A Benefit to Blogging and How a Book is Born

Last week my friend and fellow NC blogger, Joan Edwards, interviewed me on her blog. She asked questions about writing Half-Truths including how my blog has helped me develop my writing skills. This is what told her:

My blog has helped me in two ways. I read and reviewed lots of mentor texts. Each review has taught me to analyze what makes a novel stand out. I also was able to journal my progress with Half-Truths including reviewing books about the Black experience. The books were crucial to making Half-Truths authentic and the online journal helped me answer your questions!

Yesterday as I was working on my next book, Unbroken Heat (working title) I thought how keeping track of my progress with Half-Truths was helpful to me as well as to anyone who wanted to know the book's backstory. So, here I am with this week's blog post, to tell you about Unbroken and my love for glass.

Over 25 years ago I walked into a glass bead shop and I was hooked. I couldn't believe the intricate, gorgeous beads were glass! I told the owner I wanted to write about her and she replied, "Don't write about me. I'm going to introduce you to people who are bigger than me--you're going to meet some North Carolina glass artists."

As a result of her introductions, I watched hot, molten glass transform into works of art and wrote several articles. I won two awards from Highlights Magazine for my article, "Paul Stankard's Paperweight Magic;" and signed a contract for Discover Glass about the history, art, and science of glass. I thought I was set to become the expert on glass for kids. But the publisher went belly-up and I was left with boxes full of drafts, research notes, and photographs. 

Soon after that, I started Half-Truths. I promised myself that any book I wrote going forward would include glass. I couldn't waste all my research! So, when I created my protagonist's backstory,  her grandfather's (Andrew Dinsmore) history included working in a glass factory when he was a boy.

Meanwhile, somewhere along the line, I purchased KIDS AT WORK: LEWIS HINE AND THE CRUSADE AGAINST CHILD LABOR.

Pictures like these caught my attention:

https://www.loc.gov/resource/nclc.01154/

https://www.loc.gov/item/2018676573/

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lewis_Hine,_Glass_works,_midnight,_Indiana,_1908.jpg

Who were these boys? How did they end up working in glass factories as young as 10 years old? What were their stories? Those images and questions stuck with me. 

I started researching. I thought I wanted to write about child labor in the glass industry, but as Harold Underdown reminded me when I began Half-Truths, that was only the setting. That wasn't the story itself. 

I started studying a book that Paul Stankard gave me years ago, 

and I watched YouTube videos that Wheaton Arts produced. 

I knew this was Andrew Dinsmore's story and that he had to go to work as a young teen--but I didn't know much else. Slowly, Andrew's life in a New Jersey glass factory in 1893 is getting fleshed out. I'm discovering what he wants and who or what will keep him from his goals. 

As I read about New Jersey's glass industry, I realized that besides the failed attempt at producing glassware in Jamestown, Va., the first successful glass factories were in colonial New Jersey.  Suddenly I had another story besides Andrew's--I had the story of a young indentured servant from England who landed in Philadelphia and must work off his debt in a glass factory in South Jersey. 

I had just finished reading The Blackbird Girls and was intrigued by Anne Blankman's use of two different timelines and multiple points of view. Could I do that with Unbroken? If so, what was the other timeline and how could I connect the two stories? Here's the pitch I came up with:

At the turn of the 20^th century, a young factory worker is surrounded by deafening noise, blisteringly hot glass, and mind-numbing exhaustion. There is no end in sight until he finds mysterious notes from a boy who lived this life 100 years earlier.  

And now, I can begin a new page on my blog. And when Joan Edwards interviews me about Out of the Flame--I'll know exactly how it all began. 

                                                    ****

Please go to Greg Pattridge's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday blog for more middle-grade book reviews and news.

 

THE BLACKBIRD GIRLS by Anne Blankman: A MG Review and Giveaway

 We all have them. Books that stick in our heads after we've read the last page. Maybe it's the characters, the world-building, the settings, or the amazing way the author weaves together the plot. For me, it's all of those plus a story that touches my heart. This, my friends, is my latest favorite read:

Published in 2020 by Penguin Random House, it was off my radar. I've enjoyed Anne's books before so when I thought about connecting with other historical fiction novelists, I looked her up. In 2014 I wanted to give five stars to her debut novel, Prisoner of Night and Fog , and feel the same way about The Blackbird Girls (this link goes to a great interview with Anne). By the way, Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke (Harper Collins, 2015) was also excellent even though I didn't review it on my blog.

