Interview and Book Giveaway with Donna Winters

Donna Winters is here today to tell us about her historical novel, Bluebird of Brockport, A Novel of the Erie Canal, and to give away a copy of either the paperback or Kindle version. Here’s a little about Donna.



Donna adopted Michigan as her home state in 1971 when she married her husband, Fred, a lifelong Michigander, and moved from New York State. She began penning novels in 1982 while working full time for an electronics firm in Grand Rapids. 



She resigned from her job in 1984 following a contract offer for her first book. Since then, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Zondervan Publishing House, Guideposts, and Bigwater Publishing have published her novels. Her husband, a former American History teacher, shares her enthusiasm for history. Together, they visit historical sites, restored villages, museums, and lake ports, taking photos and purchasing books and reference materials for use in Donna’s research.



Donna has written fifteen historical romances for her Great Lakes Romances® series. Recently, she turned her attention to her hometown on the Erie Canal and produced an historical novel, Bluebird of Brockport, A Novel of the Erie Canal, which released as a paperback in June, and has now been offered in Kindle format for 99 cents. (Link below.)



Welcome, Donna! Your new historical novel, Bluebird of Brockport, A Novel of the Erie Canal, has an unusual historical setting – 1830 on the Erie Canal. What inspired you to choose this time period and location?



I grew up a quarter mile from the Erie Canal in Brockport, New York, once the terminus of the canal during its construction days in the early 1800s. When a writer friend wrote a blog post about why his books featured his hometown, I decided to write about my hometown and focus on its early history and that of the canal. My previous historical writing, fifteen romances, had featured Michigan, my adopted state.



What surprised you most during the research for your writing.



My first surprise was how violent life was on the canal in the early days. Fistfights broke out frequently with little provocation. My second surprise was how narrow and shallow the canal was – only 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep. I suppose the third surprise was the realization that, in a day when no hydraulic engineers existed in this country, a 363-mile-long waterway with 88 locks was successfully constructed without a single penny of Federal money.



Aside from canal history, did you encounter any surprises about your hometown?



I learned that some information we had been told in grade school about the town’s founders was false. The two main founders of Brockport were named Brockway and Seymour. Supposedly they were at odds with one another and that was the reason why the streets that connect with Main Street do not intersect, but are offset so you can’t go straight through to the other side. In fact the actual reason was swamp land that prevented streets on the east side from matching up with streets on the west side.



Tell me about the main characters in your story. Are they based on folks from your town’s history?



My main characters are completely fictional but are very accurate representations of those who lived in the Brockport area. My heroine’s family farms wheat, then the cash crop of the Genesee Valley region. The hero builds canal boats for Mr. Brockway who had a boatyard as one of his businesses. The heroine, Lucina, longs to travel the Erie Canal and convinces her parents to leave the wheat farming to her four oldest brothers and start hauling cargo on the Erie. Thus, the adventure begins.



You said your previous books were historical romances set in Michigan. Will readers find romance in this historical novel about the Erie Canal?



There’s plenty of romance in this story, but not the “hero and heroine together in (nearly) every chapter” as is the case with the historical romance genre. I call it historical fiction with a strong romantic thread.



Thanks, Donna, for telling us about Bluebird of Brockport, A Novel of the Erie Canal. 



Here’s a little about the book:



Dreams of floating on the Erie Canal have flowed through Lucina Willcox’s mind since childhood. Yet once her family has purchased their boat and begins their journey, they meet with one challenge after another. An encounter with a towpath rattlesnake threatens her brother’s life. A thief attempts to break in and steal precious cargo. Heavy rain causes a breach and drains the canal of water. Lucina comforts herself with thoughts of Ezra Lockwood, her handsome childhood friend, and discovers a longing to be with him that she just can’t ignore. Can she have a future with Ezra and still hold onto her canalling dream?



Ezra Lockwood’s one goal in life is to build and captain his own canal boat, but two years into the construction of his freight hauler, funds run short. With his goal temporarily stalled, and Lucina Willcox back in his life, his priorities begin to change. Can he have both his dreams — his own boat, and Lucina as his bride?



Donna is willing to give away a copy of her book, either the paperback or Kindle version, if you leave a comment and your email address. She’ll choose a winner on November 21.

Meanwhile, if you just can’t wait to read the story, you can buy the Kindle version for 99 cents, or the paperback for $14 here.

Thanks for stopping by to learn about Donna Winters! You can connect with her at the links below.



http://www.greatlakesromances.com wholesome fiction for readers 12 and up

  http://greatlakesromances.blogspot.com
twitter: @bigwaterpub
Facebook Profile: Donna Winters
Facebook Book Page: Great Lakes Romances
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