Quick announcement! Now you can purchase all four of the novels in my historical romance series, A More Perfect Union, in one box set. See below for details!
Now, on to today’s historical fiction commentary. I finished reading The Samurai by Shusaku Endo. In case you missed them, you can read my initial thoughts on the story here. This book was interesting in several different ways. First, of course, the storytelling was strong and engaging. The narration is mostly in third person when in the point of view of the samurai character, and in first person when in the priest’s point of view. This technique helps the reader to discern who is speaking and whose worldview to expect as these two characters have vastly different experience and motives.
Last time, I mentioned the symbolism of snow and how it seemed to apply to the story. I said, “Snow symbolizes a fresh start, rebirth, change, purity, innocence. It can be a sign of good luck, as well. Each of these meanings could be applied to The Samurai.” While that remains true, it also becomes a rather ironic mirror to the story as it progresses.
Second, the story highlights some aspects of life and living in the past that I hadn’t considered. One of the interesting things about this story is the cultural background Endo provides glimpses of in the 17th century. Not just in Japan but also in Mexico and other places the story travels to and through. Imagine if you will being required to seek permission to enter a city, forced to wait in an inn until the ruler of the city responds to the request, a length of time which could be days or weeks. Or being required to sit in a specific way when in a formal situation, in this case cross-legged with your hands on your knees, perhaps with your forehead to the floor. (I’m not sure I could flex that far!) As a citizen of the USA, both of these requirements seem difficult if not impossible to enforce today. Think of the level of power/control the ruler of each city had back then as to whether a person would be permitted to enter his domain of a city. I guess that’s why they walled them in and had defensive postures. Nowadays, we whiz right on through on the interstate or other roadway without asking anyone’s permission.
I think it’s one of the benefits of historical fiction stories, this being able to compare then and now to have a better grasp of how societies have evolved over the centuries. To note the situations we have no desire to return to. It’s why it is so important to know history so we can forestall regressing back into untenable and ultimately dangerous times. Indeed, The Samurai can be viewed as a cautionary tale insofar as how the samurai’s trusting acceptance is challenged and ultimately not rewarded in the way he thought it would be.
Last, I’ve been musing on what the message of Endo’s story might be and haven’t really settled on one moral. I think what you take away from the story will depend on your own personal world view, your experiences and expectations, and your depth and breadth of faith. What I take away is that blind trust is a weakness and easily exploited by others.
Overall, I’d say this was a good read and worth reading. Endo allowed me to see inside the culture, the logic and expectations of the Japanese as they live their lives. While I understand that this same set of cultural expectations has most probably evolved, I wonder how much of it lingers behind the traditions of the Japanese people. A pondering without an answer, I’m sure. But if anyone would like to venture a guess, I’d be willing to listen.
For next time, I’m going to read one by the Italian author Umberto Eco, The Prague Cemetery. I’m up to the I’s in the alphabet, working backward toward the beginning in my Historical Fiction Around the World series.
Off to the library I go to pick it up. Happy Reading!
Betty
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I send out most every month, including news like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers, along with recipes and writing progress. Thanks and happy reading!
In 1782, the fight for independence becomes personal…
“Well-researched” with “spirited dialogue and…pleasingly complex emotional insights” combined with “sparkles of humor and the richly textured secondary characters” – Historical Novel Society
Emily’s Vow: When essayist Emily Sullivan faces dangers from all sides including her father’s demand she marry a suspected traitor to the American cause, she vows to fight her own war for independence.
Amy’s Choice: Storyteller Amy Abernathy can’t forgive nor forget her handsome spy, Major Benjamin Hanson, for leaving without a word of goodbye to fight in the American War for Independence until he risks life and limb to save her from desperate and deadly renegade soldiers.
Samantha’s Secret: Samantha McAlester, midwife and healer, tries to keep her past secret but is forced to work with the progressive young Dr. Trent to save their friend’s life without either of them losing their minds or their hearts.
Evelyn’s Promise: Militiaman Nathaniel Williams longs to flee to the frontier of the new country of America until he falls in love with the beautiful widow Evelyn Hamilton who is set on rebuilding her home in Charleston; to stay together one of them must give up their dream, but which one?
Inspiration for any given book is a combination of factors. My guest today, author Alle C. Hall, muses on answers to some deep questions to produce her award-winning fiction. Let’s take a peek at what makes her tick and then we’ll find out more about her inspiring and moving story.
Alle C. Hall’s first novel, As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back, swept the 2022 International Firebird Book Awards, winning first place in two categories—Literary and Coming of Age—and second place in Women’s Issues. Excerpts from As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back won the 2022 National League of American Pen Women’s Mary Kennedy Eastham Flash Fiction Prize and placed as the first finalist in the 2020 Lascaux Prize. Hall’s short fiction appears in journals including Dale Peck’s Evergreen Review,Tupelo Quarterly,New World Writing, and Litro; and her essays in Creative Nonfiction and Another Chicago. She has written for The Seattle Times, Seattle Weekly, and was a contributing editor at The Stranger. She is the former senior nonfiction editor at jmww journal, the former associate editor of Vestal Review. Hall lived in Asia and traveled there extensively, speaks what she calls “clunky” Japanese, and has a tai chi practice of 35 years running.
Betty: What inspired you to write the story you’re sharing with us today?
