AMERICAN HISTORICAL NOVELS discussion
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Trouble the Water
Interview with Rebbeca Dwight Bruff
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Hi Rebecca,I can't wait to hear more about your novel in the coming week. It sounds very interesting. I can't imagine any human not being allowed to read and write. I can't imagine my life without books. I also read that if someone was caught teaching a slave to read or write they would be arrested. The thought was if a slave learned to read and write they were more likely to run away. (sorry, run away isn't exactly what I want to say. I have chemo brain and sometimes have trouble finding the right words).
Hi Tracey, First, I'm so sorry you're dealing with "chemo brain", and I wish you all the best!
And, yes, it's hard to comprehend life without the ability or the right to reading and writing. But you're exactly right, it was illegal to teach an enslaved person to read or write. As we know and experience, literacy is empowering, and that was the last thing enslavers wanted because literate people would more easily be able to organize themselves, or rebel or escape. Oppression happened (and still happens) in many ways, but prohibiting literacy is a powerful method.
I'll be very interested in what you think of the book! Let's stay in touch!
Rebecca
Hi Rebecca,I just ordered your book for my Nook. I can't wait to start it. I'm sure I'll love it. I'll let you know in a day or two.
As a History teacher I love when authors take up the stories of people I discuss in class!
Good morning, all! I'm excited to share Trouble the Water, #RobertSmallsNovel, with you this week, and I'd love to hear from you.Just a quick bit of backstory to get us started: I wasn't looking for a story when this one found me. :My husband and I were living in Dallas, TX and we had the opportunity to visit this pretty little SC seaside town – Beaufort – in the spring of 2013. We only had a couple of days and decided to take a carriage tour, kind of out of character for us, but it looked like a good way to see and learn a lot quickly. Beaufort is really old, with layers and layers of history.
That ride turned out to be a life-changer for us! We heard little snippets of the story of a man named Robert Smalls, and I was so intrigued that when the tour ended I went straight to the local bookstore to find out more about this unsung hero. We flew back to Dallas a few days later, but I could not get this man and his life story out of my mind and heart. Three years later, we moved to Beaufort so that I could research and write the story that became Trouble the Water.
I'm curious: Where have you discovered intriguing or under-told stories? And what about the books you choose - do you like to read about people and time periods you already know about, or do you like to immerse yourself in the unknown? What books have led you to unexpected discoveries?
Can't wait to hear from you!
Amanda wrote: "As a History teacher I love when authors take up the stories of people I discuss in class!"Amanda, me too! I've always learned history best when I can get into the stories of people's lives, when we get a glimpse into their hopes and hurts and motivations and relationships. That's when it comes alive for me. What grade level do you teach? And, my goodness, thank you for that good work!
Tracey wrote: "Hi Rebecca,I just ordered your book for my Nook. I can't wait to start it. I'm sure I'll love it. I'll let you know in a day or two."
Can't wait to hear from you!
Good evening, everyone. It's really interesting to read your comments and thoughts about where you find inspiration, what you're interested in reading, etc. Thank you for weighing in!(And please, don't take offense if I don't respond to your post immediately! One of the things you may not know about me is that I'm an ordained United Methodist pastor, and today was my turn to preach at a noon Advent service.)
Ok, keep reading for one more minute, because I want to remind everyone that we'll be giving away a copy of Trouble the Water at the end of this week. Your name is an entry when you make a comment, so don't be shy! Here's tonight's question: what are some of your favorite book covers, and why? Go!
Rebecca wrote: "Good morning, all! I'm excited to share Trouble the Water, #RobertSmallsNovel, with you this week, and I'd love to hear from you.Just a quick bit of backstory to get us started: I wasn't looking f..."
Right now I am at the MS level, but I have done everything from 6th-12th, geography-AP.
Honestly, teaching is a gift.
Rebecca wrote: "Good evening, everyone. It's really interesting to read your comments and thoughts about where you find inspiration, what you're interested in reading, etc. Thank you for weighing in!(And please, ..."
Great question. The cover of the book Splintered is gorgeous. I don't like retellings and didn't like the book, but it was a case of judging the cover and the irresistible urge to buy the book based on the pretty cover.
Amanda, hi! I know what you mean -- and I suspect I've also missed out on some great reads because I judged the cover and didn't give the book a chance. It's a tricky match-making dance, isn't it?
Happy Tuesday morning, all y'all!Ok, let's talk about how people talk.... I'm originally from Texas and now in South Carolina, and folks in both places know that y'all means you and all y'all is the plural.
While I was writing Trouble the Water I faced the challenge of regional speech habits and dialect. The way characters speak, and what they say, is a huge part of making a story work.
What's your experience with the way characters speak from the page? And for those of you who listen to books in audio formats, what works or doesn't work when you hear dialogue? For example, I listened to "How the Irish Saved Civilization" years ago, and loved the Irish accent of the reader. I think if I'd been reading it off the page, I'd have missed out on some of the cultural "feel" of it!
So, what's your experience with dialogue and dialect?
I love when an author is true to regional speech habits. And yes, yes, yes, to good voice actors in audiobooks! They are essential to the story-telling if I am going to listen rather than read. Sometimes the use of appropriate speech patterns can make the reading more work and I find that frustrating, but as a rule the Historian in me is glad it is there.The conversation could expand even to the use of words that have long since been unacceptable but were commonly used within a time period. TKAM comes to mind with its liberal use of the N-word. That too is important even when uncomfortable and painful.
Amanda, really good and important comment about the use of words no longer acceptable. And, as a writer, I went through some hard deliberation about the N-word in particular. My decision was to put it only in the mouth of the antagonist, and only in the most violent altercations. Still, it was really uncomfortable to even write the word. And yet, it belonged.
Good morning! I'm looking out our back windows to the marsh grasses on the Beaufort River (not really a river, but the Intercoastal). It's beautiful. And I knew, years before I saw it, that it was beautiful, because of Pat Conroy's stunning descriptions in Prince of Tides and Beach Music.Books can take us to faraway places, and bring the world to us. So, I'm wondering this morning, where have you gone, via a story, and how has that enlarged your world?
(I'm thinking now of Paula McLain's "Circling the Sun", and Isaak Dineson' "Out of Africa", both set me in the west Africa landscape as well as the colonial period of the stories.
Where have you gone in your reading?
Good evening! This morning we talked about where books can take us. Ah, we can go anywhere through a story!But that made me think about where we find our books. Let's give our book-providers a little love tonight! If you have a favorite bookstore, library, shop, etc, please tell us and/or post a picture.
I'll start by saying that there are several wonderful bookstores and gift shops here in Beaufort, along with our great library, but there's only one Pat Conroy Literary Center! If you're ever in Beaufort, I hope you'll visit. https://patconroyliterarycenter.org
Happy Thursday!A quick reminder: I'll be giving away a copy of Trouble the Water #RobertSmallsNovel, tomorrow. If you'd like to be in the drawing, just participate in our conversations this week!
Speaking of Trouble the Water -- we haven't talked specifically about this book, or the historical character who inspired it, the Honorable Robert Smalls. So, I'm curious - If you haven't read the book, are you (or were you) familiar with Smalls and his story? And if you have read Trouble the Water, was there anything you'd like to discuss, ask, explore here?
One of the statements I hear whenever I do a book event is, "I love historical fiction because I learn history!" What have you learned, or discovered, in Trouble the Water, or in other historical novels?
Rebecca wrote: "Good morning! I'm looking out our back windows to the marsh grasses on the Beaufort River (not really a river, but the Intercoastal). It's beautiful. And I knew, years before I saw it, that it was ..."Well right now I am in Russia immediately after the Bolshevik Revolution and in Virginia post-Civil War. And the YA book I am reading is set at a commune -- I think that one is going to go awry quickly. I love the magic of traveling through books and reading!
Rebecca wrote: "Happy Thursday!A quick reminder: I'll be giving away a copy of Trouble the Water #RobertSmallsNovel, tomorrow. If you'd like to be in the drawing, just participate in our conversations this week!
..."
I do know Smalls' story.
As a history teacher I have, at times, had a love-hate relationship with historical fiction. That said, if readers take the information they learn and seek more information I think it is a very important genre. Think of how many amazing people have trod this earth! So many cool things to know about them if someone takes the time to tell the story.
Amanda wrote: "I love when an author is true to regional speech habits. And yes, yes, yes, to good voice actors in audiobooks! They are essential to the story-telling if I am going to listen rather than read. Som..."It is a battle, especially continuing to use it in modern writing. I have heard compelling arguments on both sides and try to keep my privilege in check as I listen.
Amanda, I've had that same love-hate relationship with HF. And I really really appreciate writers who give us more information in the Author's Notes. Sue Monk Kidd does that so beautifully in "The Invention of Wings", and I provided a lot of that in the Author's Notes of Trouble the Water, because I think the reader absolutely deserves to know both the historical record, and which parts of the narrative are fictionalized.
It's Friday, everyone! Good morning! Today is GIVEAWAY DAY, so make sure you're in the drawing by commenting on any of this week's posts! We'll announce the winner this evening.One of the things I hear a lot about Trouble the Water is, "That would make a great movie!" And, I agree, it would be a fabulous movie.
And probably, if you're like me, you have strong feelings about movies made from books. Some are wonderful, and stay true to the story, and seem to honor what the author wrote. And others just blow it.
So, I'm curious: What are some of your favorite book-to-film experiences? What made them "work"?
Rebecca wrote: "Amanda, I've had that same love-hate relationship with HF. And I really really appreciate writers who give us more information in the Author's Notes. Sue Monk Kidd does that so beautifully in "The ..."Yessssss! I sometimes read the notes twice. And I always comment on the notes (or lack of) when I review a book as well. I think it is a part of the author's social contract to give the reader good details, especially given the level of work most authors do as far as research.
Rebecca wrote: "It's Friday, everyone! Good morning! Today is GIVEAWAY DAY, so make sure you're in the drawing by commenting on any of this week's posts! We'll announce the winner this evening.One of the things ..."
I have learned to see movies and books as two different mediums. A movie almost never does justice to the book, but when I see it as a different form of artistic expression I am able to appreciate both more fully. I never ever see a movie without reading the book *first*. Sometimes that means I am up late hours the night before I see the film.
One of my favorite book-to-movie adaptations was the Hunger Games series. For me it was one of the most successful as far as following Collins' text. I enjoyed both thoroughly.
All that said, I do think it is okay to not turn every literary treasure into a film. My imagination does a much better job casting books than anyone paid to do it.
That's such a great point, Amanda. Print and film are indeed different mediums! And I'm with you on reading the book first - which has meant missing some movies when they come out. And I still usually prefer what I "see" in my imagination over what the screen provides (with a few exceptions, like Out of Africa). Our imaginations are so capable of so much!
It's been a blast sharing Trouble the Water with you this week, and talking about historical fiction. Thank you for your comments and insights!Our giveaway winner is Emily Tower! Emily, pm your contact info, and I'll get a copy of Trouble the Water in tomorrow's mail to you!
I hope everyone enjoyed the week as much as I did. Please stay in touch. You can find me here, or on my fb page or at our page for Trouble the Water #RobertSmallsNovel, or at my website: https://rebeccabruff.com, where you can order signed books as well. Trouble is available on B&N, and Amazon, of course, as well as your local independent bookstores: https://www.indiebound.org/book/97816...
And tune in next week for Erin Bartels, author of We Hope for Better Things!
https://www.indiebound.org/book/97816...
Hi Rebecca,I just wanted to let you know that I loved your book. I have to admit that I had never heard of Robert Smalls. Wow, what an amazing life he had. When I can I travel to FL. I think one of these times I'd like to stop in Beaufort and have a look around. I can't wait to see what you have in store for us next. Thanks for a very enjoyable week.
Tracey
Tracey, how lovely to hear from you, and I'm so glad you enjoyed the book. Smalls really was amazing, and his contributions still have impact! Please do stop in Beaufort next time you head to Florida; it's a beautiful little town FULL of history and charm. Message me if you get a chance!Have a great weekend,
Rebecca
"With this stunning debut novel, Rebecca Bruff establishes herself as an exciting new voice in historical fiction." --Cassandra King Conroy, author of Moonrise, and Founding Honorary Chair of the Pat Conroy Literary Center
"Before this decisive night, I'd not fully appreciated the subtle line between inspiration and insanity. But now, with all our lives at risk, I found myself navigating that most perilous edge . . . "
Inspired by the life of Robert Smalls, first black hero of the Civil War, Trouble the Water navigates the rich tributaries of courage, betrayal, and redemption. In his inspiring journey, Robert Smalls witnesses great privilege and suffering alongside his owner's daughter and the dangerous son of a firebrand secessionist. At the age of twelve, he's sent to work in Charleston, where he loads ships and learns to pilot a cotton steamer. When the Civil War erupts and his cotton steamer becomes a confederate warship, Robert Smalls attempts an extraordinary escapes from slavery and the opportunity to pursue freedom for himself and the people he loves.
