Tag: Heidi Chiavaroli

Interview with Johanna Suhre from Heidi Chiavaroli’s The Orchard House

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

Novel PASTimes: Welcome to Novel PASTimes, Johanna. I see you are acquainted with great literary genius Louisa May Alcott. That sounds fascinating!

Johanna: Yes, I’ve been privileged to know Louisa for several years now. Though it was only recently she has become so well-known to so many.

Novel PASTimes: Would you mind telling us the story of how you met?

Johanna: Oh, certainly. You see Louisa nursed my brother after he was injured at Fredericksburg. God rest his soul, dear John was the light of my life and it seems, for a moment in time while Louisa nursed him, he was the light of hers too. She was the one who wrote out John’s last words to us, along with sending on his ring. I’ve read that letter over and over again, as has Mother.

Novel PASTimes: I can’t imagine your heartbreak. I’m so sorry for your loss.

Johanna: Thank you. We miss John terribly, but we are so very proud of him. Even in the depths of his suffering, his wisdom and loving spirit were evident. Louisa called him her “Prince of Patients” and wrote honestly of him in her memoir Hospital Sketches. I have no doubt she was a comfort to him in that time. 

Novel PASTimes: It sounds as if she cared for him greatly.

Johanna: Yes, she did. John lives on, though. He is a part of so many, including the characters Louisa writes.

Novel PASTimes: I understand you traveled to Concord to work for Louisa?

Johanna: Yes, I was ready for my own adventure. In Louisa’s words, “change of scene is sometimes salvation for women who outgrow the place they are born in,” and I felt change of scene was precisely what I needed, especially with both Father and John gone.

Novel PASTimes: And now that you have been in Concord for some time, are you happy with your decision?

Johanna: Oh yes! Especially since meeting Nathan. We are planning to be married very soon. If only . . . well, never mind all that.

Novel PASTimes: You are among friends here, Johanna. Feel free to share your thoughts. Do you have some hesitation about coming to Concord?

Johanna: About coming to Concord? Most certainly not. It is a beautiful place full of Revolutionary history, a birthplace of literature and art. It stirs an inspiration within me to create my own poems, which I’ve greatly enjoyed and which Louisa has encouraged me in, busy as she is with her own writing. She has become a great friend. I only wish she could see Nathan as I do.

Novel PASTimes: Miss Alcott does not care for your husband-to-be, then?

Johanna: They have some . . . history between them. But don’t we all? Nathan can be a bit passionate about his work, and when it is met with Louisa’s verve . . . well, the two don’t always see eye to eye, is all. Nathan has many a good side. He truly does. We all get angry at one time or another, but real love bears with the ugly. I firmly believe that. Louisa is strong in her ways, and I will be strong in mine by loving unconditionally the man who loves me, in spite of his faults.

Novel PASTimes: You seem determined then, Johanna. We wish you the very best. Thank you so much for spending some time with us and we look forward to reading more of your story in The Orchard House!

Heidi Chiavaroli (pronounced shev-uh-roli . . . sort of like Chevrolet and raviolimushed together) wrote her first story in third grade, titled I’d Cross the Desert for Milk. It wasn’t until years later that she revisited writing, using her two small boys’ nap times to pursue what she thought at the time was a foolish dream. Despite a long road to publication, she hasn’t stopped writing since!

Heidi writes women’s fiction, combining her love of history and literature to write split-time stories. Her debut novel, Freedom’s Ring, was a Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist, a Romantic Times Top Pick and a Booklist Top Ten Romance Debut. Heidi loves exploring places that whisper of historical secrets, especially with her family. She loves running, hiking, baking, and dates with her husband. Heidi makes her home in Massachusetts with her husband and two sons. Visit her online at heidichiavaroli.com.

An Interview with Emma Malcolm from Heidi Chiavaroli’s The Tea Chest

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Novel PASTimes:Welcome to Novel Pastimes, Emma. I see you had a hand in participating in the Boston Tea Party?

