Both the Library Journal and Romantic
Times compare The Language of Silence to Water for
Elephants. I’m delighted to be in that company, and happy to
give away a signed copy of my latest novel, The Language of
Silence (Gallery Books, Simon & Schuster), to one
lucky person who comments on today’s blog post.
One of the most frequently asked
questions about this book is, “Why did you choose a circus setting
and how did you make it authentic?” The why of the novel is
simple. The idea sprang from a non-fiction book I was reading, a
biography of the first female big cat trainer in the circus, Mabel
Stark of Barnum & Bailey fame.
Shortly after I read her biography,
Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey came to my hometown, and I was
able to interview an incredibly old, incredibly lovely woman who had
known Mabel back in the early days of circus. Wow! I came back from
that interview on fire for my story.
My character Lola is based loosely on
Mabel, and the rest of the circus magic is based on a wonderful
collection of out-of-print books I read about the days of the Big Top
in the seventies. I was able to obtain the books from my dear friend,
Bob Kenney, a professional magician who happens to also be a circus
buff.
Those rare books gave me the feel of
being an insider at the circus, not of merely telling about the shows
under the Big Top, but of following the performers after the shows.
When you read scenes in The Language of Silence about marking
the circus route, receiving mail, teaching the children, mapping out
a circus season, practicing for the shows, laying down straw for a
“straw house,” setting up the Big Top with elephants, and much
more, you’re seeing the results of many months of reading and
research.
For me, the best part of writing the
book was infusing it with the magic of dancing horses and trained
tigers. It was the fun of showing Magic Michelle with her
heart-shaped circle of white doves and Jocko the head clown with his
longing to read. It was depicting the heartbreak and the hope of a
battered woman who ran to the only safe place she knew, the circus
that had sheltered her grandmother.
Thank you for letting me visit with you
today! I do hope you’ll love reading The Language of Silence as
much as I enjoyed writing it. It’s available in trade paperback,
digital and audio forms.
Sounds magical !
ReplyDeleteSounds like an amazing read. Can't wait to check it out.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read. I do have to admit that clowns still creep me out a little bit!
ReplyDelete