YANKEE GOLD - ELIZABETH ROGERS
Beth,
Welcome to the MA blog, where we are very honoured to interview you on your new
novel Yankee Gold.
Starting right off the block here, while we were introducing
ourselves you mentioned that there is a story that you would like to get out
that is quite a revelation during your research you did for your novel. Would
you like to share that with our readers?
Yes. The revelation I
discovered in my research for YANKEE GOLD is related to its ending. I think
it’s interesting that the financial crisis of today is most often compared with
the “Panic of 1873” which closes my YANKEE GOLD story. In 1862 the U. S. Army
began several mining operations in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada which
would eventually yield $326,000,000 to relieve the country’s war debt and
finance the Union Army until the war’s end. In January 1868 Congress offered a
bill to sell western land to the English for a needed half billion dollars.
Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase rejected the bill. It appears the
Civil War debt was never paid in full although other means were pursued in the
interim.
So how
does your novel Yankee Gold tie into this entire revelation?
YANKEE GOLD is a story
about a territory that strove to become a state. It tells how a majority fraction
of the people who lived in New Mexico resisted the terms of statehood. However,
they wanted all the advantages. Mining of precious ores was a nascent industry
in New Mexico. The Civil War complicated the development of this business.
Martial law was in effect when my character, Steve Elkins, arrived. The Army
was doing a certain amount of mining itself. It was also being paid to protect
private mining businesses. Elkins came to New Mexico to write contracts on
several mines where the Army, or U. S. Government, had an agreement with some
prominent investors such as Samuel Colt and the Bernard’s of Kansas City.
What
makes Yankee Gold unique for you? How long did it take to write?
How is YANKEE GOLD
unique? Perhaps the most unique aspect of this story is that no one else has
tried to tell it. I still marvel at how little research has been done to tie
together the threads of this decade in the southwest. Twenty years is much
longer than most authors are willing to spend on a single book.
How did
you decide on your main character? What made him so interesting?
I didn’t choose my main
character. Elkins was given to me at a very young and impressionable time of my
life. Our family moved to the town of Elkins, West Virginia at the end of World
War II when I was eight. My father chose the place as a location for his first
venture into a new small business. He wanted me to find out more about Steve
Elkins’ background.
Was it
easy to write from a male point of view?
Yes. It was difficult
until I began to understand the male dominated society.
From the
little exposure you have had up to know on releasing the novel, how has readers
accepted the novel which is filled with, Passion, Power and Politics?
People seem to be
responding well to YANKEE GOLD. It’s very new, having been launched in print
form only February 14. I’ve had limited feedback from anyone who has clearly
read the whole story.
On a
more personal note, when did you decide to become an author?
I decided to become an
author when my father gave me the mission of research into Steve Elkins’ past.
As I read novels I began to shape what I found about Elkins so that it would
synchronize with the peaks and valleys of the stories I read.
Did you
know from the start that this was the novel you were going to write?
I knew as soon as I began
to unravel the mystery of Elkins’ past that it would likely be a life’s work.
At the
end of your novel you provide an article which gives evidence Steve Elkins,
your protagonist, was a Civil War Spy. Novels don’t typically feature real
characters, what made you decide to use his real name?
So much of this story
explores new ground and integrates fascinating events of the frontier not
generally known by the public that I wanted to both validate fact and create a
“whole” story. Many European stories are told in this manner and I believe that
enough time has passed that I can freely do so as well.
Apart
from writing, what other things do you do that has made publishing Yankee Gold
become a life that had gone full circle for you?
Publishing YANKEE GOLD
has required me to learn so many skills and made my entrée into places I never
dreamed of. Sheer nerve and determination have changed much of my own
character. I’m an intuitive and can be very impulsive. I’ve learned to
discipline that part of myself. I’ve also learned to accept the importance of
record keeping and time management. These are all things I would never have
done independently. I had to see the necessity and create my own version of
organization and arrangement. I understand sculpture and I feel I’ve chipped
away a great deal of the extraneous matter for a more balanced self.
Where to
from here?
There are several avenues
open to me and I’m not certain of the next one to take. If I would pursue Steve
Elkins’ life further, I’d have to deal with a lot of the “hidden” which takes
time consuming research. I know something of a story which is more current and
might take less time. I’m undecided about future projects.
Where
can fans stay in contact with you or buy your novel from?
Fans can stay in touch
with me through :
Website: www.beth-rogers.com ;
Face Book page: Yankee Gold
Amazon for $15.99 : Yankee Gold
Elizabeth
Rogers was born in New York City and lived in West Virginia for over twenty
years. She has been published in the New Mexico Historical review and is a
member of the Virginia Historical Society. She is also active in several
Virginia Writers Clubs.
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