Ask the Author: Jonathan Odell
Answered Questions (6)
Jonathan Odell
Jennifer, you are so kind to let me know you enjoyed The Healing!! And I love your description. "magical ripple in the rivers of life." Quite beautiful
Jonathan Odell
Hey, Cheryl. No plans yet. I'm hoping my fans chip in for me to read it over the phone to them!
Jonathan Odell
Hello Deby, a good question. And an important one. I talk about this on my website, so I will both give you the link and paste it below. Thanks for asking. http://www.jonathanodell.net/a-word-a...
A Word about the Previous Version
Much of the story and many of the characters in Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League saw an earlier life in my first novel, The View from Delphi, released in 2004 by a small West Coast publisher to positive reviews but limited distribution. After the success of my second novel, The Healing, Maiden Lane Press was convinced that Delphi deserved to reach a larger audience, in a revised edition. I enthusiastically agreed to the project. Do overs may be common in kids’ games, but they are extremely rare in the world of publishing.
A survey of the book releases over the past ten years since the publication of Delphi proved to us that there was plenty of room in the marketplace for a book that attempts to place a fully developed white character and a fully developed black character in the same story, on the same page; in other words, without having one playing the finely drawn hero and the other the stereotypical victim who needs saving or villain who needs disposing of. We authors, white and black, are still learning to tackle the issue of race in America without resorting to trite formulas with timeworn morality lessons.
So what are the differences between the two works?
First of all, the new title and cover better reflect the promise of the book, i.e. a 1950’s small-town Southern setting, an intimate feeling of family and friendship, a twining of black and white storylines, and an irreverent strain of humor.
Miss Hazel is nearly a hundred pages leaner than Delphi and has been restructured to make it move more logically. There is less backstory and side-story. The goal of this version was to tighten, intensify and deepen the relationship between to two major characters, Vida and Hazel. Anything that distracted from that focus was condensed or eliminated completely. I believe the result is a richer, more directed and fast flowing read. I hope you agree.
Personally, one of the pleasures of the rewrite has been opportunity to revisit a cast of characters with whom I had once fallen I love, but then had to bid farewell. It was a delight to find that they were all still alive and well, excited about being put back on the page to tell their story once more, but with renewed vigor. I know I’m biased, but I do believe they outdid themselves.
A Word about the Previous Version
Much of the story and many of the characters in Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League saw an earlier life in my first novel, The View from Delphi, released in 2004 by a small West Coast publisher to positive reviews but limited distribution. After the success of my second novel, The Healing, Maiden Lane Press was convinced that Delphi deserved to reach a larger audience, in a revised edition. I enthusiastically agreed to the project. Do overs may be common in kids’ games, but they are extremely rare in the world of publishing.
A survey of the book releases over the past ten years since the publication of Delphi proved to us that there was plenty of room in the marketplace for a book that attempts to place a fully developed white character and a fully developed black character in the same story, on the same page; in other words, without having one playing the finely drawn hero and the other the stereotypical victim who needs saving or villain who needs disposing of. We authors, white and black, are still learning to tackle the issue of race in America without resorting to trite formulas with timeworn morality lessons.
So what are the differences between the two works?
First of all, the new title and cover better reflect the promise of the book, i.e. a 1950’s small-town Southern setting, an intimate feeling of family and friendship, a twining of black and white storylines, and an irreverent strain of humor.
Miss Hazel is nearly a hundred pages leaner than Delphi and has been restructured to make it move more logically. There is less backstory and side-story. The goal of this version was to tighten, intensify and deepen the relationship between to two major characters, Vida and Hazel. Anything that distracted from that focus was condensed or eliminated completely. I believe the result is a richer, more directed and fast flowing read. I hope you agree.
Personally, one of the pleasures of the rewrite has been opportunity to revisit a cast of characters with whom I had once fallen I love, but then had to bid farewell. It was a delight to find that they were all still alive and well, excited about being put back on the page to tell their story once more, but with renewed vigor. I know I’m biased, but I do believe they outdid themselves.
Jonathan Odell
Hello Nicole! Yes, I've taught at the Loft often. I've also taken many classes there. I LOVE that place. Unfortunately I don't have anything planned there and probably won't until I finish with the marketing of Mis Hazel, which will probably be early next year!
Jonathan Odell
Yanira, right now we are focusing on the Southeast. I'd love to get up your way, but nothing is on the calendar. I keep my website event page pretty well up to date. So please check in regularly. Thanks for asking. Here's the link to that page. http://www.jonathanodell.net/book-tou...
Jonathan Odell
Thanks for asking, Lois. To find midwives, I just asked local contacts in the community--I did a lot of interviewing in the Mississippi Delta and found most folks from word of mouth. As for questions, I had done a lot of reading about midwives of the time, both personal accounts and academic publications. Some questions were plot driven--could such and such a thing have really happened? Some were just things I had come across that I didn't understand. Others were things I knew but wanted to hear them describe the situation or technique in their own words. Polly Shine--her name came from my reading of the slave narratives by the WPA in the 1930's. Polly Shine was an ex-slave in Texas. Here spirit and personality came from a midwife I met in 2002 by the name of Mrs. Willie Turner. She was 92 when I interviewed her and had "caught" well over 3500 babies. Amazing, inspiring, strong, funny, and fiery woman.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more