by Lisa Tucker
8. Dorothea carries a verse in her shoe, taken from the Faerie Queen: “Be bold, be bold, and every where Be Bold.” Do you have any mementos or words of encouragement that you hold close to you?
Oh, yes, I clip out quotes constantly; you could even say I collect them. The one Dorothea puts in her shoe is something I came across in graduate school and used as inspiration to study for my exams. The two I have on my desk right now are: “It is in the knowledge of the genuine conditions of our lives that we must draw our strength to live and our reasons for living” (Simone de Beauvoir), and “Those whom books will hurt will not be proof against events. Events, not books, should be forbid” (Herman Melville).
9. The classic Charlotte Bronte novel, Jane Eyre, pops up more than once in this story. What is your connection to the text? What ties were you attempting to make to your own novel?
As odd as this sounds, I didn’t realize there were so many connections between Jane Eyre and Once Upon a Day until one of the blurbs pointed this out. Jane Eyre is very special to me, though. When I was in sixth grade, my teacher gave me a copy of the novel. It was the first book I didn’t have to return to the library; I felt so privileged to own such a thick, grown-up-looking book. I read it so many times I started dreaming about Jane. I love the great passion in that novel, and I hope that’s a connection to Once Upon a Day. The characters in Jane Eyre suffer so much, but they still believe in love and redemption. I tried to give my characters that belief, the same way I try to hold on to it myself.
10. With an intrepid young heroine named Dorothea, venturing far from home, one immediately recalls the character “Dorothy” from The Wizard of Oz. Was this a symbolic naming?
The Wizard of Oz was part of my first novel; maybe it’s the subtext for every American book that includes a journey to find your real home. I love that Dorothea’s name made you think of Dorothy in Wizard. Now if only Charles had let them have a little dog …
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