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WORK TITLE: The Weight of Lies
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://emilycarpenterauthor.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0139326/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born September 16, 1967, in Birmingham, Alabama; married Rick Carpenter on December 17, 1988; children: three sons.
EDUCATION:Auburn University, B.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Actor, producer, television assistant, screenwriter, novelist. CBS television, television assistant.
WRITINGS
Screenwriter and producer of films, with Jamie Doss, of Southern Heart (1999); writer on Crystal River (2008).
SIDELIGHTS
Born in 1967 in Birmingham, Alabama, Emily Carpenter is a former actor, producer, and screenwriter turned fiction writer. Her debut murder mystery is Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, published in 2016, followed by The Weight of Lies in 2017. She studied communications and theater at Auburn University and then moved to New York City, where she worked for CBS television on the soap operas As the World Turns and Guiding Light. She moved to Atlanta to write screenplays for independent films. With Jamie Doss she cowrote and produced the film Southern Heart in 1999 and also founded the independent film company Spring Street Films. A mother of three, she now writes fiction: “I decided to try something new. I wanted to go dark—write something really creepy, atmospheric and southern gothic,” she wrote on her Emily Carpenter Website.
Burying the Honeysuckle Girls follows Althea Bell, a woman with a family history of mental illness. Her mother and grandmother both died before their thirtieth birthdays. Nearing that age, Althea fears she’ll be next. In her delirium, her mother told her to beware the Honeysuckle Girl. Released from rehab, Althea returns to her hometown in Alabama hoping for a warm welcome, but her Alzheimer’s-afflicted father and politically ambitious brother would rather she leave. Althea feels her own sanity is vulnerable, yet she has a desire to learn the truth of her family’s battles with mental illness, uncover the carefully hidden family secrets, and break the cycle of premature death. With the help of a previous lover, she might get her chance.
In a review on The Other Stories website, Danielle Corcione praised the book for its refreshing perspective set in the American South and remarked: “Carpenter’s writing style is accessible and relatable, allowing readers to step into the protagonist’s point-of-view effortlessly. … Burying the Honeysuckle Girls isn’t a light read. The prose is engaging and thrilling with moments of cliffhangers in-between flashbacks and thought-provoking character dialogue.” A writer online at the Book Review also liked the location, saying: “The southern backdrop is perfect for this atmospheric tale of family secrets and retribution.” The critic also commented that Carpenter “does a terrific job of defining the characters, of creating a dark, emotionally taut force.”
Carpenter’s next book is the 2017 The Weight of Lies, which follows the daughter of a famed horror writer who has been living in her mother’s shadow. Forty years earlier, Frances Ashley wrote the best-selling mystery Kitten, about the murder of a child that happened on Bonny Island off the coast of Georgia. The book has garnered rabid fans call Kitten Cultists. Frances’s New York-based daughter, Meg, has lived a comfortable life off her mother’s fortune, but now she wants to break free of her mother’s influence. Spurred by assistant Asa Bloch, Meg writes a tell-all memoir of her mother, her sordid past, her neglectful parenting, and the speculation that the fictional murder in her famous story isn’t so fictional. Meg starts with setting up an interview with Dorothy Kitchens, the basis for Frances’s murderer and proprietor of Ambletern Hotel, where the murder took place. But Dorothy is receiving death threats from Kitten Cultists, and Meg herself feels as if her life is in danger.
Noting that the book’s “convoluted but rousing plot piles on an array of storylines,” a writer in Kirkus Reviews admitted that Carpenter supplies too many suspicious characters to count. The reviewer added that “Carpenter deepens the intrigue by filling her pages with haunting, sometimes-ominous passages.” The writer added the many plot twists “should leave readers dizzy, in the best way possible.” A Publishers Weekly contributor noted the array of suspects and less than reputable sources for Meg’s book, commenting: “The multiple perspectives help make this an unputdownable read.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2017, review of The Weight of Lies.
