We are really excited to have with author Kate Brandes with us today for an interview. She is promoting her book, The Promise of Pierson Orchard. Make sure to come back on May 6 to read a review of the book!
Author: Kate Brandes
Publisher: Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing
Date of publication: April 2017
Publisher: Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing
Date of publication: April 2017
Long before fracking ever came to Minden, Pennsylvania,
the fissures in the Pierson family were developing into major fault lines.
Green Energy arrives, offering the rural community of Minden
the dream of making more money from their land by leasing natural gas rights
for drilling. But orchardist, Jack Pierson, fears his brother, Wade, who now
works for Green Energy, has returned to town after a twenty-year absence so
desperate to be the hero that he’ll blind their hometown to the potential
dangers. Jack also worries his brother will try to rekindle his relationship
with LeeAnn, Jack’s wife, who’s recently left him. To protect his hometown and
to fulfill a promise to himself, Jack seeks out his mother and environmental
lawyer, Stella Brantley, who abandoned Minden–and Jack and Wade–many, many
years ago.
“Brandes checks off all the boxes for quality fiction:
the characters are well-rounded, the settings, such as the apple orchards, the
crisp Silver Creek, and the rocky outcrops, are vividly described, and the plot
is well-organized and crisply paced. The tension between the characters
satisfyingly rises to a crescendo that’s in sync with the larger environmental
crisis that threatens the town.” – KIRKUS REVIEWS
Kari& Autumn: What inspired you to
become a writer?
Kate: I’m not sure inspired is really the
word for what happened to me. I began writing in my mid-thirties. Before that I
worked as an environmental scientist, a job I still have.
It was after my first son was born that I was struck with a
feeling of wanting to try making something that would reflect my view of the
world. I’ve always loved reading fiction and understand the world better
through stories. I’ve also kept journals all my life, used mostly for
working out problems or making important decisions. So perhaps it was
inevitable that I turned to writing as the creative outlet I found myself
searching for.
Even though I had two small children, a full time job, and
more volunteer commitments than any sane person should have, I crammed in time
to learn how to tell a story on paper. I worked hard, whenever I could. And
eventually, after years of rewriting and rewriting, I got a publishing contract
for my book.
Kari& Autumn: Where do you come up with the ideas for your books?
Kate: I feel like the ideas find me rather than the other way round. It always starts with a small thing - something I fixate on. Then I start to build on that and if I feel like I have enough of a story possibility, I start writing.
Kari& Autumn: What exciting projects
are waiting in the wings?
Kate: I’m writing a new novelJ It’s another book club fiction work with an eco bent, partly inspired by Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang.
Kari& Autumn: Who is your favorite
literary character and why?
Kate: I love Olive Kitteridge.
Kari& Autumn: Just for fun, if you
could be any animal, what would it be and why?
Kate: I’d be a sea turtle, because the
oceans seem like the last frontier on earth and I’d love to experience the
world as they do.
An environmental scientist with 20 years of experience, Kate
Brandes is also a watercolor painter and a writer of women’s fiction with an
environmental bent. Her short stories have been published in The Binnacle,
Wilderness House Literary Review, and Grey Sparrow Journal. Kate is a member of
the Arts Community of Easton (ACE), the Lehigh Art Alliance, Artsbridge, the
Pennwriters, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Kate lives in a small
town along the Delaware River with her husband, David, and their two sons. When
she’s not working, she’s outside on the river or chasing wild flowers.
Connect with Kate
Kate Brandes’ TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Monday, April 17th: Broken
Teepee
Tuesday, April 18th: Thoughts
on This ‘n That
Monday, April 24th: The Book Whisperer
Wednesday, April 26th: 100 Pages a Day
Friday, April 28th: From the TBR Pile
Monday, May 1st: Write
Read Life
Tuesday, May 2nd: Kritter’s Ramblings
Wednesday, May 3rd: The Paperback
Pilgrim
Thursday, May 4th: A Chick Who Reads
Monday, May 8th: Patricia’s
Wisdom
Tuesday, May 9th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy
Wednesday, May 10th: Books and Bindings
2 comments:
Thanks so much for hosting me today!
Thanks for featuring Kate for the tour!
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