One of my favorite things about being a writer is connecting with other writers, and one of my favorite literary humans lately is Jeffrey K Walker, author of “None of Us the Same” and “Truly are the Free”.
He’s taken it upon himself to share some of our correspondence in a running feature on his blog called “Two Stiffs Writing Historical Fiction.” If you’d like a peek inside the minds of two guys who are trying to figure out the whole “writing about the past” thing, take a look.
I know nothing about fashion, but both my wife and my mother ( and there’s nothing creepier than when they both say the same thing to you) referred to my attempts at dressing up as “very Beau Brummell.” I had no idea who that was, but now I’m smarter because of this week’s interview.
Erato, (yes it’s a pen name) has written about the ultimate 18th-century fashion plate in her new novel, The Cut of the Clothes.
What’s your story, Erato?
So, Erato is my pen name — and no, it doesn’t mean I write erotica (what the hell, people? It’s not even the same key vowels, but people mistake it all the time for “Erotia” or something.) Editor’s Note: an overwhelming majority of people are idiots. Don’t let it get to you. In any case, I write historical fiction. So far all of my books are set in the Georgian/Regency era, which I am finding is a bit of a misfortune, as “Regency” has become a modern genre of its own that I don’t actually write; consequently people who like “Regency” stories don’t usually seem to like my work and other people who might actually like them don’t want to read them because they think they don’t like “Regency” stories. It just means they’re set in the late-18th/early-19th century in Great Britain, it doesn’t mean they’re about rakish noblemen having dubiously consensual sex with reluctant heroines, or that they’re Christian propaganda for clean living, or that they’re Jane Austen fanfiction where Darcy and Elizabeth have a secret baby the entire time of Pride and Prejudice.
Duly noted. It’s rough when genres constrict your subject matter. What’s the book about?
It tells the true story of Beau Brummell and the Prince Regent. It’s a story that’s 
been done a few times before, since it seems everyone agrees that was the most interesting part of Brummell’s life — when he was in London and at his peak. Brummell seems to possess such a natural charm, good looks, and a talent for matching his clothes together that he becomes an instant star once the Prince befriends him. My version is different from the other tellings for a couple reasons: first, it is the only one I know of that didn’t make up a fictional character to serve as a love interest for Brummell and then try to tell it as a love story. Secondly, it’s told from the Prince’s point of view, in my best attempt at historically accurate reproduction of the way he wrote.
I’m going to confess that fashion and talking about clothes bores me to tears, despite being strapped to the couch and forced to watch 13 seasons of Project Runway with the Duchesss. What is it about this story you find so fascinating?
I had heard the name Beau Brummell a bit, and when you mostly write Georgian/Regency fiction you know a little about him and his contributions to fashion from your research. I wrote kind of a knockoff version of him into the book None But Fools (as “Beau Bancroft”) but nothing very studied. While I was writing my upcoming book The Virgin and the Bull (it was written before Cut of the Clothes but only now getting published) I had needed to look up some fashion vocabulary term — I think the word I needed was the fall of a pair of breeches — and when I did so online, the page I found happened to also have a video of the opening scene of the BBC film Beau Brummell: This Charming Man. I watched the opening scene, which is not really anything more than James Purefoy as Brummell getting dressed and then walking down a hall, but on that basis, I thought, “My next book should be about Beau Brummell.” I deliberately did not watch the rest of that movie until after my book was done, and indeed our final takes on the story were quite different, but that was the inspiration.
What’s your favorite scene in the book?
There’s a joke, and I’m afraid if I explain it it’ll be ruined for like, the one person who will ever read it and actually get it without needing to look it up… ah well, they might not be amongst the same people who reads this blog, right? What are the odds? Prinny is sick in bed and is reading a book with a French title: Les Bijoux Indiscrets. I deliberately went out of my way to find the trashiest possible 18th century book for him to be reading. It’s a book by Denis Diderot of all people (co-creator of the first Encyclopedia.) It’s about a king with a magic ring that causes women’s vaginas to talk, and to declare their sexual histories. That’s as much of a plot as it’s really got. So, that’s what Prinny reads there.
