Q&A with Ellen Baker

 

 

Ellen Baker is the author of the new novel The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson. Her other books include Keeping the House. She lives in Maine.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson, and how did you create your character Cecily?

 

A: I thought a lost first love, a lost child, and a childhood in the circus would be pretty interesting secrets for a woman to have kept. But really, Cecily just felt real to me from the start, so writing her story felt simply like writing about something that had already happened.

 

Q: How did you research the novel, and did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: I researched this novel mostly by sitting at my desk and Googling, and reading a ton of information online.

 

I also read a number of books (notably Bad Girls at Samarcand by Karen L. Zipf, to learn about life at a reformatory for "wayward" girls in the 1930s) and watched documentaries on subjects ranging from life in a TB sanitorium in the 1930s to the hurricane of 1938 (I had a whole story for Cecily around that event that did not make it into the book).

 

I wanted the circus scenes to feel very real, so I researched circus life in depth by reading articles and first-person accounts of people who had been in the circus during the same time period that Cecily had.

 

I also looked at a lot of photographs and watched what videos were available online to try to get details of costuming and such things right. 

 

Although I'd read previously about how "wayward girls" were treated, I think it did surprise me to learn the depths of the punishments they endured, and how often they were labeled "feeble-minded" and given over to the control of the state, even when, in many cases, being victims of violence was what had gotten them into trouble in the first place. 

 

Q: What do you think the novel says about family secrets?

 

A: I don't know that I was trying to say anything about family secrets in the novel, other than that they usually exist, and they can often be challenging to deal with. I do think they make for good drama, so, for the sake of fiction, they are wonderful fodder and inspiration. 

 

Q: The writer Kristin Harmel said of the book, “Ellen Baker weaves the intricacies of family dynamics into the complicated fabric of early 20th-century America, deftly tackling issues of race, identity, loss, and trauma through the story of a family you'll be rooting for with all your heart.”  What do you think of that description?

 

A: I think it's wonderful! I love it. I'm tremendously grateful to Kristin for reading my book and for so generously and succinctly describing what it's really about. 

   

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm always drawn to telling stories of remarkable women, so I'm working on a few ideas in this vein. I haven't quite decided which is the right one to focus on at this time.

  

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I'm really grateful to my amazing publishing team at Mariner Books and to my wonderful agent Deborah Schneider for their belief in this book and all their hard work on its behalf, as well as to all the salespeople, early readers and reviewers, librarians, and independent booksellers who work so tirelessly to get the word out about new books. Including you, Deborah -- thank you!  

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Lora Chilton

 

 

 

Lora Chilton is the author of the new novel 1666. She is a member of the Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia.

 

Q: What inspired you to write 1666?

 

A: In 2007, Chief Two Eagles Green attended our Chilton family reunion and shared the oral tradition of our tribe, telling us about the Patawomeck women who were sold into slavery and shipped to Barbados after the men were killed and the village burned in the summer of 1666.

 

From that point forward, I longed to know more about this story and the women who survived and made their way back to their homeland, the place that is now called Virginia. I read everything I could but their full story was not anywhere to be found.

 

Toni Morrison said, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” So I began to think about the women and imagine what this journey might have been like based on the oral tradition I knew and written historical records I found while researching.

 

Q: How did you research the novel, and did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: I researched online in addition to reading many books. During Covid, JSTOR, a digital library, removed their usual paywall so individuals could comb through their vast range of content. This allowed me to access articles and books I otherwise might not have discovered.

 

Also, as a response to the restrictions of Covid, my tribe, the Patawomeck, began to offer online language classes. I asked permission to join the children’s classes so I could learn the language with my granddaughters! Some of the language had been saved in early written records but much had been lost.

 

In recent years, dedicated members of the tribe have worked diligently to recover the words, pronunciations, and meanings. I am indebted to those individuals and attempted to honor their work by using some of the lost language in 1666: A Novel. 

 

There was a brief opening during Covid and a friend and I went to Barbados to research. I felt I needed to experience the air, the sand, the shoreline. I wanted to walk in the sugar cane fields and see what was left of the sugar mills of history.

