About Laurel
Desperate
to rescue their kidnapped daughter, Lilyan and Nicholas Xanthakos trek two
hundred miles through South Carolina mountains and backcountry wilderness,
fighting outlaws, hunger, sleeplessness, and despair. When the trail grows
cold, the couple battles guilt and personal shame; Lilyan for letting Laurel
out of her sight, and Nicholas for failing to keep his family safe.
They
track Laurel to the port of Charleston as post-Revolutionary War passions reach
fever pitch. There, Lilyan, a former
patriot spy, is charged for the murder of a British officer. She is thrown into
the Exchange Building dungeon and chained alongside prostitutes, thieves, and
murderers. Separated from her husband, she digs deep inside to re-ignite the
courage and faith that helped her survive the war. Determined to free his wife at any cost,
Nicholas finds himself forced back into a life of violence he thought he’d left
behind.
Following
a rumor that Laurel may be aboard a freighter bound for Baltimore, Lilyan and
Nicholas secure passage on a departing schooner, but two days into the voyage,
a storm blows their ship aground on Diamond Shoals. As the ship founders, both
are swept overboard.
Will
their love for each other and their faith sustain them as they await word of
their missing child? Or is Laurel lost to them forever?
Question and Answer with Susan Craft
Did you have to travel
much concerning your books? If so, what’s the most interesting place you
traveled?
Since
I want my history to be right in my novels, I do extensive research and travel
to the locations of my novels to absorb, to breathe in, everything I can:
sights, sounds, smells. Thank goodness
my husband drives us, because I have no sense of direction and can get lost in
my driveway.
The
most fun trip was one we took to the North Carolina Outer Banks to research for
my upcoming books, Laurel and its
sequel, Cassia. In Laurel, which takes place in 1783, my
characters are shipwrecked on an Outer Banks island. Cassia,
which takes place in 1799, has pirates. Between the two books, I knew I needed to
learn more about the ships that sailed at that time, some of the nautical
terms, and seafaring jargon. In Beaufort, NC, I stumbled upon a Maritime Museum
where I spent hours in the library that still uses a card catalogue system (at
my age, I felt right at home). I learned about the wild ponies that have roamed
Ocracoke Island for hundreds of years and I became fascinated by the pirate
lore of the area. A local restaurant owner pointed out an area for us to visit
that still looks the same today as it did in the late 1700s.
You say you’d
rather research than write.
It’s true. Researching for my novels brings me the
same excitement Alan Quartermain must have felt hunting for King Solomon’s
Mines. I’ve been known to spend an entire day in a library scribbling notes
from someone’s diary, spending a wallet of quarters making copies of maps and
old newspapers, and trekking from one book or document to the next with a
perseverance Lewis and Clark would have applauded.
I enjoy the chase when one clue leads me to the
next, to the next…
On my website, http://www.susanfcraft.com, I have
over twenty years of research on a wide range of topics. I knew I’d never be
able to write enough novels to use all my “historical treasures,” so I decided
to share and put them on my website.
Will
you share one of your “historical treasures” that we can find in Laurel?
What people in the past did in their daily lives
always interests me. One thing that caught my attention was the bathing habits.
American colonists, like their European ancestors,
feared that bathing would destroy their natural oils and leave them open to the
ravages of diseases, so getting clean meant sponging off. More affluent people
had chinaware washbasins. If they desired a full bath, their servants would
heat buckets of water in the kitchen and haul them to the bedroom. There were no towels to dry with, so they
used large pieces of cloth or blankets. Full baths were considered a luxury not
done more than a couple of times a year.
In Laurel,
Lilyan Xanthakos watches her husband bathe using lemon soap their hostess
makes. It brings back a sweet memory before their daughter was kidnapped.
The
last time she saw him bathe, he had been sitting in the bathtub in front of the
fire in their cabin with Laurel balanced on his chest. Laurel slapped her hands
against the water and splashed it into his eyes. His comical faces sent their
little girl into a fit of giggles.
How she
longed for those special family times. And to look upon her husband again with
a desire free from the burden of grief and loss and guilt.
Which of your
characters is most/least like you, and in what ways?
Except
for not being able to find my way out of the woods, I identify most with my
main character, Lilyan, who relies on her faith in God to get her through the
dangerous and tragic happenings in her life.
If you could have
dinner with one of your characters, who would it be and why?
That’s
an easy one. I’d have dinner with Nicholas Xanthakos. I have a place in my heart
for this gorgeous Greek who embodies all the traits you want in a hero—bravery,
gentleness, honor, faith. (No need to tell my husband of 45 years—he knows
already J)
Here’s
how Lilyan describes her husband in Laurel:
She turned over and watched her
husband’s chest rise and fall in his slumber, observing him as he lay in a
partial shadow cast from the moonlight. His hands that could wield a knife with
deadly accuracy—and yet gently rock a cradle. His arms that could sling an axe for
hours—but also encircle his child and wife in a tender embrace. His broad
shoulders that could bear the weight of a felled tree, and yet they provided a
nestling place for his wife’s head. His firm chin that jutted out in moments of
white-hot anger—but also nuzzled into his daughter’s feathery curls. Lips that
shouted orders so harshly grown men cringed but also whispered endearments to
his wife in their most intimate moments. She regretted the furrow that creased
his brow, the only outward sign of how much he missed his koukla—his little
doll.
Tell me about some
of your personality traits.
I
could be the poster child for persistence (some might call it hard-headedness).
I’ve been writing for 35 years, honing my craft at more writing conferences and
reading more books about writing than I can remember. I simply refused to give
up until I found someone interested in representing and publishing my novels. For
all those years I worked fulltime, took care of my family, and made time for
writing—sometimes into the early morning hours. I’m sentimental and cry at
Hallmark commercials. I love the Lord with all my heart and strive daily to
please Him, though I fail miserably at times.
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About the Author
Susan F. Craft, who writes inspirational historical romantic suspense, recently retired after a 45-year career as a communications director, editor, and proofreader. To assist authors to “get it right about horses in their works,” Susan worked with the Long Riders’ Guild Academic Foundation to compile A Writer's Guide to Horses (also known as An Equestrian Writer’s Guide) that can be found at www.lrgaf.org. Forty-five years ago, she married her high school sweetheart, and they have two adult children, one granddaughter, and a granddog. An admitted history nerd, she enjoys researching for her novels, painting, singing, listening to music, and sitting on her porch watching the rabbits and geese eat her daylilies. She has two post-Revolutionary War novels being released in 2015 by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas—Laurel, was released January 15, and its sequel Cassia in September. Her Revolutionary War novel, The Chamomile, won the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Okra Pick.
Find Susan at the following social media sites:
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