Worth being said, the real-life Prinny had one hell of a pornography collection. If I remember correctly, when he died, it took three days of continuously burning fires to destroy it all. Nowadays people don’t tend to collect pornography magazines or dvd’s instead they just go online and visit websites like https://www.tubev.sex/ that have hundreds of adult porn videos that are free to watch.
Where can people learn more about you and your books?
The Cut of the Clothes – Amazon.com:
Amazon UK:
Google Play:
Erato’s Author Pages –
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2H3M6eD
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15113073.Erato
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EratoWrites
Subscribe to my newsletter and get a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Acre’s Bastard. Each month you’ll receive links to interviews with great authors, news about upcoming events and previews of my work in progress, Acre’s Orphans. Look at the bottom left of the page for the sign-up sheet. No spam, just once a month updates and a chance to learn about great new Historical Fiction of all types from around the world.
If you’re one of the many people who enjoyed Acre’s Bastard, you’ve probably figured out that there’s at least one more book to come. Well, I’ve finally finished the first draft. Here’s photographic proof.
That said, it’s a first draft. Here’s what that feels like in my head…
If you’ve seen David Cronenburg’s 1979 movie, The Brood, this makes a lot more sense. It’s a deformed, demonic little creature but mama loves it. That’s how I feel about the first version of Acre’s Orphans. (Yes, that makes me Samantha Eggar in this story. Don’t read too much into that.) I am hopeful to have this revised and beta-read in time for a late fall launch.
If you’re a fan of Lucca the Louse, be prepared. You can drop me a line or join the newsletter using the link on this page to be the first to know when Acre’s Orphans is ready for the world.
Subscribe to my newsletter and get a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Acre’s Bastard. Each month you’ll receive links to interviews with great authors, news about upcoming events and previews of my work in progress, Acre’s Orphans. Look in the bottom left of the page for the sign-up sheet. No spam, just periodic updates and a chance to learn about great new Historical Fiction of all types from around the world.
I am a sucker for stories about the British exploration and colonization of Africa. Maybe it’s being a child of the Commonwealth, or maybe it’s because when I was 8, I nearly wound up living in Rhodesia (which is now Zimbabwe) except for a paperwork error (long story, not enough whiskey to tell it right.) Just maybe it’s because, regardless of your political opinions of it (and it ain’t easy on a white boy’s conscience), it’s exciting and makes for great storytelling.
Among my favorite tales (and, full disclosure, this is in my file of novels I might want to write someday, so I’m a little cranky Ken beat me to it) is “Beyond the River of Shame,” the story of Samuel and Florie Baker. A middle aged hunter and railroad man took his young wife- purchased from the Turks at a slave auction no less- into the heart of Africa to follow the Nile from stem to stern in search of the river’s source.
Let’s let Ken Czech tell the story himself. Ken, what’s your deal?
I’m a retired history prof, and though I’ve had numerous history articles and books published, my new love is writing historical fiction. Beyond The River of Shame is my debut novel. My
second novel Last Dance In Kabul will be released in August.
I’m also an on-line antiquarian book dealer specializing in 19th and early 20th
century sporting and exploration books. I do my writing from wintry Minnesota.
What’s the story behind “Beyond the River of Shame?”
Beyond The River Of Shame is based on the real life adventures of 19th
century explorer Samuel White Baker and Florie, the young woman he
buys at a slave auction. After thundering the winning bid, Sam
realizes that owning a slave girl would be a huge scandal in Victorian
England so he abandons her and continues his trek to discover the
source of the Nile River. Pursued by the slave traders, Florie refuses
to stay abandoned. She joins Sam on an epic journey into the depths of
Africa where they struggle against wild beasts, killer diseases, and
the horrors of the slave trade. Though their courage and new found
love will be driven to the breaking point, the lure of the mysterious
“Dead Locust Lake” draws them to their climactic showdown with the
slave catchers.
The title is a bit of a metaphor for both the Nile River (their search
for its source keeps Florie and Sam together), and the angst Sam feels
in owning a slave girl coupled with the priggish judgment English
society would level at his reputation and family.
