Obsessed by a Promise: A Review, Author Interview, and Autographed Giveaway

I blogged about the Orphan Train at the time that I reviewed Rory's Promise. When Sandra Warren told me about her new book, I was intrigued to find another book on the subject, this time from the perspective of an adult. 

REVIEW

In this multi-point-of-view "rags to riches" story, the reader meets a young boy, nicknamed Blue, who in 1929 is left in charge of his younger brother, Bo. Blue is devastated when they are separated and he promises that he'll find Bo. This obsession drives Blue (who later goes by his initials, JT) for fifty years. 

Living on the streets of New York City, JT gets a lucky break and is taken in by a storekeeper, Mr. O. The kindly man realizes that JT is smart and responsible and gradually gives him more and more responsibility. At the height of the depression a rich man, Mr. Trasinski, comes to the store wanting to sell apples. JT makes a deal with him that saves Mr. Trasinski and his family--something Mr. Trasinski never forgets.

Fast forward two decades, and JT is like Mr. Trasinski's son, working hard for his land development company.  Although JT marries Mr. Trasinski's beautiful daughter, Adrianna, his marriage and the subsequent birth of their son, Jake, is marred by JT's incessant search for Bo. Even his business trips become excuses to find his brother. When he realizes that Bo was taken west on the Orphan Train, JT hopes his search is almost over.  It's not until JT risks losing Jake that he realizes the mistakes he made always putting Bo, his "phantom brother" before the people he truly loved. 

Two unexpected twists at the end bring the story to a satisfactory close. This well-researched family saga is full of love, the price of success, grief, and regret. 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

CAROL: What drew you to the story of the Orphan Train?

SANDRA:  The idea that children, most homeless but not all, could be taken from the streets, put on trains and shipped across country, lined up on a stage and given away, auction style, to couples who asked for them, surprised and horrified me. Even though the concept was developed with good intentions, all I could think of were the pitfalls. When I learned siblings were often separated, the story of Blue and Bo began to unfold. 

CAROL: How did you research and for how long? 

SANDRA: My introduction to the Orphan Train was back in the late 1990’s. The Internet was in its infant stage of development when I began writing the screenplay so I had to rely on the resources listed in a book I found. My research revolved around the basic facts and a few personal accounts as well as information about the era between 1929 and 1979. Twenty-two years later, when the novel finally came together, the Internet was immensely helpful in fine tuning time and place aspects of the story. 

      CAROL: Why did you choose different POV? 

SANDRA: The story was first written and optioned as a screenplay. Having developed it as such, each character had motivations, flaws, and purpose. It seemed a natural progression to write the novel from different points of view. For me, it was the easiest way to weave the basic facts into the story, allowing each character’s side of the issue to come forward. 

CAROL: What were your challenges writing in this manner?

SANDRA: Each character had to appear and behave in a manner different from the others, yet consistent with their role in the story. Having it first written as a screenplay helped tremendously. 

CAROL: Who is your readership? 

SANDRA: The screenplay was written with adults in mind. However, I’ve had two agents tell me it fit the young adult (YA) genre and what is now called a crossover book. 

CAROL: As a self-published author, how are you marketing the book?

      SANDRA: The trick is to be creative in getting the word out.        

1. Social Media; Amazon, Facebook, Pinterest, my website, podcasts, radio interviews, etc.
2. Collaboration with other authors.
3. Personal appearances: exhibits, holiday markets, artists galleries, bookstores, festivals. I use personal appearances to get the word out about my presentations. 
4. Presentations: schools and local organizations such as Rotary, Kiwanis, Historical Societies, Veterans groups, Newcomers, festivals, church groups, etc. 
5. Offering workshops and classes. 
6. Revising the screenplay and pursue options again. Obviously, selling the screenplay will lead to many book sales. 

ONE LAST WORD FROM SANDRA: Writing Obsessed By A Promise made my respect for novelists grow immensely. Previously, the longest books I’d written were non-fiction and military memoirs where I gathered the facts and make them readable. It was super challenging to have to create the scene, give it a sense of time and place without appearing to do so, as well as develop characters that can tell the story I wanted told.  

GIVEAWAY 

Sandra is giving away an autographed copy of Obsessed By A Promise to one fortunate reader. It would make a great holiday gift for the history lover reader on your list. Leave me a comment by December 5 for a chance to win. Double your chances by sharing this post on social media or following my blog. Make sure you leave me your email address and let me know what you did. Continental United States only. 

