[bctt tweet=”I put on my interviewer hat to tell you about @NancyBlanton and the Prince.” username=”AndreaPatten”]<\/p>\n
##<\/p>\n Nancy, what made you decide to focus on historical fiction?<\/b><\/p>\n It is what I love to read. I like to learn as I read, and I feel my time is well-spent. Recently I posted about my favorite book, the first historical novel I read: Gone with the Wind.<\/em> I learned so much about America\u2019s Civil War and its aftermath. I was fascinated and hooked. Many writers avoid historical fiction because it requires so much research, but for me, that\u2019s the best part. It\u2019s a treasure hunt to discover the details that will bring history to life.<\/span><\/p>\n Why did you choose 17<\/b>th<\/b> century Ireland?<\/b><\/p>\n My father emphasized our Irish heritage when I was growing up. We heard the music, sang the songs, wore the green, marched in the parade\u2014all that. Our family toured Ireland when I was 15, and he sent me to Ireland for a summer study during my junior year in college. That I would want to write about it seems only natural. But when I started researching, I realized books about the 16<\/span>th<\/span> and 18<\/span>th<\/span> centuries were prominent, but not so much the 17<\/span>th<\/span>. A study for the Historical Novel Society found that the 17<\/span>th<\/span> century ranks 7<\/span>th<\/span> among time periods readers are most likely to choose when buying a book. This surprised me because it\u2019s an exciting time of sweeping change: the Irish clan system is overtaken by the English plantation system and Cromwell led his bloody march. I saw a niche for myself\u00a0and made it my mission to illuminate this period.<\/span><\/p>\n Most novels set out to explore a question. What question did you have in mind when writing The Prince of Glencurragh?<\/b><\/p>\n In 17<\/span>th<\/span> century Ireland, many hopes and dreams were destroyed, so I was asking, \u201cIs it possible to reclaim a dream once it is lost to the mists of memory?\u201d In this book, a young Irishman faces seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve his father\u2019s dream of a castle and estate called Glencurragh.<\/span><\/p>\n [bctt tweet=”Dreams are sometimes fulfilled in ways we do not expect.” username=”AndreaPatten”]<\/p>\n The premise is interesting on two levels. First, everyone has awakened from a dream so beautiful they want to hold onto it, but the longer they are awake the faster it recedes. And second, many of us have seen the sacrifices our parents made and then tried to live their dream for them, only to realize later that it doesn\u2019t satisfy. And dreams are sometimes fulfilled in ways we had not expected.<\/p>\n In many ways, this book is about friendship, the relationship between best friends from childhood. The story is narrated by Faolan\u2019s best friend Aengus O\u2019Daly. I have some very deep and lasting friendships of this kind, and those relationships informed this story in ways I didn\u2019t realize until the end. I am deeply grateful to my friends for that.<\/p>\n This story is also about hope. In great difficulty, when you have no power to change a painful circumstance, hope — the most human part of us — is what we rely on to get through.<\/span><\/p>\n What will readers find most appealing about this book?<\/b><\/p>\n This book captivates readers right away because it is fast-paced and rich with interesting historical detail. The 17th century is rife with conflict, disaster, invention and change.<\/p>\n The story also is relevant because it focuses on issues we still face today, such as the oppression of ethnic groups and women, the struggle for survival and the struggle to achieve one\u2019s dream. It is also a very personal struggle that most of us can relate to. Faol\u00e1n is tested, just as anyone is who aspires to a goal. You want this thing, and it seems the mountain grows suddenly higher, the road more rugged, forcing you to show just how much you\u2019re willing to fight for what you want.<\/p>\n ##<\/p>\n![\"Picture](\"http:\/\/www.andreapatten.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/IMG_7859-300x225.jpg\")
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What themes does the book address?<\/b><\/p>\n