Sunday, September 21, 2014

Interview With Author Mary Adair

Today's Guest Author

Mary Adair


    Hello everyone! I'm back again with what I've discovered to be my most popular part of my blog, the Author Interview. Today we have lovely Mary Adair, Amazon's best selling author of Native American Romance. These Native American Romances are directed at a more mature audience, an adult audience. Now when I say Romance I want to make clear what type of Romance. It wasn't until I was in my late 20's that I realized that a romance novel can be more than some cheesy Harlequin paperback. My apologies to anyone who is a Harlequin fan, it's just not my thing, too much fluff & a lot of times the story suffers because the focus is all on the romance & nothing else. Then I came across a few authors who showed me that you can have a story & romance. I found that romances were capable of having strong female characters who could take care of themselves & story, a deep storyline at that, who knew?! LOL! Anyway, the latter is what Mrs. Adair writes. Her stories are smart & well researched, her characters are interesting & strong, & she still manages to fit in just the right amount of romance without taking away from the wonderful Native American history & well thought out story. That's my kind of romance author & as you'll come to see, those are the only Romance authors I'll read & talk about on The Ranting Bookworm. The name of Mary Adair's first book in her Native American Romance series is called Passion's Vision. Passion's Vision also won the Betty Hendrick's Award for Most Publishable Romance at the Dallas Writers Association Convention, evidently I'm not her only fan. Mrs. Adair continues to build on the wonderful story she created in Passion's Vision with two more books called Raven's Passion & Passion's Price. So far I've only gotten to read book one, Passion's Vision, but if the other two are even half as good as her first then I know I'm going to love them just as much. For those of you who are into history & are sticklers for historical accuracy, Mary Adair hits the nail on the head in that department. Mrs. Adair got lucky while looking for reference material & inspiration, while trying to write her first book, when her husband brought to her attention that he had a relative from the 1700's who wrote a book about Native Americans during the 1700's. Not only did she use a lot of his research to make her story more real/ alive, but she also loosely based the male lead after him. I personally would label this series as Historical Fiction with a tiny bit of Romance for some spice, but no matter what you label it as, I'm confident you'll love her story as much as I did.











Synopsis of Passion's Vision by: The Ranting Bookworm

    New Moon is a young Cherokee woman & warrior who still morns the death of her husband, a well respected warrior in her tribe. A white man killed her husband & now New Moon is troubled even more when the spirits give her a vision of the man to be her new mate ,"...A man with hair the color of the great river's clay & eyes the color of the summer sky.". She vows to never let this happen, but will the spirits let her off so easily, with a simple, stubborn vow? Before she knows it, James Fitzgerald rides into her village. Mr Fitzgerald with "...hair the color of the great river's clay...", red, & "...eyes the color of the summer sky...", blue. He's an agent in King George's court & has been commissioned to blend into Dancing Cloud's tribe as a trader in order to take out a French agent causing trouble for both tribes & settlers. Yet, from the moment he see's New Moon, James can't take his eyes off her & decides to win her over, which turns out to be harder than he realizes, for she's not your average girl, Cherokee or not. James & New Moon defend her tribe & fight side-by-side, a love that New Moon thought was impossible slowly blossoms. A love that heals two wounded hearts & a love they will have to fight to protect. 

The Ranting Bookworm's Review of: Passion's Vision

    Passion's Vision, best described as a romantic historical fiction, is much like a beautifully written history book that on closer inspection reveals a reluctant, yet passionate love story. It's obvious that Ms. Adair did her research as she proceeds to detail a young America that was so tangible & alive to me that I swore I could feel the soft fur blankets against my skin, smell the campfires burning, taste the corn flour rations, & hear the war cries of the Cherokee at battle!

     Yet, as amazing as all the historical accuracy is, the real heart of the story lies in New Moon's & James Fitzgerald's growing passion for each other. The author continues to amaze by introducing us to New Moon who has the spirit of a warrior & is a big departure from what many period pieces often overdo, the damsel in distress syndrome. Not even Mr. Fitzgerald follows the unwritten rules for how a male leading character does in a story like this. Instead of forcing the white mans ways on the natives he, instead, brings a level of understanding & admiration to them that is different than anything I've seen in any book or movie like this.

     Mary Adair keeps you glued to her book with her unique characters & passionate, one of a kind, historical fiction love story. While there were a few typos throughout the tail end of my copy, it did nothing to take away from the story. The deeper I got into the book the harder it was to put down. I can't wait to read the next 2 books in her Passion series.

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    Mary Adair also writes a YA Fantasy series by the name of Legends of Aztar. The first book is called Captive Spirits. The rest of the series is on it's way. I have yet to read this book, but when I do, I promise to post a review on here for everyone to see. Still, with as impressed as I was with Mary's writing style in her adult series, I'm sure she won't disapoint me with her YA series.

*You can't really Look inside this book from here. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of the book cover that doesn't have that written on it. But you can take a look at it here: Captive Spirits eBook Link

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The following is the Author Interview As Promised

(TRB=the Ranting Bookworm aka Jolene,MA =Mary Adair) 

*P.S. I hope none of my questions come across as repetitive. Just so everyone understands, I generally write up a bunch of questions which I then email & get the answers to later. I try & write the questions in a way that hopefully prevents the author from repeating themselves, but sometimes there is just no way to avoiding it. Please enjoy.

  •  TRB- I saw one on of the books you drew some of your research from for Passion’s Vision was written in 1930 by one of your husband’s relatives James Adair, can you tell us a little about him & how you found out about him? Did his book have anything to do with your desire to write a book about that time period & the Cherokee, if not, what was your inspiration? 

 MA- James Adair lived in the 1700 and wrote the book, Adair’s History of the American Indian, about his time living with the Native Americans. It was published in England in the 1700s, but was not published in the United States until 1930. Some facts about James Adair, he came to America with his father and two brothers. He did have ties to England and the King. He set up a successful trading post which is actually marked on an old map I found during my research. He spent his life in America with the Native Americans and wrote his book, Adair’s History of American Indians which was published in England in 1775. It was first published in the United States in 1930.

I was hip deep looking into my family lines hoping to find an ancestor I could draw inspiration from when my husband said, in a very matter of fact way, “I just don’t know why you don’t read James Adair’s book on American Indians.”

My husband is such a tease. “Yes,” I scoffed. “And just who is James Adair?”

Well, when He told me he was an agent to the king and trader to the Indians in the 1700s I just laughed and turned back to my family research. We were at the library at the time. He quietly laid the book down in front of me. Just reading the introduction was enough for me. I checked out the book and that was the beginning of Passion’s Vision.

After returning Adair’s History of the American Indians to the library they had an old book sale and it was sold. I was sick because I didn’t hear about the sale before the old book was sold. Of course, now Adair’s History is readily available.

I have to say though James Fitzgerald aka Red Panther, was inspired by the man James Adair and his remarkable adventures,  James Fitzgerald and his remarkable adventures came from my own imagination.
  •  TRB - What drew you to writing about American Indian tribes from the 1700’s? 

MA- The fact that my husband had such an exciting ancestor was the first draw. Reading the Adair book and learning about Native American customs and ceremonies I never knew about as well as the intimate look at the brave and noble people won my heart.

  •   TRB– I was impressed with your creation of a white man who integrates with the Cherokee, living with them, observing & appreciating their way of life, not trying to change them or force the white man’s ways on them. That’s not a common character idea, most books portray the white man more like your character DuPrey, perhaps not as evil, but in the way he moved in & slowly changing the way the natives did things to replicate the European way of life. So, my question is, how did you decide to write the character of James like this, a person who lives with the Cherokee & learns from them, but doesn’t try & change them? What inspired you to write a character like James?

MA- James Adair was that type of person. So James Fitzgerald was as well. James Adair had a respect for Indian customs and beliefs. He never thought of a Native American as anything less than they are. He was fascinated by them and chose to spend his life with Native Americans. From his writings we learn he believed the Native Americans to be a lost tribe of Israel. I don’t know if he came to this conclusion after living and practicing their customs or if he was drawn to them because of that belief.