REVIEW

Like another historical fiction novel that I admire, REFUGEE by Alan Gratz, The Blackbird Girls has three viewpoints and several different timelines. Anne and Alan both deftly weave together story elements so that the reader is left with the sense of, "Wow--I didn't see that coming!"

The Blackbird Girls opens with the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 in Ukraine. Each of the two main protagonists, Valentina and Oksana,  have fathers who work at the nuclear power plant. Valentina is Jewish and is the victim of much anti-semitism, including taunting from her schoolmate, Oksana. Valentina's family is very afraid of expressing themselves as Jews due to government persecution and don't practice their religion. Oksana's head is full of anti-semitic propaganda she has heard from her father. As the story progresses the reader discovers that her father has poisoned her in other ways too. 

The two families live in the same apartment building but don't have much to do with each other. Although early on it is evident that the girls are enemies and the reader guesses that they will become friends (the beautiful cover shows that), it is not an easy path. Both girls are victims of prejudice and abuse and both have huge walls of distrust towards the other. 

Both of their fathers fall victim to radioactive poisoning after the meltdown in the plant, and their mothers have to quickly figure out how to help their daughters get away from the city. Valentina's mother has an escape route planned for Valentina and when Oksana's mother abandons her, she takes Oksana with them to Leningrad. She wires the only one who she thinks can offer them refuge--her mother who she hasn't seen for years.

Meanwhile, readers meet a third girl, Rifka, who lives in the Soviet Union in 1941. Her story unfolds at the same time as Valentina's and Oksana's. Rifka's mother makes her leave home to protect her from the invading Germans. She battles freezing temperatures and nearly dies before she finds shelter with a family who takes her in.

At this point in reading the book, I thought I understood the connection between the stories: two mothers who made difficult choices for their daughters' survival. 

But I was wrong. Anne Blankman indicates in the acknowledgments that the novel is based on a friend's true story about Chernobyl. She wrote to me about the true elements in the book:

When I was in ninth grade, I met a new classmate who has since become a lifelong friend. Victoria had recently emigrated from Ukraine to my small hometown in upstate New York, and as we became closer, she confided in me that she had survived Chernobyl, the massive nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union in 1986. To keep her safe, her parents made the heartbreaking decision to send their then-six-year-old daughter hundreds of miles away to live with distant relatives in Uzbekistan. 

The reason Victoria had family living so far away? Forty-five years earlier, her hosts had fled from the invading German army with scores of other Ukrainian Jews. They had ended up in Uzbekistan. These two journeys--one to run from enemy soldiers, the other to escape nuclear fallout--haunted me, and they became the inspiration for The Blackbird Girls. But I was afraid the multiple perspectives and separate timelines would prove too complicated and cumbersome for my readers, and I wrote the first draft from only Valentina's point of view. My editor encouraged me to explore Oksana and Rifka's perspectives and to flesh out the 1941 storyline. 

One of my favorite parts of the book is when the girls break through and become friends. They are attending their new school in Leningrad and on the first day, a boy teases Valentina for being Jewish and tells her to go back to Jerusalem and that no one wants her there.

In a surprise move, Oksana intervenes:

     Oksana stood up. "Nobody wants you here. Why don't you shut your mouth?"

     The boy's eyes narrowed. "What did you say to me?"

     A hush fell over the schoolyard. Children stopped playing to stare at Oksana.

     "You heard me." Oksana fisted her hands on her hips. "Leave Valentina alone."

      Valentina couldn't believe her ears. She stayed crouched on the ground, unable to move.

      "I know who you are," the boy said. "You're one of the Chernobylites. My father says you're all contaminated and you'll turn into rabid dogs."

      Oksana shoved her face into the boy's. "He's right. I think I'll take a bite out of you." She clicked her jaws, and the boy jumped back. She shouted, "You'd better run away! Next time I might bite your face!"

.....

      Oksana's face was red. She put her hands to her cheeks. "I can't believe I did that," she whispered.

       Valentina couldn't believe it, either. This couldn't be the same girl who had mocked her at their old school. 

.....

       Slowly, Valentina took the hand Oksana offered. She stood up. She knew she let go of Oksana's hand, but for some reason she didn't.... and while they played big bear's den they held hands the whole time, even though they weren't supposed to. (p. 144-5)

                           

                                             *****

This book is about events that happened forty and eighty years ago--but are as timely today with today's conflicts in Israel and Ukraine. I highly recommend it for use in middle-school classrooms and homeschool curriculums.

GIVEAWAY

Penguin Random House is offering to provide a copy of this book to one fortunate reader. Leave me a comment by January 17 and I'll enter your name. If you share this on social media or are a librarian or educator, I'll enter your name twice. Make sure you leave me your email address in the comment if you are new to my blog. U. S. addresses only. 

