1. What's the best thing about being a writer? What's the most difficult?
The best thing for me is hearing from happy readers who enjoy my stuff.
The most difficult thing for me is maintaining the high quality of research and writing I am compelled to strive for, all within deadline.
2. I love historical fiction but have come across very few books that cover the American Revolution whereas times and places like Tudor England have been covered extensively. Why do you think not a lot of historical fiction has been written?
Beats me! The American Revolution is such an exciting, romantic and pivotal event in world history, I am surprised that there are not more books and movies that use it for a setting. In book publishing though, publishers tend to buy a sure thing, and that is how trends develop, and how the marketplace gets saturated with one thing or another. If publishers aren’t buying American settings, literary agents aren’t interested in representing it, and authors don’t bother writing it. I often hear from American readers who have enjoyed my work, freely admit to knowing way more about British or ancient Roman history then they do about their own country’s history.
3. Which of your three books (The Turning of Anne Merrick, The Tory Widow, and Midwife of the Blue Ridge) is your favorite and why?
The best thing for me is hearing from happy readers who enjoy my stuff.
The most difficult thing for me is maintaining the high quality of research and writing I am compelled to strive for, all within deadline.
2. I love historical fiction but have come across very few books that cover the American Revolution whereas times and places like Tudor England have been covered extensively. Why do you think not a lot of historical fiction has been written?
Beats me! The American Revolution is such an exciting, romantic and pivotal event in world history, I am surprised that there are not more books and movies that use it for a setting. In book publishing though, publishers tend to buy a sure thing, and that is how trends develop, and how the marketplace gets saturated with one thing or another. If publishers aren’t buying American settings, literary agents aren’t interested in representing it, and authors don’t bother writing it. I often hear from American readers who have enjoyed my work, freely admit to knowing way more about British or ancient Roman history then they do about their own country’s history.
3. Which of your three books (The Turning of Anne Merrick, The Tory Widow, and Midwife of the Blue Ridge) is your favorite and why?
That’s a hard question. Midwife of the Blue Ridge is my debut novel, and so it holds a special place in my heart. The American Revolution is also near and dear, and a huge subject to tackle, and I love The Tory Widow as the first book in that challenge. But since The Turning of Anne Merrick is my latest, I think it is my favorite right now. The characters are such good friends of mine now after two books.
4. What is your advice for aspiring writers?
4. What is your advice for aspiring writers?
The best advice I can give is to learn to seek out and be open to constructive critique. Writing is such
a solitary, in-your-head endeavor, that writers can often become mired in their process. When I first
began writing I joined a writer’s workshop at my local community college. The friendship and advice I
gained by that experience only improved my abilities to craft a compelling story and develop interesting characters.
5. If you could bring any three literary characters with you to a deserted island, who would you bring with you?
If limited to literary characters from books other than my own I’d bring Hawkeye, from Last of the
Mohicans, for his courage and survival skills, and general hunkiness. My second choice would be Gandalf from The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, because I imagine magic would help to make the deserted island experience more comfortable, and he is a very wise and interesting old guy. And last, I couldn’t imagine a better gal pal confidant than Elizabeth Bennet, from Pride and Prejudice. She would be good company.
But if the rules allow me to choose characters from my own published works, I’d choose Maggie Duncan from Midwife of the Blue Ridge. She’s strong and funny, and her healing and herbal knowledge would be very valuable on a deserted island. I’d also bring Sally Tucker, from The Tory Widow. She’s fun, a great cook, hard worker, and as a fellow Scotswoman, I think she’d get along very well with Maggie. For my third choice, I’d choose brave, smart and handsome Neddy Sharontakawas, the Oneidan scout from The Turning of Anne Merrick, who is also an expert hunter with mad wilderness survival skills.
a solitary, in-your-head endeavor, that writers can often become mired in their process. When I first
began writing I joined a writer’s workshop at my local community college. The friendship and advice I
gained by that experience only improved my abilities to craft a compelling story and develop interesting characters.
5. If you could bring any three literary characters with you to a deserted island, who would you bring with you?
If limited to literary characters from books other than my own I’d bring Hawkeye, from Last of the
Mohicans, for his courage and survival skills, and general hunkiness. My second choice would be Gandalf from The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, because I imagine magic would help to make the deserted island experience more comfortable, and he is a very wise and interesting old guy. And last, I couldn’t imagine a better gal pal confidant than Elizabeth Bennet, from Pride and Prejudice. She would be good company.
But if the rules allow me to choose characters from my own published works, I’d choose Maggie Duncan from Midwife of the Blue Ridge. She’s strong and funny, and her healing and herbal knowledge would be very valuable on a deserted island. I’d also bring Sally Tucker, from The Tory Widow. She’s fun, a great cook, hard worker, and as a fellow Scotswoman, I think she’d get along very well with Maggie. For my third choice, I’d choose brave, smart and handsome Neddy Sharontakawas, the Oneidan scout from The Turning of Anne Merrick, who is also an expert hunter with mad wilderness survival skills.
Giveaway:
Today, I'm pleased to be able to host two great giveaways.
What's up for grabs:
- One winner will win a copy of The Turning of Anne Merrick by Christine Blevins.
- One winner will win an 18th Century Stationery bundle. ("Just the sort of sundry Anne Merrick peddled to those bloodyback scoundrels in Burgoyne’s camp. Supplied with a quill pen and wrapped for convenient stowing amidst your gear, these sheets and envelopes are perfect for scrieving all manner of secret messages – invisible ink not included."
 | ||
| Picture of the bundle. |
- You must be 13 and over
- Open Internationally!!!
- You must be a follower of A Bookish Affair
- Giveaway ends February 22, 2012!!!
Just fill out the form below!
I love your blog and would love to get to 'know' you better...so, Hope you don't mind... but Tag! You're It! Please stop back at my site for fun questions to answer and pass new ones along!
ReplyDeleteUpon reading this author's interview, I have included her writing on my radar! I love her choices for the desert island accompaniment too. I am a GFC follower and have entered your contest.
ReplyDeleteI have followed your blog for some time now and would love to share it with my readers! Thus I tagged you to join a fun game of blogger tag, wherein you tag other book bloggers, much like a hop with a couple rules. I hope you'll join the fun, though you certainly are not obligated. Visit me at My Bookshelf to find out how.
The American Revolution is my absolute favorite time period in history. It's so full of brave and amazing people who did astonishing things. Thanks for the chance to win this novel.
ReplyDeletethis book looks excellent and the paper looks so interesting! thank you!
ReplyDeleteI was just looking at the book tour for this book and saw your site listed. I hope I didn't enter previously, but I don't think I did. I was looking through your blog and love your reviews (I love historical fiction) so I just became a GFC follower.
ReplyDelete