Remember the book review I completed on the book Favorite Daughter the other day? Well if you don't you should read the post. It's a good book. The author Paula Marguiles has provided me with some questions and answers about her book, herself, and her writing process. So a big round of applause for our guest today Paula Margulies.
1)
Where and when do you write? In my home office mostly, although I try to
sneak away to artist residencies whenever my teaching and client work schedule
will allow. I usually write on Sundays, but that all depends on how much life
intrudes (and it does that often, believe me!).
2) Why did you write your book? I’ve always
been fascinated with the story of Pocahontas, and since so much of her history
has been told to us by English explorers like John Smith, I decided that
retelling her story, from her perspective, might make for an interesting read.
3) There have been
many books written about Pocahontas. How is this book different? There are
a number of differing versions of the history of that time, and much of what we
know about Pocahontas comes from the writing of John Smith and the other
colonists, who reported on what they found in the new land when they returned
to England. Favorite Daughter, Part One
is based on my research on works about her by Native Americans, many of whom
tell a darker tale than the English history. Also, there aren’t many fictional
works about that time from a Native American perspective, and the majority of those
that do exist are written for young adults. Favorite
Daughter, Part One is written for adults and focuses on Pocahontas’s coming
of age into womanhood and becoming a wife and mother, in addition to her work
as a representative of her tribe and, eventually, as a celebrity in England
(that part of her story will be covered in Part Two).
4) Are you of Native
American heritage? No, both of my parents are of Italian descent. But my
father, Douglas Roccaforte, loved Native American history and was a collector
of American Indian artifacts, so I grew up with a deep appreciation of Native
American culture and history.
5)
Whose work inspires you? So many authors inspire me that it’s hard to
choose! I’ve always been a huge fan of the Southern gothic – William Faulkner
and Flannery O’Connor are my all-time favorite writers. As a graduate student
in English Literature, I studied Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Bellow, Doctorow, Didion,
Heller, and Pynchon. Recent authors whose stories have haunted me, stunned me,
or made me weep: Sherman Alexie, Ha Jin, Vikram Seth, David Mitchell, Barbara
Kingsolver, Louise Erdrich, Jane Smiley, Jane Hamilton, Sena Jeter Naslund, Anna
Quindlen, and Elizabeth Berg.
6) What do you like to do in your spare
time? When I’m not working on my publicity business or teaching classes, I
enjoy meditation, reading, writing, and experimenting with artisan bread
recipes. In the summer, I try to go to as many local Native American powwows as
I can (there are quite a few here in the San Diego area), and I’ve been known
to enjoy an Indian taco (or two) on occasion.
7)
What are the words you live by? Less is more (except when we’re talking
about Indian tacos). ☺
Music to blog by Contact from the Underworld of Redboy
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