Ask the Author: Amy Stewart
Answered Questions (39)
Amy Stewart
Thanks so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. There are seven total in the series, so you might have one more to read? Anyway, I was very aware of the exact issue you're raising. I wanted these books to sound like they were written in the 1910s. I read a lot of novels written at that time, and of course newspapers and magazines, to get a feel for both the language and the attitudes. There are definitely moments in all the books where a character expresses an idea or belief that doesn't exactly fit with our modern sensibility (to put it lightly), but I didn't want the books to read as if these are modern-day people dressed up in period clothing. Thanks for reading!
Amy Stewart
Not anytime soon, but I think I left them in a good place for a future re-start of the series if I decide to come back to it. Meanwhile, my new book, The Tree Collectors, is coming soon!
Amy Stewart
Not anytime soon, but I think I left them in a good place for a future re-start of the series if I decide to come back to it. Meanwhile, my new book, The Tree Collectors, is coming soon!
Amy Stewart
Actually, they've all been wonderful and kind and gracious. It's been a delight to connect with these people and hear their stories, and they have been very understanding of the fact that sometimes I'm going to tweak some details to fit the novel I'm trying to write!
Amy Stewart
Thanks so much! We've been close on a TV deal a couple of times but it hasn't happened so far. Fingers crossed!
Amy Stewart
I'm always happy to Skype with book clubs! To schedule it, please get in touch with me by old-fashioned email. Details (and lots more resources for book clubs) are on my website here:
http://amystewart.com/bookclubs
http://amystewart.com/bookclubs
Amy Stewart
I don't believe in writer's block. There are books that are hard to figure out or just aren't viable for some reason--there's a book I'd like to write, for instance, but the research is all in old French archives and I don't speak French and I think a translator would just get in the way (and be crazy expensive). But you can always sit down and write SOMETHING. It might be terrible, it might be something you'll have to cut or revise later, but we can all sit down and write a page. And those pages add up!
You just have to be willing to sit down and do work that's mediocre, boring, going nowhere, perhaps truly bad...and if you're not willing to do that, that's not writer's block, it's just a choice about how to spend your time. It's fine to choose not to do difficult/boring/frustrating/embarassingly bad work. In fact, it's a luxury! Go do something else! The world is not banging down your door, demanding another book. (well, unless you're George RR Martin). No one will object in the least if you set a book project aside and move on to something else--literary or otherwise.
You just have to be willing to sit down and do work that's mediocre, boring, going nowhere, perhaps truly bad...and if you're not willing to do that, that's not writer's block, it's just a choice about how to spend your time. It's fine to choose not to do difficult/boring/frustrating/embarassingly bad work. In fact, it's a luxury! Go do something else! The world is not banging down your door, demanding another book. (well, unless you're George RR Martin). No one will object in the least if you set a book project aside and move on to something else--literary or otherwise.
Amy Stewart
Thanks! They've been a year apart, and I think that will continue--so stay tuned for next September!
Amy Stewart
Hi Robyn! OK, now I want to know about your grandmother who was postmistress of a tiny town. Did she by any chance solve murders in her spare time? Just thinking.
So--I would start at your local library. They probably have access to some newspaper databases that you would otherwise have to pay for, such as Newspapers.com or ProQuest. It could be that the local paper in Colchester has been digitized on one of those sites for the years you'd need. OR--even if it hasn't, it's possible that stories that involved your grandmother could have been picked up by the wire services and run in other papers that have been digitized.
Your library probably also has a subscription to Ancestry.com and a few other such sites so that you can find her in census records, etc. Don't forget to look for other people working on the same family tree. You might find a long-lost cousin who has the same interests and has already gathered some good information!
It is also possible to hire a professional genealogist in that part of IL to go looking in courthouses, etc for records such as birth and death certificates, property deeds, wills, and other such things. You'd be surprised at the family secrets that can turn up in such seemingly mundane places as a property deed! To find a professional genealogist, you could search online for the IL state association of genealogists, or check with the local historical society for that county. The county library reference desk might also know some people who do that work.
Oh, and--the local library there in Colchester might have additional records that are not online. A reference librarian in that library could probably tell you what might be available (such as newspapers on microfilm, maybe an obituary index, local history books, etc) so you'd know whether it was worthwhile to make a trip.
Don't hesitate to ask reference librarians questions like this! It's what they're there for!
Good luck,
Amy
So--I would start at your local library. They probably have access to some newspaper databases that you would otherwise have to pay for, such as Newspapers.com or ProQuest. It could be that the local paper in Colchester has been digitized on one of those sites for the years you'd need. OR--even if it hasn't, it's possible that stories that involved your grandmother could have been picked up by the wire services and run in other papers that have been digitized.
Your library probably also has a subscription to Ancestry.com and a few other such sites so that you can find her in census records, etc. Don't forget to look for other people working on the same family tree. You might find a long-lost cousin who has the same interests and has already gathered some good information!
It is also possible to hire a professional genealogist in that part of IL to go looking in courthouses, etc for records such as birth and death certificates, property deeds, wills, and other such things. You'd be surprised at the family secrets that can turn up in such seemingly mundane places as a property deed! To find a professional genealogist, you could search online for the IL state association of genealogists, or check with the local historical society for that county. The county library reference desk might also know some people who do that work.
Oh, and--the local library there in Colchester might have additional records that are not online. A reference librarian in that library could probably tell you what might be available (such as newspapers on microfilm, maybe an obituary index, local history books, etc) so you'd know whether it was worthwhile to make a trip.
Don't hesitate to ask reference librarians questions like this! It's what they're there for!
Good luck,
Amy
Amy Stewart
Wow! OK, I'll look for it.
Amy Stewart
Thanks, Bill! So far, the Kopp novels are only inspiring more Kopp novels! I'm working on #6 now. I'm sure I'll be back in Seattle for #5, probably in September or October--stay tuned to my website or my newsletter for details.
I have been doing lots of botanical artwork lately, which you can always find on Instagram, and I'm writing about that process sometimes on my blog (at www.amystewart.com).
I have been doing lots of botanical artwork lately, which you can always find on Instagram, and I'm writing about that process sometimes on my blog (at www.amystewart.com).
Amy Stewart
Hi! These books are based on a true story, and that's just where they happened to live. (I live in Portland, OR now, by the way).
While researching The Drunken Botanist, I ran across a story about a man named Henry Kaufman who was arrested for smuggling tainted gin. I thought I should do a little more investigation to see if Henry Kaufman went on to do anything else interesting. That’s when I found an article in the New York Times from 1915 about a man named Henry Kaufman who ran hiscar into a horse-drawn carriage driven by these three sisters,
Constance, Norma, and Fleurette Kopp. They got into a conflict over payment for the damages, and it escalated from there. The sisters received kidnapping threats, shots were fired at their house, and they were generally tormented for almost a year. I never did figure out if this Henry Kaufman was the same one who was arrested for gin smuggling, but I kept digging into the story of the Kopp sisters.
Once I compiled a short stack of newspaper clippings, I thought, “Well, surely somebody has written a book about the Kopp sisters. At least a little local history book, or a children’s book, or something.” I was amazed to find out that nothing had been written about them at all. There was no book, no Wikipedia page—nothing. They’d been completely forgotten about. I reconstructed their life stories from scratch. A lot of people write historical fiction about well-known figures from another era, but I think it’s a very different thing to pluck someone from obscurity and put the facts together for the first time.
I usually do an event at the Ridgewood Public Library every September when the next installment comes out, so stay tuned for news of that.
There's tons more info on my website at amystewart.com/bookclubs. I even have pictures of the inside of the jail from Sheriff Heath's day.
While researching The Drunken Botanist, I ran across a story about a man named Henry Kaufman who was arrested for smuggling tainted gin. I thought I should do a little more investigation to see if Henry Kaufman went on to do anything else interesting. That’s when I found an article in the New York Times from 1915 about a man named Henry Kaufman who ran hiscar into a horse-drawn carriage driven by these three sisters,
Constance, Norma, and Fleurette Kopp. They got into a conflict over payment for the damages, and it escalated from there. The sisters received kidnapping threats, shots were fired at their house, and they were generally tormented for almost a year. I never did figure out if this Henry Kaufman was the same one who was arrested for gin smuggling, but I kept digging into the story of the Kopp sisters.
Once I compiled a short stack of newspaper clippings, I thought, “Well, surely somebody has written a book about the Kopp sisters. At least a little local history book, or a children’s book, or something.” I was amazed to find out that nothing had been written about them at all. There was no book, no Wikipedia page—nothing. They’d been completely forgotten about. I reconstructed their life stories from scratch. A lot of people write historical fiction about well-known figures from another era, but I think it’s a very different thing to pluck someone from obscurity and put the facts together for the first time.
I usually do an event at the Ridgewood Public Library every September when the next installment comes out, so stay tuned for news of that.
There's tons more info on my website at amystewart.com/bookclubs. I even have pictures of the inside of the jail from Sheriff Heath's day.
Amy Stewart
Have not read it but I love Sarah Bird. I'll check it out!
Amy Stewart
Yes--all of that! One of the limits of a first person perspective is that nothing can happen unless Constance is there to witness it, or someone tells her about it. I found it was getting kind of tiresome for Minnie and Edna to have to explain every little thing to Constance. I was reading at Edith Wharton novel and I just loved how she handled the third person, so I decided to do that.
One of the things I love about writing these books is that my publisher doesn't expect them to be cookie-cutter replicas of what's come before. I'll switch formats, POV, etc from book to book to suit the story (and to keep myself entertained!)
One of the things I love about writing these books is that my publisher doesn't expect them to be cookie-cutter replicas of what's come before. I'll switch formats, POV, etc from book to book to suit the story (and to keep myself entertained!)
Amy Stewart
Hi! Yes, our bookstore (Eureka Books) is doing great--in fact, it's looking like it just had its best year ever.
In terms of my novels...of course, since they're a series, I recommend starting with Girl Waits with Gun.
And in terms of nonfiction...well, you'd have to just follow your interest. Cocktails? Poisons? Earthworms? Flowers? Up to you!
In terms of my novels...of course, since they're a series, I recommend starting with Girl Waits with Gun.
And in terms of nonfiction...well, you'd have to just follow your interest. Cocktails? Poisons? Earthworms? Flowers? Up to you!
Amy Stewart
Thank you so much, Faith! #4 will be out in September 2018, and I'm hard at work on #5, which should come out Sept. 2019. I'm planning many more after that, as long as people keep reading them!
If you want a sneak preview, I send out a top-secret email (OK, maybe it's not such a huge secret if I'm writing about it on Goodreads) about once a month with excerpts, upcoming events, cocktail recipes, and other oddities.
https://www.amystewart.com/newsletter/
If you want a sneak preview, I send out a top-secret email (OK, maybe it's not such a huge secret if I'm writing about it on Goodreads) about once a month with excerpts, upcoming events, cocktail recipes, and other oddities.
https://www.amystewart.com/newsletter/
Amy Stewart
Hi Donna--
Oh, that is entirely what that book was about. I wrote it as a lark, really: We had just bought our bookstore (Eureka Books in Eureka, CA) and it was a stormy day in January, raining so hard that you literally couldn't see anything outside our windows. It felt like we were a ship lost at sea. We hadn't had a single customer all day--not a promising start to owning a bookstore! I said something like, "It feels like we're the last bookstore in America right now." Then we got to talking about WHY a bookstore would be the last bookstore in America--like, what had happened to all the others--and why a bookstore in a little town like Eureka would be the last to survive. Ebooks had just come on the scene, and I have to say that I predicted many things that came later, including, most recently, Amazon opening brick and mortar stores! So yes, that's what it was all about--plus the gardening!
Oh, that is entirely what that book was about. I wrote it as a lark, really: We had just bought our bookstore (Eureka Books in Eureka, CA) and it was a stormy day in January, raining so hard that you literally couldn't see anything outside our windows. It felt like we were a ship lost at sea. We hadn't had a single customer all day--not a promising start to owning a bookstore! I said something like, "It feels like we're the last bookstore in America right now." Then we got to talking about WHY a bookstore would be the last bookstore in America--like, what had happened to all the others--and why a bookstore in a little town like Eureka would be the last to survive. Ebooks had just come on the scene, and I have to say that I predicted many things that came later, including, most recently, Amazon opening brick and mortar stores! So yes, that's what it was all about--plus the gardening!
Amy Stewart
Hi Alice! I love Tucson! I spoke at the book festival several years ago and have always wanted to come back. If they invite me, I'll certainly talk to my publisher about it!
Cheers,
Amy
Cheers,
Amy
Amy Stewart
Hi Karin! The third is Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions, and it comes out in September. (Sorry, I can't figure out how to embed a link here, but it is listed on Goodreads, so you should be able to find it) I hope you enjoy it!
Amy Stewart
Thanks so much! I do a ton of research, including lots of newspaper archives, courthouse records, interviews with family members, going around and actually visiting places where the events happened (I even got inside the jail where Constance worked and Sheriff Heath both worked and lived), and I try to read lots of magazines and books written at the time, so I'm getting a sense of events as they happened and not filtered through 100 years of history. I even go through old Sears catalogs to pick out the shoes they wear--it might not be obvious on every page, but anytime they touch any sort of object, I've figured out what that object looks like and where it came from!
There's more about this in the back of every book, and in the author Q&As I post at:
www.amystewart.com/bookclubs
Thanks so much! Book #3 coming in September--MISS KOPP'S MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS.
There's more about this in the back of every book, and in the author Q&As I post at:
www.amystewart.com/bookclubs
Thanks so much! Book #3 coming in September--MISS KOPP'S MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS.
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