“Under the Tulip Tree” by Michelle Shocklee … and a GIVEAWAY!

 

Michelle's publisher has offered to give away a print copy of Under the Tulip Tree (US ONLY). You can enter by using the Rafflecopter link at the end of my blog post. (Giveaway ends September 22, 2020.) Click To TweetIf you are the randomly chosen winner, I’ll contact you.

 

 

Summary…

Sixteen-year-old Lorena Leland’s dreams of a rich and fulfilling life as a writer are dashed when the stock market crashes in 1929. Seven years into the Great Depression, Rena’s banker father has retreated into the bottle, her sister is married to a lazy charlatan and gambler, and Rena is an unemployed newspaper reporter. Eager for any writing job, Rena accepts a position interviewing former slaves for the Federal Writers’ Project. There, she meets Frankie Washington, a 101-year-old woman whose honest yet tragic past captivates Rena.

As Frankie recounts her life as a slave, Rena is horrified to learn of all the older woman has endured—especially because Rena’s ancestors owned slaves. While Frankie’s story challenges Rena’s preconceptions about slavery, it also connects the two women whose lives are otherwise separated by age, race, and circumstances. But will this bond of respect, admiration, and friendship be broken by a revelation neither woman sees coming?

 

 

Harriet Beecher Stowe: Speaking Timeless Truth

By Michelle Shocklee, author of Under the Tulip Tree

 

I have a confession.

I was in my early forties before I read Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. I don’t recall it ever being required reading when I was in school, nor did it meet the romance prerequisite of my youthful literary tastes. Admittedly, this well-known novel, first published in 1852, was a difficult read. Not simply because of the strong dialect spoken by many of the characters and the antiquated style of writing, but because the harsh realities of the subject matter were raw and gut-wrenching. I’d never spent much time contemplating the heinous institution of slavery. Like many people, I’d studied slavery in school and had a cursory knowledge of it, but reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin stirred something in me. The same stirring that surely must have taken place in the hearts of readers 150 years earlier.

Harriet Beecher Stowe came from a political family known for their involvement in issues of religion, civil rights, and social reform. She attended Sarah Pierce’s academy, one of the earliest institutions to encourage girls to study academic subjects in addition to the traditional ornamental arts. In 1824, Harriet became first a student and then a teacher at Hartford Female Seminary, founded by her sister Catharine. There, she furthered her writing talents, spending many hours composing essays.

Although Harriet went on to publish more than thirty books, it was Uncle Tom’s Cabin that thrust her to international celebrity and secured her place in history. She believed her actions—and her words—could make a positive difference. On March 9, 1850, Stowe wrote to Gamaliel Bailey, editor of the weekly antislavery journal The National Era, saying, “I feel now that the time is come when even a woman or a child who can speak a word for freedom and humanity is bound to speak. . . . I hope every woman who can write will not be silent.”

This quote resonates with me. As a woman and as a writer. It also reminds me of Queen Esther from the Bible. Esther, a Jew, was chosen to be queen of Persia, but her people were in danger. An evil man wanted the Jews destroyed, yet Esther could save them. Her cousin, Mordecai, told her, “If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14, NIV)

Remaining silent has consequences. Harriet Beecher Stowe recognized this. Like Esther, she had a choice. And like Esther, Harriet chose to speak out. She used her words and her actions against the vile institution of slavery. Uncle Tom’s Cabin sold 300,000 copies in the first three months. It is reported that when Abraham Lincoln met her, he said, “So this is the little lady who made this big war.”

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s life, courage, and words have had a profound effect on millions of people, including me. After reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin, I wrote two novels about plantation life in Texas. While doing research for those books, I discovered the slave narratives, a body of work compiled in the 1930s by employees of the Federal Writers’ Project. When Harriet wrote her antislavery book, she based it on firsthand knowledge after meeting former slaves passing through Ohio on the Underground Railroad. For me, reading the slave narratives was like hearing a former enslaved person tell their own story, much like the people who shared their stories with Harriet. And following Harriet’s example, I knew I could not remain silent.

My novel Under the Tulip Tree tells the tale of a young white woman and an elderly black woman and the unlikely friendship that develops when their paths cross. When Rena arrives at a faded yellow house in the slums of Nashville to interview the woman who resides there, she is completely changed by what she hears. The question is, will she choose to remain silent or take what she’s learned and put it into action?

That is the question each of us must answer.

 

Q & A with Michelle…

Q:  Have you always loved books and reading? What about your formative years informed your love for reading and books?

 A:  My parents were voracious readers. Mom was an elementary school teacher for twenty-five years, so children’s books were plentiful throughout my childhood. The day the Scholastic book order arrived was almost as exciting as Christmas. Dad loved history and had a collection of WWII books, which were of special interest to him since he’d participated in the war as a turret gunner on a B-17. With books in every room of our home, on just about any topic you can think of, it would have been impossible not to fall in love with the written word. Every birthday and Christmas my siblings and I could count on receiving books. One of my sweetest memories is of my mother reading Little Women aloud to my sister and me.

 

Q:  How did you become a writer?

 A:  It seemed a natural progression to go from reading books to writing my own stories. I started work on my first novel when I was in my late twenties, but my oldest son was born soon afterward and I put the book aside. Another baby boy arrived a few years later and together they kept me quite busy. Once the boys were in school, I began work on my novel again, using a strange contraption my husband brought home—our first home computer! I attended writers’ conferences as time and budget allowed so I could learn the craft of writing—and found I had much to learn. I wrote articles for magazines and had several short stories published in Chicken Soup for the Soul books before my first novel was published in 2017.

