Hello, Diamond Mine readers! Catherine Ulrich Brakefield is on the Mine today to give us a sneak peak at her latest book
, a Civil War historical and the first in a series that you won't want to miss.
When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer?
When I fell in love with books! I did dream of some day
writing my own book, but that seemed impossible to me. I wasn’t good at
spelling or grammar. I didn’t like school much and preferred being active. To
me books were an active pursuit. My imagination was always in overdrive as I pursued
my heroine through the written word. The colorful places, the leaps I took into
another time period, wow, books continue to be an exciting adventure.
When I grew up we had black and white television sets, no
internet, and, would you believe—no cell phones. So, if I wanted color, I read
a book. I was captivated with the rhyming sonnet of words, the flowing musical
notes of the written language!
But it wasn’t until my grandmother came to live with me that
I actually sat down and put my thoughts and love for words on paper and began
my first novel.
Yes, books! The love of story. Where it all begins. I couldn't agree with you more.
What inspired you to write about the Civil War?
My grandmother’s stories about the South, her down-home
dialect captured my imagination. Gran was originally from Kentucky. Also, my husband is from Alabama. I realized that
many southerners did not want to secede from the Union;
they fought because of their loyalty to their beloved South. I also learned
that only a small percentage of southerners owned slaves. However, Irish
immigrants were often hired for ridiculously low wages to do the work normal
people, even slaves, were too valuable to do.
I was amazed to learn about the sacrifices and loss of
property the southerners endured. But what surprised me the most was the southerners’
strong Christian beliefs. In spite of untold hardships, instead of being bitter
toward God, they embraced Him. I wanted to write the truth about the antebellum
era, the political unrest, and the spiraling effect that people and events had
in opening the door for a civil war.
How long did you spend researching before writing Swept into Destiny?
I feel like saying twelve years, because that is the length
of time my grandmother lived with my family. But my serious research started
about 2005, when my grandmother left to be with Jesus and my children were
grown. I knew I wanted to write a sequel and I wanted the first book to begin
during the antebellum era and for the last book of the four book series to end
after World War II.
I love how your grandmother inspired your writing. I wish I'd had more time with mine to tap into that wealth of history and truth. What a wonderful gift.
What were your goals on writing the book?
It is my prayer that people, after reading Swept
into Destiny, will come away feeling uplifted and edified by the Irish
immigrant’s fortitude and courage. This book is for every immigrant, every
ethic group and every person who has felt the lash of inferiority. Ben McConnell’s
faith was put to the test repeatedly. When Ben was slapped in the face with injustice,
prejudice, hate, or with “No Irish need apply” verbiage, he responded, “We’ll
show you through our attitude and work ethics that we shall persevere and with
God on our side, we will become victorious.”
I loved Ben's drive and strength. Are any of your characters based on real people or just from your
imagination?
The main characters, though inspired by my grandmother’s
stories, are created from my imagination. I must admit, I had to stop and think
about that. Maggie and Ben became so real to me, so alive in my imagination; it
is hard for me to believe they are imaginary.
The secondary characters, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant,
Robert E. Lee, John Brown, Dred Scott, and Dr. Isaac Anderson were real people,
and I attempted in Swept into Destiny to re-emphasize their forthright spirit and
accomplishments.
You highlight the Irish plight in America and their
contribution to the Civil War so well. Do you have Irish ancestors?
Yes, I do. My grandmother was Irish, with a bit of Scottish
thrown in for flavor. My grandfather was English. It was my mother who told me
about how the Irish immigrant did the work the slaves were too valuable to do.
I never learned this in my history classes or books. I had to do some extensive
research to dig up this information.
To show you how well kept these facts were, I happened
across a gentleman in Lexington,
Kentucky, and he said the same.
That he didn’t learn about the Irish immigrant or their plight until he took a
college course.
When I went to Gettysburg,
I saw a Celtic cross dedicated to the Irish Brigade. I thought Ireland sent a brigade to the United States to fight in the Civil
War? You can imagine my astonishment to learn it was Irish immigrants who
formed three Union regiments and two Confederate regiments that fought in the
Civil War!
Needless to say, I include in my Author Note at the back of Swept
into Destiny some interesting facts about our Irish immigrants. There
is also in the back of the book, Book Club Discussion Questions.
What was the most difficult part in writing this book?
Keeping my word count down! I wanted to tell my readers oh,
so much. I view history as a springboard into the future. I wanted to encompass
more about the history Swept into Destiny introduced. For
instance, like the plight of the Irish during the Irish Rebellion against the
British of 1798 and the song “The Wearin’ of the Green.” Wearing green clothing
or wearing the shamrock was considered a rebellious act, punishable by death. “They
were hanging men and women for the wearin’ of the green.” Much like what is
happening with what ISIS is doing to
Christians.
How important is it to include a spiritual emphasis in your
writing?
Very! I write because of my Savior, Christ Jesus and getting
His truth out to those who do not know Him is important to me.
I don’t believe that in heaven God will segregate us into
ethnic groups. We can’t determine what nationality, eye color, physical
features, not even the mental capacity we will be born with. But we alone
determine what we do with what we are given.
My heroine, Maggie, was right in saying that we are all slaves. Slaves to
ourselves and our sins and without the blood of Christ to wash them away, our
destiny on earth is hopeless. In Galatians 4:7 we read, “Therefore you are no
longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then heir of God through Christ.”
Would you like to see this book made into a movie? Who would
you choose to play the hero and heroine?
One of my dreams is to have the Destiny four book sequels placed
on the motion picture screen. I just finished hearing a lecture by Stanley D.
Williams about how to structure your story to make it a worthy candidate for
film adaptation.
Because of my love for Jane Austen’s book Pride
and Prejudice, I’d probably pick Kiera Knightly for Maggie and Matthew
Macfadyen for Ben. For Mrs. Gatlan, Jane Seymour and for Mr. Gatlan, Tom
Selleck. He has a no-nonsense personality like my character.
YES! Love Kiera and Matthew for the leads. They would be perfect. :) And one of the reasons I thought of the above question was because the whole time I was reading the book, I kept thinking how great it would be as a movie. Hope I get to see it someday.
Could you share a few thoughts about the continuing story in
your next book in the series?
Out of Kentucky’s
bluegrass, debutant balls, and old-world charm, and into the burning ashes of a
defeated cause sweeps … Into Destiny’s Whirlwind… Ben
McConnell swears his oath before God Almighty and renames his estate
Shushan.
Upon the dawn of the Spanish American War, Collina McConnell
promises she’ll uphold Shushan’s legacy… and ponders the mystery that lies
beneath her father’s dying request. A dashing Rough Rider named Franklin Long
steps uninvited into her world, and her heart suddenly has a will of its own…
Can't wait!
AUTHOR BIO:
Catherine is an ardent receiver of Christ's rejuvenating
love, as well as a hopeless romantic and
patriot. She skillfully intertwines
these elements into her writing as the author of Wilted Dandelions, published
by CrossRiver Publishing, an inspirational historical romance, along with her
first Christian Romance novel, "The Wind of Destiny", and her other
history books, Images of America,The
Lapeer Area and The Images of America, Eastern Lapeer County. published by
Arcadia Publishing.
Catherine was a former staff writer for Michigan Traveler
Magazine (Breckenridge, MI), has free lanced for numerous other publications;
Woods-n-Water News, Michigan History Magazine and Tri-City Times Newspaper, L.
A. View Newspaper, and The Romeo Observer Newspaper.
Her short stories have been published in Guidepost Books;
Extraordinary Answers to Prayers, Unexpected Answers and Desires of Your Heart;
Baker Books, Revell, The Dog Next Door, and The Horse of my Heart; CrossRiver
Publishing, The Benefit Package, and Abba’s Promise; and Bethany House, Jesus
talked to me Today.
Catherine lives in Addison Township, MI., with her husband
Edward of forty four years, and her beautiful Arabian horses. She enjoys
horseback riding, swimming, camping, and traveling the byroads across America.
Her children are now grown and married with families of their own. Catherine
and Edward are now the blessed
recipients of two handsome grandsons and one preciously adorable
granddaughter.
