Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
If you are arriving on my blog curious about where my *book review!* for “A Moment Forever” went off too, I made the conscious choice to ‘invert’ my blog tour days this week, as I needed a bit more time to finish my readings of the novel! I had some pretty epic tech issues this month (courtesy of my resident lightning storms! a summer exclusive!) which pushed my deadlines into each other inasmuch as created a lot of ‘downtime’ from all the frustrative non-connectivity I was experiencing!
Ergo, you will happily be delighted to find out I’m posting my lovely conversation with a fellow Janeite whose an antique & letter-writing loving Historical novelist! Give a warm welcome to Ms Gardiner, today!
As you know, I appreciate getting the chance to speak with the writers of whom I am reading throughout my readerly adventures here at Jorie Loves A Story! It provides a gateway to entreat into the ‘behind-the-book’ scenes of how stories are crafted and created inasmuch as giving me a chance to ask direct questions about a writer’s personal approach to their story-telling style! I have a soft spot for Historicals (ahem! not a shock, eh?) and especially for war dramas wherein we get to re-live a particular period of where living memory & history collide. I have the tendency to focus on the World War eras of the 20th Century, however, I have been trying to expand outside of it as well. More on this will be revealled in September when I share my readings of “The Bridges of Constantine” & “Chaos of the Senses”.
Right now, what I found so wondrously curious is how a writer who loves digging into the after canon sequels of Jane Austen’s world & characters has found a way to ‘treat’ one of her creative stories within that world to a ‘new’ conceptionalised historical drama set during WWI.I. It’s quite the premise for sure, and as you will see, my own inklings to learn a bit more about the writer & the story’s layers inspired most of this conversation!
I look forward to reading your commentary in the threads below this post & if your on the blog tour, I look forward to visiting your posts after I conclude my own readings of the novel! Til then, I hope this conversation itches out a bit of your own curiosity about Historical dramas & the timelessness of reading stories of love & courage!
This also marks my *first!* novelist I am hosting from a Small Press being featured by Poetic Book Tours, as I started hosting their poets! The added blissitude for me, is finding the writing duo behind Vanity & Pride Press, as I will be featuring one of their Austenesque sequels lateorn in *October!*
In the summer of 1992, a young writer is bequeathed the abandoned home of a great-uncle she never knew. The house has a romantic history and is unlike any home she has ever seen. Juliana Martel felt as though she stepped into a time capsule—a snapshot of 1942. The epic romance—and heartache—of the former occupant unfold through reading his wartime letters found in the attic, compelling her on a quest to construct the man. His life, as well as his sweetheart’s, during the Second World War were as mysterious as his disappearance in 1950.
Carrying her own pain inflicted by the abandonment of her mother and unexpected death of her father, Juliana embarks on a journalist’s dream to find her great-uncle and the woman he once loved. Enlisting the reluctant assistance of a man whose family is closely related to the secrets, she uncovers the carefully hidden events of her great-uncle’s and others’ lives – and will ultimately change her own with their discovery.
This story of undying love, born amidst the darkest era in modern history, unfolded on the breathtaking Gold Coast of Long Island in 1942. A Jewish, Army Air Forces pilot and an enchanting society debutante—young lovers—deception—and a moment in time that lasted forever.
A Moment Forever is an evocative journey that will resonate with you long after you close the book. Romance, heartache, and the power of love, atonement, and forgiveness transform lives long after the horrors and scars of the Second World War have ended.
Jorie, I am so happy to be here and to share with you and your followers a little about myself. Your questions were so thought provoking! Thank you for the invite and being part of A Moment Forever’s blog tour.
Likewise, I am thankful I was able to anchour my reflections on behalf of my first reading of one of your novels with this conversation! I appreciated getting to ask questions pertaining to your
writerly life & sharing a bit of extra insight with my readers & the visitors of the tour, alike!
How did you create the tagline of “The 1940s Experience” when you set out to blog and create your online niche? Was it motivated by the stories you wanted to tell or was it due to a passion for the era ahead of writing stories set during its decade?
Gardiner responds: The tagline sort of came from several avenues. Since the heart of my WWII romance novels focus on the American home front (specifically New York City), I wanted to bring the reader into my research world, into the day-to-day life that their parents or grandparents more than likely experienced. Couple that with my venture, beside my husband, into WWII reenacting, it seemed an appropriate tagline. As I make the past come alive for me, I truly enjoy sharing it with my readers, real experiences of real people in The Greatest Generation.
What a beautiful bridge between your personal curiosities of the era with your professional endeavours to endear us to new stories within this timescape of interest to so many of us Historical Fiction readers! You truly knew how to spark a conversation simply through the naming of your online niche of discovery! I think it speaks well to conveying what your passionate about as it moves through your personal & professional lives!
Did you find it an easy transition to take the origin story “My Dearest Darling” into its reincarnated variant of “A Moment Forever”? I found it especially interesting how the origin was rooted in Austenesque fan fiction prior to being given a re-birth.
Gardiner responds: One of the good things about taking any of my Austenesque novels wider into mainstream genres is that I write so out of canon, it’s easy to do. LOL. One can read almost any romance novel and find Jane Austen’s themes. My Dearest Darling, though, was a difficult sell to Austenites on the forum. The idea that Darcy and Lizzy had been separated for 50 years and that they reunite at 70 years of age was something many did not want to consider, let alone the very real issues of anti-Semitism and eugenic beliefs surrounding “our dear couple.” Those who took the chance found an incredibly romantic novel – so I’m told.
Hmm. I can sort of understand the Austenites in one vein of interest, as I have the tendency to be a traditionalist when it comes to ‘after canons’ of the Classics (esp for Sherlock Holmes; only two authors thus far have whet a thirst of interest for how well they created their niches of sequels: Laurie R. King & Nancy Springer) – when it comes to Austen sequels, I don’t mind if time is bent or if the situations are re-invented (as foreseen on my thoughts upon a re-telling of “Sense & Sensibility” from 2014); truly the only issue I have is if there is a departure in regards to how much is visually shown in regards to the relationship & intimacy as that takes it out of the after canonical influence for me. It’s a fine line – I try to keep an open-mind about after canons, but I can understand if others are as hesitative as I am to go too far outside their zone of comfort with them. We each have to decide – sometimes, it’s story to story, too!
Strictly commenting from a historical reader – I liked how the premise held it’s own without prior information this was retrofitted outside it’s origin of intention.
I hadn’t realised you had an entire secondary career as a writer of JAFF (Jane Austen Fan Fiction) or sequel/re-tellings of the original Austen stories! Which story of Austen’s solidified your passion for reading her stories before you drew your own inspiration to write them?
Gardiner responds: Ah, well, I am one of those authors who found Austen via the movies! Yes. (I’m embarrassed to admit) I didn’t grow up on Jane, but fell in love with Matthew MacFadyen … then Colin Firth … followed by Lost in Austen’s leading man, then lastly Mr. Darcy in canon. So, for me, Pride and Prejudice began my journey – and once introduced to those dreamy men, I was shaken and stirred, and added the sex to my novels!
I truly enjoy using elements of Austen’s novel, modern themes of pride or prejudice in place of following the canon template she beautifully gave us: ie. Insult at the assembly, militia arrive, Netherfield Ball, Easter at Rosings, Hunsford Proposal, etc.
No, shame in that revelation! For starters, I have been smitten by the works of Jane Austen for most of my life – starting around middle school, however, do you realise when I finally found the courage to *read my first Austen novel?* It was on the auspicious release week of “Pride & Prejudice” starring Keira Knightley. Among Janeites, I’m a rare bird who sees the joy in that remake, however, having read PRIDE for the first time, and then seeing an adaptation so soon afterwards was true bliss for me! I do intend to re-read & then watch Colin Firth’s mini-series adaptation, but honestly, the actors in Keira’s version will always make me smile! They simply warmed into their characters & brought out the essence of who they were on the page!
