Postcard For Reader

Interview: Esther Friesner

Swinging by today is the infamous Esther Friesner! She's written a whole assortment of books, but today she's talking about her newest release - a historical fiction called Threads and Flames.

After recovering from typhus, thirteen-year-old Raisa leaves her Polish shtetl for America to join her older sister, and goes to work at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory.

Esther and I had plenty to talk about. We chatted about her books, her favorite color, and her favorite past time - Cheeblemancy.

Just click read more to read the full interview!

N: Welcome to WORD, Esther! What was your favorite part about writing Threads and Flames?
E: My favorite part of writing Threads and Flames was working on the description of Raisa’s experience during and after the fire. This was the part that I really wanted to get right, integrating the historical facts with the emotional impact of the event. I hope I succeeded.

N: Eleni from La Femme Readers wants to know: Raisa, the main character, recovers from typhus. What exactly is that? And how did you research this disease?
E: I read online sources to learn about typhus, which is not the same thing as typhoid fever. Rather than define it for you here, I’m going to send you off to use the search engine of your choice because online information about typhus is readily, directly available to you.

N: You've written both magic influenced historical fiction and straight up historical fiction. Which do you prefer?
E: This is one of those “Which of your children do you love best?” questions and my answer is pretty much the same: Both! It’s simply because I love writing, and I love variety. Now if you’d asked me something difficult, like “Which brand of bittersweet chocolate do you prefer?” I’d have a problem.

N: How many conventions have you attended? Which is your favorite?
E: Whoa! I’ve lost count of how many conventions I’ve attended, and not just science fiction cons. I’m not a gamer, but I was once invited to a gaming convention as a guest and had a great time! I went to the Romance convention because I was receiving an award for Most Promising New Fantasy Author. That was a different sort of experience, but a lot of fun! This past summer, I was invited to my first anime convention and once again, I had a fantastic time. What incredible costumes! I was also able to attend my first (hopefully not my last) San Diego ComicCon. That was awesome and a little scary, but exciting-scary, not I-must-go-back-to-my-hotel-room-and-hide-under-the-bed-forever-now scary.

So far my favorite convention was the First North American DiscWorld Convention that took place in 2009 in Tempe, Arizona. Sir Terry Pratchett was the Guest of Honor, of course, and it’s always a treat to hear him speak. I had the privilege of being ToastMistress and the concomm did their level best to spoil me rotten.

Mission accomplished. [G]

I’m looking forward to returning to the Second North American DiscWorld Convention in July of 2011 in Madison, Wisconsin. Onward!

N: Do you have a favorite character, either within your books or in somebody else's?
E: I have lots of favorite characters: Mowgli from The Jungle Books; Anne from Anne of Green Gables; Eloise from the children’s book of the same name; Agatha Heterodyne from Phil Foglio’s Girl Genius graphic novels.

It’s hard to pick my favorite characters from books I’ve written myself because... Well, please refer back to the previous “Which of your children do you love best?” question, above.

N: What's your favorite color?
E: Just the right shade of blue. The wrong one makes me look ill. Right now I favor cadet blue. It’s spiffy. I also love silver. Any wonder I was born under a Water sign?

N: Three birds land on a telephone wire outside of your house. What kind of birds are they?
E: The three birds that land on the telephone wire outside my home are:

- A male cardinal in fully scarlet plumage, because they’re so pretty.
- A bluejay, because they’re cheeky critters and living lessons on how Attitude is Everything.
- A duck.

Come on, do I have to explain this? Think about it: A duck? Perching on a telephone wire? Sooner or later that’s the no-fail recipe for comedy gold!

N: I was trying to think of one of my classic weird questions - well, besides the one above - but I was surfing your website, and I have to ask: What is the weirdest Cheeblemancy thing you've ever done? (Which, considering Cheeblemancy, is a question within itself...)
E: You do realize this question is going to send people scurrying to my website to find out what Cheeblemancy –is,- right? Good. It is highly educational. [g]

Over the years, Cheeblemancy has raised what amounts to probably thousands and certainly hundreds of dollars for a variety of charities. I have performed this ancient (ha!) fortune-telling method solely for the purpose of raising funds for such causes as fighting breast cancer and heart disease, among others.

The weirdest Cheeblemancy experience I ever had was doing a reading for Dave Attell of the now departed show, Insomniac. He and his crew were at a WindyCon because... Hey, look at the geeks! Let us mock them now. I don’t know what Mr. Attell expected. Did he think I took Cheeblemancy seriously? Alas, if so, for he was sore disappointed. And then I do believe I made the fatal error of being funnier than he was, the result being that the Cheeblemancy tape wound up on the figurative cutting room floor and they pretty much limited their coverage of WindyCon to Hey, look at the costumedgeeks!

The weirdest Cheeblemancy reading I ever did had me telling a Seeker “You are deeply connected with music. The way you spun the wheel was almost as if you were strumming a harp.”

He reached into his wallet and handed me his business card.

He made harps!

I don’t know who was more gobsmacked, he or I. Not that being gobsmacked stopped me for raising my arms in triumph and declaring, “Yessssss!!! I have the power!”

The power to raise money for good causes by using (toy) hamsters to tell the future, but that’s still a power, right?

I really want to have my future told by Cheeblemancy. Thanks for stopping by, Esther!

Don't forget to check out Threads and Flames in stores now as well as her other books, or order them online.