Sharon Cathcart and “Fin de Siecle” Paris, History Building on Literature

sharoncathcart
Sharon Cathcart lives and writes in Silicon Valley, but her heart is in Paris before the First World War.

I’m used to reading books that take real historical characters and build stories around them. But Sharon Cathcart has done something fascinating. She’s taken a fictional character and placed him…and his descendants… in the real historical world.

Her newest book–an omnibus of her stories set in Paris, London and San Francisco in the late 19th and early 20th centuries–In The Eye of The Beholder, In The Eye of The Storm, and the award-winning Through the Opera Glass is now available in paperback.  This new edition includes expanded glossaries and historical photographs.

I think building on a world someone else created, then bringing it into the real world is a heck of a thing to tackle. What’s the book about? 

The books tell the story of three generations of the Le Maître family, crossing Paris’ Belle Epoque, the modern art movement, the San Francisco Earthquake and World Wars I and II. It’s a mix of short stories and longer pieces that create that world.

You get extra points if you remember that Erik Le Maitre was the real name of the “Phantom of the Opera”.

What is it about that period of time that fascinates you…. and we might find interesting as well?

I’ve been an ardent Francophile since my high school years.  My French teacher, the late Lois T. Sato, instilled in her students not only a love of the language but also of the culture.  I learned so much in the process of researching these books that it just deepened my fascination.  My first visit to Paris was not until 2013, but I felt like I knew every street where I strolled.

I know how you feel. I’m itching to get to the Sahara after writing “Pith Helmets”…Any other time periods you’re intrigued by? 

Seen Through the Phantom's Eyes is a fascinating collection of stories inspired by Phantom of the Opera and through the early 20th Century.
Seen Through the Phantom’s Eyes is a fascinating collection of stories inspired by Phantom of the Opera and through the early 20th Century.

I’m very fond of the Victorian era in general.  There were so many innovations happening during that time that still impact our daily lives today.

That’s kind of odd coming from someone living in the heart of new technology….makes you wonder what people will write about us a hundred years from now, doesn’t it?

You can contact and learn more about Sharon at

Twitter:  @SharonCathcart

JR Lindermuth and History From the Pennsylvania Coal Mines

This is the first of many interviews to come with indie/small press authors of Historical Fiction. Our first guest is JR (or John, or Jack, he answers to all of them) Lindermuth, author of Watch The Hour.

Author JR Lindermuth, author of Watch The Hours
Author JR Lindermuth, author of Watch The Hours

He is a retired newspaper editor and currently librarian of his county historical society where he assists patrons with genealogy and research. He is the author of 14 novels and a regional history. He is a member of International Thriller Writers and currently serves as vice president of the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

So in a nutshell, what’s the book about?

In the 1870s in Pennsylvania ’s anthracite coal region, mine owners and their employees, particularly the Irish immigrants, are in conflict over working conditions. Private police forces commissioned by the state but paid by the coal companies are sworn to protect property of the mine owners.

Ben Yeager is one of these police officers. He does his best to follow orders while trying to be fair to the workers whose lot he sees as little different from his own. Despite his efforts at fairness, his job makes him the enemy of the Irish, and that’s the cruz of his troubles…. Ben is in love with an Irish girl.

What is it about this time period you find so fascinating?

I grew up in the coal region and many of my ancestors worked in the mines. A few even served as “coalies” (as these police were known). I write a weekly history column for two area papers and have published a regional history (Digging Dusky Diamonds) about the lives of the miners and their families in the 19th and 20th centuries.

So, hook us. What’s a scene in the book you think is pivotal?

A pivotal scene in the novel is when Ben is beaten into unconsciousness and laid out to be killed on the railroad tracks, an attack immediately attributed to the Irish. Without identifying the actual culprits, the incident is important because it solidifies once and for all the love between Ben and Jennie.

Sounds great. How can people find out more about you and your work?

My blog is http://jrlindermuth.blogspot.com/. 

My Amazon page  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1005496.J_R_Lindermuth

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1005496.J_R_Lindermuth

Twitter @jrlindermuth Facebook http://www.facebook.com/john.lindermuth

Check out his work, and support the work of indie and small press writers everywhere. Do you know of someone we should feature in this blog? Drop me a line or put it in the comments below.

Welcome to my world… abandon all hope ye who enter here

Does the world really need another self-indulgent, self-promoting blog?

Of course not. But I do. All writers need a “platform”. The goal is to minimize the neediness while actually helping people learn a bit about me and my work. So, here’s what this blog is and isn’t:

  • It’s personal. This is purely about me and my (mostly fiction) writing. If you’re interested in my business and communication work (and I hope you are) check out www.GreatWebMeetings.com and www.RemoteLeadershipInstitute.com.
  • It’s about writing. I have written all my adult life, whether it’s standup jokes, spec scripts, 7 non-fiction books, and now my first novel. I love talking writing and hanging with writers. Since I can’t sit down and share a frosty beverage with you all, this will have to do.
  • Historical fiction is my favorite, but from time to time we’ll go wherever the muse takes us.  As a blog, the focus will be on historical fiction like my novel “Pith Helmets in the Snow”. More importantly, I want to learn about other indie and small-press writers in the field. Every genre seems to have their own little worlds, except for historical fiction. Maybe this will help.

Why historical fiction? Here’s my motto:

Those who don’t remember the past are doomed to repeat it. Those who do, can’t do a darned thing about it but will see it coming and get to smugly say, told ya.”

Don’t let the weasels get you down folks.