Alle: The main character of As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back, her name is Carlie,is an incest survivor. I am an incest survivor. I lived in Asia. I sent Carlie to Asia. Both expereinces—Asia and being a survivor—affected me hugely; although, obviously, being sexually abused as a child had more impact. Nevertheless, what I learned about being a survivor was indelibly shaped by being in Asia. I was “as far” from the abuse as I needed to be in order to heal from it; I was open to wonderful life experiences that, as I let them in, filled me to the point that my body literally had no more room for the horrible expereinces that I was hanging onto. I had to process them.
My tai chi practice was one of those expereinces—continues to be. In ways I don’t understand, the energy flowing through a person as she pratices, that chi becomes a motivator for good in your body and in your life. There are many energy-based practices that are equally as effective: yoga, for example. When I watch surfers, I always see them as pure chi.
To finally answer the question, while I am one of those writers who writes for herself, who only pursues ideas that really do it for me, if anyone happens to be touched by As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back, if they can see themselves more clearly or if they come to a better understanding of someone in their life, that would be an honor. Of course, if the reader was inspired to take a tai chi class—how cool! We need more people on this planet who practice tai chi.
Betty: What, if any, new writing skill did you develop while working on this story?
Alle: I learned how to write a novel. I thought I’d learned in 1998, the first time I sent As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back to an agent. When the agent asked to see the full manuscript, I thought I had it made. Sadly, she passed. I was so hurt that I didn’t send a another query for four months. I supposed, then that I also learned that a huge amount of reejction is a part of finding a publisher for every novel, and that the thing to do is revise and send out again.
Betty: Did you struggle with any part of this story? What and how?
Alle: No. From the moment the idea first popped out of my head, I knew the first third of the plot—the abuse, the planning to steal the money, the escape to Asia and the dramatic problems there, and then finding tai chi and moving to Japan. I mean, I knew all that would happen. I didn’t know how it would happen. I still had to write it. Then, I knew the ending—which I won’t reveal.
I had no idea what was going to happen from the time Carlie arrived in Japan until she reached the last moments of the book. I had to figure it out as I wrote, but it wasn’t the struggle that I find with some other writing. It wasn’t a struggle because I had the final image so firmly in my mind, and for so long.
Betty: Which character(s) were the easiest to get to know? Why do you think?
Alle: Carlie’s emotional experience is so close to mine: the child sexual trauma, the travel, then tai chi coming into play as a huge part of my emotional healing. Naturally, that made it easy to find her. I wouldn’t say she differs hugely from me. I would say that the character I’ve created is in such different circumstances that her experience, from the very beginning, shapes her into something different than I am.
I was quite surprised at how much easier it ended up being to step into the Asian characters. Most of the Asian characters are Asian American, because as uncomfortable as I was writing an Asian American, I was that much more uncomfortable writing an Asian who was born and lived in Asia. That said, the head teacher at the English Conversation school, who plays an important part in one of the sub plots, she arrived fully baked. To write her, all I had to do was think about the pink suit worn by one of my Japanese coworkers. When I lived in Tokyo, Takako Doi was the first female Opposition Leader and then the first female Lower House Speaker. Doi was famous for wearing what I thought of as powder-pink power suits, which so captured the nearly impossible dichotomy Japanese women were supposed to achieve in the professional world.
Betty: What kind of research did you need to do to write this story?
Alle: The primary amount of research—healing from my own childhood trauma—had to take place before I could be a functional human being or a versatile writer. The abuse so dominated my experience that in order to write about anything else, I needed to put that story into a single container. Until I did so, the topic tried to shove itself into everything I wrote: food pieces, cultural criticism; especially movie and book review. It was like it was of primary importance for me to scream, “I am a survivor, too!” even when the topic was cooking with pumpkins.
In order create this so-called container, I had to heal on a personal level. Before I had any idea that I was going to write a novel about a victim learning to thrive, I had to step into that thriving. So most of the “research” was done long before the writing began. I recommend that, actually. Trying to figure out your childhood trauma is difficult and excruciating. To add to that trying to write a book about it, no way. Cut yourself a break. Just learn to thrive. The rest will come.
Betty: How many drafts of the story did you write before you felt the story was complete?
Alle: A hundred? Two hundred? I am not sure how to count drafts. Every time I got close to signing a deal with an agent and the deal fell through, I stopped sending out and went back to work: what could be better? How can I make the story more relevant? More honest? Turns out, the manuscript was always honest and good. It just wasn’t good enough. Through a combination of excellent editing and great feedback from critique groups, eventually, I put it together.
Betty: How long did it take for you to write the story you’re sharing with us? Is that a typical length of time for you? Why or why not?
Alle: From conception to “holding book in hand” was thirty years. I had a great deal to learn about writing a novel.
Betty: What rituals or habits do you have while writing?
Alle: I like to do some tai chi or other stretching first thing in the morning, then have a solid breakfast, then settle into my pretty little basement office with a nice cup of tea. I like to pop my back a lot. I bend from the waist and all the little spinal bones “click click click click” into place. This is terrible for my back, but I love the sound and the feeling of bones clicking.
