Jody Hedlund ~ Author Interview #3

Jun 5, 2015 by Rachel

Welcome back to Rachel’s Back Talk! Another Friday interview!

While you may have remembered me interviewing Jody Hedlund before, this week, I am celebrating the release of her newest book Hearts Made Whole.

So without further ado, on to Rachel’s Back Talk – Special Edition!

Interview:

RR: Hi Jody! I’m so glad you could join me here today! So to start off to today, can you tell us how you came up with the idea for Hearts Made Whole?

JH: Historical textbooks are full of stories about men like George Washington, Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie, and so many more.  And while such men are truly remarkable, all too often their stories overshadow equally courageous and remarkable women. One of my goals as an author is to help bring forgotten women of the past to life.

In the Beacons of Hope series, I’m focusing on historical women light keepers who have often been kept in the dark by the more prominent stories of their male counterparts.  

As I researched for writing a lighthouse series, I came across a fantastic book called, Ladies of the Lights: Michigan Women in the U.S. Lighthouse Service. The book is a tribute to the approximately 50 or so women who served either as primary or assistant keepers in Michigan Lighthouses.

I based the heroine in Hearts Made Whole on one of those women light keepers. It’s my hope to bring her and the other women keepers out of the historical shadows and into the spotlight.

RR: That is so awesome! I love reading about women of the past and you bring them to life in such a realistic way! So you said that your heroines are inspired by real women. Who inspired the heroine in Hearts Made Whole?

JH: The woman light keeper in Hearts Made Whole is inspired by Caroline Antaya. Caroline lived at the Mamajuda Lighthouse on the Detroit River a short distance away from Windmill Point Lighthouse.

Caroline’s husband served with honor in the Union army during the Civil War, losing several fingers on his hand at Gettysburg. Eventually after returning from the war, her husband was named as keeper of the Mamajuda Lighthouse, but he passed away of tuberculosis.

Part of what really impressed me about Caroline Antaya’s situation was that she had been doing a fantastic job as a light keeper. But the district lighthouse inspector trumped up charges against her saying that she was in ill-health and incompetent. He took away her position simply because she was a woman and gave it to a man instead. Fortunately, her community rose to her defense and enlisted the help of a Michigan Senator to help her get her position back and she went on to serve as a light keeper for another three years.

In those days, when women were regularly discriminated against because of gender, Caroline’s story is inspirational and an encouragement to persevere in the face of injustice. I admired Caroline’s will to stand up for herself and to pave the way for women coming after her to use their God-given talents and abilities in roles and jobs that had previously been closed to women.

RR: Her story is really inspiring! What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

JH: Readers familiar with my books will know that I’m not afraid to tackle really tough issues. That’s especially true in Hearts Made Whole. Since the hero is coming home as a Civil War veteran, he’s facing some post-traumatic stress as well as debilitating war wounds that leave him addicted to his pain medicine.

At the same time the heroine is struggling to act as both father and mother to her four siblings while holding down a job as light keeper. She has the overwhelming job of trying to take care of everyone and everything while always remaining strong.

Both characters come to a point where they recognize they can’t face all of their overwhelming troubles on their own and cry out to God their desperate need for Him. I hope that readers will take away a desire to turn to God in their most desperate needs too and know that He is there waiting to comfort and help them.

RR: What a great reminder! And now for some questions about your writing–how do you name each character?

JH: The process of coming up with names is quite complicated, and I generally take a lot of elements into consideration. I keep a running list of all the heroes and heroines of my books and try not to duplicate anything too closely to a name I’ve already used.

I also take into consideration names used doing the time period and the ethnicity of my characters. For example, in my first lighthouse book, Love Unexpected, I chose Irish names that were commonly used during the 1800’s because both of the main characters had an Irish heritage.

Sometimes I consider symbolism for names. Other times, particularly in my inspired-by stories, I try to pick a name that is similar to the character from history that I’m portraying.

RR: So do you end up doing a lot of research before your novels? Do you do it before, in the middle, or after your write your novel?

JH: Since I write historicals, research is an integral part of my writing process. I usually spend anywhere between 4-6 weeks on initial research, reading biographies, getting a feel for the time period, and digging into the meat that will comprise the plot of my book.

Once I start writing the first draft, I have to stop from time to time to do a little more research, particularly if I switch settings within the story. But usually, if I don’t know something, I’ll highlight it and then do more research during my editing phase.

RR: Wow! This was really great. Thanks so much for taking the time to be here today, Jody!

Jody is having an Afternoon at the Beach giveaway if you want to hop over for a chance to win Hearts Made Whole. 

And if you missed my review of Hearts Made Whole, check it out HERE!

 

Jody Hedlund is a best-selling and award-winning author who loves fairy- tales and happily-ever-afters. She makes her home in Midland, MI with her husband and five children. When she’s not writing another of her page-turning stories, you can usually find her sipping coffee, eating chocolate, and reading.