Join me and other bloggers on Greg Pattridge's MMGM site on Monday. 

Congratulations:

Kim Aker, a school librarian in Bland, Va won I'M TRYING TO LOVE GERMS.

Who said Middle-Grade books were only for kids?

Uncle Bob's new favorite middle-grade book.
He lived through this history.

An Interview with Anne Blankman + A Second Giveaway of Prisoner Of Night and Fog

As promised, here is a behind-the-scenes conversation with Anne Blankman, including advice to new novelists and a second chance to win the ARC of Prisoner of Night and Fog. Congratulations to Leanne Ross, who won last week's giveaway through Talking Story.

Carol: Your characters are so deep and were very real to me as I read your book. What helped you in the process of character development? 

Anne: Thanks! My process was very different from that of many fiction writers--the majority of my characters were real people, so I did a huge amount of research rather than a ton of brainstorming. I read everything I could get my hands on--biographies, memoirs, psychological profiles, you name it. I studied Hitler's autobiography, Mein Kampf, and his early speeches. Understanding his thoughts and his methods for presenting them was vital. Primary sources, such as old maps and photographs, helped me envision the setting. I also watched Nazi-era propaganda films, such as "Triumph of the Will."

Hitler was the hardest character for me to write. It would have been very easy to turn him into a caricature--a one-dimensional villain, gloating malevolently and rubbing his hands with glee. I felt a tremendous responsibility to present him as accurately as possible, not only because he was a real person but out of respect for his millions of victims.  

The more I learned about him, though, the more I realized how complicated and multi-faceted he was. In fact, the major Hitler biographers present different versions of him. According to some, he was a misguided monster who truly believed genocide was the best solution to solve the world's problems; in others' opinions, he was a fraud who didn't even hate the Jews but used anti-Semitic rhetoric as a platform to launch him into power. I knew if I wanted to flesh out Hitler into a fully realized character, I needed to draw my own conclusions about him. I read the biographies by Ian Kershaw, Alan Bullock, John Toland, Joachim Fest, and Hugh Trevor-Roper and other important works such as EXPLAINING HITLER by Ron Rosenbaum and what many consider to be the definitive book on Hitler's psychology, HITLER: DIAGNOSIS OFA DESTRUCTIVE PROPHET by Fritz Redlich.

Carol: I was impressed with how you wove your backstory in, even as the story pushed forward. I think that is a problem many new novelists have. Was that challenging to do? How did you know where to begin the book?

Anne: At first, I didn't know where to start the book! As writers, we always hear that old chestnut about starting in the middle of the action, so that's what I did--originally, the story opens when Gretchen is waiting to meet with a mysterious Jewish reporter who claims to have information about her father's death. Perfect, I thought. An exciting and intriguing opening scene--what's not to love?

The answer is, a lot! :) Happily for me, that original version snagged both my dream agent and a fabulous three-book deal. When I got my first edits, though, I realized how many problems there were in my opening scene. My editor explained, in her very sweet, tactful way, that starting the story after Gretchen has already begun questioning the Nazi Party felt like a missed opportunity. She suggested starting the story a little earlier so readers could get a sense of where Gretchen's coming from--what her beliefs are, what her daily life is like.

It's tempting to start your story with your character's major problem, but ultimately that doesn't allow your readers to connect with your protagonist--they're too busy trying to catch up with the plot! Rather than beginning with your story's big obstacle, I suggest starting with something smaller--an inciting event that leads to the big obstacle.  

Carol: I’d love to more about the process of “assembling” this book. What was the genesis of the novel as well as some of the different stages in your thought process as you wove it together? How many drafts? What changes did you make in those drafts? What input did Tracey or your editor have in shaping the book?

Anne: The idea to this story came to me a couple of years ago. I'd just had a baby and I knew I was going to be home a lot and I'd better start reading quality non-fiction so my brain didn't dissolve into sleep-deprived mush. I'd been fascinated by World War Two for years, so I picked up a book on Hitler and his beloved half-niece, Geli, by Ronald Hayman. After I finished reading it, I couldn't get Geli out of my head. What had her life been like, sharing Hitler's luxurious Munich apartment while he campaigned for the presidency? How had he treated her? What had she really believed?

The lure of writing about a girl ensconced in the Nazis' hyper-masculine, violent world was irresistible. I needed the freedom of having a fictional main character, though, so Gretchen Müller was born. But how, I wondered, can Gretchen figure out what the Nazis really stand for? How can she break free? Once I had my answers, I started writing.

