
(Karen White 6:01pm January 21, 2013)
OMG, if this is Southern fiction in any way, shape or form, count me in. And set in a small town in Georgia....divine.
(Susan Coster 6:38pm January 21, 2013)
I don't think you should look back with regrets. A person should go forward and learn from your mistakes. Just let it go and move on.
(Rita Wray 7:11pm January 21, 2013)
I would defy my parents' wishes and go to veterinarian school.
(Kai Wong 7:52pm January 21, 2013)
I would not have let my Mother discourage me the way she did, and have gone to college. I loved the English language, all the way through school, and my teachers had always encouraged my writing ablility. After graduation, I wanted to be an English major in college. My Mother had said some hurtful things, and I decided not to go to college. It was a big mistake, looking back, cosidering that my Parents would have paid my way through school. I never said anything to my Dad about it, and probably should, or should have just ignored what she said and just sucked it up and gone anyway. I know that I don't need a degree to pursue my love of writing, but I don't know what a degree would have done with my future. I also wish I had one of those reset buttons to do a quick reset on a couple of quick things that happened 10 years ago and 5 years ago. Things would be quite a bit different and a little better than they are now. They would be a little more harmonic, for lack of a better term, than they are now. I'm happy, but things aren't quite in sync. It's nice to wish you could change things, but I've accepted things the way they are. My Mother is gone now, and I don't hold things against her. I believe she was in the beginning of Alzheimer's disease when she said those things to me. I wish I had known that. Perhaps I'll have the inner strength yet to write that novel and get it to the publisher. Thanks for telling your story. It gives me some strength and hope. Have a great New Year!!
(Peggy Roberson 8:05pm January 21, 2013)
Congrats on your do-over! I would do-over my lack of diet and exercise in my twenties. Then I wouldn't gain and lose the same 20 pounds these past 20 years!
(Renee Pajda 8:14pm January 21, 2013)
I'd take back every harsh comment I made to the kids, every hard word said in momentary anger, and treasure the time I had with them as little children - when you're a young mother you just don't realize how very precious that time will seem to you later...
(Beth Fuller 8:59pm January 21, 2013)
I love the cover for this book!
(Callie Stuck 9:31pm January 21, 2013)
I would have chosen a different profession---I became an accountant because it was safe---but I never loved it.
(Sue Farrell 9:45pm January 21, 2013)
If I could have a do-over, I'd make more of an effort to step out of my introvert shell that I had in high school.
(Joanne Hicks 10:24pm January 21, 2013)
Peggy--If it's any consolation, I was a business major in college, and now I'm
a writer! I think if you want to follow a dream, you shouldn't let something
like regret over a past choice derail you.
Sue--it's never too late ! I started writing when I was in my thirties with two
small babies at home. :-)
(Karen White 10:47pm January 21, 2013)
I would like to do so many things over. I would have NEVER given in to my husband's wanting to live on a rv camping resort to save money between jobs. Then I would not have ended up where I am now. But my son-in-laws told me they are glad, I cannot change that or they would not have met my girls.
(Jane Squires 12:02pm January 22, 2013)
If I could have a do-over, I wouldn't of rushed into my marriage like I did, I have 2 beautiful children but thats what kept our marriage going, now that they are in college we have nothing in common.The last 10yrs. I've been living my own life and still married for he won't sign the papers..go figure anywaanys, I went back to school and have a home daycare and my friends keep me busy. I need to move forward so I keep working 2 jobs just to get my freedom!
(Carole Fiore 6:06am January 22, 2013)
I didn't used to think I'd need do-overs in life. I don't regret many choices I've made or the things I've done. But for the last two years, my son has been fighting cancer and if I could have a do-over, it would be to spend more time enjoying the little things with my kids - not worrying so much that the dishes get done, the house be spotless or working 60 hours a week... But playing more, scolding less and having more fun.
(Cheryl Antier 7:49am January 22, 2013)
I would study more in college.
(Maureen Emmons 10:00am January 22, 2013)
Not much... I made mistakes but they led me to here. It isn't perfect but i can live with it.
(May Pau 10:11am January 22, 2013)
I love to think about do overs, but if it wasn't for the good and bad I wouldn't be where I am and who I am. That's the double edge sword.
(Carla Carlson 12:54pm January 22, 2013)
When I was younger, I never thought about redo's, But now I am in my 70's and I wish I could redo some of my financial decisions.
(Carol Woodruff 6:40pm January 22, 2013)
I woould spend more time with my BF before he passed away.
(Mary C 9:39pm January 22, 2013)
I would not mind doing over my teen years.
(Mary Preston 6:19am January 23, 2013)
Telling a secret to my father. I wouldn't take back what I've gotten since then but the expectations of better from him.
(Lena Lee 10:07am January 23, 2013)
I realize I'm supposed to say something about do overs, but all I can say is I'm glad you got this do over. After finishing "Falling Home", and learned that there was a sequel, I tried like crazy to find it to no avail
was so glad to see that "After the Rain" was being released again, I couldn't wait to get it. Now I'm refreshing my memory on "Falling Home" before I begin "After the Rain". Thanks for the great reads!
(Shirley Bowman 10:32pm January 23, 2013)
hey tell me when I am supposed to recieve your book,please?
Thank you.
(Pratikhya Alexis 11:58am March 8, 2013)
hey thanks a lot. Recieved your book today.thanks again. :)
(Pratikhya Alexis 2:30pm March 12, 2013)
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