by Charlotte Whitney

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GENRE:   Historical Fiction, Women's Lit, Book Club Lit

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BLURB:

It's a boring, hardscrabble life for three sisters growing up on a Michigan farm during the throes of the Great Depression.  But when young Nellie, digging for pirate treasure, discovers the tiny hand of a dead baby, rumors begin to fly.  Narrated by Nellie and her two older sisters, the story follows the girls as they encounter a patchwork of threatening circumstances and decide to solve the mystery.

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EXCERPT

I keep thinking ’bout the Preston’s baby girl, such a sweet baby. I held her once when Mrs. Preston was sitting beside me on the davenport. The baby kept sleeping, then blew a little bubble and later I could feel her little fart that warn’t stinky at all. All the time she jist kept sleeping. When she finally woke up and fussed, Mrs. Preston picked her up and jiggled her and talked baby talk to her so she quit fussing. That’s how babies are posta be treated. 

But thinking ’bout the Prestons made me sad, too. They lost their farm and had to move away to Mrs. Preston’s parents’ place in Indiana. Ma said we might never see them again. Ma and Mrs. Preston both cried when we said goodbye. Pa and Mr. Preston shook hands and Pa bit his lip. I’d only seen him do that once before, at my grandpa’s funeral. 

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Author Interview

What is the first book that made you cry?
LITTLE WOMEN.  I remember crying during the scene when Beth March dies.  No one in my family was a reader, so I was astonished at finding myself so drawn into a book, any book.  I doubt if I told anyone about being brought to tears as we were a stoic, farm family of German descent, and emotions were never close to the surface.  I’ve changed since then.  One of the Amazon reviews of THREADS says, “It will make you laugh and there will be tears.” That made review made me a happy camper.

How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?
For me about a year if I’m seriously working on it.  THREADS took longer because I had a lot of disruptions in my life.  We moved across country, my mother died, and some more minor difficulties occurred.  Because historical novels require a fair amount of research you can’t crank them out monthly, like some authors of fantasy and science fiction do.  Then there’s the whole revision process.  I believe I rewrote THREADS perhaps, six or seven times. 

 What fictional character would you want to be friends with in real life?
I’d love to become friends with Daphne DuMarier’s main character in REBECCA.  (She doesn’t have a name other than Mrs. DeWinter.)  I think after all she went through she would become a self-assured, poised and elegant woman.  But more importantly, she would be compassionate and empathic.  How could she not be after all she’s gone through?  We would meet for tea and share experiences. I think she’d be a good listener when I told her my problems, and I would listen to hers.

2)     If delayed by a blizzard, I’d find the local library to pass the time until the roads are cleared.  (This actually happened once.)

3)     UPWORDS is my favorite game.  It’s a little like Scrabble but you can also build words up to five tiles high. 

4)    Favorite meal:  either an Indonesian Rice Tafel (you can find in Amsterdam) or an Ethiopian feast found in many university towns.

5)     Last book read:  WHERE THE CRAWDAD SINGS by Delia Owens.

6)     Next to last book read:  FINDING MRS. FORD by Deborah Goodrich Royce.

7)     Favorite yoga pose:  downward dog.

8)     Favorite city:  Paris

9)     Favorite movie:  Shawshank Redemption

10)  Most desired thing that’s missing in my life right now:  travel.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Charlotte Whitney grew up in Michigan and spent much of her career at the University of Michigan directing internship and living-learning programs. She started out writing non-fiction while at the University and switched to romance with I DREAM IN WHITE. A passion for history inspired her to write THREADS A Depression Era Tale chronicling the stories of three sisters on a farm during the throes of the Great Depression. She lives in Arizona, where she loves hiking, bicycling, swimming, and practicing yoga.

BUY LINK: 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/THREADS-Depression-Tale-Charlotte-Whitney-ebook/dp/B07ZBN35JF/ref

IMPORTANT LINKS:

Author’s Website:

http://www.charlottewhitney.com

Facebook Author Page:

https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=charlotte%20whitney%20author

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/charlottewhitney65/

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-whitney-8235463a/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/CWhitneyAuthor

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION