WomensHistoryReads interview: Jennifer Laam

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One of the most delightful perks of authordom is getting a sneak peek at upcoming books -- when there's a potential big overlap between your readership and the readership of a new book, getting asked to read for a blurb is a great honor. When it helps you discover a book you didn't know you'd love, it's a joy. So it was when I got to read Jennifer Laam's latest novel, The Lost Season of Love and Snow, before its recent release. Now it's out for the world to read and enjoy! And I knew when I decided to put together the #WomensHistoryReads interview series that Jennifer's take on Natalya Goncharova needed to be on the list. Here's our Q&Q&Q&A.

Jennifer Laam

Jennifer Laam

Greer: How would you describe what you write?

Jennifer: I write historical fiction with strong romantic elements. I love bringing two characters together and depicting passionate physical, emotional, and intellectual connections between them. At the same time, I explore both the world of the past and the continuing allure of certain historical figures and events. My first two books – The Secret Daughter of the Tsar and The Tsarina’s Legacy – feature plot lines set in both the past and present. In those books, modern-day characters are drawn to the tragic last Romanovs and Catherine the Great respectively. My recent novel The Lost Season of Love and Snow is a more traditional work of historical fiction in that it is set exclusively in the past and focuses on one character: Natalya Goncharova, the notorious wife of celebrated poet Alexander Pushkin.

In my view, Natalya’s personal history was too often eclipsed by a tiresome trope and she was depicted as the seductive woman who brought down a great man. I focused on aspects of her life that might resonate with contemporary readers, such as her uncomfortable interactions with the tsar, a man with complete power over her. In this way, even in a traditional historical fiction format, I could continue to investigate the deep associations between past and present.

Greer: Do you consider yourself a historian?

Jennifer: I do! Academic history and fiction intersect at points where we piece together the truth of a woman’s life, often using resources other than firsthand narratives. My master’s thesis consisted of biographical work on three early American women. The research process for that project informed my approach to The Lost Season of Love and Snow. I wanted to recover and recreate Natalya’s experiences in her marriage to Alexander Pushkin while still maintaining a twenty-first century feminist perspective. Having said that, I embrace the opportunity afforded me as a novelist to take educated guesses regarding women’s perceptions of their own lives. I try to flesh that out to create complex characters who can help provide insight into issues that still haunt us, such as sexual harassment.

Greer: It's amazing how far we've come and how far we haven't. More of a curveball for your last question: What book, movie or TV show would your readers probably be surprised to find out you love?

Jennifer: I’m not sure if this is a surprise, but I’ve seen every episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and know way too many stretches of dialogue by heart. I love science fiction almost as much as I love historical. Both genres lend themselves to allegory and commentary on current politics and events. I think the distance of both past and future settings makes it more likely a writer can change hearts and minds. A reader or viewer with a particular political perspective in relation to the present might have greater sympathy for different points of view through these genres. Make it so.

Greer: Yes! Not to give too much away in advance, but I was surprised by how many of the historical fiction authors I asked this question responded with love for sci-fi shows. There's a definite pattern.

Jennifer: And a question for you -- What initially drew you to your heroine Kate Warne, the first female detective at the Pinkerton Agency?

Greer: The idea that she was such an early pioneer grabbed me immediately -- she was hired in 1856, before the Civil War, in a time when it was unusual for a woman to work outside the home at all, let alone in such a dangerous profession. Then it intrigued me that I'd never heard her name before. If we know the name of the man who assassinated Lincoln, why not the name of the woman who saved him from an earlier attempted assassination? While on tour for GIRL IN DISGUISE, I told everyone I was on a Kate Warne Awareness campaign. I want her name to be known.

Final Cover - Lost Season of Love and Snow.jpg

 

Want to know more about Jennifer and her books? Check out the links below:

Twitter: twitter.com/JenLaam

Facebook: facebook.com/jenniferlaam.writer

Instagram: instagram.com/jenlaam

Book: bit.ly/lostseasonofloveandsnow

Website: jenniferlaam.com

 

(And, of course, stay tuned for the next #WomensHistoryReads installment tomorrow.)

WomensHistoryReads interview: Melanie Benjamin

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I thought it was fitting to kick off my #WomensHistoryReads interview series -- an interview every day in March with a woman writer who brings us the stories of amazing women in history -- with a writer who has a special knack for finding and telling that particular type of story. From Melanie's debut novel ALICE I HAVE BEEN (about Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland) to her more recent bestsellers THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE (socialite Babe Paley and her pal Truman Capote) and THE GIRLS IN THE PICTURE (screenwriter Frances Marion and silver screen star Mary Pickford), she has consistently wowed readers with the stories of women in unique circumstances, yet who still struggled with the same challenges common to us all.

