tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52388132264685555182024-03-13T01:12:00.903+01:00My Thoughts About Literary ArtsAbout literature, books, sometimes history & moviesARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03400648375624909624noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-6462091834910626362019-12-16T13:33:00.000+01:002019-12-16T13:35:13.899+01:00When I am writing, I try not to think of anything else except for the characters ...<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<b style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">INTERVIEW WITH LUCINDA RILEY</span></b></div>
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<b style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;">BY AGNES A. ROSE</b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><b>Lucinda Riley was born in Ireland and she lived for the first six years
of her life in a tiny village called Drumbeg. Lucinda and her family moved
across to England where she started school. Being a child, if she wasn’t
reading and writing stories or at ballet lessons, she was dressing up in her
mother’s old ball gowns the moment she came home from school and becoming a
princess, with a storyline that could last for weeks. When she was nine years
old, she played a child murderess in “The Bad Seed”. At fourteen, she went to
London to full-time dance and drama school. At sixteen, she got a leading role
in the BBC television series called “The Story of the Treasure Seekers”. </b></span><span style="background: white;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><b>And for the next seven years, she acted professionally
in theatre and TV. She also got married to an actor. At twenty-three, she fell
ill. Then she turned to her imagination to help her through and while in bed,
she wrote her first book, “Lovers and Players”. One of her friends read it and
passed it onto an agent. Finally, she was offered a three-book contract. So far
she has written many books but the most popular seems to be “The Seven Sisters
Series”. A few weeks ago “The Butterfly Room” was released in Poland. </b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">Agnes Anne Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">
<b><i>Thank
you so much that you accepted my invitation to take part in this interview. I
am very honored that I can host you here and talk to you. As most of authors
you also started writing stories when you were a child. Could you tell us
something more about it? </i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">Lucinda Riley:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;">Writing has always been a passion of mine
since I was a small child — I was always making up stories, and when I later
worked as an actress, I would re-write my character’s plot in my head. However,
I didn’t start writing in earnest until I was 22.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>© Roni Rekomaa</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">As I mentioned above, “The Seven Sisters Series” seems
to be the most popular of all your books. </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;">How did you come up with the idea for this series? </span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">LR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> In January 2013, I was
searching for my next story but wanted to find an overarching angle to add
another element to my past/present writing, something that would challenge and
excite me – and my readers. I had always watched the stars – especially the
Seven Sisters in the belt of Orion, and on that frosty night in North Norfolk,
I looked up to the heavens, and, thinking also of our own children, came up
with the idea for a seven book series based allegorically on the legends of the
Seven Sisters constellation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>Which part of the above novel series did you
write the easiest and which one was the most difficult to write? </i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">LR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> The easiest book in the series was the first – Maia’s
story. The most challenging has been the most recent one, ‘The Sun Sister’,
Electra’s story. With each book, the series gets more complex, not only in
terms of the themes and the historical content, but also in terms of the plot
itself – there are so many strands that I have to mentally keep hold of, and
now at Book 6, the mysteries are all beginning to come to a conclusion…
although I can’t give any secrets away just yet. You’ll have to wait for Book
7!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>This is the Polish edition of </b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><i>The Girl on the Cliff</i><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Published by ALBATROS<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Translated by Marzenna Rączkowska</b></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;">I have read most of your books published in Polish.
The first one was “The Girl on the Cliff”. What inspired you to write such a
moving story? </span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">LR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> My inspiration is always
sparked by an evocative location that begins the 'feeling'. I was born in Ireland
and lived in West Cork and loved its windswept rawness. Extreme locations are
always exciting to me because they are dramatic and of course, romantic. The
thought of a vulnerable child, barefoot and alone during the Atlantic storms
that used to break with such fury when I lived there with my own small
children, gave me the character of Aurora, the narrator of the book.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>Your next book that left the greatest
impression on me was “The Angel Tree”. I couldn’t stop thinking about it for a
very long time. In this book, you focus on very difficult relationships between
a mother and a daughter. Why did you decide to tell your readers this kind of
story and how much difficult it was for you to create Cheska? </i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #17365d; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">LR:</span></i></strong><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span></strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;">I met some fascinating characters during my time as a
young actress, on the London stage and in film and television. Actors, in
particular, tend to be a tortured bunch, with the ‘public’ face often very
different to the reality of the human being behind it. Unless of course, they
start to believe their own myth and the fantasy world they inhabit, as Cheska
does. When I met my husband Stephen some years after I wrote the book, I found
out that he had known someone very much like Cheska… I’d also experienced being
in the spotlight and have a number of close friends who are famous in their
field or married to someone who is, so I’ve learned first hand how fame can
affect people. The whole concept of fame terrifies me, so when I was writing
about Cheska and the extremes of her fame and lack of freedom, I put a lot of
my own fears into that. To be honest, I have no idea why anyone would go out of
their way to seek fame for its own sake like today’s reality TV stars seem to
do. I treasure and protect my private life and my family – they’re what keeps
me sane.<strong><span style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"></span></strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #17365d; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">AAR:</span></i></strong><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span></strong><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Your first book “Lovers and Players”
you wrote as Lucinda Edmonds. It tells about the lives and love of three young
women. What made you write your first book? Can your readers still buy it even
though it was published almost thirteen years ago? </span></i></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #17365d; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">LR:</span></i></strong><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span></strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;">I began to write ‘Lovers and Players’ at
22 when I became ill with glandular fever. As I was not able to work, the novel
was completed in one fell swoop and was mainly inspired by my experiences of
living in London and the people I had met. It’s currently out of print,
although I do have a copy of it on my shelf… perhaps one day I’ll take a look
at it again and re-write it.</span><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"></span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #17365d; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">AAR:</span></i></strong><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> Why did you stop writing books under
the name Lucinda Edmonds? </span></i></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #17365d; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">LR:</span></i></strong><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> I got married in 2000 and</span></strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> decided to focus completely on my family
of four children… although that didn’t stop me from simply writing for myself!
During that time, I wrote a few manuscripts, some of which eventually became
‘The Olive Tree’ and ‘The Butterfly Room’, and used my married name of Lucinda
Riley from that point.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>This is the Polish edition of </b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><i>The Butterfly Room</i><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Published by ALBATROS<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Translated by Anna Esden-Tempska</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #17365d; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">AAR:</span></i></strong><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> A few weeks ago</span></i></strong><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span></i></strong><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">“The
Butterfly Room” was released in Poland. I read on the Internet that some of
your readers even compare it with “The Forsythe Saga”. In their opinion, your
novel is <strong><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">layered, complex, fascinating and deeply satisfying. How do you
remember your work on this book?</span></strong></span></i></b><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span></i></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #17365d; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">LR: </span></i></strong><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">‘The Butterfly Room’ began its
life as a manuscript I wrote almost ten years ago called ‘Red Admiral’, which
is a type of butterfly. I decided to revisit it after finishing ‘The Moon
Sister’ in 2018. At first, I thought it would be a ‘light’ summer project –
something to take my mind off the more challenging Seven Sisters series.
However, as ‘The Butterfly Room’ developed, I found myself rewriting the entire
manuscript, adding and deleting characters and plotlines. Since writing the
initial manuscript, I realized I had grown a great deal as an author, and many
of the characters gained more depth and complexity.</span></strong></span></div>
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<strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #17365d; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></i></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #17365d; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">AAR:</span></i></strong><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span></strong><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">On the pages of some of your books,
you invite readers to visit some exotic countries. I mean “Hothouse Flower” or
“The Midnight Rose”. Could you tell us something about the research? Did you
visit Thailand and India? </span></i></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #17365d; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">LR:</span></i></strong><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> I travel to all the places that
I write about. In the case of ‘Orchid House’, we were actually living in
Thailand at the time – for a while, our family had a house on Koh Chang, the
island where a part of the book is set, and it is one of my favourite places in
the world. For ‘The Midnight Rose’ I travelled to India and</span></strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> visited the Moon Palace in Jaipur where
I’d imagined Anahita living. I also stayed at the amazing Rambagh Palace which
is now a hotel, still owned by the royal family of Jaipur and where they are
regularly seen playing polo. I also went to Mumbai, where Ari lives, Cooch
Behar up in the north and New Delhi. The architecture and landscapes in India
are truly breathtaking!</span><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"></span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #17365d; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">AAR:</span></i></strong><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span></strong><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">I know you have very close contact
with your readers living all over the world. How important for authors is to be
online? </span></i></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #17365d; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">LR:</span></i></strong><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span></strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;">The world is becoming more
technology-based year by year and I think it’s incredibly important to find
different ways of reaching your audience. Social media allows <i>direct</i> contact with readers all over the
world. When I was an author twenty years ago, there was no such thing as
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or even private websites, and I would do a lot of my
publicity in bookshops and during book tours. Today, however, my 2-minute
inspiration videos can reach readers all over the world, and the feedback I get
is amazing and is a constant inspiration to keep writing. I also did the first ever
live ‘Google Hangout’ Q & A in Brazil which was watched over 200,000 times.</span><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"></span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #17365d; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">AAR:</span></i></strong><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span></strong><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">What is the greatest challenge you
have faced in your career as an author?</span></i></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #17365d; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">LR:</span></i></strong><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span></strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;">In 1998 I moved publisher to Pan Macmillan
with a two-book deal and released ‘Seeing Double’ (now re-written and published
as ‘The Love Letter’), a book which involved a story about members of the
British royal family, in 1999. At the time Pan Macmillan was going through
‘restructuring’ and it was not a good time for them to publish anything. In
addition, many people felt that the story was not welcome by ‘the
Establishment’, and the book did well in Ireland, but all the orders were
cancelled in the UK. We will never know what really happened! </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: 1pt none windowtext; font-size: 12pt; padding: 0cm;"></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>This is the Polish edition of </b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><i>The Angel Tree</i><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Published by ALBATROS<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Translated by Jan Kabat</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>When you are writing in your study, do you
imagine what your very large audience will think about a character or an
incident?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">LR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> When I am writing, I try not to think of anything
else except for the characters and the setting – I can’t allow myself to be
swayed, or to feel pressured by the knowledge that millions of people will be
reading what I’m writing! The characters live in my head and tell their stories
through me, so dictating the first draft into my trusty Dictaphone is a very
private process.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>How long does it take you to complete a
book, from the time the idea for the book is conceived, to when you submit it
to your editor?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">LR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> I realised that from
conception to giving birth, all the books take nine months, just like a
pregnancy. Weird, but true. I start with the research process, which includes reading
all the books I can get my hands on and travelling around the location. Then I
dictate the first draft and pass it on to my editorial assistant to type up.
Once the first draft is complete, I begin the editing process, which is the
most intense part – I go over each sentence dozens of times, playing Rubik’s
Cube with the words to make sure everything is perfect. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>You’ve achieved so much as a writer and
career woman. Is there any goal you feel you have yet to attain?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">LR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> I absolutely love what I
do, and having had my time in the wilderness as a writer, I appreciate every single
moment of what’s happened now. I work 24/7 and gain enormous satisfaction from
putting the stories in my head on paper and seeing them published around the
world – even if I get rich I would still always write. Currently, all my
energies are devoted to the Seven Sisters series, but I already have a lot of
ideas in mind for future projects. My goal is simply to write until I drop!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>How can you be so productive with so many
outside and family obligations? How do you keep a balance between home and
work?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">LR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> I have to take myself off
for two or three weeks and live like a hermit, working eighteen hours a day
writing the first draft. Once this is finished and I’m onto the technical
editing stage rather than the ‘creative’ part, I’m able to work from home and
spend time with my family. However, like any working mother, I’m permanently
exhausted and perform the usual juggling act that any mother with kids and a
full-time job will recognize!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>You told me that you are working on the
seventh part of “The<span style="background: white;"> Seven Sisters Series”.
Could you tell us something more about it? What can your readers expect from
this book? </span></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">LR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;">I’m very secretive about the
future of the Seven Sisters series – readers write to me all the time asking to
have their theories about #whoispasalt and the ‘missing’ sister confirmed. All
I can say for now is that I have just begun the research process on Book 7 – in
fact, I have recently been on a journey, following in the footsteps of the
‘missing’ sister…</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>Lucinda,
thank you so much for this interesting and pleasant conversation. This is very
important to me because I know you are very busy at work, so thank you very
much once again. Is it anything you would like to tell your Polish readers? In
Poland, you have a lot of fans who always look forward to each of your next
books. </i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">LR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"> Thank you so much for all of your insightful
questions! And I’d like to say</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="background: white;">DZIĘKUJĘ CI to all of my Polish readers for your
support and kind words – I receive so many messages from Poland and they
motivate me a great deal in my writing. I’m wishing you all a peaceful winter
and a happy new year!</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>This is the Polish edition of <i>Seven Sisters series </i><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>(T<i>he Seven Sisters, The Storm Sister, The Shadow Sister, The Pearl
Sister</i> & <i>The Moon Sister</i>)<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Published by ALBATROS<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Translated by Marzenna Rączkowska &
Maria Pstrągowska <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="https://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2019/12/kiedy-pisze-staram-sie-nie-myslec-o.html">here</a>.</span></span></div>
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ARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03400648375624909624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-1607292406244144902019-12-02T13:32:00.000+01:002019-12-02T13:34:34.121+01:00I try to give my stories an uplifting feel by bringing God’s hope...<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN ANNE MASON</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">BY AGNES A. ROSE</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>Susan Anne Mason is a Canadian author who writes romance novels with a spiritual
leaning to them. Her objective is to create heartwarming stories about
forgiveness and redemption. She was always a reader and a writer and those two
activities were part of her life for as long as she can remember. She got her
start as a teenager. Although her first novel was rejected, the author did not
give up. Over thirty years later, she took up the craft again and finally got
published! Susan lives in a suburb near Toronto, where she works part-time as a
church secretary. She is a wife and the mother of two amazing kids, and a
member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of
America (RWA). In addition to writing, she likes to scrapbook and to research
her family history on-line. So far five of her books have been published in
Poland. These are THE COURAGE TO DREAM SERIES (IRISH MEADOWS, A WORTHY HEART and
LOVE’S FAITHFUL PROMISE), A MOST NOBLE HEIR and THE BEST OF INTENTIONS which is
the first part of THE CANADIAN CROSSINGS SERIES. </b></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">Agnes Anne
Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>Susan, I am very honored that you accepted
my invitation to take part in this interview and now I can talk to you. In
September your book THE BEST OF INTENTIONS was released in Poland. As I
mentioned above, this novel is the first part of THE CANADIAN CROSSINGS SERIES.
Could you tell us something more about the book and the whole series? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1sRZp_GttU/XeT7bwH0LZI/AAAAAAAAAtQ/f_taMj0JjIIHd6ymECxkJ7n9TMLs3WKSgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Susan%2Bsmall%2Bauthor%2Bphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1sRZp_GttU/XeT7bwH0LZI/AAAAAAAAAtQ/f_taMj0JjIIHd6ymECxkJ7n9TMLs3WKSgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Susan%2Bsmall%2Bauthor%2Bphoto.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">Susan Anne
Mason:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> Hi Agnes! It’s so nice to meet you. The Canadian
Crossing books came about because I wanted a series where the books weren’t so
tightly linked. I adored the Courage to Dream series, but I felt those books
needed to be read in order which is hard for some readers. So the Canadian
Crossings series is about three people who meet on a ship crossing from England
to Canada, and each book is one person’s story, not directly linked to the
other.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US">The Best of Intentions</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> is about Grace Abernathy who is
coming to find her widowed sister, Rose and her infant son. Grace plans to
convince Rose to come back to England with her, but everything changes when she
is met with tragic news, and she becomes determined to make sure her nephew,
Christian, is safe. Grace uses an assumed name to secure the positon of
Christian’s nanny and moves into the Easton estate. In the course of her new job,
she is shocked to find herself falling in love with Andrew Easton, the boy’s
guardian. Unfortunately,<span style="color: red;"> </span>Andrew is engaged to a
spoiled socialite who is sure to make a terrible stepmother for Christian. Grace
has to try her best to protect her nephew. . . and her heart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>THE COURAGE TO DREAM SERIES tells the story
of the Irish O’Leary family. Just like the above novel series, this one is also
included in historical fiction. What inspired you to write about people from
Ireland? Was it your Irish roots on both sides of your family tree?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> You’re right, Agnes! My Irish heritage was a big part
of wanting to write about an Irish family. In addition, I’ve always loved
family sagas. One series that I loved as a teen was THE THORNBIRDS, a novel
about an Irish family who move to Australia. It was a televised mini-series in
Canada, and every week I waited to find out what was happening with Meggie.
Some of the elements in that series inspired me for IRISH MEADOWS. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>Which of your Irish characters is closest to
you and why?<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:sm" datetime="2019-11-19T15:21">
</ins></span><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> My favorite character was Rylan Montgomery, but I
would say I felt closest to Brianna O’Leary. As a young woman, I was a lot like
her – quiet, intimidated by authority figures, and always wanting to please the
people around me. So Brianna’s journey to finding herself and finding the
ability to stand up for herself was one I could really relate to.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">I read on the Internet that it took you a decade
before you got published IRISH MEADOWS. Why? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> That’s a complicated question! I was starting writing
again for fun when my children were young, never really intending to get
published. It took over two years to write one book (which was terrible, by the
way). Then I discovered the Toronto Romance Writers, began to attend seminars,
and got immersed in the writing world. Before that, I had felt totally alone,
not knowing any other writers. I began to learn more about the craft of writing
until my work was good enough to win a writing contest and gain the attention
of a Bethany House editor who offered me a three book contract! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KMpCZ9usiG8/XeT76WbF-lI/AAAAAAAAAtY/iNUJto-WuM434aXxUMNMLjmCXyta_5dXgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Bez%25C2%25A0tytu%25C5%2582u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1098" height="326" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KMpCZ9usiG8/XeT76WbF-lI/AAAAAAAAAtY/iNUJto-WuM434aXxUMNMLjmCXyta_5dXgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Bez%25C2%25A0tytu%25C5%2582u.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>This is the Polish edition of THE COURAGE TO DREAM SERIES<br />Published by DREAMS<br />Translated by Anna Pliś</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>A few weeks ago I read A MOST NOBLE HEIR. I
was very impressed with this book. I think that this is the most beautiful book
combined Christian values and ordinary human life. What made you write this
novel? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> I actually got the idea while doing ancestor
research. I learned that my great-great grandfather worked as a groom in the
stables of a wealthy English family whose estate was called Stainsby House.
After a little more research, I found that he married one of the kitchen maids
from the estate and this got me imagining what their love story might have
looked like. I thought it would be fun to write a story where the characters
were married early in the book (instead of a romance where the couple doesn’t
get together until the end), but had to find a way to keep the conflict up
between the two. And what better way than to have the stable boy become the
heir!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>Why do you combine Christian values with the
plot of your stories?</i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U5Tw1w1Ya_E/XeT9BPv7BaI/AAAAAAAAAtk/xHS8nIb6FoE_h5W8_LIyGojm33OTQWBEACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/972a4c4bedb502b-spadkobierca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U5Tw1w1Ya_E/XeT9BPv7BaI/AAAAAAAAAtk/xHS8nIb6FoE_h5W8_LIyGojm33OTQWBEACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/972a4c4bedb502b-spadkobierca.jpg" width="272" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">This is the Polish edition of <br />A MOST NOBLE HEIR<br />Published by DREAMS<br />Translated by Elżbieta Zawadowska</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">I try to
give my stories an uplifting feel by bringing God’s hope and unconditional love
to the world. It’s wonderful when a reader sends me a message saying that my
words spoke to her and gave her hope about a situation in her life. I find that
very rewarding.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>As I mentioned above, your first novel that
you wrote as a teenager was rejected. Could you tell us what happened to this
book?</i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Nothing! It’s up on a high shelf in my closet with
that rejection letter! I started it when I was twelve and finished it when I
was about 15. It was really a big mess but a great learning experience!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>Where do you get your information or ideas
for your books?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Many times I get a kernel of an idea from either my
family’s lives or from a newspaper story and then build a plot around that. For
instance, in Book 2 of the Canadian Crossings, THE HIGHEST OF HOPES, the story
question came from my own grandmother who never knew her parents. Her mother
died in childbirth and she was told that her father died of a broken heart.
During my research, I discovered that he did not die, and in fact had remarried
and had another child. It made me wonder what my grandmother would have done if
she ever</span><span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">found out. Would she have gone back to
England to find her father and confront him or pretend he </span>didn't<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> exist? So I
had my character Emmaline do this when she finds out that her father, who she
thought was dead, is very much alive and living in Canada. Emmaline is a feisty
woman and of course she crosses the ocean to find him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>What was one of the most surprising things
you learned in creating your books?</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> How hard writing really is! And how much work goes
into editing and refining the story until it actually comes out in print. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>Do you hear from your readers much? What
kinds of things do they say?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> I don’t hear too often from my readers, but whenever
someone takes the time to contact me, I am very touched and make sure I respond
to their message. As I said before, the most satisfying thing is to receive a
note from someone who has really appreciated the positive message in my books.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>You have also written contemporary romances.
I mean THE RAINBOW FALLS SERIES and a book entitled HEALING THE WIDOWER’S
HEARTS. None of them has published in Poland yet. Could you tell us a little
more about these books? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> These books were published by a small press in the
States and I doubt they will be translated. But you never know. They are
centered around the residents of a small fictional town called Rainbow Falls in
North Dakota. The first heroine, Lily, is running from a troubled past. Her new
landlord Nick proves to be an honorable man, something Lily has never
experienced before. She has a hard time trusting him, but when she learns he is
thinking of becoming a minister, she knows she could never be good enough for
him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">HEALING THE WIDOWER’S HEART is a Harlequin book, about a widower and his
young son who can’t get past their grief and the young counsellor who helps
them heal. That was one of my favorites!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>I am very interested in your writing
process. Do you write more by logic or intuition, or some combination of the
two? Summarize your writing process, please.<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RWN7R3griB0/XeT9xZxwMhI/AAAAAAAAAtw/IoMaKafPByEnjtRxHMZwRf8qlcXBDzQ9wCEwYBhgL/s1600/najlepsze-checi-b-iext54942839.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="546" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RWN7R3griB0/XeT9xZxwMhI/AAAAAAAAAtw/IoMaKafPByEnjtRxHMZwRf8qlcXBDzQ9wCEwYBhgL/s400/najlepsze-checi-b-iext54942839.jpg" width="272" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is the Polish edition of<br />THE BEST OF INTENTIONS<br />Published by Dreams<br />Translated by Elżbieta Zawadowska</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> I would say it’s a combination of both. I have to
give my publishers an outline of each book before they offer me a contract. I
usually work with my critique partner and we brainstorm story ideas as to what
could happen in each book. When I have a rough outline of each story, I send it
to my publisher. However… once I start actually writing the story, it becomes
more of an intuition thing, and many times my characters refuse to cooperate
with my outline. Ha ha! The story usually ends up quite different than what I
started out with.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>What were your goals and intentions in your
books, and how well do you feel you achieved them? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> My goal was to bring uplifting stories to people to
give them hope for the future. And also to let them know that God loves them no
matter what. I also wanted to write wonderful love stories with happy endings!
Overall, I feel I have achieved this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Are there any stories about people you met while
researching your books? Could you share them?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> Most of my research is done on the internet and by
touring some cities for my book. I haven’t really met any people. Sorry!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>What is your next project? Are you working
on a new book?</i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> I am working on a new 3-book series which will be
titled REDEMPTION’S LIGHT. It is about a young woman in 1941 who wants to open
a maternity home for unwed mothers. The first book is called A HAVEN FOR HER
HEART and it should come out in the late fall of 2020. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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interesting conversation. Is there anything you would like to add or tell your
Polish readers? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; font-size: 12pt;">SAM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> Just that I am most grateful for the love and support
I have received from you! I appreciate you all!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If you want to read </span>this<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> interview in Polish, please click <a href="https://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2019/12/staram-sie-aby-moje-historie-podnosiy.html">here</a>. </span></span></span></div>
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ARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03400648375624909624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-27731112557629200102019-11-20T13:14:00.000+01:002019-11-20T13:15:39.039+01:00I’d always wanted to write a book set on the beautiful Oregon coast...<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>INTERVIEW WITH IRENE HANNON </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>BY AGNES A. ROSE</b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>Irene Hannon is a bestselling and award-winning author. She has written
more than fifty romantic suspense and contemporary romance/women’s fiction
novels. Irene holds a B.A. in psychology and M.A. in journalism. She juggled
two careers for many years until she gave up her executive corporate
communications position with a Fortune 500 company to write full time. All of
her novels are written from a Christian worldview. In her spare time, she
enjoys cooking, gardening and singing. As a trained vocalist, she has sung the
leading role in numerous musicals. She is also a soloist at her church. When
not otherwise occupied, Irene and her husband enjoy traveling, Saturday
mornings at their favorite coffee shop and spending time with family. They make
their home in Missouri. In Poland we can read three of her books: THAT CERTAIN
SUMMER, ONE PERFECT SPRING and HOPE HARBOR. </b></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">Agnes Anne
Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>A very warm welcome to you, Irene, and can I
thank you, for taking time to talk to me today. Have you always considered
yourself to be a writer? Can you share a bit about your journey to publication?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">Irene Hannon:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I’m happy to be here! Yes, I’ve always considered
myself a writer. I think writers are born, not made – and that writing, like
any other talent, is a gift. However, in my younger years I never considered
writing novels as a realistic career choice. Everyone knows how hard it is to
make a living in any creative field, and I didn’t want to have to worry about
having enough money to live. So after I got my journalism degree, I took a job
in the business world, where I wrote everyday – and I began writing books at
night. It took a long time to sell my first book, and there were plenty of
setbacks along the way. But I kept writing and eventually reached a level of
success that allowed me to leave the corporate world behind and write full
time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Who have been the people who’ve encouraged
you and seen the potential in your writing?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> My parents were my greatest supporters in the early
years. They believed in me, which gave me the confidence to keep trying. My dad
continues to encourage me, and I know my mom is watching over me from heaven. The
first person who convinced me I had serious potential was a high school English
teacher. She was also passionate about the power of language, and she passed
that passion on to me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>As I mentioned above, your stories are told
from a Christian worldview. What made you decide to create Christian fiction?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Two things. First, I’ve always believed that you can
tell compelling stories without including vulgarity, explicit violence, or
bedroom scenes. Christian fiction is a
perfect home for those kinds of stories. I also like the genre because it’s
hope-filled and centers on the things that really matter. That said, the faith
element in my books tends to be low-key. Usually I show the characters living
their faith rather than talking about it, but it’s clear that their beliefs affect
all their choices.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> How do you make a story believable, particularly if
you haven’t had personal experience of the difficulties your protagonists
endured?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> My degree in psychology is helpful. So is my stage
work, which requires me to take on various roles and become another person. Bottom
line, empathy is the key. You have to put yourself into the character’s shoes
and do your best to imagine what they’re feeling. Reading extensively helps
with this, because there are many wonderful authors out there who’ve created
characters that help us better understand a huge variety of experiences and
challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KZhbEq60P3Y/XdUmfPR_5UI/AAAAAAAAAr8/b05dn4b6ZbI6H8jT88uNx9i_mbhF6y5yQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/978837674274833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="290" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KZhbEq60P3Y/XdUmfPR_5UI/AAAAAAAAAr8/b05dn4b6ZbI6H8jT88uNx9i_mbhF6y5yQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/978837674274833.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: small;">This is the Polish edition of <br />THAT CERTAIN SUMMER<br />Published by REPLIKA<br />Translated by Piotr Kuś</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Now let’s talk about the books that were
published in Poland. The first one is THAT CERTAIN SUMMER. It was released in
2013. According to some Polish reviewers, this is a beautiful story about the
power of faith and interpersonal relationships, as well as the amazing
combination of events that come together the fate of several people one summer.
Could you tell us what inspire you to write this book? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I wanted to write a book about healing in a sibling
relationship. So I created a story in which two very different sisters who’ve
been somewhat estranged for quite a long time are brought together one summer
to deal with a family crisis. There’s resentment and rivalry and past hurts to
overcome. The message I wanted to send is that it’s never too late to make
amends and start over – and that forgiveness for past transgressions is often
the key to a better future. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Your next book, called ONE PERFECT SPRING,
was published in Poland in 2014. Some of the Polish readers say that it is a
very pleasant novel about the power of prayer and faith in the fact that our
lives are saved by some higher power and everything that happens to people
leads them to what is intended for them. Could you tell us how you remember
your work on this book? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> ONE PERFECT SPRING begins with a letter from a little
girl, in which she asks a philanthropic businessman to help her plan a birthday
surprise for her older neighbor. That simple gesture of kindness ends up
touching countless lives and reaping a host of blessings. One of the messages
in this book is that everything we do can have a ripple effect, and that grace
can enter our lives in the most unexpected ways. It’s a beautiful, uplifting
story about second chances and starting over.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>A few weeks ago I read HOPE HARBOR that was
released in Poland last year. I am very impressed with this novel. I can’t
forget about it. Let me ask you how did the idea of telling the story of Tracy
and Michael appear?</i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I’d always wanted to write a book set on the
beautiful Oregon coast, so several years ago I made a trip there to research
the setting. One of the crops grown in Oregon is cranberries. So I decided to
have a heroine who owns a family cranberry farm that’s having financial
difficulties. She also has a deep sadness in her background. Michael comes to
Hope Harbor in search of answers… and redemption. He has a painful secret too –
and deep regrets. I wanted to take readers on a journey with these two wounded
souls as they find healing, hope and love. There’s also a secondary storyline
about an older woman who’s holding a grudge that has isolated her for many
years. Watching her transformation as she begins to interact with Michael is a
key part of the story.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d01B6ytVlfM/XdUnJpund-I/AAAAAAAAAsI/-R3D2SlwBAwxgKg6yPccmah9S8eKU7hEACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/tej-idealnej-wiosny-b-iext38698522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="325" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d01B6ytVlfM/XdUnJpund-I/AAAAAAAAAsI/-R3D2SlwBAwxgKg6yPccmah9S8eKU7hEACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/tej-idealnej-wiosny-b-iext38698522.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: small;">This is the Polish edition of<br />ONE PERFECT SPRING<br />Published by REPLIKA<br />Translated by Monika Orłowska</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Apart from these three books we discussed
above, you have written many more. Could you choose one of them and recommend
it to your Polish readers? Tell us why this one.</i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I would recommend any of the books in my Hope Harbor series.
In addition to the first title – HOPE HARBOR – there are four more… and at
least three to come. I’m thrilled that readers worldwide have embraced this
little Oregon seaside town. DRIFTWOOD BAY, the most recent Hope Harbor novel,
has been especially popular. Each story stands alone, but there are a few
secondary characters that appear in all the books – Floyd and Gladys, my
seagull couple; the bantering clerics from the two churches in town; and
Charley Lopez, an artist who runs a taco stand on the wharf. I invite everyone
reading this blog to drop in on Hope Harbor and get acquainted!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What is the most surprising thing you
discovered while writing your book/books?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> That writing never gets easier. People who aren’t
writers don’t always understand that. But the truth is, the longer I do it, the
harder it get. That’s because I want every book to be better than the last one,
so I’m always trying to improve. And I learn something new with each book I
write.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Do you have a favourite character that you
have written? If so, who? And what makes them so special.<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I love all my characters, but the reader favorite is
Charley Lopez, the character I mentioned above from Hope Harbor. He always has
words of wisdom to offer and seems to know a great deal about everyone. I’ve
received more reader comments about him than all of the characters in all of my
other books combined.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Your latest book DARK AMBITIONS was released
in October. This is the third part of CODE OF HONOR SERIES. Could you tell us
something more about this novel and the whole series? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I write in two genres – contemporary romance and
romantic suspense. DARK AMBITIONS is a suspense novel. The Code of Honor series
features three childhood friends from difficult backgrounds whose bond has been
strengthened by time… and danger. As children, they vowed to make the world a
better place, and that’s the code they live by – hence the series title. DARK
AMBITIONS is the third book in the series and features an ex-military pilot who
now runs a camp for foster children. The story begins when he finds a trail of
blood in the snow at his camp. He hires a female private investigator to help
him solve the riddle his visitor left. But the deeper they dig, the more danger
they’re in – because someone doesn’t want the truth to be told. It’s an
edge-of-the-seat story with a climax that most readers didn’t see coming. And
as with all my series, every book is a standalone. There are no plot threads
that carry over from book to book.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L100MQAnbRg/XdUni2p4ojI/AAAAAAAAAsU/Q62b3jrQTUI597kElpkLRqeh_FXfEi0DACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/i-przystan-nadziei-irene-hannon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="341" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L100MQAnbRg/XdUni2p4ojI/AAAAAAAAAsU/Q62b3jrQTUI597kElpkLRqeh_FXfEi0DACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/i-przystan-nadziei-irene-hannon.jpg" width="272" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: small;">This is the Polish edition of<br />HOPE HARBOR<br />Published by DREAMS<br />Translated by Emilia Niedzieska</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Could you give us a window into your writing
style? Are you a planner or a seat of your pants plot follower?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> A little bit of both. I spend quite a while getting
to know my characters and my basic plot before I start writing. I also do a lot
of research at that early stage. Once I start writing, I let the story take
over. I don’t have an outline or even a scene-by-scene plan. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> You’ve written more than fifty books. Do you ever
experience self doubt?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Often – especially when I’m trying to figure out
where to go with my next book. That stage feels very unproductive to me,
because no words are appearing on the page. I’m in thinking mode. I know it’s a
part of my process, but at that point I sometimes think the threads of the
story will never come together or that I won’t find a really compelling idea.
My husband could tell you about the self-doubt, because he has to listen to it!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>As I mentioned above, you are an
award-winning author. For example you are a seven-time finalist for and
three-time winner of the RITA award. This award is considered to be the “Oscar”
of romance fiction. But you have won many more of the awards. Could you tell us
something more about them? Do you have the one that is most important to you? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I’ve been very fortunate to have my work recognized
with multiple awards, including National Readers’ Choice, Daphne du Maurier,
Retailers’ Choice, Booksellers’ Best, Carol, and Reviewers’ Choice from <i>RT
Book Reviews</i> magazine. My lifetime achievement award from <i>RT Book Reviews,</i> which recognized my
entire body of work, was special. But the one that means the most to me is
being inducted into Romance Writers of America’s elite Hall of Fame. That
happens after you win three RITA awards in one category, and only 16 authors
have done that in the almost 40-year history of the organization. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What does literary success look like to you?
How has your life changed?</i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Being able to make a living with my fiction writing
has been an immense blessing. I work long hours, but my schedule is far more
flexible than it was during my corporate days. So now and then my husband and I
can sneak away for lunch to a lovely spot in the country on the spur of the
moment. Other than that, my life hasn’t changed all that much because my
priorities are the same… faith, family and fiction. My husband and I live in
the same house we bought when we got married, long before I’d achieved much literary
success. I do more interviews and make more appearances than I used to, but
when I’m home (my favorite place to be), I’m the same Irene I’ve always been. I’ve
never need material things to make me happy, and while I enjoy the occasional
moments of glamor my success has brought, I’m happy that most of my days are
quiet and low-key.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Finally, I would like to ask you if you are
working on anything at the present. Could you share with your readers about it?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I always have a book in the works! Next April, Book 6
in the Hope Harbor series will release. It’s called STARFISH PIER. And next
fall, I’ll start a new suspense series featuring three sisters involved in
truth-seeking professions. The series is called Triple Threat, and Book 1 is
called POINT OF DANGER. So lots of novels are ahead!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">AAR:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> Irene, thank you so much for this nice conversation.
