The story behind 'The Christmas Violin'

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The Christmas Violin and how it came to be:

I remember the morning as if it were minutes ago. Winter was tumbling into spring and I woke up from a dream that followed me like a shadow.

I was standing on the stone steps of a cemetery. A young woman with beautiful red hair played the violin in front of a small granite tombstone in the shape of a teddy bear. I was mesmerized, watching her slender fingers dance as the violin bow tickled the strings.  She was playing a lullaby, a beautiful lullaby.

From my perch, I saw an old homeless woman watching the violinist, peeking out of a cluster of arborvitae bushes. And I also saw a young man, dressed in a suit, watching the violinist from a few graves away.

That’s the image I woke up with and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Even when I tried pushing it aside to work on something else, it wouldn’t let me. It had a real attitude and, gosh darn it, I was going to listen.

So I did. I learned a long time ago not to fight my characters when they are insistent that I come out to play. So I stopped ignoring them and said, “Okay, if we’re going to do this, I need each of you to help me tell your story.”

The Christmas Violin is out today

I'm thrilled that The Christmas Violin is out today. I absolutely loved writing this book. Read about the inspiration behind it. 

Can there ever be an encore to true love?


It used to be that the only woman he could think about was Camilla. When he closed his eyes it was her that he saw. But now, he saw Willow. And it scared him and made him feel guilty. And yet he couldn’t help himself, couldn’t help feeling what he was feeling…


The last thing grief-stricken widower Peter St John expects to find at the cemetery is love. But one evening, as he lays flowers on Camilla’s grave, he is drawn to the haunting melody of a solitary violin player. 
And so he encounters beautiful concert violinist Willow Channing, who has her own grief to contend with. 


A second, chance meeting fuels the fire. And soon Peter knows that as one song ended, another might begin.


Reviews:

5 stars: "One of the advantages of being friends with lots of authors is the occasional opportunity to read ARCs or advanced review copies of soon-to-be-published manuscripts. It’s always fun to read something new and fresh, but it’s especially rewarding when the book is sure to be a winner. Yesterday I read a winner.

The Christmas Violin by Buffy Andrews is the story of three people – Willow, Peter, and a nameless schizophrenic homeless woman – all of whom take a journey from despair to hope. Their journeys begin in separate pits of misery, but their paths converge around a teddy-bear shaped tombstone.

Andrews is a masterful story teller who uses words to paint scenes the reader can see and to create characters the reader comes to regard as friends. If you’re not yet in the holiday spirit, spending an afternoon reading The Christmas Violin is a beautiful way to ignite that spark."

...

5 stars: My toddler has had trouble napping recently, so I've had to revert back to rocking her to sleep like I did when she was a newborn. It was during this rare moments of quiet that I picked up "The Christmas Violin" -- a sweet little mental snack during an otherwise hectic schedule. 

Andrews tells the story of three weary souls whose lives are interconnected by their visits to a cemetery. Two of the characters are grieving lost loved ones and another a life she was denied -- all help pull each other out of darkness and offer renewed hop about what their lives could be. 

If you love all those Hallmark Channel specials this time of year and you're looking for a quick, uplifting read to whisk you away from the holiday rush while reminding you of what the season is really about, then pick up "The Christmas Violin."

...

5 Stars: The Christmas Violin surprised me. I read the cover synopsis and thought it would be about a man and woman who fall in love over a shared experience of loss and love of music. I was wrong. This story is so much more than that. Written to follow the format of a beautiful violin concerto, this story teaches us that no matter how dark life can seem, there is always hope. It teaches strength to carry on in the face of loss and gratitude for what we still have despite our loss. Never give up because there is so much in life to live for, and even the smallest seemingly meaningless part of one person's life can have a profound impact on another's.

Other books available:

The Yearbook Series: Gina and Mike

The Yearbook Series: Sue and Tom 

The Moment Keeper

The writing of 'The Christmas Violin'

"The Christmas Violin" comes out Dec. 2, but you can pre-order now. 

...

I remember the morning as if it were minutes ago. Winter was tumbling into spring and I awoke from a dream that followed me like a shadow. 

I was standing on the stone steps of a cemetery. A young woman with beautiful red hair played the violin in front of a small granite tombstone in the shape of a teddy bear. I was mesmerized, watching her slender fingers dance as the violin bow tickled the strings.  She was playing a lullaby, a beautiful lullaby. 

From my perch, I saw an old homeless woman watching the violinist, peeking out of a cluster of arborvitae bushes. And I also saw a young man, dressed in a suit, watching the violinist from a few graves away. 

That’s the image I woke up with and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Even when I tried pushing it aside to work on something else, it wouldn’t let me. It had a real attitude and, gosh darn it, I was going to listen. 

So I did.

Cover reveal: The Christmas Violin

Oh my gosh! I am beyond excited to share this cover of my upcoming novel, The Christmas Violin. Wow! is all I can say. This book will be out Dec. 2 and can also be pre-ordered on Amazon.