Also, I make and then drink a lot of tea. Every hour or two, I find that I have simply run out of ideas. Making tea has become a ritual. No fancy Japanese tea ceremony here. I use a tea bag. I take a good sniff of the clean smell of tea as I listen to the water boil. I do a little tai chi as the tea steeps. I don’t think about the work. Invariably, when I sit back down, I can go for another hour or two.
Betty: Every author has a tendency to overuse certain words or phrases in drafts, such as just, once, smile, nod, etc. What are yours?
Alle: I use, “just” quite a bit, as I do, “this.” When I find I’ve written “this,” I go back and define “this,” and the sentence becomes a much better sentence. Since I have been writing like this (edits to: Since I have been writing with this great level of detail, my work is much more alive and more specific.
Betty: Do you have any role models? If so, why do you look up to them?
Alle: My therapist of 30 years standing wrote the book, Iron Legacy. It’s a mix of self-help nonfiction and short, personal essays. It took her 50 years to do the necessary clinical research and then write her book. Donna Beven Lee’s ideas founded the field of healing from codependency, as well as the ideas that underline my own recovery and therefore the psychological spine of As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
I have also modeled my parenting after Donna’s—and that undertaking is even more important to me than writing or publishing.
Betty: Do you have a special place to write? Revise? Read?
Writers who wait for the perfect time and place to write and revise are probably not going to get a whole lot of work done. I’ve always had to write where and however I could. When I worked full time and did what Barbara Kingsolver calls, “writing around the edges,” I wrote starting after dinner on Friday night. I wrote all night, slept through most of the day, and spent the rest of the weekend doing what people do on weekends: saw friends, cleaned the house. Once I had kids, I spent a lot of time writing during whatever class or practice I was waiting to pick them up from: front seat of the car with my laptop on my knees that were propped against the steering wheel. At the Chinese restaurant up the street from the kung fu school.
Betty: Many authors have a day job. Do you? If so, what is it and do you enjoy it?
Alle: For a long time, I was in marketing and then national sales management. I worked for a toy and novelty company, which was goofy, like me. Then I worked for an organic tea company, which could not have been a better fit. That three-year-period was when I wrote the bulk of the first draft of As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back. I loved having a job that had some clout and that I did very well, but that I did not take home with me. My job was my job, and in my free time, I was a writer.
Betty: As an author, what do you feel is your greatest achievement?
Alle: That I stuck with it. Even after I signed a book deal for As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back, I felt some shame around the fact that it took 30 years to get published as an author. Then I realized: more people would have this as their story, too, if they’d stuck it out. But too many writers receive one too many rejections or hit one too many blocks in the road. They quit before the miracle. That was never going to be me. The only thing more depressing than not being published as an author was not even trying.
Betty: What is your favorite genre to read?
Alle: Literary fiction by women of color.
Betty: Success looks different to different people. It could be wealth, or fame, or an inner joy at reaching a certain level. How do you define success in terms of your writing career?
Alle: Great question. I would love to be well-regarded for my writing, but I write literary fiction about women from deeply traumatized backgrounds. If the world were in a place where someone could be famous for this kind of writing … wow.
Currently, I am writing a companion piece to As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back. In my first novel, a young woman with a traumatic childhood is backpacking in Asia and has to decide whether she is going to move toward the light or stay in the dark. The second novel, called Crazy Medicine, also follows a young woman with childhood trauma who is backpacking in Asia and comes up against the same question. She chooses the darker path.
I would love to have these books published and discussed as the yin-yang of: “Why do some people choose the light, while others, the dark?” I don’t understand the answer to that question, yet the answer has hugely affected my life. Also, my writing doesn’t solve the issue. It merely explores what happens as I tell those stories. I would feel very successful if somehow, this question came into the zeitgeist in the context of my novels.
Seattle author Alle C. Hall’s debut novel, As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back is a-girl-and-her-backpack story with a #MeToo influence: Carlie is not merely traveling. A child sexual abuse survivor, as a teen she steals $10,000 and runs away to Asia. There, the Lonely Planet path of hookups, heat, alcohol and drugs takes on a terrifying reality. Landing in Tokyo in the late 1980s, Carlie falls in with an international cadre of tai chi-practicing backpacker types. Teaching English and pursuing her own tai chi practice, Carlie has the chance at a journey she didn’t plan for: one to find the self-respect ripped from her as a child and the healthy sexuality she desires.
Thank you for stopping by to share about your compelling and thought-provoking story, Alle. I appreciate you sharing your insights and perspective about your experiences and how your character came to terms with them.
Happy reading!
Betty
Award-winning Author of Historical Fiction with Heart, and Haunting, Bewitching Love Stories
Visit www.bettybolte.com for a complete list of my books and appearances.
The latest book I’ve read for my Historical Fiction Around the World series is The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho, an author from Malaysia and England. This book is on the shorter side, under 160 pages. It’s set in a pre-industrial mythical China but otherwise the time period is undefined. In fact, the story seems largely portable as related to time and place. No explanatory information is included, such as a glossary or maps.
The author has a light touch with storytelling in a good way. The tale is easy to grasp and the characters interesting if somewhat vaguely portrayed. I don’t feel like I know very much about any of them, including the main character. That said, Cho deftly painted the layers of the characterization so that I feel like I gradually knew everything I needed to know without weighing down the pace with unnecessary details and history. That’s an art unto itself!