It was a great pleasure for me to be able to talk to you. Is there anything you
would like to add or tell your Polish readers?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d;">IH:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I’m delighted that several of my books have been
translated into Polish and hope more will be translated in the future. Thank
you to all who’ve read or bought my books in Polish. For those who read
English, I invite you to visit my Facebook page (</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Irene-Hannon-426433004084567/"><span lang="EN-US">https://www.facebook.com/Irene-Hannon-426433004084567/</span></a><span lang="EN-US">), where I chat with readers almost every day. And my
website (</span><a href="http://www.irenehannon.com/"><span lang="EN-US">www.irenehannon.com</span></a><span lang="EN-US">) has more
information on all my books and my background. Thank you, Agnes Anne<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>, for inviting me to visit. I’ve enjoyed it!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="https://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2019/11/zawsze-chciaam-napisac-ksiazke-o.html">here</a>. </span></span></div>
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ARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03400648375624909624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-45761887022128861772018-09-15T14:05:00.000+02:002018-12-01T12:57:05.100+01:00Even if I was never published, I would still be writing stories...<br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Interview with Elizabeth Chadwick</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>by Agnes A. Rose</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Elizabeth Chadwick was born in Bury (Lancashire). When she was three
years old she moved with her family to Scotland where she spent her childhood. Aged
ten, she came to Nottingham and she has lived there ever since. She says of herself
that she was born a storyteller. She remembers that before she could read and
write, she would open her picture books at her favourite illustrations and make
up some new tales. But she did not write anything down until she was fifteen. Her
first foray into historical fiction, a work of fiction about the Holy Land in
the twelfth century, led her to realise she wanted to write historical fiction
for a living. After years of writing and rejections she was finally published
in 1989. The novel was titled <i>The Wild
Hunt</i> and won a Betty Trask Award. Elizabeth Chadwick has gone on to become
one of Britain's foremost historical novelists and has been called by <i>The</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="text-decoration: none;">Historical Novel Society</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">“the best writer of medieval fiction currently around”.
She is published internationally and her work has been translated into many
languages. The author is renowned for her extensive research into the medieval
period and particularly so in the area of the Marshal and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-decoration: none;">Bigod</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">families. Her novels about the 13<sup>th</sup> century
magnate </span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-decoration: none;">William Marshal</span><span lang="EN-US">,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>The Greatest Knight</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(2005) and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>The Scarlet Lion</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(2006), have brought her international
acclaim. Recently her trilogy about Eleanor of Aquitaine has been published in
Poland.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Agnes A. Rose: </span></span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thank you so much that you accepted my invitation to take part in this
interview. I am very honored that I can host you on my blog and talk to you. You
create stories set in the era of the Middle Ages. Why? What is special in this
epoch that you decided to write about it? </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xtc4vKIKDxQ/W5zkt5OmguI/AAAAAAAAH-U/xjok27MTu58zK8J21yVTH8DZEctAiXhkwCLcBGAs/s1600/the%2Bwild%2Bhunt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="636" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xtc4vKIKDxQ/W5zkt5OmguI/AAAAAAAAH-U/xjok27MTu58zK8J21yVTH8DZEctAiXhkwCLcBGAs/s400/the%2Bwild%2Bhunt.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Published by SPHERE <br />(4 Dec. 2008)</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">Elizabeth Chadwick:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> It’s pure chance that it came to be the Middle Ages. I became
interested in the period after I watched a couple of historical dramas on the
television. The first was “The Six Wives of Henry VIII”, starring Keith
Michelle and I began writing a Tudor story. I was 14 at the time and it was the
school holidays. When school began again, I put the book away. The next year the
BBC put on a children's historical adventure series that was titled “Desert
Crusader”. It was dubbed from French. The original was titled “Thibaud ou les
Croisades” and you can find episodes these days on YouTube under that title. I
fell in love with the hero and began writing my own form of fan fiction.
However, the story developed a brand-new life of its own and became very from
the character in the TV programme. Writing the book in between my school
lessons made me realise that I wanted to write historical fiction for a living.
I was only 16 years old, but I knew my career path. I wanted my story to feel
as real as possible and that meant doing the research. The more I researched,
the more interested, I became in the medieval period and the more I wanted to
write about it. It was never ending circle, one interest feeding from the
other.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>Before
you published “The Wild Hunt”, you couldn’t find a literary agent. Your books
were rejected for many years. What were you feeling at that time? Were you
furious because you knew that you were writing well but no one wanted to
appreciate your work? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> Not in
the least. I knew it was what I was meant to do and that at some point I would
get there. Basically, I was serving my apprenticeship and those hours at the
typewriter and in front of the screen had to be done. I never saw rejection as
a personal thing. It just made me all the more determined that the next book I
wrote would be so good that people wouldn't be able to refuse it. Even though it
happened many times, it never put me off. I had been telling myself stories of
one kind or another since small childhood so it was actually a part of who I
was. Even if I was never published, I would still be writing stories. You need
to be lucky to be published, but you also need to be good enough and the times
I was being rejected, I was still learning my craft, but had not reached a high
enough standard. Toward the end of my apprenticeship. If that is what you want
to call it, I was recognising that I was becoming as good as the published
novelists out there. I began winning competitions and I had faith that I would
succeed. So no, I never felt furious. If I wasn't being published, then I
wasn't good enough. I recognised that reality without beating myself up about
it. It just gave me the determination to be better.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">After having published “The Wild Hunt”, you wrote the continuation of
that story. What motivated you to take on this challenge? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> My
motivation was that I was interested in the family I had written about and
wanted to continue their story for a while at least. The main drive to me is
the writing and being curious about history and about the people who lived in
that history, whether real or imaginary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">AAR:</span></span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I
must admit that I have been interested in the history of England for many years.
I am still discovering something new in it. I also write and read a lot about
the United Kingdom’s history. Three years ago I wrote an article about William
Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke. I know that in your literary output you have
also books related to this character. Could you tell us something more about
them? What motivated you to write about William Marshal and his family? </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UvzTAvNGPOE/W5zmUV45U-I/AAAAAAAAH-g/tIci4nRXCmMWUAjjRrCJgZv7C58qDqCUgCLcBGAs/s1600/marshal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UvzTAvNGPOE/W5zmUV45U-I/AAAAAAAAH-g/tIci4nRXCmMWUAjjRrCJgZv7C58qDqCUgCLcBGAs/s400/marshal.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The Polish edition of<br /> "The Greatest Knight"<br />Published by AURUM PRESS (2010)<br />Translated by <br />Anna Krawczyk-Łaskarzewska</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> William
Marshal was the fourth son of John FitzGilbert,
who was the Royal Marshal at a time of great upheaval in England. He was of the
middle rank of the aristocracy. But William was destined for greater things. He
was nearly hanged as a small boy when he was a hostage during a siege. However,
the king could not bring himself to do the deed and William was later returned
to his family. He grew up to become an expert in the military arts, with a
particular talent for the tournament when he made a name for himself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He entered service with the Angevin kings, first as a tutor and Marshal
to King Henry II’s eldest son, also called Henry. When young Henry died
rebelling against his father, William swore to take the young man's cloak to
Jerusalem and lay it on the tomb of the holy sepulchre. Having achieved his
goal, he returned and continued to serve Henry II. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Following Henry's death, William entered the patronage of Richard the
Lionheart, who granted him a hand in marriage of a young heiress, Isabelle de
Clare. William now became a magnate of the realm and when Richard went on
crusade he left William as one of the co-governors of the country. Following
Richard's death, William also served King John and was one of the senior barons
involved in issuing <i>Magna Carta</i>. For a while, he was also Regent of England for
the young King Henry III. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">His lifetime was one of high drama. He was a great fighter, sportsmen,
statesman and politician. In his domestic life he was father to 10 children,
five boys and five girls and his marriage seems to have been a long and loving
partnership of 30 years. I have written several books about him. “The Greatest Knight”
covers the part of his life as a young knight and leaves him in 1194 with his
wife and the beginnings of his family and looking to expand his horizons. Its
sequel “The Scarlet Lion” takes him through the rest of his life when he became
a great politician and statesman and took on his wife's Irish lands. There is a
prequel to these two novels titled “A Place Beyond Courage” that tells the story
of his father John FitzGilbert. “The Time of Singing” is the story of a family
related to the Marshals, the Bigods, and its sequel “To Defy A King” is the
story of William Marshal's daughter Mahelt, who married into this family. My
most recent novel in the UK is “Templar Silks”, a stand-alone novel covering
the time that William spent on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As far as what prompted me to write the Marshal stories – it is always
about interest and curiosity with me. I go delving and then I want to know
more. Originally I was just going to write about William Marshal because I felt
he had a really interesting life that would translate well into the medium of
the novel, but I discovered when I began researching that it went far beyond
that and I had enough material for several novels and a passion to keep me
interested for the rest of my life. I have been studying the marshals now for 15
years, and I'm still learning new things every day. I have a deep admiration
for William Marshal. He was a man of his time, certainly, and operated within
the norms of that society, but underlying that is a powerful integrity of which
I feel there isn't enough in the world today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WMW7Ft76Yoo/W5zoic82OmI/AAAAAAAAH-s/-zF8xyoywBk6sz0crZgdbqGovMZeR1H1QCLcBGAs/s1600/c%25C3%25B3rki%2Bgraala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="200" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WMW7Ft76Yoo/W5zoic82OmI/AAAAAAAAH-s/-zF8xyoywBk6sz0crZgdbqGovMZeR1H1QCLcBGAs/s400/c%25C3%25B3rki%2Bgraala.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The Polish edition of <br /> "Daughters of The Graal"<br />Published by</span></b> <b style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: small;">AURUM PRESS (2009)<br />Translated by<br />Anna Krawczyk-Łaskarzewska</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>Apart from the trilogy about Eleanor of
Aquitaine and “The Greatest Knight”, your Polish readers can also read
“Daughters of The Grail”. Could you tell us something more about this book?
What prompted you to write this story? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> I was
commissioned to write “Daughters of The Grail” by a film producer who had
written a treatment and wanted it fleshing out into a novel. The film never got
made but the book went on to be published around the world. It’s a sort of
medieval “Da Vinci Code” with a slight fantasy element and covers the story of
the persecution of the Cathars, among them the descendants of a certain
bloodline.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Now let’s talk about your trilogy related to Eleanor of Aquitaine that
has been published in Poland recently. It is said that Eleanor was the most
prominent woman of 12<sup>th</sup> century Europe. She was recognized by Time
magazine as one of the most influential and powerful women of the past
millennium. Do you think that the Queen deserved to be called “the most
influential woman of the millennium”? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> I think
she was an amazing woman. Strong, forthright, resilient, very intelligent. I
think there must be very many women of that period who have the same qualities,
but Eleanor has been the one to stand in the spotlight. Yes, she deserves it
for all that she was, but she could be part of a much greater chorus of women.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>What most surprised you while working on the
trilogy? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> What
really astonished me was how difficult it was to find a decent biography of
Eleanor. There are numerous works an interested reader can study about her, but
many are highly unreliable. They state opinions as facts and are very loose in
their interpretations. Given that the only representation of Eleanor is her
tomb effigy, a stylized stained glass window and a grey-haired lady in the Fécamp
Psalter who may or may not be Eleanor, it’s astonishing to find her biographers
calling her a black-haired, black-eyed beauty with a curvaceous figure that
never ran to fat in old age. Or a saucy hot-blooded blonde, or a humorous
green-eyed red-head. None of these can be taken as accurate because there is no
existing physical description of Eleanor from her own lifetime. Basically most
of her biographers cannot be trusted. I did find a couple of books that were
grounded and gave good information but overall it was difficult to find decent
factual works about her that didn’t leap off a cliff into flights of fantasy. I
know I am writing fiction, but I like to have a strong grounding in a factual
historical background and it was hard despite – or perhaps because of the
numerous nonfiction works that have been written about Eleanor.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>How
much time did it take you to prepare to write the story of Eleanor of
Aquitaine? Did you have any problems with researching? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> I have
been writing medieval fiction for several decades, so I already had a base line
awareness. Writing the William Marshal novels I had become familiar with
Eleanor too, so I already had some research under my belt. I always research as
I write, so probably the intensive research took about 18 months, but I already
had a strong background awareness. My problems as above mentioned is that many
of her biographers could not be trusted. I tried as much as possible to go back
to primary source research, but that in itself is a difficult project. I can
get by in Latin and Old French but I do prefer to read works in translation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>If
you could travel back in time and meet Eleanor of Aquitaine, what would you
like to tell her? How do you generally imagine meeting such the powerful Queen?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> I would
tell her to run away from Henry II! What I would say from the research I have
done is that anyone striving to know Eleanor better should read a book called “Inventing
Eleanor” by Michael Evans, which shows how much has been made up about her down
the centuries and how the image we have of her today (especially if we read
some of her popular biographies) is nothing like the person who inhabited the
12<sup>th</sup> century.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1hJ5AnpgTPo/W5zpXpIJh-I/AAAAAAAAH-0/sAaVXlNsGOEGLByvPB0NWpxGFBbantHogCLcBGAs/s1600/trylogia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="1218" height="332" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1hJ5AnpgTPo/W5zpXpIJh-I/AAAAAAAAH-0/sAaVXlNsGOEGLByvPB0NWpxGFBbantHogCLcBGAs/s640/trylogia.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Here is the Polish edition of the historical trilogy about Eleonor of Aquitaine: <br />The Summer Queen, The Winter Crown & The Autumn Throne.<br />They were published in 2017/2018 by PRÓSZYŃSKI I S-KA<br />Translated by Magdalena Moltzan-Małkowska</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">It is said that Richard the Lionheart was the most beloved child of
Eleanor of Aquitaine. Could you tell us how you perceive this King? Have you
written a novel about him? If not, do you have such a plan? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> No, I
haven’t written about Richard the Lionheart nor do I plan to. My good friend
Sharon Penman has written two excellent novels about him – “Lionheart” and “A
King’s Ransom”, should anyone want to read a work of fiction about him. I would
say that he was Eleanor’s favourite, but this was partly because from birth he
was the son destined to inherit the maternal lands. He was raised to be her
heir and so she was bound to gravitate to him. His skill was warfare. He was
also an accomplished musician in his quieter moments and politically
astute. A complex and interesting man. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> During the Second Crusade where the first Eleanor’s husband, Louis VII
of France, took part in, there were some rumors that the Queen was having a
love affair with her uncle, Raymond of Poitiers. What do you think? Were there
definitely just rumors, or maybe Eleanor really became the main character of
the moral scandal? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> I don’t
think she had an affair with her uncle. When you look at the evidence for and
against in depth, it mostly emerges on the negative side. Some writers have
suggested it happened, but I suspect it’s the sensationalism that draws them
rather than admitting to the probable more prosaic truth. I have written a full
blog about why I don’t think for one minute that they had an affair. Here’s the
url. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://elizabethchadwick.com/blog/eleanor-of-aquitaine-raymond-of-poitiers-and-the-incident-at-antioch/"><span lang="EN-US">http://elizabethchadwick.com/blog/eleanor-of-aquitaine-raymond-of-poitiers-and-the-incident-at-antioch/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">As I mentioned above you live in Nottingham. According to the legend,
Robin Hood was supposed to live near this place. He is also very strongly
associated with two sons of Eleanor, Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland. I
must admit that I have been fascinated by Robin of Sherwood since my childhood.
Although I have read and written about him a lot, he is still a mystery to me. Could
you tell us what the truth is? Did the Eleanor’s sons really have anything to
do with Robin Hood? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> No, I
don’t think they did. Indeed, I do not believe that Robin Hood was every actually
around so early. He’s a product of the ballads of the later Middle Ages and as such
is a fictional character. He may be an amalgam of several outlaw types rife in
the 14<sup>th</sup> century onwards but in actuality the myth has grown out of
itself and become the life that never was. Hollywood and modern fiction writers
are the main instigators of Robin Hood in the late 12<sup>th</sup> and early 13<sup>th</sup>
centuries I’m afraid.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-059vR9kHVRU/W5zsLVtxpiI/AAAAAAAAH_A/Cb31jFYejZ44YWHZ3-qlAMHriQRyuIMqACLcBGAs/s1600/lords.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="315" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-059vR9kHVRU/W5zsLVtxpiI/AAAAAAAAH_A/Cb31jFYejZ44YWHZ3-qlAMHriQRyuIMqACLcBGAs/s400/lords.jpg" width="251" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Published by SPHERE<br />(7 Sept. 2006)</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>Let’s
go back to your books for a moment. So far you have written a lot of novels. Do
you have your favourite story among them; the one you love more than others?</i></b>
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> For me
that would be a bit like asking a mother if she had a favourite child! Each
book I write always has something unique about it that makes it special to me. My
first published novel “The Wild Hunt” was the one that won a major UK award and
that obtained me representation by a top London literary agency. “Lords of The
White Castle” was my first attempt at biographical fiction and has been a bestseller,
“The Greatest Knight” was a New York Times bestseller and started me on my
journey with William Marshal. My Eleanor of Aquitaine trilogy has led me to
think in very different ways about a great Medieval queen and who she might
have been really under all the glitter and dust we have sprinkled over her
life. Every book has taught me something unique about the people and their life
and times as I research. So the answer has to be no they are all my favourites.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>And
what about the protagonists? Is there the one that you like most and you always
smile when you are thinking about him or her? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> It’s the
same answer as the previous one but with a couple of exceptions. John Marshal
in my novel “A Place Beyond Courage” has always stayed with me because I feel
history has written him a bad deal – or rather our modern interpretation of
history and our laziness in not actually pausing to lift the sheets and look
under the surface has given us a simplistic view of a complex man striving to
survive in very difficult times. And of course, the great William Marshal. A
legend in his own lifetime, and even more of one today. But underneath it all a
flesh and blood man with flaws and merits, passions, preferences and dislikes.
I’d like to have been in a position to have known him in his own lifetime. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>Is
there anything, any era or a character, you would like to write about, but you
think that the right time has not come to do it? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> Yes,
many, but I’m not going to tell you. That’s something that creatively stays
under my hat until I’m ready!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>How
important are your readers to you? Do you have a good contact with them? How
much do they help you while writing? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> If I
didn’t have readers I wouldn’t have a job! I get on very well with my readers,
many of whom have become good friends. I have an open Facebook author group for
news and features and feedback – it’s not all about promotion. I share my research with my readers and daily
doings. We’re all people with all our particular interests and skills and it’s
good to socialize while doing the day job. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethChadwickAuthor/?fref=ts"><span lang="EN-US">https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethChadwickAuthor/?fref=ts</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">You told me that there is a chance of publishing your next book in
Poland. Could you tell us something more about it if it is not a secret? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A1hGxNJUcKc/W5zs24L2wVI/AAAAAAAAH_I/chtmqcb7DUU5t7nsmrLGxeIuwyDEClzogCLcBGAs/s1600/lady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="318" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A1hGxNJUcKc/W5zs24L2wVI/AAAAAAAAH_I/chtmqcb7DUU5t7nsmrLGxeIuwyDEClzogCLcBGAs/s400/lady.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Published by SPHERE<br />(13 Sept. 2012)</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> I think “Lady
of the English” is soon to be published in Poland. It’s about two women and the
struggle for the English crown in the 12<sup>th</sup> century. Matilda,
daughter of the king, has had her throne usurped (as she sees it) by her cousin
Stephen and she is determined to have it back for herself and her heirs. She is
helped by her stepmother, who is actually Matilda’s own age and with a gentler
personality, but nevertheless a steely determination to see that justice
prevails.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><i>Finally,
I would like to ask you about your next project? Are you working on a new
novel? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> I have
just begun one, but since it is the very early stages and has not yet gone to
contract, again I cannot say, beyond the fact that it is set in the 13<sup>th</sup>
century and stars two very charismatic protagonists!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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thank you so much for this nice conversation. It was a great pleasure for me to
be able to talk to you. Is there anything you would like to add or tell your
Polish readers?</i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; font-size: 12pt;">EC:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> Just
thank you for reading my books and I hope you all continue to enjoy them! And
thank you for interviewing me and asking such varied questions!<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2018/09/nawet-gdyby-nigdy-nie-opublikowano.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></span></div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-17439887726916748962017-12-19T10:59:00.001+01:002017-12-19T11:01:36.627+01:00I met Henry by a random referral when I wrote for the newspaper...<br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Interview with Katrina Shawver</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>by Agnes A. Rose</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="color: #0c343d;">Katrina Shawver is an experienced writer, blogger, speaker, and the
author of <i>Henry </i></span></b></span><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>—</b></span><b><span style="color: #0c343d;"><i> A Polish Swimmer’s True
Story of Friendship from Auschwitz to America</i>, an adult nonfiction
biography released in 2017 to high praise. She holds a BA from the University
of Arizona in English/Political Science, and began her writing career more than
twenty years ago by writing hundreds of newspaper columns for <i>The Arizona Republic</i>. Her favorite quote
is ”What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” She lives in
Phoenix, Arizona, USA with her husband Rick.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Katrina, I am very honored that I can host you on my blog and talk to
you. In November you published your first book that tells about Henry Zguda who
was a Catholic Pole. What happened that you met Henry? After all, there are
many Poles who lived or still live in America because they left Poland due to
the Second World War or communism. Why was it Henry?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">Katrina
Shawver:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #943634;"> </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I am equally honored by your
interest. I met Henry by a random referral when I wrote for the newspaper.
Except for that phone call we would have never met. I did not seek this story;
it came to me by sheer luck and providence. I had never known anyone who was
Polish before Henry. I still cannot explain the impulsive decision to offer to
write his story, except that he was 85 years old, so there was no time to waste
in capturing his memories. He and (his wife) Nancy had no children, and he had
no siblings to leave his story to. His story truly would have been lost to
history had we not met. He was also very nice and easy to talk with.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Henry
Zguda was arrested in 1942 in Krakow by Germans and sent to Montelupich Prison.
Next he went on to survive several concentration camps. Knowing the realities
of the Nazi death camps it is very difficult to imagine how Henry was able to
survive there. So could you tell the Polish readers, who have not read your
book, what he did that he managed to save his life?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">KS:</span></i></b><b><span lang="EN-US"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US">Henry would argue that he survived because others
saved <i>his </i>life several times, just as
he helped who he could. I truly believe that every story of survival is unique
and involves a great deal of luck. Did the guards look away at just the right
moment? How does one manage to avoid typhus when everyone around you is dying
of it? Why was the person standing behind you selected for a firing squad when
you weren't? Things happen without explanation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Henry was fortunate that he had studied German in high school so he
could understand, read, and write German. Prisoners who understood German had a
longer life expectancy in any concentration camp. At the time of his arrest,
Henry was twenty-five-years old and a strong athlete. He was used to hard work
and was a quick thinker. He did observe that academics and those accustomed to
less physical conditions perished far faster. They just could not adapt
physically to the harsh conditions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What
happened to Henry’s family when he was arrested? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">KS:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Henry was an only child, and his father died when
Henry was an infant, so there was only Henry's mother, Karolina Zguda. She
remained in Krakow and continued to work as a housekeeper for a wealthy family
throughout the war. Henry's mother lived in Krakow her entire life. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>When
Henry arrived in America how did his life look like? What was the most
important for him when he started living in a new place? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">KS:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Henry and a friend defected from communist Poland in
1956 when the regime became very hard line. Neither had ever been married. When
he and his friend set sail for America two years later they were free to create
new lives. He wanted to see the land of two of his movie heroes: Tom Mix and
Elvis Presley.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Did Henry ever think about coming back to Poland and spending here the
rest of his life? As we all know, Poland ceased to be a communist country in
1989.</i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">KS:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> No. Henry arrived in New York City in January 1959 and
married his wife Nancy a year later. She came from a large Italian family and they
built a very happy life together. He later became a US citizen. Henry did visit
Poland at least once in the 1970s that I know of. Nancy did not accompany him
because she felt awkward not speaking Polish, and there was still an active
arrest warrant for Henry as a defector. In 1989 when communism finally fell, Henry
was already seventy-two years old, retired, his mother had long since passed
away, and he had outlived most of his friends in Poland. His life was in the
United States, even though he always carried Poland in his heart, and always
told me how beautiful his home country was. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>While
researching what was the most frightening for you? What event in your hero’s
camp life was the most gruesome?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">KS:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> During the interviews, when Henry discussed some of
the harder aspects of concentration camps, or when we looked through books of
black-and-white photos, I wanted to stop the conversation. Redirect to
something more pleasant. Nevertheless, I wanted to honor Henry, and so many
others who did not have the opportunity to stop the tape, close the book, and
change subjects. As to most gruesome? He briefly worked in the crematorium in
Buchenwald, which I visited in 2013.<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B3Bhj6hhq0M/WjT_JFAXLcI/AAAAAAAAHsM/a5O5_n2s25wBnzWYTp1cm4cFQkALb29BgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/HENRY%2BZGUDA%2BAND%2BKATRINA%2BLOW%2BRES.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="448" height="427" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B3Bhj6hhq0M/WjT_JFAXLcI/AAAAAAAAHsM/a5O5_n2s25wBnzWYTp1cm4cFQkALb29BgCPcBGAYYCw/s640/HENRY%2BZGUDA%2BAND%2BKATRINA%2BLOW%2BRES.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Katrina and Henry in 2003</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How
long did you work on this book? What was your most difficult challenge while
writing? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">KS:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I met Henry in November 2002, so it has been fifteen
years from beginning to publication. Unfortunately, Henry passed away a year after
we met. Several times through the years I set the project aside, either
overwhelmed as the amount of work needed to finish, or simply life interfered.
I had three young children, an aging parent, and some family health issues that
took priority. Until recently I also held a job, so the progress has been at a slower
pace than if I was a full-time writer. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As to difficult challenges, there was nothing easy about this project. I
read everything I could find with this caveat — I only speak English. Besides
the huge task of research, translation of documents, and planning a trip to
Poland, there were challenges transcribing each of the interviews. Henry used
the terms and names he remembered in Polish and German, without translating to
English. It was not practical to stop him after every word for an explanation.
Even places, street names, and people I could only write out phonetically. When
I reviewed my notes ten years later I had so many "aha" moments as to
what Henry was saying that I had not understood at the time. Henry once joked
"You should learn Polish. Then we could really talk." <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Could
you tell us how your meetings with your readers look like? While talking to
them what do you pay your attention to? What questions do they ask?</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">KS:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> The book has only been out for two months. Over 85
people came to my book launch event in November, and many referred me to other
book groups to speak. I have spoken at a Jewish Community Center, a genocide
conference, and writers' groups. Everyone seems fascinated with the story. Except
for Poles, Henry's story is a piece of history that no one has heard — the
Holocaust as seen through Polish eyes. This story seems to resonate with so
many people both as a forgotten and important piece of history, an intelligent
read, and getting to know a likeable person such as Henry. Even in a concentration
camp he found humor at times. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I do love connecting with an audience in person and enjoy public speaking.
In addition to local events, I am really trying to reach out online and through
social media. I can reach so many more people around the world from my
computer. I feel fortunate to have connected with you<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How
much has Henry’s story affected your life? How has it changed? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">KS:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Meeting Henry
Zguda did change the direction of my life. When I began I did not know, what I
did not know. Today I am a published author and educated on Poland and WWII and
how little credit Poles, and Henry, have received for their suffering and
deaths. Early on, I realized Henry's story represents so many other Poles who
never received credit outside the Polish community, which I thought was
terribly unfair. My definition of a bad day has changed. Compared to a bad day
in a concentration camp, if all that happens is someone cuts me off in traffic
or work is especially stressful, well that means I'm blessed to own a car, and
that I'm employed. I am far more conscious of not wasting food — food was a
precious commodity for most of Henry's life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>In
your book you write that you and your husband were in Poland in October 2013. You
visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Could you tell us something more
about your trip? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">KS:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> It helped that we had an excellent translator with us
all day. I had an appointment in the morning with head of the archives for the
museum. I had sent several research requests and prisoner names on ahead, and
staff had pulled a huge stack of records for me to review. After going through
the documents, Dr. Plosa very patiently answered all of my questions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We had arranged for a private tour guide at 4 p.m. for a three-hour tour.
I had very specific locations to see and questions to ask about Henry's experience.
Henry was only imprisoned in the original Auschwitz I, so we spent most of our
time there. At the end of the day I wanted to see Birkenau since there is a story
of Henry walking to Birkenau. As it happened, my husband Rick, Magda our tour
guide, and I were the only three people remaining in Birkenau as the museum
closed, a place that used to hold more than 100,000 people. We shivered because
it was a cold winter evening, dark, and silent. We had not brought enough warm
clothes. There is no comparison to visiting a concentration camp on a cold dark
day to get a sense for what it was like for miserable prisoners. In the silence
I truly felt the ghosts of a million murdered souls who called to me "Do
not forget us." I never will.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Published by <span style="text-align: left;">Köehler Books<br />Virginia Beach (USA) 2017</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How
do you think why WWII is still a part of our culture today? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">KS:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I think there is an ongoing fascination with WWII for
several reasons. We are still within two or three generations of the history
and we still have a few survivors from that era, though not for much longer.
They are all in their 80s and 90s so their memories are precious and golden and
need to be captured before they are lost to history. <b><i><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Holocaust from the Jewish perspective has been extremely well
documented and taught for three generations. There are thousands of
"Holocaust" memoirs in print, and I think people are still trying to
figure out "why" and "how" ordinary German people, many
highly educated, could turn into truly evil killers, and participate in the
calculated mass murder of millions of people. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Why are you so interested in Polish history?</i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">KS:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Almost everyone asks me this. I am an American with
no previous Polish connection. When I planned a trip to Poland many people
asked "Why Poland?" I am quite unique. The simple truth is I met
someone from Poland, offered to write his story, and needed to understand the
reality and context of a time and place I had not experienced. I have always
loved history, and a good writer must be curious and ask questions, especially
w<i>hy</i> things happened, not just that
they did. As a journalist I need to cross-check my sources, which means finding
the same information at least twice. Early
in our interviews I realized that the dynamics of European history and changing
borders are extremely relevant to what happened to Poland during and after
World War II. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Apart
from writing you also deal with other things. Could you tell us something more about
it? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">KS:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I love classical music and attending the symphony. I
like to hike the mountain near my house, and try to find time to read. I also
love taking my daughter out for mother-daughter dates. We are very close. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What is your next project? Could you tell us something about it?</i></b>
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">KS:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Right now I am focused on launching Henry and getting
his story out to as many people as possible. I am confident the next story will
come into my life at the right time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">AAR:</i> </span><span lang="EN-US"><b><i>Katrina,
thank you very much for this conversation and for your book. I hope that
someday your book will be translated into Polish. I am very happy that in
America so many authors write about Poland and its history, especially about
the wartime history. Is there anything you would like to say to the Poles? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #632423;">KS:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I too hope my book will be translated into Polish. I
have gained a huge respect for Poland and Poles. The Polish-American Congress,
Arizona division has been supportive, and included me as a guest at the Polish
Heritage Ball recently. That the country continues to survive and today thrives
is a testament to the strength of the culture. I am proud to say two copies of <i>HENRY</i> are in the library and collections
of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. For English-speaking Poles, <i>HENRY</i> is available internationally
through Book Depository, Amazon UK and others such booksellers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I do love to hear from readers, even if it is only in Polish. I use online
translation software so it is no problem reading a language other than English.
For longer texts I have Polish friends who will help me with translations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I can be found at: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Email: katrina [at] katrinashawver.com<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Website: </span><a href="https://katrinashawver.com/"><span lang="EN-US">katrinashawver.com</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Facebook: </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ReadKatrinaShawver/"><span lang="EN-US">Read Katrina Shawver</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">HENRY on Book Depository: </span><a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/search?searchTerm=Katrina+Shawver&search=Find+book"><span lang="EN-US">Click here</span></a> <span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">HENRY on Amazon UK: </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=katrina+shawver">Click here</a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2017/12/spotkaam-henryka-przez-przypadek-kiedy.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If you want to read my book review, please click <a href="http://agnes-books.blogspot.com/2017/12/henry-polish-swimmers-true-story-of.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></span></div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-54552314634230091712017-12-16T13:09:00.000+01:002017-12-18T13:17:12.913+01:00“Henry: A Polish Swimmer’s True Story of Friendship from Auschwitz to America” by Katrina Shawver<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X7mGjH7UulI/WjT5QpKXAaI/AAAAAAAAHrk/L1dGv8swWjEaxfYPTF_DsayLJXsd6pxPwCLcBGAs/s1600/FINAL%2BHenry%2BCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1060" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X7mGjH7UulI/WjT5QpKXAaI/AAAAAAAAHrk/L1dGv8swWjEaxfYPTF_DsayLJXsd6pxPwCLcBGAs/s320/FINAL%2BHenry%2BCover.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Published by <b><i>Köehler Books<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Virginia Beach 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>I read the book thanks to the author's courtesy. </b></span><b>Thank you!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Krakow was one of the Polish cities that suffered severely from human
casualties during the Second World War. When the cities such as Warsaw, Poznan,
Bialystok, Gdansk or Elblag were virtually razed to the ground and suffered
under the subsequent marches of hostile forces and the long-lasting Nazi
occupation, Krakow being the largest and most important city in southern
Poland, remained almost untouched. It is possible that this kind of situation resulted
from the fact that the Germans wished to provide it some protection because
they established the headquarters of the Nazi General Government there. In
other words, the city was taken over by the Nazis becoming the capital of a
pseudo-state which included the south-eastern half of present-day Poland and
the south part of present-day Ukraine. That project was controlled by Hans
Frank (1900-1946), who was declared as a war criminal and executed in Nuremberg
after the end of the war. He chose Wawel Castle, the ancient seat of the Polish
kings, as his first headquarters. So even though Krakow’s architecture was not
as badly ruined as for example in Warsaw, the same cannot be said about the
culture of the city and its inhabitants.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We must know that at the very beginning of the war, the Germans decided
not to divide the city with the Jewish population. It is important to know that
before the outbreak of the war, sixty thousand Jews lived in Krakow, which
represented a quarter of the entire population. The German occupation of Krakow
began on September 6, 1939. At that time, the Nazis liquidated the Jewish
social organization and established their own, which was supported to deal with
the issue not only of the Cracovian Jews, but also those living in the whole
country. It was called the Jewish Council of Elders (in German: <i>Judenrat</i>). In April 1940 the Germans
ordered the Jews to leave Krakow within the next four months. At that time
thirty-five thousand Jews were evacuated from the city and only fifteen
thousand of them remained there. Since that time Krakow became the capital of
Poland occupied by the Nazis. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In March 1941, the Germans built a Ghetto in the Podgorze district south
of the Vistula River where twenty thousand Jews lived, including Jews coming
from surrounding towns. The Ghetto very quickly became a place where people
were dying of starvation, and because of overcrowding, fatal diseases were also
spread, not to mention the unimaginable brutality of the Germans, who murdered
the Jews when they wanted to. Mass deportations from the Ghetto began in June
1942. At that time, five thousand Jews were sent to the death camp in Belzec.
Apart from that, in October 1942, another six thousand Jews were also
transported to Belzec. During that horrible action the Nazis executed those who
were in the hospital and in the nursing home as well as children living in the
orphanage. About a few hundred Jews died in the Ghetto. The Ghetto was liquated
by Amon Göth (1908-1946), sending people, who were capable of working, to the
Nazi camp at Plaszow, murdering others in the streets or in their homes, and
sending the rest of them to die at Auschwitz. <span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eX55i8VUSG8/WjT7HXeyS2I/AAAAAAAAHrw/Rd1V6sOnDegY09u9rBGhMgUqLxZcWIe2QCLcBGAs/s1600/esesmani%2Bz%2Bbe%25C5%2582%25C5%25BCca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="948" height="422" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eX55i8VUSG8/WjT7HXeyS2I/AAAAAAAAHrw/Rd1V6sOnDegY09u9rBGhMgUqLxZcWIe2QCLcBGAs/s640/esesmani%2Bz%2Bbe%25C5%2582%25C5%25BCca.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">SS staff in the Nazi death camp in Belzec (1942)</span></b></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the very beginning of the war, Krakow lost many of its leading
thinkers, and it was when the Germans arrested the Jagiellonian University
professors. It was November 6, 1939. The professors were sent to German
concentration camps. The Poles who remained in Krakow witnessed the change of
their city every day. Shops, houses and generally the whole districts were
taken over by the Nazis. Even the Cracow Market Square lost its name because it
was renamed <i>Adolf Hitler Platz</i>.