Rory's Promise: A Review and a Giveaway

Rory is a 12-year-old street smart orphan who keeps her promises.

First, she is determined to keep her promise to her dying mother that she’ll take care of her younger sister, Violet.

Second, she will absolutely not break her promise to five-year-old Violet: Nothing will ever, ever separate them.

It’s just that keeping these promises proves to be a lot more difficult than even spunky, Irish Rory Fitzpatrick ever imagined.

 

From http://christinabakerkline.com/blog/my-next-novel/

Co-authors, Michaela MacColl and Rosemary Nichols use the facts of the Orphan Trains in this fictionalized account starring Rory as the sharp-witted, courageous heroine.  Between 1853 and 1929 250,000 orphaned, abandoned, or homeless children were put on trains and brought out west. The Children’s Aid Society of New York sponsored many of them. At times, the families used the children for underage labor; this was before there were child labor and foster care laws. On the other hand, The Foundling, a Catholic  organization, took great care to place the orphans in their care in “good, Catholic families.”  

http://www.chsfs.org/blog/evolution-orphan-train-new-practices-and-waiting-children

Although Rory herself is a fictional character, many of the other characters in the book are real: Sister Anna, the nun in charge of placing the children; George Swayne, the agent who worked with The Foundling; Father Constant Mandlin a young French priest who couldn't communicate well with his parishioners  as well as the white women who were furious when Mexican working-class families received children and they didn’t.

http://www.neh.gov/humanities/2007/novemberdecember/feature/lost-children-riders-the-orphan-train

But I am getting ahead of the story.

Rory’s goal to make sure she and Violet stay together drives this story forward. As far as she’s concerned, not even plans to take Vi out west to the Arizona territory will stop her. Although she successfully sneaks on board the orphan’s train, her journey is not without moments of doubt.  Families who couldn’t have children of their own wanted cute little 5-year-olds—but would anyone want her sister also?

But the more happy families she saw, the more she wondered if Vi had a future that might not include Rory. If Vi had a chance for parents and a home, could Rory stand in the way of that?  p. 144

After a stressful journey, when the train finally arrives in Clifton, Arizona Territory everyone is shocked.  First, the stench of sulfur and a building belching dark smoke greet them. Rory soon learns that the town revolves around mining copper. In the small station, a mob of loud, white women pound on the train’s windows.  Later Rory is told,

"This place is bad for making babies. The air is thick with fumes and the water is full of metals from the mines. Nothing grows here. No trees. No babies.”  (pp.171-2)

A new conflict—one based on history—enfolds. The Protestant women believe they have a right to the children since they are the same race and skin color. But the children have been promised to the Mexicans so they can be raised in “good, Catholic homes.”

The white women are demanding and ugly. Rory is actually relieved when Violet and a little boy, William, are assigned to two kind Mexicans, Elena and Ramon Martinez. But her relief that Violet has found a family is tempered by her anguish of wanting to stay with her sister. Can she find a way to convince the Martinez family to adopt her also?

 

Downtown Clifton, circa 1915
http://visitcliftonaz.com/rich-history/

Rory’s concept of family--people who look alike--is challenged and her courage and loyalty are severely tested.  She needs every ounce of her abilities to think quickly and to act fast to help the orphans and to keep her promises.

At the risk of including a spoiler, I must share one of my favorite parts of this book.  At the end, when she tells Violet about the Martinez’s plan to take them both to Mexico Rory says,

"We’ll never see the Foundling again—or Sister Anna or the other kids,” she warned. “We’ll have to learn a new language too, Vi. And there won’t be any American kids to play with. We’ll always be different."

“Special?” Vi asked, her blue eyes shining with pleasure. 

“”I guess so,” Rory said ruefully.  (p. 250)

Leave it to a five-year-old to have a different perspective on what their new life will be!

Thanks to the generosity of Boyds Mills Press, I’m giving away a copy of this middle-grade novel for girls.  It documents a little-known period in American history, when Mexican families fought for the right to adopt white children. Also useful as a classroom book, Rory’s Promise will spark some interesting discussions about diversity.  If you are interested in adding this book to your library or donating it to a classroom, please leave a comment by Thursday, June 4. If you are new to my blog, please leave your email address also.