Ask the Author: Sally Kilpatrick
Answered Questions (33)
Sally Kilpatrick
I mean, trombone players are, generally speaking, the best...
Sally Kilpatrick
We supposedly have an ancestor who ran off to Hollywood, but she was cut off from the family. I'd love to know how that turned out.
Sally Kilpatrick
If memory serves, and it has been a while, Goat Cheese Ledbetter shows up very briefly in The Happy Hour Choir as one of the barflies. He plays a larger role in Bittersweet Creek and Oh My Stars. Basically, he got that nickname when he decided to raise goats for their milk and to make cheese. His peers made fun of him, but he actually made a pretty good living at it. The nickname, however, stuck.
Sally Kilpatrick
I'm so glad you enjoyed Oh My Stars--thank you! No lame question here I assure you, but I'll admit that I absolutely refuse to feel guilty about my reading pleasures. I'm going to try to give you a few, but it is like choosing among my children, I tell you. For mystery and suspense, one of my auto buys is Tess Gerritsen. I've also recently discovered Emily Carpenter. Another auto buy for me is Deanna Raybourn. I adore her Veronica Speedwell books especially. Um, then there's Kresley Cole for her smexy paranormals. Speaking of smexy, anything that Phyllis Bourne puts out that is BIg Dumb Sexy Fun, I am there for. I particularly love Feud. My comfort reads are Agatha Christie, and I don't want to think too hard on how I gain comfort from reading about murder. It's because they solve the murder. Yes, let's go with that. Hmmm, I get my southern lit fix from Joshilyn Jackson. for historicals I've been delving into Beverly Jenkins--I've got one of those on tap. My gosh, the only thing I love more than writing is reading, and I think you can see all of the books I've read the past few years. I haven't been rating since I got published because that seems kinda...I don't know, odd, BUT I always write a review for what I read. Oh! And I'm part of a great group of authors over on Facebook called Fiction from the Heart so come on over and meet some authors who always make me cry on planes, like Sonali Dev.
Sally Kilpatrick
I arrived beyond the pearly gates, my neck aching from all of the craning to see majesty beyond the clouds. Then Saint Peter said to me, "Welcome, but there will be no wine and absolutely no coffee."
Sally Kilpatrick
Merry belated 2016 Christmas, and happy early 2017 Christmas. (So sorry about the delay. I think I missed the page that told me whether or not I had questions.) Anyhoo, Bless Her Heart will be in print and availbe for e-book on Halloween 2017. Thanks for reading!
Sally Kilpatrick
Henderson, TN. I'm a proud graduate of Chester County High. Thanks for reading!
Sally Kilpatrick
A lot of my stories start with a "What if?" What if your name was Beulah Land, but you thought for sure you were headed for hell? What if you inherited a job at a funeral home, but you didn't really want to be a part of the family business? What if your family and that of your neighbor were like a mashup of Romeo and Juliet and the Hatfields and the McCoys? As you can see, Shakespeare really influenced that second story more than the others, but I think having read so much of his work, it still sneaks in sometimes to other things.
What's really interesting is that I have at least five other ideas that go back to Shakespeare thanks to this week-long celebration. Also, I've realized that I should cut back on some of the swearing in my books and take a page from the Bard to come up with more creative swears/insults/interjections that aren't quite as vulgar. I'll have to give them a country spin, of course.
Thanks for the question because it really gave me a chance to think through how I'm evolving as an author. As for the Bard, he's influenced all of us. Here's just a few of his phrases that have sneaked into our everyday language: http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia...
What's really interesting is that I have at least five other ideas that go back to Shakespeare thanks to this week-long celebration. Also, I've realized that I should cut back on some of the swearing in my books and take a page from the Bard to come up with more creative swears/insults/interjections that aren't quite as vulgar. I'll have to give them a country spin, of course.
Thanks for the question because it really gave me a chance to think through how I'm evolving as an author. As for the Bard, he's influenced all of us. Here's just a few of his phrases that have sneaked into our everyday language: http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia...