The author wove together the historical aspects with mystical and religious themes as well as contemporary topics we all can recognize playing out around us today. I’m a fan of the mystical and the inexplicable nature of life and belief systems. Cho embodied them in her characters.
I enjoyed this quick read even though sometimes I personally was a bit confused as to what was happening. Chalk that up to my inexperience with the place and time and belief system described. But the characters and the plot are thought providing as well as entertaining.
Next up is Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, a Korean author. However, I’m going to take a week off for a vacation with my husband, and be back with my thoughts on that story first thing in February.
Until then, Happy Reading!
Betty
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I send out most every month, including news like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers, along with recipes and writing progress. Thanks and happy reading!
Announcing the 3rd Edition of this inspiring collection of historical fiction about 19 real-life girls who made a difference in their hometowns. Winner of the 2014 Gold Medal for Young Adult Fiction awarded by Children’s Literary Classics, among other awards.
What would you do if you heard a train crash through the trestle during a violent thunderstorm? How would you suggest to a presidential candidate that he change his appearance in order to be elected? If your family was under attack and surrounded, what would you do to save them? Could you refuse to help someone hoping to better themselves or would you help them?
These are just a few of the situations these girls found themselves in and rose to the occasion, saving the day in more ways than one. Through their bravery, their daring, and their sense of adventure, each used their skills, talents, and insights to meet the need before them.
If you’re a fan of the American Girl series or merely enjoy reading about heroic girls, you’ll love reading about these historic figures in American history.
I’ve finished reading Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. This story is fairly short, only 209 pages. A short Glossary of Ibo Words and Phrases is included at the end of the book. The paperback I read has “50th Anniversary Edition” on the cover, too. That tells me this story has been around for a long time and enjoyed/read by many people. The author has written at least 20 other works of fiction and poetry. Achebe is quite a good storyteller and appears to be quite beloved by many readers. If he’s a new author for you, you might give him a try with either this story or any of his others.
As far as Things Fall Apart goes, I found it interesting to experience the culture of the society of the story. The story seems to be about how a strong, ambitious clansman could not adapt to the societal changes wrought by newly arrived white men. Thus the title.
One thing about the story that bothers me is the essential endorsement of the brutality of the clansmen toward their dependents (women and children, in particular). The traditions included, to my 21st-century eye, appear harsh and caveman-ish. I don’t mean to be negative about the story. Moreso that I wonder what other men interpret about the culture of the story and society depicted for present-day men. What is Achebe saying with his story? What do readers glean from it?
Since the story written from a man’s perspective about a man’s experience, women and children are decoration and a backdrop for men’s needs and actions within the tale. This is not unexpected nor unwarranted by any means! I found it interesting to see the world through a man’s experiential lens. I tried to “become” the main character to some extent in order to understand his motivations and reactions to the people and events around him.
Achebe’s writing style in this story left me rather startled and confused at times as he glossed over events with a sentence or passing comment by the characters. Actions happened “off stage” of the story in places where I would have expected to be a witness to them. That’s just me, probably. Or maybe a difference in storytelling technique and expectations? Or both, of course! One of the reasons I embarked on this Historical Fiction Around the World quest is to learn about the similarities and differences in storytelling techniques used by writers from around the world.
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I send out most every month, including news like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers, along with recipes and writing progress. Thanks and happy reading!
Announcing the 3rd Edition of this inspiring collection of historical fiction about 19 real-life girls who made a difference in their hometowns. Winner of the 2014 Gold Medal for Young Adult Fiction awarded by Children’s Literary Classics, among other awards.
What would you do if you heard a train crash through the trestle during a violent thunderstorm? How would you suggest to a presidential candidate that he change his appearance in order to be elected? If your family was under attack and surrounded, what would you do to save them? Could you refuse to help someone hoping to better themselves or would you help them?
These are just a few of the situations these girls found themselves in and rose to the occasion, saving the day in more ways than one. Through their bravery, their daring, and their sense of adventure, each used their skills, talents, and insights to meet the need before them.
If you’re a fan of the American Girl series or merely enjoy reading about heroic girls, you’ll love reading about these historic figures in American history.
Last week I shared my first thoughts about The Wreath by Sigrid Undset, translated into English by Tiina Nunnally. The story is about a young Norwegian girl named Kristin and how she grows into a strong-minded, assertive young woman in a time when such an attitude was not readily accepted by her family. Indeed, she was expected to do what her father dictated. The path she chooses is fraught with obstacles and challenges, too.
Now mind, the story takes place in the 14th century so there is a lot different about the society in which she is raised and which she resists from our present-day worldview here in the USA. Indeed, in many ways this story, first published in 1920, foreshadows our current existence in some ways. Kristin takes the reins of her life to steer her way through all obstacles and barriers, much like many women do today. She faced the same kinds of threats that women today do, as well: dismissal, subjugation, lewdness, overbearing men, even rape. (Why is it that men keep that weapon in their arsenal?)
One thing that reading this story brought forcibly home to me is that people do not change at their core despite new places, technologies, situations. Still, we tend to view each other as either an opportunity/known entity or a threat, and act accordingly. The characters within the covers of The Wreath seemed to reflect mostly the unsavory aspects of humanity. There were, to be fair, some religious people and kind people too, but most of the prominent figures had an ulterior motive of one kind or another at work. Even Kristin dealt underhandedly with her family all while rationalizing her choices up until the bitter end. Most likely the subterfuge people employ is still true today, as well.