During the war years, there was distinct resistance of the Cracovians. The Home
Army (in Polish: <i>Armia Krajowa</i>)
operated in the city. Its soldiers planned an uprising there, which was
supposed to be similar to the rebellion that broke out in Warsaw on 1 August,
1944. Eventually, the decision about the uprising was, however, called off, and
it happened because the Nazi forces were too large while many young Cracovians,
who were able to fight, had been arrested. Apart from that there was the shortage
of weapons that could be used during a possible uprising. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is not without reason that above I mentioned the realities that had
occurred in Krakow during the Second World War. I did it because the
protagonist of the unusual biography by American journalist Katrina Shawver was
associated just with Krakow. He was born there, grew up there and next he was
arrested by the Germans, and then was locked up in a prison located on
Montelupich Street. Originally this place served as a military barracks, and
was located in a building that had belonged to the family of the Italian
merchants and bankers called Montelupi since 16<sup>th</sup> century. In 1905
the Austrian authorities decided that there would be a military court which had
formerly been located in Wawel Castle. Then the court was turned into a prison.
During the Second World War, there was a Nazi police prison in this building
under the control of the Gestapo. Between 1940 and 1944 there were about fifty
thousand prisoners. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ewl69O3fo5o/WjT7-Yq-0SI/AAAAAAAAHr4/AS7D0EVKR2cIIcodJcGTQOg7uBq6SgQ4ACLcBGAs/s1600/montelupich.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="800" height="434" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ewl69O3fo5o/WjT7-Yq-0SI/AAAAAAAAHr4/AS7D0EVKR2cIIcodJcGTQOg7uBq6SgQ4ACLcBGAs/s640/montelupich.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Prisoners of the Montelupich Prison in 1939 after the invasion of Poland </b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It can be assumed that the life of Henry Zguda (1917-2003) promised to
be really great. He was a great swimmer and water polo player, and he also knew
foreign languages. If the war had not broken out, perhaps his life would have
been different. In 1942 he was arrested by the Germans and imprisoned in the aforementioned
prison on Montelupich Street. Then he was taken to Auschwitz and next he was
sent to the Nazi concentration camp in Buchenwald, which operated since July
1937 until the end of the war. Henry Zguda was also in the German camp in Flossenbürg.
He also experienced a dramatic death march, finally reaching Dachau where he
was liberated at the end of the war. His life in post-war communist Poland was
not easy either. The new authorities began mass persecution which also affected
Henry. Eventually he managed to emigrate to America where he married the love
of his life and died in 2003 at the age of 86. However, he never forgot about
swimming. For him the emigration to the United States was a sort of escape from
a world that was no longer the same as Henry had known before the war. You have
to remember that it would not have been possible for him to do it unless he had
had his friends he could count on at any time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Katrina Shawver’s book is an extraordinary account of the man who
survived despite the enormous cruelty that was present in the Nazi concentration
camps. While writing, the author took care of every detail. On the pages of
this book a reader meets Henry who was a really unusual man. In addition there
is so tragic story that you can be almost sure that there is no return to a
normal life from that hell. In a very interesting way Katrina Shawver reveals
the fate of Henry Zguda, and the whole book is enriched by numerous
photographs. The biography is based on interviews with Henry Zguda between 2002
and 2003. It was just before his death. I think that some invisible force had
to direct that Katrina Shawver could meet Henry to be able to write down his
memories, which are a true tribute to all people who survived that terrible war
and to its mortal victims. This kind of books should be published as much as
possible, but unfortunately every year it is getting harder because the eyewitnesses
of those events are less and less. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Katrina Shawver and Henry Zguda in 2003</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the pages of the book we learn not only the events that took place in
Henry Zguda’s life but also we can read how emotionally the author approached
them. Therefore, there are also her observations and remarks. In addition a
reader also learn what Poland had looked like prior to the war before Adolf Hitler
(1889-1945) decided to destroy not only the country but first of all the people
living in it. The book's hero is a really beautiful character regardless of
what part of his life his story is about. Very often Henry mentions an
extraordinary inner strength that helped him survive the worst moments of his
life. Some people may be surprised by the fact that despite the ubiquitous terror
he never complained about his fate, although it does mean that he accepted it. It
is possible that it resulted from his immense desire to live. I am sure that it
was just his willingness to live that gave Henry the strength to survive each
day. In my opinion Henry’s story, although very tragic, gives us hope and
uplift.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are many people in the world who do not really know much about the
cruelty of the Second World War. They do not fully understand what the
Holocaust was about. Therefore, this book can be a great source of information
for them filling the gaps in their historical knowledge. I have no words to
express my emotions after reading this book. For my part, I can only be grateful
to the author that she decided to undertake such a difficult subject. For Poles,
it is very important people around the world learn about the great drama we
experienced when on September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. But that's
not all, because several days later (September 17) the Soviet Union, headed by
Jozef Stalin (1878-1953), did the same. Therefore, I recommend Katrina Shawver’s
book to anyone who wants to know the extraordinary story of the man who
survived hell, and even so he never gave up and lost his faith in people.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Email: katrina [at] katrinashawver.com<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Website: </span><a href="https://katrinashawver.com/"><span lang="EN-US">katrinashawver.com</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Facebook: </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ReadKatrinaShawver/"><span lang="EN-US">Read Katrina Shawver</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">HENRY on Book Depository: </span><a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/search?searchTerm=Katrina+Shawver&search=Find+book"><span lang="EN-US">Click here</span></a> <span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">HENRY on Amazon UK: </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=katrina+shawver"><span lang="EN-US">Click here</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you want to read this review in Polish, please click<a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2017/12/katrina-shawver-henry-polish-swimmers.html" target="_blank"> here</a>. </span></div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-60113286366658099512017-04-26T11:16:00.000+02:002017-12-16T13:01:02.774+01:00It was a story I’d wanted to write for years...<br />
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<b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;">Interview with Margaret Leroy</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;">by Agnes A. Rose</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span lang="EN-US">Margaret Leroy is a British
novelist. As a child she wrote elaborate fantasy stories but she never showed
them to anyone. When she was about 12, she stopped writing and she did not
start again till her mid-twenties. She went to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Oxford</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> to study music. In her twenties she
tried all sorts of things – music therapy, play-leading with children with
disabilities, work in a toy shop, teaching. Finally she found work as a social
worker. At first, she wrote non-fiction and a book for children. Her first
novel – TRUST – was published in 1999. This book was adapted for a British
television film with a screenplay by Matthew Hall as LOVING YOU in 2003. Later
she wrote POSTCARDS FROM BERLIN (2003) that was also published as THE PERFECT
MOTHER, and THE RIVER HOUSE (2005). In </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="color: #0c343d;"> we can read two of the Margaret
Leroy’s books: THE SOLDIER’S WIFE and THE ENGLISH GIRL which were published by
GOLA. </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>A very warm welcome to you,
Margaret, and can I thank you, for taking time to talk to me today. Because
recently I have read your book called THE SOLDIER’S WIFE, I would like to start
our conversation just with it. The main character of this story is Vivienne de
la Mare who gets involved in a forbidden love affair with an SS-officer. It is
very controversial. Could you tell us what motivated you to create this story? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Margaret Leroy:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> It was a story I’d wanted to write
for years, ever since I first learned about the Occupation of the </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Channel Islands</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> by the Germans in WW2. It was a
hidden piece of history, and I thought it would make a wonderful setting for a
story. But I didn’t feel the right moment had come until I’d already written
five contemporary novels: I was quite nervous about writing my first historical
novel!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>While writing the history of
Vivienne and Gunther, weren’t you afraid that you would create negative
emotions both in readers and critics? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ML:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I guess I don’t really think about
critics when I’m writing a novel – I just have a story which I want to tell.
For me, the Occupation was fascinating to write about, because people face such
difficult dilemmas in their everyday lives when they live alongside the enemy.
I was interested in the moral complexity of the situations my heroine would
have to confront, and I hope that people will empathise with her as they read
the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>We all know how women who
fraternized with the enemy were punished not only during the Second World War
but also after the war. You mention that in your novel, too. Do you think that Vivienne
would also deserve such a punishment? After all, she loves that German officer
in a way, and besides, she meets him in order to be able to provide food to her
family when her husband is absent. <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ML:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> In fact, women who’d slept with the
enemy weren’t punished in that way on </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Guernsey</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">, but some were punished on </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Jersey</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">, one of the other islands. That was
one of the reasons I chose </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Guernsey</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> as my setting, as that wasn’t essentially part of the story I wanted to
tell. As to whether she’d have deserved such punishment, I guess that’s for the
reader to decide!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>While reading THE SOLDIER’S
WIFE, I got the impression that Vivienne’s mother-in-law is also a very
important character in this story. Despite the fact that she lives in her own
world, in a certain way she understands the reality that surrounds her. Did you
have any difficulties creating this character? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ML:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I think you’re absolutely right in
what you say about her. She’s someone whose mind is starting to go, but she
also sometimes sees into the heart of things. I used to work as a psychiatric
social worker, and that background was helpful in creating the character – I
had some understanding of the way someone suffering from dementia might talk or
behave. And I like creating characters who may seem strange or different, but
who have their own wisdom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Why did you choose </i></b></span><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Guernsey</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> as the setting of your book? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u-Bn9AH5Lto/WQBcl-5JsmI/AAAAAAAAHcs/SZgPfaBXEgwE6cvT5Rw9EHjaAUFBJYLnACEw/s1600/kolaborantka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u-Bn9AH5Lto/WQBcl-5JsmI/AAAAAAAAHcs/SZgPfaBXEgwE6cvT5Rw9EHjaAUFBJYLnACEw/s400/kolaborantka.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>This is the Polish cover of<br /> "The Soldier's Wife"<br />Published by GOLA (2013)<br />Translated by Anna Wojtaszczyk<br />& Olga Wojtaszczyk </b></td></tr>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ML:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Before I wrote the book, I went to </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Guernsey</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> on a research trip as I knew I
couldn’t write the book if I didn’t love the place. And I was enchanted. Though
the island is quite small, it was easy to leave the crowded bits behind and to
seek out peaceful places, like the deep lanes of St Pierre du Bois, where I
decided Vivienne should live. I even chose a particular house where I could
picture her living. I find it a huge help in writing a story if I can see the
setting very precisely in my mind’s eye. And once I’ve created that world, it’s
always such a joy to return to it every time I sit down to write.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Your second book we can read in
Polish is called THE ENGLISH GIRL. This is the story of a seventeen-year-old
girl who is offered the chance to study at the </span></i></b><st1:place><st1:placetype><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Academy</span></i></b></st1:placetype><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> of </span></i></b><st1:placename><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Music</span></i></b></st1:placename></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> and Performing Arts in </span></i></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Vienna</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><i><span lang="EN-US">. Pre-war </span></i></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Vienna</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> is very beautiful and makes Stella
Whittaker an amazing impression. What made you decide to write this kind of
book? Its plot also focuses on the Second World War. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ML:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I’d visited </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Vienna</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> in my twenties, and found it an
amazing place. In terms of culture, it’s so rich: Freud lived there, and so
many celebrated musicians – Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart. And the coffee-shops
are wonderful! I chose the 1930’s because I find those years just before war broke
out very fascinating – the way people maybe sensed what was going to happen and
yet it couldn’t be stopped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>And now let’s talk about your
debut, please. I read on your website that your first book called TRUST deals
with an allegation of sex abuse. This is a very serious problem. Could you tell
us something more about this novel? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ML:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> At the time I wrote it, I was
working as a social worker, and the seed of the story was something that happened
to some people I knew. The story is told from the viewpoint of a woman, Chloe:
her lover is a child psychologist who has an allegation of child abuse made
against him. The incredibly difficult dilemma she faces is whether to believe
him when he says the allegation is false. Should she trust him?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What made TRUST be adapted
for a British television film? Do you remember what you felt when you found out
about it? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ML:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I was completely thrilled! It was
so exciting for me to see my story on the screen, and they made a beautiful job
of it. It was so strange to think that one day the idea had come to me, to
write this story, and now it had grown into a television drama that was seen by
an audience of eight million people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What motivates you to write
about difficult life problems? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RKcCvBymdfY/WQBdWdoRcoI/AAAAAAAAHc0/2WAernH7PBwhQJX74YZi4TCNBz3gxHkwgCEw/s1600/fraulein-angielka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RKcCvBymdfY/WQBdWdoRcoI/AAAAAAAAHc0/2WAernH7PBwhQJX74YZi4TCNBz3gxHkwgCEw/s400/fraulein-angielka.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>This is the Polish cover of<br />"The English Girl"<br />Published by GOLA (2014)<br />Translated by Anna Wojtaszczyk<br />& Olga Wojtaszczyk</b></td></tr>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ML:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> My first thought was to say that
this is because of my experience as a social worker. But I think the answer is
more complicated than that – maybe I was drawn to social work for the same
reason that I’m drawn to write stories about difficult life problems! I think
I’ve always been intrigued by the darker side of human nature, and I always
want to understand why people behave as they do. And of course many stories do
deal with difficult things: you need to put your characters into extreme
situations and see how they react.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Before you published TRUST,
you had written non-fiction and a book for children. Could you tell us
something more about this part of your writing career? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ML:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I wrote books about miscarriage and
female sexuality. I enjoyed researching and writing those books, but if I’m
entirely honest they were also a way in to what I really wanted to do – writing
novels. Through my non-fiction, I met publishers and literary agents, and began
to understand how publishing works, and all that knowledge was helpful when I
wanted to offer my first novel for publication.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Your latest book is entitled
A BRIEF AFFAIR. Its plot also focuses on the Second World War. Why do you write
about the war so often? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ML:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> My first five novels were set in
the present day, but I’ve since written three WW2 books, and very much enjoyed
writing them. There are still so many great stories to be told about WW2, and
readers continue to be fascinated by it. But I think A BRIEF AFFAIR will be my
last WW2 book, and I’m writing something quite different now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How do you find the perfect
balance between dialogue and narrative? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ML:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I find this quite a difficult
question to answer, as it’s not really something I think about consciously when
I’m writing. My approach is first to write a plot outline, and then to write a
quick first draft of the book, which will have most of the dialogue in, but not
very much description. Then in later drafts I’ll fill out the story, and there
will be much more narrative and description, but the dialogue will probably
stay much as it is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Could you tell us how your
typical working day looks like? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ML:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I only write in the mornings – I
can’t write for longer than four or five hours at a time. In the afternoons, I
deal with all the other things – research, email and so on. I also try to fit
in a bit of exercise – writing is the most sedentary of occupations. I’m a
fanatical swimmer, and I’m constantly dragging my poor husband off on long
walks!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>You mentioned above that now
you are working on a new novel. Would you like to tell us something about it? </i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ML:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> My new novel is set in the </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">New Forest</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">, which is a beautiful part of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> where I grew up, and where my grandfather
was a forester, so I know the setting very well. The story has two strands –
one is contemporary, and one takes place a thousand years ago. So this is
something quite different for me, and utterly fascinating to write.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Margaret, thank you very much
for this nice conversation. Is there anything you would like to add or tell
your Polish readers?</i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ML:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I’m so glad that you enjoy my
novels. Happy reading!</span></div>
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If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2017/04/to-historia-ktora-chciaam-napisac-od-lat.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-35060133424267626732017-04-10T12:31:00.000+02:002017-04-10T18:39:36.902+02:00I find my stories everywhere...<br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Interview with Barbara Wood</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>by Agnes A. Rose</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Barbara Wood is an American author
but she was born in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Warrington</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> (</span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span lang="EN-US">Lancashire</span></span></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">, </span><st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">England</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">). She<span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">was born to an English mother and
a Polish father, and her maiden name was Lewandowski</span><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">. </span></i></span>She
immigrated to the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">United States</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> with her parents and older brother.
She grew up in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Southern California</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> and attended Los Angeles Schools. After High
School, Barbara attended the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">University</span></st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US"> of </span><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">California</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> at </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Santa Barbara</span></st1:place></st1:city></b></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b> but left to train as a surgical
technician. She sold her first book in 1976. So far she has written twenty nine
books, including three under a pen name Kathryn Harvey. These books are quite
different from the Barbara Wood’s novels. Now she is at work on her thirtieth. She
is an international best selling author with books translated into over thirty
languages. The reader is transported to exotic countries that Barbara has
meticulously researched to provide her fans with a true sense of the culture
and history relevant to each story. At the heart of every book, is a strong,
independent woman. </b></span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>When not
writing, Barbara often takes time to enjoy the work of other authors. </b></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: #181818;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #181818;"> <b><i>Thank you so much that you accepted my
invitation to take part in this interview. I am very honored that I can host
you on my blog and talk to you. As I understood you trained as </i></b></span></span><b><i><span lang="EN-US">a surgical technician. Could you
tell us what made you change your mind and you decided to start writing books? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Barbara Wood:</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US">And I am honored that you have invited me to
participate! Yes, I worked in a hospital in the operating room. About writing:
I never changed my mind. I have always told stories, ever since I was a little
girl. I started actually writing them down on paper when I was around twelve. Writing
was my hobby, something I did in the evenings after working at the hospital. It
was only after I had published three novels that I was persuaded to quit my
“day” job and stay home and write full time. It was a very strange transition,
to go from working with a surgical team to working entirely alone.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Did you have any difficulties
during the release of your first book? If so, how did you deal with them? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BW:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> The only difficulty I had was going into a bookstore and see my book
there! My friends literally had to push me through the door!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">On your website I read that you
wrote your first book at the age of 16. I think it’s very early. I am very
curious what that book was about. Do you still remember it? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BW:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Oh, I remember it! I still have it all these years later. It is called
ATON’S KINGDOM and is a romance set in ancient </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Egypt</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> in the
time of Nefertiti and Akhenaton. There is a lot of hand-holding in it and
starry gazes. LOL! I have left instructions that it is to be burned upon my
death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Before you became the
international bestselling author you had held many different jobs, such as waitress,
secretary, switchboard operator, and even dog walker. Was that your own way of
searching for your place in your life? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BW:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I suppose it was. Plus, I guess I was looking for myself through my
writing, except that I didn’t know it at the time. I always thought of writing
as a hobby. I never thought I’d be published. I wrote complete novels and put
them in a drawer. It was my husband who suggested I try submitting one. I sold
it on my first try. I was very surprised!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>On the pages of your books you
usually invite readers to visit some exotic countries. Sometimes you also write
about the prehistoric times. How do you collect necessary information for this
kind of stories? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BW:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I do a lot of research. And I have visited every place I have written about.
I won’t write about a place I have never been to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Since you have visited all
countries you have written about, could you tell us about your travel
impressions? What country did you like most? Why? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BW:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I have loved every country I have ever visited, but each for a
different reason. (</span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Italy</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, the
food; </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Germany</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, the
wine; </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Egypt</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, the
ancient sites; </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Australia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, the
beer). But in all cases, I have loved the people. I love meeting strangers,
asking them about themselves, listening to their stories. People fascinate me.
Plus, everywhere else in the world has a longer history than </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">America</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> (there
are no written records for when the Indians were the sole inhabitants here). It
is such a treat to visit a country that has such old streets and monuments, and
where famous people walked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>I have been reading your
books for many years and I love them very much. In </i></b></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> your readers can read most of them.
A few weeks ago I read DOMINA. In my opinion it’s a very beautiful story. The
main character of this novel is Samantha Hargrave who wants to be a doctor but
all the time she must struggle with the world dominated by men. She is a brave
woman who does not want to give up. What motivated you to create this female
character living in the conservative Victorian era?</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BW:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I love the medical world. I loved working in the operating room, I am
fascinated – even to this day – about women who enter medicine, especially as
doctors, and I have always had an interest in the history of medicine. It was
always a male dominated profession. In the Middle Ages women who tried to
practice medicine were burned as witches. I think the men were jealous. I
wanted to show readers what it was like for women in the Victorian era. Nursing
became an accepted profession for women, but not the role of physician. A few brave women succeeded. Samantha
Hargrave is a composite of several real women doctors in the 19<sup>th</sup>
century.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>The second of your book I
have read recently is THE LAST SHAMAN. What a great idea for the story! In this
novel you take your readers to the pre-Columbian era. Could you tell us how
your work on this book looked like? Was it difficult to create the world of the
Toltec culture?</i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BW:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Of course I visited the ruins in </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Chaco</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">Canyon</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> and
tried to imagine what it was like back then.
No one really knows. Experts (scientists, historians, archaeologists)
can’t agree on how the Toltecs came to New Mexico, or why, or even if they were
there at all. And most mysteriously – why did they suddenly vanish without a
trace? Although I did as much research as I could, most of the book comes from
my imagination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>I know that you are the
co-author of the story about Poland occupied by Nazi Germans. It’s entitled
NIGHT TRAINS. The time is 1941 and the place is the strategic town of Sofia. I
wonder why the name of the town is Sofia. In Poland there has never been the
town with such a name. Is it fictional one? The novel has not been translated
into Polish yet. Could you tell us something more about this book, please? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BW:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I wrote NIGHT TRAINS with a surgeon I was working with at the time. He
found an article in a medical journal about a town in Poland that cleverly kept
the Nazis out by faking a typhus epidemic. So it’s a true story. But there was
no way we could find out the details, so we decided to fictionalize it. Sofia
is a fictional town.*</span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>You have written so many
books. Could you tell us where you continue to find new, fresh ideas for the
plots? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">BW:</span></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> I find my
stories everywhere. I read newspapers, I discover interesting things online, or
I overhear conversations in restaurants. I am always writing things down. I
carry a notepad with me all the time, and when I see something or hear
something that sounds interesting, I write it down. I am currently working on
my 30<sup>th</sup> book and have enough material for thirty more!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">AAR:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>In my opinion so many old-school romance novels
feature needy, kinda pitiful women. I am very interested in the fact why did
you decide to do the exact opposite and feature strong, successful, go-getter
female characters?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">BW:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> I guess it’s
because I’m not a soft, needy woman and so I can’t relate to such a heroine and
can’t write about one. I’m a fighter and so that’s the kind of woman I write
about.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">AAR:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>What is the message you want readers to take
away from your books?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">BW:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> I have just
two hopes for the readers of my books: that they have been entertained and
possibly forgotten their worries for a while (that’s why <u>I</u> read books),
and also that they have learned something new, that I have given them something
to think about (another reason why I read books).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">AAR:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>Could you describe your writing schedule? Do
you outline? Any habits?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">BW:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> I outline as
I go along, never ahead of time. The story reveals itself to me as I write it
so that, many times, I am just as surprised by a twist or a secret revealed as
the reader is. I only keep an outline for reference. A book can take up to a
year or more to write, so I need to go back and remind myself where the
characters have been and what they have been doing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My schedule is the same
every day: I get up and go straight to my favorite chair by a window, curl up
with my cat, my writing pad, and my coffee and I write by hand. I take a break
and go for walks around the neighborhood, and then in the afternoon I transfer
my handwritten material onto the computer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">AAR:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>As I mentioned above you also writes as Kathryn
Harvey. You have written three books under a pen name. Why did you decide to
change your name to write these stories? How much different are they from those
you create as Barbara Wood? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">BW:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The Kathryn
Harvey books contain explicit sex. A lot of authors use pen names when they
change their style. I didn’t want Barbara Wood readers to be shocked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">AAR:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>Could you tell us about your next
project or projects? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">BW:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The book I
just turned in to my publisher is called THE FAR RIVER. It’s about German
immigrants who come to California in 1912 to establish a winery (California is
famous for its wines). It’s a three-generation family saga. That book is
finished and will be out next year. Now I am starting another family story,
three-generations, and it starts with three sisters in the present day who come
into a startling inheritance, and they eventually uncover some shocking family
secrets.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">AAR:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>Thank you once again for this conversation. I
wish you further success in your writing. Is there anything you would like to
tell your Polish readers? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">BW:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Thank you,
Agnes, it was my pleasure. Your questions gave me something to think
about! And your English is excellent by
the way. Unfortunately, the only Polish I ever learned was when I was a little
girl and my father taught me to say my prayers in Polish. I suspect he thought
the Virgin Mary preferred Polish to English.
</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "wingdings";">J</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">And to your Polish readers
I would like to say that I have a very special place in my heart for Poland.
After the war, my father could never go back, and so he was cut off from his
family there. So I would like to take this opportunity, if I may, to say hello
not only to your blog visitors, Agnes, but also: if there are any Lewandowskis
reading this blog, Greetings from your cousin in California!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2017/04/pomysy-na-swoje-opowiesci-znajduje.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*</span> It is probably a fictitious
epidemic of typhus that was caused by two Polish doctors at the turn of 1941
and 1942: Eugeniusz Lazanowski (1913-2006) and Stanislaw Matulewicz (?). One
day Matulewicz discovered a benign bacterium that being present in the human
body showed in medical texts the same results as typhoid fever. Then the
doctors began injecting the non-lethal bacteria into their patients’ bodies and
next sending their blood samples to German laboratories. The whole situation
took place in the neighbourhood of Stalowa Wola (the town which is located in
the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Podkarpackie</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">Province</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">). And so the Germans, horrified by
the "epidemic" of typhus, began to escape from the endangered area.
The evacuation referred not only to German officers but also ordinary German
citizens. Due to the fear of plague, the Nazi abandoned the arrests and mass
deportations of people to Nazi concentration camps. In this way the Polish
doctors saved many people, including Jews. In order to avoid being uncovered a
conspiracy, the doctors concealed the fact of using the complete innocent
bacteria even from their patients. For the first time the novel “Night Trains”
was published in 1979. Its co-author is Gareth Wootton. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-13252293763838690032017-01-21T13:55:00.000+01:002017-01-21T13:57:56.090+01:00Before my research for THE OTHER EINSTEIN, I had no idea that Albert and Mileva had a child before their marriage ...<br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Interview with Marie Benedict</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>by Agnes A. Rose</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than years’ experience as a
litigator at two of the country’s premier law firms. She is a graduate of </span></span><st1:place><st1:placename><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">Boston</span></span></st1:placename><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span><st1:placetype><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">College</span></span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> and the Boston University School of Law. While Marie
was practicing as a lawyer, she was dreamed about a fantastical job unearthing
the hidden historical stories of women. Finally she found it when she tried her
hand at writing. She embarked on a new, narratively connected series of
historical novels with THE OTHER EINSTEIN, which tells the tale of Albert
Einstein’s first wife who was a physicist, too. Mileva Marić might have played
the role in his theories. Marie Benedict writes also as Heather Terrell. So far
she has published the historical novels such as THE CHRYSALIS, THE MAP THIEF,
and BRIGID OF KILDARE. She is also the author of FALLEN ANGEL SERIES and BOOKS
OF EVA SERIES. In </span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> her book THE OTHER EINSTEIN was released on </span></span><st1:date day="11" month="1" year="2017"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">January 11, 2017</span></span></st1:date></span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="color: #0c343d;">. </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Marie, thank you very much that you agreed to
accept my invitation to take part in this interview. I am so happy that I can
talk to you about your books. Let’s start our conversation with the fact that
you are a lawyer. What happened that you decided to create fiction? Did you
want to forget about your work and focus on something that gave you more
pleasure? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BaFfvoobLng/WINO4uObX8I/AAAAAAAAG7k/osUIFPYG0vUBuusojlYpTIwi2Pds1qRuACLcB/s1600/the%2Bother%2Beinstein.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BaFfvoobLng/WINO4uObX8I/AAAAAAAAG7k/osUIFPYG0vUBuusojlYpTIwi2Pds1qRuACLcB/s400/the%2Bother%2Beinstein.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Published by <br />SOURCEBOOKS LANDMARK<br />USA, October 2016</i></span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Marie Benedict:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> While I enjoyed practicing as a commercial litigator
in </span></span><st1:city><st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">New York City</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">, I had always — since a very young age — been
captivated by the untold stories lurking in the past, particularly those
stories of women. One night, while working late at night at my law firm, a
friend asked me a question that gave me an idea for a novel. From that point
forward, I have been writing stories, and I am incredibly fortunate that I am
able to focus on writing exclusively. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AAR</span></i></b></span></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>As I mentioned above you dreamed about a job
that would allow you to unearth the hidden historical stories of women. I think
that this fact could make you to become interested in Mileva Marić’s life. How
did you come across her story? What motivated you to write about this woman? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MB:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> One evening, I was reading a children’s biography by
Scholastic about Albert Einstein with one of my sons, and the book mentioned
that his first wife was also a physicist with whom he had attended university.
I began to wonder who this woman was and what role she might have played in the
great scientist’s theories. Once I began researching, the story of Mileva Marić
became even more intriguing and important. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AAR:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Some of historians say that Albert Einstein’s
first wife contributed to his early works, but we don’t know how important her
role and participation were. What do you think about it? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MB:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> While I think we will never know the full extent of
her participation in his theories, we do know that Mileva was well-educated and
extremely bright and that she and Albert had long been research and study
partners. Given Mileva’s background and the nature of her relationship with
Albert, shouldn’t the onus be on others to prove that she played <i>no</i> role
in his scientific breakthroughs?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AAR</span></i></b></span></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What is the most interesting or maybe
surprising fact you came across in your research for THE OTHER EINSTEIN?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MB:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> Before my research for THE OTHER EINSTEIN, I had no
idea that Albert Einstein and Mileva Marić had a child before their marriage —
a little girl named Lieserl — and I had no comprehension of how that child
impacted Mileva’s life. This fact was astonishing, particularly with respect to
the pivotal role it played for Mileva. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AAR</span></i></b></span></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What was the most difficult while writing THE
OTHER EINSTEIN? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MB:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> Albert Einstein is such an iconic figure, arguably
the world’s most famous scientist and one of the more well-known individuals,
that I found writing a story that necessarily included him quite daunting,
especially because his depiction in THE OTHER EINSTEIN is not entirely in
keeping with the image most people have of the great scientist. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AAR</span></i></b></span></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>THE OTHER EINSTEIN was released in </i></b></span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US">America</span></i></b></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> a few months ago. Could you tell us
how your American readers reacted to it? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MB:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> I have been extremely fortunate in the wonderful
reception I’ve gotten from readers. It has received tremendous praise and
recognition, and the story of Mileva Marić seems to strike a different chord in
different people — whether it is amazement that her tale has never been told,
anger that her possible contribution to Albert Einstein’s work has been
forgotten or suppressed, disappointment that her emotional and care-taking
support of Einstein during a critical period in his career has been
marginalized, or sadness at the terrible losses Mileva suffered. I could go on
and on!</span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-slay2SVQXBY/WINPuAHivTI/AAAAAAAAG7o/9--wicX1lWYf2XhVKDl4iW8TBf3tk-QSACLcB/s1600/Albert%2Bi%2BMileva.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-slay2SVQXBY/WINPuAHivTI/AAAAAAAAG7o/9--wicX1lWYf2XhVKDl4iW8TBf3tk-QSACLcB/s640/Albert%2Bi%2BMileva.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Albert Einstein (1879-1955) with his first wife Mileva </i></b></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Marić (1875-1948)<br />This photo was taken in 1912 by an unknown author. </i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div>
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<st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AAR</span></i></b></span></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>You also write as Heather Terrell. Is it your
literary pseudonym? Why do you write using the two names? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MB:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> My earlier novels, the ones I wrote under the name
Heather Terrell, all contained at their core a mystery, typically one that
focused on an unanswered historical question or myth. While those novels
differed in genre, they shared that similarity. My new novels, of which THE
OTHER EINSTEIN is the first, will be works of historical fiction, centering on
the untold stories of historical women that have important resonance in our
modern lives.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AAR</span></i></b></span></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>You are also the author of paranormal YA
series. Could you tell us something more about these books? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MB:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> That series — entitled FALLEN ANGEL — explores
similar themes, namely unanswered historical mysteries, although that
exploration takes a different genre format and a broader reach. In that series,
I delved into the origins of the vampire myth and how it emerged simultaneously
across different cultures. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AAR</span></i></b></span></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: </span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Some Polish reviewers try to compare
BOOKS OF EVA SERIES with THE HUNGER GAMES TRYLOGY by Suzanne Collins. Do you
agree with it? Were you inspired by these books? Or maybe is it only a
marketing trick used by publishers and repeated by readers? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MB:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> THE HUNGER GAMES series was a tremendous series, and
I am very complimented by such a comparison. Whatever similarities exist
between the two series, however, they are not purposeful. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j_w91C2GZ18/WINQmBfbEcI/AAAAAAAAG7w/SBnGEqYX6wwW2z3kh4TspQcIa-QqIOlRwCLcB/s1600/marie%2Bbenedict.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j_w91C2GZ18/WINQmBfbEcI/AAAAAAAAG7w/SBnGEqYX6wwW2z3kh4TspQcIa-QqIOlRwCLcB/s400/marie%2Bbenedict.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">This is the Polish cover of <br />THE OTHER EINSTEIN<br />Published by ZNAK HORYZONT<br />Kraków 2017<br />Translated by Natalia Mętrak-Ruda</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AAR</span></i></b></span></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Now let’s return to history. Why are you
interested in the hidden historical stories of women? Wouldn’t you like to
write about women whose lives are commonly known? I think that it is easier
because of researching. <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MB:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> Delving into the lives of women who played a
significant historical role — but who are little known — gives us a fresh and
fuller perspective on our history and ourselves. That is why I write about
women whose tales are largely undiscovered rather than commonly known women.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AAR</span></i></b></span></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Do you have your favourite historical woman you
admire? If so, who is it and why? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MB:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> This list of historical women I admire is incredibly
long, and I could not possibly single out just one. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AAR</span></i></b></span></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: </span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US">If you could go back in time and
meet Mileva Marić what would you like to talk to her about? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MB:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> I would adore meeting Mileva! Having spent so much
time with her letters, I feel like I know her, although of course we cannot
really ever know someone from the past. I would hope that Mileva and I could
converse about her earliest aspirations, how she made the astonishing climb to
a Swiss university at a time when very few women had higher educations, what
her relationship with Albert was really like, the nature of her role in his
“miracle year” theories, and most of all, what happened to her dear
Lieserl. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AAR</span></i></b></span></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Have you found another hidden historical woman
you would like to write about? If so, could you tell us about her? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MB:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> As I mentioned, I have a very long list of forgotten
historical women that I adore and would like to bring to light. It is actually
incredibly hard to select just one woman to focus on at a time. That said, I
did pick one for my next book, entitled CARNEGIE’S MAID. It shares the story of
the woman behind the transformation of the famous American industrialist Andrew
Carnegie from ruthless businessman to the world’s first philanthropist.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AAR</span></i></b></span></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i><span style="background: white;">Marie, thank you
once again for this conversation. I wish you further success in your
writing. Is there anything you would like to tell your Polish readers who are
going to read THE OTHER EINSTEIN?</span><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MB:</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> Thank you so much for your support and interest in
THE OTHER EINSTEIN! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2017/01/zanim-zaczeam-prowadzic-badania-do-pani.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-63005044093116663262016-11-19T12:09:00.000+01:002016-11-22T13:31:33.671+01:00I look for something from history that no one has dealt with before...<br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Interview with Steve Berry </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>by Agnes A. Rose</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Steve
Berry is an American author and former attorney. He is a graduate of </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Mercer</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">University</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">'s Walter
F. George School of Law. His passion is history so it lies at the heart of
every one of his thrillers. A practicing attorney at the time, Steve Berry had been
writing fiction since 1990, and it took him 12 years and 85 rejections before
selling a manuscript to Ballantine Books. His first novel was <i>The Amber Room,</i> which was published in
2003. His next book, <i>The Romanov Prophecy,
</i>was released a year later. He now has more than twenty million books in
print, which have been translated into many languages and sold in more than
fifty countries. <span style="background: white;">Steve Berry is also the author
of the Cotton Malone Series, which is very popular and loved by readers. In </span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> we
can read a lot of his books published by SONIA DRAGA. So far he has won many
awards for his work. </span><span lang="EN-US">He is a founding member of International Thriller
Writers. This is a group of <span style="background: white;">more than 3,800
thriller writers from around the world. For two years he was its co-president. Steve
Berry and his wife travel the world both researching and promoting his books.
One comment they hear repeatedly concerns the dwindling supply of funds
available to preserve our heritage. So Steve and Elizabeth launched History
Matters to assist communities around the world with restoration and
preservation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>A very warm welcome to you, Steve, and can I thank you, for taking
time out of your busy schedule to talk to me today. When a few years ago I read
your first book “The </i></b></span><st1:place><st1:placename><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Amber</span></i></b></st1:placename><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i></b><st1:placename><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Room</span></i></b></st1:placename></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">”, I thought: “What
a fantastic historical thriller!” Could you tell us what motivated you to
create this kind of story? I want to add that I have been your huge fan since
then. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c_TnzbvTVzI/WDAqtKt5zRI/AAAAAAAAGn0/brAqQMQLP40GAO8mVy6Ixna_paDkQDHwwCLcB/s1600/SteveBerry-Media%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c_TnzbvTVzI/WDAqtKt5zRI/AAAAAAAAGn0/brAqQMQLP40GAO8mVy6Ixna_paDkQDHwwCLcB/s400/SteveBerry-Media%2B1.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">photo by Kelly Campbell</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Steve Berry:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> In 1995, I was listening to a
program on the Discovery channel, not watching, only listening from another
room. The narrator was talking about the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Amber</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Room</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">. I caught only the last few minutes
of the show, but the idea fascinated me. Unfortunately, not enough information
came from the television show for me to even know what the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Amber</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Room</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> was. I actually, at first, thought
it was a painting. All I learned from the little I heard was that it was stolen
from the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Catherine</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Palace</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> in Tsarskoe Selo and had not been
seen since 1945. So I went to the bookstore and thumbed through Russian travel
guides until I found a reference. It took several more months of research to
formulate the novel’s plot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>As I mentioned above you had been writing since 1990 and it took you
12 years and 85 rejections before selling a manuscript to your publisher. Why
did it take you so long to publish your first book? What was wrong with your
fiction that publishers rejected it as many as 85 times? It is unbelievable! <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Nothing was really wrong. It was
all about timing. I was writing what was then called a spy thriller. But that
genre died in 1991 when the Cold War ended.
Consequently, editors in the 1990s weren’t buying those kind of books
then. Then, in 2003, the genre was reborn with <i>The DaVinci Code</i>. It came back not as a spy thriller, but as
action, history, secrets, and conspiracies. Exactly what I was writing, so I was
able to make it to publication. Timing is everything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Your second book was “The Romanov Prophecy”. It was released in
2004, so shortly after your debut novel. Did you know then that you would be a professional
writer and each your next book would be released? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I knew I wanted to be a commercial
fiction writer and sell a book-a-year to a </span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">New York</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-US"> publishing house. But I had no idea
if I would be able to actually accomplish that. It all depended on readers
liking the books. Thankfully, they did. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How do you usually choose a theme of your next novel and select
characters? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I look for something from history
that no one has dealt with before, something lost and forgotten, but true. It
has to be true. I keep my novels about 90% accurate to history, with only 10%
speculation. No writer wants to write
what someone else has already done. So I search hard for those unknown bits of
history that I hope readers will find interesting. The characters select
themselves, depending on the story. Sometimes Cassiopeia is there, sometimes not. Luke Daniels has become a
series regular now, appearing in many of the books. The hardest part is
fashioning the bad guy since each one has to be different than the one before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">What made you become interested in history? Why is it so important to
you? Do you have your favourite historical era? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> The past is our roadmap to the
future. Studying it is important. Forgetting or ignoring it can be disastrous. And
I really have no particular favorite era. My novels have been across a wide
spectrum from ancient times to the Cold War, but always with a modern twist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>In your books you sometimes write about the mysteries of the
Catholic Church what may seem controversial. Let me mention for example “The
Third Secret”. Aren’t you afraid of Catholics’ reactions? Why do you choose
such themes? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> The reaction to the <i>The Third Secret</i> by some Catholics was
hostile. I received a few thousand e-mails damning me to hell. The book was an
idea I had way back in parochial school. What would happen if God was a
liberal? Not a flame-throwing ultra-conservative. Instead, he’s progressive and
we have it all wrong. It’s a good story – and readers have to keep that in
mind. It’s a story, made-up, not real. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Your “<span style="background: white;">Cotton Malone Series” is very
popular around the world. In my opinion the main character called Cotton Malone
– a former U.S. Justice Department agent – is very interesting. Could you tell
us what inspired you to create him? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">SB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> He was born in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Copenhagen</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> while I was
sitting at a café in Højbro Plads, a popular Danish square. That’s why Cotton
owns a bookshop there. I wanted a character with government ties and a background
that would make him, if threatened, formidable. But I also wanted him to be
human, with flaws. Since I also love rare books, it was natural that Cotton
would too, so he became a Justice Department operative, turned bookseller, who
manages, from time to time, to find trouble. I also gave him an eidetic memory,
since who wouldn’t like one of those? At the same time, Cotton is clearly a man
in conflict. His marriage has failed, he maintains a difficult relationship
with his teenage son, and he’s lousy with
women.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xSeJUJbYEiI/WDArA04przI/AAAAAAAAGn4/mqDMHeYMzC86AzYxnpRlce5DQeaYenbagCEw/s1600/Steve-Berry-Media%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xSeJUJbYEiI/WDArA04przI/AAAAAAAAGn4/mqDMHeYMzC86AzYxnpRlce5DQeaYenbagCEw/s400/Steve-Berry-Media%2B2.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">photo by Rana Faure</span></b></i></td></tr>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Which part of <span style="background: white;">Cotton Malone</span> is
closest to you? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> His personality is pretty much mine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span style="color: maroon;"><span lang="EN-US">AAR</span></span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>While writing books which part of researching is the most personally
interesting to you? Are there any facts, symbols, or themes that you would like
to include, but they just don't make into the story?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SB: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">The research for each novel takes
about 18 months and involves 300 to 4000 sources. So there’s a lot. Of that
research, only about 20% makes it into the novel. The vast majority is never used. There’s a
reason for that. I’m writing a novel,
not a textbook. Its primary purpose is to entertain. If along the way the reader
can also learn some things, that’s just an added bonus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How</i> <i>would you describe your books to someone who has not read
any of them?</i><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">
“Action, history, secrets, and conspiracies.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Most authors say that it is important to write you love because then you
can succeed as a bestselling writer. Do you agree with this statement? Have you
always written historical thrillers? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Absolutely. It’s the best writing
advice to can take. Always write what you love. When I began writing I gravitated straight to
action, history, secrets, and conspiracies. The seed for that was probably sown
when I read my first adult novel at the age of 15. </span><st1:state><st1:place><i><span lang="EN-US">Hawaii</span></i></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-US"> by James Michener. He remains my favorite
writer of all time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">What about books you like reading? What kind of literature do you
prefer? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I’m a thriller junkie. I read a lot
of them. But my main reading is non-fiction, the research materials for the
book I’m working on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>You have helped restore a lot of ailing historical artifacts and
buildings through your History Matters foundation. Could you tell us something
more about your work in the foundation?</i> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Money for historic preservation and
conservation is one of the first things to be cut from any budget. My wife,
Elizabeth, and I thought it was time to come up with an innovative way to raise
money, and that’s what History Matters is all about. The most popular method we
use is a 4 hour seminar we teach where writers, aspiring writers, and readers
buy their way in with a contribution to the cause. All of the money raised from
the workshop goes to the particular historical project that we are there to
support. No expenses or appearance fees are charged. In fact, I pay all those myself.
So far we’ve taught over 3000 students. Other ways History Matters raises money
is through meet and greets, speaking engagements, gala events, receptions,
luncheons, dinners, club meetings, or a cocktail party. All total we’ve raised
nearly a $1,000,000 for historical preservation. You can find out more at </span><span lang="EN-US">history-matters.org</span>.</div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>I am also very interested in International Thriller Writers. Could
you tell us how this group of writers works? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> It’s an organization of 3800
thriller writers from around the world, the guild for thriller writers. I was
fortunate to be one of the founding members and I served as co-president for
two years. I still serve on the board of directors today as vice-president of
Publications. Membership is free to any working thriller writer. You can find
out more at thrillerwriters.org. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></i></b></st1:place></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What is your writing project you are currently working on? Could you
tell us something more about it? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I’m finishing up the novel that will
be published in April 2018. It will be Cotton Malone’s 13<sup>th</sup>
adventure. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what it’s about yet, but I can say
that involves a subject-matter that will be quite topical then. The next Cotton
Malone story releases in the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">United States</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> on </span><st1:date day="4" month="4" year="2017"><span lang="EN-US">April 4,
2017</span></st1:date><span lang="EN-US">. It’s
called <i>The Lost Order.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Steve, I have been absolutely delighted and very honored that you
agreed to be interviewed for my literary and historical site. Is there anything
you would like to tell your Polish readers? I know that you are going to visit </i></b></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> next year.</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Only that I appreciate them, one
and all. All of my books have been published in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> by Sonia Draga. I’ve had a great
relationship with them. I will be visiting </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> in late November 2017 as part of a
publicity tour for Sonia Draga. Hopefully, I’ll get to say hello to some of my
readers. </span></div>
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If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2016/11/szukam-w-historii-czegos-czym-wczesniej.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-33631831255842403972016-07-28T12:44:00.001+02:002016-07-29T08:37:42.594+02:00I always loved creating the big family saga...<br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Interview with Barbara Taylor Bradford </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>by Agnes A. Rose</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Barbara Taylor Bradford comes from </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> but now she lives in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">New York</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-US"> with her husband Robert Bradford,
who is a television producer. She started writing fiction when she was only
seven years old and sold her first short story to a magazine for seven shillings
and sixpence when she was ten years old. Her first novel was “A Woman Of
Substance” which was published in 1979. The book went from bestseller to super
seller within its first year and stayed on the New York Times’ list for
fifty-five weeks. Barbara Taylor Bradford has had about thirty books published
and many of them have been produced as TV films or drama series. All her novels
are worldwide bestsellers. The author holds five Honorary Doctorate of Letters
such as the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">University</span></st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US"> of </span><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Leeds</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> (</span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Yorkshire</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">); the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">University</span></st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US"> of </span><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Bradford</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> (</span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Yorkshire</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">); </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Teikyo</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Post</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">University</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> (</span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Connecticut</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-US">); </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Siena</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">College</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">, Loudonville (</span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">New York</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-US">) and Mount Saint Mary College, </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Newburgh</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> (</span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">New York</span></st1:place></st1:state></b></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>). Barbara Taylor Bradford is also
the recipient of twenty five other awards for her writing achievements and
philanthropy. Her original manuscripts are housed in The Brotherton Library of
Leeds University and are displayed next to those of Yorkshire’s other legendary
writers, including the Brontë sisters. The latest stand-alone Barbara’s book is
entitled “Secret From The Past”. </b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-US"> <b>Mrs. Barbara,
thank you so much that you accepted my invitation to take part in this
interview. I am very honored that I can host you on my blog and talk to
you. At the beginning I would like to ask you at what point did you decide that
you’d like to be a writer full time? And why did you decide to create books for
women?</b></span></i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Barbara Taylor
Bradford:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Before I was a novelist, I was a reporter, a newspaper editor and a
columnist. Much of what I was writing about was geared toward women’s
interests. I wrote about style, fashion and decorating. I even had a nationally
syndicated column across </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">America</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> in the 1970s about
interior design. I also had a handful of decorating books published. It was
during the mid 1970s that I thought about writing novels. I started and stopped
four different times, before the character of Emma Harte came to my
imagination. After that, everything fell into place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NLjN0qFy6gM/V5nQba84dsI/AAAAAAAAGB8/FHsRhVrXA8YAtgHJNqGMzacR2_qm3kwhwCLcB/s1600/BTB%2B2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NLjN0qFy6gM/V5nQba84dsI/AAAAAAAAGB8/FHsRhVrXA8YAtgHJNqGMzacR2_qm3kwhwCLcB/s400/BTB%2B2.jpeg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Now I would
like to ask you about your first novel which was a worldwide bestseller in a
very short time. Of course I mean “A Woman Of Substance”. In my opinion the
whole series is the best family saga I have ever read. Thank you for these
books very much. What motivated you to write the first part of these novels? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Before I’d written “A
Woman Of Substance”, I was trying too hard to fit characters into a larger
story. Then I read a quote from the famous author, Graham Greene about how
“character is plot.” I immediately understood what he meant by this and that is
when Emma Harte was born in my imagination. I wanted to tell the story of her
life in one long novel, showing her struggles, her loves and her ultimate
success. I thought I had pretty much covered everything in “A Woman Of
Substance”. But because of its popularity, my publishers asked for me to
continue the story of Emma’s family in a variety of sequels. That is why I
wrote “Hold The Dream”, “To Be The Best” and so forth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Do you
remember what you felt when you found out that “A Woman Of Substance” had just
become a worldwide bestseller? Did you expect such success while writing the
book? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I remember that it was
1979 and the book had just been published in the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. I was with my husband,
Bob, in a large bookstore on </span><st1:street><st1:address><span lang="EN-US">5<sup>th</sup> Avenue</span></st1:address></st1:street><span lang="EN-US"> in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Manhattan</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">. There was this huge
pile of my book stacked up in a display at the front window. I was really
nervous about this. I said to Bob, “Who is going to buy all these copies of my
novel? There are just too many of them.” He reassured me that the book was a
winner and that it would be a bestseller. Thankfully, he was right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> What made you
decide to write more books about the Harte and O'Neil families? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> My second and third
novels were not about Emma Harte and her clan. “Voice Of The Heart” and “Act Of
Will” were both successful, featuring new characters and storylines. But “A
Woman Of Substance” continued to be a big bestseller. The publishers kept on
asking for a sequel. I finally said yes and wrote “Hold The Dream”. I shifted
much of the focus to Emma’s granddaughter, Paula O’Neil. I followed this with “To
Be The Best”. Then I took a break from the Hartes until the early 2000s. That’s
when I was asked to write about the next generation of the family. I wrote
another 4 books which began with “Emma’s Secret” (2002).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How much
important is Emma Harte for you? Is she your favourite female character? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Emma Harte plays such
an integral part of my writing history because she started it all. So yes, I
would say that she is perhaps my favorite character that I’ve created. I even
gave her a cameo in a handful of books that I wrote through the years which
take place during the era of World War II. One of them is my latest novel, “The
Cavendon Luck”. I have many female characters that I have created through the
years who I feel proud of. But Emma is the one that seems to resonate the most
with my readers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>I must say
that each of your novels that I read made a really big impression on me and
very often I try to return to them. Let me mention “Voice Of The Heart” which I
have read twice. Could you tell us what inspired you to write this emotional
story about two beautiful, rich and so different women? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QqQJeBLn5e4/V5nQpPz_s_I/AAAAAAAAGCA/bRSKLTUeddQwab6P5MQ6fKtNsopjGdjBACLcB/s1600/BTB.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QqQJeBLn5e4/V5nQpPz_s_I/AAAAAAAAGCA/bRSKLTUeddQwab6P5MQ6fKtNsopjGdjBACLcB/s400/BTB.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I had it in my mind to
write about a pair of complicated, successful women: One an actress. And the
other a writer. Both of them fiercely determined like me. They both have
secrets that will greatly impact their lives and loves. I remember how much fun
it was to come up with these characters. I didn’t base either woman on any
real-life figure. They both came out of my imagination, perhaps inspired by
authors and actresses who I admired.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>The main
characters of your books are primarily strong, beautiful and rich women. But in
“The Women Of His Life” you created Maximilian West who decided to organize his
life again after he had been wounded by a burglar and taken to hospital.
Despite the fact that women are still important in this novel, the leading
character is Maximilian. Why? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I wanted to go in a
very different direction. That book is actually quite personal to me. I based
it loosely on the story of my husband’s childhood escape from Nazi Germany.
Maximilian West shares quite a few things in common with Bob – at least in the
early part of the story when he takes a train out of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Germany</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> where he would be
raised by another family for many years. The later portions of his life differ.
Bob became a movie producer. Maximilian West becomes a business mogul who
endures a number of marriages and personal struggles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>You very
often write about people who come from aristocratic families. Let me mention
for example the Ravenscar Trilogy or the Cavendon series. What is interesting
about writing about characters coming from the upper class? Do they have richer
personalities? Or maybe do they have more life experiences than other
people? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I grew up in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Yorkshire</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> where my mother used to
take me to visit many stately homes. I often thought about what it was like to
live inside them. Also, what it was like for the families who served the
aristocracy. Emma Harte was a character who went from being a maid servant to a
successful business woman with a staff of people who worked for her. I covered
both sides of the story. The Ravenscar series was based upon the Wars Of The
Roses and the Plantagenet dynasty. It was a modern trilogy, retelling the lives
of these kings and queens, only now running a business instead of a country.
Because of the castle-like homes that they lived in, naturally there would be
large staff of people working for them. In the Cavendon series, we have the
Ingham family who lives in “Cavendon Hall” and the Swann family who loyally
serves them for generations. Eventually, these lines get blurred as an unlikely
romance and marriage brings them together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> Some of your novels
are related to the pre-war history. Sometimes the stories of your books include
tens of years and the lives of several generations of the same family. Is it
easy for you to create such a complex family dynamics associated with history?
What type of research do you conduct to write this kind of stories? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I always loved creating
the big family saga. I grew up reading the works of the Bronte sisters, Charles
Dickens and other classic writers who wrote novels featuring numerous
characters. I often create a family tree, or a scorecard of sorts at the front
of my books to give readers a sense as to who is connected to whom. I know that
my readers have always loved the idea of these multi-generational stories from
me. So I continue to write them. My name is synonymous with this genre. It’s
not easy to do. I too need to make a list of characters ahead of writing the
novel so that I don’t lose track of an important family connection. As for
research, I read a lot about the era of World War I and World War II. I’m
constantly looking up things like which hospital existed in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">London</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> in 1939, or what was
the closest air force base to </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Yorkshire</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> during the Great War.
That sort of thing. I actually quite enjoy conducting research on historic time
periods.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>I noticed
that in your books you focus on details. I very like it because then I can
imagine a character very well and I feel as if he or she were next to me in my
room. While reading I can see them in my mind’s eye as they are doing their
daily activities, such as having breakfast; taking a shower; do the shopping
and many others. Why do you pay your attention to details so much? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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</div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I think this goes back
to my days as a journalist. Getting the details right is critical. If I was
sent to cover a story for the Yorkshire Post, I always needed to come back with
the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN and WHY. No news story is complete without it. Later
on, when I wrote decorating features, the details were all crucial is
describing a room, or a home. This descriptive way of writing has stuck with me
into setting the scene, or describing a new character in one of my stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Many of your
books have been produced as TV films or drama series. What do you feel when you
can see your characters animated by actors? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4oTbvaiodtk/V5nWbdjhLzI/AAAAAAAAGCc/jAPwVVi-LrQQn2NCeMHMADr9h0m9r9T1QCLcB/s1600/kariera%2Bemmy%2Bharte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4oTbvaiodtk/V5nWbdjhLzI/AAAAAAAAGCc/jAPwVVi-LrQQn2NCeMHMADr9h0m9r9T1QCLcB/s400/kariera%2Bemmy%2Bharte.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>This is one of the Polish editions of<br />"A Woman Of Substance"<br />Published by KSIĄŻNICA<br />Katowice 2007<br />Translated by Katarzyna & Piotr Malitowie</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> My husband, Robert
Bradford, has produced ten of my books into TV movies and miniseries. I’ve
always put my trust into his judgment for casting. And he has never
disappointed me. For example, Jenny Seagrove was as good as I could ever have
imagined in playing the young Emma Harte. Liam Neeson was incredible as Blackie
O’Neil. The only casting choice that I look back on now with skeptical eyes is
having Lindsay Wagner play Paula O’Neil in “To Be The Best”. She is a fine
actress and she was great in “Voice Of The Heart”. But for “To Be The Best”,
she was entirely different from Jenny Seagrove in the role of Paula. Not
ineffective, but just so far removed from how Jenny played her in the first two
movies. CBS wanted a big American star in the role. Lindsay was TV’s Bionic
Woman. Jenny Seagrove was only known for British Television. So I completely
understand why they did it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Do you have
your favourite book among your novels apart from “A Woman Of Substance”? If so,
which one is it? Why? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> “Letter From A Stranger”
is one of my favorites. I loved that I was able to take my readers to a place
like </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Istanbul</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> for a story that is
both a family mystery and a love story. Like many of my novels, I got to pack a
lot of history into it as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>I guess that
one of your favourite classical writers is Emily Brontë because sometimes in
your books you write about her. I remember that Emily is mentioned on the pages
of “Voice Of The Heart” and “The Triumph Of Katie Byrne”. In “Voice Of The
Heart” Victor Mason works on a film adaptation of “</i></b></span><st1:place><st1:placename><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Wuthering</span></i></b></st1:placename><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i></b><st1:placetype><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Heights</span></i></b></st1:placetype></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">” and in “The Triumph Of
Katie Byrne” Katie plays the role of Emily Brontë on the stage of the Broadway
theatre. Why is Emily Brontë so important for you? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> My mother often took me
to </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Haworth</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> as a child. This is the home where the Bronte sisters
grew up and wrote all their timeless novels. Today, the house is a museum which
looks very much like the way it did when the sisters were living there. This
was one of the factors that inspired me to become a novelist. Another
connection that I have with the Brontes is that my original manuscripts are
displayed side-by-side with manuscripts of the Bronte sisters at the library in
</span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Leeds</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">University</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">. What a great honor
this is for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Your latest
novel is entitled “Secret From The Past”. Could you tell us something more
about this book? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> “Secrets from the Past”
came out in 2013. It is not my latest novel that I’ve written, but it was the
most recent stand-alone novel before I began writing the Cavendon series. I was
inspired to create a gritty female character who happens to be a war
photographer. She is following in the footsteps of her famous father, who made
his name as a war photographer a generation earlier. This is a novel that deals
with issues like PTSD, a hotel hostage situation, and also a star-crossed love
story between two war correspondents and their complicated work situation. It’s
wrapped around a family mystery involving a photograph from decades earlier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>I read
online that you don’t use a computer, but you still type. Why? Don’t you like
computers? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I use computers for
research almost every day. But for writing books, I’ve always used a
typewriter. I got into a comfort zone when I was first starting out and this
was the technology available to me. I’ve used the same IBM Selectric typewriter
for at least the last 25 books. Of course, I do have a couple of backup units
just in case… Ultimately, my typed pages do get scanned into a computer and
formatted into a manuscript once the novel is completed. So they still end up
in digital form, no matter how I create them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What is your
next project? Could you tell us about it? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I’ve just completed an
outline for a 4<sup>th</sup> book in my popular Cavendon series. I’m still
working on a title and the details. But I can tell you that it will be set in
the 1950s, the era in which </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Britain</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> will be rebuilding
after the war. It will feature many new, younger characters from the Ingham and
Swann families.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AAR</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Thank you
very much for this interview and taking the time to speak to us today. Is
there anything you would like to tell your Polish readers? Or maybe you want to
add something I have not asked you about?</i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">BTB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Thank you for such a
thoughtful interview. I am thrilled to have such a nice following of readers in
</span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. And I hope that my
novels will continue to be translated there for as long as I keep writing them.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2016/07/zawsze-pragneam-stworzyc-wielka-sage.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-35056448040738983082016-07-14T13:42:00.001+02:002019-11-12T11:01:07.634+01:00I’m the sort of writer who prefers to work alone...<br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Interview with Judith Lennox</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>by Agnes A. Rose</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span lang="EN-US">Judith Lennox is a British author of
many best-selling historical romances, which have always enjoyed both critical
acclaim and readers around the world. She was born in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Salisbury</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> and grew up in Hampshire. She made
her debut in the mid-eighties of the last century, and her novels have also gained
a faithful fan base in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="color: #0c343d;">, where we can read many of her
books, such as: “Catching The Tide”, “A Step In The Dark”, “One Last Dance”,
“The Turning Point”, “The Heart Of The Night”, and many others. Judith Lennox
loves gardening, going for long walks, visiting old houses and historical
monuments. </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>A very warm welcome to you
Judith, and can I thank you, for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk
to me today.<span style="color: #333333;"> </span>You write mainly
multigenerational family sagas. Could you tell us why you chose this kind of
literature? What inspires you to write? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Judith Lennox:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Thank you for inviting me to your
blog. It’s great to have the opportunity to communicate with my Polish readers.
I’ve always been fascinated by the dynamics within the family, and how the
passing of time can affect those dynamics. I’m interested in relationships
between siblings, between parents and children, young and old. The experiences
of childhood, when we are embedded most deeply in the family, leaves its mark
on us for the rest of our lives. I like a big canvas because I enjoy weaving a
complex web; my characters must respond to events in the wider world as well as
those within the family. I started writing with the objective of entertaining
the reader, of course, but also to explore questions of motivation and
character. Why do people do what they do? Why will the same situation or
problem inspire people to react in different ways? Our experiences, and the way
we have been treated in the past, inform our choices.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Judith Lennox</b></span></td></tr>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>You have a number of sagas
among your booklist. What methods do you use to research your novels?</i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Judith Lennox:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Of course I read history books, and
I very much enjoy reading diaries, biographies and autobiographies of people
who lived in the era in which the novel is set – politicians, artists, writers,
all sorts. I have in my library old maps, old cookery books, information about motor
vehicles, fashion and music etc. The internet is brilliant for finding out all
sorts of things – where train lines ran in the early twentieth century, routes
that my characters might take on a journey, comparative money values etcetera –
all things I need to know. I visit the places in which I set my novels, to get
the feel of them, and though I often write about parts of the country I know
well – Cambridge, for instance, where I live now, or the Hampshire countryside
where I grew up – researching new settings will often suggest ideas that I can
use in my work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose: </span></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Your books present some interesting
and complex family dynamics. What did
you draw on to create them so believably on paper? Are there people you know
that will recognise themselves in these characters?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Judith Lennox:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> For me, much of the pleasure of
writing is in inventing new characters. Though I take strands from people I
know – every writer will draw in some way on her own experience – I don’t think
anyone would recognize themselves in one of my books. I come from quite a large
family – I have two brothers and a sister and three sons, all of whom are
married and have children of their own – so I have lot of experience of the
affection and rivalry that families foster. My upbringing was slightly unusual
in that I spent much my childhood in quite an isolated place in the countryside.
We lived on the edge of a large stretch of woodland and had a lot of freedom. Our
cottage was a short distance from an old country house that was no longer
inhabited; we children used to play in its overgrown garden. I often draw on these
memories in my novels. Many of my characters are pulled between the isolation
and beauty of the countryside and the busyness and stimulation of the city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Your characters very often
hide a secret associated with their past, for example Isabel Zeale, who is the
main character of “Before The Storm”. Could you tell us how you create such
complicated fate for your characters? How do you go about imagining, developing
and give real lives and personalities to the characters that we will read about
within in your books?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>This is the Polish cover of 'Before The Storm'<br />Published by Prószyński i S-ka<br />Warsaw 2008<br />Translated by Anna Nowosielska</b></td></tr>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Judith Lennox:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Very early on in the process of
putting together ideas for a new book, I’m thinking what sort of character I’d
like to write about, and then I map out the life events that would have shaped
her. I wanted Isabel at the opening of the book to be a wounded, inward-looking
character. Though she is attracted to Richard Finborough, she initially resists
him. But he is persistent, and in the end she marries him. My intention at the
outset of ‘Before The Storm’ was to write about a difficult marriage, one that
survives in spite of the odds. My parents’ marriage was difficult, yet it
survived, so I suppose I drew on that. People take their traumas to a
relationship and can’t always bring themselves to speak of them. So I needed to
create a secret for Isabel, one that she can’t bear to own up to. Secrets can
grow bigger as time passes and harder and harder to reveal. Her past shames her
and becomes increasingly impossible to bring into the open. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>If you had to pick just one
of your characters to hang out with for a day, who would you choose?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Judith Lennox:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> That’s a tricky question! I think
Bess, in “A Step In The Dark”, would be enormous fun to hang out with if you
were in the mood for a party… The four Maclise girls from “All my Sisters”
would be good company too. As for my heroes… Theo Finborough in “Before The
Storm” is very likeable, as is Ben Thackeray in “One Last Dance”. Martin Jago
in “A Step In The Dark” is gentle, cultured and intelligent, and I would be
attracted to that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>In your books you very often
write about the tragic time of the Second World War or sometimes even before
the war. I am sure that you are interested in war history. How much does it
help you to create your beautiful stories?</i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Judith Lennox:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> If a novel is set in the first half
of the twentieth century, as most of mine are, it’s inevitable that the two
wars will have a huge effect on the lives of the characters. The wars dominate
those years – for many they were a catastrophe, but for some – especially women
– they offered new opportunities. Very few people’s lives must have been left
unchanged by the war, so I have to take that into account when plotting my
novels. War provides a hugely dramatic background to a story, bringing
characters together or casting them apart, plunging them into grief or fear, or
giving them the chance to love. The Depression years of the 1930s were also a
time of great change, bringing into being all sorts of new political and
artistic movements; that decade has always fascinated me and it provides much
interesting background material. I think that many readers like to learn
something new when writing a novel, so I try to research my historical
background thoroughly and bring it to life on the page.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Can I ask what sort of books
did you like reading as a child? Do you think the books that you read as a
child have influenced your writing in any way?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Judith Lennox:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I enjoyed family stories and school
stories. I would say that I’ve always been primarily interested in character,
rather than plot, though a fast-driving plot is essential, of course, to make
the reader turn the page. In my teens, I read a great many historical novels –
Georgette Heyer, Anya Seton, as well as the classics – Jane Austen, the Brontes,
George Orwell, Daphne du Maurier. I tend to prefer stories where the central
character is female – though not always; I adored Dorothy Dunnett’s “Lymond”
series. Yes, I’m sure the books I read in childhood have shaped my writing. You
never forget them; they remain a part of you for the rest of your life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>This is the Polish cover of <br />'A Step In The Dark'<br />Published by Prószyński i S-ka<br />Warsaw 2008<br />Translated by Barbara Szyszko</b></td></tr>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>As a huge fan of your books
one of my favourites is “A Step in the Dark”, which was published in </i></b></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> in 2008. Could you tell us what
motivated you to write this beautiful and very moving story? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Judith Lennox:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I wanted to write a story set in
the Scottish Highlands. My husband Iain is Scottish so we’ve often stayed with
relatives or holidayed there. The scenery is very dramatic, and very different
from the southern woodland and chalk hills where I grew up. I felt it would
provide a wonderful background for a novel and I had the opportunity of staying
in a house in Perthshire that I later used as a model for Ravenheart House. Bess
Ravenheart, the central character, is one of my favourite heroines. She is an
adventuress. She is beautiful, spirited and a survivor and lives by her wits,
but she can also be rash and manipulative. She is driven by her longing to
recover the child who was taken away from her. I wanted to show how an instance
of ruthless cruelty – Bess’s mother-in-law Cora’s appropriation of her grandson
Frazer – can set off a chain of events that affects future generations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Do you have your own daily routine
and writing schedule? Do you have an office where you hideaway to write, or can
you write anywhere?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Judith Lennox:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> When I started to write, thirty
years ago, we lived in a small house and had three young children so I worked
wherever I could – on a table in the bedroom or in a corner of the dining room,
fitting into the hours my sons were at school or nursery. Now I have a wonderful
workroom to myself at the top of our house. I write for four hours in the morning,
from about nine to one. Then I’ll do something else for a few hours – read,
garden, go for a walk – and then in the late afternoon I often go back to my
desk for another hour. That hour is usually productive, things fall into place
and the work makes progress. I need to shut myself away to write, and I dislike
interruptions. If I’m interrupted three or four times, I find it hard to focus
my concentration again. I only work at the weekends if the deadline is very
tight. Having a couple of days’ break often gives me new ideas, as if my
unconscious is working away at the problems in the novel while I’m having time
off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>From your experience, what
conventions have the most potential career impact for writers – conferences,
workshops, writing groups, critique partners and so on? Have any of these
affected or helped you?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Judith Lennox:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I’m the sort of writer who prefers
to work alone and hates the idea of someone looking at a half-finished piece of
work, so have never used workshops or writing groups, though I’m sure they work
well for many. I tend to show an unfinished text only to husband, or to my
editor and agent, who often make invaluable suggestions at that stage. I’ve suffered
from a spinal disorder all my adult life, so conferences, with all the sitting still
and standing around, are not for me. I organize a lunch with fellow writers in
a pub in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Cambridge</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> each month, for friendship and to share tips
and information, and I find this both enjoyable and valuable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>As I mentioned above apart
from writing you are also interested in gardening and going for long walks. You
also love visiting and watching old houses and historical monuments. Could you
tell us something more about this way to rest? What is the most interesting
place you have visited so far? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Judith Lennox:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Getting out into the countryside,
seeing new places, recharges my batteries. I prefer seeing a beautiful garden
to going to an art gallery. I visited the Chelsea Flower Show this year and
some of the gardens took my breath away. Coleton Fishacre, a National Trust
property by the </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Devon</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">
coast, was the inspiration for Rosindell in “One Last Dance”; Cold Christmas,
the house in which Tom works in “The Heart Of The Night”, was inspired by a
visit to a medieval house in Lavenham. Places I have particularly loved include
the </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Orkney
islands</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> to
the north of the Scottish mainland, that are wonderfully beautiful and serene
and steeped in history, and the lush, opulent hills in the interior of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Sri Lanka</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, where I stayed when researching “All
My Sisters”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>This is the Polish cover of 'All My Sisters'<br />Published by Prószyński i S-ka<br />Warsaw 2007<br />Translated by Anna Bańkowska</b></td></tr>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Have you ever been to </span></i></b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US">? If so, what did you like most in
my country? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Judith Lennox:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I visited </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> when I was researching “The Heart
Of The Night”. We explored </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Warsaw</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">, where we saw the remains of the
ghetto and visited the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Warsaw</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Uprising</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">Museum</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">. We then drove north, to the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Masurian</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">Lakes</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">, where we stayed in Wegorzewo. We
visited the ruins of Hitler’s wartime HQ, the Wolf’s Lair, and then headed on
to the </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Baltic
Sea</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">, and
to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Gdansk</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">. History seems very close to the
surface in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. I found it both extraordinarily
moving and amazing to see places I’d only read about in history books. Because
of its geographical situation, </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">’s history is so different to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Britain</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">’s. I loved the Polish countryside,
the lakes and the great dark forests that felt so much wilder and deeper than
English woodland. I hope some day to have the opportunity to explore more of
eastern Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What is your writing project you
are currently working on? What can you tell us about this project? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Judith Lennox:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I’m right in the middle of a new
book at present. It’s set partly in the south-east of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, but also in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Spain</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, on the eve of the Spanish Civil
War, and I’m very much looking forward to travelling there for research later
in the year. The book has two different time periods, the 1930s and the 1970s,
and two heroines. It’s the first time I’ve tackled that sort of structure since
“Some Old Lover’s Ghost”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Judith, I have been
absolutely delighted and very honoured that you agreed to be interviewed for my
literary and historical site. I would also like to thank you again for taking
the time to speak to us today. Is there anything you would like to tell your
Polish readers? Or maybe you want to add something I have not asked you about? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Judith Lennox:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Thank you so much for inviting me!
