Ask the Author: Marcia Calhoun Forecki
Answered Questions (7)
Marcia Calhoun Forecki
At the moment, I'm concentrating on short stories. I'd like to get a collection together maybe next year. My stories are usually set in the first half of the 20th Century, based on memories and stories from my past and my parents' lives.
Marcia Calhoun Forecki
I'm reading a very interesting "double biography" of Mary Todd Lincoln and Elizabeth Keckly by Jennifer Fleischner. It's a remarkable story of how two women, taking completely different journeys, came together in friendship. I have on my list for the summer: The Elephant's Journey by Jose Saramago, 3 novels by Flannery O'Connor (in one volume), and The Good American by Alex Jones. Of course, I'm always open to moving a new find onto the list.
Marcia Calhoun Forecki
Read. Read the best. Read what fascinates you and what moves you. Re-read looking for techniques and ideas. Take whatever ignites your imagination and let it run free.
Marcia Calhoun Forecki
I have 2 techniques. One or the other usually works for me. First, I try reading. Not for pleasure, but slow, careful reading of writers I admire. Sometimes a character or a phrase will ignite my thinking. Another method, is to go where I can be along and comfortable - sometimes outside at a lake near me and sometimes in bed - and just let my thoughts wander. I recall people and places in my past, or movies I've seen, or people I've known. I think about what might have come before or after an event. I think about what might have happened if a character in a book or movie had made a different choice. I think about people I've known, especially people I have not known well, and wonder how they might have become who they were. By following these "wonderings" I often come up with an idea to pursue. That idea may not lead to a story, but it may lead to another idea that does develop into something I want to write about.
Marcia Calhoun Forecki
While not a murder mystery, I have always wanted more information about my grandfather's service in World War I. The records of many WWI soldiers were kept in an archive in St. Louis, Missouri, which burned.
Marcia Calhoun Forecki
For me, the best thing about being a writer is being able to tell a story that is important and compelling to me. I want to invite a conversation with my writing, even if it is an inner conversation of the reader with my characters. I hope my readers will consider, just for a moment, some observation about the humanity we all share.
Marcia Calhoun Forecki
My most recent book is June Rise, a novel set in the Civil War era of western Missouri. I grew up in this area and attended William Jewell College, which played a role in a civil war battle - serving as a hospital. The border war between Missouri and Kansas was brutal, guerrilla warfare in which civilians were the soldiers and the victims on both sides.
I knew something about this history from growing up in Jackson County, Missouri. But, I did extensive research to be able to create an accurate setting for the fictional characters in June Rise. (The title comes from the rise in the Missouri River in early summer.) The protagonists are women, Onie is a slave, the property of Bluesy Hill's uncle. Adding to the drama is the fact that Bluesey was a foundling, adopted by the non-slaveholding brother of the Hill family, whose origin is not known. She is brought up as white by her loving adopted parents, but there is always a cloud of doubt over the young woman.
In June Rise, we see the broader conflict played out in one family. It was a joy to research this book, and to be able to feature my beloved alma mater. Slavery is probably the most important issue the United States faced in its early history, and the conflict seethes to this day. I hope readers will learn something from June Rise, but most important, I hope they will come to love the two women whose friendship surmounted the battles around them.
I knew something about this history from growing up in Jackson County, Missouri. But, I did extensive research to be able to create an accurate setting for the fictional characters in June Rise. (The title comes from the rise in the Missouri River in early summer.) The protagonists are women, Onie is a slave, the property of Bluesy Hill's uncle. Adding to the drama is the fact that Bluesey was a foundling, adopted by the non-slaveholding brother of the Hill family, whose origin is not known. She is brought up as white by her loving adopted parents, but there is always a cloud of doubt over the young woman.
In June Rise, we see the broader conflict played out in one family. It was a joy to research this book, and to be able to feature my beloved alma mater. Slavery is probably the most important issue the United States faced in its early history, and the conflict seethes to this day. I hope readers will learn something from June Rise, but most important, I hope they will come to love the two women whose friendship surmounted the battles around them.
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