posted every Friday
#IndieBragNovConv
#IndieBragNovConv
To be a little different from the usual 'meet the author'
let's meet a character...
Jeannie Naughton
from
Q: Hello, I’m Helen the
host of Novel Conversations, please
do make yourself comfortable. Would you like a drink? Tea, coffee, wine –
something stronger? You’ll find a box of chocolates and a bowl of fruit on the
table next to you, please do help yourself. I believe you are a character in
J.L Oakley’s
novel Mist-chi-mas: A Novel of Captivity. Would you like to introduce yourself?
Are you a lead character or a supporting role?
from
A: I am Jeannie
Naughton late of Fort Victoria in the Colony of British Columbia and I would
like tea very much. You have chocolate,
you say? Such a rarity in these parts and very dear to buy. When I lived in
England as a girl, I loved going to Fry and Son’s French Chocolate in London.
And yes, I am the lead character.
Q: What genre is
the novel and what is it about?
A: Mist-chi-mas:
A Novel of Captivity is historical fiction set in the Pacific NW 1860s. It’s a
love story too. Forgive me, if I blush.
Comportment, you understand, is very important in my time. Here’s what the
story is about:
In Mist-chi-mas,
everyone is bound to something.Jeannie Naughton
never intended to run away from her troubles, but in 1860, a woman’s reputation
is everything. A scandal not of her own making forces her to flee England for
an island in the Pacific Northwest, a territory jointly occupied by British and
American military forces. At English Camp, Jeannie meets American Jonas Breed.
Breed was once a captive and slave — a mistchimas — of the Haida, and still
retains close ties to the Coast Salish Indians.
But the
inhabitants of the island mistrust Breed for his friendship with the tribes.
When one of Breed’s friends is murdered, he is quickly accused of a gruesome
retaliation. Jeannie knows he’s innocent, and plans to go away with him, legitimizing
their passionate affair with a marriage. But when she receives word that Breed
has been killed in a fight, Jeannie’s world falls apart. Although she carries
Jonas Breed’s child, she feels she has no choice but to accept a proposal from
another man.
Twenty years
later, Jeannie finds reason to believe that Breed may still be alive. She must
embark on a journey to uncover the truth, unaware that she is stirring up an
old and dangerous struggle for power and revenge…
Q:
No spoilers, but are you a ‘goody’ or a ‘baddie’? (Or maybe you are both!)
A: I am one and twenty
and what you call, a goody. I have tried my very best to be a good and honest young woman, but life
has not always treated me that way. That is why I found myself here in the
wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. I
came alone from England with my young son and enjoyed the protection of my
Uncle Archie who was a trader at the Hudson’s Bay trading fort in Victoria. But
it was when I made a trip to the Royal Marine encampment on San Juan Island to
attend a tea given by the wife of the assistant surgeon that I found the place
where felt at home for the first time.
Q: Tell me about another character in the novel
– maybe your best friend, lover or partner … or maybe your arch enemy!
A: I would be remiss
not to talk about Mr. Breed—my dear Jonas—who opened my eyes beyond the stiff rules
of my English society to societies of the Salish Sea: the Songhee, Lummi and
other Coast Salish peoples and Kanakas—know them as Hawaiians—who worked at the
Hudson Bay farm. Mr. Breed was born in Hawaii and after he went to sea with his
father, he was captured by the Haida to the north of Vancouver Island. He was a
mistchimas then, but gained his
freedom when he saved the life of his master. Back in white society, he worked
many trades, spoke native tongues and Chinook Jargon, which he taught me. Mr.
Breed scared me at first meet, but I began to regard him highly. He is very
handsome, a kind, capable man, but not afraid to stand up for what was right,
sometimes with violence.
Q:
Is this the only novel you have appeared in, or are there others in a series?
A: For now, it is the only novel I
am in, but sometimes I hear stirrings that I may appear in something in the far
future, if my author is inclined.
Q:
What is one of your least favourite scenes you appear in?
A: Oh, dear, that would
be when my little boy took ill. The variola
major is such a terrible thing. When the scourge arrived in Victoria in the
early 1860s, after felling many in our little town, it was carried home to
Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian communities to the north. Later I learned that it
wiped out 80 per cent of those people. I feared for the life of my sweet Jeremy.
Q:
And your favourite scene?
A: So many, so many, all with
Mr. Breed. I suppose the one that sticks
out the most is the time we danced on the ramparts above the American
encampment. At the time, I was not allowed to dance or show delight in things.
At a joint party with both Royal Marine and American officers attending along
with local guests from Victoria and Washington Territory, I had to sit and fill
up my dance card with only conversation. Secretly we left and went up to the
ramparts and danced to the music coming up from the parade ground. At first, he
just wanted to find out what was upsetting me, but after showing the beautiful
view under moonlight, he guessed my heart, that I wanted to dance. He told me
he knew how and would not step on my feet. I knew then that I was falling in
love in him. When he put his hand on my waist...