I have no idea how many drafts I've written in total--they've blurred together, partly because I was a walking zombie new mom! I do remember that the first draft was 200 pages long. Seriously. All I did was get the story--the basic mechanics of the plot--on paper.

Tracey Adams (who I met at at the mid-Atlantic SCBWI conference) loved the manuscript--I think she suggested one word change and then sent it on sub about three days after I signed with her--but my editor, Kristin Daly Rens, had lots of ideas. She's one of those wonderful editors who asks you questions that help you think about your story in new ways. She's a careful reader and constantly pushes me to dig deeper into the story and the characters. I'm incredibly fortunate to get to work with her.

Carol: I can picture this as a movie. Is there any talk of this, or is that too soon? 

Anne: I'd love to see PRISONER made into a movie. Fingers crossed!

Carol: What's next?

Anne: I'm working on the sequel. Gretchen and Daniel are the main characters again, and it takes place right after Hitler's appointment to the chancellorship. Once again, it's full of murder, intrigue, romance and danger. I'm not allowed to tell more, not even the title! :) Ooh, I can give one hint though--readers should pay close attention to everything Hitler says to Gretchen in the first book. His advice becomes vitally important to her survival. 

***********

Thank you Anne for sharing all of this backstory with my readers. Prisoner of Night and Fog  (Harper Collins) will be available in April but it can be pre-ordered here. For a chance to win the ARC, just follow these rules:

1. Leave me a comment by January 25, with your email address if you are new to this blog. 

2. For an additional chance to win a copy, share this blog post on your favorite social media site. Let me know what you did.

3. If you are a new follower of my blog, I'll enter your name twice. 
4. If you are a new follower and post to social media, your name goes in THREE times!

Prisoner of Night and Fog--and a GIVEAWAY!

If Goodreads allowed more than 5 stars for a review I’d give Anne Blankman's debut novel, Prisoner of Night and Fog, a 6. 

Or maybe a 7.

It’s that good.

Blankman’s historical novel has it all: the underpinnings of extensive research, romance, mystery, beautiful language, rich characters, fast-pace and heart-pounding suspense, a terrific title and above all else—a great story.

Can you tell I loved this book?

Set in Munich, Germany in the early 1930's, this fictionalized account of the unlikely romance between Gretchen Muller, Adolf Hitler’s “pet” niece and Daniel Cohen, a handsome Jewish reporter, is a page-turner that will keep you awake at night.

Out of nowhere, Daniel interrupts Gretchen’s  “normal” with the information that her father’s death was not as a martyr as the Nazis have portrayed it. It was murder. When Gretchen sets out on a dangerous journey to discover the truth, her innocent reverence for Hitler (Uncle Dolf) is ripped away and she begins to see the evil underbelly of his schemes.

I don’t want to spoil this book for you so I’ll just share two favorite passages, from among many.

One of Gretchen's antagonists is her brother, Reinhard, who has mistreated her since childhood. When Gretchen discovers that her mother refuses to support her dream to attend a university and study to become a doctor in lieu of supporting Reinhard, she thinks:

"...The decision had been made. Reinhard had gotten his way, as he always did; they were forced to circle around him like dying planets, and he the sun whose magnetic pull directed their rotation  was the glowing orb that might blaze into uncontrollable brightness at any moment." (p. 79)

When Daniel confronts her naivety about not seeing how Hitler planned to exterminate the Jews she remembers, 

"Uncle Dolf had promised their enemies would vanish into the night and fog. Just as in Goethe's famous poem Der Erlkonig, 'The Alder King.'

"She had recited the poem to Uncle Dolf as they sat in the parlor together last year, sipping apple-peel tea while the old ladies knitted, and he had smiled, for he loved the tale about the super-natural being  who attacked a boy held in his father's arms as they rode on horseback through the night-darkened countryside.

    'My son, why do you hide your face so anxiously?'

    'Father, do you not see the Alder king?

     The Alder King with crown and train'

    'My son, it's a wisp of fog.'" (pp. 179-80)

Joyce Hostetter and I are giving away an ARC of Prisoner of Night and Fog in this issue of Talking Story. Click on the link and you’ll find directions (under "Giveaways") for how to enter.  While you’re there, take a look around at the other resources we offer on the topic of Children and War.

Next week Anne will share some of her secrets of how she wove together Prisoner of Night and Fog.  I'll be giving away a second ARC courtesy of Tracey Adams at Adams Literary.

Just in case you need additional incentive to pre-order a book which I am convinced will be an award winner this year, here is the trailer: