Writer's Voices

“Beyond the Ghetto Gates” is Michelle Cameron’s third published book. She is also a partner in The Writers Circle , teaching creative writing to writers of all ages.  In this interview, we discuss historical fiction, why Cameron focuses on less popular moments in history, writing from multiple points of view, and how The Writers Circle changed its focus to online courses in the age of COVID.

“Beyond the Ghetto Gates” is set during Napoleon Bonaparte’s Italian campaign of 1796 to 1797.  Jews living in Italy are oppressed, subject to strict rules and locked within their ghetto at night. Revolutionary France had extended full citizenship to Jews, and Napoleon brought that to the areas he conquered.   The heroine of Cameron’s novel also faces sexism within her religion, and an uphill battle to find true love.

Caroline and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with Michelle, and we learned a lot about a time in history which is often overlooked.

The thing about being a historical novelist is, you need the history, but you need an engaging enough story to hold your reader.

We’re all in the middle of a difficult place right now. All through history there have been situations that affect people worldwide. So join in faith with the many who say ‘This too shall pass.’

In this conversation, we talk about writing ritual, comedy improv, documentary filmmaking, and the ever-changing publishing industry and what do do when your books don’t quite fit the normal genre classifications. Crawford has worked with independent publishers and has self-published, and shares tips on how to market your book.

Even in this digital age, word of mouth is still #1. Of course, that word of mouth can be digital.

You can only become truly accomplished at something you love.

I can’t say when I’ve enjoyed an interview more. Deborah has so much insight into both the writing process, and the topics that she has researched extensively, then found a way to convey the information through story. Her current book “Kent State” is told from six perspectives, all unnamed but easily identifiable – students, townspeople, Guardsmen. Sadly, our conversation was recorded the same week that our current President pledged to send in the National Guard to dominate the streets once again in reaction to the Black Lives Matter protests.

This is a good reminder that “those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.”

You’re growing up in an environment that you understand as a child, you are bombarded perhaps with lots of stimulation or sensory input or whatever it may be, but to parse that out and understand it later may be the task of a lifetime, and it sort of turned out to be that way for me as a writer.

Books just take the time they’re going to take, and they reveal themselves to you as they’re ready.

Melhado left a dream job in beauty and fashion to be a writer, and her path to publication was wide and meandering, but now with her first novel, “The Spa at Lavender Lane,” she gets to climb aboard that train. In this novel, she explores themes of second chances in life, female friendships, and mother/daughter relationships, all set a a lovely destination spa that sounds even more appealing in the middle of a pandemic.

I left an extraordinary job, which a lot of women would give their eyeteeth for… because I wanted to write.

In this conversation, Aimee talks about the differences between online and on-site research, why writing nonfiction is easier than fiction, and how reliant she is on first-person accounts. We also discuss the several themes of the book, from the influence of British Colonialism, which her own father observed growing up in China, to family dynamics, to the struggles that working mothers have always faced in trying to achieve balance.

There’s a lot of a story that falls on the cutting room floor when you’re in the final stages of writing a book.

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.

I yearn to be present in my life and not to miss it. I think when I write, it helps me to get there.”

Sometimes the only way to endure life’s difficult situations is to remember – reaching out in kindness helps to heal many wounds.

The way I think about writing – I’m always wanting to be led deeper into something. I’m not looking to tell or explain. I’m looking to explore what’s opening to me, because I’m letting go all the time.

The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.

“The Henna Artist” is set in 1950’s Jaipur, India, shortly after the nation achieved independence, but most women had very little freedom. It is the story of a young woman who defies tradition, leaving an abusive arranged marriage to strike out on her own. In this interview, we discuss the influences of Alka’s immigrant childhood, her mother’s traditional life, and the support she received from both parents to break with that tradition.

At this age, I can write about grief and loneliness, sadness and death and birth, when I couldn’t have written about it in my 20’s – I didn’t have the experience.

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.

I have never met anybody who was glad that they stopped taking music lessons, but I’ve met a lot of people who were sorry that they didn’t keep up with it.

Music to me is the voice of the soul; from the magnificent creations of the past, by Bach, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, to the present. So let’s all enjoy the music of this world