Author Confessions With Jackie Friedland
A new book + the best piece of writing advice she ever received.
You know when you meet someone new and then afterwards you think: What a truly lovely person. That is what I thought of author Jackie Friedland when our paths crossed a few years ago. I quickly bought a copy of her best-selling novel He Gets That From Me, which I went home and read in a few sittings. Then we formed a writing group with a third author, Samantha Woodruff, and we’ve all kept in touch to kvetch, gripe and celebrate our drafts since. So when Jackie asked me to read and blurb her fourth novel, The Stockwell Letters, I jumped at the chance.
And I loved it. The Stockwell Letters tells the true story behind female abolitionist Ann Phillips and her connection a slave named Anthony Burns whose heroic escape inspired a nation. Here’s the blurb I wrote: “A riveting portrait of the women who risked everything to help usher slaves to freedom, Jacqueline Friedland's latest is told with a tender heart. Thanks to a cast of captivating characters, colorful period details and an ending that will have you cheering, the book will stay with you long after you finish. The Stockwell Letters is book club fiction at its best.”
Jackie was kind enough to stop by and share her insights about her new novel, if she’s ever considered walking away from a draft and the best piece of writing advice she ever got.
Now that you’ve written four novels, I’m curious: Have you ever thought about giving up on a novel? Can you give us an example of how you pushed through a tough writing moment?
Yes! I think of giving up every novel I write. Writing a novel tends to take me at least a year, and it's very hard to remain convinced throughout every moment of an entire year that your main idea is a good one. When the writing is going well, it's easy to get excited, but the writing definitely does not go well every single day, and it's just as easy to get discouraged. I'm grateful that I have persisted even when I felt those doubts because in the end, I have felt very satisfied with the work I've created.
There have been times where I have only been able to push through a difficult writing moment by talking things through with my writing partners (thank you Brooke Foster and Samantha Woodruff!). Having peers who understand where you're coming from makes a huge difference.
How has this book differed from your previous novels?
This is my fourth novel. I've written two contemporary novels, as well as two historical novels, of which The Stockwell Letters is the second. Even though both of the historicals are set during the antebellum period, The Stockwell Letters is a much meatier read than my first novel, Trouble the Water, which really could have been described as "historical fiction light" or "historical romance."
The new book is much more intense, as it's chock full of historically accurate information, court transcripts, newspaper articles, letters and other accounts of truly horrific moments in our nation's history. I hope that the book is also engaging and full of suspense, and in that way, not so different from my prior work.
If you could be any one if your characters for a day, which would you pick and why?
I think I would choose to be Wendell Phillips. I don't think I could go back in time as any of my female characters because my modern sensibilities would not tolerate being discriminated against, (never mind the discrimination against others), and I probably would have gotten myself into a lot of hot water very quickly back in the day. Wendell, on the other hand, was a handsome, well-respected man who had generally good values. It would have been interesting to live a day in the life of a wealthy, politically active, card carrying member of the abolitionist party.
The Stockwell Letters evolved quite a bit as you were writing it. What did you realize would need to change for the story to work?
Initially, I was very focused on the story of Anthony Burns, a man who briefly escaped southern slavery and became wildly famous throughout the US. As I was writing, however, I realized that there was another story I wanted and needed to relay, which was the experience of the women who were involved in Anthony's life and times. I found that many of the book's themes, like marginalization and oppression, could and should be viewed through a wider lense. I thus incorporated the storylines of Ann and Collette. The more I got to know these female characters, the more I was convinced that their stories were also crucial to this narrative.
The novel is quite propulsive -- what parts of the story did you incorporate to keep readers turning pages?
I tried to keep the story as true to history as possible. There are moments that were taken from Anthony and Ann's real stories that were full of so much suspense that I really didn't need to add anything in order to amp up the dramatic tension. For example, you have the scenes where Anthony escapes to freedom, the courtroom drama where North and South fight over Anthony's right to freedom, the daring escapes planned by the abolitionists, the suspense of waiting for the judge's decision, the drama of watching Ann arrange her own brand of subterfuge in order to help Anthony, and so on and so on and so on. When I read about moments like these in the lives of Anthony and Ann, that's when I knew I had to tell this story.
Tell us about the research process for this book. Was there something in your research that surprised you?
I loved researching for this book (and I love research in general). I could have continued researching in perpetuity, but I knew that at some point, I had enough information to just start writing. Much of the research for this story happened at my desk during Covid lockdowns. Thank goodness for the internet. I was able to access PDFs of old books, find photos of letters and reprintings of court transcripts. I especially enjoyed researching old newspaper articles through the Library of Congress website. I was able to view them just as if I was working on all fashioned microfiche. It was super cool, especially because I was able to do it while wearing pajamas at home!
What was the single best piece of writing advice you ever received?
If you'll excuse my language, the advice was "Fu#k the people of Wigan." My first book was historical fiction, and as I was writing, I got very stuck on the idea that current residents of the town of Wigan in England might take issue with my historical depiction of their city if every last detail was not perfectly accurate. A classmate in my writing program reminded me that as an author, a person can make up every last rule for the time and places they are writing about. He told me to forget the current residents and just get busy finishing my story. While I try to keep all details in my writing accurate, if I find myself perseverating on a certain irrelevant point too long, I remind myself of his advice and move on.
Lastly, what have you read lately that you loved?
I just read Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom, which is also historical fiction based on a true story, and it was incredibly educational and moving.
That is what I leave you with today, readers. “Fu#k the people of Wigan.” I love it! What is the best piece of writing advice that you’ve ever received? I’m thinking of my favorite, which I’ll have to share in another post. Also, coming soon: The cover of my new novel! Oh my goodness. It’s a beauty.
xo