Title: Favorite Daughter, Part one
Author: Paula Margulies
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: One People Press
Publication date: July 21st 2014
Pages: 194 (paperback)
Q & A with Paula Margulies
Q: Where and when do you write?
A: In my
home office mostly, although I try to sneak away to artist residencies whenever
my teaching and client work schedule will allow. I usually write on Sundays,
but that all depends on how much life intrudes (and it does that often, believe
me!).
Q: Why did you write your book?
A: I’ve always been fascinated with the story of Pocahontas, and
since so much of her history has been told to us by English explorers like John
Smith, I decided that retelling her story, from her perspective, might make for
an interesting read.
Q: There
have been many books written about Pocahontas. How is this book different?
A: There are a number of differing versions of the history of that
time, and much of what we know about Pocahontas comes from the writing of John
Smith and the other colonists, who reported on what they found in the new land
when they returned to England. Favorite
Daughter, Part One is based on my research on works about her by Native
Americans, many of whom tell a darker tale than the English history. Also, there
aren’t many fictional works about that time from a Native American perspective,
and the majority of those that do exist are written for young adults. Favorite Daughter, Part One is written
for adults and focuses on Pocahontas’s coming of age into womanhood and becoming
a wife and mother, in addition to her work as a representative of her tribe
and, eventually, as a celebrity in England (that part of her story will be
covered in Part Two).
Q: Are
you of Native American heritage?
A: No, both of my
parents are of Italian descent. But my father, Douglas Roccaforte, loved Native
American history and was a collector of American Indian artifacts, so I grew up
with a deep appreciation of Native American culture and history.
Q: Whose work inspires you?
A: So many
authors inspire me that it’s hard to choose! I’ve always been a huge fan of the
Southern gothic – William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor are my all-time
favorite writers. As a graduate student in English Literature, I studied
Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Bellow, Doctorow, Didion, Heller, and Pynchon. Recent
authors whose stories have haunted me, stunned me, or made me weep: Sherman
Alexie, Ha Jin, Vikram Seth, David Mitchell, Barbara Kingsolver, Louise
Erdrich, Jane Smiley, Jane Hamilton, Sena Jeter Naslund, Anna Quindlen, and Elizabeth
Berg.
Q: What do you like to do
in your spare time?
A: When I’m not working on my
publicity business or teaching classes, I enjoy meditation, reading, writing, and
experimenting with artisan bread recipes. In the summer, I try to go to as many
local Native American pow wows as I can (there are quite a few here in the San
Diego area), and I’ve been known to enjoy an Indian taco (or two) on occasion.
Q: What are the words you live by?
A: Less
is more (except when we’re talking about Indian tacos). ☺
Thanks for hosting me and Favorite Daughter, Part One on your blog, Elien!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, I am so excited to read your book!
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