by Kathleen Ernst (guest blogger)
Everyone who leaves a comment today will have a chance to win a free book.
One of the great joys of reading is “disappearing” into a book. My favorite authors are adept at bringing a location to life in my imagination.
In my Chloe Ellefson series, the protagonist is a curator at a large historic site called Old World Wisconsin, where I used to work. (That’s me churning butter, back in 1982.)
As the series progresses, the setting will vary as Chloe visits different museums and historic sites. In The Heirloom Murders, Chloe explores a Swiss community in southern Wisconsin. An old farmstead cheese factory, now restored, is the setting for several key scenes.
Because I write about real places, I try hard to be as authentic in my descriptions as possible. Book 3 (coming 2012) is set on two islands in Lake Michigan, and will feature the restoration of an old lighthouse. I’ve been a volunteer docent there, and know the site well. (See photo below)
Still, I made a point of visiting again during the first week in September, when the book is set. I walked the ground covered in each scene, checking not just logistics but also what flowers were blooming, birds singing, etc. I took lots of photos and my husband Scott took video. When local residents read the book, I hope the setting will seem completely familiar.
I love it when readers tell me that after reading one of my books, they want to visit the places described. Since distance makes that impossible for many people, Scott created Location Guides for the first two Chloe books. They include photographs of key buildings and places that are described in the books. When possible the Guides include historic images, as well.
You can check them out by following the links here:
http://www.kathleenernst.com/Kathleen_Ernst/Adult_Books.html
Overall, reception to the Guides has been enthusiastic. One reader, though, said that after disappearing into Book 1 in the series, Old World Murder, she preferred to stick with the images created in her own imagination.
So, I’m curious. As a reader, would you appreciate seeing photographs of the places in your favorite books? Or would you prefer to conjure your own images, and stick with those? I’d love to know what you think!
I’m grateful to Poe’s Deadly Daughters for allowing me to celebrate publication of The Heirloom Murders: A Chloe Ellefson Mystery by guest-posting here. And I’m grateful to readers! I love my work, and I’d be nowhere without you. Leave a comment, and your name will go into a drawing for a free book. The winner can choose any of my seventeen titles -- The Heirloom Murders, one of my American Girl mysteries, a Civil War novel -- the choice will be yours! To learn more, please visit my website, www.kathleenernst.com.
by Kathleen Ernst
I’m grateful to all of Poe’s Deadly Daughters for allowing me to be a guest today. And I’m grateful to readers! I love my work, and I’d be nowhere without you. Leave a comment here, and your name will go into a drawing for one free book. The winner can choose any of my sixteen titles. Old World Murder, one of my American Girl mysteries, a Civil War novel—the choice will be yours!
I enjoy a good stand-alone as much as anyone…but my greatest reading pleasure comes from discovering a wonderful series. And the best part about that is getting to know the protagonist. I want to go for a long ride; to see her grow and change not only within a single book, but over the arc of the series. I want to settle in and spend time with characters I truly care about.
Old World Murder is the first book in my new adult series, and I hope readers will feel that way about protagonist Chloe Ellefson.
My previous novels have been for teens and kids, but the challenge remains the same. Over the years, as both a writer and a reader, I’ve distilled what I consider the most important aspects of a compelling main character into three main traits.
1. Compelling protagonists have inner strength. Call it spunk, call it sass, call it spirit—great characters have it. It may be buried deep inside, but it has to be there. The characters I care most about are people I can admire, even if deeply flawed. And I don’t want to wait too long to find evidence of it. Who wants to go on a long ride with a total wimp?
Chloe Ellefson is starting a new job as curator of collections at a large historic site when Old World Murder opens. Although there are hints that she’s dealing with a troubled past on page one, we also see her stand up to an overbearing co-worker in the first chapter. Yes, she’s in some emotional pain—but that doesn’t mean she’s going to be pushed around.
2. Compelling protagonists are also vulnerable. I will admire a character who shows supreme strength every day, every hour. I probably won’t care about her on a personal level, though, because I can’t relate to her. When I discover what makes a character vulnerable, I keep reading to make sure she’s OK in the end.
I thought a lot about Chloe’s backstory as I developed Old World Murder. The full story is revealed gradually, but when the book opens she is recovering from a bad breakup, a lost job, and a bout of clinical depression. And that raises the stakes as troubles and threats begin to multiply.
3. Compelling protagonists want or need something, badly. Often this personal, inner plotline works against the external events of the mystery investigation. The mounting obstacles that get between the character and her goals keep me turning pages.
In Old World Murder, Chloe’s new job at the historic site gives her an opportunity to make a fresh start both personally and professionally. On her first day on the job, Chloe meets an elderly woman who begs her to find a valuable family artifact. The woman dies minutes later, but when Chloe tries to discover the whereabouts of the missing object, the search quickly turns dangerous. And when Chloe’s new boss orders her to stop looking, she may have to choose between finding the truth and keeping the job she so desperately needs.
How does that list compare with your own? I’d love to hear what traits you find important!
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Kathleen Ernst is celebrating the publication of her first adult mystery, Old World Murder (Midnight Ink). She has also written eight mysteries for young readers. Several have been finalists for Edgar or Agatha awards. For more information see her website, http://www.kathleenernst.com, or her blog, http://sitesandstories.wordpress.com.
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