Brief note: all of my #WomensHistoryReads interviews are in a format I call Q&Q&Q&A -- I ask the author three questions and they wrap up by asking me one. Seems only fair to turn the tables sometimes!

With no further ado, here we go...

Photo Credit: Deborah Feingold

Photo Credit: Deborah Feingold

Greer: How would you describe what you write?  

Melanie: Historical fiction that tells the stories of women – so far, women! – that have been overshadowed or told by men.  I say so far, because I don’t limit myself to women’s stories.  But the truth is, when you’re looking for untold stories of history, they are mostly women’s stories.  

Greer: What’s the last book that blew you away?  

Melanie: ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE by Gail Honeyman.

Greer: What book, movie or TV show would your readers probably be surprised to find out you love?  

Melanie: The reboot of “Battlestar Galactica” that was on the SciFi channel a few years back. [Greer: Me too! Brilliant stuff.]

Melanie: And for you -- What is the most frequently-asked question you’re asked about your novels by readers?

Greer: Everyone wants to know where we get our ideas! I don't always have a good answer. There's always a clear point of inspiration -- in the case of my most recent novel GIRL IN DISGUISE, it was Kate Warne, the first female detective -- but I don't write a book about every single interesting person who comes along. It takes something extra to goose that initial inspiration into the decision to commit years to a project. I can't explain what that is. But isn't that so much of writing? Inspiration beyond explanation?

Melanie's most recent novel is THE GIRLS IN THE PICTURE (Delacorte Press, 2018); her website is melaniebenjamin.com.

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Tune in tomorrow for the next #WomensHistoryReads interview, all month long!

 

first chance to win GIRL IN DISGUISE in paperback!

The GIRL IN DISGUISE paperbacks are here! Yay! They hit bookstores -- and hopefully, your bookshelves -- next week on March 6.

In the meantime, I'm running a little contest on my Facebook author page. Click through and enter -- it's easy. But the deadline is coming up March 1, which is this Thursday!

(And if Facebook isn't your preferred platform, don't worry -- chances for Instagrammers and newsletter subscribers to win are coming soon!)

my review of Force of Nature at the CHIRB

I've become a semi-regular contributor to the Chicago Review of Books, and what fun it is! Lots of author interviews, page-to-screen adaptation coverage, and good old fashioned book reviews are on the way.

My latest: a review of Jane Harper's second novel, Force of Nature. I love a good thriller, especially with a strong cast of complex women at its core, which this one has. "Nearly all of the main characters of Jane Harper’s new Australia-set thriller... are more unpleasant than pleasant, more misbehaving than misunderstood. And you’ll enjoy the book a lot more because of it.."

Check it out here.

great time to subscribe!

Hi there! Some fun things in the works here, like the #womenshistoryreads interview series coming up in March, the paperback release of GIRL IN DISGUISE (coming March 6!) and the upcoming reveal of my next novel... will keep you in suspense a bit longer on that one.

Want to make sure you get all the newest news? Definitely subscribe to my author newsletter! You can do that here.

(So much fun stuff to come...)

#WomensHistoryReads interview: Marie Benedict

in

I'm so thrilled to publish this interview with Marie Benedict, author of THE OTHER EINSTEIN and CARNEGIE'S MAID, as a preview of my month of #WomensHistoryReads interviews. Marie and I are both published by Sourcebooks and love to explore untold stories -- especially about women who struggled in the past with the issues women still struggle with today. So here's my interview with Marie! 

Greer: Tell us about a woman (or group of women) from the past who has inspired your writing.

Marie: While there are countless historical women who motivate me and shape my understanding of the past, those who have inspired me most are my own ancestors, particularly those described in tales by my great-grandmothers and great-aunts. They told me about my strong-willed immigrant ancestors who arrived in this country with nothing but their will to succeed and pushed my family to make the ascent from uneducated immigrants to Ivy League professionals — step by step, of course. Those women influenced the character who would become Clara Kelly in CARNEGIE’S MAID, the story of a bright, but uneducated Irish immigrant who becomes Margaret Carnegie’s lady’s maid and goes on to influence Andrew Carnegie’s transformation from ruthless businessman to the world’s first philanthropist and creator of the free libraries. And I feel them pushing me along every single day.

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Greer: How would you describe what you write?

Marie: I endeavor to excavate from the past stories about remarkable women, whose contributions are relatively unknown and whose tales have both historic and modern significance — in an effort to ensure that the negative preconceptions our society might still hold about women’s abilities are changed.

