Featured on The Practice of Creativity

I had a blast being interviwed by Michele Tracy Berger on her blog, “The Practice of Creativity.” We chatted about what books I’m reading now, what it took to research my new novel, The Last Great American Magic, and whether the things I write are “risky.”

The character who kept threatening to steal every scene she was in was Rebecca Galloway, the daughter of a Kentucky judge whose love affair with Tecumseh (spoiler alert!) spanned years and years. She was educated, strong-willed, and open-minded in a time when there were very few opportunities for women. It was not an easy lifestyle on the American frontier. You had to be tough, and she was. But that toughness had an intellectual side: she taught Tecumseh to read and write. A character like that—a tomboy with no shortage of parlor-room feminine wiles—was fun to research and to write.

For the full interview, click here.

Thanks to Michele for asking such terrific questions!