Q&A with C.W. Harper

 

C.W. Harper is the author of the novels Freedom's Trail: Always & Forever and The Esau Gene. Also a nurse, he lives in Arkansas. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Freedom’s Trail, and was it based on your family history?

 

A: I was inspired to write Freedom's Trail when I discovered that my 4th great-grandmother was African American. I had many facts from her daughter and son-in-law’s lives (my 3rd great-grandparents). I used those facts and added well researched information to fill in the gaps. So yes, it is definitely based on family history.

 

Q: How did you research the book, and did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: I researched extensively going to census records, ancestry.com, Civil War battlefield records and websites, history books, and anything else I could get my hands on and verify accuracy. I was surprised when I couldn't find my family on the 1850 census.

 

Let me clarify that, I could only find Hartwell, my 3rd great-grandfather, on the census. I looked through every page of the census and could not find his wife and children.

 

I had an ah-ha moment and looked at the slave schedule. There was his name and it listed him as owning five slaves. The gender and ages matched his family. Since they were married illegally in Missouri, he was forced to list them on the slave schedule, even though they were free blacks.

 

Q: You’ve also written the novel The Esau Gene--what inspired you to write this book?

 

A: The Esau Gene started with a short story and grew from there. I belong to a writers group and they give monthly writing prompts. I challenged myself to write a sasquatch story for each prompt for an entire year, no matter what the prompt was.

 

So then I had all of these short stories with the same characters but no really solid storyline. I made up another storyline to link them all together. I've had the original story, Willow, in my head since high school.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from both books?

 

A: Both books deal with prejudice and racism. I hope that people can take away that all people are equal regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual preference. You don't have to like every person in the world or agree with their lifestyle or beliefs, but you do have to give them the right to believe and act as they do, unless it is illegal.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Right now I am back in short story mode and working on a collection of short stories and poems from all the different genres I have written in. There will be historical fiction, science fiction, paranormal, horror, and poems.

 

I have many that I wrote years ago and I am working on more from a book of ideas I have. The working title is Stories, Poems, and Musings From the Slightly Unhinged.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I am a nurse in the recovery room of the largest children's hospital in Arkansas. I have been married for 34 years to the love of my life, Tanya, and have two grown daughters, Elizabeth and Mattea. I was raised in the Missouri Ozarks and love the outdoors. Writing and quilting are my main hobbies as well as reading and family history.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb