Adele Holmes
Author Interview - Adele Holmes
Author of Winter's Reckoning
Forty-six-year-old Madeline Fairbanks has no use for ideas like “separation of the races” or “men as the superior sex.” There are many in her dying Southern Appalachian town who are upset by her socially progressive views, but for years—partly due to her late husband’s still-powerful influence, and partly due to her skill as a healer in a remote town with no doctor of its own—folks have been willing to turn a blind eye to her “transgressions.” Even Maddie’s decision to take on a Black apprentice, Ren Morgan, goes largely unchallenged by her white neighbors, though it’s certainly grumbled about. But when a charismatic and power-hungry new reverend blows into town in 1917 and begins to preach about the importance of racial segregation, the long-idle local KKK chapter fires back into action—and places Maddie and her friends in Jamesville’s Black community squarely in their sights. Maddie had better stop intermingling with Black folks, discontinue her herbalistic “witchcraft,” and leave town immediately, they threaten, or they’ll lynch Ren’s father, Daniel. Faced with this decision, Maddie is terrified . . . and torn. Will she bow to their demands and walk away— or will she fight to keep the home she’s built in Jamesville and protect the future of the people she loves, both Black and white?
Author Interview - Adele Holmes
Author I draw inspiration from:
Barbara Kingsolver, without a doubt. Her "Poisonwood Bible" made me realize I wanted to help change the world with my writing (although I realize, a la James Baldwin, that I probably can't). She seems to be so grounded and humble, yet everything that comes from her pen is simply amazing. Her latest, "Demon Copperhead," is point on.
Author Interview - Adele Holmes | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
Anywhere! Unfortunately, due to vision issues, I usually have to read on an e-reader. The upside to that is that I can read in bright sunshine at the beach or on a dark red-eye flight. I must add that many times I also buy the actual book and add it to my shelf, because I think the presence of books is comforting and because I don't want them to become extinct.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Sherlock Holmes, "The Hounds of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
What a fascinating character--not just in the Baskervilles story, but in any of them. How does an author create such a captivating being?
Author Interview - Adele Holmes | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
The truth is, I'm not sure. I've read since I was able to hold a book to my face. Writing always soothed my emotions as a child and also later as I matured. Putting my own words into a book just seemed a given when I retired from my medical practice.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Hardbacks own me. The heft, the satisfying crack of the spine when it's first opened, the smell--be still my heart. And, as I said before, I do collect hardbacks that I love (preferably personally inscribed and signed by the author), but most of my reading these days is done on e-reader.
The last book I read:
"The Perfumist of Paris," by Alka Joshi. It's the final of the Jaipur Trilogy Series. I find Alka's prose to be beautiful. The stories are transporting and empowering.
Author Interview - Adele Holmes | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Ah, how romantic to write with pen and paper. Problem is, no one can read it (usually that includes myself). No way I'd get a novel done with pen and paper. It's me and my Mac all the way.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Beatrice, in "Much Ado About Nothing," by Shakespeare. She was a woman ahead of her time. Although I'm not sure she should have married in the end.
Author Interview - Adele Holmes | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
Pediatrician (I was), or a Kindergarten teacher (my second choice). I seem to have a gift with kids.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
Well, it wasn't at the time--certainly not the fashion that I saw then in my part of the country--but in retrospect, I simply adore the prints, bellbottoms, and outrageousness of the 1960's attire.
Place I’d most like to travel:
I've been so fortunate to have traveled extensively already. It was a conscious decision between my husband and myself to retire early and spend our able years knocking about the world. So, I think I've completed my bucket list. Now I'm on to fantasy places, and at the top of that list is staying in a glass-roofed hut in the Arctic Circle watching the Aurora Borealis dance overhead all night.
My signature drink:
Champagne. Or a bold, heavy Red that growls in my face.
Favorite artist:
Cliche as it may be, I love me some Monet. His life story is fascinating, and his waterlilies paintings look just the same as the ones still growing at his home in Giverny. He danced to the beat of his own drum.
Number one on my bucket list:
Leave a legacy of hope, inspiration, and motivation for my descendants.
Anything else you'd like to add:
I think the writing community is just about the most open and supportive group I have ever been involved in. I hope everyone who has the urge to write takes the dive, regardless of age.
Find more from the author:
Author Bio:
Adele Holmes graduated from UAMS medical school in 1993, and from residency at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in 1996. She practiced general pediatrics in central Arkansas for over twenty years. While she loved every moment of it, a serious travel bug, a need to put the voice of her soul onto paper, and a call to give back to the community led her to an early retirement in 2017. Her debut novel, Winter’s Reckoning, was published on August 9, 2022. She continues to write, travel, and serve in her community.