 

One thing that totally surprised me was to learn of the decadence and sophistication of “Little England” that was the flourishing island of Barbados in 1666 and beyond.

 

There was a thriving Jewish community with a synagogue, including a mikvah in 1666! There was a vibrant Quaker community, arriving in Barbados to escape persecution in England.

 

The money from the production of sugar and then rum created an opulent existence for the planter class but early death for the slaves that worked in the fields.

 

Q: What did you see as the right balance between fiction and history as you wrote this book?

 

A: There were natural limitations because early explorers were not focusing on the women they encountered. Most of their observations were about the men, so the lives of the women, their daily activities, were pieced together from many sources and then I imagined their conversations.

 

The written history provided the broad strokes, as did the oral tradition passed down within the tribe.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the novel?

 

A: I hope readers will be inspired by the resilience of the Patawomeck women who were determined to return to their homeland. I hope readers will marvel at a story they did not know, about a smaller Indigenous tribe that is still in existence today, in spite of repeated efforts to annihilate them.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am working on a sequel to 1666: A Novel, tentatively titled The Opposite of Integrity, about the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 in Virginia.

 

It is historical fiction, exploring the impact of the “paper genocide” that eliminated the Indian populations in Virginia in 1924 by mandating that birth certificates and marriage certificates identify race as either “white” or “colored,” eliminating the “Indian” category.

 

This law was not overturned until 1967! It essentially caused the Indigenous people in Virginia to hide their heritage, customs, and deny their ancestors.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Thank you for your interest in 1666: A Novel.

 

As a part of the book promotion and tour, I will be retracing the imagined path of the women from the Patawomeck Tribal Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia, south through Richmond, then Williamsburg and ending in Hampton, Virginia, where the first slave ships landed in North America in 1619.

 

There are other events planned in Tennessee and northern Virginia.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Janet A. Wilson

 

Photo by Jillian Faulkner

 

 

Janet A. Wilson is the author of the new memoir All You'll See Is Sky: Resetting a Marriage on an Adventure Through Africa. She was born in South Africa, and she lives in Calgary.

Q: What inspired you to write All You’ll See Is Sky?

 

A: My husband, Tom, and I drove 25,000 miles across Africa from Cape Town to Cairo. We’ve given many travel presentations, and the most common question is, “How the hell did you put up with each other alone in a car for eight months?”

 

I kept detailed journals on our travels. So I was able to respond to the question. Tom and I had no option but to work together and cooperate to if we wanted to reach Cairo safely. Africa reached out and threw everything at us, forcing us to learn the street smarts of marriage. Tom and I had left as a bickering couple and returned as a formidable team.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: I had to learn extreme off-road driving. There was a steep, gravelly hill at the driving school, too steep to walk up. I just kept sliding down, but I had to drive up it. In our heavy Land Cruiser, the instructor told me what to do, and then he said, “Now trust your vehicle because all you'll see is sky.” And indeed, all I saw was sky.

 

Every day, I had no idea what I might see. The only guarantee was that the sky, day or night, was always there, and the night sky in the Sahara Desert is spectacular.

Q: The writer Marlena Maduro Baraf said of the book, “It speaks profound truths about responsibility and compassion, intimacy and connection.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: It’s a great description. I always took full responsibility for every decision I made on the journey, no matter how hard or the risks that I might face. I felt compassion from many people, especially the Ethiopians and the Sudanese; they seemed to sense my struggle and pain after the tragedy.

 

Despite being married for 30 years, my husband and I discovered a depth of intimacy, compassion, and connection in our relationship we’d never experienced before. Being alone in a car for eight to 16 months, we learned so much about ourselves, our relationships, and the world around us.

 

Q: What impact did it have on you to write this memoir, and what do you hope readers take away from it?

 

A: Writing the memoir was challenging because I had too much--written information, thousands of photographs, and hours of video. Fortunately, many authors supported and guided me when I first started writing. I also had excellent editors who kept me focused.

 

I want readers to know and take away that it's not the lack of love or romance but the lack of friendship that contributes to an unhappy marriage or relationship. And it’s not what happens to a couple but how they choose to handle what they are facing. I was surprised at my courage, and I am sure others would be surprised at their courage.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am considering writing a book of short stories from our travels. Funny stories, like the time Tom fell down a well in Costa Rica and broke several ribs. My Spanish wasn’t good, but I thought I was good at sign language until after many waving of arms we arrived at a breast enlargement clinic. But that’s another story.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Tom and I returned to Africa and drove the length of the west coast of Africa. We then drove 65,000 miles from Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost town in the world. We’ve traveled to 99 countries, so I have hundreds of stories and love writing. We currently live in Calgary, Canada.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Adaira Landry and Resa E. Lewiss

 

Adaira Landry

 

 

Adaira Landry and Resa E. Lewiss, who are both physicians, are the authors of the new book MicroSkills: Small Actions, Big Impact. Landry is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Lewiss is a professor of emergency medicine.

 

Q: What inspired you to write MicroSkills?

 

A: When we were starting our careers we noticed that some people seemed to have “it.” They were able to navigate the workplace, secure opportunities, and project balance in their lives inside and outside of work.

 

We were left wondering how to move forward and gain access to what seemed like privileged information -- the “how-to” of being successful at work. We wanted to level the playing field for everyone by teaching the small skills that people can immediately learn to navigate work.

 

In short, we wrote the book we wish we had when we started our professional journeys. 

Resa E. Lewiss

 

Q: How did your experience as physicians factor into the writing of the book?

 

A: We both had this feeling early on in our careers that there was a workplace playbook. Some people got a copy and others didn’t. We felt out of the loop. We didn’t want that to be the experience for our readers.

 

So we wrote a book that felt comprehensive and not overwhelming. Not only are we emergency medicine physicians, we are also educators. So we have experience breaking things down into small concrete and actionable ways to get work done and accomplish a larger goal. 

 

Q: The author Minda Harris said of the book, “MicroSkills is a must-read for anyone entering the workplace, especially if you feel like an outsider.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: It was important to us that we write a book that to the best of our abilities makes no assumptions about the reader. Many business self-help books are developed with assumptions about the reader and their access to resources, such as money, time, and people.

 

We know that the world is not equal and everyone does not start from the same place. We know that knowledge is not always shared and exchanged equitably to help others. So Minda has it right. 

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: We start early in the book emphasizing self-care and then move into taking care of the team. And only when those two pillars of the workplace are in-check can the reader focus heavily on the work they are doing.

 

We don’t want to perpetuate the message that success at work requires constant sacrifice. As physicians we understand the importance of being mindful of our body, mind, soul, personal finances, and support system as we move through our career.

 

Our book emphasizes the power of the pause -- stopping, reflecting, asking questions, and really getting to know yourself, your needs, and your opportunities.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Right now we are really excited about our book launch and our author talks, e.g., the Brown University Bookstore on Wed. May 8 @ 4:30 pm and the Boston Public Library, Parker Hill Branch on Thurs. May 9 @ 6:00pm.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: We really believe this book can help anyone seeking knowledge and guidance on how to navigate the workplace. We would love to hear how the content resonates. Please contact us through our websites https://adairalandrymd.com/ and www.resalewiss.com.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

April 19

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
April 19, 1900: Richard Hughes born.

Q&A with Anesa Miller

 

 

 

Anesa Miller is the author of the new novel I Never Do This. She also has written the novel Our Orbit. She lives in Ohio.

 

Q: What inspired you to write I Never Do This, and how did you create your character LaDene?

 

A: The seed that grew into my novel, I Never Do This, was the predicament of a woman who comes home from work on an ordinary day and finds a man lurking in her apartment. It's something I'm sure we've all worried about at one time or another.

 

But early on, I decided that the man who broke into my heroine’s place would not be a stranger to her. Then, I decided that he wouldn’t be entirely ill-intentioned — not a random criminal threatening her safety.

 

That scenario could certainly make for an interesting plot, but I was more drawn to exploring the characters’ personalities and experiences in terms of a past relationship as well as what they might mean to each other in the current situation. So the intruder became her cousin, Bobby Frank — fresh out of prison.

