FAST FIVE Author Interview with Elizabeth McKenna

Author Elizabeth McKenna resides in my home state of Wisconsin and shares my enthusiasm for the Green Bay Packers. She is a full time technical writer/editor for a large software company and the author of Cera’s Place. In the Amazon Kindle synopsis of her debut novel, Elizabeth says, “Get lost in a time gone by and fall in love today!” The characters in Cera’s Place, a Civil War era saloon, are all loveable and feisty. Cera is definitely a strong female protagonist.

GAIL: Welcome, Elizabeth, and thank you for visiting today for this interview. Rather than the 140 characters we’ve grown accustomed to on Twitter, can you share with us a more detailed account of the novel and your research for Cera's Place.

ELIZABETH: Thank you so much for inviting me, Gail! I hope you got to see Donald Driver win Dancing with the Stars. Wisconsin is so proud of our Packers - they are all such gentlemen. Anyway, Cera’s Place is set in San Francisco 1869. Cera runs a saloon but, unlike other such businesses of the times, she doesn’t allow prostitution. Over the years, she has helped women escape their terrible lives and become “respectable.” Jake is an ex-soldier haunted by his Civil War experiences. He’s on a mission to find the daughter of a friend who died in battle. Cera and Jake meet when he tracks the daughter to Cera's saloon. One of the subplots of the novel is based on actual events. During this time period, since the majority of the Chinese population in California was male, Asian women were kidnapped and forced into prostitution in America. The Anti-Prostitution Act of 1870 made it illegal to import women for criminal or demoralizing purposes. Cera and Jake team up to fight a gang that is kidnapping Chinese girls for the local brothels. Of course, in the process they fall in love.

My research was quite extensive for the novel. I wanted everything to be as accurate and believable as possible. I truly admire historical authors that wrote before the internet. I can't imagine the hours they must have had to put in to build the settings and plots of their stories. From the comfort of my office, I found old newspapers, maps, histories of cities, court cases - even pictures of the ships that would have brought the Chinese girls to America.

GAIL: While reading Cera’s Place, I wasn’t so sure about Cera and Jake falling in love. Is “the job” the most important part of your protagonist’s life?

ELIZABETH: It is in that it has allowed Cera to help other women get better lives. Before she owned her own saloon, Cera was a "working girl" in a saloon by the wharf. It was a miserable business and she vowed never to make another woman do the things she had to do. She uses her power as a successful business owner to help her friends move on to better things. Even though Cera is young, she's like a mother to her serving girls. Her decisions aren't always the smartest or safest, but she'll do anything to help and protect her girls.

GAIL: The Mystery/Suspense genre is the focus of Fast Five interviews, but what unique twist makes your novel stand out?

ELIZABETH: I'm not sure how to answer this - maybe because my hero looks like Viggo Mortensen in Lord of the Rings? I have a confession to make. Cera's Place is billed as a historical romance, but I haven't read many historical romances. When I decided to finally write a book, I chose this sub-genre because I love research and history, but I'm a big fan of Nora Roberts. I knew I wanted the story to have an exciting plot along with the main romance, but according to several reviews, I have written a unique historical romance with the elements of a modern thriller. Since I'm not that familiar with the sub-genre, I can't tell you why they say Cera's Place is different - I'm just glad it is. And yes, I realize not being familiar with the sub-genre I'm writing in is a big no-no, but I read what I like and I write what I like. Hopefully, the readers also like my stories.

GAIL: What a perfect example for writing what you love, not what others dictate! Historical romance or modern thriller, how does your main character’s profession draw her into suspenseful situations, (murder, for instance?)

ELIZABETH: One of Cera's workers witnesses the beating death of a Chinese man by a gang. In the chaos, she grabs the man's daughter and brings her to Cera for protection. When Cera hears the daughter's tale of murder, kidnapping and prostitution, she vows to set things right. Over the years, she's had to become good with a gun, so she feels she can handle the situation herself. Unfortunately, she finds out the leader of the gang has bribed both the police and the city politicians, so she's going to need strong proof of his crimes - and the help of a certain ex-soldier.