Author Interview:
How were you inspired to write Trouble the Water?
My husband and I visited this pretty little SC seaside town – Beaufort – in the spring of 2013, and we decided to take a carriage tour, one of those kind of touristy tours in quaint old towns. It turned out to be a life-changer for us! We heard little snippets of the story of a man named Robert Smalls, and I was so intrigued that when the tour ended I went straight to the local bookstore to find out more about this unsung hero. We flew back to Dallas a few days later, but I could not get this man and his life story out of my mind and heart. Three years later, we moved to Beaufort so that I could research and write the story that became Trouble the Water.
Can you give us insight into your writing process?
Well, those first couple of years, while I was still living and working in Texas, it was kind of a percolating process…. I’d read, ponder, get curious, write down my questions, try to research a bit, mostly online, and repeat. When we moved to South Carolina, that’s all I did – research, write, wonder, repeat! It’s not unfair to say I was obsessed. And I’m, by nature, very curious, so every question led to 17 more questions, and I just wanted to explore everything I could about this story. But I knew early on that I wasn’t writing a biography (and there are a couple of good ones) because I really wanted to explore feelings and relationships and motivations and all those wonderful interior complexities of the human condition.
What research did you do for Trouble the Water? Travel? Go to historical societies? Read memoirs?
Ok, so moving across the country turned out to be the best thing I could do. I’m a west Texas girl, and knew very little about the South Carolina lowcountry, which is central to the story. The place is one of the characters, in a way. I had so much to learn about the tides, the trees, the birds, the seasons, as well as the history. I spent a lot of time walking the streets where the story happened, both in Beaufort and in Charleston, so that I’d really understand where Smalls lived and worked and raised his family and made the courageous decisions he made. I read a lot, and went to museums and historical sites, like Fort Sumter. And I spent lots of time at the gate of Smalls’ house (the house that he was born behind, and eventually owned), listening to the walls and windows and trees!
Did you find anything in your research that was particularly fascinating or that helped shape the novel? For starters, I learned how little I actually knew about the American Civil War and the dynamics that led up to it. And I knew even less about the Reconstrucion Era after the war. I knew, for instance, that enslaved persons were forbidden by law to learn to read and write. But I learned that Robert Smalls was instrumental in writing the legislation that guaranteed access to literacy for all children after the war. That became an important theme in the story.
What is your favorite time period to write about? To read about?
There’s no time period that I’m not interested in, but it’s really the people that capture my imagination! I love reading about people who overcome the impossible. I love reading about people that find their heart and strength in adversity and then change their lives and their world.
What has been your greatest challenge as a writer? How have you been able to overcome that? This is my first novel, and I had to commit to seeing it through. All the insecurities and inadequacies came up – I don’t have the background, the time, the chops. But I just kept thinking that Smalls deserved to have his story told, that he overcame so much more than I could imagine, so surely I could at least give it a shot!
Who are your writing inspirations?
Oh, so many! I love Barbara Kingsolver and Sue Monk Kidd and Abraham Verghese and Paula McClain and Pat Conroy and Isaak Dinesen and Amor Towle, and seriously, the list is endless. And getting longer!
What are you reading at the moment? I’m in the middle of The Overstory, and reading some published journals of some of the early leaders and teachers of a school here in the lowcountry in the 1860’s. I love reading other peoples’ mail and diaries!
What are three things people may not know about you?
Not everyone knows that when I was growing up, I really wanted to be a jockey!
And I wanted to be a writer too, but when I started college, I placed out of all my English requirements and never really read or wrote again until seminary (which might be another thing people don’t know about me – I have a couple of theology degrees and have served in several United Methodist Churches). My husband and I love to travel, too, and the wanderlust is kind of like the reading list – it grows the more you try to quench it!
Care to share what you are working on now?
Several ideas are percolating….. We’ll see which one gets full attention soon :_