I’m halfway through the book now, and really enjoying it. I know why I’m fascinated by it. What is it about this story that got you going?
My specialty while teaching was Modern European History, including English exploration and imperialism. I became acquainted with the
story of Florie and Sam through the books he wrote describing his adventures. While Florie appears in his writings as his companion (usually identified only as ‘F’), there is no mention of her past or
their physical and psychological relationship.
My story combines fact with fiction as I tried to fill in the blanks about them. By the way, according to several biographies of Sam, Florie was purchased at a slave auction, something she admitted to only later in her life.
What’s your favorite scene in the book?
In Beyond The River Of Shame, my favorite scene takes place after a
Cape buffalo has charged Florie. She is escorted back to a tribal camp
where the women cleanse her in a cone of incense. Invited to a victory
feast that evening, she is quiet and reserved, while Sam dances around
the campfire. Later, after all have retired, she visits Sam’s bed for
the first time, breaking the barriers that have separated them.
Yeah, about that. If we lived closer, I’d buy you a couple of beverages and we could argue the historical merits of that particular detail, but that’s what makes historical fiction so much fun. Besides, after Count of the Sahara, I’m hardly in a position to judge filling in the blanks in people’s sex lives. Where can people read more about you and your work?
Here are some links that readers can find out more about my books and me.
http://www.allthingsthatmatterpress.com/buynow.htm
http://www.fireshippress.com/fireship_authors/ken-czech.html
https://historicalnovelsociety.org/directory/ken-czech/
Subscribe to my newsletter and get a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Acre’s Bastard. Each month you’ll receive links to interviews with great authors, news about upcoming events and previews of my work in progress, Acre’s Orphans. Look in the bottom left of the page for the sign-up sheet. No spam, just once a month updates and a chance to learn about great new Historical Fiction of all types from around the world.
One of the great joys (for me) of reading historical fiction is finding out about people, places and times I either never heard of or gave no previous thought to. No offense to those who spend their entire reading hours in the Civil War or dealing with the Tudors (the hell with it, offense meant. Change the menu on occasion, it’s good for you!) When I heard about Charles Ameringer’s novel of 1920s Venezuela, “The Sons of Hernan Garcia,” I figured it was worth speaking to him. It’s not like I have a shelf full of early 20th Century Latin American stories taking up space. What about you?
Charles Ameringer, born in Milwaukee, WI, September 19, 1926, is professor emeritus of Latin American History at Penn State University. During his academic career, he published eight scholarly books. Now, in retirement, he has drawn upon his travel and research and unleashed his imagination to produce works of fiction, namely, the spy/thriller, “The Old Spook” (2012), the urban drama, “Duke Wellington: East Harlem Lawyer ” (2015), and “The Sons of Hernan Garcia” (2018). (Editorial note, that makes him nearly ninety-freaking-one, and he’s still writing. I am out of excuses.)
What’s your novel about?
The book takes place during two years (1920-1921) within the rule of Juan Vicente Gomez of Venezuela (1907-1935) and Hernan Garcia’s tyrannical rule is based upon that of Gomez. It was a rule that was extremely cruel, and although the book is fiction it spares no details about the evils perpetrated by a dictatorship. That which the fictional characters endure and try to repay in kind makes for a thrilling game of cat and mouse.
What’s your favorite scene in the book?![The Sons of Hernan Garcia by [Ameringer, Charles]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41wHiDtXpvL.jpg)
The birthday party of the five sons wherein they express their hatred toward Garcia and the ways they would like to do him in. Although the sons were “blowing off steam,” the tyrant’s security force takes their remarks seriously and undertakes a deadly manhunt. The reader is taken for a journey across the great plain of Venezuela, populated by exotic birds and animals (egret, jaguar, and anaconda).
I can safely say that qualifies as a unique story, and one not often told. Where can we learn more about your books and your work?
You can find me on Amazon by clicking here
or on Goodreads
Subscribe to my monthly newsletter and get a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Acre’s Bastard. Each month you’ll receive links to interviews with great authors, news about upcoming events and previews of my work in progress, Acre’s Orphans. Look in the bottom left of the page for the sign-up sheet. No spam, just once a month updates and a chance to learn about great new Historical Fiction of all types from around the world.
A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across a Kindle book that looked like fun: “Heart of the Ronin.” Think Yojimbo, if Toshiro Mifune could talk to dogs. (He was so cool, he probably could, but didn’t want to brag about it.) Just go with me on this one. I have already stated my deep affection for samurai cinema and stories, so it’s no wonder I wanted to interview the author, Travis Heermann.
Travis is a novelist, freelancer, award-winning screenwriter, editor, poet, and a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop. His latest novel, co-authored with Jim Pinto, is the horror-Western Death Wind. Other novels include The Ronin Trilogy, The Wild Boys, and Rogues of the Black Fury, plus short fiction published or forthcoming in Apex Magazine, Alembical,Fiction River, and others. His freelance work includes contributions to the Firefly Roleplaying Game, Battletech, Legend of Five Rings,and EVE Online. He lives in Colorado.
Now, on to the questions.
What’s the basic story of your book?
Heart of the Ronin and the Ronin Trilogy in total is about a young masterless samurai, a ronin, and his quest to make a name for himself in a world that despises him. He saves the life of the noble maiden, beset by a pack of bandits led by a terrifying demon. Ronin and maiden fall in love, only to discover that she is promised to another, a political match with a powerful samurai lord.
At its core, the series is about the Zen concept of non-attachment, as its applies to things like love, honor, and duty, all of which come into deadly conflict throughout the trilogy. There’s also some exploration about the nature of evil and how the Eastern notion of evil differs from the Western. All of that couched in an adventure story that takes on an epic scope.
I get that. When I have to explain my samurai fixation, I often refer to them as Japanese Westerns. One of the basic tenets of my own work is that swords are cooler than guns. What’s your fascination with this time period?
I’ve been a fan of samurai films and director Akira Kurosawa and actor Toshiro 
Mifune since high school. Mifune’s wolfish presence fills a screen like John Wayne did, with larger than life characters. I wanted to write a samurai novel. What started out as a single novel ultimately became a trilogy.
I settled upon the time period, the 13th century, because I fell down the rabbit hole of research. Japan’s history, well documented for almost two thousand years, still fascinates me. There are so many fascinating eras and characters of incredible power, few of which are even barely explored in Western media. In the 13th Century, Japan was the target of two invasions by Mongol Empire, a force of conquest and culture that stretched all the way to Eastern Europe before it fell into decline. This seemed to me like the richest possible ground for some amazing stories, and I was not wrong.
I hear ya. One of my favorite T-shirts asks, “What Would Toshiro Mifune 
Do?” Without giving away the goodies, what’s your favorite scene in the book?
In Heart of the Ronin, my favorite scene is probably the one where Ken’ishi, our ronin protagonist, saves Kazuko, the noble maiden, from the bandit attack. First, it’s just a ton of great action, and its the first encounter between these two characters, which will shape the rest of the story. Also, the leader of the gang, the oni, or demon, even though he’s defeated, returns over and over thematically throughout the series. He was just an amazingly fun character to write–and to keep bringing back in new and ever more demented ways.
You write more than just the Ronin trilogy. Where can people learn more about your work?
Here are some links to where I and my books can be found.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/ B002E453X4
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ TravisHeermann
Web Site: http://www. travisheermann.com
Blog: http://www. travisheermann.com/blog/
Facebook: https://www. facebook.com/travis.heermann
Goodreads: http://www. goodreads.com/author/show/ 418704.Travis_Heermann
Subscribe to my monthly newsletter and get a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Acre’s Bastard. Each month you’ll receive links to interviews with great authors, news about upcoming events and previews of my work in progress, Acre’s Orphans. Look in the bottom left of the page for the sign-up sheet. No spam, just once a month updates and a chance to learn about great new Historical Fiction of all types from around the world.
