Interview with author Catherine Astl
Welcome Readers toanother installment of our author interview series. Today we have the pleasureof chatting with Catherine, author of multiple historical fiction books.
JMR-Welcome to theBooks Delight, Catherine. Tell our readers where you live, what you do for funand what does the perfect day look like?
CA- Thank you for having me! I appreciate this great opportunity toconnect with readers.
Ilive in Wesley Chapel, Florida, which is a bit north of Tampa. I love to read,write, travel, and spend time with my family. On that note, my perfect daywould include all these things!
I would love to wake up early and write for a couple of hours.Then, to really start the perfect day, I would definitely be in the SmokyMountains with my family! Packing a picnic, the family would gather, and we’ddrive to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, keeping mycamera handy for wildlife sightings. If we’re lucky, we will see turkey, deer,bear, and maybe even a coyote. In addition, the views are just spectacular, andI never get tired of seeing the sun move across the soft peaks.
Laterin the day, I’d love a nice dinner (anything Italian!) in a cozy cabin, andfinally, playing games or reading a book on the deck or by the fireplace,depending on the weather.
JMR-What’s yourfavorite historical time period? Why?
CA- This is tough one! I feel drawn to a few historical time periods –the Tudor era in England especially – but I always come back to the early 1800sin rural Appalachia, when mostly Scots-Irish were just beginning to settle thetowns of Gatlinburg, Cades Cove, etc.
I love imagining the moment the people set footon the land, staked their claims, and began building cabins, corn cribs, barns,churches, schools, general stores, etc. I find that fascinating: starting fromnothing and creating an entire community that was prosperous and functioning. Ialso love the self-sufficiency, freedom, and American spirit woven throughtheir lives.
This is the time period in which I write my SmokyMountain Historical Fiction novels, and I know I’ve found my happy place in mywriting. I cannot wait to write more!
JMR-Who is yourfavorite historical figure? Why? If you could ask them one question, what wouldit be?
CA- Ah, you got me with this one too! So difficult tochoose just one! While I’d love to go back and talk with Galileo, Shakespeare,Machiavelli, and Julius Caesar, my pick would be John Oliver, who founded CadesCove. Since I write about him and how he created a self-sufficient,flourishing, and tight-knit community from nothing, I would ask him what hethought about his legacy, about the national park, and about living in one ofthe most beautiful places on earth. I know their lives were a lot of toil andhard work, but there was also a magic in the air that I truly believe theyrecognized. I just know, in my heart, that John Oliver, the Walker Sisters, andmost residents of the peaks and valleys, felt the soul of the Smoky Mountains.
JMR- How did you cometo be a writer of historical fiction?
CA-My father’s side of our family is from NorthCarolina, and we’ve been visiting the Smoky mountains for my entire life. I’vealways felt the magic of these mountains, walking through the preserved cabinsand fields of Cades Cove and other such places in the national park. As Istepped into a cabin, gazed at the long dormant hearth, I wondered how thepeople really lived, how they raised children, created an entire community,lived off the land, handled sickness, despair, and celebrations. And I wantedto bring their stories to life.
My mission is to honor and preserve their unique history, and I always keep in mind my reason for writing: to preserve andhonor history. I truly believe we can all learn something from these brave menand women who came to Tennessee and North Carolina, staked out land, built andgrew and hunted everything they needed, and created a community full of family,resilience, and perseverance.
There’snothing like the Great Smoky Mountains and its people; I am proudthat they are part of my own personal heritage, and I proudly honor theirstories within my historical fiction novels.
JMR- We are allaffected by the highs and lows in our lives. How has your lived life informedyour writing?
CA-I’ve been through an awful lot in my life, fromlife-threatening illness in my early years, to changing careers – from law toteaching, all the while pursuing my writing dreams. My lived life has informedmy writing in that I got very focused, laser-focused, very early in life. I’vealways wanted to be a writer and learning the tough life lessons I did, at suchan early age, forced me to do away with all the “fluff” and concentrate on whatI truly wanted. It gave me a unique perspective on life due to thoseexperiences. And, I am so very, very lucky to have a wonderful supportivefamily – family is everything!
