Q: What can you tell us about Maddie, the main female character?
A: She stands her ground, is persistently persevering and can even be a bit pushy, but she also has a lot of vulnerability. She’s been through a lot and is a survivor. She has a dark sense of humor but is a Christian and carries threads of hope in her personality. She’s classy. And in the words of her best friend, she’s just about the smartest chick she’s ever met.
Q: What can you tell us about Samuel, the main male character?
A: He is sarcastic and witty. He sees things clearly and cuts to the chase. He is also very loyal. And he has a chocolate Labrador.
Q: What do you think we’re going to enjoy most from the book?
A: The romance, as always. I really enjoyed this one, which is a bit different in style to what readers will have seen from me yet. It has sparring, evenly-matched strong characters who aren’t afraid of a good argument. That is one of my favorite romantic dynamics to read, actually, so I think readers will enjoy it. The sparks fly, and that’s always enjoyable for romance lovers.
Q: What was the inspiration for Secrets of an Old Virginia House?
A: Inspiration for the contemporary and historical elements of my books usually come separately, so I wait until I have two storylines that will fit well together. For the contemporary storyline, I had this image in my mind of two people doing research, kind of sad, locked away from the world… I have also followed the careers of several university professors who have been fired or who felt forced to leave their positions recently on ideological grounds, so that was some of the inspiration for Maddie’s story. The historical portion was inspired from research into Thomas Jefferson and his eras that I had undertaken independently as a hobby.
Q: What are the themes of the book?
A: There are three: 1) A romance; 2); A historical mystery thread via letters with Thomas Jefferson elements; and 3) Free speech/cancellation exploration through my main character, a recently fired professor.
Q: What do you say to readers who might feel Secrets of Old Virginia House is a political book because it addresses cancel culture?
A: Cancel culture, specifically a tendency to stop people from saying and doing certain things by means of overwhelming public shaming, is a topic I explore in the book. This phenomenon is not particular to one political alignment, but at this point in history, it is much more common on the Left. I don’t think it is particularly groundbreaking for me to say that. However, in this book, I include a range of characters who were Conservatives and Liberals who didn’t agree with cancel culture, and that surely rings true. My main character, Maddie, was left purposefully politically ambiguous. Certainly, this book does come down hard on the side of free speech—hands down, no question. It’s the foundational principle of all other principles. Zafar Rushdie wrote: “Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.” So, in the words of Niall Ferguson, “If you think free speech is political… Ah, I can’t help you.”
Q: Was your decision to explore Jefferson, our most controversial Founding Father, purposeful with these themes?
A: I would say that it was more of a coincidence. As I said, the stories came to me separately. When I realized how the themes would work together I did, of course, see that it was ironic. And frankly, interesting artistically.
Q: You start your chapters with a Jefferson quote. Is Thomas Jefferson our guide through the book?
A: Not all chapters, but most. Beginning with the quotes is a shimmery, elusive sort of element that would dampen the effect to over-discuss. Every reader will take it a bit differently. By starting this way, we learn some history from Jefferson, laugh with him, challenge his truthfulness sometimes, and sometimes just sit back and learn from him.
Q: Do you have any favorites from among the Thomas Jefferson quotes?
A: On my first day of law school, an alumni gave our opening keynote address. He was a military lawyer in D.C., and as his first case, he had been appointed to represent an officer who had committed heinous crimes in Vietnam. He didn’t want, and didn’t know how, to represent his client. After a long, torturous period of soul-searching, he happened upon the Jefferson Memorial. He lifted his head, and encircling the dome was the quote, “For I have sworn on the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” After seeing it, he was able to defend his client, because everyone in a free society deserves that. It stood for principles even in the face of enormous obstacles.
And also, from a letter to Jefferson’s daughter, “Every human being must be viewed according to what it is good for. For not one of us, no, not one, is perfect. And were we to love none who had imperfection, this world would be a desert for our love.” Exquisite.
Q: Are there any side characters we are going to love in this one?
A: Oh, my gosh, I think they’re all absolutely crazy in this one. I think you’ll love them, yes. If they don’t offend you.
Q: Was this book easy/difficult for you to write?
A: Easy on the first draft, which was slightly under on word count. Difficult after that.
Q: Do you enjoy the editing process?
A: Absolutely not. I love the creative process of writing, not the nuts and bolts of polishing. You’re always afraid, primarily, that you’ll damage the chemistry of the romance with edits, so it can be a delicate process.
Q: What advice would you give writers struggling to accept bad reviews?
A: When you’re struggling with this, there are almost no words that could truly help, and then when you don’t anymore, you just don’t. I know that isn’t hugely helpful except to just say: give it time; you’ll develop a thicker skin. My first one-star review really got me. I’ve had a variety of negative reviews—from the fair and constructive to the unfair, mean-spirited, and personal. I know this promise doesn’t help in that moment, but you really do learn to disregard the unfair ones. You also, with the fair ones, learn to wince and take it under advisement. Some good advice on this subject I once received was always to stay authentic. That’s how you keep negative feedback from blowing you away. If you’re sticking with your true self and the story within that you have to tell, independent of anything else you’ve ever read or any other narratives you might feel like you need to follow but don’t really believe, you’re not going to feel very cut when someone drops a bad review. You can look at it with clear eyes and see what is being said for what it is—helpful or not. Just ride out the storm and keep writing.
Q: Are your books suitable for children under 18?
A: When publishing, I always mark my books as having material “unsuitable for people under the age of 18” and encourage parents to read my books first—not because of anything particularly bad or graphic in my books, but because they are written by an adult for adults. I know there is a body of fiction, particularly some Christian Fiction, that is supposed to be suitable for all audiences, and I am grateful for that because I read a lot of those books as a young teenager. But I never want there to be any confusion because I am open about my faith that I am not writing to that particular genre mold. I don’t want to stifle my creativity or the art itself by writing to any particular mold. There are things that adults need to discuss, deep life things that need to be covered by those of us who feel called to do that.
Q: What is the overall mood of the book?
A: Picture gray-blues. Somber, with a sprinkle of hope. Isolated from the world… Ernest and deep. Peaceful with a tinge of high-stakes. You actually get a pretty good idea of the vibe from the playlist, which you can read here.
Q: Anything else you want to say about the book?
A: There is a historical mystery involving a portrait and Samuel’s ancestry. It’s pretty deep, but if you can hang on, I think the payoff is huge on this one. Just buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Tara Cowan 