GAIL: I’ve read Cera’s Place so I ask this next question with hopeful fingers crossed. Is this book part of a series, and are you working on a sequel?

ELIZABETH: I didn't plan Cera's Place originally as a series, but I would like to revisit the characters (I miss them). When I was writing it, I found a lot of interesting information on the Chinese Tongs that I didn't use. I have kicked around the idea of a story with Sonya (one of Cera's serving girls) as the main character. In Cera's Place, I hint at Sonya's dark past and I think she would make another excellent and strong heroine. Because of where Sonya ends up in the final chapter, I think I could spin out another believable tale.

GAIL: I won’t be the only reader watching for Sonya. This next isn’t a Fast Five question, more an “if/then” scenario: If Paris is not an option, then where would you most like to spend your time writing and why.

ELIZABETH: A long time ago, I toured Italy with my husband and fell in love with Venice. He didn't think I would like the city because of my OCD/perfectionist personality and Venice is literally crumbling before your eyes, but I loved it. It is so full of romance and history, I would give anything to be able to live there even for a short while. My next novel is set in Venice and I hope I do the city justice.

Thank you so much for letting me share Cera's Place with your readers. It's always great to make new friends.

Links to my sites include:

My website: http://elizabethmckenna.com/

My Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethMcKennaAuthor

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ceras-Place-ebook/dp/B005PNP3BI/

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ceras-place-elizabeth-mckenna/1105957860?ean=2940013430365&itm=5

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/ElizaMcKenna @ElizaMcKenna

Author Interview with Elizabeth Egerton Wilder

Elizabeth Egerton Wilder’s debut novel, The Spruce Gum Box, began with her fascination in Maine’s Aroostook River and its early pioneers. She has a BA in Art and Education and has worked as a teacher, designer, colorist, small business owner, photographer and watercolor artist. She is also a published poet who believes that bits and pieces of it all, combined with raising her family and her innate appreciation of nature, were all the ingredients needed to fulfill her lifelong goal of writing a book. At seventy-two years young, Elizabeth achieved her goal.

GAIL: It is my pleasure to welcome you here today, Elizabeth. Thank you for taking time to share information about your novel and a bit of the history behind The Spruce Gum Box. (A review of the historical novel follows the interview.)

Rather than the 140 characters we’ve grown accustomed to on Twitter, can you share with us a more detailed account of the novel and your research for The Spruce Gum Box?

ELIZABETH: The seeds for the idea of The Spruce Gum Box were planted in my imagination after a trip to northern Maine to find the small town where my husband's father was born. We found that his ancestors were among the pioneers that established the town in the mid 1800's. I heard that Canadian families had lived along the Aroostook River prior to that and I wondered where they came from and why they were there.

I found no one that could give me an answer so thus began five years of research to discover that both Great Britain and the United States claimed that the valley belonged to them which led to a border dispute and a "war". Now in retirement, I finally had the time to follow a dream of one day writing a book of historical fiction. I knew how my story would begin and how it would end so spent the next year filling in the blanks between and soon realized that my characters led the way through the maze where they would many times surprise me.

The Spruce Gum Box is a story of a young father devoted to the survival of his infant son Ben when they were forced into the Maine wilds with a bounty on his head; how Jed found compassion and support among a struggling family circle of Micmac Indians and how solutions were found through the strong bond created between Jed and the leader of the tribe, Jacob. The book was launched on my 72nd birthday in 2010.

GAIL: Congratulations! Elizabeth. You’ve set an excellent example for people who think retirement signals the beginning of the end when in fact it is a beacon for an exciting new chapter in life.

Is “the job” the most important part of your protagonist’s life in The Spruce Gum Box?

ELIZABETH: If you consider Jed's "job" as one of protecting and raising Ben under the most difficult circumstances, then it was the most important part of his life. During the many months of the lumbering season, he trusted his adopted community with the care of his son as he and Jacob worked in the unforgiving forests in an effort to secure a better future of them all.

GAIL: The Mystery/Suspense genre is the focus of Fast Five interviews, but what unique twist makes your novel stand out?

ELIZABETH: I would say the unique twist is that the genre is historical fiction but it does offer suspense in the twists and turns of dodging bounty hunters, coming within a toes length of being caught by his major antagonist and the everyday danger of working within the falling giant pines where the ax men used their skills.

GAIL: How does your main character’s profession draw him into suspenseful situations, (murder, for instance?)

ELIZABETH: Sorry, no murder but there would have been if his sweetheart's father had caught him. You see, Ben was the bastard child of Jed and his beloved Addie. The suspense is found in the struggle to survive.

GAIL: Is this book part of a series, and are you working on a sequel?

ELIZABETH: I have finished the sequel. Granite Hearts continues the story of the families along the Aroostook River through a young couple introduced in The Spruce Gum Box who relocate 100 miles south to the Penobscot River where he hopes to find work building the proposed granite fort to protect Bangor from a British invasion as is feared by the US government.

Life is still harsh for a "half-breed" and it is thought they could build a better future in a new location.

Where in SGB the father is the strong figure, Granite Hearts features a strong young mother with opinions not usual for a woman in the years between 1844 and 1865. This tale takes the Ryan family through the Civil War and is scheduled to be launched on my 74th birthday at the end of June. I have started research on the final in what is turning into a trilogy. Working title, The Rail. (Not sure Mr. W is pleased but it keeps my brain active.)

GAIL: This last is not a Fast Five question, more an “if/then” scenario: If Paris is not an option, then where would you most like to spend your time writing and why.

ELIZABETH: It would be seasonal. Younger, I always yearned to be on an island off the coast of Maine or perhaps at an isolated lighthouse like Jamie Wyeth. Now, a bit more practicable dream would be a cabin (with wi-fi) at the tip of one of the many 'fingers' of land that reach out into the ocean. A secluded peninsular spot where I could sit under a pine and listen to the surf roll in beneath me against the rocky coast while my muse danced from one wave crest to another. 

Did you know if all the inlets and coves of Maine were stretched into a straight line there would be nearly 3,500 miles of tidal coastline? Of course, I am happy right where I am for the winter in my senior community home where I can watch the snow and not have to shovel it. 

Links to Elizabeth Egerton Wilder sites and her historical novel, The Spruce Gum Box: 

My IAN page: http://www.independentauthornetwork.com/elizabeth-wilder.html

The Spruce Gum Box at Amazon: The Spruce Gum Box

Facebook: Elizabeth E Wilder

Twitter: @eewilder

Elizabeth Wilder’s blog: http://www.lizlogic.com/

Review of author Elizabeth Egerton Wilder The Spruce Gum Box

 by Gail M Baugniet

“Kept me Emotionally Invested Throughout”

One of my hobbies (or avocations - considering the amount of time involved) is family genealogy research. Of special interest is a branch that stretches from Wisconsin to Canada to France. Imagine my delight while reading the first pages of The Spruce Gum Box to discover this novel relates, in part, to Canadians in the early 1800's. This connection sent me sailing through the story.

Author Elizabeth Egerton Wilder, a born storyteller, has created characters that snap with personality. The protagonist, Jed, is a tall lanky white male, transplanted from England to Maine. How the author keeps Jed holding his own against a fatherly sagamore, a wizened tribal great grandmother, plus a set of precocious triplets, escapes me. But she does it very well.

After Jed is forced into the wilderness as sole caretaker of his infant son, salvation comes in the form of an Indian Micmac settlement and its leader. The generosity and caring nature of these people helps Jed to survive, and his son to thrive. During this time, the source of Jed's dilemma hovers in the background, always threatening to prevent or destroy any happiness for Jed and the child.

With this conflict looming, Wilder's historical novel unfolds amid a suspenseful blend of border disputes, greedy individuals, and the risks inherent in lumberjacking. Several tense logging scenes mesmerized me. Pleasantly predicable passages added to the enjoyment of reading this story. Unexpected subtle humor, and an often frustrating display of human nature, kept me emotionally invested throughout. 

The Spruce Gum Box at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Spruce-Gum-Box-ebook/dp/B0040ZN1IO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1339114428&sr=1-1