HA: Elisabeth, welcome back to
Homeschool Authors.
Elisabeth: Thank you! I’m happy to be
back here again.
HA: What inspired the stories in this book?
Elisabeth: Oh, a variety of things.
Some developed from just tossing plot ideas around in my mind; “Angel Unawares”
and “Disturbing the Peace” both began with a scrap of something from a dream.
The one with the most unusual inspiration, though, is “The Ranch Next Door.” I’m
a big fan of the famous Western singing group the Sons of the Pioneers. One of
their chief songwriting members, Bob Nolan, wrote several hundred songs,
including some considered “lost”—the titles were registered for copyright but
no recordings or sheet music have survived. I saw the title “The Ranch Next
Door” on a list of these songs one day, and it started me wondering. What was
so special about the ranch next door? Before I knew it, I was thinking out a
story to fit it.
HA: What is the most encouraging
review you have received so far on this book?
Elisabeth: Probably the review I
received from the Western
Fiction Review blog. Coming from a reviewer whom I wasn’t previously acquainted
with online, and someone who focuses specifically on Westerns and reads many of
them, the warm praise was particularly gratifying.
HA: When you are not writing, what do
you enjoy doing?
Elisabeth: Well, a lot of reading,
naturally! I love music—I listen to it a lot, sing, and play a bit of piano and
harmonica. I enjoy crocheting and needlepoint; I like watching old movies and
sports (football and basketball), and spending time outdoors—swimming a lot in
the summertime, and going for long walks whenever the weather permits at any
time of the year.
HA: What do you plan to read this
summer?
Elisabeth: As a matter of fact, I
shared my whole summer reading list on my blog a couple
of months ago. I just finished Until That
Distant Day by Jill Stengl, which was excellent. Some books I’m looking
forward to reading are National Avenue,
the only book in Booth Tarkington’s Growth Trilogy that I haven’t caught up
with yet; Five Came Back: A Story of
Hollywood and the Second World War, which looks like an interesting piece
of historical nonfiction; and a couple that I’ve seen recommended by lots of
online friends: The Guernsey Literary and
Potato Peel Pie Society and Dear Mr.
Knightley. Yes, I do have pretty eclectic tastes.
HA: What are some of your favorite
books of all time?
Elisabeth: Well, I think my Goodreads favorites
shelf probably answers that question pretty thoroughly.
HA: Can you give us a sneak peek into
your work-in-progress?
Elisabeth: My summer project is going
to be re-editing Corral Nocturne, a Western
Cinderella-retelling I wrote last year for Anne Elisabeth Stengl’s Five Glass Slippers contest. I’ve
decided to rewrite and expand parts of it a bit, and hopefully publish it later
this year. Here’s my Pinterest storyboard for the
project, if you’d like to take a peek.
HA: What should readers expect when
they read The Ranch Next Door and Other Stories?
Elisabeth: The stories are very much in
the traditional Western mold, so readers who are already Western fans should
feel right at home. But they aren’t just action-based shoot-’em-up Westerns;
they’re built around character and conflict and the human interest at the heart
of the story—so readers who like any historical fiction, or simply like a good
story, should enjoy them too. They are also all-ages-appropriate, without being
overly simplistic.
HA: Do you have any final thoughts?
Elisabeth: I see and hear a lot of
people say “I don’t read Westerns,” maybe more than they say it about any other
genre. I can understand how the genre has gotten a bit of a clichéd
shoot-’em-up reputation. But there is room in a well-written Western for just
as much genuine drama and humor and conflict as in, say, a well-written fantasy
novel. I’d encourage historical-fiction lovers in particular to look for the quality
Westerns out there and give them a try.
Thank you
for hosting me here, Sarah! It’s been a pleasure.
Get The Ranch Nextdoor for only $0.99 this week!
Ah, the Sons of the Pioneers! Not many from our generation even know that they existed, or that Roy Rogers was one of them. I have a fondness for them from having been raised on black and white cowboy movies.
ReplyDeleteLovely interview, and I really appreciate your view on western literature, very refreshing. Thanks for sharing.
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