Q&A from David Dunham, author of The Silent Land

David Dunham is the author of The Silent Land, a novel set in England between 1903 and 1919 that explores the complexities of love and the pursuit of truth in grief.

Explain the formation of The Silent Land narrative?

The original book was called The Catesby Committee and was set in 1939 England around the relationship between two young men, James and Sebastian, and how one became compromised in his patriotism. I began to write the novel, but after a chapter or two I suddenly became more interested in their mother and what her story was so I took the story back many years to when she was a young woman. The chronology of her life couldn’t ignore the First World War, hence my involvement of a relatively unknown battle in the narrative; a battle I had once researched as a reporter.

The story ends in 1919, leaving James and Sebastian awaiting their turn (in my head) for their tale to be told.

Have you lived in the places you write about?

For The Silent Land, the principal settings are Worcestershire and the Fens. Thankfully, my family live in these glorious places and I grew up in them so I was able to draw on both childhood and adult memories. If you are ever passing by either area, do stop and go for a stroll. The people are lovely.

Can you share a little about your lead character, Rebecca. What was it like ‘being her’?

There were moments early on when it occurred to me that a male living in New Zealand writing his debut novel using third person limited point of view, from the perspective of a young, middle-class woman living in early 20th Century England, and one who speaks in an ever so slightly diluted form of Edwardian English, was being a little ambitious. But then that doubt soon passed and I, and this may sound strange, talked to Rebecca as much as I could in my head. Whenever I felt I was losing her, I would go for a walk and ask her what she would do or say, or how she would act. And then I wrote the second sentence and so on. Hopefully Rebecca won’t mind I’ve moved on.

Tell me about the process of writing The Silent Land

I handwrote The Silent Land using my favourite pen. The process was this: write two, possibly three sentences on a lined pad, then rewrite them and cross out the original, then write some more and rewrite them, until the page was full and I’d probably have about 200 words. I’d then find another piece of paper, or turn over, and keep going. Then, when I reached my word target, I would type whatever I could see amongst all the scribblings, print it, and then edit it. All in all, a very slow process that I recommend doing only once. The current project is being written straight into the laptop. My pen is glad of the rest as The Silent Land is 92,000 words in length.

How long from idea to completion?

I would love to be one of those people who say, ‘oh, it only took a few months’. It didn’t. It took quite a while, so long, in fact, I’m sure I could have learnt at least two other languages in the time.

Can you tell us a little about your next project?

The current project is called The Legend of Caradoc and is about a Cornish teenager called Jack Caradoc who leaves his world to confront the evil that his ancestor had defeated many years before. It is for teenagers and adults who like to take an adventure now and again. I started writing in May and the first draft should be completed within six to eight months. It is as different to The Silent Land as I could possibly imagine.

Q&A with Cathy Gillen Thacker, A Texas Cowboy’s Christmas

How did you come up with the relationship between Molly and Chance?  

I imagined two business rivals—a single mom/general contractor designer and a bull rancher/general contractor, both vying for the same job, who also have a history of really rubbing each other the wrong way.  She thinks money buys happiness and he has grown up with wealth and knows that is not the case.  Things really heat up when, a few days before Thanksgiving, her son decides he wants Santa to bring him a live baby bull for Christmas—just like the one Cowboy Chance has—and Chance does nothing to disabuse him of the notion.

What is your favorite part about writing holiday books?  

It makes me think about what each holiday means, and or should mean—and gets me in the spirit of the season, too!

Do you have a signature Thanksgiving dish?  

I make a great traditional dinner every year for the family--roast turkey and sage stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, fresh cranberry sauce, corn and zucchini saute, rolls, and then pumpkin, chocolate, pecan and chocolate chip pecan pies.  Then I take a nap….:-)

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?  

I was 11 when I began crafting stories on paper.  I think I always made up stories in my head before that, though.  I was 21 when I started writing in earnest and 26 when my first novel was published.  I wrote 7 full length novels before finally selling my first, and have sold steadily ever since—although not every idea gets picked up by my publisher.

