INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Author Johanna Moran and The Wives of Henry Oades

INTERVIEW
Johanna Moran is the author of The Wives of Henry Oades, which I reviewed here. It is slated to be released February 25th. I got the awesome opportunity to ask her a few questions.

Hi Rebecca,
Great questions. Here you go...

1. I found the story of Henry, Meg, and Nancy in The Wives of Henry Oades very interesting. When I found out it was based on a true story, I was even more intrigued. Can you share with my readers a little about the court case that inspired you to write this novel?

More than a half century ago, my father, a law professor, came across an abstract on the Oades case. He brought it home to my mother, who was trying to write short fiction in her nonexistent spare time. She gave thought to fleshing out the story, but that's as far as she got. She squirreled the abstract away, perhaps thinking she'd get to it eventually. She gave it to me ten years ago. I was drawn in immediately and went from there.

2. You were a flight attendant for seventeen years before you decided to go back to school and become a writer. When did you first realize that writing was your calling?

Getting to this place was a plodding, gradual process. There was no one "aha" moment of discovery. I wrote two other novels before THE WIVES OF HENRY OADES. Many if not most writers have an unpublished manuscript or two under the bed. I do.

3. Organizing is not one of my strong suits. How do you organize your research and writing so that you can work easiest and most efficiently?

I'm not organized. I wish I were. My work space is typically a towering mess of books and papers.

4. Did you enjoy writing about any one of the characters in The Wives of Henry Oades more than the others? Did you feel a special kinship with any of them?

I lived with these characters for nearly a decade. I love and respect all three. They are decent people caught up in an impossible situation. Simply put, they are doing the best they can under the circumstances.

5. What are you working on now?

I'm working on a story about a friendship between two nineteenth-century prostitutes, one of whom was in fact murdered by Abraham Rothschild.

6. What book are you reading now?

I just started ON BEAUTY by Zadie Smith. I loved WHITE TEETH by the same author. She has a spot-on ear for dialogue.

7. Your book launches on February 25th. How do you plan to celebrate?

I'm excited about my launch here in Sarasota, which will be co-sponsored by the University of South Florida, my alma mater, and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. My agent is coming down from NY. We've had a lovely working relationship for over two years, but have never met face-to-face.

Thank you so much for sharing with us today, Johanna! I look forward to the release of the story you are working on now. It sounds really interesting!

GIVEAWAY
I am giving my copy of The Wives of Henry Oades to one lucky book blogger to read and review!
All you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling me what part of this book intrigues you the most, plus a way for me to contact you.

Extra Entries:

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The contest runs until Wednesday, January 27th. Good luck!