Who or what inspired you to write Cold Rock River?
The story was inspired by an incident in my own life. Like Adie’s sister Annie, my baby sister Vick choked on a jellybean when she was twenty months old. It was the week following Easter and we three older girls had our little baskets squirreled away. Our mother insisted we weren’t to drag them around the house, but she was gone for the evening and our daddy let us roam about, baskets in hand, to our hearts’ content. I don’t recall that any of us actually gave Vicki a jelly bean. More likely she picked on up off the floor. I do remember I panicked when I saw her put one in her mouth, and I tried to grab her. She started giggling and running as fast as her little legs would allow. The next thing I knew, she was choking and her face was blue. She survived, but as I grew older I was very much aware of how our lives would have changed had she not. One evening, lying in bed, something made me think of it; how fifty years had passed and yet the memory of that night was still as raw as fresh-skinned knees. I closed my eyes, ready to drift off, when I “heard” the opening lone of what became Cold Rock River. I got up to write it down, so I wouldn’t forget a single word. I was still at it the next morning. I had forty, maybe fifty pages. I realized then that this young, beautiful, delightful creature, who I chose to call Adie, might have something to tell me worth hearing. And if I was quiet and listened closely, maybe her ghosts would help me purge mine.
How did you come up with such a unique title?
Originally the working title was Copper Ridge Mountain, but it reminded me of Colorado, so I changed it to Cold Rock Mountain. My editor said absolutely not, because of the success of Cold Mountain. There was a river in the story that played an important role, so Cold Rock River was born.
The characters in Cold Rock River are so colorful. Did you have anyone in mind that you based the characters on or are they all totally fictionalized?
Thank you for the compliment regarding my characters! I’ve been told my editors, that I create characters so real many readers think they are, and they’re real to me, each and every one of them. But I’m not writing memoirs—not yet. However, I do try to tap into my experiences with people in a way that portrays what I call truths of the human condition. If, in the process, I create characters my readers identify with, I’m very happy. I’ve done my job.
Article comments
1 - Cheryl Malandrinos
This sounds like a wonderful and inspiring novel. Southern fiction has such a charm to it. I just read Karen White's "The House on Tradd Street", and though it's spooky in many parts, southern charm and Confederate legends flow through it.
Best of luck with your book!
Cheryl