MEET THE AUTHOR
FEATURED AUTHOR: ANNELISA CHRISTENSEN
Hi everyone. Royal here. I want to welcome you all once more to Silver Beans Café interviews. I am proud to bring to the readers an interview with an author who is a master at her craft, Annelisa Christensen. Here’s what Annelisa had to say to me when we sat down.
Hi Annelisa. We at SBC want to start by GETTING TO KNOW YOU. Tell us a little about the genres you write in.
“I write in two genres. I’ve spent years writing half a dozen (yet unpublished) books as a magical realism series, called The University of Lights. Though there’s a fantastical element, they’re mostly set in everyday situations here on Earth. I wrote the first one (now preceded by a prequel) – Sole Possession – because I kept dreaming of the unusual story and had to tell it. I’m not ready to reveal all yet, but let’s just say I hope readers will find the series inspirational and interesting.
The second genre is historical biographical fiction – stories about inspirational, exciting or noteworthy real-life seventeenth century figures. The first book I’ve written is The Popish Midwife – about a bold and sassy midwife, by the name of Elizabeth Cellier, falsely accused of treason during the English Restoration period, after King Charles II took to the throne. I intend to write another two or three in the series of Seventeenth Century Midwives.”
Why did you pick this genre?
“Why did I write this genre? Purely accidental. I bid for, and won, some disbound pages of a 300 year old trial book on Ebay. When I read them, I absolutely fell for the defendant. She fought back at every turn. Then I researched her on the internet, and found she was separately known for writing, for midwifery and for her part in The Mealtub Plot (a false plot against the king)… a little bit here and a little bit there. Putting it all together, I found a wonderful story that had to be told.”
That’s fascinating. Okay, now the next question. (Royal)
HOW DID YOU START WRITING? And when did you know it was your calling?
“Good question. My earliest recollections of writing are sitting at the dining table on rainy Sundays, across from my parents making enamel jewelry, and my three siblings, perhaps drawing or making nail & thread pictures or reading. My parents encouraged us to be creative. I wrote through my teen years, on and off, and through my university years. Then I got busy with life, and never seemed to have the time. I still wrote the occasional scene or two, or a poem, but never had time to finish. Like many a writer, I have bags and bags of unfinished bits of story.
It wasn’t until 2007, when Tim Savage, a fellow writer from Fresno, partnered me in an out-of-season NaNoWriMo. My best friend was dying and I had a lot going on. I needed distraction to get through hard times. We both wrote a novel in a month. I wrote a grand 85K and just loved it! Writing every day? That was for me! Just going through that process made me realize I had to include writing as a regular part of being me. I’ve been writing ever since.”
Wow. I think it’s great you turn your energy to something so positive and that it inspired you. Not everyone is able to do that. Kudos (Royal)
What is ONE THING WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOU ANNELISA?
“Hmmmm… tricky. I love life?”
Cute. I love it. (Royal)
Now let me ask you ANNELISA, outside of writing what are SOME OF YOUR OTHER INTERESTS?
“I enjoy reading, of course. Always had my head in a book growing up. I especially love SF, humour and antique books. I also love capturing my local area on camera, astronomy (My neglected astronomy blog is Constellation of the Month), walking and, more recently, computer art (I’ve put some of the results on Hashtag Writer at Redbubble).
Every Wednesday, when not at work, I spend as much time as possible reading #1linewed lines – it’s awesome connecting with other authors and writers there, and reading the lines is like reading hundreds of mini stories! DIY and gardening have gone out the window since spending more time writing and editing (for myself and others). There just isn’t enough time in the day!”
Alright, switching subjects here, can you tell the readers ABOUT YOUR BOOKS? First, what should someone expect when reading this book (series) or any of your titles?
“If you don’t mind, I’ll talk about The Popish Midwife, since it’s the only one of my books near release, and it’s also the closest to my heart right now. I made some hard decisions about how to write Cellier’s story to make it accessible for the modern reader.”
The Popish Midwife
A tale of high treason, prejudice and betrayal
(EXCERPT)
‘What? Can she speak bawdy too?’ said the king. ‘She can do anything,’ said the Lord Chancellor.
At a time of political, religious and social upheaval, Elizabeth Cellier – a strong, independent and bold seventeenth century midwife – gives alms to victims of religious persecution. In prison she falls in with a debtor, Willoughby, who draws her unwittingly into the famous Popish Plot. But she’s no easy mark. At a time when women are expected to be subservient, she risks her life and brazens her way out of all kinds of trouble to become a voice for truth, justice and safer midwife practice.
The Popish Midwife is the true story of a woman far ahead of her time.
Hi Annelisa. We at SBC want to start by GETTING TO KNOW YOU. Tell us a little about the genres you write in.