How long does it take you to write a book?

3-4 months for a short contemporary, and 6 months for a long contemporary.

Where do you get your inspiration for Bullhaven Ranch?  

I read an article on bucking bulls and the people who invest in them, and my research took it from there.  I was amazed that for many families their bucking bulls are like pets to them—not the feared, angry snorting animals you see in the movies.  They’re great in the ring, because they are trained to buck a rider off, but docile and sweet and loving otherwise.

How many books have you written? Do you have a favorite?  

I’ve authored 120 published novels.  My favorite book is usually the one I have just finished.

What book are you reading right now?

SOMEWHERE SAFE WITH SOMEBODY GOOD by Jan Karon.  I love the adventures of Timothy and Cynthia.  I also picked up the new Maria Semple book, TODAY WILL BE DIFFERENT.

What are your current projects?  

I am finishing up book #4 in the Texas Legacies: The Lockharts, a new Laramie, Texas series.  It’s about Lucille Lockhart and her five adult offspring, who have all returned to her home county in rural Texas, to claim their inheritance, and find out what really matters most to them.  (It’s not what they thought.)

What advice do you have for writers?  

Read as much as possible.  Newspapers, magazines, blogs, novels in and out of the genre you are writing in, biographies, memoirs.  Really, anything that interests you.  Then write every day.  Finish what you write.  It’s easy to begin a story, not so easy to see it through to the end, and seeing it through to the end is what teaches you the craft of writing.  Then start the next project, while you try and sell the finished one.

Consequences of Medical Unknowns by Gloria Oren

My second son was born in May 1983. He was born in Israel where doctor strikes are not an uncommon event. It was during such a time that he was born.

He weighed 8 lbs 11 oz at birth. I tried breastfeeding him and that lasted a week. He started losing weight and couldn't keep anything down. As soon as he finished the bottle of formula he turned into a bottle without a cap. Lay him down and out it came. I went home with him desperately trying to keep the formula in him, but his stomach refused.

What does a mother do? Especially one who has no clue of what might be going on?

I took him to the Well Baby Center for a routine check at the three week mark. The nurse wasn't pleased as he had lost even more weight. She looked at me and said, "If we don't get some kind of food in him, we'll lose him."

"Miriam," I said, barely able to talk, "what can I give him, he's only three weeks old? Hardly old enough for solid food."

She replied "I know this will sound strange, but as of today you will feed him rice cereal made with water and make sure it is thick. You will have to cut the hole of the bottle's nipple to enable him to suck on it. Come back next week and we will weigh him again. Should the strike end before that, I will get you in the first one the doctor sees when he gets back."

I thanked her and went home to pray this would work.

My son started to gain weight slowly and began to digest his food intake. Next step at five weeks we added thick blended fruit with carrots. If not for Miriam, who by the way received praise from the doctor as well, I might not have had a son today.

Had I known then what I know now, he could have thrived from the start. My son was born lactose intolerant. He couldn't handle my breast milk because I drank milk. He couldn't handle the formula because it had milk. When the doctor came back and added soy based formula we had no problems at all.

And if some dumb doctor a year later would not have switched him back to milk, he would have had a much smoother childhood. As it stood we found out about this some eight years later and it wasn't for another three years until a doctor actually had him tested for lactose intolerance. Now why did I say -- had I known earlier -- well my birthmother is lactose intolerant and my grandmother was allergic to milk. So knowing one's medical history can be very important and save one from needless hardships.

--© Gloria Oren--

Lieutenant Girl, Report to the Bridge. We’re Out of Coffee...

Lieutenant Girl, Report to the Bridge. We’re Out of Coffee.

Science fiction has come a long way. It exploded as a genre after World War II and reflected the changing world as women went into more professional roles. Stories began to have female scientists and professionals fighting monsters and alien hordes. Of course, the division of labor wasn’t exactly fifty/fifty. Even woman scientists still had to serve the coffee. 

