The Lost Diaries of
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
1.
What really inspired you to write your book, to force you from taking an idea
or experience and conveying it into a book?
I have always admired strong women and Elizabeth
intrigued me. When I began to research her background I found lots of
information about her contributions to women’s rights and the abolition of
slavery. What I didn’t find was, “what motivated her to take on this monumental
task?” She lived in an era when women had no voice. But she spoke up. I liked
that, and that girl–that young woman who turned out to be the famous
suffragette responsible for pushing for the 19th Amendment–became the
protagonist for the novel. I had never written historical fiction, and probably
won’t again, but this novel was a labor of love.
2.
What is it about and whom do you believe us your targeted reader?
First, this story is about a real person who
changed America. Second, women particularly, are interested in how another
woman accomplishes a difficult task. Finally, women constitute the historical
fiction fan base. I researched the demographics for historical novels before
starting the marketing.
3. What do you hope will be the everlasting thoughts for readers who finish your book? What should remain with them long after putting it down?
When I tutored at Palomar College and young
women learned I was a writer, they always asked, “What are you writing?” When I
told them about this book, turns out none of them knew how Elizabeth Cady
Stanton broke the ground for women like them. I hope everyone who reads this
story finds the courage to act on his or her own convictions.
4. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers?
Write your story. Learn the craft. Find peers
who will evaluate your work with tact and honesty. Self edit until you are
almost blind, then, pay to have the
book professionally edited and take that person’s advice. Don’t give up. Read
the writers who win awards. They are your mentors.
5. What trends in the book world do you see and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?
Digital books changed publishing for good and
for bad. The good is that terrific
books are available without cutting down a tree. The bad is that amateurish writing is flooding the marketplace with
cheap or free content. At some point bricks and mortar bookstores will accept
self-published books because publishers will decide to take returns even if it
means authors will be vetted, as artists are for shows.
6. What great challenges did you have in writing your book?
Research was the greatest challenge I faced. Making
sure the facts I gleaned from Stanton’s memoir and Elisabeth Griffith’s
biography, through which I wove the historical context, the settings, and the
ambience of the era, became crucial. I worked as a journalist for a while and
know how important accuracy is to a story. As a result I collected myriad maps,
books, photos, drawings, recipes. I even traveled to her hometown, Johnstown,
New York, to walk where she did, visit her church and the courthouse where her
father tried cases.
7. If people can only buy one book this month, why should it be yours?
On November 8, America might elect her first
female President. Women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton made this event possible.
Sarah Bates’ short fiction has appeared in the Greenwich Village Literary Review, the literary magazine Bravura,
and the San Diego North County Times (now the Union-Tribune). She is the author of Twenty-One Steps of Courage, a military
action novel published in 2012 and co-author of the 2005 short story
collection, Out of Our Minds, Wild
Stories by Wild Women. Bates was an English Department writing tutor at
Palomar College in San Marcos, California for ten years. She continues to
privately tutor both creative and academic writing students and is working on a
new novel. Sarah Bates lives in Fallbrook, California.
For
more information, please see: https://www.facebook.com/sarahbatesauthor/?fref=ts
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