“I write in two genres. I’ve spent years writing half a dozen (yet unpublished) books as a magical realism series, called The University of Lights. Though there’s a fantastical element, they’re mostly set in everyday situations here on Earth. I wrote the first one (now preceded by a prequel) – Sole Possession – because I kept dreaming of the unusual story and had to tell it. I’m not ready to reveal all yet, but let’s just say I hope readers will find the series inspirational and interesting.
The second genre is historical biographical fiction – stories about inspirational, exciting or noteworthy real-life seventeenth century figures. The first book I’ve written is The Popish Midwife – about a bold and sassy midwife, by the name of Elizabeth Cellier, falsely accused of treason during the English Restoration period, after King Charles II took to the throne. I intend to write another two or three in the series of Seventeenth Century Midwives.”
Why did you pick this genre?
“Why did I write this genre? Purely accidental. I bid for, and won, some disbound pages of a 300 year old trial book on Ebay. When I read them, I absolutely fell for the defendant. She fought back at every turn. Then I researched her on the internet, and found she was separately known for writing, for midwifery and for her part in The Mealtub Plot (a false plot against the king)… a little bit here and a little bit there. Putting it all together, I found a wonderful story that had to be told.”
That’s fascinating. Okay, now the next question. (Royal)
HOW DID YOU START WRITING? And when did you know it was your calling?
“Good question. My earliest recollections of writing are sitting at the dining table on rainy Sundays, across from my parents making enamel jewelry, and my three siblings, perhaps drawing or making nail & thread pictures or reading. My parents encouraged us to be creative. I wrote through my teen years, on and off, and through my university years. Then I got busy with life, and never seemed to have the time. I still wrote the occasional scene or two, or a poem, but never had time to finish. Like many a writer, I have bags and bags of unfinished bits of story.
It wasn’t until 2007, when Tim Savage, a fellow writer from Fresno, partnered me in an out-of-season NaNoWriMo. My best friend was dying and I had a lot going on. I needed distraction to get through hard times. We both wrote a novel in a month. I wrote a grand 85K and just loved it! Writing every day? That was for me! Just going through that process made me realize I had to include writing as a regular part of being me. I’ve been writing ever since.”
Wow. I think it’s great you turn your energy to something so positive and that it inspired you. Not everyone is able to do that. Kudos (Royal)
What is ONE THING WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOU ANNELISA?
“Hmmmm… tricky. I love life?”
Cute. I love it. (Royal)
Now let me ask you ANNELISA, outside of writing what are SOME OF YOUR OTHER INTERESTS?
“I enjoy reading, of course. Always had my head in a book growing up. I especially love SF, humour and antique books. I also love capturing my local area on camera, astronomy (My neglected astronomy blog is Constellation of the Month), walking and, more recently, computer art (I’ve put some of the results on Hashtag Writer at Redbubble).
Every Wednesday, when not at work, I spend as much time as possible reading #1linewed lines – it’s awesome connecting with other authors and writers there, and reading the lines is like reading hundreds of mini stories! DIY and gardening have gone out the window since spending more time writing and editing (for myself and others). There just isn’t enough time in the day!”
Alright, switching subjects here, can you tell the readers ABOUT YOUR BOOKS? First, what should someone expect when reading this book (series) or any of your titles?
“If you don’t mind, I’ll talk about The Popish Midwife, since it’s the only one of my books near release, and it’s also the closest to my heart right now. I made some hard decisions about how to write Cellier’s story to make it accessible for the modern reader.”
The Popish Midwife
A tale of high treason, prejudice and betrayal
(EXCERPT)
‘What? Can she speak bawdy too?’ said the king. ‘She can do anything,’ said the Lord Chancellor.
At a time of political, religious and social upheaval, Elizabeth Cellier – a strong, independent and bold seventeenth century midwife – gives alms to victims of religious persecution. In prison she falls in with a debtor, Willoughby, who draws her unwittingly into the famous Popish Plot. But she’s no easy mark. At a time when women are expected to be subservient, she risks her life and brazens her way out of all kinds of trouble to become a voice for truth, justice and safer midwife practice.
The Popish Midwife is the true story of a woman far ahead of her time.
Why did you decide on writing THE POPISH MIDWIFE in first person?
“Writing it in the first person was a no-brainer. I wanted to walk in her shoes, experience her life as she experienced it. But, there were decisions to be made about the content and the way it was written. For one, I found the original dialogue wonderful and wanted to include as much of it as possible. Was that allowed? No idea. So I decided to go for it, adapting swathes of firsthand material for the story.
Then there was the language. People spoke differently back then. Trouble is, I’d read historical speech shouldn’t be used, as it would be too hard for the modern reader. So, I kind of used it, but kind of modified it too. Part of the difference was such things as sentence length. They were a lot more flowery in the seventeenth century, and I didn’t want to lose that, but I forced myself to at least turn some commas into full-stops in the editing phase.
