Month: February 2014

Winter, Wisconsin, 2013-14

elizabethcaulfieldfelt weather, Wisconsin, writing

I try not to complain about the weather.  When Andy and I were deciding where to settle down, we both chose Wisconsin.  So, I’ve chosen to live in a place that has a real winter.  Mostly, I like winter: the clean feel of cold air, the beauty of a fresh snowfall, cross country skiing in a lonely forest.  I grew up with a change of seasons, and I would miss it if I lived in a warmer climate.

Because I live just over one mile (1700 meters) from work, I try to ride my bike in good weather and walk in bad weather.  This winter has been a challenge, as there have been a number of days below 0 Fahrenheit (-18 Celsius), with a wind chill near -40F (-40C).  I’m hardy, but I’m not that hardy.  I’ve had to drive, which I find depressing.

Snow? Yes, we’ve gotten some snow.  Last Monday we received a little over 6 inches (16 cm) of snow.  This was on top of the several feet (about a meter) of snow we’d already gotten. The problem with this much snow is that when you shovel, you have to lift your shovel more than waist high (almost shoulder high) to get it off the driveway.

Note the mailbox (bottom right) to get a perspective on the snow's height.
Note the mailbox (bottom right) to get a perspective on the snow’s height.

This picture was taken on the gorgeous, sunny Tuesday after Monday’s heavy snowfall.  We were predicted to get another 6” to 12” (16 – 32 cm) on Thursday.  I’m happy to report that that storm missed my town, though other parts of Wisconsin did receive heavy snowfall that day.

OK, so why am I writing about the weather on my “reading, writing, no arithmetic” blog?  The cold weather and the snow has made it hard for me to do anything.  I summon the energy to go to work and teach.  I cook meals and clean (sort of).  Our Christmas letter / New Year’s letter has become a Valentine’s letter (mailed today, more than a week after Valentine’s Day).

I was going to include some weather statistics in this blog, but I couldn’t find any in a three-minute search, so I haven’t. Meh.

Writing? Writing is the activity that always gets short shrift in my life, and I haven’t done much since early January. Ech.  I’m blaming the weather.

It has been a harsh winter all over the United States and a dangerously mild winter in Europe (flooding in England).  How has this weird weather affected you?

Author Interview: Marci Jefferson

elizabethcaulfieldfelt author, books, interview, reading, writing

marciToday I’m welcoming Marci Jefferson to my series of author interviews. Marci is the author of Girl on the Golden Coin, a novel of Frances Stuart, which will be released February 11th. I met Marci at the Historical Novels Society Conference I went to in June, and I’m pleased to have her join me here today.

Elizabeth: Welcome, Marci.

Marci: Elizabeth, it was wonderful to finally meet you in person in June and I’m delighted to be your guest today! Thank you for having me, and for helping me get the word out there about my debut novel.

Elizabeth: Can you tell us a little about Frances Stuart and your novel, The Girl on the Golden Coin?

marci bookMarci: Impoverished and exiled to the French countryside after the overthrow of the English Crown, Frances Stuart survives merely by her blood-relation to the Stuart Royals. But in 1660, the Restoration of Stuart Monarchy in England returns her family to favor. Frances discards threadbare gowns and springs to gilded Fontainebleau Palace, where she soon catches King Louis XIV’s eye. But Frances is no ordinary court beauty, she has Stuart secrets to keep and people to protect. The king turns vengeful when she rejects his offer to become his Official Mistress. He banishes her to England with orders to seduce King Charles II and stop a war. Armed in pearls and silk, Frances maneuvers through the political turbulence of Whitehall Palace, but still can’t afford to stir a scandal. Her tactic to inspire King Charles to greatness captivates him. He believes her love can make him an honest man and even chooses Frances to pose as Britannia for England’s coins. Frances survives the Great Fire, the Great Plague, and the debauchery of the Restoration Court, yet loses her heart to the very king she must control. Until she is forced to choose between love or war.

Elizabeth: What first attracted you to Frances as a main character?