Publishers Weekly, April 24, 2017, review of The Weight of Lies, p. 69.
ONLINE
Emily Carpenter Website, http://emilycarpenterauthor.com/ (January, 2017), author profile.
Book Review, http://www.the-bookreview.com/, (March 21, 2017), review of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls.
The Other Stories, http://www.theotherstories.org/ (December 17, 2016), Danielle Corcione, review of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls.
Emily Carpenter
Biography
Showing all 5 items
Jump to: Overview (2) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trivia (1)
Overview (2)
Born September 16, 1967 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Height 5' 3" (1.6 m)
Mini Bio (1)
Emily Carpenter worked as an actress in theater and television in Atlanta, Georgia until deciding to create a production company with Jamie Doss. She and Doss wrote and produced their first feature, Southern Heart (1999), and are working on several new projects. She has also formed Spring Street Films, a company dedicated to producing indie films.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Mary Klein
Spouse (1)
Rick Carpenter (17 December 1988 - present) (3 children)
Trivia (1)
Worked behind the scenes on two daytime dramas - "As the World Turns" and "Guiding Light".
Filmography
Jump to: Producer | Actress | Writer | Self
Hide HideProducer (2 credits)
2008 Crystal River (executive producer)
1999 Southern Heart (producer)
Hide HideActress (2 credits)
2008 Crystal River
Davie Nance
1999 Southern Heart
Christy
Hide HideWriter (2 credits)
2008 Crystal River (writer)
1999 Southern Heart (writer)
Hide HideSelf (1 credit)
2011 The Yoga Champions (Documentary short)
Herself
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Personal Details
Height: 5' 3" (1.6 m)
Edit
Did You Know?
Trivia: Worked behind the scenes on two daytime dramas - "As the World Turns" and "Guiding Light".
Star Sign: Virgo
ABOUT
I’ve been writing ever since I was a little girl growing up in Birmingham, Alabama. My debut work was a highly (okay, totally) plagiarized version of The Pokey Little Puppy. The narrative followed the original closely (okay, word for word), and it came complete with detailed Crayola illustrations and was bound with staples by my ever-patient mother. When I wasn’t copying other authors’ books, I was walking, sitting, or lying down with my nose in a library book. In fact, the old Birmingham Public Library, with its marble floors, giant murals, and soaring atrium, remains one of the most magical and inspiring places in the world to me.
After graduating from Auburn University with a BA in Communications and two minors in Journalism and Theater, I moved to New York City with my husband. I landed a job at CBS television in the Daytime Drama division, where we oversaw the production of the soaps “As the World Turns” and “Guiding Light.” One of my responsibilities was reading the shows’ daily scripts and creating summary paragraphs for local newspapers. You might remember reading one of these tiny masterpieces – they usually went something like, Roger freaks out when he realizes Holly’s been faking amnesia, and Billy’s back from rehab only to find Mindy in bed with Frank! (“So-and-so freaks out” was my signature, work-horse phrase. I used it every week.)
After moving back to Atlanta, I attempted to write a few spec soap scripts, but the form didn’t quite capture my imagination. Instead, I began trying my hand at screenplays. I shopped a few to Hollywood agents and production companies, was lucky enough to place in a couple of contests, and was even shortlisted for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab. As I like to say about that phase of my writing career, my screenplays were rejected by the best; Amblin Entertainment (Steven Spielberg’s company), Icon Productions (Mel Gibson’s company) and Rob Reiner’s company all said no. I did, however, have the fantastic opportunity to work on two low-budget, indie films, but, at the conclusion of those exhausting experiences, I realized film production wasn’t for me. What I really loved most was writing.
With my three boys in school full-time, I decided the time was right to take the leap and write a book. I joined the Atlanta Writers Club and a local critique group. I devoured several excellent craft books. I had never taken a formal creative writing class and felt woefully unqualified, but I couldn’t avoid the pull of the page. The prospect of creating an entire world all my own electrified me.