No area of history is as popular in historical fiction and film as the Second World War. Oddly, it’s one I don’t read a lot about anymore, maybe because of overload when I was younger. I mean, I get it…Nazis = bad, battles in the South Pacific were brutal, and I’ve seen all the Holocaust movies I ever need to see to get the point…. yet occasionally you get a new story, one you didn’t already know. Such is the case with The Pear Tree, from fellow Chicago writer Karen (K M) Sandrick.
Full disclosure, I read this book to review it for Windy City Reads (I’ll post the review when it’s up). While the topic was intriguing, I wasn’t impressed with the cover of the book, and went in with low expectations. I was wrong. It’s well-researched and moving. Plus the story is one I only vaguely heard of, With that…
Karen, what’s your story?
I am a long-time freelance journalist who specializes in clinical medicine, hospital finance and governance. The Pear Tree is my first attempt at fiction. You may wonder how it all came about; glad you asked. With a degree and background in science, I have had little education in some of the fun stuff, like literature, and drama, and music. Even history got short-shrift. The only class I had as an undergrad, for example, was The History of Western Civilization—in two semesters. So I have been filling in the blanks with continuing education courses at local universities.
One class in a course on WW II on the Eastern Front began by recounting the story of the Anthropoid operation (depicted in the recent movie Anthropoid editorial note: least appealing movie title ever) and then described the Nazis’ retaliation against the Czech people. That same evening at a free-form writing seminar (I have a lot of blanks to fill), the story began taking shape in my notebook. I have to say that it just grabbed onto me and wouldn’t let me go until it was told.
What’s The Pear Tree about?
It is a tale about a largely forgotten incident in WW II–the total destruction of the
small Czech town of Lidice in retribution for the assassination of the head of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia by Czech partisans. The Pear Tree begins on the day Reinhard Heydrich was attacked by Czech partisans. It describes the investigation that leads the Gestapo to Lidice, the destruction of the town, the interrogation of its women and children, and the forced separation of mothers from their infants, sons from their mothers, friends from friends. The book follows the paths of characters who wrestle with fear that they will never see their families again, that their secrets will be revealed, that they will never learn the truth.
It’s a fascinating…and horrible… story. What is it that fascinated you about it?
The enormity of the Nazi response and, in the end, its failure. Though there is almost no link between the townspeople and the assassination, all its men are killed onsite. All its women are taken away, killed or sent to forced labor or prostitution. Children are divided by their racial characteristics and either sent to gas vans or adoption by German families. The buildings of the town are razed, their bricks and stones carted away. The farms are plowed under, unsuitable “Czech dirt” is replaced by rich German soil. The objective is to leave no indication that the town ever existed. Overlooked is a pear tree sapling whose top branches have been blown away but whose trunk remains. The book tells of the importance of the only living reminder of Lidice to two main characters: a young woman who mourns the loss of her son and a thirteen-year-old boy who confronts Gestapo in search of his mother.
Without giving away spoilers, what is your favorite scene?
After liberation of Eastern Europe by the Soviets, two characters from the town ![The Pear Tree by [Sandrick, Karen M]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61nkTIV9eFL.jpg)
of Lidice meet in a displaced persons camp and begin a friendship. The woman is housed in the camp after being rescued from years in forced labor and learning that her son had been killed by Nazis. The teenage boy comes to the camp in search of his mother. The two begin a friendship: the woman tells the boy stories about what she remembers of his mother’s younger days; the boy brings the woman treats he smuggles from outside the camp.
The day before he leaves for Prague to continue the search for his mother, he brings the women one last gift: a crochet hook so she can stitch together patterns from the coils of threads she collects from her own clothing and the garments she resizes for other people in the camp. It’s a small scene but it reflects the resilience of the human spirit, the theme I hope the book conveys.
where can people find the book?
The website is: www.thepeartreebook.com.
Subscribe to my monthly newsletter and get a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Acre’s Bastard. Each month you’ll receive links to interviews with great authors, news about upcoming events and previews of my work in progress, Acre’s Orphans. Look in the bottom left of the page for the sign-up sheet. No spam, just once a month updates and a chance to learn about great new Historical Fiction from around the world.
There’s a continual argument in histfic circles around what, exactly, qualifies as “historical fiction.” Some say 50 years, others 30. At the risk of feeling ancient, I think history is anything more than a generation ago, particularly if historical events dictate the story. That means my high school and college years are, literally, history. (Besides this is my blog, and it is what I say it is.) That brings us to Nancy Klann-Moren and her book, The Clock of Life. It starts in the 80s, but also goes back to Vietnam and the Civil Rights Era, and if that ain’t history, i’m not sure what is.
What’s your story, Nancy?
My writing journey began as a creative outlet on long plane rides, for work. I dabbled in short fiction. Eleven are published in the Short Story collection, Like The Flies On The Patio. One morning while in a workshop at The Santa Barbara Writers Conference, I read an excerpt from a work-in-progress. When finished, the instructor said, “What you have written isn’t a short story, it’s a novel.” My first inclination was to reject his suggestion―but, soon realized the seed he’d planted was ready to sprout. My strong beliefs about the subject matter compelled me to write The Clock Of Life. The novel has garnered awards from Writers Digest, Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Readers Favorite Book Awards, Kindle Book Awards. It’s a BRAG Honoree, and an Awesome Indies AIA Recipient.
So what’s the “nutshell” version of The Clock of Life?
The Clock of Life is the coming-of-age story of young Jason Lee as he discovers his family’s history and that of those surrounding him. It takes place in a small Southern town during the 1980’s where the old, unyielding attitudes about race persist, and where he must navigate this communal mindset while his friendship with his best pal, a black boy named Samson Johnson, deepens.
Even though he never knew the man, Jason Lee’s father had been involved in the Civil Rights Movement, and was killed fighting in Vietnam. Those two important times in our recent history are woven through the story, amplifying their effect on the fate of a family, a town, and two boyhood friends. Beyond the themes of inequality, grief, and a passion for justice, Jason Lee finds the courage to stand up for what he believes is right, just because it’s right.
What is it about that time period that speaks to you and makes you want to write about it?
The idea of human inequality and how it comes to be has always baffled me, so 
the foundation for the book is more emotional than cerebral. I’m in awe of the heroism it took to bring equal rights for Blacks to the forefront. Then there was the political fiasco of the Vietnam War, the human tragedy of how our soldiers were treated when they returned home, and the 58,000 young men killed for what?
In the past fifty years, the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement were our greatest catalysts for social protest.
Which I guess answers the question about whether it’s “historical” or not. The past continues to ripple through the present. Without giving away spoilers, what’s your favorite scene in the book?
I especially liked the welcoming atmosphere in the local hardware store, where the tang of WD-40 greets you at the door. Where a sign above the old grocery scale reads, “Honor system. Weigh and leave money in the box,” and where Jason Lee uses Pepsi and Nehi bottle caps as checker and sits on a milk stool to play on a faded board fastened to two sawhorses. During these visits Wally, his father’s best friend, regales Jason Lee with stories of some of his dad’s past escapades.
Where can we learn more about you and The Clock of Life?
The book is available on Amazon.
The book trailer can be seen here
My website: www.nancyklann-moren.com
Subscribe to my monthly newsletter and get a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Acre’s Bastard. Each month you’ll receive links to interviews with great authors, news about upcoming events and previews of my work in progress, Acre’s Orphans. Look in the bottom left of the page for the sign-up sheet. No spam, just once a month updates and a chance to learn about great new Historical Fiction from around the world.
Quick, what do you know about Italy after WWI or Austria in 1920? Did you know there was a “German-speaking” part of Italy? Yeah, that’s what I figured. One of the great joys of reading historical fiction is hearing stories you’ve never heard about from places you probably haven’t given much thought to. That doesn’t mean the stories aren’t dramatic, interesting and worth hearing. Enter Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger, and her “Reschen Valley” series, beginning with the first book, “No Man’s Land.”
Okay, Chrystyna, what’s your story?