  •   TRB–You gave us a very strong Cherokee Female Character by the name of New Moon whom I feel is very admirable, what was your inspiration or drive to write a character like her?

MA-  The Cherokee are matriarchal. That basically means they respect their women and women have a strong voice. A woman chose her husband, the children belonged to the mother and she had the final say. If a woman no longer wanted her husband, all she had to do was toss his stuff out the door and he was no longer her husband. The Beloved Woman had the swing vote in the decision of war.

Another interesting thing I learned. The old widows who had no family to care for them and the orphaned were respected and cared for. There is a scene in Passion’s Vision where a large skin is placed on the ground and before a warrior could dance and tell his story of the hunt he would place an offering on the blanket for the needy within the tribe. I learned about that custom in Adair’s book.
  • TRB- I know you’ve written 2 other books that follow Passion’s Vision, Raven’s Passion & Passion’s Price, I suppose you could call it The Passion’s series, anyway, do you plan to write anymore books for this series?

MA- Yes. I am plotting Passion’s Promise as we speak. I don’t want to say more about it than Johnny Cloud, Raven and Dawn’s son, makes a promise to his wife. After this promise he is captured and placed on a prison ship. During my  research on the Revolutionary War I found a list of prisoners on a prison ship. I had already named Raven and Dawn’s baby in Passion’s Price as Johnny and the book was already published when I found this list. To my great excitement there was a John Cloud on that list!
  •   TRB– I saw that you did a lot of literary research about the subject of Native American history & way of life during the time period you wrote about, but did you actually receive any help from people on the subject, visit any place in preparation to write your story? Basically did you do anything extra special to add a little more authenticity your tale, because I have to admit that you did a spectacular job covering the subject?

MA-I visited the Cherokee Heritage Center in Tahlequah Oklahoma. (http://www.cherokeeheritage.org/) This is a realistic village of 1710. There is also an awesome museum and Genealogy records.  They have events throughout the year, but the village I believe is open most of the year. Also, I live in Oklahoma where I am surrounded by Native American history. 
  •  TRB – I noticed that you also have another book out called Captive Spirits which is a YA Fantasy. I haven’t gotten the chance to read it yet, but if it’s half as good as Passion’s Vision then I know I’ll love it. Anyway, I was wondering if you might tell us a little bit about it, like why you chose to change genres & age groups to write it?

MA-Actually, Captive Spirits was my first book to write. I took a creative writing class at UTA at Arlington in preparation to do something I had always wanted to do…write a book. My son was in grade school and I would bounce the story off him. I finished the book, “learning book” and set it aside, as my son was now a teenager and required a good amount of parenting and guidance.

I didn’t pick it up again until I had published Passion’s Vision and Passion’s Price. On a day while having a stressing day filled with “empty nest syndrome” I picked Captive Spirits up and started reading. I first though, “Did I really learn something in this class, how did I ever pass it?”   Then, “This story is really good.” So, I found my red pen and went to work. I published Captive Spirits and it has received great reviews, but I set it aside again as I threw myself into promoting Passion’s Vision and so it has not received much attention as far as promotion goes. I would love to get your opinion after you read it.


  • TRB- When you sit down to write what are some of the comfort items you like to have near you to help your creative juices flow? (music, coffee, tea, a pet, pics, etc...)

MA- I love to walk outside while thinking about my storyline. I live in the beautiful hills of Oklahoma so I can walk out a short way from home and I will be surrounded by nature that is still as it was in my Passion book. I also like sitting on the porch with my husband at sun up and sun set. We are far enough out that there is nature all around us. I hand write notes till I pretty much have the story figured out. Then I go to the computer. Laptop on my lap (of course) TV on, Coffee cup close at hand, the little dogs barking to beat the band because they are not allowed in my lap with the computer, the big dogs outside barking and rolling round the yard, my husband periodically calling my attention to something on the TV, I begin to write.
If I were in total silence, I don’t think I could write a word.

  • TRB- Do you have any favorite hobbies outside of reading & writing that help center you & relax you in between putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard?

MA- I love walking in the wood, visiting museums, garage sales, any movie…I love to go to the movies.

  • TRB- Who is or are your literary hero’s?

