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Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Meet Kathy Cannon Wiechman, author of NOT ON FIFTH STREET

I’ve been friends with Kathy Wiechman for a number of years through an on-line writers support group and also on Facebook.  Kathy writes historical fiction for children and teens. Her first book, a Civil War novel called Like a River, won the prestigious Grateful American Book Prize from the Grateful American Foundation, created by David Bruce Smith.  She also wrote Empty Places, set in a 1930’s coal mining town, and the just-released Not on Fifth Street, which takes place during the Ironton, OH, flood in 1937. 
     I read an advance copy of Not on Fifth Street and just loved it! Although the history is fascinating, it's the characters that drew me in. Pete and Gus Brinkmeyer are real and likable, and I found myself worrying about them and rooting for them as they confront one problem after another.
      All of Kathy's  books are published by Calkins Creek, an Imprint of Highlights.    

1. You were a teacher for many years.  When did you decide you also wanted to be a writer?

Actually, I have always been a writer, writing my first poem (a not-very-good one) at age five. The reason I taught when I could was to help pay the bills, but my passion was always writing. I wrote poems, plays, and short stories, but novels were my favorite genre. I wrote ten novels before I wrote the one that was first published. It took 39 years for one of my novels to be accepted for publication.

2. Were you always interested in history?  How do you choose your topics?

I never liked history class. Memorizing dates and battles and generals and Acts of Congress bored me. But reading historical fiction, where I “met” people and read stories, was something I loved. I also liked reading biographies. I think my topics choose me. When I learn about an incident in history that grabs my interest, particularly one few people know about, I know I need to learn more. As I learn more, story ideas often imbed themselves in my brain. Learning about the steamboat Sultana, for instance, made me NEED to write a story about that incident, and the result was Like a River.

3. Not on Fifth Street is about a devastating flood.  I lived in Ohio for twenty years, and I never heard of the Ironton flood.  What sparked your interest?

The flood didn’t just impact Ironton. Its effects were seen along the entire length of the Ohio River, from Pittsburgh, PA, to Cairo, IL. The flood waters continued on into the Mississippi, causing the flood to affect thirteen states. It took 385 lives. I grew up hearing my father talk about the flood and how it devastated his hometown of Ironton. I guess this story is one that came from an old spark ignited many years ago. Even though my hometown of Cincinnati was greatly impacted by the ’37 flood, I chose to base the story on my dad’s memories, and I set the story in Ironton in the house where he lived.

4. Where did the title Not on Fifth Street come from?

Dad grew up on Fifth Street. His parents built their home there because Fifth Street had never experienced a flood. It was on ground much too high for that. But in 1937, the flood filled the first floor of their Fifth Street home with 4 feet, 2 inches of water.

5. Not on Fifth Street is about two storms—one is the rainstorm that causes the flood, the other the conflict between two very different brothers. What is the message you want your readers to take away from the story?

I really don’t think about messages when I write. I want to write a story that will entertain a reader and touch his or her heart. Sibling rivalry is a subject I know about, having grown up with six siblings of my own. I think it’s a subject many readers can relate to.

6. How do you go about researching your books? You have so many historic details.

I read everything I can get my hands on about my subject and I travel to the place(s) the story takes place. For Not on Fifth Street, going back to Ironton, where I went nearly every summer of my childhood, was also a way to visit family. I researched the flood in the archives there, finding numerous photos, newspaper stories, and personal accounts from 1937. I interviewed my aunt, who was fourteen at the time of the flood and whose memory is spectacular. We spoke several times about the flood, but she also sent me handwritten pages and pages of her personal memories. She helped with many of the details. When I learned what movie was playing in Ironton at the time of the flood, I watched the old black-and-white flick. I also listened to old radio shows from the time.

7. What part of the writing process is easiest for you?  What is hardest?

I love, love, love revising, finding the right words to make the narrative “sing.” The toughest part for me is getting that first draft down.

8. You’ve written three books.  Do you have a favorite character? What do you like about him/her?

Of my three published books, it would be hard to choose a favorite character, though Adabel Cutler from Empty Places was a joy to write. The favorite character I have created is Ginnie Lee Kent, the main character from one of my novels that was never published.

9. When did Ginnie Lee live? Do you think you’d ever like to write her story again?

Ginnie Lee was born in April, 1899, in the hills of West Virginia. On her fourteenth birthday in 1913, her grandpa invites her to go with him to Gettysburg for the 50th anniversary of the battle there. I know this character well, having rewritten and revised her story numerous times. Right now, the story overflows its file drawer, waiting to see if I can come up with the right way to revisit it one day.


10. What kinds of books do you like to read?  Can you mention a couple of your favorite books?

Historical fiction is still my favorite genre, but I also read realistic fiction, non-fiction, and biography. I like fantasy when it involves time travel into the past. It goes back many years, but Stone Words by Pam Conrad is one of many favorites. Jerry Spinelli’s Milkweed and Richard Peck’s A Long Way from Chicago are also on my list, as well as Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson.
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My thanks for Kathy for taking the time to answer my questions.  Kathy’s books are available in bookstores and through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  They would be great gifts for a child or grandchild who loves to read—or even for one who doesn’t. These books just may spark a new lifelong interest!   

4 comments:

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    1. I enjoyed "meeting" you. Maybe we'll get to say hello in person someday at Boyds Mills. I'd love to do an "Unworkshop" there.

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  2. Great Interview! I read "Like a River" and "Empty Places" to my young girls and they enjoyed both immensely. Thanks, Kathy for taking my family to places in American history we never knew existed!

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    1. Parents like you who read to their children provide them with the most important treasures.

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