While women’s roles in science fiction have improved dramatically, they are still often relegated to secondary characters. Even with a female lead role, the differences between the way men and women are treated in dialog and action sequences can be eye-roll worthy, if not downright bizarre. Case in point is the film Prometheus. The heroine, Elizabeth Shaw, has to have an alien entity removed from her body. Luckily, nearby is a medical surgical pod. Oh darn, it’s one that’s only for men. Say what? Yes, apparently scientists can send a spaceship hurtling across the galaxy, but scratch their heads at designing a medical facility to care for male and female crew members at the same time. Curse those lady parts. They’re just so complicated. Can you imagine a man in a science fiction film ever facing a similar dilemma? You’d never see a bunch of female doctors standing around shaking their heads. “So sorry, we can’t help you. It’s the testicles, you see. We can’t figure them out.”

In most science fiction the heroine’s journey parallels a hero’s. She must go from girl on a quest to woman warrior. At the climax, she confronts the enemy. Often, fighting is not one of the options offered for victory, it’s the only one. Except for her gender, she’s pretty much a clone of the males. Nothing is wrong with creating a woman warrior. These characters are often lots of fun, but why does this seem to be a requirement rather than an alternative in science fiction? Why do female and male characters have to be so similar? Why can’t a girl show a softer side without being thought of as weak? Such characters can be done well. Meg in A Wrinkle in Time is both smart and brave and doesn’t need a bazooka to rescue her father. All the women in Andy Weir’s The Martian are intelligent, strong, and interesting individuals. I suspect not one of them ever picked a bar fight.

Keep the women warriors, but let’s add more clever girls to the mix. They fight when they have to, but can also think their way out of a dangerous situation. Let’s put those in charge for a change and have them lead the other girls (and boys, too) on adventures. Above all, never exile them to boring, generic, secondary character status for being a girl.  

Q&A with Jo Ann Brown, Amish Christmas Blessings

How did you come up with the relationship between Amos and Linda?

JAB: Because the novella is part of my Amish Hearts series, I knew one of the Stoltzfus brothers would be the hero. It seemed like it was the turn for Amos, the brother who owns the general/grocery store at the Stoltzfus Family Shops in my imaginary Lancaster County town of Paradise Springs. Because readers wouldn't know a lot about him at the beginning because he's not been front and center in the previous titles, I decided to give him a heroine who knew nothing about herself. I hoped the readers would find it interesting to learn about the two of them together. As I'd suffered from a short-term memory loss (after an accident) thirty years ago, it seemed like a "natural" fit for Linda to go through some of what I went through.

What is your favorite part about writing holiday books?

JAB: It gives me a chance to celebrate the holiday twice in one year. While working on the novella, I had Christmas music on and simply enjoyed letting Christmas go from the "twelve days of" to an extra couple of months.

Do you have a signature Thanksgiving dish?

JAB: I do. I make what we call graham cracker pie. My grandmother made it every year for Thanksgiving, and I now do the same. It's simple -- graham cracker crust, vanilla pudding filling and meringue topping, but everyone in the family considers it an absolute necessity for the end of the meal.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

JAB: I always spun stories for my younger sisters, but I finally put pen to paper when I was around 12. I was supposed to be doing a history assignment about the trans-Atlantic emigration, and, all of the sudden, the story of a 12-year-old girl making that journey filled my head. I wrote my first novel in high school and have since buried it at the back of my file cabinet.

How long does it take you to write a book?

JAB: It depends on the book and how the characters and story cooperate with me. Usually I can write the first draft in around 4 weeks. Then it needs to sit while I get disconnected with the story and start something else so I can come back for the final draft with fresh eyes.

Where do you get your inspiration for the Stoltzfus Family Shops?

JAB: The Amish are close-knit, and they drive buggies and make other decisions in the hopes of being able to spend more time together. So I thought: If all these brothers needed to make a living off the family farm, how would they keep that family closeness and still have learned skills to provide for themselves and family? Having them all working nearby allows the brothers to pop in and out of each other's stories.