Thankfully, readers have been very positive about the style. In the words of one reader”:
(READER EXCERPT)
“… the fact that you’ve brought that era to life through the eyes and words of your heroine Elizabeth Cellier and placed the reader vividly in that bygone era demonstrates your talent. To write your entire book in the language of the day, to provide such attention to the details of the myriad royal plots of the day, to find in your research only sketchy details of the actual events and then bring them to life in an engaging and at times visceral way… by any measure, that is an amazing achievement.”
Is there something specifically you feel Annelisa that could give our readers INSPIRATION IN YOUR CURRENT WORK?
“Elizabeth Cellier, my real-life heroine, reached across the years and touched me. She seemed so liberated, independent, and outspoken, like a modern woman trapped three hundred years before her time. At the risk of her life, she stood against torture and mistreatment of prisoners, took alms to prisoners and defended herself in court, any of which action earns my utter respect.”
And Mine too. I can really see how she would inspire the reader. (Royal)
Could we find any TRACES OF YOUR PERSONALITY in your main character?
“I think it might be the other way around. I loved her bravery, even in the face of death. I loved the way she defended those who couldn’t defend themselves. And I love how she worked hard at what she wanted to achieve. She is an inspiration to me.”
Let me ask you this, what is one of your FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT THIS SERIES?
“I’m excited about the stories of three other seventeenth century midwives as well as E.C. Each is independent and strong in a time when women were seen as extensions of their husbands. Two of the midwives fought for the rights of themselves or others. The other two stood out for different reasons, but all made their mark at the time.”
What about this, who is one of your FAVORITE CHARACTERS and why?
“Can I say two? Apart from Elizabeth Cellier, I would have to say I really wish I’d had time to expand on her ‘salt of the Earth’ husband, Pierre. He was one we could all wish was our friend. The other character, I love to despise, is Elizabeth’s traitorous friend. I won’t say more and spoil it.”
Once more let me change the topic with this question, WHO IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS?
“I always loved David Eddings – his characterizations were wonderful in The Belgariad and The Mallorean series! Of more recent books, I’m currently thoroughly enjoying David Parkland’s ‘Demon Bound’ – immensely funny.”
Can I ask you, what is one of the BEST PIECES OF ADVICE THAT YOU RECEIVED OR A QUOTE THAT YOU LIVE BY?
“This one’s not directly to do with writing, but it can be applied to anything” ‘If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you’ve never been in bed with a mosquito.”
“To me, it means ‘You can’t do everything, so make a difference where you can.”
Can you tell us, WHAT IS ONE TIP YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE FOR ASPIRING AUTHORS?
“Write. Everyone knows it, but internalizing it takes longer. If you want to be a writer or author, you must make time every day and simply write. Regularly.”
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU ANNELISA?
“The Popish Midwife is due to be published about 25th June 2016.”
WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE EXPECT TO SEE FROM YOU IN THE FUTURE?
“I’m planning on finishing the six magical realism novels of the University of Lights series, in between the three further historical novels of Seventeenth Century Midwives series.”
WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT?
“My lifelong ambition of becoming a published author – it’s about time!”
LASTLY, ANNELISA, HOW CAN WE:
BUY YOUR BOOK
“The Conrad Press will release the paperback of The Popish Midwife in the UK first. It’ll be available on Amazon Kindle for the rest of the world.”
CONTACT YOU
Twitter
Facebook
Email
Website
Silver Beans Café and I want to thank Annelisa Christensen for taking her time to sit down with us. It was a pleasure to get to know more about Annelisa. I really enjoyed learning the origin story for The Popish Midwife. And I’m sure like me, the readers are anxiously awaiting the release of not only The Popish Midwife but the entire series of The Seventeenth Century Midwives. To keep up to date on all of Annelisa’s new releases, news, and extra stuff from The Popish Midwife
SIGN UP FOR ANNELISA CHRISTENSEN’S NEWSLETTER
Also LOOK FOR: The Great Big Fat Popish Midwife Quiz of the Year
AND WE CAN’T WAIT!!!
Royal, Silver Beans Reviewer and Interviewer
Posting: HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHICAL FICTION, INSPIRATIONAL
Posting Date: 6/22/2016
ANNELISA CHRISTENSEN - THE POPISH MIDWIFE
“Writing it in the first person was a no-brainer. I wanted to walk in her shoes, experience her life as she experienced it. But, there were decisions to be made about the content and the way it was written. For one, I found the original dialogue wonderful and wanted to include as much of it as possible. Was that allowed? No idea. So I decided to go for it, adapting swathes of firsthand material for the story.