I began working on my first manuscript, a romantic comedy, in 2011. I finished it, queried agents, and received some encouraging comments. Ultimately, no agent bit, and after a second, unsuccessful attempt at the rom-com genre, I decided to try something new. I wanted to go dark – write something really creepy, atmospheric and southern gothic. The resulting book, Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, ultimately landed me my agent (the brilliant and hard-working Amy Cloughley at Kimberley Cameron & Associates) and sold to Danielle Marshall and Kelli Martin at Lake Union Publishing (Amazon).
It’s been a long journey to publication, and I’m still trudging down the path. Trudging, yes, but whistling a happy tune on my way. What I’ve learned so far? Have (unending) patience, be (relentlessly) diligent, and stay (stupidly) optimistic. This career can buffet your self-esteem, and to keep moving forward, you must maintain this strange, paradoxical combination of hubris and humility. People help – my fellow critique partners have been a lifeline for me and my family has bolstered me with love and support. Find your network; they will encourage you to keep telling your stories. For me, that’s where the joy is found.
Carpenter, Emily: THE WEIGHT OF LIES
Kirkus Reviews.
(June 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Carpenter, Emily THE WEIGHT OF LIES Lake Union Publishing (Indie Fiction) $14.95 6, 6 ISBN: 978-1-
4778-1843-5
In this thriller, a tell-all about a celebrity novelist examines her most famous horror book, which may be
more truth than fiction. People often recognize 20-something Meg simply for being the daughter of
renowned author Frances Ashley. The writer's bibliography is extensive, but her 40-year-old debut, 1976's
Kitten, is her most revered tale. The story of a shocking island murder has reached cult status, and rabid
fans known as Kitty Cultists litter the internet with fan fiction and conspiracy theories. One hypothesis, that
Frances based her novel and characters on a real-life killing, is the reason the author's new assistant, Asa
Bloch, asks Meg to write a memoir. Though Asa genuinely wants proof that Kitten is thinly veiled
nonfiction, Meg eventually agrees, seeing it as a chance to disclose her volatile relationship with a cold,
neglectful mother. She heads to the tale's setting, Ambletern Hotel, on an island off the Georgia coast.
Dorothy Kitchens has since closed the hotel she inherited, having suffered harassment from fans who
believe she's the living counterpart of a murderous Kitten character. But what Meg finds on the island is a
bevy of lies--and a killer who doesn't want the truth uncovered. Carpenter's (Burying the Honeysuckle Girls,
2016) convoluted but rousing plot piles on an array of storylines. There are soapy bits (a hush-hush lawsuit
and Meg eying groundskeeper Koa and his abs); heaps of mystery (cryptic notes in a fan-notated copy of
Kitten that Frances inexplicably has at her apartment); and too many suspicious characters to count.
Carpenter deepens the intrigue by filling her pages with haunting, sometimes-ominous passages: "The worst
thing my mother ever did, her gravest sin, wasn't something I intended to share with anyone." Meg's a
novice investigator, giving her first-person narrative credence; she's just as surprised--reading her mom's
book for the first time--as readers will likely be, and her ideas generally come from TV shows like Law &
Order. Carpenter amps the tension by paralleling Meg's story with Kitten snippets prefacing each chapter--
with both building toward revealing climaxes--and ties off the subplots with clarity and thoroughness.
Twists aplenty in this searing murder mystery should leave readers dizzy, in the best way possible.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Carpenter, Emily: THE WEIGHT OF LIES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A493329144/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=6c153b15.
Accessed 24 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A493329144
12/24/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1514140910882 2/2
The Weight of Lies
Publishers Weekly.