It’s been a pleasure responding to your thought-provoking questions. It’s a
great honour to be published in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> and I’d like to thank all my Polish
readers for their great support over the years – I appreciate it enormously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2016/07/jestem-typem-pisarki-ktora-woli.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-1065799756706065052016-07-11T12:41:00.000+02:002016-07-11T13:14:50.962+02:00“The Undertaker” & “The Last Hurrah” by Carmel McMurdo Audsley<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">Carmel McMurdo Audsley</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">Carmel
McMurdo Audsley is an Australian author who lives in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Brisbane</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">. She worked as a Journalist and
Editor. She wrote thousands of news stories and feature articles. Now she
spends her time researching and writing her novels. She is not only a
Journalist and Editor, but also she holds a Bachelor's degree majoring in
Literature and Philosophy. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A few years ago she published a trilogy of novels which
is set in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Scotland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. The books are based on the true
history of her own family and they are entitled: <i>Ours, Yours and Mines</i>
(2012), <i>Far Across The Sea</i> (2013) and <i>Faeries, Farms and Folk</i>
(2013). In <i>Faeries, Farms and Folk</i> she brings to life the stories of
people living in the 1600s and 1700s in farming communities in lowland </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Scotland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. In <i>Ours, Yours and Mines</i>
she follows the family and their transition to coal miners living in the
miners' rows of Ayrshire in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Scotland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> in the mid-1800s and early 1900s. The
final instalment in the trilogy, <i>Far Across The Sea</i>, follows the main
character as he sets out after the second world war to find a new life in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Australia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. All three novels have received
good reviews on the Internet. </span></div>
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<st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Carmel</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> and her husband Iain both had
Scottish fathers, share a mutual love of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Scotland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> and have walked in the footsteps of
their ancestors to get a feel for how life must have been for them. Recently
Carmel McMurdo Audsley has written and published two more novels. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 22.0pt;">The Undertaker</span></i></b><b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The novel was published in 2015. <i>The
Undertaker</i> is set in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Edinburgh</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> (</span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Scotland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">) in 1858. The main character is
Kate Grainger who is a young, ambitious and very intelligent woman. She works
as a female gravedigger. This specific work helps her to solve some mysteries
associated with dead people. So, in 1858 Kate Grainger, who is twenty-three
years old and lives in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Edinburgh</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">, inherits her father's undertaking
business, where she has helped him until the day of his death. You must know
that life for an ambitious and intelligent woman in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Edinburgh</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Scotland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> in 1858 could be frustrating. According
to the common belief the only job, which every woman should do, was to be
exemplary wives and mothers. However, Kate wants something more. She wants to
become a doctor, but unfortunately women are not allowed to study at the
prestigious Edinburgh School of Medicine – although one young woman was able to
do it in 1809. Then that brave woman disgusted herself as a man in order that
she could study to become a doctor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Published by CreateSpace Independent <br />Publishing Platform<br />United States (2015)</span></b></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">Kate, however, has a close male friend called
James, who is a doctor. He is smitten with her and wants to marry her, but she
has made it clear that she has no such intentions. She spends a lot of time
with him looking through his medical books to learn all that she can. She has
drive and ambition – and a special gift. Kate can communicate with people who
have passed over. She had, what her father thought, an imaginary friend when
she was a child. Kate also has a visit from a little girl from her childhood. The
child is a spirit of the little girl who died in the Great Fire of Edinburgh in
1824. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When Kate discovers that her first client at Grainger Undertakers has
been murdered, she sets out on a journey that takes her deep into </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Edinburgh</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">’s underground and into the spirit
world to catch a serial killer. Her quest takes her to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">London</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> and </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Dundee</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> and into the underground vaults of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Edinburgh</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> with its brothels and opium dens
and she follows the trail of a serial killer. Will she find a killer? Maybe she
will also become his another victim? Will Kate be able to stop the murderer before
he kills his next victim? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">The Undertaker</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> is the novel about not only an original
character, but also a very interesting idea of the story. Kate Grainger is the
character that you can really like. In addition – as a woman – she follows an incredibly
unusual profession. The author presents her as a very strong young woman who
does not want to marry in order to have financial support and be safety. She is
not also afraid of risking her neck to find the truth. There are not too many
imitable role models around her. We must remember that almost none of young
women living in the mid-nineteen century had female people to follow them. However,
Kate is determined in her action. On the pages of this novel you can witness some
really beautiful scenes. An example of this fact is the meeting a small dog
which became famous in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Edinburgh</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> for sitting by the grave of his
dead owner for fourteen years. Because of Kate’s extraordinary gift, she is
able to see the spirit of this man who now is walking down the street. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">This is a photo of Kate Grainger as she is about to enter The Vaults which <br />were underground chambers.</span></b></i></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">The plot of the novel is not just about a female
gravedigger, who can communicate with dead people, what could be far depressing
for a reader. This is primarily a moving story about death which should be
treated with great respect. In addition, the idea associated with creating the
character that is able to communicate with dead people, is commendable. Moreover,
this story can help to find the answers to three fundamental questions which
are usually posed during the discussion about crime fiction: <i>Who did it?</i>,
<i>Why did he do it?</i> and <i>How did he do it?</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As we know historical fiction is a genre of
literature that has many enthusiasts among readers. Every author who creates
historical fiction must do research work very reliable so that both the reality
and the characters come to life in the reader’s imagination in a really
powerful way. Many people say that it is possible only by using “Voice” which
the author can hear in her/his head to communicate with her/his characters. Carmel
McMurdo Audsley uses her “Voice” so skillfully that we can actually hear how
the individual characters speak to us. This is the kind of going back in time,
so that we are able to meet the social realities of nineteenth-century Scotland
and get to know the mentally of people living then. In addition, the historical
background is so authentic that we can accurately hear even a Scottish accent
and see the place where the story is set. The plot of the novel is also
connected to some extent with the occult, but in spite of that the author does
not go into this problem too much detail. So, the story of Kate Grainger is
designed primarily for readers who like historical fiction, but do not avoid
the story in which there is no lack of mystery, suspense and situations that
may be true in the spiritual world. It all makes the story incredibly addictive
from the first page. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Last Hurrah<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The novel was
published in 2016 and it is associated with an extremely serious and
controversial problem of death on your own terms. This time this is not historical fiction, but a contemporary novel of manners. A severe fatal disease,
that affects ourselves or people who are our close relatives, is never easy to
be accepted by us. Although you try to believe and hope that everything will be
fine, in your head there is a thought which tells you that this time the
doctors will be helpless, your body will just give up and soon you will have to
say goodbye to your loved ones who spent with you many years of their lives. So, when<b> </b>Bob and Anna McAllister are both
diagnosed with terminal illnesses within weeks of each other, they try to reach
out to their adult children but everyone is too busy to hear the devastating
news.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RkNv97tp03Y/V4NvTfphzrI/AAAAAAAAF8w/gi8PmIPWY0AVYnFKgMFmoDVO4SqEBmhugCLcB/s1600/Front%2Bcover%2Bsmaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RkNv97tp03Y/V4NvTfphzrI/AAAAAAAAF8w/gi8PmIPWY0AVYnFKgMFmoDVO4SqEBmhugCLcB/s400/Front%2Bcover%2Bsmaller.jpg" width="275" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Published by Theatricks Publishing<br />Australia (2016) </span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US">Bob, who now is 78, moved from </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Glasgow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Brisbane</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> in 1960 and worked as an
accountant. He met </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Brisbane</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> born and bred Anna, a school teacher,
a few years later they married and raised three children. They had been retired
for eighteen years and enjoyed being together and taking cruises. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In 2016,
after a year in remission from breast cancer, Anna, who is 75, discovers that
her cancer has returned and has spread to other parts of her body. She must
decide whether to endure more gruelling bouts of surgery and therapy or enjoy
the short time she has left to live. In a sad twist of fate, Bob suffers
another major heart attack and his congestive heart failure has progressed to a
stage where he also has only a short time to live. Rather than spend their
remaining days in care, they decide to take one last cruise to the South
Pacific – have one last hurrah – and not return from their holiday.</span></div>
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The story is a work of fiction but covers a
topical subject – the right to die on your own terms. The storyline in no way
reflects the author’s views and she does not have a barrow to push. She is
simple the teller of a story that may make you think about your life and the
people in it. It is a sad love story, about two elderly people who are devoted
to each other, and the disconnect to notice they are needed.</div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">The Last Hurrah</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> is primarily a very moving story about the
elderly people who has just realised that their time has come and they must
prepare for the way forward into the unknown world. The last cruise on the
Pacific is a kind of their farewell to the living world. They do not also want
to burden their family with their own problems. It seems that the only solution
can be death which is getting closer. The novel is a very well-written story
that compels readers to stop and reflect on their own lives and their behaviour
associated with their family’s members. So, we can ask ourselves if now the
young people are not too busy to notice that an elderly parent really needs
their support. Besides, for readers who have ever participated in taking a
cruise to the South Pacific, the book can also become a kind of their cruise
memory, because it contains a lot of very interesting descriptions of the
places that they could see during the cruise. In this novel Bob and Anna can
see them. For someone else these descriptions can also be an encouragement to
take a cruise to the South Pacific. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As you can
read above both Carmel McMurdo Audsley’s books relate to death – although each
of them does it in a completely different way. Dying is a common denominator
here, and only a reader is able to discover the real message hidden between the
lines. Apart from that both books teach us how to respect death. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to read an interview with Carmel McMurdo Audsley, please click <a href="http://agnes-books.blogspot.com/2015/02/my-family-in-scotland-goes-back-at.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to read this review in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2016/07/carmel-mcmurdo-audsley-undertaker-last.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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<br />Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-87971512182197732472016-05-02T17:43:00.000+02:002016-05-02T17:44:38.457+02:00The process of writing was somewhat mysterious...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Interview with Carole DeSanti</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>by Agnes A. Rose</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: #073763;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">Carole
DeSanti</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b><span style="color: #073763;">is a longtime
acquisitions editor at The Penguin Group. Notable titles on her list include<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Bastard Out Of Carolina</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>by Dorothy Allison;<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>The Girl's Guide To Hunting And
Fishing</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>by Melissa Bank;<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Special Topics In Calamity Physics</em><span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span>by Marisha Pessl; the novels of
Terry McMillan and Tracy Chevalier, and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Anticancer:
A New Way of Life</em><span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span>by
David Servan-Schreiber. She has been profiled in <em>Poets & Writers'
Magazine</em>, and in 2009 received the Publishing Triangle's Leadership Award.
Her essay<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>The Haunted Room,</em><span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span>about the working conditions
for women writers, appeared in the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Women's
Review of Books. </em><em><span style="font-style: normal;">Carole DeSanti’s
own novel </span>The Unruly Passions of Eugénie R. </em><em><span style="font-style: normal;">evolved over years of clandestine writing and
research. A response to such classics as Flaubert’s </span>Madame Bovary</em><em><span style="font-style: normal;"> and Zola’s </span>Nana</em></span></b><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="color: #073763;">, the novel explores a woman’s journey from crisis
and self-doubt to awakening and consciousness during the turbulent era of the
Franco-Prussian War.</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
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<em><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;"><br /></span></b></em></div>
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<em><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></b></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-style: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></em><em><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Thank you very much
for your accepting my invitation to take part in this interview. As I mentioned
above you are a writer and an editor </span></b></em><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">at The Penguin Group. First I
would like to ask you about your novel which was published in </span></i></b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Poland</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> last year. Of
course I mean “The Unruly Passions of Eugénie R.” You were inspired to write
this book inter alia by Émile Zola’s novel entitled “Nana”. Could you tell us something more about it? Why
was it “Nana”? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YeWHZpuXt_Q/VydtQvZzubI/AAAAAAAAFnE/u12ZHD9IHboluDcHdgbWmG7_nw0D7mZtgCLcB/s1600/DeSanti%2Bphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YeWHZpuXt_Q/VydtQvZzubI/AAAAAAAAFnE/u12ZHD9IHboluDcHdgbWmG7_nw0D7mZtgCLcB/s400/DeSanti%2Bphoto.jpg" width="303" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Carole
DeSanti:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Zola considered himself a realistic novelist – he wanted to prove that his
novels could be just as “scientific” as, well, science – and that this made
them superior to other kinds of novels. He applied a particular method and
studied every element he put in his books, from the shape of a wagon wheel to
the workings of society at large. Like all writers he wanted to render life
truthfully, and felt that objectivity was important. I admire Zola and consider
myself a realist as well, but we had a conflict: Nana, the courtesan at the
center of his story, had no inner life – no ability to consider her actions or
their consequences, and no capacity for love. This is simply presented as fact,
in his novel. But, is it realistic? Scientific? Even if it can be declared a fact about a
woman who becomes what Nana does, how did it come about? What would happen if
you gave an inner life to such a character? What experiences might restore it? If
Nana had been allowed to think, what would she have thought? Later, I read that
Célèste Mogador, a real-life courtesan of the time, who wrote her own memoirs,
and clearly had an inner life and an ability to reflect, was angry at Zola for
his portrayal: as an audience member at a celebrated stage performance of <i>Nana</i> – Mogador loudly hissed. That hiss
was so distinct that it traveled down the pages of history, and found me. I was
well into my project by then, but I thought, <i>aha!</i> I was not the first
woman to respond to Zola in this way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>I read that you worked on this novel very long. It was about ten
years. I wonder why it took you so much time.<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Carole
DeSanti:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The process of writing was somewhat mysterious. As you can imagine, as
an editor I race against the clock a lot, and my tendency was to want to put
myself on deadlines, too. But, Eugénie
herself – and by that, I mean the state of mind in which I truly felt I was in touch
with this remote being – would not be
rushed: it was as if she was saying, “if
you want to know, if you do not want to be superficial and force a solution, it
will take the time it takes.” So, I
began to ask, how deep could I go, how “right” could I get it, how well could I
get to know her? She came and went. She fell silent. Her silences let me know
when I was imposing my will on her story. She did not care for that! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>On the cover of the Polish edition of your book we can read that
you wrote it in secret. Why didn’t you want your writing plans to come to
light? Were you afraid that you might give up? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Carole
DeSanti:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> No, it was because of the
distaste in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">U.S.</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> publishing about
editors who write. Although many editors do write, there is something of a
taboo about it. I did not want to give the impression to my authors and my
bosses that I was not dedicated to my job, because I was, and am. Also, I never really had a good answer, in
publishing terms – that is, business terms – as to why I was doing this crazy
thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>How did you create Eugénie Rigault? Is she completely fictional
character or maybe based on a real historical figure? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Carole
DeSanti: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> She is fictional, although she
has elements in common with the lives of real women – Sarah Bernhardt, Célèste
Mogador, Marie Duplessis – and many who were less famous. I learned about them from
court documents, diaries, newspapers, testimonials of various kinds. Eugénie
travels in a world of real figures, though – Louise Michel, the revolutionary
teacher; Camille Claudel (who is “Mademoiselle C.”), Haussmann, Napoleon III
and the Empress Eugénie; the courtesan Giulia Barrucci who is her friend…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>What is the most interesting or maybe surprising fact you came
across in your research for “The Unruly Passions of Eugénie R.”? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Carole
DeSanti:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> That Célèste Mogador and I share the same birthdate! She was born December
27…1824. I nearly fell off my chair in the library when I found that. I had
fallen into some doubt about what I was trying to do, but at that moment, I
knew for sure that she was on my side, a sort of guiding spirit of the
project. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>What were the particular satisfactions or frustrations of writing
this novel?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Carole
DeSanti:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Satisfaction: writing a scene – then going back to check the facts, and
realizing that I’d gotten it “right” the first time without having specifically
researched something – that’s magical!
Frustration: when the opposite happens, and history – or my character – shook
her head and said, “nice try, but no dice!” Also, I loved visiting special
museums, finding objects like lingerie, or an umbrella – imagining who had touched
these things, owned them – feeling the aura of the past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>What about romantic love? Eugénie still meets men who are not
good for her and they make her unhappy. While reading I came to the conclusion
that Eugénie Rigault finally accepted her destiny associated with men in her
life. Couldn’t a nineteenth-century prostitute count on real and happy love? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yWeGiUQpoqg/VydwrdUhDhI/AAAAAAAAFnc/m_QiNuG_gIcQ8UGzcS89ysDNm80EbNLCgCLcB/s1600/nami%25C4%2599tno%25C5%259Bci%2Beugenii%2Br..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yWeGiUQpoqg/VydwrdUhDhI/AAAAAAAAFnc/m_QiNuG_gIcQ8UGzcS89ysDNm80EbNLCgCLcB/s400/nami%25C4%2599tno%25C5%259Bci%2Beugenii%2Br..jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>This is the Polish cover of<br /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><i>The Unruly Passions
of Eugénie R.</i><br />Polish publisher: KSIĄŻNICA<br />Katowice 2015<br />Translated by Maria Grabska-Ryńska <br />& Maciej Grabski</span></b><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Carole
DeSanti:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Eugénie is engaged in a long, life process that involves learning to
love and be loved without giving up her power – not allowing herself to be
pushed around by the world, or even by her own desires. She gets closer to it
with each relationship – closer with Henri, than Stephan – though with Stephan,
she continues to learn, too. She is doing it within a society that really hated
and denigrated female sexuality, and was obsessed both with fear of and desire
for it, so it was a bit of a challenge! But I think she will find genuine love
in the end. She is well on her way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>Is there anything you admire Eugénie for? Maybe did you learn
anything from her? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Carole
DeSanti:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Oh, many things. If I was having a hard time with something in my life
– say, finding an apartment in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">New York City</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> – I would think,
“what would she have gone through, in her time? Women were not even allowed to have
furniture then!” Or when I was brokenhearted at the end of a love affair, I
thought about what it would have meant to be as alone as women once were: shunned
by their society, destitute and unprotected – unable to work in addition to
being heartbroken. What would she do? Eugénie’s
resilience taught me to find my own. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>Did you plot your book before you started writing or did you work
off an outline? How did you like to work on your novel? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Carole
DeSanti:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> I had no plan, except to find the truth of the characters. I had to
throw out all attempted outlines, I just dove into the research, or into the
French countryside, or </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Lourdes</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> – and learned as
much as I could. Then I tried to write truthfully from that place. I used books
from and about the period to carry myself away, to escape into it. And I tossed
my own problems at Eugénie, and had the fun of re-creating people I knew, as 19<sup>th</sup>
century versions of themselves. What would so-and-so have been like as a
brothel madam? Maybe that ex-lover died on the barricades as a Communard. That
sort of thing. When Stephan stepped up to tell his own story, it was a total
surprise! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>Was there a point where you said to yourself: “this is enough
research, I need to go and write the book now”?
<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Carole
DeSanti:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Yes, I said that, and I sent it off to an agent who had expressed
interest in it. Then – that very day – I
was browsing in a bookstore and came across a big, fat history of the Paris
Commune! I had skipped over this piece of history, due to laziness and hurry,
and because it was a complicated business to render in fiction. When the manuscript
was declined by publishers in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">New York</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> on the first
submission, I then had all the time in the world (once I got over my wounded
feelings) to go back to the Commune and the Siege – which turned out to be crucial
to the story. Such was the lesson of deciding I had had enough of research. But,
really, my question was always, “can I learn more?” or “can I be finished?” I
might have over compensated because research is so fascinating, there are
always wonderful surprises. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>How much being an editor helped you in writing and publishing
your book? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Carole
DeSanti:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> I would not say being an editor helped me to write, because I was
impatient with myself, and held myself to a very high standard even though I
was a beginner. I was horrified at my early tries, and very
self-conscious. All of that had to be
deconstructed, and it was a tug of war. I felt like a prize-fighter who had
decided, insanely, to learn ballet – I had to lose all of that muscle-mass, and
teach myself grace and precision. In terms of publishing, I did not have much
help there, either. My knowledge of publishing did not help me to escape
rejection, for example! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>Do you plan to write a sequel of “The Unruly Passions of Eugénie
R.”? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Carole DeSanti: I
would like to. I am very curious about Eugénie’s later relationships – and – to
your earlier question – how does she find her way to real love? What does that
love look and feel like? What would it have felt like in the late 19<sup>th</sup>
century for a woman to take possession of her full powers? And what of Berthe? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>Could you tell us something more about your working for The
Penguin Group? What is your experience in working with other authors?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Carole
DeSanti:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> An editor’s job is to be a “bridge” between the creative side, and the
business of publishing. It is a seesaw, a dance, and a responsibility to be
fair to both sides. My heart will always be with authors and the creative
process – but there is also a point at which the discipline of business is
helpful. For each author and each project there is a balance point and I am
always trying to find it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>Thank you very much for this nice conversation. Is there a
question you would like to answer that I haven’t asked? Maybe would you like to
say something to your Polish readers?</i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon;">Carole
DeSanti:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"> I feel very privileged to have
such readers. I have heard that there is strife in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"> (as in many parts
of the world) about a woman’s body, our right to be independent and to choose our
own destinies. Women are in conflict with traditional values, often religious
values, and trying to find our way. I have been reading about the situation of
legal and illegal prostitution, trafficking, and I feel concerned for these
women. Still today, we struggle with the value of our lives and our bodies. How
to value ourselves? How to feel valued – Is it money, is it love? All of this
is very much a part of <i>The Unruly
Passions of Eugénie R.</i>, – so I hope that the novel might allow readers to
step back and see how long these struggles have been going on, and that we are
slowly – very slowly – making progress. In the end, Eugénie had to respect her
own experience, first – before any sort of dogma. She had to learn what
respecting herself and finding her own power of choice actually meant. That it
is possible to survive in extreme situations, and to return from afar to be
true to ourselves. I hope she can do the same for readers in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">. Thank you so much
for these rich and interesting questions, Agnes.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2016/05/proces-pisania-by-nieco-tajemniczy.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-25219071473807061722016-02-27T14:16:00.000+01:002016-07-11T13:59:52.451+02:00“Born Survivors: Three Young Mothers and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage, Defiance, and Hope” by Wendy Holden<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"> </span><b style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Holocaust – the most terrible crime in the human history</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The Holocaust
was a process which was scheduled, institutionally organized and regularly
carried out by the Nazi Germany. During the Second World War nearly six million European Jews were killed. In the years 1939-1945, i.e. between the German
invasion of Poland</span><span lang="EN-US"> and the end of the war in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Europe</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">, the Nazis aimed for the total extermination of
Jews in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Europe</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">. On the basis of the Greek meaning
of the word <i>holocaustikós</i>, which means <i>burnt-offering</i>, i.e. in
the other words <i>burnt in one piece</i>, the extermination of the Jewish
population was defined as the Holocaust. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GKmxc7DFp04/VtIVDLuLFlI/AAAAAAAAFX4/6y5CU_k8PkM/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GKmxc7DFp04/VtIVDLuLFlI/AAAAAAAAFX4/6y5CU_k8PkM/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Publisher: Little Brown<br />United Kingdom 2015</b></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">The
persecution of the Jews began almost immediately after Adolf Hitler
(1889-1945) had come to power, and it was in January 1933. Many historians
claim that this date is an indicator of the beginning of the Holocaust era. In
November 1938 during the so-called <i>Crystal Night</i> (in German: <i>Kristallnacht</i>),
which took place in the Nazi Germany, Jewish property began to be
destroyed. The Nazis started to carry out the mass arrests of Jews because of
their race. The Jews were also imprisoned in the Nazi camps. But we must remember
that not only they became the victims of the regime which Hitler introduced to </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Europe</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">. According
to the racist ideology of Nazis Germany, they considered themselves the
representatives of a superior race (the Nordic-Aryan), and the Jews were regarded as a so-called <i>anti-race</i>. Hitler's racist and anti-Semitic ideologies were aimed at maintaining “racial purity” and then creating a
group of "supermen". <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the
history of humanity, the Holocaust was the most criminal period which is called
<i>Genocide</i>. The fascists committed unimaginable crimes, not only associated with the
Jewish people, but also with those who suffered from mental illnesses,
were homosexuals, members of the Communist Party which was banned by the Third
Reich at that time, as well as believers, for example, of the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">Church</span></st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US"> of </span><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Jehovah</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">'s Witnesses. However, any of those
groups, the Holocaust does not apply to such an extent and on such a large
scale as it was in the case of the Jewish people, whose destruction was carefully
planned and prepared. Slavs – Poles, Russians, Ukrainians, Yugoslavs and the
Czechoslovaks – were considered by the Nazis as the worst race. Poles were also
treated as so-called "sub humans" by the Nazis. On the other hand the
Polish children who were “Aryan-looking” were subjected to the Germanization, and
the representatives of the Polish intelligentsia and leaders were murdered,
while others were sentenced to live in captivity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">During the
Second World War the Jews were forced to live in ghettos and work as slave labour. The
largest of these ghettos was in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Warsaw</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">, where more than four hundred and
eighty thousand Jews were incarcerated. The </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Warsaw</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> ghetto was liquidated in May 1943,
and after the Nazi mass deportations to Treblinka in the summer of
1942 and after the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April 1943. As far
as the </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Lodz</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> ghetto is concerned, which was the second largest, there were two
hundred twenty thousand Jews in the greatest density. The quite large ghettos
were also in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Lvov</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">, </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Minsk</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">, </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Vilnius</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> and Terezín. The last of which was created in the
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Some ghettos were surrounded by a wall or
fence in order to isolate of the residents and separate them from people living outside. The Jews lived in the ghettos
in inhuman conditions. Their property was confiscated and they were also
deprived of their basic needs. The huge population density, lack of
hygiene, hunger and the absence of basic medical care meant that very serious
diseases were spreading in the ghettos. About twenty percent of the population died
in the </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Warsaw</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> ghetto because of the inhuman living conditions. It had happened even
before the Nazis began their deportation to the death camps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bT1duHucWgs/VtGPvUGxhaI/AAAAAAAAFV0/kxBzr-4lytk/s1600/Autschwitz%2Bii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bT1duHucWgs/VtGPvUGxhaI/AAAAAAAAFV0/kxBzr-4lytk/s640/Autschwitz%2Bii.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The railroad tracks, guardhouse and main gate of Auschwitz II-Birkenau.</span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: small;">This is the view from the ramp located inside the camp (1945). </span></b></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">Even before the
Nazis came to power they began to plan their concentration camps with the
intention of imprisoning the opponents of the Nazi ideology and regime. The
first concentration camp was established in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Dachau</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> on </span><st1:date day="23" month="3" year="1933"><span lang="EN-US">23 March 1933</span></st1:date><span lang="EN-US">; it was two months after Adolf Hitler became the Chancellor of the Third Reich. The biggest concentration camps
of the Nazi Germany were in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Buchenwald</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">, Mauthausen, Neuengamme, Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen. After the
outbreak of the Second World War, the Germans established their camps also in
the occupied countries’ territories. The largest mass murders in the history of
mankind took place in the camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The camp was established
in 1942 and was located in occupied </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. More than a million Jews and hundred
of thousands of Poles, Sinti and Roma as well as other nationalities
were brutally killed there. The final crackdown on the Jewish problem occurred
when the Nazis began the mass liquidation of the ghettos which led to the extermination
of the Jews who had somehow remained alive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The policy of Jewish extermination by the Nazi Germans was particularly brutal against children because they were most vulnerable to the
consequences of hunger and diseases. First, to the concentrations camps the
Nazis sent the children who they considered as “unfit” to complete the fascist
plans. In many countries the Jews were saved by ordinary people who for
months or even for years hid them. There were situations when Germans occupying high positions in the Nazi
hierarchy helped the Jewish people. For this reason a lot of people received
the official title of <i>Righteous Among the Nations</i> which is given to those who
in some way protected the Jews from inescapable death, although they were not Jews. So far more than six thousand Poles have received this honour. It is the
vast majority of the people coming from other countries. However, it is said
that during the war even more Poles helped the Jewish population to save their
lives. We do not know their names. However, we must remember that most of the people
were only passive observers of the Holocaust. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jtD0wJn1Wk8/VtGR64EVN_I/AAAAAAAAFWA/ZrKoburz4h8/s1600/terezin%2B-%2Bstacja.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jtD0wJn1Wk8/VtGR64EVN_I/AAAAAAAAFWA/ZrKoburz4h8/s640/terezin%2B-%2Bstacja.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The arrival of a new transport of prisoners to Terez<span style="text-align: justify;">ín.</span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="text-align: justify;">Before </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Anka Nathanová was deported to Auschwitz II-Birkenau, she had lived</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="text-align: justify;"> in the concentration camp in Teresienstadt. </span></b></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At this point
let me mention a family coming from Markowa – a town located in Podkarpacie
near Lancut (south-eastern </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">). It was the Ulma family whose
members gave their lives for those and together with those who they had hidden in
their house. On </span><st1:date day="24" month="3" year="1944"><span lang="EN-US">March 24, 1944</span></st1:date><span lang="EN-US"> a terrible tragedy took place in
the village. That day in the morning the German police brutally killed
seventeen people. Joseph and Victoria Ulma and their six children died as well
as the eight Jews coming from the Szall and Goldman families including the
Goldmans’ little daughter. The enormity of that crime is simply unimaginable. At
the moment of the execution Victoria Ulma, who was then pregnant, began to give
birth to another child who was her seventh baby…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Now let's
focus on the unique book by Wendy Holden who in a very moving way describes the
story of three incredibly brave women. Priska, Rachel and Anka were young married
Jewish women who did not hesitate to oppose the cruel policy of the Nazis to be
able to prevent their unborn babies from the death. Each of them was deported
to the concentration camp called Auschwitz II-Birkenau in 1944. Before
the nightmare really began, each of these women had had to undergo a visual
inspection of the fascist doctor called Josef Mengele (1911-1979), who asked the
same question to Priska, Rachel and Anka: "<i>Are you pregnant?</i>" His
beady eyes gave the women a piercing stare. However, they answered “<i>No</i>”, even though they were already aware of their pregnancies. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JdMobJ7CfCA/VtGTh9_o1HI/AAAAAAAAFWM/ksXPpH_WCy0/s1600/mengele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JdMobJ7CfCA/VtGTh9_o1HI/AAAAAAAAFWM/ksXPpH_WCy0/s400/mengele.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Josef Mengele called </span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: small;">the "Angel of Death". </span></b></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">We must add
that after the war Josef Mengele was considered as a war criminal. On his
victims he conducted his pseudo-medical experiments whose the primary purpose
was to find ways of a genetic Aryan traits in children and increase the number
of multiple pregnancies. Accordingly, the primary object of his interests became
twins. It was on them he carried out his gruesome medical research. Then the
twins were often killed, and the “Angel of Death” compared their internal organs. For
his experiments Mengele chose victims primarily from the Jewish and Roma
prisoners. He conducted his cruel tests without anesthesia. He conducted amputations,
injected bacteria causing diseases, intentionally infected wounds and performed lumbar punctures. He repeatedly attempted the replacement
of blood between the twins. In the camp he had two laboratories and an experimental
hall at his disposal where he conducted postmortem examinations. The
experimental hall was in one of the crematoriums. Apart from that Josef Mengele
decided about the life or death of people from the new transport. He knew who
would be destined to die, and who would be suitable to work for some time. A
lot of prisoners were usually so weakened that they finally died or were
sentenced to death because they ceased to be useful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Priska
Löwenbeinová (Slovak), Rachel Friedman (Polish) and Anka Nathanová (Czech) did not know what would have happened to their babies if they had told the truth. They did not know that Josef
Mengele would do anything to snatch their babies from them for his bestial medical experiments. The women nevertheless denied their pregnancies almost without hesitation, and then did what they could in order to hide
their pregnancies not only from the Nazis, but also from their fellow-prisoners. Of
course, all that time they were working hard and starving while secretly
believing that one day they would come home to their families and beloved husbands
who were also deported to the concentration camps. The women hoped that one day
they would be able to lead the life they had led before the war and which had
been brutally discontinued. So, there were two things which kept them alive.
