Caroline Cleveland is the author of the new novel When Cicadas Cry. Also an attorney, she lives in Charleston, South Carolina.
Q: What inspired you to write When Cicadas Cry, and how did you create your cast of characters?
A: The basic premise of a young lawyer defending a high-profile murder case that, unbeknownst to the lawyer, was inextricably intertwined with a cold case had been floating around in my mind for years.
I also knew I wanted the lawyer to have a partner/love interest who would unwittingly pick up the cold case, so the reader could follow both story lines until they collided.
Usually, my primary characters just “show up” in my mind. Some of them come all at once, and others materialize gradually.
I am a native South Carolinian, and I knew this would be the setting. Especially given the time span between the cold case and the current murder—I needed a setting that I knew not just as it currently exists, but as it did decades ago. That led me back to Walterboro, where I grew up.
The racial issues took on a more prominent role in my story because of local and national incidents that were on the forefront of social concerns at the time I was working on the manuscript.
Q: As a lawyer, did you need to do any research to write the novel? If so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?
A: Yes, there definitely was legal research involved. My practice is limited to civil law – I had no professional experience with criminal law. Fortunately for me, I have colleagues and clients with a lot of experience in that area who so generously agreed to help me.
Ashley Pennington, the former public defender for our circuit, was a great help, as was Burns Wetmore, formerly with the U.S Attorney’s office and, before that, an assistant solicitor. Their respective experience—from both the defense and prosecution perspectives—was invaluable to me.
In my law practice, I work with law enforcement agencies. Mitch Lucas, who was the chief deputy for former Sheriff Al Cannon, was a great help to me with some of the law enforcement issues.
Anything I got right in the story was thanks to them. Anything I got wrong is all on me.
Q: The writer Hank Phillippi Ryan said of the novel, “John Grisham meets Harper Lee in this immersive and thought-provoking Southern legal thriller.” What do you think of those comparisons?
A: Well, first I swooned. But Hank was not saying that I write at the level of those two masters. She is talking about the story itself and its unflinching look at the topic of racism in the South.
Those two Southern classics spotlight the tragic impact of racism on the judicial system. In both stories, the locals have resorted to mob rule fueled by racism (and fear arising out of ignorance) aimed at a Black criminal defendant while a single white lawyer tries to stand and be the voice of reason. To put himself in harm’s way if necessary to do what he believes is right.
Atticus Finch and Jake Brigance want justice. Theirs is a story as old as time—the epic battle of good versus evil.
Grisham’s story is set in 1984, and Lee’s was set in the 1930s – getting close to the century mark now. These two powerful and emotional stories have long been among my favorites.
But, like perhaps other readers, I saw (or wanted to see) them as painting a picture of yesteryear. I wanted to believe that kind of mob-rule wouldn’t be tolerated now. Then I watched as riots shook our nation in the wake of the Ferguson shooting and other racially charged incidents.
Similarly shocking events brought the issue home to the Lowcountry, and I began to wonder. Would those two stories really be as different as I wanted to believe if they took place in the present?
That question was a heavy influence as I wrote When Cicadas Cry. However, I didn’t want my story to end there. After all, that story has already been executed masterfully by those two incredibly talented authors, and that part of the story belongs to them.
I wanted my story to include a new layer—one that paints with a broader brush on the subjects of bias and injustice. That is where my cold case came in. I can’t say much more without risking a spoiler.
BTW, speaking of Hank Phillipi Ryan, if you have not already read her latest novel, One Wrong Word, don’t miss it. This clever and twisty cat-and-mouse tale has gone to a second printing. Congrats to Hank!
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: Several pivotal scenes take place at a small rural church on Cicada Road just outside Walterboro. I chose that name for the fictional road because the story opens there in the summer of 2017. At that time of year, our skies are usually dominated by the incessant whirring of cicadas, and I felt like that spoke to the sense of place.
My “working” title had been On Cicada Road, but, as a team, we were concerned that felt too generic and wanted something that hinted more at the genre. After a lot of brainstorming, we landed on When Cicadas Cry.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I usually have several different things I am working on, and now is no exception. I am toying with a possible psychological thriller, and also with a potential sequel to When Cicadas Cry. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Zach and Addie….
Q:
Anything else we should know?
A: When I was writing When Cicadas Cry, I had no idea this would be a special year for periodic cicadas. There are perhaps thousands of different species of cicadas, but less than a dozen species remain underground for 13 to 17 years before emerging.
Because of the way the math works out, there will be a simultaneous emergence of two large broods—Brood XIX and Brood XII. The last time those two emerged together was 1803 – Thomas Jefferson was president.
There will be billions (some estimate TRILLIONS) of cicadas emerging near the time my debut is published on May 7, 2024. I am choosing to see this as a welcoming party of the highest order!
Thank you for your interest in When Cicadas Cry and for including it in your blog.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
No comments:
Post a Comment