I’m an American ex-pat living out her Grizzly Adams dream in the Austrian Alps. I don’t have a bear, but I do have a dog, a cat, a whole hell of a lot of fat chickadees and a very mild-mannered husband with whom I laugh every day. I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, attended Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana and studied to become a veterinarian.
Then an English professor rescued me.
Or brought you over to the dark side, depending on your outlook, I suppose. In a nutshell, what’s the book–and the series–about?
No Man’s Land is the first in the Reschen Valley series, with five parts spanning
from 1920–1950. The Breach, which is part 2, releases March 15th and is on preorder now.
The series take place in South Tyrol, just located south of the Austrian border. In the first part, we are introduced to Katharina Thaler, a Tyrolean farmer whose only remaining family is her grandfather. While out hunting, Katharina stumbles on an Italian engineer who’s been stabbed and left to die on her mountain. Saving Angelo Grimani’s life thrusts both of them into a labyrinth of corruption, greed and prejudice as Katharina is caught between the Tyroleans who are trying to stop the annexation to Italy and the growing Fascist powers that need their land to produce electricity.
What is it about that time period or this particular story that attracted you?
You have to imagine driving south from Austria over the Reschen Pass in the Alps and then crossing the border into Italy. The first thing you expect are pizza and pasta stations, Italian signs, and Italian architecture. But that’s not what happens. It still looks like Tyrol with a few Italian names. In fact, everything is still in German and in Italian and everyone speaks German.
Then it comes: spreading out before you, an unbelievably beautiful lake some 4 miles long and nestled in the alps. The sight takes your breath away. You pass the first town and quickly come upon the next one called Graun / Curon Venosta. And then there it is. Off to the right, some 100 meters from the lakeshore, is a fully intact medieval church tower sticking straight out of the water. My first reaction was, “What the hell happened here?” It took me ten years, and loads of building up my German language skills to find out. When I did, I was horrified that we never learned about this part of history. The Tyrolean-Italian conflict was a huge deal! And the pain of that history is still there, just under the skin, hot as embers and as volatile as gunpowder.
Without spoiling surprises, what’s your favorite scene in No Man’s Land?
I not only love reading but writing the scenes between Angelo Grimani and the Colonel, his father. I tap into my dark side in those scenes, something I keep very well under control and hope I only utilize to write my villains. I consciously set out to make each of my characters complex and three-dimensional. I honestly believe that every person is just trying to do their best. The world is paved with good intentions, they say, but it’s where you lay the pavement that determines whether you’re an a-hole. (Wayne’s note… actually that’s the road to hell, but some days there’s not a lot of difference.)
One of my other favorite parts to write was Chapter 10, which is the baby of the published book. When I sent the script to an editor last summer, she came back and said, “I just don’t think we’re invested in Katharina enough. What does she really want? Make us root for her.”
I did not despair. On the contrary, I was really glad she said something, because in all these years of writing Katharina, I was frustrated and disappointed with her development. I’ve got a female character trapped in a day and age where she just cannot be emancipated. On the contrary, her choices make her want to blend in as much as possible and it was ticking me off that she was fading into the background. After I hung up with the editor and as I was driving to my other job, it hit me like lightening. It was there, I realized. I just had to make it explicit. I knew what Katharina wanted and the threads were all there, I just had to pull them forward. The new Chapter 10 managed to solidify that for me and I was able to pull her back in with great strength.
Where can we learn more about you and your books?
You will find me on Goodreads a lot (Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger). I’m doing a Kindle giveaway of No Man’s Land until the 24th of February. If you sign up for my newsletter, you’ll get the notices of the free Kindle version planned five times between now and April. They’ll only run for 24 hours each time.
You can sign up on my webpage at www.inktreks.com.
Otherwise, for 99 cents, No Man’s Land: Reschen Valley Part 1 is exclusively on Amazon for now.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078WDPDSJ
Part 2, The Breach, is on preorder with a March 15th release date.
Subscribe to my monthly newsletter and get a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Acre’s Bastard. Each month you’ll receive links to interviews with great authors, news about upcoming events and previews of my work in progress, Acre’s Orphans. Look in the bottom left of the page for the sign-up sheet. No spam, just once a month updates and a chance to learn about great new Historical Fiction from around the world.
Some people are water people, some are mountain people. Growing up in British Columbia, I’m a mountain guy, so I have a special place in my heart for the states and provinces that straddle the Rocky Mountains. These are also regions that don’t have a lot of popular history written about them–too few people and not enough wars (Custer aside) for serious historians. That doesn’t mean there aren’t great stories to be told. One of the more fascinating and under-reported eras is the age of the Copper Barons in Montana. Enter Milana Marsenich and her novel, Copper Sky.
Milana Marsenich has an M.Ed. In Mental Health Counseling from Montana
State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from University of
Montana. She has previously published in Montana Quarterly, Big Sky
Journal, The Polishing Stone, The Moronic Ox, and Feminists Studies. She
has a short story included in the Montana Quarterly Book: Montana, Warts
and All: The Best From Our First Decade. Milana lives in Northwest
Montana where she enjoys hiking the wilderness trails with friends and
dogs. Copper Sky is her first novel.
What’s Copper Sky all about?
Set in the Copper Camp of Butte, Montana in 1917 Copper Sky tells the
story of two women with opposite lives. Kaly Shane, mired in
prostitution, struggles to find a safe home for her unborn child. Marika
Lailich, a Slavic Immigrant, dodges a pre-arranged marriage to become a
doctor. As their paths cross, and they become unlikely friends, neither
knows the family secret that holds them together. At its heart Copper
Sky is a mining city love tale: filled with fierce, loyal, disturbed
love, love that is ultimately a reconciling force in a community laced
in tragedy.
What is it about the story that attracted you? Why this tale?
I grew up in Butte and through the years I heard a lot about its
history. The Speculator Mine disaster in 1917 was one of the most
devastating mining accidents in the nation’s history. 168 men died
there. Not much had been written about it when I first began Copper Sky.
I wanted to honor the courage and resilience of the Butte people, and
especially how they came together to survive and heal their grief. I am
also fascinated with how the tragedies of Butte affected its people
through the generations.
My grandparents immigrated from Montenegro and I’d heard stories of “the
Old Country” all of my life. These stories inspried Marika’s character.
My grandparents had a pre-arranged marriage. While the actual story of
their arrangement is very simple, I wondered what else might have gone
into it. How did my grandparents get to “yes” once their parents
informed them of their pending marriage? Also, many stories of Butte
include some reference to “the red-light district”. I wondered what it
was like for the women that “worked on the line”. What were the
experiences that moved a woman toward the dangers of prostitution?
Without giving away spoilers, what are your favorite scenes in the book?
I have to say that my favorite parts of the book are the four small
White Dog sections. They refer to another Butte accident: the 1895
Warehouse Fire. Unknown to the Butte fire department or the townspeople,
the warehouse stored dynamite. It was against the law to store dynamite
within the city limits. Most of the Butte fire department and many
spectators died when the dynamite exploded. The White Dog explores the
town and watches the events as they unfold. He follows the townspeople
and takes us through the town. From the beginning the White Dog shows
the nature and the good heart of the town.
Another favorite scene of mine is when Marika’s fiancé, Michael Jovich,
comes to dinner. She is trying to behave, but she is not happy about it.
Her father, uncharacteristically, pours rakija, plum brandy, for
everyone at the table. Marika gets a little drunk and talks more freely.
She asks her father to pour more plum brandy for her. He resists. She
really wants more plum brandy. “She hadn’t known she was so brilliant.”
Lord knows, we’ve all been there. Where can people learn more about you and Copper Sky?
My website: https://www.milanamarsenich.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MilanaMarsenichAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/milanamarsenich
Subscribe to my monthly newsletter and get a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Acre’s Bastard. Each month you’ll receive links to interviews with great authors, news about upcoming events and previews of my work in progress, Acre’s Orphans. Look in the bottom left of the page for the sign-up sheet. No spam, just once a month updates and a chance to learn about great new Historical Fiction from around the world.
