Deidre
asked
Kate Quinn:
I read The Alice Network in two days and loved every second of it. What inspired you to write it? And as a writer, did you have Eve or Charlie possess any of your traits or qualities?
Kate Quinn
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I knew going in that I wanted to write something 20th century, and I wanted to try a dual narrative. Surfing for inspiration, I stumbled across a wonderful non-fiction book about women heroes of WWI (Kathryn J. Atwood; I recommend it highly) with a series of fascinating essays on unsung heroines of the war, and found the story of the historic Alice Network. It begged to be told, simple as that.
As for Eve & Charlie, I suppose they both probably have little bits of me in there; most of my protagonists do to some degree. (Although I cannot, sadly, calculate numbers in my head the way Charlie does.) Eve does share one very important trait not with me, but with my husband, and that's her stammer. I've watched him deal for many years with the problems that assail Eve: being frustrated by conversational hitches, by well-meaning people who try to finish his sentences for him, by ignorant people who assume someone with a stammer must be stupid. It was important to me, and to him, to show a speech impediment realistically, and to show someone who turned what might be seen as a weakness into an asset--in Eve's case, she uses her stutter to make people underestimate her. My husband helped me fine-tune all Eve's dialogue, and is delighted to see the reaction readers are having to her.
As for Eve & Charlie, I suppose they both probably have little bits of me in there; most of my protagonists do to some degree. (Although I cannot, sadly, calculate numbers in my head the way Charlie does.) Eve does share one very important trait not with me, but with my husband, and that's her stammer. I've watched him deal for many years with the problems that assail Eve: being frustrated by conversational hitches, by well-meaning people who try to finish his sentences for him, by ignorant people who assume someone with a stammer must be stupid. It was important to me, and to him, to show a speech impediment realistically, and to show someone who turned what might be seen as a weakness into an asset--in Eve's case, she uses her stutter to make people underestimate her. My husband helped me fine-tune all Eve's dialogue, and is delighted to see the reaction readers are having to her.
More Answered Questions
☘Katie☘
asked
Kate Quinn:
Hi, I loved your book Mistress of Rome! I love reading and history and the way you weaved a story out of ancient Roman history is inspiring in attempting to write a novel. Do you think online communities like Wattpad and FictionPress are good resources for posting a novel in progress to gain feedback and critique? Or keep it private to submit to an agent or editor for critique?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more