Character Interview: Erin Solomon from Jen Blood's "All the Blue-Eyed Angels"
Welcome Erin Solomon today from Jen Blood's All the Blue-Eyed Angels! She wrote the entirety of this In World interview, and I'm just happy to be able to share it with my readers. Thanks to her for being here today. Enjoy!
Oh, and the author has also happily asked me to let readers know that her book will be available for just .99 until April 8th!
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The Payson Church of Tomorrow was, by all accounts, a quiet, God-fearing community located on a remote island ten miles off the Littlehope peninsula in midcoast Maine. Founded by Christian fundamentalist and Maine native Isaac Payson, the church had been a peaceful part of the Midcoast region since it was first founded in 1976, with Payson regularly donating his time to local charities and ministering to those isolated on neighboring islands.
All that changed on the morning of August 22nd, 1990, when flames engulfed the three-story barn on Payson Isle containing the Payson community chapel. Thirty-four members of the congregation died that day, including nearly a dozen children born and raised on the island. Victims were found inside the chapel; autopsies performed later on several of the bodies revealed a minimal amount of the herb henbane, a plant known to be toxic when consumed in large quantities. It's believed that the henbane may have served as a mild sedative, but there's little doubt that those who perished on Payson Island that day were conscious and fully aware of the fire that consumed them. Investigators have ruled the tragedy mass suicide, with Isaac Payson the most likely instigator.
There were only two known survivors of the fire from the Payson congregation: Adam Solomon – Isaac Payson's right-hand man – and Solomon's young daughter, Erin. Here for the first time, Erin Solomon – now fifteen years old – speaks candidly with reporter Daniel Diggins in this exclusive interview.
DD. What can you tell me about the Payson Church of Tomorrow? Something others might not expect.
ES. Well… It wasn't some crazy sexed-up cult, for one thing. It was, you know… Normal.
DD. Can you give me an example? What does 'normal' mean to you?
ES. I mean… Normal. A lot of praying, sure, but otherwise – we got up, went to church. All the kids out there got home schooled – and we learned a lot more than kids do in the schools here, I'll tell you that much. We did our chores… It was just a big family, living our lives.
DD. What do you remember about the day of the fire?
ES. It was raining – that's tough to forget, because there'd been a drought for a long time before that. I remember my dad crying. Bodies everywhere. And feathers – burned feathers. You know, from the angels.
DD. Angels?
ES. The marionettes we – uh, the Paysons – used to make. You can find them in some shops still, but not very often. Little angel marionettes with blue eyes. All the kids out there had one.
DD. Do you still have yours?
ES. Yeah – I mean, I guess so. Somewhere.
DD. What does your father say about the fire?
ES. My dad doesn't really talk anymore. He just, you know… Kind of stays out on the island.
DD. Payson Island?
ES. Yeah – he didn't leave after the fire. He doesn't really come to the mainland anymore.
DD. When was the last time you spoke to your father?
ES. Like an actual conversation? I don't know… A couple of years, I guess.
DD. Has he ever spoken with you about the fire? Ever given any indication as to what he believes happened that day?
ES. I told you – he doesn't talk anymore.
DD. Do you think he believes Isaac Payson set the fire that day? That all of those people willingly gave their lives?
ES. I don't know what he believes… He seemed surprised, though. I mean – I guess if he'd been expecting it, he wouldn't have been so broken up, right?
DD. Do you believe Isaac Payson set the fire?
ES. I don't know. I always thought… I always thought he was nice. A little strict sometimes, but he cared about us. I don't know why he would've done it. Why any of them would have.
DD. What do you think happened out there, then?
ES. Sometimes, I think… What if somebody else was there? I dream it, sometimes: that this man in black is chasing me on the island that day.
DD. What do you mean – like someone who wasn't part of the church?
ES. It's just a dream. I thought it really happened, right after the fire – when I was still a kid, I thought there really had been somebody else out there. That I saw him.
DD. But you don't think so now?
ES. No. It was just my imagination. Or a dream. Whatever.
DD. If you could tell people anything about the Payson Church of Tomorrow, what would it be? What should people think when they hear the Payson name?
DD. They should think… I don't know. That they were real people. They weren't just a bunch of religious crackpots. They were, you know… Funny, some of them. They were real. And maybe the fire wasn't what everyone thinks – don't be so quick to judge, when there are still so many mysteries. Someday, I want to go back there – when I'm older. I'll go out there and I'll figure out what really happened. Maybe no one really knows the truth.
In All the Blue-Eyed Angels, Erin Solomon – now in her thirties – returns to Payson Isle to do just what she promised in that interview more than fifteen years before: find the truth behind the alleged Payson Church mass suicide. Isolated on the Maine coast with an old flame and a mysterious newcomer with his own dark past, Erin will risk everything to uncover the secrets of Payson Isle – secrets someone will kill to keep buried.
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Author Bio: Jen Blood was born and raised in midcoast Maine. Her work has been published in Down East, Bark, Pif, and a number of newspapers and periodicals around the country. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing, and currently works as an editor of every genre under the sun for traditional publishing houses and indie authors; those interested in finding out her editing rates or getting a free sample edit and critique can e-mail her at jen@bloodwrites.com for more information.
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Websites: http://bloodwrites.com/ & http://erinsolomon.com/
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