Below is my Exclusive Interview with Author, Lisa Klein about her book Two Girls of Gettysburg. My questions listed in green, Her answers in blue.
1. What made you want to write about this specific time period? The nineteenth century seemed closer in time than the Renaissance setting I used for Ophelia,(Her other book)-- 150 years ago versus 400! I was also excited by how much evidence there is about women' s lives, letters, diaries, and photographs. My own Grandparents were born only 30 years after the Civil War, so they probably knew people who had lived through the war and even some who had been slaves. That amazes me!
2. Why the Civil War as opposed to other wars? Because it was such a terrible war, Americans
fighting one another, even fighting their own relatives. And because it's one war we study in school, so most people know something about it and are curious to know more.
3.Why did you base Lizzie on this real girl? I based Lizzie on Tillie Pierce because when I read about Tillie, I imagined what the the war would look like through her eyes. I thought my readers would enjoy character based on a real person, that it would make the war itself seem more immediate. I also identified with the photograph of Tillie. Any girl living today could have been Tillie!
4. Was your book originally named Two Girls of Gettysburg? I think that was the tittle I had all along. Sometimes the editor will change the title, but this one seemed to work for both of us. (Ophelia was originally titled-by me- "The True and Noble History of Ophelia" my editor wisely shortened it to just"Ophelia"!)
5. What age group do you recomened for your book? Ages 12 - 100. Seriously!
Signiture question:
What was your favorite book growing up?
Well, ONE of my favorite books was "Gone With the Wind," which I read ten times when I was a teenager. And so when I started writing fiction, In the back of my mind was the idea to write my own Civil War novel- because I loved so much reading about that war. I don't know if many teens would read GWTW tday, but I hope they find "Two Girls" interesting and exciting.
Also, be sure to check out Lisa Klein's newest book Cate of the Lost Colony, about the love story of an orphan girl banished to Roanoke.
~Bookgirl~
