As promised, I answer more of the questions the scammer was going to ask on a fake radio show.
Here are the questions:
How important was the Cadence community itself in shaping Creature of Secret Sorrows?
Excellent question. Even though I wrote this book as a standalone, and the critics agree it can be read as such, the whole series and the world-building I’ve done in the previous novels serve as the foundation of this story. In each book I’ve carefully built community and relationships. Strong bonds between characters, even when they disagree. Shared branches on family trees. Shared history. Shared joy. Shared trauma. And, of course, shared meals.
Literary Titan had this to say: “Hagan writes community with breadth: meals, jokes, old resentments, marriages, griefs, and arguments all crowd the page…the reward is a world that feels inhabited rather than staged.” I want the reader to feel as if they are part of the conversation. Like they’re the ones rolling their eyes at Enoch’s corny jokes, or plotting with Marian about how they are going to help Police Chief George Powless solve the mystery.
Then there’s the town of Cadence itself, the sacred Seneca land on which it resides, and the lake that has witnessed and logged the sins of mankind since man first set up community there 10,000 years ago. Everything from nature’s elements (the lake, the weather, the sun, and moon) to the animals (eagles, owls, deer, bats, and bears) have roles in the resurrection of historical secrets. BookLife had this to say: “Cadence, the town, is another character of sorts, the secretive kind who, when she finally does give up a secret, keeps a dozen more.”
I want readers to feel the same draw to Cadence that the characters feel. The same sense that the place is different, magical, maybe, or supernatural. It’s a place where things happen. And also a place where people feel a comfort they’ve never felt anywhere else. A place that has space for you and that welcomes you.
What do you hope readers understand or reflect on after experiencing the story?
I hope that while being entertained, my readers will read with an open mind. All of the books in A Cadence Mystery series, including Creature of Secret Sorrows, deal with the historical and generational trauma of racism and misogyny and the legacy that places a heavy hand of inequity on this country. The community of Cadence faces these revelations head on, no matter how painful. They work together toward a peaceful, reparative resolution. I envision Cadence like a microcosm of what our country might one day become; a place that is both “strange and wondrous,” (The BookLife Prize) and “asks what repair might look like after truth has done its bruising work.” (Literary Titan).
Are there particular characters, themes, pieces of folklore, or social questions you would especially love readers to discuss?
I’d love for my readers to have lively discussions at their book club or community library meetings, or over lunch with friends, about the characters, folklore, and themes that stayed with them long after they read the last word of the book. It’s why I include discussion questions at the end of each book to help facilitate such discussions. And, of course, I’d love to attend a book club meeting virtually to join in on that discussion and answer questions. Just click the button below and follow the instructions to set up a date.
I’m getting closer to a title for book 8
Choosing a title for a book isn’t easy. Besides the cover design, it’s the first thing a potential reader sees. It has to give a hint about what the story is about and be unique and catchy at the same time. I agonized over several titles in the ten books I’ve written. Some came easily. Fallen Deer literally fell in my lap, er, onto my car, and besides its literal meaning and Marian’s unlucky meet up with the deer falling out of the sky (or so it seems), there is a literary meaning to the title as well.
Book 8, which I refer to as the ICE book, is hard to pin down. Should I go with the ice theme? The monster? The missing children? I guess if an author goes with one of the big publishing houses, there are people who decide those things based on certain metrics. But in my case, as an independent author, I’m the one who will make the final decision with the input from my team of editors and beta readers. This morning, as I lay in that semi-conscious state, where lucid dreams often come to me, some title choices revealed themselves. Now that I’m awake, I’m taking them under consideration and plan to share them with my inner circle soon to see what they think. Until then, book 8, the ICE book, is still untitled.
Buy Creature of Secret Sorrows or any of the A Cadence Mystery series books
I hope you will join us in Cadence. There’s room for everyone at the table. And it’s fall in Creature of Secret Sorrows. Join us for pumpkin spice cake and a mug of coffee or tea. See you there! In the meantime, your comments are always welcome!
Leave a Reply