Sally Kilpatrick
My favorite is without a doubt Much Ado About Nothing. The love story between Beatrice and Benedick is simply everything. They obviously have a past. They also pretend to hate each other but are clearly so right for each other, too. You gotta love that Beatrice is actually the character who usually gets the last word, too. Another reason why I think I love this one is that, for all of poor Hero's struggles, everything turns out all right in the end. No tragedies for me, please.
Sally Kilpatrick
My first book is The Happy Hour Choir, in which a fallen from grace honky tonk piano player has the misfortune of falling for a minister. She takes over playing piano at a small country church and ends up putting together a choir made up of barflies. I have two other books. Bittersweet Creek, is a southern small-town take on Romeo and Juliet. Better Get to Livin' comes out at the end of May, and it's kinda like It's a Wonderful Life meets the Sixth Sense set in a funeral home. Thanks for the question!
Sally Kilpatrick
Oh, good question! I just finished Lear so you can forget about those silly girls who kill themselves over that Edmund creature. I think I have to go with a classic: Lady Macbeth. Not only does she get all of the good lines, but I like to think she's both powerful and beautiful. I gotta respect how she wears the pants in that family.
Sally Kilpatrick
With this question I had a flashback to college and my Shakespeare class, and for that I thank you! I have to confess that I had not read Lear in its entirety so I stopped to do so. Now let me see what I can do with the question itself:
One of the first things that jumps out at me is that Hamlet is an only child. Polonius only has two children. In Lear we have five children so there's more room for sibling rivalry? Hamlet is devoted to his mother, despite his anger that she so quickly married Claudius. I mean, he couldn't bring himself to kill his stepfather until his mother had already died. Similarly, Laertes and Ophelia seem to have genuine respect for their father--enough that Laertes must avenge his father's death. Gertrude and Polonius appear to love their children even if each has a personal agenda. The tragedy of Hamlet stems from Claudius. He's the one who kills the king and swoops in and marries the queen. Sure, Hamlet doesn't appear to be playing with a full deck, but his desire for revenge is justified.
That justification marks the biggest difference between Hamlet and Lear. King Lear is...all over the place, almost naturalist in its assumption that bad things happen to both the good and the bad. Lear's affections for his children are fickle. He banishes Cordelia in a heartbeat even though Regan and Goneril turn out to be manipulative flatterers and nothing more. Then there's the subplot with Gloucester and Edmund and Edgar. Edmund is pure evil with no regard for his father and manages to trick Gloucester into betraying the loyal Edgar. There's this nice parallel structure of Kent, Cordelia, and Edgar being turned out even though they are loyal.
One similarity is how closely aligned Claudius and Edmund are, both semi-outsiders taking advantage of familial relationships in order to achieve what they think are their due. Regan and Goneril, too, are primarily looking out for themselves to the point that they kill each other. I suppose the biggest differences is that characters in Hamlet (Laertes and Hamlet) tend to kill because their family members have been wronged. In Lear, the toxic family relationship leads to both the just and the unjust being killed. I'm kinda surprised Shakespeare didn't go ahead and finish off Edgar and Kent.
And that's a really long answer. I suppose the short answer would be that characters in both plays could've really used therapy.
One of the first things that jumps out at me is that Hamlet is an only child. Polonius only has two children. In Lear we have five children so there's more room for sibling rivalry? Hamlet is devoted to his mother, despite his anger that she so quickly married Claudius. I mean, he couldn't bring himself to kill his stepfather until his mother had already died. Similarly, Laertes and Ophelia seem to have genuine respect for their father--enough that Laertes must avenge his father's death. Gertrude and Polonius appear to love their children even if each has a personal agenda. The tragedy of Hamlet stems from Claudius. He's the one who kills the king and swoops in and marries the queen. Sure, Hamlet doesn't appear to be playing with a full deck, but his desire for revenge is justified.
That justification marks the biggest difference between Hamlet and Lear. King Lear is...all over the place, almost naturalist in its assumption that bad things happen to both the good and the bad. Lear's affections for his children are fickle. He banishes Cordelia in a heartbeat even though Regan and Goneril turn out to be manipulative flatterers and nothing more. Then there's the subplot with Gloucester and Edmund and Edgar. Edmund is pure evil with no regard for his father and manages to trick Gloucester into betraying the loyal Edgar. There's this nice parallel structure of Kent, Cordelia, and Edgar being turned out even though they are loyal.
One similarity is how closely aligned Claudius and Edmund are, both semi-outsiders taking advantage of familial relationships in order to achieve what they think are their due. Regan and Goneril, too, are primarily looking out for themselves to the point that they kill each other. I suppose the biggest differences is that characters in Hamlet (Laertes and Hamlet) tend to kill because their family members have been wronged. In Lear, the toxic family relationship leads to both the just and the unjust being killed. I'm kinda surprised Shakespeare didn't go ahead and finish off Edgar and Kent.
And that's a really long answer. I suppose the short answer would be that characters in both plays could've really used therapy.
Sally Kilpatrick
I already told Ray that I'm fond of "You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things," but, as of late, I've developed a fondness for "I do desire that we may be better strangers" from As You Like It. Why? It cuts, but it's classy.
Sally Kilpatrick
Wow. Do I have to pick just one? Hmmm. As I've mentioned before, there's a certain linguistic joy to "You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things." I also thought "canker-blossom" was fun to say right up until I found out it was an Elizabethan euphemism for genital wart. Not as keen now.
Sally Kilpatrick
I liked this question so much that I decided to write an entire blog post about it: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog.... To sum up, though: dirty jokes, insults, universal themes, relatable characters, contributions to the English language, and it ain't highbrow. Thanks for the question.
Sally Kilpatrick
Oh, this is such a good question, too! When you asked, I realized that a group of actors came by my sixth grade class. I know they did opera, and I want to say they performed a scene from Shakespeare, too. Dare I guess? It's been forever, but I think it was As You Like It, at the very least the "all the world's a stage" part. I do remember quite clearly what most recently got me interested in Shakespeare again: the Shakespeare Tavern. Ryan took me there for Valentine's Day to see Romeo and Juliet, and I've been back many times to see Much Ado, Twelfth Night, and this great thing they do where they put the complete works into a short, comedic play. Shakespeare Tavern is the way to go--they really know how to make the plays come alive.
Sally Kilpatrick
I love this question. I love this question so much that I'm wondering if Shakespeare in the Park may need to come to Ellery one day. I can see Romy translating early modern English to current country-folk speak and having her students perform. Hmmm, I think Kilpatrick in the Park would require more props. For one thing, there would have to be beer--both for the cast and the audience. I'm also thinking there would have to be a piano because I keep putting music into these books. And cows. Definitely cows and horses for Bittersweet Creek. We'll have to keep Better Get to Livin' on the stage, but we can be minimalist with that one--maybe bourbon, a casket, a cat, and a hearse.
Sally Kilpatrick
I thought long and hard on this one because I love these authors so much that I always see their writing as much better than my own, which is not a smart thing to say marketing-wise but there you go. I adore gods in Alabama(Joshilyn Jackson), Their Eyes Were Watching God(Zora Neale Hurston), Sorrow Wood(Raymond Atkins), anything by Haywood Smith, the short stories of Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty. If a future person ever thought I'd had a really good day and one of those were mine, then I would be ecstatic.
Sally Kilpatrick
Thank you! This may be silly, but I remember "You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!" best. We had great fun with that, and I think it might be time for a revival of that particular insult. Oh, and there was the time Mrs. Highers turned the television around so we wouldn't see Romeo's buttocks during the love scene in Romeo and Juliet. Gotta keep it PG in freshman English.
Sally Kilpatrick
I've already waxed poetic on Much Ado About Nothing and I love both of those versions and desperately want to see David Tennant as Benedick. I wanted to answer your question, though, because you bring up a question about keeping the lines intact. I prefer versions that keep all of the scenes in order and keep the lines as intact as possible. Kenneth Branagh is a revelation after watching the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet, for example. If it's going to be a question of spirit, then I prefer a story that's loosely based on the bard (Warm Bodies, 10 Things I Hate About You). Thanks for the question!
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