Their profound belief and hope that tomorrow would be better and their great love for babies who they hoped would be born
soon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">During their
seven moths in concentration and slave labour camps, Priska, Rachel and Anka witnessed great cruelty. In Birkenau they were told that their families had been murdered in the gas
chambers after the Nazis persuaded them that they were going there just to have a
shower. The women could also see smoke rising from the crematorium chimney and they
were terrified, because they realized that one day the Nazis could give their
order to them to go to “have a shower”. After some time, all three women were
transported to the labor concentration camp in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Freiberg</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> (</span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Germany</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">), where they were forced to do hellish
work at the production of the combat aircrafts. Months later they were taken to another
concentration camp at in Mauthausen (</span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Austria</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">). During those days the babies of
Priska, Rachel and Anka were born. Hana (the daughter of Priska) was born first, then Mark (the son of Rachel), and finally Eva (the daughter of
Anka). We must add that the women were not aware of one another’s existence
although they were kept in the same camps. Their adult children
found one another in 2010 and finally met in the place where they were born and where their
mothers miraculously survived. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2c9jZuMaxvQ/VtGT5NpZyDI/AAAAAAAAFWQ/IUcMEBy7STc/s1600/getto%2Bw%2B%25C5%2582odzi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="504" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2c9jZuMaxvQ/VtGT5NpZyDI/AAAAAAAAFWQ/IUcMEBy7STc/s640/getto%2Bw%2B%25C5%2582odzi.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">The streets of <span lang="EN-US">the </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Lodz</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> ghetto where </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Rachel Friedman had stayed before </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">she was transported to Auschwitz II-Birkenau. In the background </span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">of this picture we can see the Jewish synagogue on Wolborska street (March, 1940). </span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Wendy
Holden’s book is extremely moving. Nothing is spared to the reader. The author
describes the concentration camps’ nightmare with incredible accuracy. She also chronicles the heroines’ life before the outbreak of the Second World War and their
deportation, and then after the liberation and their return to their homes to
discover their apartments and factories had been stolen from them. Priska, Rachel and Anka had to
start all over again. There was almost no one to help them. At some point they
finally realized that their beloved husband would never come back home. Therefore
they had to take care of their babies who survived only by a miracle. They had
to fight for every day. First they did it in the concentration camps, and
then in real life. The women were very strong not only physically, but
especially psychologically. None of them fell into depression. None of them gave up. They
deserved the greatest admiration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">Born
Survivors</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> is a book for the present generation and the next. It is the tribute to the victims of the Holocaust. While on the one
hand there is a lot of cruelty in this publication, on the other hand there are
also quite a few scenes where we can see some humanity in this whole
Nazi bestiality. Undoubtedly, the symbol of this humanity is Antonín Pavliček –
the chief of the railway station in Horní Bříza (a town in the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Czech</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">Republic</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">). The man showed great courage and
in spite of the danger which threatened him then, he helped the starving and
terrified Jewish women who were being transported to another concentration camp by
the Nazis. The </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> army sergeant – Albert J. Kosiek, whose
ancestors came from </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> – was the next man who did a lot of
good things for the liberated prisoners in Mauthausen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_uwQNCbx4mU/VtGYe6UnvOI/AAAAAAAAFWg/WEp53JwhE8k/s1600/mathausen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="450" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_uwQNCbx4mU/VtGYe6UnvOI/AAAAAAAAFWg/WEp53JwhE8k/s640/mathausen.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Survivors of Mauthausen cheer American soldiers as they pass through the main gate of the camp.</span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"> The photo was taken a few days after the liberation of the camp (May, 1945). </span></b></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The book is
filled with tremendous pain and human tragedy which should never have happened in
the world. However, we cannot go back in time. Now we can only remember about all
those who were brutally murdered in the name of a sick idea that we
cannot justify in any way. We cannot forget about those who survived and who
experienced unimaginable ordeals. Therefore <i>Born Survivors</i> is not only a tribute to the people murdered during the Second World War, but also a monument to the Holocaust victims and their families. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to read this review in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2016/02/wendy-holden-urodzeni-by-zyc.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to read the interviews with Wendy Holden and Hana Berger Moran, please click <a href="http://agnes-books.blogspot.com/2016/02/i-like-to-write-stories-that-inspire-me.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://agnes-books.blogspot.com/2016/02/i-believe-holocaust-experience-was.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-7923934114560735172016-02-21T16:17:00.000+01:002016-02-22T10:52:29.808+01:00I believe the Holocaust experience was a warning to my family...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Interview with Hana Berger Moran</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>by Agnes A. Rose</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Hana Berger Moran is the daughter of
Priska Löwenbeinová who was Slovak. Her mother was one of the three very brave
women who were pregnant when they entered Auschwitz II-Birkenau. Priska, Rachel
and Anka kept their pregnancies in great secrecy from the Nazis. Hana was born the
day before her mother was transported to the Mauthausen Labor Camp in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Austria</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. Hana and her mother are one of the
protagonists of the book entitled “Born Survivors” by Wendy Holden. The book
was released in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> in 2015. Hana currently lives in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">California</span></st1:place></st1:state></b></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>. </b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Thank you very much that you
agreed to tell your story to my readers. At the beginning I would like to ask
you for telling us something more about your brave mother, Priska. What was
she? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H78VN_jO0xE/VsnNVAgYF3I/AAAAAAAAFVI/slWvzN8gJdU/s1600/Hana.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H78VN_jO0xE/VsnNVAgYF3I/AAAAAAAAFVI/slWvzN8gJdU/s400/Hana.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">Priska was then a 28 year-young
woman who was a teacher in a primary school at the time of her deportation,
although she studied to become a professor of languages. When she was forced to
stop teaching in school, she gave private English, French and German language
lessons. She was very lively, loved playing tennis and above all loved her
husband, my late father Tibor Löwenbein and her family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>You were born in a
concentration camp. Do you remember when you first learned the story related to
your birth? What kind of emotions accompanied you then? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">First time I heard the words ”concentration
camp” and the fact that I was actually born in such a place was when I was six
year old (in first grade). This is how it happened: I was outside playing after
school and children started to call “židka” (Jew). I did not know what it meant
so went home and asked my mother. She took me by the hand and we went to stand
in front of the photographs of her late parents, my late father and her late
sister – and she told me that they all were “židia” and because of that were
killed in camps, called concentration camps. Moreover, she too was a židka, was
also in such a camp and that is where she gave birth to me. Being six year old,
my reaction was, which I actually remember to this day: ”I too want to be like
you and them, and now can I go and play outside?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How did your mother cope
emotionally with her Holocaust experiences? What kept her going day to day in
the camp? How did she maintain hope?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">Because mine was my mother’s fourth
pregnancy, she was extremely focused to have this child (which became me).
Therefore her entire focus was to survive and to bring me back home and there
to wait for her beloved Tibor. She was absolutely convinced that she would
survive, because she was going to have this little girl, to whom she had already
given a name – Hana. Yes, she did give a name to a boy, should it be so...
Miško, but she was convinced in her heart that it was going to be a girl. She
prayed every day – several times a day and trusted the Almighty to take care of
her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">What kind of work did your mother do in the concentration camp? What
kind of conditions did she work under? Could you describe her typical day
there? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">In the now famous factory in
Freiberg, a porcelain factory converted for the war effort to be an <i>Arado-Flugzeugwerke</i>
factory for war planes. She sat or stood by a tall work table and was
responsible to put securing locking nuts on the wings with very heavy
equipment. If she stopped even for a very short period, she had anything thrown
at her – sometimes it was a hammer, sometimes a rag… The prisoners were walked
to the factory through Freiberg streets in the morning after Appeal around 6
AM. At the end of the work day, it was the same on the way back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">How did the Holocaust influence your family? Could you say whether it
strengthened or weakened your family? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">I believe the Holocaust experience
was a warning to my family – it showed us how people who used to be kind, could
change in a very short time, it took for the hateful propaganda to sink in. It
also taught me to value the precious life we are given as a gift and to strive
to enjoy it. It taught me to be strong yet kind, because we never know who else
went through the same experiences – whether then or now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rDicuuqQhNg/VsWac0y4fxI/AAAAAAAAFUc/EeT0PNV3HIA/s1600/Wendy%2B%2526%2BHana.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rDicuuqQhNg/VsWac0y4fxI/AAAAAAAAFUc/EeT0PNV3HIA/s400/Wendy%2B%2526%2BHana.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Hana & Wendy Holden who is the author of </span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Born Survivors</i></span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How did your mother start her life after the Holocaust?</i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">In her words, my mother, when she
understood that her beloved Tibor was not coming back and having me, a very
weak and sickly child to raise herself alone, had immediately started to act in
order, as she put it: “put a bigger piece of bread on the table”. While she was
teaching in a primary school in Bratislava, she also enrolled (1946) at the
University to complete her Masters in English, German and French to get her
teacher’s degree to be able to teach at the then schools called Gymnasiums (today
the same grades are equivalent to Middle through High School). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>I read that you never met your father because he is thought to
have died on a death march from </i></b></span><st1:city><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Gliwice</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> slave labour camp in January 1945.
I am sure that your mother told you about him many times. Could you tell us a
little bit about him? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">Indeed, my father was killed or died
from weakness on the death march from Gliwice in January 1945. My mother told me how thoughtful, loving,
patient and also strong-willed my father was. He was a very analytical thinker
and intellectual, a writer, with a very strong sense of right and wrong. He was
a Slovak patriot who believed everybody should be free to practice their
religion without being forced to suffer for it. He would have never left
Czechoslovakia, if not for being deported as is also recorded in the small
booklet he wrote in Bratislava. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What was your family’s life
like before WWII? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">Are you asking about the entire
family? My grandparents, Paula and Emanuel Rona had a small, modest Kosher Cafe
in Zlaté Moravce, in Czechoslovakia. When they were forced to close it in late
1940 they moved to Bratislava to be near their two daughters, Elizabeth (Alžbeta)
or Boežka and my mother. Boežka was a
very gifted seamstress and my mother was a teacher. My late father worked as a
journalist for the local Jewish newspaper.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Did the members of your
family try to emigrate in 1939 when the Nazis attacked their native country? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">Only one member of our family did
emigrate in 1938 to then Palestine (under English mandate). The rest of our
family never thought of it. My father did not believe they had to leave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What circumstances led to the
fact that now you live in the </i></b></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">United States</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> rather than in </span></i></b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Slovakia</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US">? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">On 21<sup>st</sup> of August 1968 I
was a young woman, married about a year, had my master’s degree in Chemical Engineering
and was 6 months pregnant. And I was
feeling happy because our country was undergoing a wonderful change – learning
to practice socialism with a human face under then president, Alexander Dubček.
And then I saw tanks and heard shots and learned that our “brothers” had come
to “liberate” us from our freedom and that was that! Within ten days I got a
passport, which I did not have till then and went our documents to Austrian
embassy to get the visa to Austria. We left, me driving, a tank behind our car,
on morning of 31<sup>st</sup> of August 1968.
Because the only family, my mother’s brothers, lived in Israel I had
decided to go there in order to be taken care of with our much anticipated
baby. He was born in Ashqelon, Israel, in December 1968. After few years
working and studying in the Weizmann Institute of Science, I completed my PhD
in Organic Chemistry of Natural Products and moved to United States to initiate
my Postdoctoral fellowship. And we decided to stay in US. My mother visited,
but never wanted to leave Slovakia. After 17 years of absence I was allowed to
start visiting her there in person, which I did several times a year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zdMd7tu2DpA/VsWa_EDE0hI/AAAAAAAAFUk/D17KDxo6Tp4/s1600/Polish%2Bedition.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zdMd7tu2DpA/VsWa_EDE0hI/AAAAAAAAFUk/D17KDxo6Tp4/s400/Polish%2Bedition.jpeg" width="276" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>This is the Polish edition of <i>Born Survivors</i></b><b><br /></b>
<b>Published by SONIA DRAGA</b><br />
<b>Katowice 2015</b><br />
<b>Translated by Przemysław Hejmej </b><br />
<b>& Jerzy Rosuł</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How important to you is the
book “Born Survivors” by Wendy Holden? Why did you decide to tell the author
about your mother and your family? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> It was important for my mother’s
story to be heard – my mother did not speak much about her experiences in the
camp – most she said was “I was there and came back together with my daughter.”
Even when she was interviewed – that was the essence of what she said... and
so, when I learned from Wendy what was her goal, there was no doubt in my mind,
that it is the right thing to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How do you feel about Germans
and </i></b></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Germany</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> today?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">I have mixed feelings – just like
everywhere there are good and bad people... same thing that happened in Germany
in 1930s can and is happening today... to a different degree. I visited Germany
on business and also have visited Freiberg. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>I know that you came back to
the place where you were born. You also met with the surviving children of
Rachel and Anka. Was it very traumatic for you?</i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">It was wonderful to meet Dr. Mark
Olsky and Eva Nathan Clarke: we started to call ourselves siblings right then
and there as neither of us has a sister or brother and so it fits that we are
that to each other. That feeling of love took over everything. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The place is shocking and I will
tell you, that I never understood, and now even more – so, how did my mother
survive those 7 months! How did she do it? How did they all do it? It was , is and will always be traumatic for
me, even though I say proudly – “we are here!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What about </i></b></span><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Auschwitz</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">? Did you visit this place, too? If
so, what are your feelings associated with your visit in </span></i></b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US">? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">I have not visited Auschwitz. My
grandparents maternal and paternal and my aunt perished there in the gas
chambers (1942 and 1944 respectively). My feelings are not much different about
Poland then they always were – it is a country north of Slovakia. What I am a
little worried about is the very current development in Poland, but that is
politics and I will not go into it now. I believe that the same comment applies
as mentioned above – Jews were the scapegoats even the very poor Jews – it was
so everywhere. And what a pity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What message would you like
to leave with the people here? What would you like people to remember about
your mother experiences? How should people respond to genocide and human rights
violations today? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">We must never forget the evil that
happened. We need to understand what needs are fulfilled by that hatred. Without
that understanding the people will continue to be able to be controlled by hysteria
and hatred without a thought to what brought it on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We must learn to enjoy life, to love
every sunrise and sunset, and learn to love each other by learning about our
differences. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Thank you so much for this
conversation. This is extremely important to me. I am very happy that I could
talk to you. Is there anything you would like to add? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hana Berger Moran: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">Thank you for contacting me, Agnes –
I am honored. For many years I had a pen-pal in Warsaw – now the letters are
lost, but we wrote each other every month – she in Polish and I in Slovak. It
was wonderful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to read this interview in Polish, please clock <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2016/02/wierze-ze-doswiadczenie-holokaustu-byo.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-69826467858629529632016-02-18T12:03:00.000+01:002016-02-21T16:19:35.335+01:00I like to write stories that inspire me and others...<br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Interview with Wendy Holden</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>by Agnes A. Rose</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Wendy Holden, also known as Taylor
Holden, was born in </span><st1:metricconverter productid="1961 in"><span lang="EN-US">1961 in</span></st1:metricconverter><span lang="EN-US"> Pinner (</span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">North London</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">). She is an experienced British novelist,
journalist and author of screenplays. She has published more than thirty books,
including two novels. Many of her works have been adapted for radio and
television. She worked as a reporter for eighteen years, including ten years
for the <i>Daily Telegraph</i> in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">London</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">. She has also worked as an editor
for the literary consulting firm – <i>The Writer’s Workshop</i>. In 2006 Wendy
Holden published her first novel <i>The Sense of Paper </i>which widespread
critical acclaim. Her non-fiction titles have chiefly chronicled the lives of
remarkable subjects. The latest is <i>Born Survivors</i> which was published in
</span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> in 2015. The book is the incredible story of
three mothers who defied death at the hands of the Nazis to give life. Wendy
Holden has also written several significant bestsellers as a so-called ghostwriter,
inter alia, <i>Behind Enemy Lines,</i> about
a German Jewish spy, <i>Till the Sun Grows
Cold</i>, about a young Englishwoman caught up in the war in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Sudan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, and <i>Tomorrow to be Brave,</i> about the only woman in the French Foreign
Legion. She has also written a few celebrity biographies including <i>A Lotus Grows in the Mud</i>, with actress
Goldie Hawn and <i>Lady Blue Eyes,</i> a collection of memories of Barbara
Sinatra, the singer’s wife. She currently lives in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Suffolk</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> (</span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></b></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>).</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Wendy,
I am very honored that I can host you on my blog and talk to you. Let’s start
our conversation with your latest book which is really special and emotional. In
“Born Survivors” you tell the story of Priska, Rachel and Anka. They were all
pregnant when they entered </i></b></span><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Auschwitz</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> II-Birkenau. What inspired you to
reach for such a difficult subject? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cOF8O1LnQ4g/VsWaRNYmwjI/AAAAAAAAFUM/uCp-oMo2RKg/s1600/Wendy%2BHolden.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cOF8O1LnQ4g/VsWaRNYmwjI/AAAAAAAAFUM/uCp-oMo2RKg/s400/Wendy%2BHolden.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I happened upon an obituary of a
woman who’d been imprisoned in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Auschwitz</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> and had a baby there that died. Although I
have read many books about the Holocaust, I’ve never read anything before about
babies are born in concentration camps which set me on my quest. I was
staggered to discover that nothing had been written previously. Further
research led me to one mother and then the other two and their remarkable
miracle babies. This is the first book ever to chronicle such a story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Was it difficult to find the
surviving children of Priska, Rachel and Anka? What was their reaction when you
informed them that you were going to describe the dramatic history of their
family? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US">I came across Anka’s baby Eva first and by
chance she lived one hour from me in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. I spent the day with her and we
laughed and cried and at the end I asked if she would allow me the great honour
of writing her mother’s story. She reached across and touched my arm and told
me, “I’ve been waiting for you for nearly 70 years.” I told her I believed her
story to be unique and she said that for the first 65 years of her life she
thought so too but then discovered the other two babies whose mothers had been
on exactly the same journey as hers. That is when I knew I had to contact them
as well and ask them if I could include their stories in this book. Fortunately
for me, babies Hana and Mark were equally delighted and are thrilled that their
mothers’ courage has finally been publicly honoured.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Knowing the realities of a
concentration camp I cannot imagine how Priska, Rachel and Anka were able to
hide their pregnancies. Why didn’t the Nazis murder these brave women? What did
the women do that they managed to save not only their own lives but also their
babies? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> They were able to hide their pregnancies
because they were given baggy clothing and each mother was almost starved and
worked to death for the entire duration of their pregnancy. By the time of
their babies were born, each weighed less than </span><st1:metricconverter productid="70 pounds"><span lang="EN-US">70
pounds</span></st1:metricconverter><span lang="EN-US"> and infants under </span><st1:metricconverter productid="3 pounds"><span lang="EN-US">3 pounds</span></st1:metricconverter><span lang="EN-US">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Priska, Rachel and Anka must have
been extremely strong women not only psychologically but also physically. They
were living in the very harsh camp conditions so they could loose their babies.
How did they manage to take care of their health? Was it possible at all? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Each mother would say simply that
they survived because of luck. They were lucky that they did not succumb to
various diseases that rampaged through the camp. They were fortunate that they
didn’t injure themselves and were dispatched back to </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Auschwitz</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">. They were lucky that they were
young, fit and healthy before the war and were able to survive the dramatic
weight loss and mice infestation as well as bitter cold and unendurable living
and working conditions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">All the babies were born before,
during or after their mothers were transported to the Mauthausen Labor Camp in </span></i></b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Austria</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US">. It was a seventeen-day hellish
journey by train. Could you tell us something more about the circumstances of
the babies’ births? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rDicuuqQhNg/VsWac0y4fxI/AAAAAAAAFUQ/z2ivr5FHYXg/s1600/Wendy%2B%2526%2BHana.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rDicuuqQhNg/VsWac0y4fxI/AAAAAAAAFUQ/z2ivr5FHYXg/s400/Wendy%2B%2526%2BHana.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Wendy Holden & Hana Berger Moran</span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Hana is the daughter of Priska </span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <span style="color: red;"> </span>Priska gave birth to baby Hana on a
plank in the German factory the night before they were to be evacuated. The
Nazis watched and leered and took bets on whether it might be a boy or a girl.
They didn’t murder her or her baby as they knew they were being sent away to be
gassed the next day anyway. Rachel gave birth to baby Mark a week later in an
open coal wagon on the train full of dead and dying women in the middle of a
deluge. She was close to death herself and never expected her, or her tiny
infant, to survive. Anka gave birth to Eva on the back of a cart full of
lice-infested women at the gates of the camp. Thrown into a barracks with her
child while the Nazis prepared to flee, she was also not expected to live.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>While researching what was
the most frightening for you? What event in your heroines’ camp lives was the
most gruesome? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Their experiences at Auschwitz II-Birkenau
were probably he most terrifying for them. Each came under the eagle-eyed
scrutiny of Dr Joseph Mengele, the “Angel of Death”. He asked each if they were
pregnant and they all denied it, before being chosen for slave labour. Had been
discovered while </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Auschwitz</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> was still operational and Dr Mengele still in charge, they would have
been sent back and treated most cruelly, as others were.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What challenges you the most
in your writing “Born Survivors”? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> The only way I could get through
the researching and writing of it was to focus on finding the humanity in the
inhumanity. Thanks to the kindness of strangers during their incarceration,
these women and their babies survived. The stories of the people who risked
their own lives to help them restored my faith in human nature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">During our conversation I cannot
stop thinking<span style="color: maroon;"> </span>about the women’s husbands.
Could you tell us if they managed to survive the concentration camps?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Sadly, they did not. Each of them were
killed by the Nazis just a few weeks or even days before their camps were
liberated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What were the lives of the
women and their babies after the liberation? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Harrowing and extremely
challenging. They not only lost their husbands but numerous members of their
immediate family. They returned to their homes to discover their apartments
occupied and their belongings stolen. They faced further anti-Semitism and all
but Priska in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Slovakia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> fled to start new lives abroad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What insights did you get
into Jewish life as you wrote your latest book?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Too many to list in one answer. I
am not Jewish and I learned so much about their rich culture including the fact
that they traditionally lay stones, not flowers, on graves. As I was writing
and researching the book, I collected white pebbles from my local beach and
when I visited each of the mothers’ graves in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">America</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Czech</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">Republic</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> and </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Slovakia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, I lay three white pebbles at each
tomb to represent each of them. I had a handful of stones left and when we
launched the book in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">North America</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">, the three babies placed my last three stones on the grave of the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> liberator of the concentration camp
where they were expected to die, as his sons looked on. It was a deeply
emotional moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Sometimes I can hear that
making art about the Holocaust is not ethical. Some editors have even said: “No
more Holocaust stories.” What is your take on that? Did you feel concern about
that while you were writing “Born Survivors”?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zdMd7tu2DpA/VsWa_EDE0hI/AAAAAAAAFUk/D17KDxo6Tp4/s1600/Polish%2Bedition.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zdMd7tu2DpA/VsWa_EDE0hI/AAAAAAAAFUk/D17KDxo6Tp4/s400/Polish%2Bedition.jpeg" width="276" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">This is the Polish cover of "Born Survivors"</span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Published by SONIA DRAGA </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Katowice 2015</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Translated by Przemysław Hejmej </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">& Jerzy Rosuł</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Not once. There can never be enough
reminders of what happened in Europe within living memory, especially not while
these three babies still survive. Hitler and his Nazis fully intended them to
die along with the rest of </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Europe</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">’s Jews. To be able to sit alongside these living breathing examples of
courage, defiance and hope and know that within their lifetimes we have managed
to triumph over such evil, is a timely reminder of how good can prevail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>In your book I read that
during your researching you visited </i></b></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US">. I would like to ask you about your
experience of staying in </span></i></b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US">. Is there anything what most stuck
in your memory?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I loved my visit to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, although probably the most
harrowing part of my research was to follow in the mothers’ footsteps at
Auschwitz II-Birkenau. </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Krakow</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> has become one of my favourite cities in the world and I also travelled
to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Lodz</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Warsaw</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">, so beautifully reconstructed after
the war. When we launched the book in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Warsaw</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> I can honestly say that I had some
of the most interesting and intelligent questions from the audience of almost
anywhere I have been. Through largely an accident of geography, </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> has taken its place in history as
centre stage of this terrible time and I was greatly encouraged to see a Jewish
festival happening in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Warsaw</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> and young people so curious about
the subject matter of my book. It is only through educating and informing the
next generation that we can benefit from the lessons of the last.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>So far you have written a lot
of books. Is “Born Survivors” the most important to you? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> “Born Survivors” is, without doubt,
my most important book historically. It was the greatest privilege of my life
to write and I consider it my legacy work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Could you tell us how your
meetings with your readers look like? While talking to them what do you pay
your attention to? What questions do they ask? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> In the last eight months I have
travelled to 11 countries and spoken to hundreds of people about this book at
museums, bookshops, synagogues, churches and literary festivals. I am usually
accompanied by one of the babies – sometimes all three – and we speak for about
an hour, detailing each of the mother’s stories before we take questions.
Everywhere we go, people are visibly moved and often in tears and eager to
shake the hands of these remarkable survivors. Some people want to know about
forgiveness or the nature of evil. Many enquire what affects their births have
had on them. The babies are all so positive and cheerful and optimistic – as were
their mothers largely – that they usually say that they hope only to remind
people of what happened so that it never happens again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What is your next project?
Could you tell us something more about it?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I like to write stories that
inspire me and others. I am currently working on another inspirational memoir
about somebody who has been dealt a very bad hand in life but who has turned it
into a positive and decided to try to help others even less fortunate than
himself. I am also working on a new novel that – although not set in the war –
has echoes of it lurking in the background.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>I am extremely grateful to
you for this valuable interview. Is there anything you would like to tell your
Polish readers? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wendy Holden:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> (I hope my Polish is correct).<span style="color: red;"> </span></span>Dziękuję za zainteresowanie tą ważną i
inspirującą książką. Mam nadzieję, że Wam się spodoba i że odmieni Wasze życie
tak samo, jak odmieniła moje. Wendy Holden x <span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2016/02/lubie-pisac-historie-ktore-inspiruja.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-35551343578822130122015-12-20T15:43:00.000+01:002015-12-20T15:45:39.921+01:00I've been in love with the cello since I was a child...<br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Interview with Andromeda Romano-Lax</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>by Agnes A. Rose</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span lang="EN-US">Andromeda Romano-Lax was born in </span><st1:metricconverter productid="1970 in"><span lang="EN-US">1970 in</span></st1:metricconverter><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Chicago</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">. Before she decided to create
fiction she had worked as a freelance journalist and travel writer. Her first
novel – “The Spanish Bow” – was hailed the international bestseller and so far
it has been translated into many languages. Her second novel – “The Detour” –
was released in 2012. She is also the author of nonfiction books which are
related to her traveling. Among these books we can mention for example:
“Walking Southeast Alaska: Scenic Walks and Easy Hikes for Inside Passage
Travelers” (1997), “Searching for Steinbeck's </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">Sea</span></st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US"> of </span><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Cortez</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">: A Makeshift Expedition Along
Baja's </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">Desert</span></st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">Coast</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">” (2002), “</span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Alaska</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-US">'s </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Kenai Peninsula</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">: A Traveler's Guide” (2001) and
others. Andromeda lives with her family in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span lang="EN-US">Anchorage</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> (</span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Alaska</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">),
where she co-founded and now teaches for a nonprofit organization. Her next
novel – “Behave” – is going to be published in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">USA</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><b><span style="color: #0c343d;"> in
March 2016. </span></b><span style="color: #111111;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #111111; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>Thank you very much for your accepting my
invitation to take part in this interview. So far in </i></b></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #111111; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Poland</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #111111; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> two
of your books have been published. There are “The Spanish Bow” and “The </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Detour”. Let’s start our
conversation with talking about the first one. I read that you wrote this novel
because you had been inspired by the Pablo Casals’ life. Could you tell us how
you found the biography of this eminent cellist and what was so special about
his life that you decided to create a main character based on him? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I first became aware of
Casals due to his performance of the Bach Cello Suites and only later came to
know about his life story. My first research stage involved traveling to </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Puerto Rico</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> (where Casals spent the
end of his life) to learn as much as I could about him, originally intending it
to be a nonfiction project. This was just after the terrorist attacks of </span><st1:date day="11" month="9" year="2001"><span lang="EN-US">9/11/2001</span></st1:date><span lang="EN-US">, a time when I, like many people, was looking for
heroes and stories of hope and beauty. I was fascinated by the political
position Casals took against the dictator Franco, even when it meant
sacrificing his own performing pleasure in order to make a public statement.
The project evolved into fiction in order to embrace other characters and
situations beyond Casals's own life. The intersection of politics and arts, and
the question of personal sacrifice and its unintended consequences, impelled me
to write <i>The Spanish Bow. </i></span><i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A, Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How many common features do
Feliu Delargo and Pablo Casals have and how
much different are they? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Both are
Catalan (Pablo's Catalan name was </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Pau</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">, by the way), both
share royal patronage (but by different queens), both possess a gem-studded bow
and Republican political views. However, Pablo Casals was born in 1867, while
the fictional Feliu was born in 1892 and in the novel comes into contact with
different musicians and politicians. There are other differences that I explore
in my author note and website. One of the things I loved about the novel is the
greater flexibility it allows in combining experience and imagination, facts
and fiction.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>In your novel you revived a
few historical heroes such as Francisco Franco, Kurt Weill, Pablo Picasso,
Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, and others. Could you tell us something about
your historical researching?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Well, I love history,
and I love research, including library and archival research, which invariably
leads in unexpected directions. I never expected to include Kurt Weill in my
novel, for example, and getting to learn more about Pablo Picasso and Queen Ena
was a huge treat. My favorite kind of research involves travel to the places
where a historical figure lived. Absorbing the landscape and culture, talking
to local people, eating local foods, touring buildings, and serendipitous
encounters are all part of the reward for writing historical fiction.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>The friendship between Feliu
Delargo and Justo Al-Cerraz is very strong. Feliu is quite sure that he knows
Justo very well. While reading I had a feeling that the pianist was rather a
mysterious character and he did not reveal his authentic thoughts. Could you
tell us what inspired you to create Justo Al-Cerraz? Is he completely fictional
or maybe did you model on anyone special? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Justo
Al-Cerraz is also a composite, inspired by another musician, the pianist
Albeniz, who lived in an earlier time period. He is – intentionally – a person
who is not in touch with his own authenticity, but in the end, he was one of
the most fun characters to write about. The character Al-Cerraz is a passionate
searcher, full of joie de vivre, and though I first intended him to be an
antagonist to the more noble Feliu, Al-Cerraz won me over. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Feliu Delargo is very clearly
opposed to the Francisco Franco’s politics. His disaffection is so huge that he
wants to play the cello in public no longer. Do you think that this kind of
manifesting of his reluctance is good for the public who really loves the
virtuoso? Does a musician generally have the right to leave his/her
performances on the stage because of his/her beliefs? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Those are
great questions, and ones I hope every reader will consider, but I'm not going
to answer them, because I want to leave them up to the reader to decide!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Have you ever been to </i></b></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Spain</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US">? If so, what did you like best in
this country? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I first visited </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Spain</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> when I was 15,
traveling alone, and the time I spent in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Barcelona</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> made a huge impression
on me. I returned for a longer trip in 2003 to do research for the novel. What
do I like about </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Spain</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">? Too many things to say
here, but the first things that come to mind in no particular order are: the
art (from Goya to Picasso), the literature (including Don Quixote), the
fantastic museums, the Arabic influence especially in terms of architecture and
music, the Spanish language, tapas and Spanish liqueurs, and a history that
touches nearly every part of the world.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>I know that you are a cellist
just like Feliu Delargo and Pablo Casals. What motivated you to learn to play the
cello? How long has your love for this musical instrument been lasting? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I've been in love with
the cello since I was a child, and I've played off and on nearly my whole life.
I am no more than a beginner, however. Writing <i>The Spanish Bow </i>gave me a great excuse to spend time studying and
practicing for a concentrated period of time, and any frustration I had about
not being a skilled musician I was able to direct into describing the expert
cello-playing of other people. I set aside music lessons (and sold two cellos –
a wooden instrument and a carbon-fiber one) a few years ago in order to devote
time to other forms of research, study and travel. But when I finish my next
two books and accomplish a few other goals I plan to buy another cello and
start all over again. I miss it too much. My dream has always been to play the
full Bach Cello Suites – or even one movement tolerably well!</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Now let me ask you about your
second novel “The Detour”. This book tells us the story of Ernst Vogler who is
twenty-four years old and he is German. One day he is sent to </i></b></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Italy</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> by his employer. In this book you
go back to the Second World War but the war is only the background. In the
first place we can see the main character. What did you want to convey to your
readers deciding to create Ernst Vogler? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> If I wanted to convey
one thing, it was the difficulty of moral decision-making, especially during
this time period, which is so often obscured to us now that we are looking back
on World War II, rather than living in the years leading up to it. Ernst is
naive, somewhat passive, and troubled. He is not a hero. I am rather suspicious
of novels about perfect heroes. I don't think they help us understand how it is
to live in difficult times, affected by factors beyond our control, making hard
choices without the benefit of hindsight. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose: </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">As far as I am concerned I treat classical music as a work of art.<span style="color: maroon;"> </span>Both in “The Spanish Bow” and “The Detour” you
focus on different kinds of art. I think that your choice of the novels’
subject was not random. Why is art so important for you? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> First of all, I simply
love art. Great art crosses boundaries of time and space, communicates what
language cannot, makes the past come to life, unites, inspires, and endures.
But art doesn't solve all problems and in a strange way, many of the 20th
century's worst demagogues have used art to do great harm. In my first two
novels, I ended up examining the way art's symbolism and power can be abused.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Which of these two books was
more difficult for you to write and why?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <i>The Spanish Bow </i>was the easiest because I wrote it entirely without
expectations, for my own pleasure, without thoughts of any audience. <i>The Detour </i>was harder because I was
writing about similar themes but trying very purposefully to tell the story in
a different way and I was more aware of the challenges I was facing, in making
a story about a 1930s German man who is serving the Reich appropriately
palatable to the reader. <i>The Spanish Bow </i>is
an homage to Don Quixote. It is a denser and purposefully episodic work that is
meant to reflect its Spanish subject. <i>The
Detour </i>is an homage to both classical Italian art and Italian cinema, in a
sense. It is a much slimmer book, and written more in the fashion of a
screenplay, to tell a more explicitly visual story.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Andromeda, before you started
writing your fiction you had published several books about </i></b></span><st1:state><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Alaska</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:state><b><i><span lang="EN-US">. Could you tell us something more
about these works? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> My </span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Alaska</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-US"> writing is nonfiction,
mostly about the 49th state's wild public lands. </span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Alaska</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-US"> is an amazing place and
I've enjoyed helping interpret some of its natural wonders for the public. (I
love science and nature as well as art and history!) </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>In a few months your readers
in </i></b></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">America</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> will be able to read your newest
book <span style="background: white; color: #111111;">“Behave”. Could you tell us
what is this novel about and how did your work on it look like? <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <i>Behave</i> tells the
story of Rosalie Rayner Watson, a woman mostly forgotten by history, who was
the lover/wife and assistant to John Watson, one of the 20th century's most
influential pioneers of psychology. Aside from its subject matter – psychology,
parenting, and the birth of modern advertising – it is a story of love,
scandal, regret and reckoning. This is my first published novel set in America
and I'm grateful to the main character for teaching me, so to speak, what it
was like to be a woman in the fast-moving 1920s. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #111111; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>As shown above now you write historical novels.