 

Q:  What made you want to write historical fiction? What about that genre do you enjoy?

 A:  Like my dad, I love history. I wasn’t fond of the subject while in school, because it seemed to be about boring things like dates and facts (which I actually adore now). But give me a story about a real person and what their life was like way back when, and I’m hooked. As I’ve grown older (and wiser, I hope), I recognize how much we can learn from history. While dates and facts are important, it’s the life lessons we discover from seeing people overcome challenges and hardships, about tests of faith and love, that capture me. Those are the stories I hope to tell through my books.

 

Q:  What inspired you to write this particular story?

 A:  I discovered the slave narratives seven years ago. Reading the word-for-word interviews of former enslaved people was life-changing. When I read the narratives for the first time, I got the same feeling I had as a child listening to my grandmother, a master storyteller, spin tales of life on the farm, of losing babies because there wasn’t a hospital, of living through the Great Depression. I’m awed by the courage, the will, and the perseverance it took these former slaves to make it through to the other side of the hardships they faced and be able to share their story. Their very lives are inspiration personified.   

 

Q:  How did you get the idea for the relationship between your two main characters?

 A:  After discovering the slave narratives, I wanted to know more about how they came into existence. My research led me to the Federal Writers’ Project and the many out-of-work writers who ultimately created the body of work we now know as the slave narratives. As I pondered what it would have been like to sit at the feet of a former enslaved person, hearing their story unfold firsthand, the characters of Rena and Frankie began to develop in my mind. I wanted Rena to listen to and learn from Frankie in the same way I had listened to and learned from my grandmother.

 

Q:  Please tell us a bit about the setting of your novel.

 A:  Nashville, Tennessee, is a beautiful city with a rich history. During the Civil War, it was occupied by both armies, with the Union capturing it in early 1862 and holding it for the duration of the war. With so many readily available historical sites for me to visit in and around the city, like the ruins of Fort Negley, it was the logical choice for the setting. Standing on the hill the fort once occupied, looking out across the city to the Cumberland River, I could well imagine the landscape filled with tents and Union soldiers as well as the contraband camp where Frankie and the others lived. I could envision warships readying for battle that cold December of 1864. Walking down Broadway in downtown, I pictured how it must have looked in 1936 when Rena made her way to the newspaper office on Printers Alley each Monday. My hope is readers will be inspired to visit Nashville for the historical sites—and then enjoy some of the great music the city is known for.

 

Q:  Please tell us about your main characters in Under the Tulip Tree and what kind of challenges they face.

 A:  Lorena “Rena” Leland knew wealth and privilege before the stock market crashed in 1929, ruining her banker father. Fast forward seven years and Rena is an out-of-work newspaper reporter. When she accepts the position of interviewing former slaves for the FWP, she’ll have to face the preconceptions she carries about slavery and black people. Frankie Washington has seen much in her 101 years of life, especially during her years as a slave. She’s never told her story to anyone—it’s simply too painful to remember—but when Rena arrives on her doorstep, she knows it’s time to bare her soul.

 

Q:  Who was your favorite character to write and why?

 A:  Frankie was my favorite character. In fact, I’d say Frankie is my favorite character I’ve ever created. She endured the horrors of slavery, the fear of war, the uncertainty of life as a free black woman. Despite it all, she was able to see, eventually, the goodness of God. And isn’t that what life is ultimately all about? Frankie’s life experiences are taken from the stories of real former enslaved people, and it’s my deepest desire that the character of Frankie brings honor to their memories.

 

Q:  What lessons can be learned from your main characters?

 A:  Each woman, in her own way, must face her greatest fears head-on. Through their journeys, we see courage, perseverance, and determination to survive no matter what comes their way. But it is the thread of forgiveness woven throughout each of their stories that holds the biggest lesson. We’ve all been wronged by someone. Some wrongs, like abuse and slavery, are life-altering. But because Jesus willingly forgave us of every single thing we’ve ever done wrong while we were still sinners, we in turn must forgive. It isn’t easy. He never said it would be. But like Frankie and Rena discover, when you forgive someone, it sets you free.

 

Q:  What are the key themes in Under the Tulip Tree?

 A:  The theme of forgiveness is a vital part of each of the main characters’ stories. Togetherness is also a theme I hope comes through as Rena and Frankie get to know one another and discover that they aren’t so different after all. Age, race, and circumstances separate them, but love, respect, and friendship unite them.

 

Q:  How much research did you have to do on the time period and setting for your novel?

 A:  I live in the Nashville area, so research trips to historical sites were frequent as I wrote the book. Luckily, my husband makes a wonderful field trip buddy and we enjoyed many visits to Fort Negley, various Battle of Nashville sites, plantations, and cemeteries. I also read over one hundred slave narratives as well as listened to the priceless few recordings of former enslaved people sharing their stories with FWP writers.

 

Q:  What is your hope for Under the Tulip Tree?

 A:  I hope Rena and Frankie’s story encourages readers to seek out people who are different from themselves and get to know their stories. Because, whether it’s being lived out today or 150 years ago, everyone’s story matters.  

 

Click here to read the first chapter.

 

Amazon purchase link

 

Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels. Her work has been included in numerous Chicken Soup for the Soul books, magazines, and blogs. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of two grown sons, she makes her home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about. Visit her online at michelleshocklee.com.

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