I also read the re-telling of SENSE prior to actually reading SENSE; and in regards to another beloved author (Charlotte Brontë) I entered into reading EYRE through an adaptation by film! Laughs. Sometimes we take the roundabout way into Classical Literature; other times we accidentally see an adaptation without realising it was a Classic novel *first!* For me, however which way we arrive inside the moment of inspiration – that’s the route we were meant to take! Cheers to you!
PS: I loved “Lost in Austen” even more than I originally felt I might! I thought it was going to be this EPIC departure of the canon & it simply surprised me! I ILL’d it from my libray & was so overjoyed by seeing it as was such a clever entrance into Austen!
We share a conjoined love of the hidden histories of where ‘living history’ and the unknown co-habitat until something brings the missing pieces together into the light. I love antiques & antiquarian shoppes for this one reason: to step through time whilst finding items & mementos not oft used or found today. The stories those items draw to the surface of a writer’s mind is fodder for crafting stories. What have been some of your key discoveries through your research or the process of writing down the bones of the story? Where you felt an instinctive vibe, this is going to be what allures the reader forward into the breadth of the story?
Gardiner responds: I love how you see human stories revealed upon discovery of something intangible. My first blog post on the 1940s Experience was about just that. I found a vintage wedding gown at an antique shop and bought it for a dollar. My husband’s remark was that someone wore it on the most important day of her life. There’s a story there. There’s a story in everything. A tea cup, a brooch, an embroidered handkerchief. Someone had a memory attached to it. If it comes home with me, it ends up in a story. I have a little vintage shop on Etsy, almost everything in it was a piece of my 1960s-80s past – and I’m passing on those pieces of my history – with a memory in the description. I might like vintage – but I’m not a pack rat. LOL My own history isn’t nearly as exciting as some of the 1940s letters or items that I find. Someone, somewhere will take a trip back to their youth with a 1967 Barbie Doll head missing its body!
I would say that the number one thing that compels me, though, are the people I meet. Sharing something from their 1940s experience makes it real for me and, I believe, the reader. Those stories are the allure.
This response, surprised me! I like hanging onto the mementos of my own living history – as I want to pass them down to my future children as a bit of a remembrance of who I was as I was living through my growing years. Plus, too, I like how tangible my memories can become through the items I’ve held back through time; memories & photographs are wicked lovely for me, as I want to assemble them into more scrapbook journals (just need to live where there are a bounty of blizzards first & an absence of lightning!) but ahead of doing that – I do admit, I like being able to see certain items that draw right to mind a certain period of my life. Certain things trigger certain memories & within that well of joy, I can re-live my own life from a reflective mirror.
On the flipside, I love collecting antiques & memorabilia belonging to other people – as I drew a keen interest in antiques & collecting from quite a young age – as I would explore auctions & emporiums with my parents. I can understand where your coming from – but for me personally? I want to hang onto the memories a bit longer,… what happens later is not yet written. I see stories everywhere. In the intangible, in the living sphere of human memory, within the shadows of a writer’s imagined worlds and in the spontaneous conversations we all engage in throughout our living hours. Stories are our living spirit being cast out into a thousand suns and starlit fields. I love finding the stories & / or imagining what the stories are if unknown. My blog is aptly named in other words!
Do you consider your novel to be a time slip or a time shift story? For instance, does the continuity of how it’s being told ‘slip’ between the two years of importance or does time ‘shift’ between perspectives of your lead characters? What do you like most about the styling of bending ‘time’ to the will of your muse?
Gardiner responds: I would consider A Moment Forever (AMF) a time slip-shift story. LOL. There are actually four lead characters, two in each time period, and the perspective does change. The main story that we begin with is in 1992 and it shifts and slips every few chapters back to 1942. The 1992 discovery of “something” in a letter will follow with the details of that “something” in 1942, painting the picture, drawing the reader into the life of our WWII couple, building their relationship until the climax of reunion five decades later. This was integral because I wanted the reader to see our 1942 lovers as those vibrant, youthful hearts in 1992 when they finally come back to each other.
One detail that I loved about AMF was that both eras are 20th Century historical fiction, both requiring research. The shifting and the timeline continuity was a challenge for my muse, but I dig challenges. I took her to task many times on Facebook because there were occasions when she wanted to stay in 1942 and I had to get her mind back to more modern times. Music helped … and copious amounts of wine.