I did enjoy the story overall after I’d adjusted to the different narration style and the unfamiliar names of people and places. But isn’t that part of the wonder of reading historical fiction from around the world and from different time periods? The opportunity to experience something different from my day-to-day life and activities. The concerns expressed by the people in The Wreath, while familiar and relatable, are also unique and otherworldly. This is the first story of a trilogy but I don’t think I’m interested enough to continue reading. Others probably will find it worthwhile, though!
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I send out most every month, including news like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers, along with recipes and writing progress. Thanks and happy reading!
Announcing the 3rd Edition of this inspiring collection of historical fiction about 19 real-life girls who made a difference in their hometowns. Winner of the 2014 Gold Medal for Young Adult Fiction awarded by Children’s Literary Classics, among other awards.
What would you do if you heard a train crash through the trestle during a violent thunderstorm? How would you suggest to a presidential candidate that he change his appearance in order to be elected? If your family was under attack and surrounded, what would you do to save them? Could you refuse to help someone hoping to better themselves or would you help them?
These are just a few of the situations these girls found themselves in and rose to the occasion, saving the day in more ways than one. Through their bravery, their daring, and their sense of adventure, each used their skills, talents, and insights to meet the need before them.
If you’re a fan of the American Girl series or merely enjoy reading about heroic girls, you’ll love reading about these historic figures in American history.
Happy New Year, everyone! Every new year brings a bit of hope to my heart that things will get better both personally and professionally. I’ll do what I can to see improvements where possible!
Let’s kick off 2023 and my continuing series of Historical Fiction Around the World with my first thoughts about The Wreath by Sigrid Undset, translated into English by Tiina Nunnally. The Wreath is the first of the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy. This story, first published in 1920 and translated into 80 languages, is set in the 14th century in Norway and is written by a Denmark-born but Norwegian-raised author. Ms. Undset received a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928.
I’m about a third of the way through the story, and am enjoying it now that I’m acclimated to the language and the narrative style. Undset weaves a compelling tale and paints a beautiful and vivid landscape for her story. My brain had to make an adjustment to both the proper names used throughout and to the rather inverted syntax the author employs. What do I mean by that?
The proper names, such as that used in the trilogy title, are of course reflective of the country’s language. “Lavransdatter” translates to daughter of Lavrans, for instance. Other Norwegian terms are explained in context if not defined outright in the dialogue. While it took a moment to adjust, I soon fell into the pattern of the naming conventions.
The “inverted syntax” I referenced also comes from the differences in language used. I enjoy “hearing” the cadence of the language from a Norwegian influence. Much like when I visit other countries with a strong lilt to their speech, it’s nice to experience the different emphasis and musicality of the language even if merely on the page. I think the way we phrase our thoughts reflects our culture in subtle ways, which can be revealing in and of itself. But I digress!
Altogether, I am fully invested in finding out what Kristin will do next, what social mores and expectations she will confront and perhaps defeat for her own best interests, and where the author is going with this tale. I imagine I shall finish reading it this week and will report my complete impressions next time.
So once again, Happy New Year! And Happy Reading!
Betty
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I send out most every month, including news like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers, along with recipes and writing progress. Thanks and happy reading!
Announcing the 3rd Edition of this inspiring collection of historical fiction about 19 real-life girls who made a difference in their hometowns. Winner of the 2014 Gold Medal for Young Adult Fiction awarded by Children’s Literary Classics, among other awards.
What would you do if you heard a train crash through the trestle during a violent thunderstorm? How would you suggest to a presidential candidate that he change his appearance in order to be elected? If your family was under attack and surrounded, what would you do to save them? Could you refuse to help someone hoping to better themselves or would you help them?
These are just a few of the situations these girls found themselves in and rose to the occasion, saving the day in more ways than one. Through their bravery, their daring, and their sense of adventure, each used their skills, talents, and insights to meet the need before them.
If you’re a fan of the American Girl series or merely enjoy reading about heroic girls, you’ll love reading about these historic figures in American history.
Before I get to my topic for today, I’m excited to announce that my ebooks are available as part of the Smashwords 2022 End of Year Sale! This is a chance for you to get my ebooks, along with ebooks from many other great authors, at a promotional discount. All, yes all, of my titles are freeonly at the Smashwords Store through the end of 2022!
If you wouldn’t mind lending a hand to me and the other indie authors taking part in this sale, please share this promo with your friends and family. Just let others know about it, anyone who would love a chance to find their next favorite book! I’d also ask that if you like what you read of my stories that you share with others what you enjoyed about them by recommending them to a friend, leaving a brief review, and/or asking your library to include my books in their collection.
Another place you might find your next great read is at the Shepherd site where you can “Discover the Best Books.” They invited me to create a recommendation list, which I did in order to share books I’ve enjoyed with others. Mine is “The Best Historical Fiction about Emotionally Strong Women,” which includes 5 titles I’ve previously talked about here on my blog. Might be worth browsing other authors’ recommendations, too.
Now let’s get back to my regularly scheduled topic! I’ve been working on my author business plan for 2023 with an eye to what I want to write, where I want to go, and more. It’s gotten me thinking about my life plans in addition to my business ones. Striving to find a balance between work and play, so to speak. I found myself pondering how fast this year flew by.