Then there was the language. People spoke differently back then. Trouble is, I’d read historical speech shouldn’t be used, as it would be too hard for the modern reader. So, I kind of used it, but kind of modified it too. Part of the difference was such things as sentence length. They were a lot more flowery in the seventeenth century, and I didn’t want to lose that, but I forced myself to at least turn some commas into full-stops in the editing phase.
Thankfully, readers have been very positive about the style. In the words of one reader”:
(READER EXCERPT)
“… the fact that you’ve brought that era to life through the eyes and words of your heroine Elizabeth Cellier and placed the reader vividly in that bygone era demonstrates your talent. To write your entire book in the language of the day, to provide such attention to the details of the myriad royal plots of the day, to find in your research only sketchy details of the actual events and then bring them to life in an engaging and at times visceral way… by any measure, that is an amazing achievement.”
Is there something specifically you feel Annelisa that could give our readers INSPIRATION IN YOUR CURRENT WORK?
“Elizabeth Cellier, my real-life heroine, reached across the years and touched me. She seemed so liberated, independent, and outspoken, like a modern woman trapped three hundred years before her time. At the risk of her life, she stood against torture and mistreatment of prisoners, took alms to prisoners and defended herself in court, any of which action earns my utter respect.”
And Mine too. I can really see how she would inspire the reader. (Royal)
Could we find any TRACES OF YOUR PERSONALITY in your main character?
“I think it might be the other way around. I loved her bravery, even in the face of death. I loved the way she defended those who couldn’t defend themselves. And I love how she worked hard at what she wanted to achieve. She is an inspiration to me.”
Let me ask you this, what is one of your FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT THIS SERIES?
“I’m excited about the stories of three other seventeenth century midwives as well as E.C. Each is independent and strong in a time when women were seen as extensions of their husbands. Two of the midwives fought for the rights of themselves or others. The other two stood out for different reasons, but all made their mark at the time.”
What about this, who is one of your FAVORITE CHARACTERS and why?
“Can I say two? Apart from Elizabeth Cellier, I would have to say I really wish I’d had time to expand on her ‘salt of the Earth’ husband, Pierre. He was one we could all wish was our friend. The other character, I love to despise, is Elizabeth’s traitorous friend. I won’t say more and spoil it.”
Once more let me change the topic with this question, WHO IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS?
“I always loved David Eddings – his characterizations were wonderful in The Belgariad and The Mallorean series! Of more recent books, I’m currently thoroughly enjoying David Parkland’s ‘Demon Bound’ – immensely funny.”
Can I ask you, what is one of the BEST PIECES OF ADVICE THAT YOU RECEIVED OR A QUOTE THAT YOU LIVE BY?
“This one’s not directly to do with writing, but it can be applied to anything” ‘If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you’ve never been in bed with a mosquito.”
“To me, it means ‘You can’t do everything, so make a difference where you can.”
Can you tell us, WHAT IS ONE TIP YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE FOR ASPIRING AUTHORS?
“Write. Everyone knows it, but internalizing it takes longer. If you want to be a writer or author, you must make time every day and simply write. Regularly.”
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU ANNELISA?
“The Popish Midwife is due to be published about 25th June 2016.”
WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE EXPECT TO SEE FROM YOU IN THE FUTURE?
“I’m planning on finishing the six magical realism novels of the University of Lights series, in between the three further historical novels of Seventeenth Century Midwives series.”
WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT?
“My lifelong ambition of becoming a published author – it’s about time!”
LASTLY, ANNELISA, HOW CAN WE:
BUY YOUR BOOK
“The Conrad Press will release the paperback of The Popish Midwife in the UK first. It’ll be available on Amazon Kindle for the rest of the world.”
CONTACT YOU
Website
Silver Beans Café and I want to thank Annelisa Christensen for taking her time to sit down with us. It was a pleasure to get to know more about Annelisa. I really enjoyed learning the origin story for The Popish Midwife. And I’m sure like me, the readers are anxiously awaiting the release of not only The Popish Midwife but the entire series of The Seventeenth Century Midwives. To keep up to date on all of Annelisa’s new releases, news, and extra stuff from The Popish Midwife
SIGN UP FOR ANNELISA CHRISTENSEN’S NEWSLETTER
Also LOOK FOR: The Great Big Fat Popish Midwife Quiz of the Year
AND WE CAN’T WAIT!!!
Royal, Silver Beans Reviewer and Interviewer
Posting: HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHICAL FICTION, INSPIRATIONAL
Posting Date: 6/22/2016
ANNELISA CHRISTENSEN - THE POPISH MIDWIFE
HUGE THANKS AGAIN...
ANNELISA CHRISTENSEN for chatting with us!
ANNELISA CHRISTENSEN for chatting with us!
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The Popish Midwife Blog Tour
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