I had to smile where you felt your novel fits both descriptions! Especially you’ve described how you’ve anchoured the story-line to certain pertinent revelations per ‘time of era’, I agree with your assessment of where this fits within the framework of time slip or time shift narratives! It had to be a ready challenge – not just to layer the story through it’s convicting core of thought but to control what was revealled (how, when, why, etc) whilst needling through the eyes of your characters, too! Smiling at the mention of wine – red or white, I wonder? I’m definitely into ‘red’. Music is such a beautiful constant in my own writerly endeavours – I love Hearts of Space for cluing into my muse.
As this novel relates the unknown pieces of a personal ancestral history, do you like to take up the quest to sleuth out your own ancestral past? If so, what have you discovered as you re-route your ancestors through different generational history?
Gardiner responds: Ha! Love this question! An epically stupid move by my great-grandfather inspired my novel Villa Fortuna using the 1940s loss of our own “Villa Fortuna,” a home that he had built for his new bride in 1902. What came out was a contemporary, Chick Lit, P&P set during the holidays. We have quite a few family stories that have been unearthed. As my father jokes, he is sure they will all end up in a novel sooner or later. Of course they will; my crazy family is perfect plot bunny material.
Laughs! I hadn’t considered data mining my own experiences or memories for plausible plot exploration until I hosted one of my #ChocLitSaturday chats wherein the lovely ChocLit authors who have taken up residence on @ChocLitSaturday inspired me to start to consider this option! It was one of those moments where writers inspired the writer who had overlooked something quite obvious!? In this regard, I can see how your father felt there is an unknown tapping of creativity arriving inside your pen to delight your readers in the future!
What do you think is the hardest part about writing convicting historical fiction? The story which fits inside the timeline or anchouring a story to the historical events which cannot be altered?
Gardiner responds: I usually latch onto an event that resonates with me and this is what happened in AMF. There are two historical events that birthed the story. The first was Operation Pastorius, June 12, 1942, when Nazi saboteurs landed on Long Island. The second was the Vel’ d’Hiv arrests of 11,000 Jews in Paris June 16-17, 1942. I built the main plot-line around these significant events. It all flowed seamlessly in the writing. In my next WWII novel, I had a difficult time executing the story I wanted to tell within a very short timeline following D-Day. I think that was much harder.
Hmm… you’ve mentioned events during the war era I wasn’t familiar with myself – simply as I haven’t come across stories that broached them. I tend to move back and forth between war dramas set in Britain, France & stateside on the home front. For each one I read, the more I learn about the war eras directly, as each writer has taken great lengths to hone in on their own particular slice of it’s hidden histories. It’s a joy for me to see how each of you take a different point of entrance & then create the story you do from there.
What do you feel is the best takeaway of the World War era about the resilience of humanity and the way in which the memories of all lives affected by war are still becoming known today?
Gardiner responds: No doubt, WWII changed so much and there are many significant lessons, but one I feel is still relevant: women’s rights. That first taste of working and earning for a woman thrust into the bread-winning role as part of “doing her bit” fueled the fire of possibility. Women of that era still inspire us with their stories as Women’s Army Corps (WACs) and Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) in the Naval Reserve, among others.
What amazes me is the absolute “together” this and other nations demonstrated. Civilians pushed up their sleeves for their boys beating back evil and, in the end, they rebuilt lives, Europe, cities. Men returned and, concealing their wartime experience, pursued “The American Dream,” which they had fought for. We must listen to these experiences now. The Greatest Generation and the lessons they impart of how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go will be gone in our lifetime.
I definitely agree with you, in regards to Women’s Rights! I’ve been reading a sub-focus of Historicals which I have called: Feminist Historical Fiction narratives – it was quite happenstance how it all began with a reading of a Victoria Woodhull novel & the back-story of the Suffragette movement in Emmy Nation – those two seemingly unconnected stories led me to a whole new door of Historical Fiction rooted in the pursuit and hard-won battles for Women’s Rights & Equality. I love finding WACs & WAVEs stories in Historical dramas! I have several on my TBR I want to dig inside eventually – it was such an interesting period of our history, where women were more inclusively given opportunities to serve & to contribute. I completely concur with your sentiments in your second paragraph – so very well spoken!