Do you remember when the weeks leading up to Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate, seemed to drag by? I vividly remember staring at the tree wishing and wondering what Santa would bring. I’d count down the days, some years with an Advent calendar with its cubbyholes filled with chocolate or small gifts. But count them down I did. I knew my family didn’t have a lot of extra money laying around so would put all my hopes on my being a good girl so Santa Claus would deem me worthy of the many gifts I longed for. Not that I was a saint by any means but I tried to do as my parents wanted and expected. I still got my share of spankings, though!
With each passing year I find time is going by more quickly. I mean, didn’t 2022 just begin a few weeks ago? I had lots of things I planned to do this year but didn’t manage to pull off. Partly due to the fatigue associated with the cancer surgery and radiation treatments, I realize. Still, time just flew by and suddenly it was December. I’m left wondering at the cause of why time seems to speed past now. Perhaps I’m trying to do too much so don’t have “enough time” to get it all done. It’s not like one person is allotted more time than another, it’s about how we use the time, right? My goals typically center around my writing: researching a topic, drafting a novel, marketing existing works, etc. But of course there are all the usual activities I need to accomplish as well: reading, cooking, shopping, household management, family time and obligations, etc.
Or maybe time passes more quickly because it takes me longer to do things. I take a bit more time to think things through before I act. But heck, just getting up from my chair after sitting for a lengthy span can take a bit of time, too! Maybe a few seconds here, a minute there, adds up to swallow time I used to be able to make productive and now is just transitionary between tasks.
Or maybe the biggest difference is that I don’t live in the moment like I did as a child. A day then was a long time, during which I’d play, read, eat, laugh, love, and be a kid. For example, I remember feeling like it would be forever until Mom came home from work so I could ask her a burning question.
Now my head is filled with plans for tomorrow and the week/month/year after. I’m not living for today but for the future which then arrives before I’m prepared for it. I think in 2023 I’m going to try to live for the day more often by taking time for my other interests besides my stories. I don’t want to neglect my writing but allocate some fun time in my days alongside time to create stories.
I’ve drafted a 2023 business plan which includes researching two new novels and perhaps a nonfiction title as well. Writing the historical romance will come first as I don’t think it will take as long to research for it. The historical fiction title will take much longer to prepare to write and may lead to a spinoff nonfiction book. I think those projects will give me enough to focus on with new writing for the next year, possibly two or three. Then add in marketing my existing 19 titles available for your reading pleasure and I think I have enough business to keep me busy.
This is my last blog post for 2022, but I’ll be back in 2023 with more historical fiction impressions, guest author interviews, and miscellany topics of interest to me and, I hope, to you.
Thanks for following and for reading! I appreciate my readers whether of my blog posts, my short stories, my newsletters, and of course my books!
Merry Christmas! Happy Hannukah! Happy Holidays! And of course, Happy Reading!
Betty
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I send out most every month, including news like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers, along with recipes and writing progress. Thanks and happy reading!
Announcing the 3rd Edition of this inspiring collection of historical fiction about 19 real-life girls who made a difference in their hometowns. Winner of the 2014 Gold Medal for Young Adult Fiction awarded by Children’s Literary Classics, among other awards.
What would you do if you heard a train crash through the trestle during a violent thunderstorm? How would you suggest to a presidential candidate that he change his appearance in order to be elected? If your family was under attack and surrounded, what would you do to save them? Could you refuse to help someone hoping to better themselves or would you help them?
These are just a few of the situations these girls found themselves in and rose to the occasion, saving the day in more ways than one. Through their bravery, their daring, and their sense of adventure, each used their skills, talents, and insights to meet the need before them.
If you’re a fan of the American Girl series or merely enjoy reading about heroic girls, you’ll love reading about these historic figures in American history.
I’m happy to report that I have finished reading With Fire and Sword by Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, and ultimately it was a good read. If you missed them, you can read both my first impressions as well as more insights I shared last time. This very long story is not for the faint of heart or the squeamish, let’s be clear. Why, you may ask?
With Fire and Sword accurately depicts how the battles depicted in the book are fought. Sienkiewicz does not shy from vivid details of the horrors of war and the gore and violence that accompany hand-to-hand combat. I can’t tell if this is a cautionary tale about those horrors, or an honorific to the men who fought for what they believed in versus those who only fought to gain or hold onto power. One parallel I kept seeing is the disregard for human life during these battles and those in Ukraine today. It also should be noted that much of the fighting in this story takes place in Ukraine in the 1600s. I found myself wondering at the similarity in both the logic and the nerve the soldiers in the tale demonstrated which seems to reflect today’s events. Another example of how although times and technologies may change, humanity really doesn’t all that much?
Another aspect of this story I found intriguing is the sense of an extended quest narrative woven throughout the battles and bloodshed. Two of them, actually. The first more gruesome one is the vow one noble makes to sever three heads in one blow to honor his ancestors. The second one is the pursuit of a singularly beautiful princess who is ultimately moved hither and yon much like a pawn in a chess match. Throughout the story, several different men secrete her away or chase after her, longing to marry her. Her beauty strikes men dumb until they adjust to being in her presence. But she only has eyes for one noble, despite being kidnapped and hidden from him.