Have you ever thought about writing a fictionalized biography of a famous queen
or princess? I notice that this kind of books is very trendy among writers at
present. <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> That's an interesting
question, and the fact that a very fast "no!" jumped to my mind helps
me understand and explain my own interests better! I am less interested in
truly famous, well-known, glamorous or undeniably heroic people than I am in
people who are forgotten, misunderstood, flawed, and more ambiguous. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Do you have an idea for
another book? If so, could you tell us a little bit about your next project? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I have many more ideas
for books and not enough time to write them all. I am nearly finished with
drafting the next, which takes place in the past as well as the future, set in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Taiwan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> and </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Japan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. It's a very different
kind of story, involving neither art nor science, but it does involve other
time periods and jumping between the 1930s and 2030s, which was great fun. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Thank you once again for this
conversation. I am very happy about our interview. Is there anything you would
like to add and tell your Polish readers?</i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Andromeda Romano-Lax:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I'd love to tell my
Polish readers that I'm grateful for their interest and especially appreciative
of the Polish public's interest in classical music, art, politics and history.
Thank you, Agnes. It was a pleasure.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2015/12/jestem-zakochana-w-wiolonczeli-od.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-59350045595468157482015-09-25T10:12:00.000+02:002015-09-25T10:14:16.163+02:00Interview with Sandra Gulland<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><i>Sandra Gulland is the author of
Josephine B. Trilogy, The Shadow Queen and The Mistress of the Sun.</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q8inFdhRPYE/VgUBbG3Fq3I/AAAAAAAAEqM/K8c-s5Vwdfg/s1600/sandra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q8inFdhRPYE/VgUBbG3Fq3I/AAAAAAAAEqM/K8c-s5Vwdfg/s1600/sandra.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sandra-Gulland/e/B001IGHN2I/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1443168683&sr=1-2-ent" target="_blank">source of the photo</a></td></tr>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Karolina Małkiewicz:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> You are the author of the Josephine
B. Trilogy, which is about Napoleon's wife Josephine, as well as novels about
the Sun King's first mistress, Louise de la Vallière, and Claude des Oeillets,
maid to the Sun King's official mistress, Madame de Montespan. What inspired
you to write books about these women? Which one do you like the most and why?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Sandra Gulland:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> These women – Josephine, Louise and
Claude – are all very different, but they are alike in a significant way. None
of them were born into high nobility, yet they each played an important role at
Court. It's that transition that interests me. It's impossible for me to say
which one is a favorite, for they are all dear to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Are there other women in
history who intrigue you? Which ones? And why exactly these? Would you like to
write a book about them?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SG:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Joan of Arc is certainly
interesting, but many books have already been written about her, so I doubt
that I will ever write about her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> You wrote about the Napoleonic era
and about </span></i></b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">France</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> during the reign of the Sun King. Why
did you decide to choose these parts of French history?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SG:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> My fascination with both these
periods in French history began quite by chance. I happened to read a Young
Adult biography of Josephine Bonaparte and became fascinated by her life. In
researching Josephine, I learned about Louise de la Vallière, the Sun King's
first mistress. Both periods are ones of great change, which makes for
interesting stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">
Why did you decide to become a writer? Was it a childhood dream?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SG:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I have always loved books, and my
dream was to make one. First I became a book editor, telling myself that I
would write a book of my own "someday." When I turned 40, I decided
that it was time to get serious about that goal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> What does Sandra Gulland do every
day? What are her dreams? What does she want to do? What is her hobby?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SG:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I rise early, usually around </span><st1:time hour="6" minute="0"><span lang="EN-US">6:00 am</span></st1:time><span lang="EN-US">, make myself a mug of coffee, and
settle down somewhere quiet with my laptop computer. I glance at my email, and
maybe even look at Facebook and Instagram (to see if there is news of our
children and grandchildren), but I then quickly move onto writing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This morning quiet time is what I
call my “Cup of Work,” and I try to do it even when we’re travelling. The
writing work I do at this time might be working on an outline, writing first
draft scenes or revising. It depends what stage the work is at. I write on a
bed or couch – rarely at a desk. I find that’s best for me ergonomically.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">After my Cup of Work, I break for
breakfast, dress, and then return to writing work. I’ll break at </span><st1:time hour="11" minute="0"><span lang="EN-US">11:00</span></st1:time><span lang="EN-US"> or so for exercise and lunch. In
the afternoon I deal mainly with correspondence, research and household chores.
And Social Media, of course, and posting to my blogs, which I enjoy. I also
like to fit in a little time painting with watercolors every day, my current
hobby. Writing is a very cerebral art, and it’s refreshing to create with stuff.
As for dreams, I’m hoping to stay healthy and active long enough to write
several more novels. I am 70; it takes me years to write a novel, so I’m not
sure how many I will be able to finish!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> What's your next project? Could you
tell us a little bit about it?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SG:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Right now I’m writing a Young Adult
novel about Josephine Bonaparte’s daughter Hortense de Beauharnais. She’s 15
when the novel opens, and 16 when it ends. The novel only spans a short period
of her life, but a lot happens in that time. The novel is set in her boarding
school until her step-father Napoleon takes power, and suddenly she’s something
of a princess and living in a palace. The story is one of a girl mourning the
death of a father who was guillotined during the French Revolution and coming
to terms with her step-father Napoleon Bonaparte.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> What kind of books do you like
reading? Do you have a favorite author or a book? Whose prose do you feel
closest to?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SG:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">
I read lots of books for research, but for pleasure I enjoy reading
literary fiction. Recently I read Nora Webster by Colim Toibin (I love all his
novels), and I am now reading Lila by Marilynne Robinson. It's hard to pick a
favorite author – I have so many – but Canadian authors Helen Humphries,
Heather O’Neill and Miriam Toes would all be contenders <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to read this interview
in Polish, please click <a href="http://zwiedzamwszechswiat.blogspot.com/2015/09/wywiad-z-sandra-gulland-autorka.html" target="_blank">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US">You can also visit the Sandra Gulland's <a href="http://www.sandragulland.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-57201009872353331602015-09-15T11:27:00.001+02:002015-09-15T11:27:12.838+02:00I kept an open mind, but sooner or later the idea came knocking at the door again ...<b><br /></b>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">Interview with Vanora Bennett</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">by Karolina Małkiewicz</span></span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span lang="EN-US">Vanora Bennett</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></span></b></i><span lang="EN-US"><i><b><span style="color: #0c343d;">is a British journalist
and writer, the author of "Portrait of an Unknown Woman", "The People's
Queen", "Figures in Silk", "Blood Royal", "The White Russian<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Midnight
in St. Petersburg".</span></b></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Karolina Małkiewicz:</span></i></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></b></span><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Vanora,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>you have written two novels set in </span></i></b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Russia</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> or about Russians, four
English historical novels and two non-fiction books about your experiences as a
journalist. What inspired you to write these books?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Vanora Bennett:</span></i></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">I
have always loved writing, and started my career as a journalist working in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> just
after the Soviet collapse in 1991, so a preoccupation with things Russian and a
fascination with how the past affects the present came naturally. Luckily for
me, I'd started to learn Russian even before university, since a French teacher
at my school was from a White Russian family and had chosen to teach me her
first language, so I'd been exposed to that melancholy emigre way of thinking
from very early on.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>"The People's Queen",
"Figures in Silk", "Blood Royal" and "The Portrait of
an Unknown Woman": your books tell about the time of the Plantagenets and
Tudors </i></b></span>– <b><i>why did you decide to choose this part of English history?</i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US">At first by complete coincidence! While I was working in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> in the early 1990s, I retuned to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">London</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> for a weekend and went to an
exhibition of drawings by the German artist Hans Holbein, who painted at the
English court of Henry VIII in the mid-1500s. His portraits of the Tudor-era
new rich – big unrefined men with great slabs of red-meat face and calculating
eyes – reminded me so much of the Moscow new rich I was seeing emerge all
around me that I bought the catalogue and read every word of it on the plane
back to Russia. And there, somewhere in the small print, was a mention of a
fascinating and far-fetched theory about a secret story that was hinted at in
one of the pictures. I did what I could to find out more, and began to wonder
how that story would look if it had really happened that way... and before I
knew where I was it was turning into a book. It was really "about"
the religious wars of the time, Protestants vs Catholics, which I discovered
were absolutely absorbing history – but it also had a love triangle, a new and
less positive view of an English hero, the Catholic Sir Thomas More, and a
portrait of Holbein. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It was such fun to write that I decided to go on. The
great soap-opera moment of English history is Henry VIII's change of wives and
decision to take </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> out of the Church of
Rome, and my first book was set then, but I was a little scared of going
straight for that iconic moment and found I preferred the untold stories of
people further from the centre stage. And I found myself very interested by
questions of reputation and power change – how one political narrative wins
support and power, while another is doomed and fades away (again not unnatural
after my time reporting in Russia, where such apparently dramatic change had
come so fast) – and it was easy to find examples writing about the Middle Ages,
when there were so many changes of regime. So I went backwards through time. It
wasn't all that easy – life in the Middle Ages was very different from modern
life! – and my technique for being able to think my way into a time was to
always have a character with an artistic reputation and a body of work you
could look at for another perspective. it made it easier to work your way into
seeing people's personalities. So I had William Caxton the printer in one book,
and Geoffrey Chaucer the great comic poet in another, and Christine de Pizan,
the first French professional woman writer, in a third. Especially with the
Chaucer book, the People's Queen, it was a tremendous help to have this other
less historical viewpoint through which to examine my </span><span lang="EN-US">characters. <u1:p></u1:p>But it was
inevitable that, sooner or later, I'd go back to thinking and writing about </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> "The White
Russian" and "</span></i></b><st1:time hour="0" minute="0"><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Midnight</span></i></b></st1:time><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> in </span></i></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">St. Petersburg</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><i><span lang="EN-US">" </span></i></b>– <b><i><span lang="EN-US">why did you
decide to write about </span></i></b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Russia</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> and Russians in exile?
What fascinated you in this country and these people?</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">So my most recent two novels have been set in early 20th-century Russia,
which has given me a chance to revisit the Revolution, and Rasputin, and
wartime Petrograd, which I had stayed in a lot several generations later both
when it was called Leningrad and St Petersburg, and whose writers and artists I
loved </span>– a way to explore both my love of that side of Russian life and my
scepticism about the hierarchical and autocratic way Russian politics and
policing seem to be. </div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As a journalist I spent a lot of time covering the
first 1990s war in Chechnya, and came away from Russia with quite negative
views about the Russian state's attitude to smaller peoples and minorities and
generally to anyone who veers away from the expected norm. Making the heroine
of </span><st1:time hour="0" minute="0"><span lang="EN-US">Midnight</span></st1:time><span lang="EN-US"> in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">St Petersburg</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> a Jewish girl in 1917,
and a refugee from violence in the Jewish Pale of Settlement in southern </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, someone viewed with
suspicion because of her dark looks and foreign-sounding name, was a way of
telling the same story I'd encountered in real life through my modern Chechen
friends' experiences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As for writing about exiles, it's kind of the same
thing. My musician parents had a very international friendship group, so,
growing up, I met many, many, central and eastern European and Jewish exiles
from one kind of bad history or another, each with more memories than they felt
comfortable with it and no way home. So I felt right at home in the world I
chose to write about in The White Russian – the Russian emigre circles of Paris
in the 1930s, poverty-stricken and paranoid, and, with the second world war
coming, genuinely penetrated and infiltrated by Stalinist agents waiting to do
more damage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I think all the drama of novel writing comes from
putting characters into a situation where they face conflict and showing how
they deal with it and grow – and these are all not just conflict situations par
excellence but also ones I felt relatively familiar with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-US"> <b>What is the most
interesting or maybe surprising fact you came across in your research for your
books?</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US">Well, I learned to make a violin myself while writing about my Jewish
heroine Inna becoming a violin maker in St Petersburg – and now have a violin
to play on, a fact that still surprises me! I went to a workshop in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Cambridge</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> for about 3 years and finally
finished the violin last year...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></i><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Why did you choose this
kind of literature? It must be very difficult because of doing detailed
historical research. How do you do your research for your books? Which genre is
more difficult: historical fiction or non-fiction?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b> </b>In many ways the research is the most fascinating
thing you can do. it can be hard to leave the library and actually start
writing... Also, I started by wanting a factual framework to write within,
because I came from journalism and was scared of writing about people and their
feelings without any facts! But In the end I came to agree that it was hard
researching the minutiae of daily life at a time when everything was so
different. It was a relief to return to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> in the age of electric light and
the phone...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> Are there any other areas of the history
you would like to write about in your future novels?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I'm not sure </span>– I am writing a non-fiction book about an aspect of
Russian history at about the time of the Revolution now, and have thought I
might like to try my hand at something contemporary next, perhaps about, or
featuring, the many Russians living in London now. So I'll have to see how
things develop and whether I get a new historical idea I feel excited about...</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UCF8fVyBZ2s/Vffhh4gjxYI/AAAAAAAAEoA/ilYkh2j354M/s1600/portret-nieznanej-damy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UCF8fVyBZ2s/Vffhh4gjxYI/AAAAAAAAEoA/ilYkh2j354M/s400/portret-nieznanej-damy.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">This is the Polish cover of </span></b></i><i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></i>
<i><b><span style="font-size: small;">"Portrait of an Unknown Woman"</span></b></i><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Published by ŚWIAT KSIĄŻKI</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Warsaw 2009</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Translated by Joanna Puchalska</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Which character of your novels you like the most and why?</i></b><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> My favourite character by a long way is Holbein, in my first
novel, PORTRAIT. He sort of wrote himself – big and rough and workmanlike, on
the surface, but with a genuine greatness of spirit and intellectual finesse
too. I loved the way he soaked up knowledge, and the passion he brought to his
work, and the passion with which he fell in love, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Which of your book was more difficult to create? Why?</i></b><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> The hardest book to write was the third of the English stories,
about Henry V's French wife – I think I underestimated how hard it was going to
be to find out about the medieval French history of the period (since France
was defeated there is surprisingly little written about it in France)... and it
was a dark story about loss and madness which it felt hard to put a shape to. I
originally envisaged it more as the story of three women in wartime – a
princess, an artist, and the fighter Joan of Arc – each having different
responses to danger. But perhaps not unnaturally my publisher was most
interested in the princess! So I had to think it out again in an attempt to
rebalance things. I hope it worked out OK in the end!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-US"> <b>How did you become a journalist?</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Again, by accident </span>–<span lang="EN-US"> I heard as I was finishing my university
degree (and wondering what on earth I could do as a job when all I could
do was Russian) that Reuters news agency wanted to hire Russian speakers. It
turned out to be true, so even though I had done no journalism they sent me to
journalism school for a year and trained me. Once I started work, they sent me,
not to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">, but to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">, and then to </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Asia</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">,
and then to </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Africa</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">! But by then I was up and running.</span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>If you could go back in time and become any historical
figures, who would it be and why?</i></b><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Oh, so many people! Probably a man, though that is hard to imagine
from my female point of view – Gandhi or Nelson Mandela? I think I would enjoy
being an explorer – I had a great-great-great-grandfather who was a botanist in
Imperial India and our family legend says he was the first to import
rhododendrons into<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US"><st1:country-region style="color: #222222;" w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">(by wrapping them in brown sugar and
putting them on board ship to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US"><st1:country-region style="color: #222222;" w:st="on">England</st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">) and that he
recognised that you could make tea from<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US"><st1:country-region style="color: #222222;" w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">tea plants... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-US"> <b>How do you think whether any of the
modern women could become a character of the novel? Which one and why?</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> It would be quite hard I think as modern women have expectations
(thank God) that they can have so much power over their own lives, while in the
past they had to work within the framework set down by their men. I think the
reason that Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, has become so popular among
modern readers is that she followed her own ambition so ruthlessly – but she
was incredibly rare for her time. I suspect if that modern women found themselves
in a historical novel, they would very soon also find themselves being
suspected for their independent mindedness, and probably end up being burned as
witches, so there would not be a good outcome!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>When did you start writing? When did you realize that you
wanted to start writing?</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><b><span lang="EN-US"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US">I wrote stories and poems, the usual children's
things... I think I realised I wanted to write more than news stories for
Reuters when I was working in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US"><st1:place style="color: #222222;" w:st="on">Africa</st1:place></span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">, where frankly I was a
little bored and lonely and had time on my hands. I started to try and write a
long magazine-cum-book version of a trip I'd been on, got obsessed, and
realised time was passing very quickly as I got absorbed in my project and that
I must be enjoying myself a lot!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How does your ordinary day look?</i></b><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Chaotic – I do try to keep to a timetable and write a regular
amount every day, but I also have two children and an ancient house and a
part-time job and a thousand calls on my time, so it often doesn't work out
exactly as I planned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Do you have any unusual writing habits?</i></b><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> None, except gallons of black coffee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What kind of books do you like reading? Do you have a
favourite author or a book? Whose prose do you feel closest to?</i></b><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">I love big stories – whether it is Dickens or
Emily Bronte or Tolstoy or Bulgakov. I have recently gone back a lot to Tolstoy
– Anna Karenina having been my favourite book as a child, not, I hasten to add,
because I loved or even was very interested in Vronsky, but mostly because I
though the idealistic and sensitive Levin a most extraordinary character.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Have you ever been to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US">?
What do you associate with<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i></b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US">?</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Ooh, yes, I have! And I loved it. I went for a week on a Polish
government trip for four journalists, and saw –<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US"><st1:city style="color: #222222;" w:st="on">Warsaw</st1:city></span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US"><st1:place style="color: #222222;" w:st="on">Krakow</st1:place></span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">, and Mazuria, which I
thought especially fascinating and beautiful and have indulged a fantasy for
years since of going to live by the side of a beautiful lake there. Several
years ago I shared a flat with an English girl who had fallen in love with all
things Polish, which fed my interest in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US"><st1:country-region style="color: #222222;" w:st="on">Poland</st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. Through
her I met several very interesting people including the writer Pawel Huelle and
the film maker Pawel Pawlikowski – my friend, whose name is Antonia
Lloyd-Jones, has since become the leading literary translator in England from
Polish, including of a biography of the journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski who was
my absolute hero for many years while I was a young journalist going to some of
the same very remote places. I imagine<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US"><st1:country-region style="color: #222222;" w:st="on">Poland</st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">being full of pianists playing
Chopin in parks, and when I was visited was delighted to discover this wasn't
quite just a romantic fantasy, as we heard exactly this during a visit to one
of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US"><st1:city style="color: #222222;" w:st="on">Warsaw</st1:city></span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">'s beautiful
parks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">KM:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>I must ask you: what do you think what happened to the
Princes in the Tower? Did king Richard murder his two nephews? If it wasn't
him, then who did?</i></b><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">VB:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I see you're saving the best if hardest question for last,
Karolina! I suppose logic does dictate that king Richard killed them... but my
heart wants to believe he didn't. There is a wonderful book by Josephine They
called The Daughter of Time which rehearses the case for the boys being killed
not by King Richard but by the next King of England, Henry VII. It is a good
and compelling case. I read it as a child and it made a huge impression on me. I
fictionalise one of the many other conspiracy theories that still exist about
this historical mystery in PORTRAIT OF AN UNKNOWN WOMAN, and in my second novel
FIGURES IN SILK/QUEEN OF SILKS have Richard III as a minor character - but
leave the door open. Perhaps the real attraction of thinking about this
historical mystery is that it will never be solved for good </span>– and will go on
being exciting to hypothesise about. </div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://zwiedzamwszechswiat.blogspot.com/2015/09/wywiad-z-vanora-bennett-autorka.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-83409980072538545712015-08-10T12:04:00.000+02:002015-08-10T12:07:47.671+02:00It is very emotional writing the children’s stories as I’m so involved...<br />
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<b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;">Interview with Cathy Glass</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;">by Agnes A. Rose</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Cathy Glass is a British author,
freelance writer and foster carer. She writes books which are strongly
identified with both the True Life Stories and Inspirational Memoirs genres.
Her first book, <i>Damaged</i>, was published in 2007. This novel was number
one in the Sunday Times best-sellers charts in hardback and paperback. In March
2008 Cathy Glass released her second book entitled <i>Hidden</i>. She has been
a foster carer for many years, during which time she has fostered more than a
hundred children. The name “Cathy Glass” is a pseudonym. She writes under it
because of the sensitive nature of her source material. The names of the
children she writes about are likewise altered. In </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> we can read about fourteen of her
novels, for example: <i>When the Angels Come</i>, <i>Please Don't Take My Baby</i>,
<i>Mummy Told Me Not to Tell</i>, <i>The Saddest Girl in the World</i>, <i>Another
Forgotten</i> <i>Child</i> and many others. <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Cathy, thank you very much
for your agreeing to participate in this interview. You are very popular in </i></b></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> and you have a lot of readers in my
country. Could you tell us why did you decided to write books about such moving
problems like children deprived of parental care and their family homes? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0arm12a8YdI/Vchvz9XF63I/AAAAAAAAEck/ackAhZbTwSQ/s1600/Cathy_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0arm12a8YdI/Vchvz9XF63I/AAAAAAAAEck/ackAhZbTwSQ/s400/Cathy_4.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Photo by Amit Lennon </span></b></td></tr>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cathy Glass:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> </span>I have always been a writer
of sorts – from when I was at school, with poems in the school magazine. In my
teens I progressed to short stories and articles etc. I find writing cathartic
– as do many – so it was the medium I turned to when I was trying to come to
terms with the dreadful experiences of some of the children I’d fostered. Also,
I wanted to raise public awareness – that many children suffer and that
sometimes they are let down by the system that should have protected them.
Writing a gripping book – a real page-turner- achieves this and is an enjoyable
experience for the reader.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Was it difficult or easy to
find a publisher for your first book? Do publishers willingly release books
about such a difficult theme? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cathy Glass:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> It was relatively easy. I
approached two literary agents, the second one signed me up, and then he found
a publisher within a month. It was the right book at the right time to the
right agent.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How much emotionally do you
go through each of these stories? Have you ever thought that you will not
finish a book? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cathy Glass:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> It is very emotional writing the
children’s stories as I’m so involved. But they are stories of hope. I
sometimes cry while writing as I relive the journey we went through together,
then I smile when there is a happy ending. I choose the stories I write very
carefully but so far I’ve always finished once I have started. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><b><i>As I mentioned above you are
a foster carer. What motivated you to undertake this kind of work? In my
opinion this must be a very hard job. <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yc9fvKN-0cY/VchwGgSGNZI/AAAAAAAAEcs/v7Gbq3AUSWI/s1600/skrzywdzona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yc9fvKN-0cY/VchwGgSGNZI/AAAAAAAAEcs/v7Gbq3AUSWI/s400/skrzywdzona.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>This is the Polish cover of "Damaged"</b><b><br /></b>
<b>Published by Hachette Polska (2009)</b><br />
<b>Translated by Magdalena Osip-Pokrywka</b></td></tr>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cathy Glass:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US">
</span>I saw an advertisement in the local newspaper saying that foster
families were desperately needed, and I wondered if I had what it took. I went
to an introductory evening and never looked back. This is covered in more
detail in my book Cut. Yes it can be difficult at times, but not because of the
children. It is the ‘system’ I have to deal with which causes me most
frustration. The time things seem to take and the meetings instead of action.
Sometimes I feel I am the only person in the child care system battling for
what the child needs. I know many other foster carers feel the same. The whole
child protection system needs looking at and revising. There are too few social
workers with too large caseloads. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #660000;">Agnes A. Rose:</span> </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Could you describe us a typical day
of your work as a foster carer? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cathy Glass:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> No two days are the same in
fostering which is why I like it. But I usually rise early before the children,
so I can write, then if the child I’m fostering goes to school I will take them.
There maybe meetings to go to, or training, as well as shopping, cooking and
cleaning and running the house. I think my books give a pretty good picture of
what life is like as a foster carer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Do you have any advice for
people who want to become foster parents? What kind of problems should they
take into account to be good foster parents? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cathy Glass:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> There is always a shortage of
foster carers so if you are interested in fostering I suggest you contact your
local fostering service and ask for more information. Different countries vary
in their procedure for recruiting foster carers, but there will be an
introductory evening where you will learn more about fostering and you will be
able to ask questions and share your concerns. The application and assessment
process to become a foster carer is long and in depth so you will have plenty
of time to think about your commitment. Fostering doesn’t suit all families but
if you go ahead and foster you will find the rewards – of seeing a child
improve and be happy – are never ending. Applicants will have to want to work
with children and young people and have room in their home. They will need
empathy for the child and an understanding of the circumstances that has
brought that child into care. They will have to have patience, a calm manner
particularity in a crisis, common sense and a good support network. It’s important to know when to voice an
opinion and when to stay quiet and not to be judgmental. A foster parent has to
be a good listener, be well organized, and have a sense of humour. We mustn’t
be afraid to say 'No' to the child sometimes for all children need boundaries. It
is also important to play with the children as well as making time for your own
family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f2oMNpRAJlU/Vchxdqkl_9I/AAAAAAAAEc4/DzyauSLhdC8/s1600/Nie_zabierajcie_mi_dziecka_okladka.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f2oMNpRAJlU/Vchxdqkl_9I/AAAAAAAAEc4/DzyauSLhdC8/s400/Nie_zabierajcie_mi_dziecka_okladka.jpeg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>This is the Polish cover of </b><b><br /></b>
<b>"Please Don't Take My Baby"</b><br />
<b>Published by MUZA S.A. (2015)</b><br />
<b>Translated by Anna Rajca-Salata</b></td></tr>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What would you like to convey
to your readers writing your books? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cathy Glass:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Readers tell me they have a feeling
of well-being – of being part of a loving family, which is great. They say they
feel as though they are in the room with me and share in my experiences. I hope
that readers enjoy the books because that is what reading should be about. I
also hope it makes people think about the issues I have raised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><b><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">What are the major
challenges that you have faced?</span></i></b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cathy Glass:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="color: #660000;"> </span>Each child I
foster brings with them their own challenges (and rewards) and you can only do
your best. On personal note I found it very difficult when my husband left me,
and also when my father died a few years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> <b><i>If you had not been a writer and foster carer
what do you think you would have been?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cathy
Glass:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> This is a difficult one because my life revolves
around fostering and writing and all that entails. They are all-encompassing
and life-changing. It would certainly have been a different life and I suspect
a far less rewarding one. I think I am very lucky being able to foster and to
write. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> <b><i>What is your next project? Could you tell us a
little bit about it? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cathy Glass:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="color: #660000;"> </span>Girl Alone is my
next book and tells the story of </span><span lang="EN-GB">Joss, aged 13, who was angry and out of control
when she came to live with me. Two previous foster carers and an aunt had tried
but failed to help her. I had doubts I would do any better and I knew I was her
last chance. Her next move would be to a secure unit for her own protection. In
prison at the age of thirteen! Joss smoked cannabis, drank alcohol, went
missing overnight and was in trouble with the police and at school. I worried
about the effect her behaviour was having on my teenage children, especially
when I wasn't able to make a difference and her behaviour continued to
deteriorate. Yet I could understand why Joss was so angry, confused and upset.
Four years previously, aged only 9, Joss had arrived home from school to find
her father's lifeless body hanging in the garage. He had committed suicide.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes
A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> <b><i>Cathy, thank you very much for this interview. I
wish you all the best for your further work and I hope that someday we will
meet in </i></b></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Poland</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cathy
Glass:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="color: #660000;"> </span>Thank you. I love hearing from my readers in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> x<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2015/08/niezwykle-emocjonalne-jest-opisywanie.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-92193723444097661942015-07-26T16:23:00.000+02:002015-07-26T16:27:49.291+02:00I have a first edition print of the book framed hanging on my wall...<br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Interview with Jeremy Podolski</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>by Agnes A. Rose</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763;"><span lang="EN-US">Jeremy Podolski is the grandson of
Antoni Joseph Podolski – the author of his autobiography entitled “23 Days: A
Memoir of 1939”. Antoni was born in 1923 in the town of Baranovichi which until
1945 had belonged to Poland. Currently these areas are located in Belarus. Joe
died in Norfolk in 1999. During the Second World War Antoni Podolski fought
against the Red Army, and he became a fighter pilot in the Polish Air Force in
Great Britain. His heroic struggle against the eastern invader resulted in the
fact that he was arrested and eventually he spent twenty-three days </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-size: 11.5pt;">in </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">a condemned cell, waiting for his execution. Jeremy is
going to tell us not only about his heroic Grandfather, but also bring the
facts associated with the creation of this very moving book, which undoubtedly
are the Antoni ‘Joe’ Podolski’s war memories. </span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Jeremy, welcome on my blog
and thank you for agreeing to give me this interview. Could you tell us
something more about your Grandfather? What was he like? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jeremy Podolski:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Growing up he was everything that
you would expect from a Grandad. He was kind and loving towards us. He let us
get away with far more than we would at home with our parents. He even covered
for us a couple of times when we cause a little more trouble than usual. He had
suffered a very large stroke in the early 1980s and I was born in 1983 so my memories
of him were after his stroke. He had a more sedate life after his stroke. He
stopped flying, teaching Judo and his work of boat building and glider repair
and being a jeweler. I would have loved to go up flying with him as from the
stories I have heard he was an amazing pilot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uj2qMoKwnmk/VbTeqnxTejI/AAAAAAAAEUs/yiKzqfAWevs/s1600/squadron%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="484" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uj2qMoKwnmk/VbTeqnxTejI/AAAAAAAAEUs/yiKzqfAWevs/s640/squadron%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">This is a photo of Joe Podolski with
his Squadron in about 1945. </span></i></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">You can see Joe in the front row as the first on the right hand
side. </span></i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>When did you first meet the
story of your Grandfather? Do you remember what you felt then? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jeremy Podolski:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> The first time I read it was about
2 years after he died. I would have been about 18 at the time. He willed his
manuscript to my brother and myself. The story was harder to follow then
compared to how it is now. It jumped about more in time as he had dictated the
story and so when he recorded bit he would jump about in his memories. I was
amazed at the story. It was unbelievable that he had gone through this
situation. I could not imagine going through that hell at 16. His life as a 16
year old was so far removed from mine as an 18 year old living in a safe and
peaceful country. I knew he had been a pilot during the war and I imagined it
was actually an exciting way to fight a war but the first few years were brutal
for him. I was amazed how normal he was after the war. How he could go through
such horrors and then just settle down and build a normal life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One thing did 'click' after reading
the book was the fact that when I would stay at his as a child if I would wake
up during the night he always seemed to be awake. I don't think he slept too
well due to nightmares.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What happened that Joe
Podolski decided to write down his dramatic wartime memories? What was the
process of preparing the diary like? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jeremy Podolski:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> After his stroke he had some pioneering
surgery that saved his life and gave him a good 10+ years more with us. He
wanted to get this story down for the family. He was hoping to get it published
as a book at the time but did not have any luck. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When he dictated his memoirs he used
a tape to tape recording machine to dictate his story. A friend of his got his
audio typist to type up the story from the tapes. This produced a 600+ page
double spaced manuscript. This was the format I originally read the book in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Why was the book “23 Days: A
Memoir of 1939” released just after your Grandfather’s death? Didn’t Antoni
Podolski during his lifetime want his story to find its way into wider
audience’s hands? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jeremy Podolski:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> As far as I know he did try a
number of publishers during the late 80s to see if they were interested. At
that time the cold war was at an end and Russia was not seen as the great enemy
that it once was. The communist government is the main 'bad guy' in the story
and I think politically it was not the right time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Also with most book publishing the
publishers are looking for what will make them money and if they don't feel it
will sell then they are not interested. At that time printing was very
expensive and big runs were needed so I think most books like there were seen
as a gamble in the publishing world. <b><i><span style="color: maroon;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TsL6qZj__kU/VbTf_Qyyd6I/AAAAAAAAEU4/9ueJ_Z1-V5I/s1600/Judo_Grp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="500" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TsL6qZj__kU/VbTf_Qyyd6I/AAAAAAAAEU4/9ueJ_Z1-V5I/s640/Judo_Grp.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">Joe Podolski also taught Judo. In
this picture Joe is standing between </span></i></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">his two colleagues from the Norwich Judo
Club. </span></i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What was the process of
publishing “23 Days: A Memoir of 1939” like? Why did you eventually decide to
publish the Joe Podolski’s wartime memories? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jeremy Podolski:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> Preparing the book after his death
was a lot of work but it was spread out over almost 15 years. After I had first
read it I wanted to preserve the book so I had to get it on to computer. After
a little trial and error I used some OCR software. This takes a scan of the
page and reads the text on the page and puts it in to a word document. As this
was originally typed on a typewriter the OCR software got a lot of bits wrong
and picked up some very weird formatting. The software was also very basic
compared to today as this scanning was done in about 2003. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I had to go through all the 600+
scanned pages and correct the mistakes and formatting just to get it looking
normal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Many years later I found a company
that does digital book printing. As with the development of most technology it
meant that printing a short run of books was cheap enough to make it worth
printing a small run. I also found someone online to do some editing. This was
just to correct some grammar and spelling that I had missed. My dad then did a
big edit to move the story about in to a better and more readable order. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This was just going to be a digital
printed book for the family but as the story was edited it just developed in to
this incredible story. So we decided to take a chance and self publish the
book. We have never removed anything from the book or added anything. We have
only moved the story about to make it flow better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>On the Internet there are a
lot of very positive and extremely moving opinions on the book of your Grandfather.
While preparing this publication did you ever think that people would treat the
Antoni’s memories in such emotional way?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jeremy Podolski:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> No, I did not. It was a lovely surprise to have this feedback off
people. It makes all the hard work worth it when you read honest reviews about
the book. It was also nice hearing other people's memories of my Grandad. These
are stories that we did not know and would never have found out if we had not
self-published the book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OQtkIJ0zvwY/VbTgYbJM2NI/AAAAAAAAEVA/lvJxYFftzNg/s1600/%25C5%259Bciana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OQtkIJ0zvwY/VbTgYbJM2NI/AAAAAAAAEVA/lvJxYFftzNg/s400/%25C5%259Bciana.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>And how do you personally treat this book? What is it for you? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jeremy Podolski:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I treat this as probably the most important thing I have ever done and
maybe will ever do. It is an amazing connection to a very sad and harrowing
part of human history. I have a first edition print of the book framed hanging
on my wall with some newspaper articles about my Grandad underneath. I will
treasure this book forever and hopefully if nothing else comes off it there
will be an amazing historical document to pass down our family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I am
really proud of the book and the amazing positive feedback we have had.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>I know that your Grandfather
never returned to Poland, but certainly he missed the country where he had
grown up. Had he ever thought about going for broke and returning to the places
of his childhood and adolescence before he died, although currently these lands
do not belong to Poland? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jeremy Podolski:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> What my dad wrote about him not
returning to his home he was referring to his childhood home in Baranovichi. He
did return to Poland a number of times and met up with some family and old
friends. As Russia was still in control of Poland there was some element of
risk and he never pushed his luck by trying to go to his old home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>It seems to me that last
October you were in </i></b></span><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Krakow</span></i></b></st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> where you promoted the book during
the International Book Fair. How do you remember that event? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jeremy Podolski:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I personally was not at the book
fair. My Dad, Mum, Cousin and Brother and his family were at the book fair. It
seemed to go well and they spoke to a lot of people. There was some interest
from a Polish publisher but in the end they decided that it was not for them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2mAQbdZuomI/Vado-YFMOQI/AAAAAAAAEPs/TVa9U84XB6o/s1600/23%2BDays.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2mAQbdZuomI/Vado-YFMOQI/AAAAAAAAEPs/TVa9U84XB6o/s320/23%2BDays.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Published by </b><b><br /></b>
<b>YELLOW WHEEL PUBLISHING LTD.</b><br />
<b>United Kingdom 2014</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>May we expect the Polish
translation of “23 Days: A Memoir of 1939” despite the lack of Polish
publishers?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jeremy Podolski:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I would be lovely to have a Polish
translation. We have had one Polish publisher interested but that did not come
to anything in the end. If anyone reading this is interested in publishing a
Polish version then please get in touch!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Have you ever been to
Baranovichi? If so, what was your following of your Grandfather’s footsteps
like? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jeremy Podolski:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> No, I have never been there but I
have been thinking about it. Maybe in the future I will take a trip there.