Marci: I first learned about the Royal Stuarts during a stay in London over a decade ago. Someone happened to point out the Banqueting House, stating that’s where Charles I was beheaded. Since, up to that point, I thought kings ordered all the beheadings, I felt compelled to study the Royal Stuarts independently, to understand their fascinating rule. Frances Stuart initially stood out as a woman who embraced her personal liberty in defiance of kings. A few years later I read The Other Boleyn Girl and became obsessed with the desire to do for the Stuarts what Phillippa Gregory had done for the Tudors. I picked up my independent studies again and soon realized Frances Stuart’s independent streak matched the collective spirit of the Restoration age. Since she also happened to be the model for Britannia, I realized there was no better subject for a novel of Restoration England.

Elizabeth: It seems I read somewhere that Frances Stuart was a bit of an airhead.

Marci: I’m certain you did read that! But reading her letters you realize that just wasn’t true. At first I saw her as many historians saw her, as a simple girl who eloped to avoid sleeping with King Charles II. When I read what the French ambassadors and poets and diarists thought of her, I realized she was a very complex person. As I studied the historical events and the kings she interacted with, I realized how close she was and how involved she might have been. By the time I finished the book and realized the sacrifice she made might have saved England from disaster, I had developed a deep respect for Frances Stuart. She was very intelligent, but I believe it suited her purpose to let people underestimate her.

Elizabeth: You did a great deal of research to write this story. Were there certain areas in which you allowed your imagination and creativity to run free?

Marci: Yes, Elizabeth, sometimes I let that research take over my life! But I’m glad you ask about imagination. Believe it or not, I had to push my imagination into overdrive for each and every scene. For each historical fact I learned, I uncovered a new set of questions. It is one thing to know what happened, but another to decide how it made a character feel, and yet another to make the reader feel it through the right choice of words. I couldn’t let Frances Stuart walk down a hall without knowing if her footsteps would echo or fall softly into carpet, whether she was nervous or bored, how the walls looked and even what it smelled like. You can’t glean that sensory or internal detail from floor plans or historical records. Even after years of research, this is ultimately a work of fiction, and therefore a heavy dose of my own imagination.

Elizabeth: What is your writing process or schedule?

Marci: I work part time as a Registered Nurse, so most of my writing is done on my days off. This is much easier now that both of my kids are in school. Other than that I squeeze it in whenever I have a chance. Thankfully my husband and children have been very patient with me.

Elizabeth: Can you tell us what you are working on now?

Marci: A novel about Marie Mancini, who was Louis XIV’s first love. It will be royally wicked!

Elizabeth: Sounds intriguing. Enough about your writing—tell us about yourself.

Marci: Years after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University, immersing myself in a Quality Assurance nursing career, and then having children, I realized I’d neglected my passion for history and writing. I began traveling, writing along the way, delving into various bits of history that caught my fancy. The plot for Girl on the Golden Coin evolved slowly after a trip to London, where I first learned about the Stuart royals. I am member of the Historical Novel Society. I reside in the Midwest with my husband, making hair-bows for our daughter, trying not to step on our son’s Legos, and teaching a tiny Pacific Parrotlet to talk.

Elizabeth: We’ve now reached the time in our interview for the let’s-get-to-know-the-author-better, nearly-pointless, sort-of-silly, rapid-fire questions:

Elizabeth: Coffee or tea?

Marci: Tea all the way and every day!

Elizabeth: Ocean or mountain?

Marci: Ocean

Elizabeth: Hiking or shopping?

Marci: Shopping

Elizabeth: Violin or piano?

Marci: Violin

Elizabeth: Mystery or fantasy?

Marci: Fantasy

Elizabeth: Darcy or Heathcliff?

Marci: Darcy

Elizabeth: Love scene or death scene?

Marci: Death is easier to write, but love is easier to read.

Thank you, Marci, for visiting.

You can learn more about Marci Jefferson and her book, Girl on the Golden Coin, at  www.marcijefferson.com or follow her on Twitter: @marcijefferson

Girl on the Golden Coin is available at:

Barnes & Noble

Books a Million

IndieBoundAmazon