Sienkiewicz knew he was writing a bloody account of warfare so he included some comic relief in the person of one of the nobles. Zagloba exaggerates his deeds, trash talks those around him including his friends, and speaks his mind even at the most inappropriate moments (according to his friends and fellow soldiers). He’s opinionated about everything but most especially food and mead. But he does provide a chuckle here and there to offset the cruelty and mayhem.
I’ll say it again: this is a very long story! I appreciate the research and the time it took the author to put onto paper the life of the soldiers and nobles during this awful time in history. He’s done a good job of describing the setting so I could picture (most of the time) the battle scene or the conversation or whatever with ease. He delves into the heart of the characters to bring forth their deepest fears and desires for me to witness.
I’m glad I read it but at the same time I don’t think the vivid awful imagery will leave me alone for quite some time. This is not my typical historical novel that I enjoy reading due to the focus on the battles and bloodshed. But it also provides a look at the life of the soldiers during the war, which is what I care about more than the strategies and officers and such. “Seeing” how they lived during the war is interesting, in other words.
I’m going to take a couple weeks away from this Historical Fiction Around the World series to do some research for the next novel I want to write. Look for the next installment in the new year.
Until then, happy reading! Happy holidays!
Betty
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I send out most every month, including news like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers, along with recipes and writing progress. Thanks and happy reading!
Announcing the 3rd Edition of this inspiring collection of historical fiction about 19 real-life girls who made a difference in their hometowns. Winner of the 2014 Gold Medal for Young Adult Fiction awarded by Children’s Literary Classics, among other awards.
What would you do if you heard a train crash through the trestle during a violent thunderstorm? How would you suggest to a presidential candidate that he change his appearance in order to be elected? If your family was under attack and surrounded, what would you do to save them? Could you refuse to help someone hoping to better themselves or would you help them?
These are just a few of the situations these girls found themselves in and rose to the occasion, saving the day in more ways than one. Through their bravery, their daring, and their sense of adventure, each used their skills, talents, and insights to meet the need before them.
If you’re a fan of the American Girl series or merely enjoy reading about heroic girls, you’ll love reading about these historic figures in American history.
Before I dive into my ongoing thoughts about this story, I’d like to share that the 3rd Edition of my award-winning historical short story collection, Hometown Heroines: True Stories of Bravery, Daring, and Adventure, releases tomorrow, December 6. I’ve added back in the photos from the 1st Edition that were dropped by the 2nd Edition publisher. You’ll find a new Foreword by an Army Historian, too. I did a bit more digging into some of the more esoteric questions in the girls’ biographical information and added some new insights into their lives. I’ll give more details about the book below this post for those of you who want to know more. Now onto today’s post…
Last time I gave you my first impressions of With Fire and Sword by Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, which is turning out to be easier to read than I first thought. I have found this adjustment period to be true whenever I read classical literature or any writing from previous centuries (except the 20th, of course!). Inherently, the language—word choice, cadence, nuance—has changed since then. Reading this novel set in the 7th century Ukraine and written in the 19th century would undoubtedly require a bit of a mental adjustment as to the expectations with regard to the vocabulary and phrasing.
Oh, I should share that Hoopla updated their app and now when I return to the story the app takes me back to where I left off in this lengthy tome. Makes it much nicer to pick it back up!
Comparing the bloody, devastating war of the 7th century to the present war in Ukraine is also rather depressing. I have a sense of “some things never change” for the Ukrainian people. I want them to change! I wish for peace and security for every single person impacted by the awful war. The destruction in the past came about from direct hand-to-hand fighting, fires (intentionally set), and disease/injury. Destroying everything in their path, the fighting armies inflicted physical and emotional ruin. I’m doing some research into the Reconstruction Era in Alabama, and the scenes Sienkiewicz describes in this novel are reminiscent of the destruction at the end of the Civil War in Alabama. The things people do to one another… It’s shocking and yet repeated throughout history. Why do we do this to each other?
The more I read, the more I enjoy the story and want to return to find out what happens next. The novel is very long and has a lot of characters, some with similar long names. I sometimes mix up who is who, but the actions and thoughts of each soon sort that knot out. Writing about historical events can be hard to do clearly since so much was happening at any one moment. All the players, as it were, each doing their own thing but those actions combining to yield a certain result. I don’t know how many of the characters are real personages from the past and how many are invented characters. Maybe I’ll see if I can find out more about the actual history between now and next time.
I think I’m about one third through the story. I will do my best to finish it before the next blog so I can wrap up my impressions of this interesting war tale.
Until then, happy reading!
Betty
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I send out most every month, including news like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers, along with recipes and writing progress. Thanks and happy reading!
Announcing the 3rd Edition of this inspiring collection of historical fiction about 19 real-life girls who made a difference in their hometowns. Winner of the 2014 Gold Medal for Young Adult Fiction awarded by Children’s Literary Classics, among other awards.
What would you do if you heard a train crash through the trestle during a violent thunderstorm? How would you suggest to a presidential candidate that he change his appearance in order to be elected? If your family was under attack and surrounded, what would you do to save them? Could you refuse to help someone hoping to better themselves or would you help them?
These are just a few of the situations these girls found themselves in and rose to the occasion, saving the day in more ways than one. Through their bravery, their daring, and their sense of adventure, each used their skills, talents, and insights to meet the need before them.
