Today I get to interview myself, in a way. I'm answering the 12 questions each of the other authors has answered about my novella A Silent Night. You may have read my post about how this novella came into being (which was a surprise), but in today's post I also explain how the story itself surprised me. (Which is going to be tricky because I don't want to throw out any spoilers!) It is a story whose characters I love and even miss at times, now that I'm not "working" with them any more. This author-ing is a strange and funny thing. I think I'll have to do more of it! *grin* Also, as a side note, yesterday I learned that Amazon is releasing the collection a couple days early because of Labor Day weekend--so if any of you pre-ordered A Pioneer Christmas Collection from Amazon you should be getting it on Friday! How cool is that?! So without further ado I present: myself and my debut novella A Silent Night!
1. What made you write
about your period in time?
In light of the fact
that we were looking at westward expansion, I wanted to find a focus of heading
west that is often overlooked--travel by water. The Erie Canal opened in the
1830s which brought a flood of people into Michigan Territory and beyond. So
that time period sparked my initial interest.
2. How is Christmas
celebrated in your family and what effect did it have on your writing this
story?
Christmas is always
about family gathering, coming home from hither-and-yon and collecting in one "home base" to be together. (My mother always says, "I love having all my chicks back in the nest!") However, most of
those pioneering out West didn't have that luxury. They had only each other and
folks they met along the way, those who essentially become family due to the circumstances.That is what I tried to capture in the Christmas scene of the story--the gathering and
celebration of new-found family.
3. What research did you
do to authenticate Christmas celebrations in your story?
Loads of research,
specifically about Michigan Territory, went into this. As previously mentioned,
families were forged on the frontier from more than just blood-ties, and it's
curious to me how that seems to happen in times of struggle. Michigan Territory
was incredibly wild at the time, with constant threat of weather, Indians, bandits,
wild animals, and even trivial accidents that could change a person's life—yet the
people still settled there, finding happiness and heartache along the way. I wanted some of that happiness to sidle in alongside my characters' heartaches.
4. When you dreamed up
your story idea, what came first, the time period, the story, the location?
Time period, followed by
location. I had a vague idea of the story, but it grew out of the setting.
5. What was the
"germ" of your story idea and how did you flesh it out?
The germ was putting a
woman in the kind of situation most women fear: helplessness. It's an abstract
fear, but on the frontier becomes tangible quite quickly.
6. Would you like to
have been there?
A part of me itches to
see what it would be like on the frontier struggling for survival--something I obviously know absolutely nothing about. I think within each of us is a desire to
know what it is that we're made of, to see the exact boundaries of our strength
and fortitude. However, my husband assures me that I've not the makings of
a frontierswoman, and I do believe he is right. I am quite handy with duct
tape and Tacky glue, though.
7. What aspects of your
characters are reflected in yours?
I think I have my
protagonist's propensity to second-guess herself. Despite that self-doubt, she
continues to drive toward self-reliance, a drive I also daily combat. (I gave my protagonist a daughter as
well, whom I named after my own daughter--thus my character's struggles, as you
can imagine, quickly became personal.)
8. Have you been to the
locations in which your story is set?
The story begins in
Edinburgh, Scotland, where my husband lived for many years and of which I have a
working knowledge. Michigan, however, I visited only long ago--long before I
knew I'd be setting a story there.
9. What surprised you
the most about your story?
The ending. It turned
into a completely different kind of love story than even I had anticipated. It
actually came about after my mom made a comment on the original ending (nope,
no spoilers here, folks) and it started the cogs turning and the story started
to fly in a completely new direction.
10. Would you have made
a good pioneer?
Uh, no. Though I'd like
to imagine I'd put on a good show while I lasted.
11. Were any of your
ancestors pioneers? If so, where and when?
At one time my ancestors
pioneered across the Atlantic from Germany and Switzerland, but never made it
beyond Pennsylvania.
12. What spiritual
themes did you deliberately incorporate into your story? Which ones did you
discover later?
I had no clear spiritual theme as I began the
story because I find that often the story itself has its own message it wants
to forge. As I wrote, the theme of surrender seemed continually to appear, and
it became obvious that the direction the story wanted to take was to look at
the age old decision faced by every one of us: to hope that our own strength is
enough to sustain us or to surrender to the One who loves us and pursues
us beyond all obstacles.
3 more days to enter the Pioneer Christmas Giveaway!
You can choose any of the options below to enter (tweet, make a comment, "like" my FB page, follow me on Twitter) or you can do them all! The more you do, the more times you're entered into the Giveaway. Just follow the prompts below.
Plus, each day you have a new opportunity to enter!
Giveaway Prize:
Copy of A Pioneer Christmas Collection signed by all 9 authors!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Last day to enter is September 1--winner will be announced on September 3. See you tomorrow!
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