Charlotte Whitney
Author Interview - Charlotte Whitney
Author of The Unveiling of Polly Forrest A Mystery and A Tiny Piece of Blue
About A Tiny Piece of Blue:
For fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds comes a heartwarming story of a homeless girl’s struggle to survive. . .
During the throes of the Great Depression, thirteen-year-old Silstice Trayson finds herself homeless, abandoned by her parents. Nearby, aging midwestern farmers Edna and Vernon Goetz are pillars of the community, but when do-gooder Edna takes up Silstice’s cause, Vernon digs in his heels, displaying his true nature as an ornery curmudgeon.
Theirs is a quiet-seeming community, but danger lurks beneath the bucolic façade. With so many youngsters leaving home to make it on their own, child trafficking has grown rampant, and Silstice and her two spirited young brothers soon find themselves in the sights of a ring of kidnappers that’s exploiting local children into forced labor—and worse. Meanwhile Vernon finds himself at risk of losing everything.
About The Unveiling of Polly Forrest:
During the throes of the Great Depression Polly marries for money. After her husband Sam dies in a freak farm accident, new bride Polly assumes she is financially set to pursue her dream of opening a hat-making business. Instead, she becomes the prime suspect in Sam’s murder. Secrets abound and even Polly’s family can’t figure out the truth.
Author Interview - Charlotte Whitney
Author I draw inspiration from:
2025: Inspiring, Fun-to-Read, Page-Turners
There are so many awesome historical novelists that I’ve received inspiration from: Lisa Wingate, William Kent Krueger, Kristen Hannah, Amor Towles, even Mark Twain. While an avid reader I’ve attempted to find my own unique voice (indeed even within the voices of my own characters)to set my writing apart from other authors.
Even though I love all of Lisa Wingate's books I will mention Before We Were Yours and her most current one, Shelterwood. Both books deal with children who are taken out of their family homes, just as my character Silstice, finds herself homeless during the Great Depression. It's a grim world and there are no easy answers. In each situation the author comes up with a plot that’s feasible and characters who are problem-sovers.
William Kent Krueger’s This Tender Land reveals children escaping from a school for Native American children, and their adventures as they row down the river, so very similar to Huck and Jim's adventures on the Mississippi River in Huckleberry Finn. They’re heartwarming stories, much like mine, as Silstice struggles to find not only shelter but a home where she is accepted and appreciated.
Kristin Hanna's The Four Winds accurately documents the economic condition and the desperation of mothers and children during the Great Depression. While her settings are in the camps of California and mine are in the rural farmland of south-central Michigan, the themes are comparable: struggling to overcome adversity, accepting help where it can be found, and giving strong female characters the courage and determination to survive despite terrible odds.
Amor Towles The Lincoln Highway reveals similar themes with children on the run during difficult times, encountering adults who don’t have the children’s best interests in mind. The unpredictability of chance encounters creates for a delightfully fast-paced book set in the 1950s, but relevant yet today.
There are undoubtedly dozens of other books that have inspired my writing, but these titles are intriguing, inspiring, and fun-to-read. I recommend them all.
2022: William Kent Krueger
Author Interview - Charlotte Whitney | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
2025: So Many Places, So Many Formats
I love to listen to audio books while I'm walking in the swimming pool or on a long road trip with my husband. I particularly indulge in long audio books--ones that might feel too long and intimidating to sit down and read in hardcover or paperback. These include Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller; The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben (listen to the unabridged, full version), The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, and even the one you skimmed in college, Moby Dick.
I read Kindle and ebooks on my tablet in bed so I don't have to turn on the light and disturb my husband. Usually easy to read mysteries that can capture my attention until I get sleepy.
Paperbacks are for lounging on the patio or swimming pool. I can leave them on the chair when I slip away to get a drink and no one will steal them (Can't do that with my phone or tablet ). I don't have to worry if I spill a drink on them, either and I can give them away when I'm done with them.
Signed hardcover books are my faves. I savor them slowly while lying on the couch, reading each word, particularly if they're by one of my favorite authors. I recently read Lisa Wingate's Shelterwood, a signed copy, and delighted in each moment, even though the subject matter was difficult.
2022: I have an incredibly comfortable sofa in my office.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
2025: I'd love to be stuck in an elevator with Nellie who is seven years old in my novel, Threads A Depression Era Tale by Charlotte Whitney.
First, I would have to explain to Nellie what an elevator is. She's lived her whole seven years on a farm in the 1930s in southern Michigan. Nellie would be fascinated with the elevator and want to ride it up and down and up and down. Once it got stuck I'd ask her about how she communicates with animals. She speaks Dog and Cat languages as well as Cow, Pig, Chicken, and Sheep.
After getting a sense of the syntax of various animal languages, I'd ask Nellie how her friendship with the boy from outer space came about. As a reader I knew that she could sit on a limb in her favorite tree and ZeeZee would just appear sitting next to her. However, as a seven-year-old I knew that she took a lot of these experiences for granted. Doesn't everyone have a special friend from outer space?
2022: Huckleberry Finn / Mark Twain
Author Interview - Charlotte Whitney | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
2025: Perhaps when I first visited a public library and realized the wealth of books available. What pleasure to be able to read so many books--why not write some as well?
2022: My mother asked me to write my friends' scholarship recommendations because she thought I would do a better job than she could.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
2025: I loved hardback with a personalized message to me an an author's signature. I consider these collectibles. My most recent is a signed copy of Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate. The cover art is beautiful--green wooded areas with red highlights.
I love paperbacks for all the practical reasons. They're lightweight enough to easily carry in a bag and if you fall asleep while reading it won't break the way my iPad shattered. They're less expensive than hardcovers, but still a nice gift that can be beautifully wrapped.