Another book contract from Prism Book Group

Prism Book Group, who will be publishing "The Lion Awakens" in 2014 will also be publishing "Ella's Rain." I'm so excited. 

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE  

The Yearbook Series RELEASED ON AMAZON

1st book: Gina and Mike

A romance series that begins with Gina and Mike, high school sweethearts that reconnect 20 years later when the past catches up and turns their worlds inside out. 

Consecutive books in series focus on another member of the high school class. 

The Christmas Violin COMING from Carina UK fall 2013

Written like a violin concerto in three movements, this novella tells the story of three people who have one thing in common -- the cemetery. It is a beautiful story about love and loss and the enormous power of the human spirit.

YOUNG ADULT/CROSSOVER

Ella's Rain COMING from Prism Books 2014

A young girl learns to live again when her grandma, who dies, leaves her 365 notes, one for every day of the coming year.

     

The Moment Keeper COMING from Carina UK fall 2013
As a Moment Keeper records the moments of her charge's life, she comes to see how life is a intricate tapestry of which we are threads woven together in ways we have never anticipated or imagined. The charge learns that a second can change a life forever and that it's what we do with the moments that count.

YOUNG ADULT

The Lion Awakens COMING from Prism Books 2014

Two 17-year-olds find information hidden in anonymous gifts that leads them to a parallel universe and an enemy hell-bent on taking over their world.

That leaves me with my middle-grades to sell:

MIDDLE GRADE 

Freaky Frank
Humorous middle-grade for boys about a telepathic middle-schooler who battles bullies along with his rag-tag friends. 

     

High Street Dares/Locket of Doom

Five middle-schoolers double dared to walk through the cemetery at midnight and perform a spell that will make a particular stone statue cry must solve a mystery involving the statue, an old lady and a shrinking locket before it’s too late. Book ends with a dare setting the next book up in the series.

High Street Dares/Ghostly Connection (second book in series)

Will, Middle Name Trouble

12-year-old Will Moran is always getting in trouble. But this time Will, who cleans and cooks and takes care of his younger twin sisters while his mom (a single parent) works, didn’t do what he is accused of doing. Through an eclectic group of friends comes redemption and the true meaning of friendship.

'The Christmas Violin' structured like a concerto in three movements

I finished my WIP, “The Christmas Violin.” The story is told in three movements, like a violin concerto. In Movement 1, we meet a young woman, a young man and an old woman. None of the characters are named in Movement 1. It begins in the cemetery with the young woman playing, and the old woman and the young man listening.

In Movement 2, we learn that the young woman is Willow Channing, the young man is Peter James St. John. But we never learn the name of the old woman. 

The story unfolds via passages, starting with Peter, then Willow and finally the old woman. It alternates in this order throughout Movement 2, incorporating the characters’ back stories and building an understanding of and empathy for their individual journeys and the obstacles they must overcome.   

Movement 3 contains two characters, Willow and Peter, and they are no longer separate vignettes but have become one.

When an ending is a beginning

My WIP, "The Christmas Violin," is constructed like a violin concerto.

The first movement is titled Despair, the second movement is titled Journey and third movement is titled Hope. The second movement is the longest, followed by the first and third movements.

It’s coming in at around 26,000 words, so it’s more novella-length. I included one paragraph after the last movement, titled Encore, that I hope nails the ending. When I wrote it, I cried. Not because it was the end, but because it was the beginning.

Characters are like tributaries

They came to me in the shower – Willow, Peter and the Old Woman. I saw them at the cemetery: the Old Woman watching from the bushes, Peter staring from a few graves away and Willow playing the violin to her child who was dead. And thus began my writing journey of "The Christmas Violin."

It’s a wonderful yet difficult journey, and it’s far from over. It’s challenging bringing together three characters that are fighting very different demons.

The characters are like tributaries that flow into a river and eventually empty into an ocean where they twist and turn, rumble and tumble before crashing to the shore. There is enormous power when the wave crashes, but then the water recedes and its force is much weaker than that of the incoming wave.

The challenge is to have the tributaries flow naturally into the river and the river to flow naturally into the ocean.

Water always seemed to find a way. I hope I do, too.   

'The Christmas Violin': Trying new structure

  

I’m 10,000+ words into my WIP, and I’m wondering if the structure is working. I’m trying something new, constructing “The Christmas Violin” like a concerto with three movements. Movement 1 is fairly short and Movement 2 will be the longest. I can’t wait to write Movement 3, which will culminate the piece, hopefully in a satisfying way.

It’s fun to try new things. If they work, it’s great. If they don’t, then I start over and find a better way. But I think when we try new things, we grow.  

Do you try new things? Or do you stick with what’s been proven? 

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Listen to the first movement of WIP, 'The Christmas Violin'

This is the first movement of my WIP, "The Christmas Violin." It was my first time using SoundCloud.