If you listen, time will speak.
Hunter
Davenport realizes the evidence he’s shared with Sierra could indeed destroy
her – but it could free her as well. The decision is yanked from her hands when
the past and present collide through a historical portal on sacred Native
American land. Will she take the gift that is offered? And will Hunter do what
he didn’t do twelve years earlier – stand by her? Only time will give them
their answers.
Thank you for spending time with us
Sierra. Tell us a bit about Whispers Through Time. The novel begins
a unique series by the same name. It tells two parallel stories – one
historical (the 1890 Massacre at Wounded Knee), the other contemporary (the
theft of valuable artifacts) on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. These
stories create a real mystery when they begin to connect via mystical, time
travel-like incidents that I experience while I’m visiting South Dakota with Hunter
Davenport, an old flame, in an attempt to understand a secret from my past that
I never knew existed. When the answers finally come, my world is turned upside
down.
What made you choose writing for a
professional career? I
met the love of my life in college, his name was Hunter Davenport, and he was
an investigative reporter who was already going places. I wanted him to notice
me, and I thought the only way I could do that was to get into his field. But I
knew I didn’t have the emotional or physical fortitude to do what he did, so I
decided to write historical novels instead. I just happened to be in the right
place at the right time, and my first book took off like a shot. We almost
married, but he lived out of a suitcase, constantly traveling to dangerous
places following stories he wanted to write. I traveled, wrote, and researched
all the time myself, so we knew it couldn’t work. By the time we split up, my
career was flying, and I was determined to be a best-selling novelist. We just
didn’t have time for each other.
Knowing what you know now, if you had it
to do over again, would you stick with being a writer or do something
different? I
really couldn’t do anything different even if I wanted to. I love to tell
stories. I love to write. It’s just what I do.
What is your biggest fear? Honestly, I’m
terrified of losing my mind. I’m serious. If I couldn’t think, I couldn’t
write. Everything else I could survive, but not that.
Who is your favorite fictional character,
and why? I
think my all-time favorite character has to be Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The
Wind because by the end of the first chapter, I had completely forgotten
she wasn’t real. And, also, because to this very day I still remember (and
understand) her motivations for every selfish, thoughtless act she ever
committed. I didn’t like her, but she’s stayed with me for many years in a way
no other fictional character ever has.
What is the best piece of advice you ever
received? I
think that probably came from my best friend, Skye (Morning Star) Parker. She’s
half-Comanche, and one day we were talking about the spirit world. You probably
know how intensely Native Americans feel about that. Anyway, she said, “We live
with one foot in the spirit world. My culture doesn’t try to explain it. It
just is. On the other hand, White culture traps you into believing that only
what you see, touch, taste, hear, and smell is real. That’s arrogant and sad.
Keep your mind—and your heart—open.” I’ve never forgotten that, and now that’s
how I try to live, with my heart and my mind open.
We thank you for speaking with us, Sierra.
Now we’d like to chat with Rosetta.
Which writer or character[s], from either
books or movies, [or both] have had a major impact on your writing? Leon Uris (Exodus,
Mila 18, Armageddon, etc.) is my favorite storyteller of all time, followed
closely by John Jakes (author of the North and South trilogy), Pat
Conroy (Prince of Tides, Citadel, etc.), and Susan Howatch (Penmarric,
Cashelmara,, etc.). All four writers create intricate stories, vibrant
characters, and brilliant descriptive prose. I’ve studied their novels
carefully and try to use what I’ve learned in my own work. I’m nowhere close to
their caliber, but I keep trying.
With regard to research, where did you
start for this novel? Did that lead you down different paths, thereby changing
the original concept? The story
literally hit me like a ton of bricks at the Wounded Knee Massacre site on the
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota back in 2000 – but I didn’t realize
I’d ever write it. I had an empathic experience there that was brutal and
vivid, and it stayed with me for years. It stays with me even now. Anyway,
South Dakota is a magical place – Indians with spiritual medicine call it ‘a
thin place’ – and if there’s any such thing as time travel, South Dakota is
where it would happen. That’s where the original concept for Whispers Through Time came from. The tons of
research I did into the history of the Lakota, the reservation, the massacre at
Wounded Knee, the American Indian Movement, etc. refined the concept, but it
never really changed.
Tell us a bit about your publisher. How
did you hear about them; what influenced you to submit to them; how is the
submission process; what is the turn-around time from date of query to date of
release? The
Wild Rose Press is one of the greatest groups I’ve ever worked with, and I’m
not just saying that because they’re my publishers. They had put out a book my
best friend had submitted, so she put in a good word for me with her editor. My
agent and I had submitted Whispers Through Time to a few other publishers, who
really didn’t seem to know what to do with it, so when The Wild Rose Press
requested the full manuscript, I didn’t get too excited. We submitted the
complete manuscript, my bio, a detailed synopsis, and settled in for a long
wait. But we heard back within 90 days (toward the end of 2020), and by August 16,
2021, the book was released (right in time for Covid-19 to shut down the
world). What I love most about working with TWRP, though, is that my opinions
matter. I was able to choose my cover artist and they never made a decision
without my input. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.
What are you reading right now? I’m reading The
Bastard, Volume 1 of The Kent Family Chronicles by John Jakes – for about
the 100th time. It’s beautifully written, with fabulous characters
and a plot that doesn’t miss a trick. It’s my ultimate goal to write a family
saga, so I study the best every chance I get.
What’s next for you? Thank you so much
for asking! The Wild Rose Press is publishing my first mystery/suspense novel
called Tip The Piano Man. I’m in first edits right now with my wonderful
editor, Josette Arthur, who also edited Whispers Through Time. I expect
it to be out sometime in early 2024. I’m still trying to wrap my head around
the fact that this book is going to be published because I wrote the first
draft in 1988 or so, and about 15 drafts after that until I updated this last
one and submitted it. The book is written from my heart and from painful
experience. I never thought I’d see this day.
I’m also plotting
and researching Book Two of the Whispers Through Time series, which will
be called An Unholy Wind and will take us back to South Dakota.
Rosetta kindly brought along an excerpt
for us:
As she
stood there, drinking in the splendid isolation, Sierra realized that she
wasn’t isolated at all. Instead, she stood in the middle of an Indian camp that
was deathly silent. Even though it was freezing cold, there were no fires
flickering within warm tipis. These tipis were ragged and torn. Scarecrow-thin
people walked by her, so close she could have touched them, so close that she
could smell the odors of sickness and filthy clothing, but no one looked her
way. Somewhere in the distance but at the edges of the camp came the long,
haunting wail of a woman. A woman tortured, heartbroken…
“Sierra,
are you all right?”
Hunter’s
concerned voice shattered the stillness and Sierra was overwhelmed by an aching
sadness as the camp dissipated into a dark and murky fog. As soon as the
sunlight returned, she took a ragged breath and reached for his hand.
Hunter
intertwined his fingers with hers. “Come on, Sierra, talk to me. What’s going
on?”
Sierra
fought tears. She had never felt so alone in her life. There was a time when it
would never have occurred to her to keep so powerful a secret from him—she had
once told him everything. There was a
time when his touch would have opened the floodgates to her emotions and she
would have blanketed herself in his arms, seeking reassurance and refuge. But
not now. She couldn’t trust him now.
Now, she
was losing her mind.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21788498.Rosetta_Diane_Hoessli
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21788498.Rosetta_Diane_Hoessli/blog
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