Local Author Interview: Spider in a Tree by Susan Stinson

Susan Stinson is the author of four novels and a collection of poetry and lyric essays. Spider in a Tree, her latest novel, which is about Northampton in the time of Jonathan Edwards is out October 2, 2013.

Susan is currently Writer in Residence at Forbes Library, the public library in Northampton, where she runs writing rooms, discussion groups and workshops for writers, and curates a Local History/Local Novelists reading series. She is also a freelance writing coach and editor. A passionate speaker, she has given more than 100 readings, lectures, keynotes and workshops at universities, bookstores, cafes, and conferences, including at Amherst, Dartmouth, Smith, Amherst, Mt. Holyoke and the University of Massachusetts. Stinson also gives cemetery tours.

She can be found online at:
http://susanstinson.net/  
https://www.facebook.com/susan.stinson.92
https://twitter.com/susanstinson

Where did you grow up?

I was born in Texas, and that stayed a big presence throughout my childhood, since we went every summer to visit my grandparents. My parents moved back into my grandparents’ house. I lived in Wichita, Kansas until I was six, then moved to what is now called Centennial, Colorado, a suburb of Denver.

When did you begin writing?

I won a school contest for writing the best letter about my mother for Mother’s Day when I was in second grade or so. The prize was a gift certificate to a local strip mall, where I bought myself a toy. (I’m debating whether is was a huge plastic snake or a stuffed dog. At any rate, I loved it.) The prize was presented at a ceremony in the school auditorium. Talk about a thrill. So, I started young, and was supported in doing it young.

Do you write during the day, at night or whenever you can sneak a few moments?

I write mostly during the day. I like it when I have a regular routine of writing in the morning, but I’ll sneak in moments if I need to. I’m also a big fan of setting a timer, writing for forty-five minutes, then taking a fifteen minute break.

What is this book about?

It’s about Northampton, Massachusetts in the time of eighteenth century theologian, preacher, and slave owner Jonathan Edwards. It’s a novel of the religious revivals often referred to as the First Great Awakening.

What inspired you to write it?

I live in Northampton, where the book is set, just across from the cemetery where many people from the family and community of Jonathan Edwards are buried. There are markers honoring him there, as well. I was spending a lot of time walking and writing in the beautiful, quiet, leafy cemetery, and became interested in the stories of some of the people buried there.

Who is your favorite character from the book?

That’s a tough one. I really do love them all, even those who others may not. It might be Leah, who was enslaved in the Edwards household from the time she was fourteen, but I also have a soft spot for Rebekah Hawley.

Was the road to publication smooth sailing or a bumpy ride?

Bumpy. I could not be more delighted with a press than I am with Small Beer, where I ended up, though. They are fantastic.

If you knew then, what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently?

I don’t actually think I would.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

It’s available all of the usual places. To get it directly from Small Beer, go here:
http://smallbeerpress.com/forthcoming/2013/03/14/spider-in-a-tree/

There is a lot of information about readings, reviews and events there, too.

To find it at an independent bookstore near you, go here:
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781618730695?aff=beer

Do you have a video trailer to promote your book? If yes, where can readers find it?

I don’t have a video trailer, but readers can see me reading from a few excerpts at the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale website:
http://edwards.yale.edu/research/video

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with aspiring authors everywhere?

Be good to your writer friends and support their work. Sturdy relationships between writers are enormously sustaining.

What is up next for you?

Not sure, but I’ve been thinking about a novel about Sylvester Graham, the health reformer best known for inspiring the Graham cracker. He lived in Northampton, too.

Is there anything you would like to add?

If readers can make it to western Massachusetts and see this in time. I’d love to have them come to either the book launch/reading at First Churches in Northampton at 7 pm on Wed, Oct 2, or the Jonathan Edwards Walking Tour of Bridge Street cemetery in Northampton that I’m giving at 1 pm on Oct 5. The reading is free, and the cemetery tour costs $5. Tickets are available at Broadside Books or at the book launch.

Wench: A Novel by Dolen Perkins-Valdez -- Book Review

Superb. Daring. Eloquently written. These are all words to describe Wench: A Novel by first time novelist, Dolen Perkins-Valdez.