Emma: Party? I’m afraid I don’t understand.

Novel PASTimes: You know, the dumping of the tea on the night of December 16, 1773?

Emma: Oh, the dumping of the tea! Aye, though I can’t think of a more tension-filled party to be at. True, there was quite a crowd that night, but the silence while the men dumped the tea was almost eerie, so secretive—nothing at all fitting for a party. I remember the cracking and splitting of the chests echoing off the water. ’Twas so quiet we could hear the tea leaves falling into the frigid harbor. We could inhale their exotic scent. An odd party, indeed.

Novel PASTimes:Wow. Sounds like quite an experience. And yet, I’m confused, for it appears you are the daughter of feared customs official John Malcolm. How did you come to be a part of such a treasonous event?

Emma:Please know I didn’t enter into any of this lightly. My father is a man of the Crown, but after befriending the Fultons and a printer’s apprentice named Noah, I came to see their side of things. My own father stifled my voice much like the Crown attempted to do with the colonies. He wanted me to marry Samuel Clarke, a dreadful man. I suppose it only natural that I fell on the side of liberty. Still, it doesn’t make what some of the Patriots did to my father right. Tarring and feathering is a brutal business and I will never forget the horror of that night.

Novel PASTimes: I am so sorry, and what a difficult place to be caught in. Tell us, what part did you play in the dumping of the tea?

Emma:I came up with the idea of using Mohawk disguises. Most who participated adopted this, and I aided Noah in his masquerade. If only we had taken more care with the oath . . .

Novel PASTimes: Oath?

Emma: ’Twas a round robin to which the men signed their names. An oath of honor and secrecy. I was careless with it—I should have burned it the minute I realized Noah had left it behind. But I feared he had need of it. If only Samuel hadn’t found me with it! After that, I had no choice but to protect those I loved, even if it meant giving up the life I longed for, even if it meant marrying Samuel.

Novel PASTimes: How horrible for you. How did you bear it?

Emma: Mayhap we should save some of the enticing parts for the story?

Novel PASTimes: Oh, forgive me. You’re absolutely right. Maybe instead you could tell us of the tea chest handed down in your family over the generations?

Emma: Was it? That does make my heart merry. I found that chest the morning after the dumping of the tea. For me, it symbolized what I shared with Noah and the Fultons, something I could no longer embrace in a marriage to Samuel. ’Tis still very painful to speak of.

Novel PASTimes:Of course. Perhaps you could talk of your time at Bunker Hill, instead? Or your daring mission into enemy-occupied Boston?

Emma: None of these topics are for the faint of heart, I’m afraid. I will never forget how I worked alongside Sarah Fulton to nurse the men in that field in Medford after Bunker Hill. My eyes have never seen such horror, and I pray they never do again. And Noah . . . the remembrance of it is still too much to bear. Yet time has eased the pain in some ways as well. Looking back, I can see the Lord’s hand in the midst of our darkness. He never did leave us. And when freedom finally came for our country, I felt it mirrored the eternal freedom stirring in my soul as well.

Novel PASTimes: That is beautiful. Thank you so much for spending some time with us. We look forward to reading more of your story!

Heidi Chiavaroli writes women’s fiction, exploring places that whisper of historical secrets. Her debut novel, Freedom’s Ring, was a Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist, a Romantic TimesTop Pick and a BooklistTop Ten Romance Debut. She makes her home in Massachusetts with her husband and her two sons.

Interview with Nathan Hale’s Fiancé (from The Hidden Side)

~ Cindy Thomson ~ 2 Comments

The Hidden Side CoverToday we welcome Mercy from Heidi Chiavaroli’s The Hidden Side.

Novel PASTimes: I’ve always been inspired by the late Revolutionary Spy Nathan Hale, but I never realized he planned to marry! Please, tell me your name and how you met the late Mr. Hale.

Mercy: My name is Mercy Howard. I met my beloved Nathan through a mutual friend of ours, Benjamin Tallmadge. He and Nathan attended Yale together and when Nathan visited Ben on Long Island…well, I am not certain I believe in love at first sight, but ’twasn’t long before we were sending letters across the Sound and planning a future together.

Novel PASTimes: How sweet! You mentioned Benjamin Tallmadge. Wasn’t he the head of the Revolutionary CIA?

Mercy: CI—forgive me, I’m not familiar with that.

Novel PASTimes: The Central Intelligence Agency…you know, spies?

Mercy: Oh my! One does not openly talk of such things where I come from. Spying is a business best suited for blackguards and scoundrels. Cheats and cowards. Are you certain ’tis safe to mention here?

Novel PASTimes: I assure you it is.

Mercy: Very well, then. If you insist. I’ve been wanting to unburden myself with my secret for some time.

Novel PASTimes: Secret?

 Mercy: I suppose it all began with Nathan…nay, perhaps before that. My uncle, William Howard, betrayed the Patriots when he led General Howe through Jamaica Pass. If not for his disloyalty, General Washington may have stood a chance at the Battle of Brooklyn, and New York wouldn’t be occupied by the King’s Army as it is now. 

Novel PASTimes: Ouch. I can see why that would bother you. And what about Nathan? Did you know of his espionage activities?

Mercy: My, you are bold! What must people in the 21st century be like to speak so openly of such things! Do you promise you won’t think less of him?

Novel PASTimes: Dear Mercy, I think you would be happy to know that many look on your Nathan as a hero.

Mercy: Truly? That does lighten my heart! Very well, then. Though ’tis rather intimate, I will share some…. Nathan did not impart his mission to me, though I wish he had. I saw him two nights b-before he met his demise. He acted oddly, but I thought him only nervous. My poor Nathan. He should have never been behind enemy lines. He was too open, too honest to excel in a profession that requires dishonesty.

Novel PASTimes: And what about you, Miss Howard? How did you become involved in the Culper Spy Ring—General Washington’s intelligence circle, that is?

Mercy (lowering her voice): You see, when my childhood friend, Abraham Woodhull—

Novel PASTimes: Abraham Woodhull? I love watching him on AMC’s TURN: Washington’s Spies!

Mercy: I’m afraid I haven’t an inkling of what you speak. Nevertheless, when Abraham first asked me to be a part of his…endeavors, I refused. ’Twas only after my sister suffered at the hands of a soldier quartering in our house that I decided I simply must do something. First Uncle William’s betrayal, then Nathan’s death, then my sister’s suffering. ’Twas more than I could stand to watch! Beneath Abraham’s urging, I decided to pay my Aunt Beatrice an extended visit in York City.

Novel PASTimes: She is a loyalist, isn’t she?

Mercy: Aye. ’Tis…complicated. Yet Aunt Beatrice is in a position that is beneficial for my—uh, activities.

Novel PASTimes: And while in Manhattan, you met a certain Major in the King’s Army, is that right? 

Mercy: John Andre…yes. I do wish he was not quite so charming. In many ways, he reminds me of my Nathan. Yet I have business to do. General Washington depends upon me, as does my family, burdened by the presence of those redcoats. Why, even Nathan’s memory bids me to hasten forth for the sake of the Patriot cause. I absolutely refuse to disappoint them.

Thank you, Mercy, for sharing so openingly here on PASTimes. We do hope you aren’t fearing too much for the survival of the Revolution. (Yes, that’s a hint.)

Heidi's Author PhotoHeidi Chiavaroli is a writer, runner and grace-clinger. She loves exploring places that whisper of historical secrets. Heidi’s debut novel, Freedom’s Ring, was a Romantic Times Top Pick and a Booklist Top Ten Romance Debut. She makes her home in Massachusetts with her husband, two sons, and Howie, her standard poodle. Visit her online at heidichiavaroli.com