JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Eileen Granfors, author of Sydney’s Story
Sydney Carton is one of Dickens’ most memorable heroes, a man who died for the love of a woman he could never have. His morose presence is felt throughout A Tale of Two Cities.
Eileen Granfors has forged a prequel to tell Sydney’s Story, with each incident in his life before A Tale of Two Cities and the fateful meeting with Lucie Manette Darnay pushing him another step closer to the guillotine.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write Sydney’s Story?
Eileen Granfors: I taught A Tale of Two Cities for more than twenty years to high school juniors. Most of them thought he was foolish, disgusting, or a complete idiot. I kept telling them to think about it. And I promised them I would write his story someday. Now I have!
JP: What sets Sydney’s Story apart from other books in the same genre?
EG: Sydney’s Story is historical fiction, but with the added twist of being based on a very well-known character. I took a risk in giving my own twists to Sydney’s life. Dickens’ lovers may or may not agree, but I enjoyed having the freedom to let Sydney find his way.
There are other books of this kind like Wide Sargasso Sea based on Jane Eyre, Finn based on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Ahab’s Wife based on Moby Dick and The Double Bind based on The Great Gatsby.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to Sydney’s Story getting out to the public?
EG: I rely on my GoodReads friends, my Twitter associates, and the thousands of students, now adults, that I taught over the years to spread the word about my new books.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish Sydney’s Story?
EG: I’m not sure you will believe me here. I started thinking about this book thirty years ago. I began the research in the 1990s. One summer, I wrote Part I with a writing group led by Eve Caram. During NanoWriMo this year, I finished the write through. It took about nine more months to finalize logistics of plot and the editing.
I write in the morning after I walk my dogs. I write until 11 or 12 noon. I spend my afternoons reading new works by other authors.
JP: What’s next for Eileen Granfors?
EG: I will be going back to my first YA series. I wrote the middle book first, Some Rivers End on the Day of the Dead. Now I need to finish the prequel, The Pinata-Maker’s Daughter, and the sequel, So You, Solimar. I am enthusiastic about having new characters to fret about.
http://www.authoreileengranfors.blogspot.com
http://facebook.com Search: Eileen Clemens Granfors
Independent Authors Network,
#buyindie #kindle #ian1 @EGranfors http://bit.ly/KBzxx6
(Sydney’s not listed yet)
http://www.bloggerdise.com (look under books and literature for EGranfors)
I also write flash fiction and poetry on days when my time for writing is limited. On my web site, writers will find a daily writing prompt to get through the occasional writer’s block.
If things get really bad and my brain won’t go into the story, I pull out my crayons and my coloring book. That always frees me up to write! Try it!
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