MA- The Bible, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Margaret Mitchell and Kathleen Woodiwiss are the authors that started my love for reading and influenced my desire to write.
  • TRB- I like to believe most avid readers have a book or series that they remember reading as a child or young adult that helped fan the flames of their love for reading & writing, I'm not too embarrassed to admit that mine was the Bunnicula series by James Howe. What was yours?

MA- Mark Twain.  I absolutely loved Huckleberry  Finn and Tom Sawyer. My son did as well.
  • TRB- How often do you write?

MA- I work on a project every day. I may not write every day, but I am thinking and plotting sometime, I think even when I sleep.

  • TRB- Is there any advice you might have for new & or aspiring writers that you never got when you first started, but looking back you would have liked someone to have shared with you?

MA- Life is full of responsibilities, but life is also meant to be enjoyed. Take care of your responsibilities, and do not neglect to set a time apart just for yourself. If writing is your passion and your vision for yourself, you can do it. Never give up.

  • TRB- Did you have a parent or teacher that inspired you to follow your dreams & ambitions for writing?

MA- No. I actually don’t remember anyone encouraging me to write.  

  • TRB- Did you always want to write or is this a new hobby and or passion?

MA- Always. I can even remember writing stories when I was very young. Before I could write I drew pictures and pretended it was a storybook and told the story of the pictures to my mother.

  • TRB- How do you feel about the whole eReader vs Paper debate?

MA- I love a BOOK. I love to see books on a shelf. I love holding a book in my hands. I love curling up before the fireplace with a good book. On the other hand, an eReader is a handy convenience.

  • TRB- Do you have any other book ideas, aside from the two you already have going, in the works that you can share with us? 

MA- Yes, I am working on a Christian Contemporary Romance, In Her Father’s Will, and another one clamoring around in my head that I am not at a point to mention yet. 
  • TRB- Finally, is there anything I may not have covered already that you would like to share with us about yourself & your writing?

MA- I would like to remind all the wonderful readers and fans out there, we (authors) live to write and find tremendous joy in your response to our writing. I want to hear the good and the bad because I want to know what my fans enjoy. I believe most if not all authors feel the same way. So If you want to really make your favorite author happy, write her or him a review.

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     Thank you, Mary, for your wonderful answers & I hope to be reading more great books by you in the near future. As to my readers, please read Passion's Vision, there is so much to learn historically from it & I swear opening that book transports the reader physically to another time, the 1700's to be exact. I do plan to eventually read her other books & when I do I promise to share my reviews with everyone on my blog.  Before I let you go I have a few small things to share with you. First, I just started a new Twitter account to help promote my blog. I've never really been into Twitter or even understood it in the past, but recently I got a book on the subject by Elaine Orr & it helped me not just understand Twitter better, but it made me realize how it could be of use. My Twitter name is @RantingBookworm . I tried to set it up to look similar to my blog & thus it has the same cute worm picture & picture of a book with flying letters, that way those familiar with my blog recognize it as me.  Feel free to stop in & say hi if you do the Twitter thing, if you don't I won't hold it against you, as I mentioned earlier, I'm new to Twitter & feel  it has limited use as it is. Second, be on the look out for an interview YA Dystopian / Fantasy  author Mark Murphy, I should be talking to him about his awesome new Bloodsword Trilogy.  Finally, I finished one of my books on my reading list & forgot to mention a 5th small reading category, so, I should be posting an update to my What I'm Reading section of my blog to make the corrections & updates as needed to this part of my blog. Lastly, I want to thank everyone who has stopped in to read this post & if you have any comments or questions please feel free to use the comments section below to write them. Hopefully I didn't make too many mistakes, but if I did, please feel free to let me know about them, preferably nicely, in the comments section as well. Anyway, before I go,  I'd like to remind everyone to keep reading & share your literary love with the young & old alike. Peace, Love & TTFN...

   

1 comment:

  1. This seemed the fastest way to answer your question. I didn't get the Cheetos from Target, I got them from my grocery store. They were around $4. I saw them at WalMart, but I can't remember if I've seen them at Target.

    ReplyDelete