Charlotte Hinger has won multiple awards for both fiction and nonfiction writing. In 2021 she was inducted into the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame. In 2008 she moved to Fort Collins, where she applies her degree in history to academic publications and her depraved imagination to a mystery series published by Poisoned Pen Press. “Mary’s Place” is her third historical novel.
SunLit: Tell us the backstory of “Mary’s Place” – what’s it about and what inspired you to write it?
Charlotte Hinger: It’s about an affluent agribusiness family (rural royalty) who have always been prosperous and a banker who is the pillar of the community. Both entities are threatened with ruin when the government suddenly changes financial regulations. I’m a historian and I recognized the importance of events happening right before my very eyes.
SunLit: Place the excerpt you selected in context. How does it fit into the book as a whole and why did you select it?
Hinger: The day the bank closes in a rural community is a heart-stopping event. It’s like a bomb has dropped on a town. Selecting my excerpt was difficult! I knew which one was my favorite, but I didn’t want to expose too much of the plot for the reader. Both fathers have sons who have contempt for their values. The sons want to make money.
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SunLit: What influences and/or experiences informed the project before you sat down to write?
Hinger: I lived these events. My community lost its bank. I knew so many of the people involved. I knew heroic bankers who wanted the best for their community. I also knew wealthy farmers who believed nothing could touch them. I was a member of an ecumenical church committee that tried to provide emotional and financial help to farmers. We heard so many heart-wrenching stories.
SunLit: What did the process of writing this book add to your knowledge and understanding of your craft and/or the subject matter?
Hinger: This is my third historical novel. I’m used to doing historical research, but wading through all the government programs and regulations pertaining to agriculture was mind-boggling. Integrating enough information so the reader understood outside pressures without stopping the story cold was hard.
The characters were trapped by events. Honestly, how could farmers find the time to wade through stuff? They have more on their minds than complying with regulations that are in effect one day, and changed the next.
SunLit: What were the biggest challenges you faced in writing this book?
“Mary’s Place”
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Hinger: Resisting the temptation to provide too much detail about banking and agriculture. But I had to understand a complex and lengthy sequence of events to accurately reduce them to a sentence here and there. This was a story, after all, not an economic textbook. I loved my cranky old banker and wanted readers to empathize with his dilemma. I was so invested in the characters and wanted the reader to love them, too.
SunLit: What do you want readers to take from this book?
Hinger: No matter how sensible our decisions, how earnestly we strive to be the best person we can, things happen that we can’t control. Never assume people have caused their troubles because of some moral deficiency. Of course, that exists, but it’s easy to judge too harshly.
SunLit: Was it difficult to write about “modern history” instead of past events?
Hinger: It scared me to death. I was surrounded by people who could challenge every idea. When writing about contemporary events there’s always someone who can step forward and say “you got it all wrong.” I was especially worried about the judgment of bankers. I had interviewed several bankers who had been caught up in this tragedy and I tried to be faithful to their emotions.
SunLit: Tell us about your next project.
Hinger: It’s a historical novel about the Volga German community in Kansas and the frontier Catholic Church. It’s set before World War I.
A few more quick items:
Currently on your nightstand for recreational reading: As usual, I have a nonfiction, a heavier fiction book, and a fun book going at the same time. My favorite recreational picks are psychological mysteries. Right now I’m reading “Wild Dark Shore” by Charlotte McConaghy. I love Rick Atkinson’s first volume of his Revolution Trilogy, “The British are Coming.”
First book you remember really making an impression on you as a kid: Hands down, it was “Hoot Owl.” I read it in the first grade. I had learned the alphabet and while the teacher was helping other kids, she let me pick out a book from our sparse little library. It was a real book with a real story. Not just the numbing repetition about Jane throwing Spot the ball. I was filled with wonder. I could read a real story. It was about a little Indian boy named Hoot Owl who led a little lost pilgrim boy back to his family. The pilgrims were so grateful they invited the little Indian boy’s family to share their first Thanksgiving meal with them. Of course both groups lived in perfect harmony ever after.
Best writing advice you’ve ever received: It came from my first agent, the legendary Claire Smith. She said never to alter a book just because I think the person giving advice is really smart. Only change your writing when you know in your gut someone is right.
Favorite fictional literary character: Marguerite in “Green Dolphin Street.”
Literary guilty pleasure (title or genre): I’m not a literary snob. I don’t feel guilty about anything I read. I’m dismayed by over-zealous parents who insist on monitoring everything their children read.
Digital, print or audio – favorite medium to consume literature: All three, but if I really adore a book, I want to own the printed copy.
One book you’ve read multiple times: “Green Dolphin Street.”
Other than writing utensils, one thing you must have within reach when you write: Coffee — hot and black.
Best antidote for writer’s block: Walking with only the sounds of nature. No media to muddy thoughts.
Most valuable beta reader: Margaret Neves, my friend, a poet with an impeccable eye.