Wench is the story of four black enslaved women who become friends over a series of summers spent with their masters who vacation at Tawawa House in the free territory of Ohio.

Lizzie, Sweet, and Reenie are regulars at Tawawa House, and they don't ponder the question of freedom often; but when Mawu comes to the resort and starts talking about running away, things change. Running away means leaving behind everything they hold dear--friends and families in the South. It's a difficult decision despite their circumstances.

When several tragedies occur at Tawawa House, these friends learn a great deal about themselves and the emotional and psychological aspects of the Peculiar Institution whose end is just beginning.

You simply cannot read Wench without being touched by these women's stories. While the book focuses more on Lizzie's life, her relationship with her master, Drayle, and her relationship with Mawu, the Tawawa House and what occurs there binds all four women together, making their stories inseparable.

Perkins-Valdez does an excellent job of blending fact and fiction in this story set between the years of 1842 and 1854, a time in which Harriet Tubman would escape slavery and start The Underground Rail, where she gains the title of "Moses" for leading her people to freedom.

The reader, while perhaps unable to truly identify with the plight these women face, still is easily able to sympathize with Lizzie, Reenie, Sweet, and Mawu. Some of them have already seen their families sold off and hold little hope of ever seeing their loved ones again. As a woman and mother, the violation they endure, how they are dehumanized, and how they are forced to put their desires aside so that one day their children might live free, drew me into their lives.

Lizzie's story is perhaps the most heartwrenching, because the decisions she makes are for reasons the reader might not be able to understand.

Wench is a powerful, extraordinary piece of work. It has already gained the attention of Oprah, and it wouldn't surprise me if we saw this book adapted to the small or big screen. It would also not surprise me if Wench garners Perkins-Valdez numerous awards.


Title: Wench
Author: Dolen Perkins-Valde
Publisher: Amistad
ISBN-10: 006170654X
ISBN-13: 978-0061706547
SRP: $24.99

Interview with Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Author of Wench

Today we welcome Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Wench: A Novel, which we'll be reviewing in January or February. This book is Dolen’s debut novel published by HarperCollins. We’ll talk to Dolen about her writing, details of this novel, and what she’s working on for the future.

Welcome to The Book Connection, Dolen. We’re thrilled to have you with us. Can you please start off by telling our readers a bit about yourself?

Thanks so much for inviting me. I was born and raised in Memphis, TN. After graduating from Harvard, I returned to Memphis to pursue my MFA in Creative Writing. Later I received a Ph.D. in American Literature from George Washington University. Since then, I have mainly lived in Seattle and Washington, DC.

While Wench is your first novel, you’re not new to writing. Please share some of your accomplishments with us.

I have published a few short stories here and there--one titled "The Clipping" has received some acclaim. It was originally published in The Kenyon Review. It was reprinted in their volume Readings for Writers. In 2009, it was a finalist for the Robert Olen Butler Fiction Award and will appear in an anthology of the finalists to be published by Del Sol Press. I have also written academic essays pertaining to African American literature that have appeared in scholarly journals.

Can you please tell us about Wench?

In 1851, a lawyer named Elias P. Drake purchased a plot of land near Xenia, Ohio with the intent to establish a summer vacation resort where the country's elite could relax and enjoy the mineral springs in the area. At the time, it was believed that natural water could cure illnesses and bring about good health. What made this resort unusual, however, was that it became a popular vacation destination for southern slaveholders and their enslaved mistresses. Ultimately, these flagrantly open relationships offended the northern abolitionists who also frequented the resort. After four years, the resort closed.

This part of the story has been confirmed by historians. I took this forgotten historical note and sketched in a fictional account of what it would have been like to be an enslaved woman traveling to this free state each summer. Why wouldn't the women try to escape? What kinds of emotional attachments did they have with these men? Initially, I believed that it was entirely possible that they actually loved the men. Ultimately, I discovered that it was much more complicated than that.

What inspired you to write this story of four enslaved women in the years prior to the American Civil War?

Once I discovered this resort--Tawawa House--I knew that I had to write about it. The historical footnote was too fascinating to pass up. I have always been the kind of author motivated by asking "why." My initial question was, "Why wouldn't they flee?" I knew that in order to answer this, I had to imagine myself into their hearts and minds. This story creates the kind of personal interior that historians can only surmise about actual historical persons who may have left behind little written record.

It appears this novel required a great deal of research since it is based upon an actual resort, and also because of the time period in which it is set. How did you tackle that research and when did you know you had enough information to begin writing?

Most of my research had to do with the period. I wanted to make certain that I got the dress right, for example. I spent a lot of time researching slave kitchens and southern plantation layouts. As a writer new to historical fiction, I quickly figured out that I had a lot to learn if I wanted to convince savvy readers. As for the actual resort, I did do a fair amount of research, but it had more to do with the details of the place. What would the men have hunted? What kinds of flowers grew there? I sketched the area where the resort existed so that I would know the proximity of the ravine to the springs, for example. By the way, I am very thankful to the librarians who helped me. I acknowledge them in my book. I love librarians.



Wench covers a very dark and difficult time in America’s history. Do you believe America has fully recovered from the atrocities that led to the Civil War?

I am a Southerner by birth, and so the obvious answer to that from my perspective would be no. In the South, its history is still very much present. It informs our daily lives, our culture, our speech, our manners. There is a part of me that does not want to use the word "recover." I am not sure what verb I would use. Have we fully acknowledged our pain? Have we reflected upon its darkest corners? I think there is still work to do. Even so, I love the South. I draw strength from my heritage, both the good and the bad.

Where can readers purchase Wench?

You can purchase online or at your local bookstore. It is available at Amazon.com and all the major retailers.

Do you have a website or blog where readers can find out more information on the book?

My official website is www.dolenperkinsvaldez.com. I also encourage you to view my tour page at www.booktour.com to see when I will make an appearance near your hometown.

Besides your virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion, what other methods of marketing are you using to promote Wench?

I have a Twitter account (@Dolen) and a Facebook fan page. I am also relying on good friends to help me get the word out by throwing book parties and forwarding my announcements to their email lists.

Do you have intentions of writing another book? Have you begun that project yet?

Yes, I am at the beginning stages of my second book now. Stay tuned.

Is there anything you would like to add?

If your book group chooses the book, I am happy to make an appearance via Skype, telephone, or even in person if I am able. Send me a note at wench@dolenperkinsvaldez.com. I will respond promptly.

Thank you for spending time with us today, Dolen. We wish you great success.

Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure.


You can follow Dolen on her virtual book tour by checking in every weekday of January at http://virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/

Valor Publishing Debut - Am I Not A Man: The Dred Scott Story by Mark Shurtleff

Valor Publishing is pleased to announce that pre-orders for Utah State Attorney General Mark Shurtleff’s novel, Am I Not A Man: The Dred Scott Story are now available on the Valor website. By placing your order between now and Labor Day, you will receive a discounted price and your copy will be signed and numbered by the author.

An illiterate slave, Dred Scott trusted in an all-white, slave-owning jury to declare him free. But after briefly experiencing the glory of freedom and manhood, a new state Supreme Court ordered the cold steel of the shackles to be closed again around his wrists and ankles. Falling to his knees, Dred cried, "Ain't I a man?" Dred answered his own question by rising and taking his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Dred ultimately lost his epic battle when the Chief Justice declared that a black man was so inferior that he had "no rights a white man was bound to respect."

Dred died not knowing that his undying courage led directly to the election of President Abraham Lincoln and the emancipation proclamation.

Dred Scott's inspiring and compelling true story of adventure, courage, love, hatred, and friendship parallels the history of this nation from the long night of slavery to the narrow crack in the door that would ultimately lead to freedom and equality for all men.

You can read the first two chapters at the Valor's website.

You can order your sale-priced, signed and numbered limited edition copy of Am I Not a Man by visiting www.valorpublishinggroup.com before Labor Day. There are only 5,000 copies of this special edition being printed. Once they’re gone, they’re gone ... and the sale price ends on Labor Day. You can request that Mark personalize your inscription, and your book will be mailed to you before the stores even get their copies. For more information, visit http://www.valorpublishinggroup.com.