Ebooks are so inexpensive and they're right there on your phone if you find yourself delayed by a flat tire, cancelled flight, or long line. Ebooks are a way of turning lemons into lemonade.
2022: Audiobooks for working out. Ebooks for late at night in bed. Paperback for everything else.
The last book I read:
2025: Oh, I have three for you. All excellent.
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawson, set in Maine 1789, While it has a murder mystery in the background, it is truly a historical novel rich with details of life in New England during that very early part of our country's history.
Next is River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer, set in Barbados in 1834 when the Emancipation Act was supposed to set slaves free. But no, they weren't freed and Rachel becomes a fugitive running to find her children who have been sold away from her over the course of many years.
My third recommendation is The Clock Struck Murder by my friend and prolific author Betty Webb. It's set in Paris during the 1924 Olympics. Like all of her mysteries it has lots of plot twists. I loved the mystery, the setting of Paris in the 1920s, and the Olympics in the background.
2022: The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate
Author Interview - Charlotte Whitney | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
2025: I use a computer, using the writing software Scrivener which allows me to compile into Word and other formats. I put the manuscript into Word for editing and then transfer it back into Scrivener for revisions. It sounds cumbersome but really it's easy. Scrivener allows for ready movement of chapters, sections, or paragraphs. You can add your research notes into folders in the program and also outline and summarize chapters. I don't utilize all its capabilities, but I find it incredibly versatile.
2022: Definitely computer. It's so much faster and I make lots of changes.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
2025: I'd like to be friends with the second Mrs. DeWinter in the novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I used to be a lot like her--shy, easily persuaded, unaware of my talents. I'd use my time with her to encourage her (whose first name is never mentioned in the book), to find herself, speak up for herself, and utilize her talents. I think she and I would go off on some adventures, explore new settings, and enjoy good local cuisine. I'd love to get to know her after her self-confidence has blossomed.
2022: The young Mrs. DeWinter in Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca
Author Interview - Charlotte Whitney | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
2025: I might guide river rafting trips down the Colorado Rive through the Grand Canyon. It would be quite different from sitting at a computer dreaming up stories and I do love the Grand Canyon.
2022: world traveller
Favorite decade in fashion history:
2025: I love 1960's hippie attire. Mini skirts, bell bottom jeans, tight t-shirts, maxi coats, headbands, psychedelic colors, tie-died shirts, suede bags with fringe. My naturally curly hair might turn to frizz. Burning bras and going bra-less was a big thing back then, too.
2022: 1920's I love hats, especially hats with veils. That's one of the reasons I wrote The Unveiling of Polly Forrest.
Place I’d most like to travel:
2025: I would love to go to French Polynesia--Tahiti, Bora Bora, and Moorea. Why? Because it's so beautiful and romantic. I would stay in one of the rooms with stilts over the water and go snorkeling every day. In the evening I'd sit by the sea, listening to the waves come in. If I were there in September I'd watch the migration of the humpback whales.
2022: French Polynesia: Tahiti, Bora Bora, and Moorea
My signature drink:
2025: White Sangria with lots of fruit.
2022: White Sangria
Favorite artist:
2025: Sally Thielen is a Michigan Native American artist who crafts beautiful raku bunnies. I have four which hand above my desk for inspiration. One is Raspberry Woman who holds a basket of raspberries she's gathered. Another is a papoose on a baby board. Another is wrapped in beautiful white rabbit fur. The fourth is swaddled in a woven print blanket. I never tire of these bunnies. They're always up on the wall ready to be my muses. I showed a picture of them in a recent issue of my newsletter.
2022: Dale Chihuly
Number one on my bucket list:
2025: Every author's dream is to make the New York Times bestseller list.
2022: See the Northern Lights from a not-so-distant vantage point
Anything else you'd like to add:
2025: I do lots of fun things in my free newsletter. My characters may interview me asking difficult questions--lots of times feisty characters wish their lives hadn't been so difficult. I recommend books that I find particularly good--page turners. I ALWAYS announce important information about my writing such as book cover reveals and publication dates first in my newsletter. I include stories about my historical research--sometimes I think historical means hysterical! I also include recipes for the season and cute anecdotes my readers have sent in. To sign up for my newsletter go to my website http://www.charlottewhitney.com and sign up on the CONTACT page.
2022: I love Book Clubs-both my own and visiting other ones as a guest author.
Find more from the author:
Author’s Website: http://www.charlottewhitney.com
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/CWhitneyAuthor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-whitney-8235463a/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CWhitneyAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlottewhitney65/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@charlottewhitneyauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214864918-a-tiny-piece-of-blue?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=GK9vII4D9P&rank=1
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/a-tiny-piece-of-blue-a-novel-by-charlotte-whitney
About Charlotte Whitney:
Raised on a family farm in Michigan, Charlotte Whitney is the author of historical fiction set in the rural Midwest. A Tiny Piece of Blue will be published in February, 2025 by She Writes Press, distributed by Simon and Schuster. Her most recent work, The Unveiling of Polly Forrest, a stand-alone historical mystery has received three writing awards. It follows her groundbreaking novel, Threads A Depression-Era Tale, which was met with much critical acclaim and commercial success. In addition, she has authored I Dream in White, a contemporary romance, How to Win at Upwords, a nonfiction book about her favorite word game, and a self-help book, Win- Win Negotiations for Couples. She received a master’s degree in English and served as associate director of the Lloyd Scholars for Writing and the Arts at the University of Michigan. She lives in Arizona with her husband and two Labrador retrievers. For more information visit her website: http://www.charlottewhitney.com