264.17 (Apr. 24, 2017): p69.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* The Weight of Lies
Emily Carpenter. Lake Union, $14.95 trade
paper (418p) ISBN 978-1-4778-1843-5
Well-to-do New Yorker Megan Ashley, the unhappy narrator of this fascinating suspense novel from
Carpenter (Burying the Honeysuckle Girls), is estranged from her mother, bestselling author Frances
Ashley. Forty years earlier, Frances's first novel, Kitten, became an instant hit, spawning millions of .cult
followers. The story told in Kitten is based on the murder of a child named Kim Baker, which occurred on
Bonny Island off the Georgia coast, where young Frances was staying at a secluded hotel. While the murder
was ascribed to Kim's mother, Frances's novel names eight-year-old Kitten, a character based on one
Dorothy Kitchens, as the psychotic killer. Having gotten a deal to write a book about life with Frances,
Megan travels to Bonny Island to interview Dorothy about how the novel affected her. With each shocking
new discovery, the reader's sympathies shift. Who can Megan trust? Her fast-talking agent? Her unreliable
mother? Dorothy? The islanders who work for Dorothy? The multiple perspectives help make this an
unputdownable read. Agent: Amy Cloughley, Kimberley Cameron & Associates. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"The Weight of Lies." Publishers Weekly, 24 Apr. 2017, p. 69. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A491250809/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=9e1e189d.
Accessed 24 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A491250809
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Burying the Honeysuckle Girls by Emily Carpenter- Feature and Review
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Althea Bell is still heartbroken by her mother’s tragic, premature death—and tormented by the last, frantic words she whispered into young Althea’s ear: Wait for her. For the honeysuckle girl. She’ll find you, I think, but if she doesn’t, you find her.
Adrift ever since, Althea is now fresh out of rehab and returning to her family home in Mobile, Alabama, determined to reconnect with her estranged, ailing father. While Althea doesn’t expect him, or her politically ambitious brother, to welcome her with open arms, she’s not prepared for the chilling revelation of a grim, long-buried family secret. Fragile and desperate, Althea escapes with an old flame to uncover the truth about her lineage. Drawn deeper into her ancestors’ lives, Althea begins to unearth their disturbing history…and the part she’s meant to play in it.
Gripping and visceral, this unforgettable debut delves straight into the heart of dark family secrets and into one woman’s emotional journey to save herself from a sinister inheritance.
READ AN EXCERPT:
MY REVIEW:
Burying the Honeysuckle GirlsBurying the Honeysuckle Girls by Emily Carpenter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Burying the Honeysuckle Girls by Emily Carpenter is a 2016 Lake Union publication.
Wow, I got more than I bargained for with this novel!
The southern backdrop is perfect for this atmospheric tale of family secrets and retribution.
Althea has no idea what is in store for her when she returns home after a stint in rehab. Her brother is running or office and her power hungry sister-in-law will stop at nothing to see Althea does nothing to mess that up. But the most disturbing thing for Althea is seeing her Alzheimer’s ridden father in such a bad place and his horrible reaction to seeing her again.
But, she really gets a shock when she discovers that her upcoming thirtieth birthday is a milestone in more ways than one and she could be about to inherit a terrible legacy that has been passed down from generation to generation on her mother’s side.
In order to break that chain and discover the truth about what really happened to her mother and grandmother, Althea must stay one step ahead of her own family.
This is an incredible debut novel that held my attention from start to finish. The story flips back and forth between the present and the past, telling the troubling story of Althea’s grandmother back in the 1930’s alongside Althea’s present day struggles.
There is a definite race against time element in both threads and a real heart pounding sense of dread, mingled with the mystery and drama.
The story is both sad and utterly horrifying. The author does a terrific job of defining the characters, of creating a dark, emotionally taut force, and adding just a tiny pinch of Southern Gothic to top it off.
Overall, this book was a major surprise for me. I’m so glad I took a took a chance on this one in the Kindle store!!
GET YOUR COPY HERE:
https://www.amazon.com/Burying-Honeysuckle-Girls-Emily-Carpenter-ebook/dp/B017LGAKEG/
THIS BOOK IS ALSO IN THE KINDLE UNLIMITED PROGRAM IS YOU SUBSCRIBE.