Sadly I have no idea where his childhood home was compared to how it looks now.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>And what do you think about
Poland? While your staying in Krakow did you also visit any interesting place
in our country? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: maroon;">Jeremy Podolski:</span></i></b> I love Poland and Krakow! <span lang="EN-US">I have never felt instantly at home
as I did when I first visited Krakow in 2012. I have visited Warsaw a number of
times since 2001. Half of my Grandad’s ashes are with his dad’s grave in
Warsaw. I would love to explore more of Poland and I have a rail trip around
Poland in the back of my mind. One day in the future with enough money and time
I will do it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Jeremy, thank you for this
interview. I hope that very soon the war memories of your Grandfather will be
translated into Polish and everyone will be able to read them without a
language barrier. Would you like to add something as a conclusion? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jeremy Podolski:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I would just like to say thank you
for giving me this opportunity to speak about my Grandad's memoirs and his
incredible life. I would just love to see this book do well as I feel this is
an amazing story and there are less and less of them about now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2015/07/posiadam-pierwszy-wydruk-ksiazki-ktory.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to read the book review, please click <a href="http://agnes-books.blogspot.com/2015/07/23-days-memoir-of-1939-by-antoni-joe.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to find out more about the book and its author, please click <a href="http://www.23days.eu/index.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to buy the book, please click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/23-Days-A-Memoir-1939-ebook/dp/B00LD8207E" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-57235730741569745212015-07-23T11:00:00.000+02:002015-07-23T11:00:05.964+02:00"Cancer Schmancer" by Fran Drescher<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cGsx3WOP79g/Vauu3M0rdxI/AAAAAAAAESs/Tk7KrT5ZqKM/s1600/cancer%2Bschamcer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cGsx3WOP79g/Vauu3M0rdxI/AAAAAAAAESs/Tk7KrT5ZqKM/s320/cancer%2Bschamcer.jpg" width="190" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Published by</b><br />
<b>GRAND CENTRAL PUBLISHING</b><br />
<b>UNITED STATES 2003</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Please, try to imagine a movie star
you like very much. Probably this person is rich, beautiful and admired not
only by you. Some people are probably secretly jealous of her wonderful and
sugary life and maybe they would be happy if they had a chance to interchange
with her. Most of us take for granted that the gained popularity ensures
happiness and the people watching on the small screen are the elects of the
fate who do not have any everyday worries. Maybe are there only the appearances?
Are we sure that any personal drama, which is not mentioned about, does not
hide behind a snow-white smile because you cannot disappoint your loyal fans,
and above all, you cannot give a cheap fodder to the press seeking it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">As we know some autobiographies
appear on the publishing market from time to time. They are the response to the
ever interest in the private life of public figures. Apart from the books
associated with the difficulties in the achievement of the fame and praising
the advantages of being recognized, there are also publications that describe
some important topics and social problems. Such a record of experiences often has
tremendous impacts on the strength not only to the fans of the writer but also
the wider public. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Fran Drescher is primarily known for
the TV series "The Nanny". There she played the role of a go-getting
nanny of three children employed by a lonely widower called Maxwell Sheffield.
Her distinctive voice is known to the viewers for her episodic role in the
legendary film called “Saturday Night Fever” where she dances with one of the
most famous American actor – John Travolta. Looking at the Fran Drescher’s
filmography it is hard to imagine a moment when she does not infect other
people with her unique laughter. Meanwhile the private life of the very popular
person coming from <st1:place w:st="on">Flushing</st1:place><a href="file:///D:/Anki/cs/Ania%20-%20recenzja.doc#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>,
unfortunately, has not been idyllic. In 1985 Fran Drescher fell victim to the
brutal assault when her house was attacked by a gang of robbers. However, the
criminals did not stop at the looting of her residence which certainly left an
incredible mark on the delicate psyche of the future performer of Miss Fine’s
role. The years were passing and it seemed that everything what worst had been
over and the whole limit of bad luck had run out. However, in October 1997 the
fate got difficult times to Fran again which shook the entire stabilized world.
Just in this place a very personal diary of the comedy star begins. In her
diary she describes her difficult experience lasting in the course of just over
four years. In this way Fran Drescher has become a model of the power,
determination and hope for thousands of women in the whole world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Fran Drescher</span></b></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">A divorce in <st1:place w:st="on">Hollywood</st1:place>
spheres is something remarkably universal, although there are couples of people
who seem to contradict the nasty statisticians. Peter Marc Jacobson and Fran
Drescher complemented each other both in their private and professional life in
perfectly way for a long time. Their joint project, which they are well-known
for up till today, just celebrated the great success. At that time the married
couple, knowing each other from the secondary school times, decided on the
parting. However, this difficult situation was only a prelude to another
trouble. Soon it turned out that the CBS channel was going to cease broadcasting
“The Nanny” after six seasons. They decided that the main star of this popular
sitcom would give the message to the viewers. It would be the best solution of
this uncomfortable situation. The authorities of the CBS channel also told Fran
Drescher to take all the blame for finishing the production upon herself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">However, the real drama which was
supposed to influence the future of the famous actress, took place mainly after
turning off the cameras and at first she did not realize that the worst experience
would only happen. The subtle symptoms, which most women are used to regarding
as something transitional, were the beginning of a bumpy road for our heroine in
search for the conclusive and difficult diagnosis. Your best bet is to think
that everything will fall into place as soon as the situation in the private
and professional life normalizes. However, this is not happening. At some point
it becomes obvious that these ailments can be a symptom of something serious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">"Cancer Schmancer" is
about the difficult experience in the struggle against the horrible disease
which can affect anyone regardless of race, origin or financial status. It
might seem that in the case of the public person the road from the first
anxiety to the proper diagnosis should be a little bit simpler than usual. This
story proves that this is not always the case. While reading I got the
impression that the specialists still ignored the growing health problems of
the artist for a long time. How many of them thought that the woman was a
hypochondriac who because of her profession, where you primarily play on
people’s emotions, exaggerated everything? The patient heard that there
probably was a premenopausal state and the next doctor was sure that it was
only a result of too much amount of spinach in her diet. A lot of unanswered
questions made Fran felt cheated by the medical community, but she also knew
that she had to find out the truth before it would be too late in order to
change anything. The eight doctors (you are reading well: E-I-G-H-T) were
essential so that the author of this book heard the news which she was most
afraid of. She had uterine cancer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">While the narration of this book is
led with a slight grain of salt, there is a layer of intelligent irony under
which the really painful experience is hidden that the author tries to tame in
her own way. Sometimes it is even a therapeutic return to the most painful
pre-disease memories. My first feeling was that I should not reach for this
book because even as a declared fan of the famous nanny, I do not have the
right to learn about such as an intimate part of her life. Probably Fran
Drescher had to realize that her history would be interpreted widely in the
media. In spite of her publisher’s requests in order to omit certain details,
the narrator is a devastatingly honest both to readers and to herself. She does
not hide her weaknesses and sometimes uncontrollable temperament showing that
despite the wide possibilities associated with the health care, she had the
same dilemma as other people fighting with an insidious disease.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In her diary the American woman
describes all her examinations in a great detail. She does not omit even the
most intimate trifles. We can see her without makeup even in moments which many
patients do not want to share even with the closest family members. Such an
accurate description of her experience shows how important for the narrator is
to provide the readers, who may someday find themselves in a similar situation,
that it is worth fighting over themselves no matter how much adversity they
will meet on their road. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The greatest impression is how
openly the star talks about her emotions in moments when she was alone only
with her own thoughts. The fear of diagnosis, treatment or acceptance of a
partner is the same at any latitude but when a woman, who lives in a world
where everything must be perfect, talks about them, you can consider this as a
sign of extraordinary courage. Fran could not afford the comfort of surviving
hard times only surrounded by their loved ones because the media quickly learnt
about her operation. Someone can say that it is a small price while you can
hire two private nurses and a good hospital. But would each of us bear such a
great public being interested in the state of our health? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The book tells not only about the
pain but also about the importance of the closest surroundings’ support. The
artist devotes much space to describe her relationships with her family and
friends. Although the woman is the person who does not like asking for help and
torment others with her problems, she could always count on the acceptance and
patience of her loved ones. Moreover it is worthwhile attracting our attention
to the fact that in the moment of doubt a contact with the nature and a
exceptional relation of the owner with her doggy called <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chester</st1:place></st1:city> also turned out to be very important.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The diary is finished after over a
year from the operation which saved the life of the famous actress who played a
nanny. Defeating the source of the problem is often only the beginning of a
very difficult road to recovery. The emotional layer often heals more slowly
than the physical wounds. There is still the fear of the recurrence and acceptance
of the consequences of changes which you cannot reverse. Fran Drescher proves
that the return to full strength is possible but it requires a lot of time.
“Cancer Schmancer” tells us to put in the place of the main character what
makes this book a valuable clue and a source of hope for those who directly or
indirectly experience the cancer problems. Of course, in this book we will not
find any obvious recipes and ensuring that everything will be fine, but rather
an example of the way how to find the strength to overcome the disease. I think
that this book is perfect not only for the readers who struggle with cancer but
also for people who support patients so that they can understand, although in a
certain way, their difficult emotions that accompany during the fight and
recovery. Of course, not everyone can be the addressee of this story because it
is throughout saturated by the American mentality and their characteristic
sense of humour. But I have no doubt that for many this book will be one of the
most important books on the shelf. It is a great pity that so far nobody has
decided to translate this book into Polish. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Fran_Drescher%2C_Alfons_Haider%2C_dancer_against_cancer_2010.jpg/770px-Fran_Drescher%2C_Alfons_Haider%2C_dancer_against_cancer_2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="494" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Fran_Drescher%2C_Alfons_Haider%2C_dancer_against_cancer_2010.jpg/770px-Fran_Drescher%2C_Alfons_Haider%2C_dancer_against_cancer_2010.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Fran Drescher and the presenter Alfons Haider at the charity ball dancer against cancer </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">(Hofburg Imperial Palace, Vienna, 2010)</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">(photo by<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #252525; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.2800006866455px; text-align: start;">Manfred Werner)</span></span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the long perspective the release
of “Cancer Schmancer” turned out to be a very important turning point in the
actress’ life. During the Q&A session with the author, the readers were
paying their attention to how essential of hope and help the book proved to be
for them. This fact induced Fran Drescher to take an action. What is important,
Fran Drescher brought to life The Cancer Schmancer Movement on the seventh anniversary
of her operation. It was <st1:date day="21" month="6" w:st="on" year="2007">June
21, 2007</st1:date>. This organization focuses on promoting the early
detection and prevention of cancer in women. While the world of science is
searching for the effective medicine, the organization demonstrates how you can
minimize the risk of falling ill, and if it fails, you can find out how to pay
attention to capture the moment when you must go to your doctor. There are
three main pillars of the action: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US">Early detection – the important issue
actually depends on us. First of all we have to notice that we begin to
feel differently. Then it is necessary to consult a doctor who will deny
or confirm our fears. You may find that this is something much less
serious than at first we thought, or we can reduce the chance of the
disease’s existence. The flagship project called Fran Van is the research
program of mammography allowing for the detection of cancer in the initial
phrase of the coming into existence which provides easier and more
effective treatment. On the official website of the organization you can
read about the symptoms which should alarm us; how to prepare for the
first conversation in the doctor’s office and what you should ask about.
The stories of people who won their fight against cancer are a source of
hope for others.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US">Prevention – according to saying that prevention
is better than curing. According to the estimates only 10-15 percent of
cancers are genetically<a href="file:///D:/Anki/cs/Ania%20-%20recenzja.doc#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
determined, and the rest is the result of different environmental factors
such as lifestyle, the way of feeding or the exhibition to the sun which
we have some influence on. Sometimes there are really simple and cheap
solution e.g. quitting smoking, or finding a few moments to physical
activity can help reduce the risk of the appearance of the disease. Of
course, we do not live in the ideal world where we can afford only to eat
the natural food and living without stress, but the Detox Your Home action
shows that these are not the only problems. In our homes there are plenty
of hidden dangers we have no idea about them. Potentially ingredients
included in cosmetics or chemical household detergents are dangerous for
us. The Cancer Schamancer Movement teaches us which substances should be
avoided and how to find the alternative solutions, healthier both for us
and for the environment. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US">The policy change – Fran Drescher is also
a lobbyist on Capitol Hill. She was a supporter of the law Carcinogen-FREE
Label ACT which was introduced in <st1:metricconverter productid="2012 in" w:st="on">2012 in</st1:metricconverter> the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> to label clearly
the products free from carcinogens. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
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It is amazing that scarcely 256
pages of the memories turned out to be really important for many people. You may
not like the distinctive voice of the actress and not watch the films where she
appeared, but it is worth appreciating how she could forge her own experience
to make aware others. For many patients her story is a source of hope and proof
that you can defeat cancer. Perhaps the fact that just now you are reading
these words is not accidental, so stop for a moment and think when you have
done your checkups recently. Maybe it is the right time to think about your
health and take care of yourself?</div>
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you want to read this review in Polish, please click <a href="http://inna-perspektywa.blogspot.com/2015/07/fran-drescher-cancer-schmancer.html">here</a>.</span></div>
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in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-54916146248275437952015-07-19T16:58:00.000+02:002015-07-20T11:24:48.054+02:00I still find a visit to a castle always stirs my imagination...<br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Interview with Joanna Hickson </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><b>by Agnes A. Rose</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Joanna Hickson worked in BBC radio
and television for 25 years, where she presented and produced news, current
affairs and arts programmes. She graduated in English Literature and Politics,
but she had an early interest in history, being fascinated by “Henry V” and
other Shakespeare history plays. Her first book, “Rebellion at </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Orford</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">Castle</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">”, was a children’s novel set in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">East Anglia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. At present, because of the
contract with the publishing company Harper Collins for her historical books
she is dealing exclusively with writing. Her novels tell the story of Catherine
de Valois who gave rise to the Tudor dynasty. She is also the author of “Red
Rose, White Rose”, a story about Cecily Neville, Duchess of York. At present in
</span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></b></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #073763;"><b> we can read “The Agincourt Bride”, but this
autumn the Polish publisher will release the second of Joanna’s books – “The
Tudor Bride”. The author lives with her husband in an English farmhouse that
dates back to the 15<sup>th</sup> Century. </b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Joanna, thank you very much
for your accepting my invitation to this interview. I am very honored to host
you here. Why did you become a writer after working in the BBC for so long?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> First let me thank you Agnes for
inviting me to connect with your readers, some of whom I hope will also read my
books! I have wanted to be a writer since I was very young and used to write
stories in school exercise books, many of which I still have in the bottom
drawer of my desk. Of course they have
never been published! Then, after university, I worked for the BBC on radio and
TV and wrote scripts and news stories, which I also broadcast myself. So in
many ways I have written all my life. I also published some modern romance
novels in the 1990s but now I am writing what I always wanted to write, that is
stories of medieval history, bringing the characters of five and six hundred years
ago to life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Allow me to ask you why you
became fascinated with medieval history? I mean exactly this part of English history.
<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #660000;"> </span>I think it was visiting castles in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> as a teenager that inspired me to
do this. I still find a visit to a castle always stirs my imagination. And of
course reading other historical novels made me realize that perhaps I could do
it too. A novel called “Katherine” by Anya Seton, of which you may know,
inspired me particularly. It is the story of a girl who became the mistress of
the famous John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and then eventually married him as
his third wife at the end of the fourteenth century. I think it is still the
most evocative portrayal of English medieval life and although it was published
in the 1950s it is still popular today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f-jbX_FETdg/VauLOeJEtdI/AAAAAAAAERg/TxFXvWVdhwE/s1600/oblubienica%2Bz%2Bazincourt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f-jbX_FETdg/VauLOeJEtdI/AAAAAAAAERg/TxFXvWVdhwE/s400/oblubienica%2Bz%2Bazincourt.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>This is the Polish cover of </b></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>The Agincourt Bride</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Published by Wydawnictwo Literackie</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Krakow 2014</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Translated by Maria Zawadzka</span></td></tr>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>In your books you describe
the story of Catherine de Valois. Could you tell us something more about this
heroine? Why did you become so fascinated with this character that you decided
to write about her? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> It was as a schoolgirl that I first
saw a film of Shakespeare’s play Henry V, made by Laurence Olivier (a famous English
actor). There is a scene at the end when he woos the French Princess Catherine,
which I loved very much. It is romantic and funny but the character of the
Princess is rather stereotyped – she is shown as the typical trophy-wife that a
king might be expected to marry. However, when I began to research her life I
realized that she lived through very troubled times and could not have been as
giggly and empty-headed as Shakespeare portrayed her. I decided that she would
be an excellent subject for a novel, taking a more detailed look at her story
and character and the eventful life she led both before and after she married
King Henry V of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>What about Catherine de
Valois’s loyal servant Mette? Is she a real person or a fictional one? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> During my research, in the accounts
of Henry V’s household I found a list of the ladies who attended Queen
Catherine after her marriage. Funnily enough three of them were called Joanna (!)
but there was one whose name was listed as Guilliemot, which is the English
name of a rather ugly black seabird, and I wondered why any lady would have
such a name. Then I guessed that she must have been French and that her name
was actually Guillaumette, the French female version of Guillaume – or William in
English. Perhaps the clerk who wrote the accounts had never heard of ‘Guillaumette’
and so decided to give her a name that sounded similar! This person was paid
less than the Joannas and therefore I guessed that she was perhaps a commoner
and so the character of Mette (short for Guillaumette) was born as a baker’s
daughter from the back streets of Paris who becomes Catherine’s nurse as a baby
and then her closest companion throughout her life. She narrates the story and
apart from this mention in the accounts she is entirely fictional but I think
she is my favourite character!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>How did you prepare to create the character of Catherine de
Valois? What was the most difficult in this writing process? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sWCZ-gssUnM/VauMM2avlwI/AAAAAAAAERo/FP2g7zzVzi4/s1600/oblubienica%2Btudor%25C3%25B3w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sWCZ-gssUnM/VauMM2avlwI/AAAAAAAAERo/FP2g7zzVzi4/s400/oblubienica%2Btudor%25C3%25B3w.jpg" width="277" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>This is the Polish cover of </b></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>The Tudor Bride</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Published by Wydawnictwo Literackie</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Krakow 2015</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Translated by Maria Zawadzka</span></td></tr>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #660000;"> </span>There is always a problem in
researching female characters from medieval times because women were rarely
mentioned in sources like chronicles and documents – it really was <i>his</i>-story and not <i>her</i>-story! So there were no contemporary descriptions that I could
find of Catherine de Valois except the mention that a portrait of her had been
painted and sent to King Henry V, which was supposed to have made him very
interested in her. What a shame that the
portrait does not exist today, unlike so many portraits of her successor King
Henry VIII and his 6 wives, who lived a hundred years later. So I had to devise
her looks and character from the very few mentions made of her and of course
from my own imagination. We know she was considered beautiful but the detail of
her beauty is my own invention. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><b><i>Did you have your favourite
part of writing these two novels? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I liked writing about Catherine’s
romance with Owen Tudor and contrasting it with the relationship that developed
between Mette and her friend Geoffrey. It helped me to show the two sides of
life in those times – both of royalty and commoners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> As I mentioned above, you are also
the author of “Red Rose, White Rose”. In this book you describe the story of
Cicely Neville, Duchess of </span></i></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">York</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><i><span lang="EN-US">. She was an English noblewoman, the
wife of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of </span></i></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">York</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> and the mother of two kings of </span></i></b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">England</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><i><span lang="EN-US">: Edward IV and Richard III. Could
you tell us what inspired you to create this novel? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #660000;"> </span> I was originally drawn to Cicely Neville when
I discovered that she was the youngest of her father’s 22 children – by 2
wives! I wondered what relationships would be like in such an enormous family,
when the youngest child might be born around the same time as her father’s first
grandchildren. Also the Nevilles were staunch supporters of the House of
Lancaster and Cicely married the Duke of York, the leader of the opposing
faction in the nobility. I wanted to examine how difficult it must have been
for her to balance loyalty to her birth family with loyalty to the family she
married into. Her story was a microcosm of the rivalries and conflicts that
developed nationally in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> in the 15<sup>th</sup> century and
led to the outbreaks of violence known as the Wars of the Roses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><b><i>While we are talking about
Richard III’s mother, I would like to find out what your reaction was when you
heard about the discovery of the remains of Richard III in 2013. Could you tell
us about it? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I was very excited and intrigued by
the discovery of the king in the </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Leicester</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> car park and absolutely amazed when it was
confirmed that the skeleton found was definitely that of King Richard III. In
March this year I took part in a conference involving historians and historical
fiction authors on the eve of the re-burial of Richard in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Leicester</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> cathedral and was astounded at the
number of people who turned out to watch the processions and share in the
ceremonies surrounding this event. Much
controversy surrounds this king of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> – was he bad or was he good and did
he or didn’t he order the murder of the Princes in the Tower. It made for some lively
debate! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: maroon; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>In researching and writing
this novel did you find that your sympathies tended toward the House of </i></b></span><st1:city><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Lancaster</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><i><span lang="EN-US"> or the House of </span></i></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><i><span lang="EN-US">York</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><i><span lang="EN-US">? Why? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_LvQQC8hiSE/VauMh5cGiBI/AAAAAAAAERw/2ssF6guiOtE/s1600/red%2Brose%252C%2Bwhite%2Brose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_LvQQC8hiSE/VauMh5cGiBI/AAAAAAAAERw/2ssF6guiOtE/s400/red%2Brose%252C%2Bwhite%2Brose.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Published by Harper Collins </span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: small;">United Kingdom 2014</span></b></td></tr>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> As my central character, Cicely,
was both Lancastrian and Yorkist I felt able to maintain a balance between the
two houses, but by the close of the novel I seemed to have created such a
charismatic character in King Edward III that I found myself favouring him. At
his coronation he was only eighteen but he had become a ‘golden boy’, winning
battles and attracting followers, apparently unable to put a foot wrong. History
of course shows that later he made major mistakes that re-ignited the
internecine wars but that will be for another story. I ended the book as a
Yorkist but that may not last.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Describe a typical day spent
writing. Do you have any unusual writing habits?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I am lucky to live in a house that
was first built in the fifteenth century and my writing room is in the oldest
part of it. The door to it is original and made from wide planks that were
obviously cut from one tree and are secured by hand-made iron nails and when I
close it I really feel as if I have been transported to the period about which
I am writing. I like to write with my
face to a blank wall because I am easily distracted by a view of any kind. I
usually write at least a nine hour day, although some of it is taken up with
online distractions like Twitter and Facebook and writing Q & As for lovely
people like you and your followers, Agnes! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>You also wrote the book for
children. Are you ever going to return to writing for young readers? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #660000;"> </span>Oh I would love to but at the
moment I am fully occupied fulfilling my contracts to my publishers for adult
fiction. However, you never know in the future. It was a wonderful children’s
novel called “The Gauntlet” by Ronald Welch, which I read at age ten or eleven,
that spiked my interest in using medieval history for my own early writing
efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>I read on the Internet that
your work is sometimes compared, for example, with the books of Philippa
Gregory. How do you feel hearing or reading something like that? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> It depends if the comparison is
favourable or not! I have read almost all of Philippa Gregory’s novels and I
would certainly acknowledge that she has been one of my influences, so I am
delighted if I am mentioned in the same breath as her!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Do you have any advice for
writers of historical fiction? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #660000;"> </span>I don’t think I have anything to
say to other published writers of historical fiction because the very fact that
they are published means that they have already achieved some success. But to
any aspiring novelist, whether historical or not, my primary piece of advice is
to finish the story that you begin. A story is not a story until it has a
beginning, a middle and an end and until you have written ‘The End’ on your
last page you cannot call yourself a writer of fiction. There is more hard work
to be done after that first draft but at least you have a work of fiction under
your belt. My second piece of advice would be not to tell anyone about your
idea for a story until you have written it yourself – otherwise they might do
it first!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><b><i>What is your next project? Could you tell us a little bit about
it?</i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> I am writing a novel centered
around one of Catherine de Valois’ children with Owen Tudor, so it continues the
story of the family’s advance. I find it extraordinary that half way through
the 15<sup>th</sup> Century no one in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> had even heard of the Tudors and by
the end of the century there was a Tudor king on the throne! More than that I
am not prepared to say, other than that it is a medieval romance as well as a
swashbuckling adventure fraught with danger. I hope it will be a page-turner!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Agnes A. Rose:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <b><i>Joanna, thank you so much for
this very pleasant conversation. I wish you great success with your next
novels. Would you like to add anything? Or maybe is there a question you would
like to answer that I have not asked? </i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joanna Hickson:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> No, I think your questions have
been comprehensive Agnes and the only thing I would like to add is the hope
that your readers will become my readers, if they aren’t already. Oh, and one day I would love to come to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> and meet some of them – and
you! Thank you very much for hosting me
on your blog.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2015/07/wizyta-na-zamku-zawsze-pobudza-moja.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5238813226468555518.post-26064545754530950462015-07-16T11:26:00.001+02:002015-07-16T11:27:58.056+02:00“23 Days: A Memoir of 1939” by Antoni ‘Joe’ Podolski <br />
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<span lang="EN-US">“<i>The
Polish destruction is our first task. The aim must be not to reach some marked
line, but the destruction of the living forces. Even if the war was supposed to
explode in the West, destroying </i></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><i><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></i></st1:place></st1:country-region><i><span lang="EN-US"> must be our first task. The
decision must be immediate because of the season. I will give a cause of the
war for propaganda purposes. Never mind whether it will be credible or not. Nobody
asks the winner whether he has told the truth or not. In cases associated with
beginning and running the war a law does not decide, but a victory does. Be
mercilessly, be brutal.</span></i><span lang="EN-US">” – Saying these words Adolph Hitler (1889-1945) practically began the greatest
nightmare in the history of humankind, and it was precisely on the day before
signing the Ribbentop-Molotow Pact, what was on </span><st1:date day="23" month="8" year="1939"><span lang="EN-US">23 August
1939</span></st1:date><span lang="EN-US">. And
then September 1 of that year came and the German army marched into </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> without an official declaration of the
war. Poles left alone in the fight were not able effectively to oppose the
aggression of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Germany</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> and the Soviet invasion made on 17
September. So, the fourth partition of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> made by Adolph Hitler and Joseph
Stalin (1878-1953) became the consequence of that situation.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2mAQbdZuomI/Vado-YFMOQI/AAAAAAAAEPs/TVa9U84XB6o/s1600/23%2BDays.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2mAQbdZuomI/Vado-YFMOQI/AAAAAAAAEPs/TVa9U84XB6o/s400/23%2BDays.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Published by </span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: small;">YELLOW WHEEL PUBLISHING LTD.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">UNITED KINGDOM 2014</span></b></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">Shortly after
the outbreak of the Second World War, many Poles were forced to leave their
homes. Some of them were escaping into unknown places to hide against the
occupier, and the others were doing their best to confront him and when it was
possible they started to fight to regain their freedom. At that time everyone,
who was not afraid of taking up arms, became a soldier; sometimes they were
even underage boys. Because of the war many people very often were thrown into
different parts of the world. Many Poles somehow managed to emigrate and they never
return to their homeland. But before that happened they had had to survive their
own ordeal. One of those people was Antoni Joseph Podolski (1923-1999), who was
born in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Baranovichi</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> (in Polish: Baranowicze) – the town which
today is located on the territory of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Belarus</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, but until 1945 it belonged to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. He was the only child and grew up
among animals and nature. He loved horseback riding, participated in hunting
and he skied very well. He had a perfect knowledge about all kinds of weapons
he used from the early years, hunting for wild animals. He also fired a rifle
very well. He was also fascinated with flying and as a teenager he learnt to
steer gliders. What is more, Joseph had a colleague who was a German boy and
lived in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Berlin</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-US">. He was corresponding with him for some time
and he met him in 1936 at the Olympic Game. Later that boy bombed </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When on </span><st1:date day="1" month="9" year="1939"><span lang="EN-US">1
September 1939</span></st1:date><span lang="EN-US"> the Nazis invaded </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, Antoni was living in the eastern
part of the country, and his impact on the fight against the occupier was very
small, despite the fact that he fought with the people who were German spies
and informers. Next on </span><st1:date day="17" month="9" year="1939"><span lang="EN-US">17 September 1939</span></st1:date><span lang="EN-US"> the </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Soviet Union</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> invaded </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, which in the process joined the
Nazi occupation of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. The Soviets took the view that
invading </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> they protected Russian citizens
residing in our country. That attack from the East was really cruel and painful,
considering that quite unexpected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">For Antoni the
war began actually when his fighting against the Red Army. Every day he witnessed
the brutal actions of the Soviets. To repel the invaders, Antoni ad hoc fought in
the ranks of young partisans. After several extremely bloody battles, Antoni
finally was captured and imprisoned. During the transport to the place where he
had to be interrogated, he managed to escape from the moving train, in that way
having avoided death before he was arrested again. That fact had resulted in
cruel imprisonment and torture interrogation until Antoni Podolski was
sentenced to death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Joe spent
twenty three days in a condemned cell in Orsha (now Belarus) watching the executions of his inmates
who were killed one after another. Then completely unexpectedly for him his
capital punishment was exchanged for twenty five years of the Gulag in the </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Arctic</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">. The long and extremely exhausting
both physically and mentally trip was aborted due to a multi-day interrogation in
the notorious Lubyanka prison located in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">. His escape from the Gulag, and
then journey to freedom through the frozen lake on the border with </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Finland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, as well as the tragic death of co-fugitives,
in a special way contributed to Antoni Podolski. Fortunately, on his way he met
the Finnish soldiers what meant that the rescue would come to him from the Polish
authorities staying in neutral </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Sweden</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> and transferring to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> people arriving there in May 1940.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xQheC38r65Q/VadpxqMpD5I/AAAAAAAAEPw/Mofc80r1XlE/s1600/baranowicze%2Bpo%2Bpolsku.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xQheC38r65Q/VadpxqMpD5I/AAAAAAAAEPw/Mofc80r1XlE/s640/baranowicze%2Bpo%2Bpolsku.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Old topographic map of Baranowicze. Military
map of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> made by </span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;">Polish Army before 1939</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The book <i>23
Days: A Memoir of 1939</i> is the memories of Antoni Joseph Podolski written by
him about forty-four years after the outbreak of the Second World War. In his
dairy the author related in detail about his dramatic struggle against the eastern
aggressor, later arrest, imprisonment and brutal interrogation, and eventually
death sentence and spending twenty-three days in the condemned cell. The book
consists of two parts. In the first part, besides the drama of the Antoni’s
fight against the occupier and waiting for his death, a reader may additionally
also get to know his happy childhood in Poland, which makes you start to wonder
how much our lives can change in an instant. In one moment we are happy and it
seems to us that after all nothing can threaten us and suddenly it turns out
that we brutally lose our safety. And since this moment we must fight for it
without any guarantee that we will recover it someday. On the other hand, in
the second part Antoni Podolski described his freedom he eventually recovered,
but while being in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. But this did not mean that the war
ended for him at that point. He was still fighting. At first there was the
struggle in the ranks of the British government agency called Special
Operations Executive, and then in the Polish Forces
in the Middle East, and next he became a fighter pilot with the Polish Air
Force. He was then only 22!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The
Antoni Podolski’s memories were released on the 75<sup>th</sup> anniversary of
the outbreak of World War II. The book is accompanied by very moving foreword
by his son Nigel. The book was published after the death of the author, and it
happened thanks to the efforts of his family. The description of the torture,
which was prepared for him by the Soviet, is so brutal that it is possible that
a reader who has a sensitive psyche will have to stop reading for a moment.
This is one of these publications, which in a very graphic way, shows the
cruelty of past times. While reading the Antoni Podolski’s memories a reader
wonders how it is possible that one man was able to survive the ordeal like
that. Many have already written about the cruelty of World War II and probably
many will write about it in the future, but we must remember that the only </span><span lang="EN-US">eyewitness accounts are reliable,
and therefore we should base our understanding of those tragic years on their
relations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PT-ZU0xY-18/VadqeHZPYTI/AAAAAAAAEP4/ZiZ7KzN2_EQ/s1600/%25C5%2582ubianka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="408" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PT-ZU0xY-18/VadqeHZPYTI/AAAAAAAAEP4/ZiZ7KzN2_EQ/s640/%25C5%2582ubianka.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The Building of Insurance Company called "Rossiya" located on the Lubyanka Square. </span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: small;">This picture dates back to 1917. </span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;">In this building many Polish people were imprisoned </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">and murdered by NKVD soldiers during the WWII.</span></b></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">In my opinion Antoni Podolski certainly was a
great patriot. He loved his country more than his own life. I suppose that if
it had been otherwise, he would not have had so much will and power to fight
which allowed him to survive and give his experience to the next generations. Unfortunately,
he never returned to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. He died in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Norfolk</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> at the age of 76. It seems to me
that it is very difficult to find the right words to clearly describe this type
of publications. You really cannot judge or review them because this kind of
books contains the vastness of human drama and horror that any assessment is
out of place here.</span></div>
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<b>Finally, I would like to thank Antoni
Podolski’s grandson – Jeremy, who drew my attention to the memories of his
granddad a few months ago. If I had not received a message from Jeremy, I would
not know about this valuable book until now.</b> I hope that the Antoni Podolski’a war
memories will be translated into Polish and all of us will be able to read them
without a language barrier. In contrast, at the moment I recommend this
publication to anyone who knows English and would like to know the
extraordinary heroism and strength of the young man who retained his dignity
and did not surrender to the occupier. </div>
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If you want to find out more about this book and Joe Podolski, please click <a href="http://www.23days.eu/index.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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If you want to buy this book, please click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/23-Days-A-Memoir-1939-ebook/dp/B00LD8207E" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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If you want to read this review in Polish, please click <a href="http://wkrainieczytania.blogspot.com/2015/07/antoni-joe-podolski-23-days-memoir-of.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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Agnieszkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11345292852485382911noreply@blogger.com0