How many installments of the Liberty Victory series do you hope to release and how will each story shift forward? Will certain characters step forward and others will fall into the background or are the stories linked through the era and not directly by character?
Gardiner responds: The series is made up of three very distinct and separate novels and characters. The era links them, but they are further linked by their New York City area roots – hence the Liberty Victory Series. New York being the Liberty State.
I hadn’t realised serial fiction can bridge together in this particular fashion until earlier this year – I learnt so much about ‘series’ I added a bit about them to my review of The Matchup! I hadn’t connected that dot (the name of the series with it’s setting) and when you mentioned it here, I thought – why do I overlook the obvious? Laughs. Reading stories set in NYC is a favourite past-time of mine – I take this interest across genres, including my cheeky affection of a certain Cosy series set in ‘coffeehouses’.
As a Janeite myself, I’m keenly intrigued by one of your latest releases running concurrent to “A Moment Forever” which is your Austen noir “Undercover”. How did you conceptionalise writing a noir suspense novel with the ascertaining notion to pull-in a remnant of inclusion from Austen?
Gardiner responds: There’s a funny story behind that, actually. I had no intention of attempting something so tricky as romance, noir-esque and Austenesque, but my publishing partner, Pamela Lynne dared me. Grrr. Not one to ignore a challenge, I finally gave in. I began with the questions: What if Wickham had arrived in Lizzy’s NYC hometown and Darcy never had? What if Wickham had been even a greater sleaze ball than our canon rake? What if Mary King’s uncle hadn’t succeeded in separating her from him? What if Lizzy and Jane were not most beloved sisters? (Yes, I love that question.) And it was from there that I built the mystery and created the steamy, romantic, dark 1952 world, visiting societal norms of the time. It turned out to be great fun to write.
Wickham a worse rake than he already was? Dear heavens, say not! Although, that would be interesting to observe! He was such … ugh. Not the kind of bloke you’d want your daughter to conspire to be around, that’s for sure! He needles your raw nerves so easily! Oh, dear my! LIzzie & Jane not beloved sisters? Now that’s a reach – hmm. Yes, I can see how your muse took you off into a daring new world of where Austen’s characters would reside! Wow. Good for you to take up a challenge and run with it!
What do you find most gravitating by fusing a historically grounded story which readers can walk through a portal to the past which still feels very much alive?
Gardiner responds: Oh gosh! I love to hear when a reader felt like “they were there.” It means I did a good job in painting the world in my novel. I often mention e-mail and letters as it pertains to A Moment Forever in 1992. I watched an interview with Bill Gates in 1992, explaining that something called electronic mail was in development. Wow. I love that readers could get a taste of life “back then” even if “back then” is our own 20th Century history.
Laughs. I totally can relate to this! There are moments where I still remember ‘running to the gate’ in regards to flying – I am sure children & teens today are curious how that was even possible? There are so many distinctive changes in our everyday world, that writing those bits back inside contemporary historicals is going to be good fodder for the younger generations to read about because for them it will truly be a ‘look-back’ to a world they never knew. For those of us who do remember, even pay phones were easier to use if you had a prepaid phone card! Remember those?
Is there anything you’ve scoured antique emporiums to find but haven’t yet discovered to add to your personal collection of historical artifacts?
Gardiner responds: Oh! I would love, love, love to discover a working 1940s 78 rpm / radio console. Over the years, I have collected some neat records but am in search of the perfect phonograph. I just purchased another nice “want” in a 302-model telephone made with Bakelite from the WWII-era. I’m restoring that now with my dad.
I definitely need to replace my record player! Just to have my first vintage typewriter (it’s a Royal, late 30s / early 40s) is a treat for me! I want to collect a few more as I go along, as my stories will be typed on them. I’ve had my fill of technologic casualties where writing in hard copy for my fiction is bourne out necessity rather than curious retro inclinations! Collecting vinyl is getting easier & I couldn’t be more delighted! Here’s to keeping the past alive in what we collect today!
