Sunday Spotlight | Lisa Klein

After I read Lisa's newest book, Lady Macbeth's Daughter, I was ecstatic when she agreed to tell us a little more about her inspiration for her Shakespearian novels and what kinda of adventures historical fiction has in store. Here is what Lisa had to say:

One of the most common questions readers ask is “Where do you get the ideas for your books?”  Short answer: from Shakespeare, from the past.  From anyplace I want to go in my mind; better yet if I can get there in body.

When  I thought about retelling a famous Shakespeare play from the perspective of a female character, Hamlet was a natural choice. Hence Ophelia, my first book. But Shakespeare’s Macbeth? Lady Macbeth, who helps her husband commit murder and, like Ophelia, goes mad and dies, did not seem a promising protagonist for a YA novel. So I started work on another book idea, when one day it hit me: I could invent a character who was not in Shakespeare’s play, but whose existence would make sense of the evil chosen by Macbeth and his lady. And thus Albia was born—the unwanted daughter of Scotland’s murderous king and queen. Lover of Fleance. Gifted with second sight. Revenger of her parents’ wrong. Yes!

I get really wrapped up in the books I write. I’m a stickler for accurate details. When I was writing Two Girls of Gettysburg I went and walked the battlefield and the town streets, and mingled among thousands of costumed visitors during a reenactment weekend, read histories of the Civil War and letters and diaries from the time. 

With Lady Macbeth’s Daughter, I realized I had a great story, but it just didn’t feel alive and real to me. I had no sense of place. How does one write about Scotland a thousand years ago? There are no written records from that time.

But there are amazing ruins! Henges of stone and burial cairns everywhere on remote islands, and in pastures where cows graze, oblivious. Most of these sites are over a thousand years old.  I saw the pictures in books. But that’s not the same as seeing them with your own eyes. So I went to Scotland, dragging my good-natured son along—who only asked to play some golf in exchange for trekking with me to the far reaches of Scotland.

And what I saw there stirred my imagination! In particular, the standing stones of Callanish inspired Stravenock Henge, where Albia and the sisters meet and perform their mysterious rites. After my trip, I finally had a sense of place and a mood that I could bring to the events of my story. And my character Albia came alive, because now she had a stage, a setting where she could move and interact and fulfill her (and Scotland’s) destiny.

Wow, I want to go to Scotland someday. Doesn't that Stonehenge look neat up against the green grass? Thanks so much for sharing with us Lisa! We can't wait to see where you'll take us next with your stunning historical fiction.....

Sunday Spotlight: Margaret Willey

with Margaret Willey

Since my childhood, I’ve always been a person who was deeply, obsessively affected by books.  I could go back to earliest childhood days—the fairy tale and poetry collections that were my mother’s with elaborate etched illustrations—how they thrilled me and owned me.  My favorite books are as much a part of my memories as vacations, birthday parties and special friends.  I remember reading A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST as a young teenager, a novel about a brave girl who raises money for her own schooling by finding and selling moth pupae.  Her name was Elnora and passages about her searching for moths through the Indiana swamps at dusk were amazing.  As I read, I could see the moonlit swamps, see moths in flight.  This 100-year old classic novel was one of the books that led me to a writing life.  So of course I had to eventually write about moths and swamps and old family secrets revealed in moonlight.  It took me many years to complete SILK MOTHS.  Along the way, I added a modern girl and a modern romance.

The moths in SUMMER OF SILK MOTHS are part of an old obsession.  It was lovely to resurrect it and to become a kind of moth collector myself.  I created a cast of characters who allow the captured moths to connect them to their missing personal histories.  I felt so lucky to be able to do this and I truly believe that this sort of healing can and does happen in real life.  

Today my office overlooks a snow-covered ravine and beyond the ravine is the western side of a sand dune.  No curtains or blinds in my office—I need to see the dune, trees, clouds and sky while I’m working.  Right this moment, three deer are moving horizontally across the dune.  In the woods, silk moths are hidden inside their cocoons, hard chambers spun from their own bodies that protect them through the winter, no matter how cold it gets and it gets very cold here in Michigan.  That still astounds me, even though I’ve moved on to a new book. You don’t have to be obsessive to be a writer, but it helps.

Wow, I never knew moths could be so inspiring and Michigan sounds very neat! Thanks for sharing with us today--I can't wait to find out what happens in the sequel. Celebrate A Girl of the Limberlost's 100 year anniversary by picking up a copy of A Summer of Silk Moths. You can also read my review of Willey's enchanting novel here!

Exploring Ecuador & The Indigo Notebook with Laura Resau

I have to admit I kinda of envied Zeeta because she got to travel, but this book made me think about how hard it would be to uproot yourself and move on. So to cure our travel fever, Laura Resau has some stories about her own trips to South America to share with us.

See my review of The Indigo Notebook.

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Hello! Morgan asked me to write about my travels in Ecuador, which sounded like fun. Here it goes:

The excuse for my first trip to Ecuador was research for a book called The Queen of Water, which I was co-writing with my friend Maria Virginia Farinango, a Quichua woman who had a fascinating girlhood in the Andes. (She liv

es in Otavalo, Ecuador now, but comes to Colorado for a few months every year.) While I was spending time there, I felt inspired to writea second book set in this stunning landscape and interesting culture. Over a year later, I returned for another research trip, this one geared toward The Indigo Notebook.

From the yummy dishes Maria cooked here in Colorado, I already knew I loved Ecuadorian food (well, I never tried roasted guinea pig…). Potatoes originated in the Andes—not surprisingly, I ate potatoes with nearly every meal.

Corn is another important food in the Ecuadorian Andes. In a cornfield in her relatives' community, Maria and I broke open stalks of corn and chewed on the sugary, juicy fibers inside. I ate popcorn or tostado (big, yummy, salty, greasy, crunchy toasted corn kernels) with nearly every meal—a perfect side dish, which I would make at home if I didn't seem to burn itall the time.Maria shared with me her magical memories of eating freshly made warm bread as a child (which inspired some of the scenes with the character Mamita Luz baking bread for children.) Here's the outside of a bread oven in someone's house in a Quichua community.

I hiked around some Quichua communities with some of Maria's relatives, whose great energy and smiles inspired the characters of the girls who show Wendell and Zeeta around Agua Santa. (Although these girls had nice, loving parents!) I also had fun spending time with Maria's older relatives. These women are stripping corn kernels off of cobs, which Zeeta and Wendell do in The Indigo Notebook.

I loved hearing local folklore about tunnels under mountains, devils in caves, a waterlogged hacienda at the bottom of a lake (all of which I included in The Indigo Notebook)…

I'm always fascinated by spiritual beliefs and rituals in different cultures. Maria's relatives told me about Quichua beliefs (with origins in ancient Incan beliefs), which emphasize the sacredness of the natural landscape. Each important mountain in the area is a different god or goddess, associated with its own mystical stories. And then, there's the Mother Earth goddess, Pachamamma, and the Su

n god, and others. And sacred waters abound! Maria took me and our friend to have her bathe with rose petals in the sacred waters of the Peguche waterfall (which Layla does in the book.)

I also love learning about healing practices and participating in them when possible. Here are two Quichua healers (father and son) in their healing room near the altar. The son gave me a limpieza (spiritual cleaning) much like the one Layla gets at the end of The Indigo Notebook.

I hope this gives you a taste of the Ecuadorian Andes… and a taste of The Indigo Notebook.

Thanks for reading! You can read more about The Indigo Notebook at http://www.lauraresau.com . It's been a joy being your guest, Morgan!

Laura

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Wow, that was really que pleno [cool] to see how Laura's trip to Ecuador intertwined with Zetta and The Indigo Notebook. Thanks for sharing with us, Laura!

Sunday Spotlight: Catherine Murdock

Sunday Spotlight is a new feature on BLT that puts authors or books I've recently read in the spotlight. This week we have a short word from Catherine Gilbert Murdock. After reading her book, Dairy Queen (see here), I wondered why she choose to write about a dairy farm. This is what she had to say:

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"I knew from the get-go that I needed to frame the story around two teenage enemies who become friends, then more than friends. The best way I could think of to accomplish this was by forcing them to work long days together until they learn to see each other beyond the labels. Farm work -- particularly dairy farming -- seemed an ideal mechanism for this. Also, I knew a bit about dairy farming given than my mother had grown up on a dairy farm. And I love cows. And I've hayed, which is SO HARD -- that description of haying's discomfort and itchiness came straight from my heart!"

Thanks Ms. Murdock for your time! Here are the rest of Murdock's books. Be sure to check them out your library today! For more fun (book covers, playlists, etc.) with Dairy Queen, visit catherinemurdock.com:

Premiere Saturday: Fran Cannon Slayton

When did you know you wanted to write? Was it always your plan to write about your family's history?

I knew I enjoyed writing as early as fourth grade, when I started writing poetry. But it wasn't until just before I entered law school at the University of Virginia in 1991 that I began writing a novel. Actually, I didn't know it was a novel when I started - it was just a story idea that gripped me by the collar and wouldn't let me go until I put pen to paper. I worked on that story on and off for thirteen years before beginning to write When the Whistle Blows, so no, I didn't always plan to write about my family history.

Did you plan for When the Whistle Blows to be children's book? If so, do you plan to write more novels for kids/teens? Will it be more historical fiction?

I always thought that When the Whistle Blows would be a young adult novel, although I didn't write it geared to a specific age group. I just wrote it the way it came out.I do plan to write more middle grade and young adult novels. I'm currently working on a fantasy/dystopian novel about a girl who wants to be a pirate.

What's your favorite book(s) and why? Did any of these inspire you to write?

I have a handful of favorites: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor, and Sounder by William Armstrong are my top three, and they all influenced me greatly both as a writer and as a person. For me, that's what good books do - they are not just well written, they also change the reader at a fundamental level. These three books presented ideas about time, love, and injustice that fundamentally changed the way I viewed the world. The inspired me not only in my writing, but also in my being.

Do you have a favorite author(s) or literature character(s)?

In addition to those I mentioned in the last question, I do love Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

If you could meet one person-either in figure history, a character in a book, or someone alive today-what are some questions you would ask them?

I'd like to have the opportunity to sit down and have a long talk with Thomas Merton, who was a very interesting and smart Trappist Monk who died all too early in a freak accident. I'd ask him questions about his contemplative life and his writings.

What are some things you use to do for fun as a child/teen growing up in Virginia?

I used to catch salamanders and then use them as bait for fishing, and for awhile I would do handstands all the time (which I'm sure drove my mother crazy!). I loved hanging upside down on the monkey bars and flipping off, landing on my feet. I played the trumpet, acted in school plays and went to school dances. I ate pizza with friends, played field hockey, softball, soccer and grass lot football. I had a lot of fun!

Now that some of the rutine questions are out of the way, can you answer some of these quirky questions? Would you rather be on tropical beach overlooking aqua blue waters; getting lost in a maze of endless artifacts in a museum; or exploring the seven wonders of the world?

You mean I have to pick just one? I think I'd rather explore the seven wonders of the world in the morning, walk through the museum after lunch, and hang out on the beach just before dinner.

Favorite kind food?

It varies. Mexican is a staple - I have it at least once a week. But I also love lobster, crab and a good filet mignon (medium rare). I also love chocolate cake batter ice cream, peanut butter and banana sandwiches and almost anything with chick peas in it. Oh, and I really like gazpacho, lentil stew and black bean soup.

Favorite season?

Fall. It's when I met my husband. I always think of it as when things begin.

Name one thing you always keep on your nightstand:

What else - books!

Thanks so for much for sharing with us here at BLT! Before we say goodbye, do you have anything to say to encourage young future writers?

Follow your heart; write what you love.

Fran Cannon Slayton's debut book, When the Whistle Blows, was released June 11th, 2009 and was published by Philomel. Don't forget to visit Fran's website www.francannonslayton.com

Read BLT's review here.