The Tranformative 1910s--a lesser known era. A guest post by debut novelist Radha Vatsal...6/13/2016  I invited debut novelist Radha Vatsal on my blog today, to share how she came to pick the 1910s as the backdrop for her Kitty Weeks historical mysteries. Now that I've got a little summer reading time ahead of me, I'm definitely looking forward to diving into this new series....I think Kitty and Lucy, my printer's apprentice, would have enjoyed hanging out!!!  1915 Warning from German Embassy The first season of Downton Abbey ends in August 1914 with Lord Grantham announcing at a country party that World War I has begun. (Or rather, that England was at war with Germany—since no one knew just yet what kind of war it would become.) While we tend to associate World War I with Europe and think that America’s involvement in it was short-lived and only began when the US joined the fighting in 1917, life in the United States changed dramatically between 1914-1918, which is why it seemed a perfect era in which to set a mystery series. I find that so many people know about the “Gilded Age,” the period from about the 1870s to the 1900s with its fabulous wealth and “Robber Baron” businessmen. Through novels like The Great Gatsby, we’re also very familiar with the 1920s Jazz Era. But the period in between, the 1910s, remain largely uncharted in popular fiction and film—and so much happened then. The US went from a second-tier nation to the economically most powerful and culturally dominant country in the world. Women went from second-class citizens to finally winning the right to vote. Much of what we associate with modern life—cars, movies, even national boundaries—took their current form during that period. It was a transformative moment in history, which is why I explore it through the eyes of the protagonist of A Front Page Affair, Capability “Kitty” Weeks, a young woman journalist based in New York City. A Front Page Affair, the first in the Kitty Weeks mystery series, takes place during the summer of 1915, in the aftermath of the sinking of the Lusitania and an attack on financier, J.P. Morgan. As the series unfolds, Kitty will confront the many social and political changes taking place in America in the course of her investigations.  Radha Vatsal grew up in Mumbai, India, and came to the United States to attend boarding school when she was sixteen. She has stayed here ever since. Her fascination with the 1910s began when she studied women filmmakers and action-film heroines of silent cinema at Duke University, where she earned her Ph.D. from the English Department. A Front Page Affair is her first novel. You can email her directly at: radhavatsalauthor (at) gmail (dot) com. You can also connect with her on Tumblr, Facebook and Goodreads
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Someone asked me recently what goes into promoting a book. I'm sure really savvy best-selling authors do really smart important stuff, but this is a run-down of what I've been doing since my fourth historical mystery, A DEATH ALONG THE RIVER FLEET (Minotaur, 2016), came out in mid-April. (I should add that this is all on top of a full-time job, teaching, and 2 kids, so there's that...). But, basically I've been... Writing a whole bunch of blog posts...  2016 Mary Higgins Clark Nominees: Hailie Ephron, Lori Rader-Day (winner!), Catriona McPherson and Yours Truly ....like what being nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark means to me (Femme Fatales) & What Would Mary Write? (Jungle Red Writers). Partying at the Edgars Banquet....
(Some people would probably refer to this as 'networking,' but I call it making friends and having fun...) Paneling at Malice Domestic...  Agatha Nominees for Best Historical 2016 (Laure R. King won!) And writing MORE pieces in which I...
 ...discuss how murder ballads inspired my novels... ("A True Account of a Most Monstrous Act, and Other Strange Happenings…" over at Criminal Element)
 ... and co-interview my college pal Duane Swierczynski (Edgar-nominated author of CANARY) about our time writing for the La Salle Collegian and stalking, er, talking to Clive Barker... [In a pretty rare event for me, I even reviewed Duane's book at Criminal Element!]
 ...And Scottish Whiskey... Check out this cocktail "A Death Along the River Peat" Love it! Recipe included!!! (Thanks Criminal Element!) Completing a few interviews, in which I share:
And of course, speaking at a bunch of fun book talks at local book stores and other venues: [Of course, posting these pictures makes me realize that I wear the same outfits to all my book signings!) So clearly, another day I should write about how to balance all this craziness, but putting this post together was probably the most exhausting thing I've done!
And now, back to writing novels!!! |
Susanna CalkinsHistorian. Mystery writer. Researcher. Teacher. Occasional blogger. Categories
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