ABOU THE AUTHOR:
EMILY CARPENTER, a former actor, producer, screenwriter, and behind-the-scenes soap opera assistant, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Auburn University. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she now lives in Georgia with her family. BURYING THE HONEYSUCKLE GIRLS is her first novel. You can visit Emily online at emilycarpenterauthor.com.
“Burying The Honeysuckle Girls” By Emily Carpenter – A Review
DECEMBER 17, 2016 -- 0 COMMENTS
Review By Danielle Corcione
In the thrilling Burying the Honeysuckle Girlsby Emily Carpenter (Lake Union Publishing), protagonist Althea Bell tries to make sense of a family mystery. Her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother have all died before turning 30, and her thirtieth birthday quickly approaches.
I was compelled towards this novel since my mother, who also struggled with her mental health, passed away last year (unrelated to her psychological conditions). I don’t associate with many distant relatives, and there is a lot I don’t know about our family’s history — including what our heritage is beyond being Irish. That’s why I immediately connected to the protagonist from the first chapter. Althea knew a vague outcome of a family mystery, but didn’t have much evidence or background to understand it.
The story begins when Althea is fresh out of a residential rehabilitation program. She returns to her hometown in Mobile, Alabama to visit and reconnect with her sick father suffering from Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately, he wants his daughter to leave. Her past with drugs and other vices leaves her unwelcomed by her relatives. While she didn’t expect a lively party upon her homecoming, she didn’t expect such a drastic reaction, either. Her brother also happens to be running for a prestigious political office, which seems to take attention away from her own crisis.
Although her father is sick, he’s not the only one potentially near their deathbed. A family prophecy haunts Bell women, and Althea is expected to be next.
Before her mother died, she advised young Althea to watch out for the honeysuckle girl. However, the honeysuckle girl her mother once described has since vanished. Her brother stresses that her mother’s visions were likely due to schizophrenic tendencies. “I am not my mother / The honeysuckle girl isn’t real,” Althea repeats.
Yet, at the same time, she isn’t fully convinced of her mother’s mental illness. Although her mother spent time at the psychiatric ward at Pritchard Hospital, there are some missing pieces to her mother’s story, including where she was buried and why. This sends her on an emotional (and mostly independent) journey in search of her family’s past.
Throughout the book, the point-of-view switches from Althea in 2012 to her great-grandmother, Jinn, in the 1930s. As a reader, I experienced how the family mystery haunted the Althea’s ancestors 80 years prior. I became more invested reading a different perspective, especially from the protagonist’s older relative.
Althea also battles her own mental health issues. Although the story begins right after rehab, Althea finds herself in the same hospital and ward as her mother, but manages to deal and cope with those issues by the end of the novel. As a young adult, I’m starting to face my own mental health struggles, so that’s another way I identified with the character. Althea felt like a real person, just like me — and I was convinced the honeysuckle girl was, too.
The author also carefully crafted a plot set in Alabama, her own home state. I rarely read works set in the South, but it was refreshing to read a perspective (still within a fictitious realm) from someone originally from the southeastern region of the United States.
Despite the flashbacks, the story is easy to follow and sequential. For example, each chapter begins with a strong image:
At exactly three o’clock, an assembly line of shiny SUVs and sedans begin their crawl past the ivy-covered brick Hillyard Middle School. The cars opened their doors, gobbled the children up.
Additionally, chapters are organized by date and setting (such as “Friday, September 21, 2012 / Birmingham, Alabama” in chapter 23).
Carpenter’s writing style is accessible and relatable, allowing readers to step into the protagonist’s point-of-view effortlessly — even for those without a family history of mental illness. Burying the Honeysuckle Girls isn’t a light read. The prose is engaging and thrilling with moments of cliffhangers in-between flashbacks and thought-provoking character dialogue.
**
Danielle Corcione is a freelance writer somewhere in the world. Their work has recently appeared in Esquire, Vice and more.