The plan involves turmeric, lemons, and letters slipped under doors; a murderer’s sister and a victim’s brother; midnight phone calls, and a stagnant small town. Juice of Half a Lemon is a quirky contemporary adult novel about two people whose loneliness is intertwined.
Hi everyone,
Over the past year and a half of posting on this blog, I’ve gone into a lot of detail about my thoughts, my experiences, and my life as writer, but I’ve been quite tight-lipped about my actual writing. I’ve never really told you anything specific about this novel that I’ve been working on for almost exactly a year now, and I’m not completely sure why that is. I think it might be because, until I wrote the end scene only a couple of days ago, I didn’t entirely believe that I would be able to finish it. I didn’t want to introduce something to you only to scrap it a couple of weeks later. I’m finally at a place now where I can confidently say that this one’s sticking, and I’ve got no more excuses! I am currently working on the second draft, and will start looking for beta readers in the near future.
I have to start out small to avoid becoming a nervous wreck, so here are a few very vague details about the story:
Title:
Juice of Half a Lemon
A little introduction:
Adele Zimmerman hasn’t seen her brother since the night he told her he shot someone in the head. When she discovers that the victim was an identical twin, she sets out to find the leftover sibling and anonymously improve his life, as a way of settling her conscience and ridding herself of her second-hand guilt.
Juice of Half a Lemon is about identity after loss, and the suffocating nature of belonging. It’s about things that can’t be fixed, mistakes that can’t be unmade, and connections that can’t be broken.
***
The tone of the story is slightly whimsical, with a bit of dark humour. I plan on talking more about the protagonists, tone, P.O.V, inspiration, and editing process in the posts to come.
Let me know what you’re working on in the comments below; I’d love to hear about it! If you’d rather just talk to me privately, please feel free to send me an email at tamara.j.drazic@gmail.com.
I hope you found this post interesting, and I wish you the best of luck with whatever you are working on.
As always, thank you so much for reading.
Yours sincerely,
Tamara
Tamara Drazic 
Sounds great.
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Thank you so much!
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I have identical twin boys, they’re only three years old. But studies say that the most painful form of grief is the loss of a twin, and the loss of an identical twin being the worst out of that. It exceeds losing a child or losing a partner. So I’m always fascinated by works that look into this.
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Hi Tamara,
I just found your blog after you followed me on Twitter. That sounds like a really cool premise for a book – I’m excited to see what you do with it.
I’m working on my first novel too (not that it’s actually my first novel, but previous novels should not be mentioned), which is a high fantasy with the working title Rain on Dragon Scales. The dragons that have protected the kingdom for a generation have begun preying on the populace, and a fugitive arena fighter must mend the dragon-human alliance if she’s ever to return home. And I still need to work on my pitch. 🙂
Alecia
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Hi Alecia,
Thank you so much! Wow, that sounds super interesting. I am always in awe of fantasy writers and their world-building abilities. Best of luck with the writing/editing process! I’ll definitely be checking your blog regularly to see how you’re doing 🙂 (I also have an unmentionable first novel! haha)
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Thank you! I’m on about my fifth round of editing now, and I’m swinging between loving my book and thinking it’s the most terrible thing ever written. I hear this is normal. 🙂 Thanks for checking out my blog!
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Oh wow, fifth round! I know that feeling all too well already, even though I’m only on draft number two, haha! The future is looking bleak! :’) I hope you’re nearing the end of your edits, and if not, hang in there!
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I think I’m done with structural editing, at least for the moment. Now I’m trying to make each scene as effective as possible. Don’t despair – it’s probably only taking me so many rounds of editing because I have no idea what I’m doing. 🙂
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Haha oh but that’s the thing–neither do I! At least our problems make for entertaining blog posts 🙂
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The premise of your novel sounds really interesting! Good luck with the editing.
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Thank you so much! I’m really enjoying your blog 🙂
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This sounds great. Is Zimmerman a reference to the Philip Roth character?
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Thanks so much 🙂 It’s not, but I’ll definitely go do some research now haha!
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Haha I’m an idiot. Just checked my Roth book and the character is Zuckerman, not Zimmerman.
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Haha they’re pretty close!
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I LOVE the sound of your novel! Congrats on finishing the draft and I hope editing it going well! Personally, I’m about to start writing a new novel so that’s always exciting. Also, I love your title, just had to say that. =)
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Thank you so much. This made my day! Oh that is always so exciting! Best of luck with the new project; I’m looking forward to reading about it on your blog 🙂
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Looking forward to reading it someday Tamara.
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Thanks so much Nigel, and thank you for reading my blog! I hope you’re well.
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