 |
| Courtesy of the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution |
I’m happy to have as my guest
Author Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer.
Before we begin, Sarah is
offering a free eBook from her Choctaw
Tribunes series, book 1, The Executions. To enter the drawing, please leave
a comment with your Kindle address as to where you’d like the eBook sent.
SARAH ELISABETH SAWYER is an
award-winning inspirational author, speaker and Choctaw storyteller of traditional
and fictional tales based on the lives of her people. The Smithsonian’s
National Museum of the American Indian has honored her as a literary artist
through their Artist Leadership Program for her work in preserving Trail of
Tears stories. In 2015, First Peoples Fund awarded her an Artist in Business
Leadership Fellowship. She writes from her hometown in Texas, partnering with
her mama, Lynda Kay Sawyer, in continued research for future novels.
Sarah, I’m proud to have
you here today in honor of Native Americans. Where can you be found online?
What have you learned
recently about yourself, and how has it affected your writing?
This was seven years ago,
when I was twenty-three, but it had the most affect on my writing life. I had a
bit of a meltdown at that age. It was as if everything in my life was strewn
across a whiteboard. Everything I wanted to do, what I thought I was supposed
to do, what I thought everybody wanted me to do. I couldn’t do anything for
days. I prayed and knew it was time to surrender all. Not in the sweet sense we
sing about in songs, about surrendering all to God without truly doing it. I
knew it had to be real in my life.
I took an eraser to that
whiteboard and, one by one, wiped off each thing in my life. I surrendered
those things to Him with the full commitment to take nothing back He didn’t
give me. When I came to writing I halted. I was serious about this. What if He
didn’t give it back? But I erased it and handed the marker over to God.
Nothing happened for about
seven months, except I experienced more peace and harmony than ever before in
my life.
Late that summer, God put
writing back on the board. I’ve been writing ever since.
Very heart warming, Sarah.
What gives you the most satisfaction in your writing—besides "The
End," that is?
Reader response. At a book
signing, a woman came up to me and wanted to know when the next book in the
Choctaw Tribune series would be out. We had a wonderful conversation that came
around to a certain racial issue the book addresses. She shared a bit of her
dad's story and it seemed to dawn on her the connection with how a character in
The Executions handles a situation. She started crying as though finally
understanding why her dad had been that way on the issue. I believe it allowed
her to grieve, and hopefully to heal.
As I also read
The Executions, Sarah, it is helping
me to understand some of my families responses to being Cherokee and Apache. So,
tell us how did your writing career begin and how long did it take to publish
your first book?
I wrote my first
story when I was five years old. I had a story to tell about kindness, but was
far too shy to tell it. My seven year old brother illustrated it, and my mama
saved copies.
I drifted in and
out of writing through my teens and early twenties. After I seriously got into
writing in 2009, I didn't publish my first print book until the end 2013, an
anthology of Choctaw trail of tears story (Touch
My Tears: Tales from the Trail of Tears). This was a result of a program I
was in with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American
Indian. Then I published a short story collection (Third Side of the Coin) before finally releasing my first novel in
April 2015 (The Executions).
I’m excited to
learn more about you and your work, Sarah! What other writing have you done?
I've written regular
columns and freelance articles. This January, I was solicited to write stories
for First Peoples Fund eSpirit newsletter. What an honor. I received an FPF
grant in 2015 to support my book publications.
Is this book’s setting
based on a real place?
It's set in the fictional
town of Dickens, though I drew heavily on the histories of two towns in Choctaw
Nation, Indian Territory in the 1890s for inspiration. Some of the other places
like Paris, Texas, and Tuskahoma, Oklahoma, are real.
Is the book completely
fictional?
The characters mostly are,
but the events are based on actual stories from the time period. It was
pre-statehood Oklahoma, and the Indian nations were about to be divided by
individual land allotments. The tribes would be dissolved. Two Choctaw
political parties clashed over these issues, and the violence often turned
deadly.
How would you rate this
book: G, PG, or PG 13? And tell us why.
I would rate it G to PG,
depending on the guidelines you have for your children. Some of the subject
material is tough, but nothing I would have objected to my nieces and nephews
reading when they were younger. At a book signing recently, a mother bought all
four of my books for her nine-year-old son after I explained the potential
content issue. (On a side note, he thanked his mom for making his day!)
Oh, this was satisfying for
you, I’m sure. What was your inspiration for The Executions?
My mama shared our Choctaw
heritage with me at a young age. I'd always wanted to write stories about my
people. The more I learn about our culture and our heritage of faith, the more
I want to write these stories. I plan to have at least four books in the
Choctaw Tribune series.
What do you have in store
for the year of 2016?
Publishing two more books in
the Choctaw Tribune series, freelancing, speaking, teaching, and enjoying the
adventurous life we live. My mama and I partner in all kinds of cool, creative
projects. She gets me into film making and family. It's pretty amazing. We
always have something new going on.
Great, Sarah! What parting
wisdom do you wish to give those of us not book published?
Keep writing. I wish I had
written more as I was developing my brand. I spent a lot of time in the
beginning building my platform and learning how to market, and this was all
good and necessary, but I did lose sight of actually writing book after book.
But I'm focusing on this more now.
Remember, there are plenty of
options for publishing. You may go the traditional route. If you choose indie,
know that it's not the “easy way out.” Not if you do it right. You have to
learn how to be a publisher. Educate yourself. Network. Be professional. Keep
your heart in the right place, and you’ll come to love every step of the journey.
From the back cover of The Executions:
EXTRA, EXTRA!
Who would show up for their
own execution?
It’s 1892, Indian Territory.
A war is brewing in the Choctaw Nation as two political parties fight out
issues of old and new ways. Caught in the middle is eighteen-year-old Ruth Ann,
a Choctaw who doesn’t want to see her family killed.
In a small but booming
pre-statehood town, her mixed blood family owns a controversial newspaper, the
Choctaw Tribune. Ruth Ann wants to help spread the word about critical issues
but there is danger for a female reporter on all fronts—socially, politically,
even physically.
But what is truly worth dying
for? This quest leads Ruth Ann and her brother Matthew, the stubborn editor of
the fledgling Choctaw Tribune, to old Choctaw ways at the farm of a condemned
murderer. It also brings them to head on clashes with leading townsmen who want
their reports silenced no matter what.
More killings are ahead. Who
will survive to know the truth? Will truth survive?
The Executions Review: “Among the many
pleasures of Sarah Elisabeth’s writing are her attention to character,
language, and period detail. In The
Executions, a story grounded in history and the complexities of
pre-statehood Oklahoma, she brings to life, with great heart, the compelling
mix of cultures, faith, and political intrigue in the old Choctaw Nation. An
intriguing read.”—Rilla Askew, author of The
Mercy Seat
Thank you, Sarah Elisabeth, for being my guest here at Feature Friday.
Until next time . . . let's all read The Executions!
Thanks for featuring me, Jean!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Sarah!
ReplyDelete