This month Janice Thompson released a new book called Queen of the Waves, a fiction book set on the Titanic. Below you will find an interview by Janice Thompson and a link to the NOOK version of the book (you can also click on the picture of the novel). Queen of the Waves is about a poor London woman, Tessa Bowen, who gets a chance to sail on the Titanic with one catch - she must assume the identity of a rich woman. With a look into the luxurious lives of the wealthy who sailed on the Titanic, Thompson writes a suspenseful romance entertaining readers and lovers of history. Queen of the Waves is the first book in a new series by Summerside called the American Tapestries. There's a lot of great information below and information on how you can win a free Kindle. Yes, we are NOOK readers here, but I'm not going to pass up an opportunity to win a Kindle. I'm guessing you won't either.
·
You are one of
the first two authors to release a book in the American Tapestries series. How
did you become involved in the project?
My agent asked me to put together a story idea focused on
the Titanic. I’m usually a comedic writer, (and he happened to catch me on my
way home from the theater, where I direct musicals), so I quipped: “Only if I
can throw in a song and dance number involving an iceberg!” He laughed and
responded with, “No, we have to play this one straight.” At first I wasn’t sure
if I could come up with a serious plotline, but 24-hours later I had the story
idea and the first chapter. My editors at Summerside (Rachel Meisel and Susan
Downs) read the idea and loved it. When they saw me at the ACFW conference I
got the news: “We’re going to publish your novel!” I was especially thrilled to
hear that my book would be among the first to release in the new line. What a
privilege!
·
Writing
historically accurate novels take a lot of research. How much time and effort
went into researching for this book?
Oh my goodness! Talk about a lot of work. Not only did I
spend months researching Titanic’s story (reading every available book and
watching every conceivable documentary), I also drove from Houston to Branson
Missouri to the Titanic museum. Talk
about an eye-opener! The exhibit covers everything you could imagine, and
includes all sorts of artifacts from the ship. When you write about an event
such as this, particularly one that has been so well documented in movies and
books, you need to get your facts right. Even the “little” things (like, how
long did it take to load everyone onto the ship) can bog the writer down.
Dozens and dozens of times I would stop writing just to look something up. And
don’t even get me started on the clothing and hats! I created a board on Pinterest to
study 1910 fashion!
·
What are a
couple of facts that you found while researching for this book that you never
knew before and think that audiences will find particularly fascinating?
I’m not sure I realized that the Titanic made multiple
stops before setting out to sea. She sailed out of Southampton, England, of
course, but stopped in Cherbourg France and Queenstown Ireland to pick up
additional passengers. Some of the best-known passengers actually boarded at
the later stops. And one very famous passenger (Francis Browne)
disembarked in Queenstown. He took photographs during his few hours onboard,
and his photos helped document the first leg of the journey. Another thing that
took me by surprise was how the second and third-class passengers were treated.
After watching the infamous movie, Titanic, I felt sure the third class
passengers were treated more like animals (or steerage). In reality, their
living and eating conditions onboard the ship were better than most were
accustomed to in their daily lives. Being on the ship was truly an adventure
for all involved, (even prior to the iceberg incident, I mean).
·
The book is
dedicated to your Queen of
the Waves online group and (specifically) to Cathy Stenhouse Peeling. Could
you tell readers a bit more about those people?
·
I
had just started writing QUEEN OF
THE WAVES when I got a note from a friend, asking if I would be interested
in taking a Titanic anniversary cruise. My response? “No thanks! The
only Titanic cruise I would consider taking would have to be a virtual one.” As
I typed the words, the idea hit: Set up a Facebook group, title it Queen of the Waves, and invite people on a “virtual” Titanic cruise. Use the
name of my POV character (Tessa Bowen) as cruise director. Within ten minutes
I’d established the group and posted to my primary Facebook page extending the
invitation. By the end of the day more than seventy people had asked to join
the cruise. We eventually reached over 200! Most of my guests chose the names
of real people who traveled on
the Titanic.
They posted photos, comments, and much more. We utilizing networking sites like
Pinterest to collect photos. What fun!
And speaking of photos, you should have seen the dresses, shoes and hats my
passengers wore aboard the ship. We had a delightful time shopping for our time
aboard the great luxury liner. I gave my passengers the background of the ship
(all in first person, of course, from Tessa’s point of view). I also shared
information about the staterooms, and tantalized folks with menus from the
various dining rooms. I also provided activities for the children. (Side note:
I opened this group to homeschool families, and many children boarded. With
that in mind, I put together a full document of activities that families could
use to teach their kiddos about the Titanic. I encouraged other participants to
add to the activities list, so the document has grown a lot!)
·
To answer your question about Cathy. . .She’s the
great-niece of Captain Edward Smith and is an awesome, godly Facebook friend! I
met her while sharing on Facebook about my story. She agreed to play the role
of “captain” of our cruise, but (unfortunately) was hospitalized with a very
serious illness while we were on our journey and was unable to participate.
Praise God, she recovered and we remain wonderful friends!
·
Talk about your
reenactment of the night the ship went down.
Our QUEEN OF
THE WAVES journey coincided with the actual dates that the ship set sail. I
knew that we would eventually have to “sink” our proverbial ship. So, on the
night of the 100th anniversary, we all met in the group at a
designated time and (literally) reenacted the entire event. It took a couple of
hours to accomplish (with lots of weeping and wailing, as you might imagine)
but we got the deed done. The various “characters” (many of whom were named for
real-life passengers) re-lived the event in real time. I will tell you that I
was completely worn out (emotionally and otherwise) when the night ended. I
don’t recall every feeling so drained! (It takes a lot out of a person to drown
that many people!)
·
How have you
been promoting the book online?
I created a special “Queen of the Waves” blog, which
readers will find here: http://queenofthewaves.blogspot.com.
On that blog, I plan to run interviews with the various travelers (real and
imaginary) who boarded the Virtual Cruise with me back in April. Look for some
great stories (and photos) to come out of that site!
I’ve also created a video trailer of the book, which you
will find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlLeB8tiZbQ&feature=g-upl
·
Is there a
spiritual thread through the story/a message that you hope readers come away
with?
·
Absolutely. Several of my characters (primarily Tessa)
face their own destiny. They come to grips with the brevity (and value) of
life. They see first-hand what’s truly important and what isn’t. In my story, Tessa learns that her picture of
God has been skewed (since childhood). She discovers a relationship with Him
while onboard the ship, but that relationship is tested the night the ship goes
down.
·
What’s next for
you? Will you be writing another release in the American Tapestries line? Where
will you be taking readers next time?
·
I’m currently writing historicals for the “Belles and
Whistles” line (for Summerside). The first book (Wedding
Belles) just released. The second (Sleigh
Belles) will release in a couple of months. These stories are more
light-hearted in nature and deal with comedic women from the West.
·
This year marked
the 100th anniversary of the Titanic. Why do you think we’re still
so fascinated with the so-called unsinkable ship after all this time?
·
I would imagine that people 500 years from now will
still be interested. It’s such a tragic story, and one that affected thousands
of people. Meeting Cathy Peeling really put this in perspective for me. Her
uncle passed away that night. This completely changed the make-up of her
family. And she’s just one person out of thousands. Generations of people were
affected by this tragedy. And so many feel a connection. Ship builders. Dress
designers. Modern-day cruisers. The rich. The poor. The dreamers. Those who
long to travel. We can all envision ourselves aboard Titanic on that fateful
journey. Perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned from Titanic is this: We
cannot put our trust/confidence in man-made things; only in the Lord.
·
For such a
tragic moment in history, why do you think so many stories are told of finding
love on the Titanic? What makes it so romantic?
·
I think it’s the “unknown variable” that makes it all
so interesting. It’s the fact that we can only speculate. Who were those
people? What were they feeling? What were their hopes and dreams? What were
they feeling before the ship set sail? After? How strongly did they feel it?
Who did they feel it with? These are the questions that motivate us. As I sat
to write this story, I envisioned people from every walk of life, all converged
in one small world for a brief moment in history. Together, in that place,
emotions surely ran the gamut (from exhilaration to distress and grief).
Placing a love story in the middle of all of that emotion just made sense.
·
We often think
of the opulence of the Titanic and how some of the world’s richest people were
aboard the ship. There were also very poor passengers as well, hoping to start
a new life in America. Do you know how much it would cost for a ticket?
·
Cost of a ticket (one way)
First Class (parlor suite)
$4,350 ($83,200 today)
First Class (berth) $150
($2975 today)
Second Class $60 ($1200
today)
Third Class $40 ($298 to
$793 today)
·
Where can readers buy Queen of
the Waves?
·
The book is available through amazon,
christianbook.com
and barnesandnoble.com.
·
Can you tell me more about
your kindle fire contest?
Sure! Readers can join me for a facebook party on
October 18th and possibly win a kindle fire in the process! All of
the information can be found here: http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/american-tapestries-thompson. 
://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/queen-of-the-waves-janice-thompson/1111415943?ean=9781609367688
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