 

LaDene’s personality developed as I realized that she had to be a very forgiving person who’s willing to sit down and visit with Bobby Frank after he has damaged her door and given her a serious fright. From there, I imagined her childhood and past attachment to Bobby.

 

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: I Never Do This was drafted as a short story, which went through a series of uninspired titles over the course of numerous revisions ("Now I Know," "Common Cause," "On the Way Out," to name a few).

 

Once the novel got underway, I understood that Bobby Frank’s appearance represents more than a chance disruption of LaDene’s routine.

 

He breaks her out of a holding pattern in which she has kept her head down, in a state of denial, for the past decade: She never talked about the past, never complained, and never got her hopes up for a better life. Before our eyes, in the novel, she’s suddenly doing all of those things; she’s doing “This.”

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: The kidnapping and assault of Mr. Rutherford were in the original short story version, and I always meant to keep them as the novel developed. Those incidents remain much as I initially drafted them but are now set in a deeper context. So, yes, I had the ending from the beginning.

 

The challenge came in building a sufficiently meaningful personal history for LaDene and Bobby in hopes the reader could care about them, in spite of the bad things they do.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm planning a sequel to I Never Do This that will cover some of the same ground from Bobby's point of view, while also giving a fuller perspective on the Howell clan and their generations in Appalachian Ohio.

 

I'm also excited that Sibylline Press wants to reissue Our Orbit, my previous self-published novel. It's a prequel of sorts, in that it takes place in a similar small town of the same region and addresses several of the same social issues: addictions, religious fundamentalism, spiritual abuse, and reproductive rights.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I'm hoping to revamp a novel I wrote back in the early 2000s about a Kosovar refugee who makes her way to the United States — very different from the regional fiction I've been working on. And would also like to pull some of my recent essays into a collection.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Brian J. Morra

 

 

 

Brian J. Morra is the author of the new novel The Righteous Arrows. It's a sequel to his novel The Able Archers. A former U.S. intelligence officer, he lives in Florida and in the Washington, D.C., area.

 

Q: You’ve returned to your characters Kevin Cattani and Ivan Levchenko in your new novel--did you know when you were writing The Able Archers that you’d be writing a second novel about them?

 

A: I was not planning to write a series of novels with Cattani and Levchenko until the final stages of writing The Able Archers. It seemed to me that the two had more stories to share.

Q: What inspired the plot of The Righteous Arrows?

A: I was inspired by my own experiences and by those of intelligence officers I knew who served in Berlin and in Pakistan. I also wanted to bring the Soviet War in Afghanistan to life because I think it is an important cautionary tale that we should have learned from and probably didn’t.
 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between your two protagonists?

A: That is a terrific question. The Russian GRU officer Levchenko is in some important ways a mentor to Kevin Cattani, who clearly admires the older man.

 

For his part, I think Levchenko has Cattani’s “number.” He knows the younger man is a striver, but that Cattani also has a very strong sense of fairness and righteousness that guides him and also gets him into trouble.

 

The two men are almost two decades apart in age but in each other they recognize the positive and worthwhile aspects of the Russian and American souls, respectively. They like and admire each other within the boundaries of the Cold War divisions that defined their lives.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the novel?

A: I hope they are entertained. And I hope they learn a bit about the continuing peril of confrontation between nuclear powers. I’d like readers to understand that we can learn from the past if we make an effort. And, readers should hold their political and military leaders accountable.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: Oh my. I am preparing the third book in the series, which is called The Wall Breakers. The major thread in this book is the build-up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Both Cattani and Levchenko are immersed in the events.

 

I introduce a new character in this book, Lt. Col. Vladimir Putin of the KGB who is based in Dresden, East Germany.

 

I am anxious to get back to finishing the fifth book in the series. And I am working with my agents on the television treatment for The Able Archers.

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: I am featured in Netflix's new documentary series, Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War. It is extremely well conceived and executed. I am featured in episode five, which is about 1983’s Able Archer crisis.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb