Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Forging A Partnership: A Guest Post by Author Frances Hunter (& a Giveaway!)

I spoke with my mother on the telephone not too long ago and mentioned I was reading a novel about Lewis and Clark, two of her favorite historical figures. It is a sure bet that I will be loaning her my copy of Frances Hunter's The Fairest Portion of the Globe when I see her this summer. I am sure she will enjoy it as much as I did (stop by tomorrow to read my review of the novel!).

I am excited to have the authors of the historical fiction novels, To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis & Clark and The Fairest Portion of the Globe, here today. Please join me in welcoming Liz and Mary Clare (& Junebug too) to Musings of a Bookish Kitty!


First of all, thanks for Wendy for the invitation to write a guest post for Musings of a Bookish Kitty. Before we get started, our rabbit Junebug asked us to convey the following message to Parker: “Bunnies can be bookish too! I love books; in fact, I devour them, whenever I get the chance. My favorites are those big, coffee-table size photography books. The more expensive the better. Why settle for anything less?”

Now to our story, which starts with obsession and an unanswered question. It begins with a partnership between two people who are driven to learn, to explore, to inquire. A pair of friends who are willing to risk it all to achieve a shared dream. Who share an uncommon bond. Who, when confronted with seemingly insurmountable obstacles, won’t take no for an answer.

The story starts with two crazy sisters who became, in their own imaginations, the two greatest American explorers who ever lived.

Our names are Liz and Mary Clare, though we write under the moniker of Frances Hunter. Our obsession began in 2003, in the darkness of an IMAX theater, where we had come to see the National Geographic film, “Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West.” As the story unfolded on the screen, we were captivated not only by the gorgeous scenery—Lewis & Clark explored some of the most spectacular country on the North American continent—but also by the simple, touching story of the two men’s friendship. As Lewis’s biographer Stephen Ambrose wrote, “These men would freeze for each other, go hungry for each other, die for each other.” What made them such good friends?

By the time the movie was over, we already knew we wanted to travel part of the gorgeous Lewis and Clark trail. But there was more than that. We wanted to find out what made this famous pair stick together. Lewis and Clark’s unique partnership, as well as their individual skills and courage, was critical to the success of their expedition. We couldn’t help wondering, “How did they get to that depth of honor, courage, and loyalty?” That was the unanswered question— the trail we really wanted to follow.

And so we have, over thousands of miles of western country, hundreds of hours of research, and two historical novels, To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis & Clark and our latest, The Fairest Portion of the Globe. Fairest Portion is set in the 1790’s, when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark first meet as young officers serving under the fearsome General “Mad Anthony” Wayne. In the historical record, not much is known about this period of their lives—
which makes it fertile ground for an historical novelist to fill in the blanks.

What we do know is that twenty year-old Ensign Meriwether Lewis was court-martialed in the fall of 1795. Lewis was charged with getting drunk, crashing a private party, insulting his commanding officer over politics, and challenging the officer to a duel after being bodily ejected from the premises. It should be noted that Lewis was in the gentleman class and a member of one of the first families of Virginia. That tells you a lot about how rough and tumble early America was at the time, along with the fact that Lewis, although clearly guilty, was acquitted of all charges. He did, however, receive a transfer.

Lewis’s new unit was a crack rifle company known as the Chosen Rifles. His new commanding officer was Lieutenant William Clark, who at the age of twenty-four was already a war-weary veteran of the vicious Indian wars in Kentucky and the decisive Battle of Fallen Timbers. Clark was the youngest son in a family of frontier heroes that included the legendary Revolutionary War general George Rogers Clark. William Clark’s diary reveals a cynical young man who is unimpressed with high command and chronically frustrated by his lack of recognition and advancement in the Army.

Given these few facts, the young Lewis and Clark seemed remarkably contemporary to us. Lewis was the hotheaded screw-up; Clark the capable but overshadowed malcontent. Who can’t recognize these two in their college-age sons?

So we were left to ask, what happened to set these two typical but unpromising young men on the path to greatness? The only answer we could find is, “each other.” Lewis served under Clark for six months before Clark left the army. It seems to have straightened him out. There was no more drunkenness and insubordination; in fact, Lewis’s progress through the ranks was quite rapid. He was a captain by 1803, when he wrote a letter to Clark that would change history.

Clark, on the other hand, was plagued by illness and burdened by the financial disaster that had engulfed his brother George Rogers Clark. He had sacrificed rank and career to help his family, but Lewis had lost none of his regard and esteem for his former commanding officer. In fact, in his letter he offered Clark nothing less than co-command of the most anticipated exploration in American history until the Apollo missions of the 1960s.

Lewis wrote, “If therefore there is anything which would induce you to participate with me in its fatigues, its dangers, and its honors, believe me there is no man on earth with whom I should feel equal pleasure in sharing them as with yourself.” Clark accepted, saying, “My friend, I join you with hand and heart.” As they say, the rest is history.

We have now spent about seven years exploring this friendship. People sometimes ask us, “How can two women understand the friendship between two men?” Answer? Perhaps because close partnership and desire for adventure has been the theme of our own lives from the time we were little girls. But unfortunately, close female friendships were (and are) hard to find in literature and on TV, so when we played pretend growing up, the games were always male-oriented. We spent years progressing through Fred and Barney, Kirk and Spock, Reed and Malloy, Steve McGarrett and “Danno” Williams. (How we grew up to be two straight women with productive jobs, no one knows.) When Lewis & Clark became the latest in a long line of male friendships to grab our attention, we decided there was a book in it; this became an adventure in itself. But despite our own verbosity, one thing we knew is that men don’t express their emotions through words, but through action—thus both books tend toward vivid action and adventure.

So how did we do, following the trail of Lewis and Clark’s partnership? Just as Lewis and Clark soldiered on through the 18-mile portage around the Great Falls of the Missouri, and kept their faith during the punishing trek across the Bitterroot Mountains, we have kept the faith in our writing projects, setting aside the rejection and discouragement that is an inevitable part of the journey. The results have been gratifying. We’re proud to look back on where we’ve been, and thrilled to get on to the next adventure.

* * *
Frances Hunter is the pseudonym for authors Liz and Mary Clare. The sisters live in Austin, Texas with their bunny Junebug and their old beagle Belle. Mary works as a senior systems analyst for the University of Texas, and Liz works as a digital projects specialist at the Texas State Library and Archives. In their spare time they enjoy traveling, Longhorn sports, Celtic music, and watching vintage TV shows (their current passions are Sharpe and Mannix).

Their next book will be
Bloody Island, a historical novel about Robert E. Lee.

You can learn more about the authors and their books on the authors' website, which includes trailers for their current books, To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis & Clark and The Fairest Portion of the Globe.


Now for the giveaway! The authors are generously offering a copy of their book, The Fairest Portion of the Globe, to one of my readers. Unfortunately, the contest is only open to those in the U.S. this time around. If you would like to win a copy of The Fairest Portion of the Globe:
  • Leave a comment telling me who one of your favorite historical figures is along with your e-mail address.
  • Deadline to enter the giveaway is Friday, March 12, 2010 at 11:59 PST.
  • The winner will be chosen at random through random.org and will be notified by e-mail.
Good Luck!

(I'd love to hear from those not entering as well--so please share your favorite historical figure with us too!)

***GIVEAWAY CLOSED***

Thank you to all who entered the giveaway! All entrants were given a number which was then entered into the random.org site where a number was selected at random as the winner.

Congratulations to Bookwanderer!


26 comments:

  1. I enjoyed this guest post - particularly how inspiration comes to them as writers.

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  2. Don't enter me in the giveaway because I can't think of an answer to your question, but I really enjoyed this post and will keep my eyes open for the books!

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  3. Molly - I love hearing where authors' inspiration comes from. I'm sure they get tired of us asking sometimes, but it's something I always seem to want to know. :-)

    Florinda - I think just trying to think of someone earns an entry. So if you want to be entered, let me know!

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  4. I would love to enter your drawing. This book looks so interesting. There are so many great historical figures. I'll go with Theodore Roosevelt since I've read several biographies about him. But then, there's Ben Franklin or . . . I could go on and on and won't.

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  5. I am putting this in for the drawing.
    My favorite character from history is Meriwether Lewis (and not just because of the book giveaway). This is so because of his character. He was brave and never stopped at anything until it was done. He was a very unique person. He was a man who wore some of the most fashionable clothes when in civilization yet wore animal skin clothing with ease for nearly three years. He seemed cultured, yet he was also rugged. He was intelligent and rather sensitive. Lewis was a loyal man who never wavered, and an excellent brother, son, and an outstanding friend. Although he died of mystrious yet violent causes in 1809 at the age of thrity-five, he accomplished very much.
    Meriwether Lewis is a young man who I would certainly love to meet. I would have so much to ask, so much to say. He was such an enigmatic character that he is quite hard to ignore when promenading through the pages of history. To heck with Brad Pitt and Edward the Vampire; I choose Meriwether Lewis!
    Shannon
    bruceamyshannonseaninidaho@verizon.net

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  6. I live in Canada, so I'm not entering. Wow what a great post. I have always been interested in Lewis and Clack but now I am even more interested. I put both books on my TBR.

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  7. I like the Romans so Caesar would be my choice. This book sounds really good.

    mystica123athotmaildotcom

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  8. There are so many historical figures I have been fascinated by at different times of my life, but right now I would pick John Adams: a real person doing real things in amazing times.

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  9. It's hard to pick just one, but I'm going with John James Audubon, artist and early ornithologist, as my fave historical figure. Your review reminded me of him, actually--he explored America searching for new birds well into his 50s, and eventually made it out West. He even met Lewis or Clark (I'm forgetting which...). He was of French blood, but loved his adoptive country and considered himself a staunch American.

    Please enter me! :) My email is pretty.little.unicorns@gmail.com.

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  10. My favorite historical figure is Col. Charles Martin, my great,g,g-grandfather who in 1769 claimed land in the wilds of Monongalia County,Va,(eventually, West Virginia), where he built a fort. It was also used as a post during the Revolution for scouts or rangers, under his command to protect local farmers and spy on the local hostile Indians. Historical sources cite one Indian raid on the fort as resulting in a number of looses to the local settlers. I would love to receive a copy of the book on Lewis and Clark.

    Ron
    RRoseb3424@aol.com

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  11. George Washington - and, my 5th great-grandfather, William Kinnick, Sergeant Major in the Maryland line.

    Bill ;-)

    billsmith2003 (at) gmail (dot) com

    Hope you'll check out my book giveaway:
    http://drbillsbookbazaar.blogspot.com/2010/02/book-giveaway-beach-street.html

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  12. Please count me in. Thanks for the chance. One of my fav historical figures is Cleopatra.

    lizzi0915 at aol dot com

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  13. One of my favorites is Mahatma Gandhi. I find that history fascinating. Please enter me! Thanks!-Christine
    bluemonds@yahoo.com

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  14. We love all these entries! Keep 'em comin'. Bookwanderer, that was a great comment about Audubon. He was actually friends with George Rogers Clark and spent time at his house. GR Clark was one of the pioneeering naturalists of the Ohio Valley, a great inspiration to his brother William.

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  15. Yes! Thank you for reminding me, Liz and/or Mary! ;) The biography I just read of Audubon spoke often and highly of Clark!

    The description of your book immediately made me think of Audubon, since he lived in the same time period and shared the same passionate drive to explore and discover as Lewis and Clark. :)

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  16. Saint Patrick. Seriously, this dude rocked.

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  17. I have been intrigued by Amelia Earhart since I was a child. I guess I'll say she's my favorite historical character.

    wolfcarol451(at)gmail(dot)com

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  18. One of my favorite historical figures is Abraham Lincoln. Thanks for the giveaway.
    mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

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  19. Hard to choose one but Caesar is particularly interesting.
    thank you
    kaiminani at gmail dot com

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  20. One of my favorite historical figures is the Athenian general/politician Alcibiades.

    j.brol@yahoo.com

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  21. Interesting post. Hard to pick a favorite historical figure, seems like it is whoever I'm currently reading about. Civil War is a favorite era, so I'll say Robert E. Lee, and I'm excited that the authors' next novel will be about him.

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  22. What an interesting diversity of figures! Mary and I have really enjoyed seeing what everyone has to say. Linda, we're excited about the Lee book too. I think it will be fun trying to get inside the head of a person who was so self-controlled.

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  23. I think this sounds like a very interesting book, for subject and adventure.
    My current favorite historical figure is the 25th US president William McKinley. I am currently reading a couple books about him and finding out that he was a very honorable sort of guy. He could deny a man a favor, and still make him a friend.
    Thank you for the review and the chance to win this book.

    cjay(at) iavalley(dot)edu

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  24. My favorite historical figure is President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

    Please enter me in this giveaway!

    saemmerson at yahoo dot com

    Sarah E

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  25. definitely J Robert Oppenheimer, with whom I had a power struggle over a rotating paperback rack in Princeton circa 1959

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  26. Thank you to all who commented, and to those who entered the giveaway. I enjoyed reading about your favorite historical figures.

    All entrants were given a number which was then entered into the random.org site where a number was selected at random as the winner.

    The winner is . . . Bookwanderer! Congratulations!

    *GIVEAWAY CLOSED*

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