Q&A with Melora Fern

 

 

 

 

Melora Fern is the author of the new novel Whistling Women and Crowing Hens.  

 

Q: How much did your grandmother’s life story inspire your novel?

 

A: Very much! I wouldn’t have written Whistling Women and Crowing Hens without the discovery of my grandmother’s mementos. She had kept brochures, a scrapbook, articles, letters, and photos from her days of traveling with Swarthmore Chautauqua circuit as a trombone player and concert whistler.

 

At first, I tried to write her story and realized that I couldn’t ask her the questions I needed answered. Soon Birdie and the rest of the characters formed in my mind and demanded that their story be told.

 

 Finding that memento box brought me back to writing and changed my life. I had tried creative writing years before and felt I had failed.

 

The inspiration from my grandmother’s story and the characters in my head helped me believe in myself and my writing again. It took years of writing workshops, classes, my writers critique group, and editing to complete my first manuscript.

 

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

 

A: I tumbled down so many research rabbit holes using the internet and discovered that the really good stuff is well after page one of the returned searches.

 

I read dissertations, newspaper articles, and books; I studied old photographs, maps, and magazines from the 1900s - 1920s. I traveled to Chautauqua in New York for research and discovered they have nothing in their library about Chautauqua circuits! (They don’t consider circuits an “official” part of Chautauqua.)

 

Luckily I was able to spend time at the Swarthmore College library and found a treasure trove of information including circuit schedules, rules, essays, and more.

 

I was surprised by so many things, especially the fact that Chautauqua circuits reached over 40 million people at their peak in 1924 yet so few of us have ever heard of them! And concert whistling?! Who knew that it was an international sensation at the turn of the 20th century and there are still international whistling competitions today!

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: I had named my manuscript “The Art of Whistling” before I spent a writing retreat day with one of my friends. During our afternoon stroll to clear our heads, we ran into her neighbor, who asked what I was writing.

 

After my halting elevator pitch, she exclaimed, “Oh whistling women and crowing hens never come to a good end.” She then explained how her mother, a true Southern belle, forbade her to whistle.

 

After researching the saying, the title stuck. It’s more bittersweet to me now because that dear friend died before my novel was published. It means so much to me that she’s such an important part of my debut novel!

 

Q: The author Heather Bell Adams called the book “a thoroughly immersive and uplifting tale, deftly exploring female ambition in the riotous 1920s.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I’m absolutely delighted, humbled, and honored that Heather Bell Adams reviewed my debut novel with such moving words. I’ve always favored character rich novels and wanted mine to be one of those. The fact that she found it “immersive” means much to me.

 

We need more novels that promote “female ambition” and I’m so pleased that she considers Whistling Women and Crowing Hens among those ranks.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: So many things! I’m enjoying writing weekly posts for my blog, Stay Curious with Melora Fern, and on Substack @melorafern and promoting my debut novel through independent bookstore events, podcasts, and visits to book clubs. I’ve got several ideas for my next novel but none are fully flushed out yet.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I’m active on Instagram and Substack. Readers can go to my website, melorafern.com, to sign up for my monthly newsletter and read my weekly blog, Stay Curious.

 

I’d love to visit with your book club or reading friends either in person or virtually—those interested can make a request through my website. I enjoy talking about Whistling Women and Crowing Hens with readers, interested readers or just about anyone! I’ve been known to hand out bookmarks while at restaurants, walking tours, on the plan, anywhere!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb