Interview with author Elisabeth Grace Foley
WelcomeReaders to another installment of our author interview series. Today we havethe pleasure of chatting with Elisabeth Grace Foley, author of numeroushistorical fiction books.
JMR-Welcometo the Books Delight, Elisabeth. Tell our readers where you live, what you dofor fun and what does the perfect day look like?
EGF-Thank you so much for having me! I currently live in upstate New York, where Iwas born and raised. In my life as it looks right now, a perfect day wouldinvolve putting in a few good hours writing, a good amount of time spentoutside walking or gardening, some time spent reading a good book, and timespent with my family.
Besidesreading and writing, some of my hobbies include music, crocheting, genealogy,and watching old movies and German football.
JMR-What’syour favorite historical time period? Why?
EGF-Broadly speaking, it’s late 19th-century and early 20th-centuryAmerica. I went through a Civil-War-buff phase as a teen and I go on a bit of aWorld War II kick from time to time, and those two events kind of bookend myera of interest. My special interest is the American West during that period,simply because the history of it fascinates me. I think when most people thinkof “westerns” they tend to think of the 1870s-1880s, the era of the greatcattle drives and most of the famous (or infamous) lawmen and outlaws; butsince I’m very fond of the general popular culture/fashions/ambience of theEdwardian period and the 1930s-1940s, I love exploring what the West was likeduring those decades in my fiction.
JMR-Whois your favorite historical figure? Why? If you could ask them one question,what would it be?
EGF-This is always a hard question for me because I’ve never really had onehistorical “hero” or one specific historical figure I was obsessed with! I’d bemore likely to want to pick the brains of my favorite authors. Jane Austen, forinstance—though I don’t know what one question you could ask her beyond “whatis the secret of your genius?” I can imagine having some fascinatingconversations about literature and philosophy and history with some of myfavorite mystery authors: Josephine Tey, Ellis Peters, Elizabeth Daly—and MaryRoberts Rinehart, who also did a lot of traveling in the American West (but forsome reason never took it into her head to write a murder mystery set there!).
JMR-How did you come to be a writer of historical fiction?
EGF-I started writing stories for my own amusement pretty much as soon as I learnedhow to write, and by my pre-teen years I was thinking about being an authorwhen I grew up. All through my childhood I was always most drawn to books andstories with a historical setting—I grew up with the Little House series,Marguerite Henry’s horse books, the original American Girl books, and lots ofother historical fiction and older children’s classics. Historical has alwaysjust felt like home to me. When I began getting serious about writing andbecoming a published author, that was what I wanted to write.
JMR-Many of your books are set in the American West; what is it about that regionthat draws you to it?
EGF-I think it began with being a horse-crazy little girl! I always liked Westernmovies and TV shows growing up, and I’m sure it was partly because of all thehorses. Aside from that, I was always drawn to stories with an Americanfrontier/pioneer setting, and I think it was because the sense of adventureabout them—the beauty combined with the challenge and dangers of the frontierlandscape. In my teens I began reading more Western history and early Westernfiction, and to focus in more on the era as a special interest. I’m stillfascinated by that beauty and sense of adventure about the land, thecattle-ranching industry and culture, and by the spunk and resilience and thecolorful human variety of the ordinary people who settled the frontier.
JMR-Did you visit anyone of the places in your book? Where did you feel closest toyour characters?
EGF-I have never actually been west of the Mississippi! For my Western fiction I’vebasically just immersed myself in the setting through lots of reading and throughphotographs. So many of the actual landscapes are still the same, in a way thatdazzles me a little bit when I see present-day photos; but for things liketowns, roads, buildings and so forth, it’s always neat to find historicalphotos that fit with the scenes I’m imagining in my head (for my Mrs. MeadeMysteries series, for instance, I’ve been able to find a lot of neat picturesfrom turn-of-the-century Colorado).
JMR-Elisabeth, tell us about your novel Land of Hills and Valleys.
EGF-Lena Campbell never knew her grandfather, but she always dreamed of visitingWyoming, where her mother was born and raised. When she receives word that hergrandfather is dead and his Wyoming ranch belongs to her, she jumps at thechance. Only later does she learn that her grandfather was murdered, and themurder is still unsolved.
Inspite of this shadow hanging over her, Lena thrives in her new life—and fallsin love. But when new evidence about the McKay murder emerges and implicatesthe man she loves, she’s assailed by frightening doubts. Only figuring out thereal truth of her grandfather’s murder can save her from losing everything shecares about.
Setin the mid-1930s, Land of Hills andValleys is stylistically very much inspired by Mary Stewart’s vintageromantic-suspense novels: narrated by a spunky yet vulnerable young heroinethrown into new surroundings and the tangles of an unsolved crime. It’s alittle less formally structured than a traditional whodunit, but the murdermystery is still very much at the heart of the story. While Stewart’s heroinesusually had their adventures in glamorous European locales, this is a veryclassic Western ranch setting that also has a Depression-era small-town flavorand a bit of courtroom drama thrown in.
JMR-Whatprojects do you have in the pipeline?
EGF-I am tentatively planning to release a new collection of Western short storiesthis year. I’ve also been writing some companion short stories for the Mrs.Meade Mysteries (the first one just published in November, and available freefor your e-reader!), and will probably publish another one or two as I writethem. I have a few “big” projects in the works going more slowly—anotherWestern mystery novel similar to Land ofHills and Valleys, this time set in Montana just after World War II, and acouple other historical novels in slightly different subgenres than anythingI’ve done so far. No exact timeline yet for any of them, but they’ll be along.
JMR-Tell our readers how to find you on social media and the web.
EGF-You can find me and all my books on my author website,where I also have a (sporadically updated!) blog. On social media, I’m mostactive on Instagramand Twitter;and if you like to keep up via email you can sign up for my quarterly newsletter(I offer a free novella as a thank-you to new subscribers!).
JMR-What question were you hoping I’d ask but didn’t?
EGF-Well, I honestly love to talk about how my books combine the tropes andcharacteristics of classic mystery and romantic-suspense novels with anAmerican, and particularly a rural/western American, setting. It’s a niche thatthere doesn’t seem to be too many authors working in! The Golden Agemurder-mystery novels of the mid-20th century are what I read mostof myself, and I think British authors really carry off the trophy for the bestbooks in the genre; but since I feel most at home writing an American historicalsetting, I’ve really had fun locating mystery plots there and developing astyle inspired by classic mystery authors from across the pond. I drawinspiration from some more obscure corners of American literature, too—forinstance, the Mrs. Meade Mysteries were partly inspired by the books of AnnaKatharine Green, one of America’s earliest mystery authors and creator of notone but two fictional femaledetectives, Miss Amelia Butterworth and Violet Strange.
JMR-Thank you, Elisabeth, for stopping by. Your books look really great! Readers,I’ve included a link to Elisabeth’s books below. Please be sure to check themout.