Greer: What’s the last book that blew you away?

Marie: There are so many books that regularly blow me away!  If pressed on the best, very recent reads (I read several books every week), I would have to list:

1.       Ya’a Gyaasi’s Homegoing

2.      Lily King’s Euphoria

3.      Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace (a re-read, but recent)

Greer: If you could pick one woman from history to put in every high school history textbook, who would it be?

Marie: This might be a cheat, but honestly, I could never, ever pick just one. I’d want to insert into each segment of the traditional, high school history curriculum at least one woman (loads more, if I had my way!)— so students can understand that women have played an integral part in each era and that their contributions reverberate to this day.

Greer: What’s your next book about and when will we see it?

Marie: My next book after CARNEGIE’S MAID is a novel entitled THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM, which releases next January.  Set in 1930s Austria, it is a story of a young Jewish women who marries the country’s richest man, a munitions manufacturer who ends up supplying weaponry to Mussolini and Hitler in deals struck over their dinner table. When my character learns not only the Third Reich’s military strategy but the horrific plans for the Jewish people, she escapes to London, where she’s swept up in a wave of Jewish actors, writers and directors heading for Hollywood. Very quickly she becomes an actress, but she suffers from intense survivor’s guilt as the plans she overheard begin to manifest — and the only person she saved is herself. As her means of recompense, she utilizes the secret military information she learned at her ex-husband’s dinner table to develop an incredibly effective weaponry system which she delivers to the Navy for its use in the war. But because she’s a beautiful woman, they reject her invention — a communication system we use everyday in our cell phones — and relegate her to selling war bonds. It is the story of Hedy Lamarr.

Greer: Do you consider yourself a historian?

Marie: If a historian is defined as someone who’s a student of history, absolutely! Since I was a child, I’ve been enamored of dipping into the past, and as I got older, I even fancied that I might become a professor or an archaeologist, in constant study of historical times. But, after a long detour as lawyer, I am incredibly fortunate to spend my days in the company of historical women who led important lives, exploring and learning about the world which they inhabited. What could be better?!

Greer: Who are some of your favorite authors working today?

Marie: Well, I love a fabulous author by the name of Greer Macallister!  [Ed. note: Aw, shucks!] Aside from her, there are so many writers creating important stories about women, both historical and modern day, that I couldn’t begin to list them all — I’d be afraid that I left a critical contributor out!  On another note, I’ve recently discovered (late to the party, I know!) Louise Penny, who I’m thoroughly enjoying.

Greer: What do you find most challenging or most exciting about researching historical women?

Marie: Well, I always wanted a time machine as a kid (still do), and the closest I’ll ever come is the rabbit hole of historical research that I do with my novels — so that’s definitely the most exciting part of the process. The most challenging aspect of researching these historical women is making certain that I don’t examine their world and lives and choices with a modern day lens. I have to remind myself to view them with a lens forged in their own times.

Greer: What book, movie or TV show would your readers probably be surprised to find out you love?

Marie: While I adore historical programs, of course — most recently, Alias Grace, and "The Crown"  — I’m also an ardent fan of fantasy, suspense, and a sprinkle of science fiction. Currently, I am loving "Stranger Things", "Game of Thrones", "An Honorable Woman", and "Top of the Lake."

 

 

happy February (and almost March!)

Hello! Been quiet around here lately, but it's about to get noisier.

I'm SO excited to share with you a big #WomensHistoryReads project I've been working on for a while now. I'll be interviewing women who write riveting books about women from the past who inspire and amaze us.

That'll start on March 1. But stay tuned... I'll have an interview to whet your appetite coming much sooner than that...

have you watched Alias Grace yet?

Margaret Atwood is my favorite writer, and ALIAS GRACE is one of my very favorite books of hers. So, naturally, I was incredibly excited to see the TV adaptation hit screens.

What did I think of it? I wrote a review for Chicago Review of Books.

(Spoilers abound in the review, but here's the short version: loved it, yes, you absolutely should watch it as soon as possible, especially if you've read the book. Not always the case with adaptations!)

a little something about Alias Grace

I'm a huge fan of Margaret Atwood in general, and specifically her book Alias Grace, inspired by the did-she-or-didn't-she true story of 19th-century convicted Canadian murderess Grace Marks. (Readers of The Magician's Lie will note some serious similarities!)

I wrote a little something for the Chicago Review of Books about what I hoped to see in the new Netflix version of Atwood's story. It's a great preview if you haven't seen the series yet, especially if you enjoyed the Hulu version of "The Handmaid's Tale."

Click for Grace.