If you’re a fan of the American Girl series or merely enjoy reading about heroic girls, you’ll love reading about these historic figures in American history.
October has finally come around bringing fall’s cooler temps and Halloween! In honor of which, Poised Pen Productions is hosting a flash fiction giveaway with a prize filled with books, gift cards, and swag. More on that in a moment, but first I’d like to tell you about my flash fiction written specifically for the occasion.
Last year I challenged myself—okay, my local writers’ group challenged each of us—to write a short story. That story, “The Perfect Birthday Gift,” appears only in the What A Day! Short Stories by Southern Authors anthology which released in April. It’s also linked to the Fury Falls Inn historical fantasy series, so you may want to get your own copy to read that exclusive story. (Hurry! The anthology will only be available through October 5! You can buy your copy here)
This year I was asked to write a flash fiction story for Halloween. Something under 1000 words. Now keep in mind I typically write novels, ranging in word count from 70,000-120,000. So, what the heck? The short story in the anthology was just under 5,000. Could I write a spooky story under 1,000? After some pondering, I drew from two events in my childhood—exploring a haunted building (or so I believed at the time) and having my dad scare us at a Victorian-style rental one fall—to write a 650-word romantic spooky story.
Writing short is much harder than writing long when you’re used to space to delve and explore actions, reactions, and motivations behind the characters. But writing short also hones the ability to cut to the essence of the narrative, sharpening the focus on what is important to the tale being told.
You can enter the giveaway simply by signing up with your email, and you’ll be given options for earning additional entries. Good luck!
A thump sounded overhead, then another. Footsteps? I shuddered. “We should…go.”
The ancient house moaned, wind whispering past like voices of ghosts in the dark.
“Not yet. I want to see where it happened.” Cam grabbed my hand, and I squeaked in alarm. “Come on, Georgie.”
I planted my feet, but he tugged harder and drew me close. My heart raced so in my chest I could only hear its thundering in my ears. I stumbled along beside my fiancé toward a back room, stepping over a dropped pillow with what looked suspiciously like dried blood on its embroidered front. No, maybe catsup. I swallowed back the fear rising in my throat. Probably blood.
“They say she died in bed. That’s probably the bedroom, don’t you think?” Cam eased us closer to the scarred door, mostly closed as if trying to keep secrets from escaping but failing miserably.
“I…” I swallowed again instead of revealing the depth of my fear. He’d talked about invading the abandoned house for months to satisfy his morbid curiosity about the decades-old mystery surrounding the remotely situated farmhouse like fog. We do everything together, which I’m usually happy about. Even proud. This Halloween night? Not so much.
A thud behind me had me twisting around to stare into the dusky light of the hallway. Cam squeezed my hand and then let go as he strode briskly down the hall and with a flick of his hand told me to stay put. Alone. “Cam?”
“Shh.”
“Cam!”
He disappeared around the corner. I sucked in a shaky breath and tried to keep my knees from knocking together. I folded my arms across my chest as I stared down the empty hall. Suddenly, a light flared at the far end, illuminating a monstrous face floating in the darkness. Floating toward me slowly, inching closer with its open maw and glowing eyes. I screamed and the face vanished.
Cam guffawed. He clicked on his flashlight and swept the light over my face. “Gotcha.”
He sauntered up and I punched him on the shoulder. “Not funny.”
He pulled me into his warm, comforting embrace and held me tight for several moments. Kissing me lightly, he gazed into my eyes. “I’m sorry. I won’t do that ever again.”
I nodded and snuggled into his chest. “Thank you.”
He’s such a good man. Smart. Loving. Playful. His entire family loved to prank each other. If I weren’t so nervous about being in this reportedly haunted house, I would have laughed at myself. But something about the chilly and foreboding atmosphere of the place had every nerve on edge.
“Let’s just take a peek and then we’ll go have pizza. Okay?”
I nodded and squared my shoulders. “With extra cheese and jalapenos.”
“Jalapenos?” He noted the stubborn lift of my chin. “Fine. You win. Come on.”
Gripping his hand, I followed him through the squealing door as he pushed it open. He stopped just as the door bumped into something, sweeping his flashlight over the area. The bed occupied the center of the far wall, its mattress bare and…stained. The broken-out window let the sighing wind breathe through the bedraggled lace curtains.
“Looks like she really did die in bed.” Cam strode closer to the marred mattress, dragging me reluctantly along. He pointed to the largest dark red blotch. “I bet that’s where she bled out, too. It’s terrible to think about it.”
“See enough?” I hoped he had. I was more than ready to leave.
“Yeah.” He swept his light around the room one last time and then froze. “Uh…”
I looked where he aimed the light, shining on a young woman’s otherworldly figure in a white nightgown, blazing gold orbs for eyes, dangling dark tresses shifting in the eerie wind. She summoned us with a mesmerizing sweep of her ghostly fingers.
I screamed then turned and ran without looking back. Cam’s footsteps followed me down the hall and out the door. We tumbled into his Jeep and sped down the driveway, never to forget the haunting beauty.
This was fun to write, but did you enjoy it? What challenges have you made for yourself?
Happy fall! Happy Halloween! Thanks for reading!
Betty
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I send out most every month, including news like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers, along with recipes and writing progress. Thanks and happy reading!
Betty Bolte's Musings 