JMR- Did you visitanyone of the places in your book? Where did you feel closest to yourcharacters?
CA -Oh yes!! I’ve been to the Great Smoky MountainsNational Park countless times; I almost feel I grew up there! We still visitthe area every year, every summer, sometimes during fall, winter, and springtoo. I’ve walked through John Oliver’s cabin, and the Walker Sisters’ cabin somany times, and since my books came out, they have even more meaning to me.
It is in the remnants of their cabins, barns, andoutbuildings, walking on the same land as they walked, that I feel closest tothem. Imagine seeing the actual wallpaper (catalog pages and such) theWalker Sisters put up in their home?! Or looking at their hearth and cabinwhere they actually sat and sewed, cooked, ate, slept?! Anyone can still seethis cabin; I am so thankful to the park that they preserved these specialplaces.
JMR- Catherine, tell usabout your book, Home of the Soul; A Novel of the Walker Sisters of LittleGreenbrier Cove.
CA- I absolutely LOVED writing this book. The Walker Sisters ofLittle Greenbrier Cove became famous when they bravely stood up to thegovernment, fighting to keep their home and land as the Great Smoky MountainsNational Park was being established. When The Saturday Evening Post rana story about their lives, Margaret Jane, Mary Elizabeth, Martha Ann, NancyMelinda, Louisa Susan, Sarah Caroline, and Hettie Rebecca became instantcelebrities as they became symbols of American freedom and self-sufficiency.
They had a hard life to be sure, but a good one,surrounded by God, family, and their beloved land. Their land wasn't just atract, a farm, or a piece of territory to them - it was a lifestyle, their veryessence.
JMR-What projects doyou have in the pipeline?
CA-I have the following projects in the pipeline; all of which centeraround the lives of people and communities who once called the Great SmokyMountains National Park home.
a) Iam researching and outlining a book about Elkmont; some call it the Ghost Townof the Smokies. It was once a logging town, and then a resort destination – Daisytown -complete with The Wonderland Hotel, Millionaire'sRow, etc. Its history is rooted in the"Prophet of the Smokies", Levi Trentham, who has a fascinating storyof his own.
b) I am also researching and outlining a book on the history of theCataloochee area of the park.
c) Finally, I’m compiling stories, interviews, tidbits, and folkloreabout smoky mountain culture and traditions.
d) But there is a "special" book I am concentrating on atthe moment: it’s a Christmas book, set in 1925 Cades Cove, and is all about thespecial traditions of Christmas. It’s tentatively titled: Christmas Serenade– A Novel of Love, Laughter, and Tradition in Cades Cove. So far, I am inLOVE with the book, and it seems to be writing itself…it's heartwarming and hasa lot of history and folklore about this special time of year within fiercelyindependent and resilient Appalachian families.
JMR- Tell our readershow to find you on social media and the web.
CA-You can find me on Facebook, Instagram,and on my Amazon author page. I admit that I am mostly on Facebook, as that iswhere most of my audience is.
· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063304833087&mibextid=2JQ9oc
· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catherineastl?igsh=MWh6MnZlNzc2cTJ5eg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
· Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Books-CatherineAstl/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ACatherine+Astl
JMR- What question wereyou hoping I’d ask but didn’t?
CA-You asked such great questions! Perhaps what am I reading now?
Iam reading “Demon Copperhead”, by Barbara Kingsolver, and so far, I am lovingit! It’s a whole different view of Appalachia, and an entirely different timeperiod. I am deeply feeling the emotions of the main character, and the raw andgritty language has me hooked.
JMR- Thank you, Catherine,for stopping by. Your books look really great! Readers, I’ve included a link toCatherine’s book below. Please be sure to check it out.