Q:
Tell me a little about your author. Has she written any other books?
A:
My author lives in the Pacific NW. She writes
award-winning historical novels and mystery novellas in Hawaii with a touch of
history in them. Outside of the stories in Hawaii, most of the novels are set
in the Pacific NW. A single one takes place in Norway during WWII. When she is
not writing, she enjoys weaving, gardening and doing local historical projects.
Q:
Is your author working on anything else at the moment?
A: My author is
working hard on the sequel to her award-winning novel, The Jøssing Affair, set in Norway during WWII. Last fall, she made
a trip to Norway to do research. Presently, she has around 60,000 words. In
addition, my author is preparing for presentations at several conferences this
fall, one at Pacific Northwest Writers and another, a gathering of Civilian
Conservation Corps historians and alumni in Portland, Oregon. The CCC built our
beautiful parks across the US and in Hawaii and Alaska during the Great
Depression.
Q:
How do you think indie authors, such as your author, can be helped or supported
by readers or groups? What does your author think is the most useful for
him/her personally?
A: Write a review, most
importantly on Amazon.
My author would appreciate that. Then share the book with
your book club, reminding your members that authors would love to chat
via Skpe or Google chat during the discussion.
Ask your local library to carry the
novel. Put the book in a tiny library if your town or neighbourhood supports
the program.
Q: Finally, before we must bid adieu, the novel you appear in has been
awarded a prestigious IndieBRAG Medallion, does your
author find this helpful, and is there anything else he/she would like
IndieBRAG to do to help indie authors receive the recognition they deserve?
A: The beautiful
IndieBRAG Medallion stands out on the cover of Mist-chi-mas. Readers see it immediately on the shelf at my
author’s indie bookstore, but they also see it means something, that the novel
is worth buying and reading. My author is very grateful and honoured to have
it. It’s important to always to grow as a writer and aim for this seal of
approval. This conversation is a fun addition to writers with the medallion.
(Thank you very much for interviewing me). The medallion is also helpful in
getting a spot on Bargain Booksy and Free Booksy. Novel. I’m looking forward to
IndieBRAG’s forays into conferences.
Helen: Thank you Jeannie, it was a pleasure talking to you. Would your author like to add a short excerpt? Meanwhile, chatting is thirsty work, so would you like more to drink?
Jeannie: More tea, please and
did I see some little ginger cookies? My favorite.
Helen: Indeed you did - I'd forgotten about them! Cheers! Here’s to being a successful Brag Medallion Honouree!
There! Something grunted, the voice edged in pain.
Her horse began to tremble and put its ears back. Jeannie looked behind her,
but saw nothing. She tapped the horse with her riding crop and went forward.
The trees thinned out. She could see the stony beach below where someone had
pulled a small dugout canoe up on the shore. Water lapped at the canoe’s stern.
Jeannie was so focused on the canoe that she missed
the crashing black shape of a boar charging through the woods, its red mouth
open with curled yellow tusks aimed at her horse’s legs. By the time she heard
its shrill squeal, it had hammered into her horse, knocking her off her perch.
The horse neighed and reared, tearing her last hold on the reins away. A final
buck and she was falling down the ledge, rolling over and over again. She
screamed as she frantically tried to grab onto anything to stop her tumble, but
it was over fast as she started when she landed hard on the ground. Dazed for
the moment, she finally staggered to her feet. Her sleeves were torn, her skirt
ripped so that she could see her mud-stained petticoats. Her hair fell out of
its pins.
Gasping, Jeannie limped away toward the safety of
the canoe. Above her the horse and the boar continued to thrash around.
Suddenly, the low ridge exploded with broken branches and pebbles and the roan
fell down just feet from where she had been standing. Close behind came the
biggest black boar Jeannie had ever seen. As the horse and boar untangled, she
saw for the first time that the horse was hurt badly. The skin on its cheek was
torn, leaving patches of bloody flesh beneath; its legs were bleeding from
gashes. Both horse and boar squealed with hurt and anger as they righted
themselves.
A peculiar feeling of lightness came over her. The
pit of her stomach became cold. She could barely think, but she knew she was in
extreme danger. Shaking, she backed up against the canoe and pushed it out into
the water, ignoring the chilly water of the channel soaking her boots and
skirt. When it was afloat, she turned in time to see the horse separate from
the boar and buck its way down the beach.
“Go, go,” Jeannie shouted as she pushed the canoe
back further, then realized that only the horse was making its escape. The boar
was now trotting back, its little eyes trained on her.
There is blood all over its face and tusks, she
thought. She hopped and scrambled into the canoe, her skirt catching at the
gunwales. The boar charged.
CONNECT WITH J.L. Oakley
website: https://www.jloakleyauthor.com/
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JLOakleyauthor/
twitter: @jloakley
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Twitter: @IndieBrag
HELEN HOLLICK:
Website: www.helenhollick.net
On Amazon: http://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick
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Twitter: @HelenHollick
