We are happy to welcome author Donna Winters today. She is a multi-published author who has been around long enough to see many changes in the Christian fiction market. Thank you so much for joining us today!
1. In Bluebird of Brockport, A Novel of the Erie Canal, the heroine’s family leaves their wheat farm to become freight haulers on the Erie Canal in 1830.That’s an interesting topic. What spurred your interest in the subject?
I grew up a quarter mile from the Erie Canal, but I’ve spent all of my married life living in Michigan, setting all but my first story in Michigan locations. When I had finished writing fifteen historical romances set in Michigan, I paused to ask myself, “What next?” Within short order, two events occurred. A friend of mine waxed eloquent in a blog post on why he wrote about his hometown. I began to feel guilty that I had not set any of my historical stories in my hometown, or even my state, New York. About that same time, I came across an old novel about the Erie Canal. That got me to thinking. Maybe I was supposed to write a story about Brockport, the village twenty miles west of Rochester where I grew up.
2. What would life have been like for freight haulers on the Erie Canal?
Rough. Especially in those early years. Fist fights broke out at locks to see whose boat would go through first, canallers fought over women, they fought over—you name it. If they could find an excuse to fight, they did. Thankfully, the only weapons used were bare fists, no knives or guns or brass knuckles in the normal canaller brawl.
3. Were big changes in life common in those days? Did families move from one enterprise to another regularly?
In the 1830s in upstate New York the big change was the westward movement. Folks were heading to the Midwest, especially, to settle Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Earlier, families had moved from New England to settle New York’s central and western regions. Those who settled in New York were quite transient, staying for a few years and then moving farther west as opportunities arose.
4. What about the hero in the story? Does he have an interesting occupation?
The hero in my story, Ezra Lockwood, is a canal boat builder. That’s a fairly mundane occupation compared to the heroine in my story, who goes from wheat farm to Erie Canal freighter, constantly on the move between Albany and Buffalo during the canalling season which starts at the end of April and ends in about the middle of November.
5. What other books have you written?
I’ve written a series of historical romances under the Great Lakes Romances® imprint, fifteen titles in all, and I’ve written a contemporary romance set in a fictional upstate New York town.
6. What got you interested in writing inspirational novels in the first place?
When I first started writing, I wrote sweet contemporary romances thinking I’d submit to Harlequin, then Thomas Nelson started an inspirational romance line called Promise and I submitted to them and was offered a contract. I received the contract in April 1984 and the book launched on Valentine’s Day 1985. After that I wrote a couple of historical romances for Zondervan Serenade/Saga. Then the Christian romance market all but folded up for awhile and I started my own series of Great Lakes Romance®, often using the same editors as I had with the Christian publishers.
7. Have you gone through a big career change in your life?
I’ve had a couple of big ones. Before I got married I was an elementary music teacher, then I left that job to move to Michigan where I taught private music lessons for a time. After a few years, I went to work as a technical proofreader, a job I had for six years until getting contracted for publication as a romance writer.
8. What is one unusual thing about you your readers might not know?
They might not know that I live in a very remote location where:
· Cell phones do not work
· We drive an hour to get to a WalMart
· We lost our TV signal during the switch to digital and are doing without
· We have some of the greatest scenery in the country less than two miles from our house
I guess that’s more than one thing, isn’t it?
Thanks for inviting me, and asking such interesting questions! I’ve enjoyed answering!
Book blurb:
Here’s a little about Bluebird of Brockport, A Novel of the Erie Canal
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 Winters Bio
Donna adopted Michigan as her home state in 1971 when she moved from a small town outside of Rochester, New York. 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, Fred, a former American History teacher, shares her enthusiasm for history. Together, they visit historical sites, restored villages, museums, and lake ports, 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 2012, and has now been offered in Kindle format.
Connect with Donna Winters at her blog where her links are located:
Liz,
Thanks so much for inviting me today. I enjoyed the questions and would love to hear from visitors!
Blessings,
Donna Winters