Publication date: March 5th, 2018
Synopsis:
Abby Parker planned out her whole life: complete her final year of high school, go to college, get a job, move away from her insane family, stay best friends with Jessica.
But, that was before she broke into the nearby tourist attraction and unwittingly answered a call from a centuries-old spirit who dragged her into the 19th century.
Now she must solve a Victorian mystery without getting herself killed, or worse, spend a lifetime trapped in the past, leaving behind everyone she loves and altering their lives forever.
When she meets gorgeous Benjamin, the future looks a lot like wreckage.
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As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
I'd probably choose our corgi pup as my spirit animal. He's always up to a challenge and his only mood is happy.
Tell us about your main characters -- what makes them tick?
Even though Victorian Town has a romantic element, the main characters are three teen girls. Two of them live in totally different centuries -- the third girl has the ability to time-hop between them. In the two separate worlds comes the problem. The time-hopping girl has only a limited amount of time to figure out a murder in the past. If she takes too long, she'll end up stuck in 1876 and change the lives of everyone she loves. But both worlds hold for her a true best friend. When she finally has to decide which world she'll live in forever, it's an excruciating decision.
If your book had a candle, what scent would it be?
Such a great question! The scents of a candle would differ depending on which century my main character, Abby, was living in at the moment. In 1876, the scents of a candle would be Beeswax, Vanilla, or Lavender. In the present time, the scents of a modern candle in Abby's bedroom would be Cupcake, Cinnamon, or Coconut.
Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of your story?
At the beginning when I'm just getting into the story, my characters pretty much do what I want. After a while, they seem to come alive with their own personalities. This is when they start to tell me what they prefer to be doing. Of course, I normally go along with the person they've become, and I usually end up going in the direction they lead me in.
What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?
I am constantly doing research throughout the writing process. Victorian Town took me almost three years to write, mainly because of all the research I did regarding the year 1876. I wanted portray that time as accurately as possible. I went to an actual pioneer tourist attraction a couple of times, and visited the City of Toronto Archives. I also spent untold hours on the Internet discovering anything and everything to do with the year 1876. The good news is that I love researching the past. I know authors who don't enjoy this aspect of writing, so I'm lucky in that respect.
Do you write one book at a time?
Yes. It's the only way I can immerse myself into the story. When I live with my characters day in and day out, they seem to come alive after a while, regardless of the time period. I don't think there would be this same effect if I tried to focus on different stories and time periods at one time.
Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
I'm quirky in that I like to write in silence unless my characters are in a situation where music is in the particular scene. For instance, I wrote about a Victorian ball that took place in 1876. When my main character, Abby, was dancing the waltz, I listened to a beautiful waltz from that time period. And when Abby was back in the present, I listened to modern music, exactly what she was listening to in that part of the story.
Nancy Thorne is an award-winning author inspired by the romance and courage of youth. Her debut novel VICTORIAN TOWN won First Place for the 2019 Dante Rossetti Award.
Nancy's short stories have recently appeared in literary journals and magazines, including The First Line Literary Journal, The Blake-Jones Review, Edify Fiction, and Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Born and raised in Toronto, Nancy fostered a passion for creating stories in grade school but hid it much too well. Eight years ago she decided to pursue her lifelong dream of telling them.
Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America and Toronto Romance Writers. She lives with her family just outside of Toronto along with an energetic labrador and entertaining corgi.
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