People always ask, “What’s your book about?” But the question often ignored is, “Why did you write your book?” That’s where this blog hop comes in!<\/p>\n
I think it’s fair to say every writer decides to put words on paper because the story speaks to them in some way. If you’re like me, you can hear the characters in your head and you know their tale must be told.<\/p>\n
For my novel, The Bootlegger’s Bible, which was chosen for PitchWars by epic mentors Stephanie Garber<\/a> and Stacey Lee<\/a>, the nagging thoughts in my head to write this story came mostly from my childhood. My parents come from different religious backgrounds and for my entire life we’ve celebrated the holidays of each faith. I grew up immersed in both cultures, the traditions, the viewpoints and seeing how they weren’t always fond of each other. From that, my characters started to emerge until I could hear their voices and their old fashioned slang.<\/p>\n Now, to be fair, my youth didn’t exactly consist of an alternate version of the 1940’s, like in my novel, where the Second World War and Prohibition coexist. But I have always been fascinated by the gangster era. So when I thought about these families and when their story should be told, Prohibition seemed like an obvious setting. Especially given the warring neighborhoods and the everyday man turning on their friends and family.<\/p>\n Starting with those basic building blocks, my novel blossomed from (what I consider) a pretty cool idea into a fully fledged world. I loved exploring all the alternate history possibilities and watching my characters transform into people. It’s been such an incredible ride and I honestly have never loved this story more.<\/p>\n I know I’m not alone in having a great “behind the book” story, so be sure to check out all these other awesome PitchWars participants and learn about their journeys.<\/p>\n Carleen Karanovic: HOPE ON A FEATHER<\/a><\/p>\n Heather Truett: RENASCENCE<\/a><\/p>\n Tracie Martin: WILD<\/a> IS THE WIND<\/p>\n Susan Bickford: FRAMED<\/a><\/p>\n Rachel Sarah: RULES FOR RUNNING AWAY <\/a><\/p>\n Amanda Rawson Hill: GRIMM AND BEAR IT<\/a><\/p>\n Charlotte Gruber: CODE OF SILENCE<\/a><\/p>\n Kip Wilson: THE MOST DAZZLING GIRL IN BERLIN<\/a><\/p>\n Mary Ann Nicholson: CALAMITY<\/a><\/p>\n Nikki Roberti: THE TRUTH ABOUT TWO-SHOES<\/a><\/p>\n Anna Patel: EXODUS<\/a><\/p>\n K. A. Reynolds: LE CIRQUE DU LITERATI<\/a><\/p>\n Susan Crispell: WISHES TO NOWHERE<\/a><\/p>\n Ron Walters: THE GOLEM INITIATIVE<\/a><\/p>\n Rosalyn Eves: THE BLOOD ROSE REBELLION<\/a><\/p>\n Ashley Poston: HEART OF IRON<\/a><\/p>\n Mara Rutherford: WINTERSOUL<\/a><\/p>\n Janet Walden-West: Damned If She Do<\/a><\/p>\n Kazul Wolf: SUMMER THUNDER<\/a><\/p>\n S. D. Grimm: WITCHER<\/a><\/p>\n Kelli Newby: THORNVAAL<\/a><\/p>\n Tara Sim: TIMEKEEPER<\/a><\/p>\n Elliah Terry: POCKET FULL OF POPPIES<\/a><\/p>\n Alessa Hinlo: THE HONEST THIEF<\/a><\/p>\n Rachel Horwitz: THE BOOTLEGGER\u2019S<\/a> BIBLE<\/p>\n Whitney Taylor: DEFINITIONS OF INDEFINABLE THINGS<\/a><\/p>\n Lyra Selene: REVERIE<\/a><\/p>\n Natalie Williamson: SET IN STONE<\/a><\/p>\n Robin Lemke: THE DANCE OF THE PALMS<\/a><\/p>\n Stephanie Herman: CLIFF WITH NO EDGE<\/a><\/p>\n Shannon Cooley: A FROG, A WHISTLE, AND A VIAL OF SAND<\/a><\/p>\n Ruth Anne Snow: THE GIRLS OF MARCH<\/a><\/p>\n Elizabeth Dimit: PHOEBE FRANZ’S GUIDE TO PASSPORTS, PAGEANTS, & PARENTAL DISASTERS<\/a><\/p>\n Gwen C. Katz: AMONG THE RED STARS<\/a><\/p>\n Jennifer Hawkins: FALSE START<\/a><\/p>\n Kelly DeVos: THE WHITE LEHUA<\/a><\/p>\n Gina Denny: SANDS OF IMMORTALITY<\/a><\/p>\n Natasha M. Heck: FOLLOW THE MOON<\/a><\/p>\n