Letters and correspondences were vital during the war era – have you collected old letters and postcards along your journey towards realising the Liberty Victory series? Do you write letters yourself to friends or family? What do you love about sending and receiving your own personal mail?
Gardiner responds: I do collect WWII correspondence! The novel I hope to release in 2017 was inspired by a couple I know who met as wartime pen pals. When Paul returned home from the Pacific, he proposed. That really began my journey in collecting. I love getting lost in the absolute romance. To read “honey, baby, darling, sweetheart” is so stirring, even if a bit voyeuristic.
The correspondence written within AMF was inspired by the letters in my collection.
Receiving cards and the occasional letter from a reader really touches my heart. Someone took the time to mail correspondence to me when a text or email could have been so much simpler! I’m working on getting better with letter writing in my own life.
This is so wicked awesome! I have found postcards with handwritten notes on their backs at antique stores but I haven’t broached into collecting them as of yet. I simply admire looking through them. I also enjoy looking at old photographs and photo cards. On a personal note, I want to get back into my personal correspondences as I have missed the joy of sending & receiving postal mail. There is something to be said for composing our thoughts and placing them inside an envelope that travels through the postal system to reach a dear friend who opens our letters in haste to savour & enjoy the conversation we’ve written for them to read! I, too, am working towards re-establishing this side of my life, as I’ve been a letter writer for such a long time; I miss it!
What uplifts your spirit the most when you’re not researching or writing your novels?
Gardiner responds: Spending a sunny afternoon with my husband in Clearwater, FL. Wednesday lunch dates with my parents when I get to pick their brains for family gossip that I can put into a novel. WWII reenacting where I get to interact with people eager to learn history, and meeting veterans. I love trying new restaurants, and getting lost at the movies are my favorite escapes to hit the “reset” button.
So thankful to hear you’ve found ways to rejuvenate your creativity & find ways to unwind when your not thinking about your next story! Your happily eclectic in your hobbies of collecting joy – you will surely never run out of ways to re-inspire yourself!
About Cat Gardiner
Born and bred in New York City, Cat Gardiner is a girl in love with the romance of an era once known as the Silent Generation, now referred to as the Greatest Generation.
A member of the National League of American Pen Women, Romance Writers of America, and Tampa Area Romance Authors, she and her husband adore exploring the 1940s Home Front experience as living historians, wishing for a time machine to transport them back seventy years.
She loves to pull out her vintage frocks and attend U.S.O dances, swing clubs, and re-enactment camps as part of her research, believing that everyone should have an understanding of The 1940s Experience™. Inspired by those everyday young adults who changed the fate of the world, she writes about them, taking the reader on a romantic journey. Cat’s WWII-era novels always begin in her beloved Big Apple and surround you with the sights and sounds of a generation.
She is also the author of four Jane Austen-inspired contemporary novels, however, her greatest love is writing 20th Century Historical Fiction, WWII-era Romance. A Moment Forever is her debut novel in that genre.
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I am overjoyed by being able to bring this conversation to the tour! I hope everyone was enjoying where the conversation took us & the insights it has brought to the writing style of Ms Gardiner!
Kindly leave your reactions, comments & questions for Ms Gardiner below this post!
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Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers.
{SOURCES: Book Cover Art for “A Moment Forever”, author biography, author photograph of Cat Gardiner, book synopsis and reviewer badge were provided by Poetic Book Tours and used with permission. Photograph of a Letter from her personal collection provided by Cat Gardiner. Photo Credit: Cat Gardiner. Used with permission. Tweets embedded due to the codes provided by Twitter. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Conversations with the Bookish Banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2016.
Thank you so much for being on the tour. I loved how you added additional thoughts to the conversation.
Hallo Ms Cox!
This is my favourite way to interview authors – to not only start the convo with them, but to follow-up behind their replies, to have the conversation take-on a real-time vibe of exchange! I enjoyed being able to converse about mutual interests & learning more about what interested Ms Gardiner the most about the artifacts left behind for us to collect!