when characters take the lead
by Suzette D. Harrison,
author of The Dust Bowl Orphans
Picture this: it’s 1935 in a little speck of a town in Oklahoma by the name of Wellston. Drought has ravaged the region. It’s dry as dandruff, and ain’t nothing growing. Not produce. Or patience. You’re a farming family and you’ve done all you can to eke out an existence from the land. You’ve prayed rain prayers and did a holy dance but the clouds of heaven are closed for business. Your mama wants to leave the state and find a better way. But your daddy’s tied to that land and feeling mighty obligated because of things that happened before you were born, way back when. Will your family stay, struggling to bring magic from dry ground; or will Mama and her pleas for departure win? Inevitably, your parents fall into a heated discussion over the matter only for fate to interfere. But fate isn’t fair, leaving your family in the clutches of heart-wrenching tragedy. I know all of this. . . because it happened to me.
Hello from Oklahoma and the twentieth century. My name is Faith Wilson. I’m the historical protagonist of Suzette’s newest novel, The Dust Bowl Orphans. I specify “historical” because Suzette lost her mind (again) and wrote a dual timeline narrative. If you read The Girl at the Back of the Bus, you know she’s done this before. Evidently, she didn’t get enough of time-hopping and is here for all of it. Now, I’m from 1935 when you could buy a week’s worth of candy for a dime. Suzette took it upon herself to toss me into a book alongside a character from contemporary times where y’all use contraptions like cell phones and other funny-looking electric doohickies. I decided to sit this child down and get inside her head and ask why the beejesus she thought this was a good idea. Grab yourself a glass of sweet tea and come on in . . .
Faith: Girl child, Suzette, do you have a split personality? Why would you put two heroines in one novel from different times in history?
Suzette: No, ma’am, Miss Faith, my personality isn't split. I simply like to try things that are unique, different. Writing a dual timeline, multigenerational story forced me to stretch myself as a writer. I’ve written historical novels, as well as contemporary ones. The Girl at the Back of the Bus was the first time I melded the two together. It was hard work, but I loved the outcome.
Faith: Obviously, ‘cause here we are again. Now, in my novel you have my story running alongside that of this cute little thing named Zoe Edwards.
Suzette: Are you calling her ‘cute’ because she looks just like you?
Faith: I never thought about that, but I suppose I am. Anyhoo. As I was saying, Zoe and I share a story. We’re actually—
Suzette: One moment, Miss Faith. This is a no-spoiler conversation.
Faith: A ‘no’ what?
Suzette: Spoiler. Essentially, you don’t want to reveal anything in the book before readers have the opportunity to do so themselves.
Faith: Well, when they plan on doing that?
Suzette: Hopefully when it’s released February 7, 2022.
Faith: I see. Guess we better talk tongue-in-cheek until then. As I was saying: you wrote Zoe’s story, and mine in The Dust Bowl Orphans, side-by-side. How’d you land on the both of us to begin with?
Suzette: Miss Faith, my great grandparents packed up our family and left Oklahoma to migrate further west in search of better opportunities around the same time as your family’s exodus. African-Americans were part of the Dust Bowl phenomenon and experienced its ravages same as the dominant culture, if not worse. Yet, we’re often omitted from the narrative. This story was my way of directing the lens back onto our experience. Additionally, it’s a love note of thanks to my great grandparents.
Faith: Well, isn't that sweet! Now, you called this a dual timeline, multigenerational story. Put a little explanation on that, please.
Suzette: A dual timeline is rather like two trains running on parallel tracks. They're separate narratives, but dynamically interwoven so that at some point in the novel they intersect. Both characters—that would be you and Zoe—have your own stories, personalities, and challenges. You’re strong young women from different generations, who lived your lives decades apart. Yet, you’re intimately connected. My responsibility, and joy, as the author was to bring you together.
Faith: And that you did. Which story did you like writing best? Zoe’s? Or mine?
Suzette: Admittedly, I’m biased towards African-American history so I loved losing myself in your life. However, like you, Miss Zoe was a complex character and I adored being a conduit for her as well.
Faith: Go‘n and confess you like mine the best ‘cause that sounded somebody’s politician, saying a whole lot of nothing.
Suzette: (after laughing) Miss Faith, are you sure you’re only fifteen?
Faith: I am, but when you’ve lived the things I’ve lived it tends to grow you up fast. I had to leave Oklahoma—the only home I’d ever known—on the heels of heartbreak and devastation, only for that evil dust storm to roll in. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the worst dust storm this nation ever experienced, and it separated me from my family. You can’t imagine what it was like being alone out there with just my baby sister after that storm did what it did. Or what it was like trying to find our way back to them. Oh my, have I said too much? Was that some of that spoiler talk?
Suzette: No, ma’am, you merely expanded on the back jacket blurb.
Faith: Hopefully that’s a good thing, but let me hush before I say too much, and just let these nice readers come join me and Zoe in The Dust Bowl Orphans. You got you some good reading waiting.
Oklahoma, 1935
Fifteen-year-old Faith Wilson takes her little sister Hope’s hand. In worn-down shoes, they walk through the choking heat of the Dust Bowl towards a new life in California. But when a storm blows in, the girls are separated from their parents. How will they survive in a place where just the color of their skin puts them in terrible danger?
Starving and forced to sleep on the streets, Faith thinks a room in a small boarding house will keep her sister safe. But the glare in the landlady’s eye as Faith leaves in search of their parents has her wondering if she’s made a dangerous mistake. Who is this woman, and what does she want with sweet little Hope? Trapped, will the sisters ever find their way back to their family?
California, present day
Reeling from her divorce and grieving the child she lost, Zoe Edwards feels completely alone in the world. Throwing herself into work cataloguing old photos for an exhibition, she sees an image of a teenage girl who looks exactly like her, and a shiver grips her. Could this girl be a long-lost relation, someone to finally explain the holes in Zoe’s family history? Diving into the secrets in her past, Zoe unravels this young girl’s heartbreaking story of bravery and sacrifice. But will anything prepare her for the truth about who she is…?
the author.
Suzette D. Harrison, a native Californian and the middle of three daughters, grew up in a home where reading was required, not requested. Her literary "career" began in junior high school with the publishing of her poetry. While Suzette pays homage to Alex Haley, Gloria Naylor, Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, and Toni Morrison as legends who inspired her creativity, it was Dr. Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings that unleashed her writing. The award-winning author of Taffy is a wife and mother of two teens, and she holds a culinary degree in pastry and baking. Mrs. Harrison is currently cooking up her next novel...in between batches of cupcakes.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND AUTHOR SUZETTE D. HARRISON
https://www.sdhbooks.com/
https://www.facebook.com/sdhbooks
https://www.instagram.com/suzetteharrison2200/