How many books have you written? Do you have a favorite?

JAB: Over 110 books. My favorite is always the one I'm going to write next because I'm excited about spending time with the characters and to see how the story unfolds.

What book are you reading right now?

JAB: I'm reading science fiction at the moment -- just started Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough's Power Play. I never can read what I'm currently writing.

What are your current projects?

JAB: I'm currently writing the 6th book in the Amish Hearts series. It's the story of Micah (the next to last brother in the family) and the girl who broke his heart, but now needs his help.

What advice do you have for writers?

JAB: Read, read, read and write, write, write. Repeat. Also don't think that every word you've written is golden. Any project can be made better through hard work and good editing.

Q&A with Marta Perry, Amish Christmas Blessings

How did you come up with the relationship between Anna and Benjamin?  

When I started thinking about writing this story, I began with Anna as the young midwife who was dedicated to her calling but still struggling for acceptance. I liked the character, with all her vulnerability, but I needed to find a hero who would complement her. So I began considering a man who had left the Amish to explore the outside world. They are both daring, in a way, but while Anna finds strength and satisfaction in her faith, Benjamin has looked for satisfaction in the outside world, only to find that what he really wants is home. The idea that the two of them had a past relationship which no one else knew about jumped into being when I started putting them on the page—one of those delightful things that surprise the author!

What is your favorite part about writing holiday books?

I’m a traditionalist, so I like to celebrate each holiday in the same way every year. Christmas brings back lovely memories of Christmases past—being a child on Christmas morning, seeing my own children with their eyes shining, and now enjoying my grandchildren’s awe and wonder. When I write a holiday book I get to experience it all over again through my characters.

Do you have a signature Thanksgiving dish?

The dish I consider my specialty for Thanksgiving is my pecan-crusted sweet potato casserole. For some reason, sweet potato casseroles come in long after the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy in the Thanksgiving popularity pool, but I love the sweetness of the potatoes contrasted with the crunchy brown sugar pecan topping. If no one else wanted it, I’d eat it all myself!

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

When I was about eight, we moved to a community that had a wonderful library. My mother soon realized that she had a bookworm on her hands, and we spend many happy hours there enjoying stories together. But it was when I picked up my first Nancy Drew mystery that the longing struck. Most little girls read the books and want to be Nancy. I read that first one and wanted to be the person who created her. While I’ve never written a Nancy Drew mystery, I still owe her a great deal.

How long does it take you to write a book?

I think about the idea for a book for a long time before I’m actually ready to start writing, but I guess I can’t count that time! As for the actual writing, I allow myself three months for a shorter novel, like a Love Inspired, and four-five months for a longer book, like the romantic suspense novels I write for HQN Books.

Where do you get your inspiration for Lost Creek’s Amish community?

When I write about the Amish, I always write about Pennsylvania Amish, because that’s what I know. In recent years, more Amish families have been moving into our area of north central Pennsylvania and even farther north. So it was an easy choice for me to set my fictional Lost Creek in a valley very like the one in which I live. If I want to know what the scenery looks like, I just glance out the window.

How many books have you written?

I’ve had over sixty books published, as well as writing a few that never saw the light of day! Do you have a favorite? It’s very hard to pick a favorite, since that’s like choosing among my children. I think my favorite book is actually always the one I’m going to write next!

What book are you reading right now?

Right now I’m reading “The Friendly Air,” a romance by Elizabeth Cadell that was written some years ago. I recently discovered that those older books are seeing new life as e-books, and it’s delightful to re-discover books I once loved.

What are your current projects?

I’m writing a Lost Creek book for Love Inspired, tentatively called, “His Last Love,” as well as doing revisions on my forthcoming Amish romantic suspense, “Echo of Danger,” which will be out from HQN Books in May.

What advice do you have for writers?

Read what you want to write, but also read much more widely, especially non-fiction. You never know when two seemingly unrelated topics will come together in your imagination to create a book, and it will be something that isn’t exactly like everything else the editor has seen.