Interview with Mary Ellen Lee
Today, Tyler R. Tichelaar of Reader Views welcomes Mary Ellen Lee, who is here to talk about her new book “Danny and Life on Bluff Point: The Conflict.” I am also joined today by Ben Weldon, who is our ten-year old Reader Views Kids Reviewer. Mary Ellen Lee and her family have lived in the Finger Lakes Region of upstate New York for four generations. Keuka Lake is the setting for her historical children's novels and is where both she and her father grew up. The author is an avid reader of nonfiction American history and uses her knowledge to enhance the historical value of her children's books. Tyler: Welcome, Mary Ellen. I’m very excited to talk to you about “Danny and Life on Bluff Point.” I understand this novel is the sixth in a series. To begin, will you tell us a little bit about the series in general and where this novel fits into it?
“Danny and Life on Bluff Point: The Conflict” includes a moral issue about Northeastern Yankee families vs. a Southern family. Some of Danny’s friends and neighbors are still fighting the Civil War. How does a ten-year-old boy influence adults to see the man from Virginia as a good family man who was not involved in the war? By example, of course but being a good example is not easy when there is an older schoolboy staring you in the eye and showing clenched fists. Each book represents a month from Grandfather’s journal. “Danny Conflict” takes place in May of 1895. I lived in Penn Yan and on the shore of Keuka Lake as a child. These places are some of the settings for the books. My brother and I listened to the stories my father and aunts told of their growing up on Bluff Point; and what Penn Yan was like when they were children. They had hard lives by today’s standards but always had good family times. My childhood, because of where we lived, was somewhat like that of my father and aunts. I almost forgot, Danny is my father and his three sisters, one older and two younger are my aunts. Ben: How did you think up Danny and all the other characters? Did you make up things even though they were based on real people? Mary Ellen: Danny and most of the other Lee characters are based on people that I knew. My aunts and my father would talk about things they did while growing up on Bluff Point during family gatherings. The neighboring families in the stories are real also. Of course, I didn’t know these people so I make up descriptions for them. From the Yates County Censes Records I learned what they did for a living and what their first names were. When grandpa went to town to have a wagon wheel fixed, I could say he went to George Bebee’s wagon and carriage factory. The characters that are villains or abusive I totally make up. Tyler: Mary Ellen, will you tell us how you first decided to use family stories in your writing? Mary Ellen: After I retired from work, I looked over the journals and finally edited them into my computer. I spent one long Upstate New York winter doing this, as it was a challenge to read the journals because the writing was faded. Another problem was my Grandfather’s creative spelling. I obtained an old unabridged dictionary and found many old farming terms that I defined in the journals. Grandfather began writing in 1894 and stopped in 1917. It is amazing to me how things we take for granted today changed their lives. They had no electricity, no central heat, no internal combustion engines, no indoor plumbing, transportation was by horse, on foot, or by steamboat, iceboats and sleighs were used in the winter. I was considering trying to write a children’s historical novel when the Columbine School massacre occurred. This event decided the issue for me. There were few new historical novels written for boys at that time. I felt that modern children needed a book that would give them some guidance about what to do about school bullies. In the first book, “Danny and Life on Bluff Point” (being reprinted), the moral issue concerns a school bully; and how Danny makes friends with the boy. My ideas for resolving this problem may be simple concerning today’s troubles. But, the way Danny and his father resolve the bad feelings Bully Billy has, by calm talk, would work today if the adults involved did not resort to violence. Tyler: What is the basic idea behind this sixth book, “The Conflict”? Mary Ellen: The basic idea behind the sixth book, “The Conflict” is resolving the discord between Bluff Point folks who are still “fighting” the Civil War and families who accept their new neighbor, Mr. Overhouser, into their community. Some adults and their children are carrying a grudge against this man from Virginia and it is up to Danny, his parents and friends to show them the mistake they are making. Their resentment is setting a bad example for their children who are about to have a fistfight with the Yankee children. The resulting tension is causing problems at school for the Bluff Point children. Tyler: Will you give us a little background about why the people in Danny’s community do not like a Southerner moving to town? Mary Ellen: Most of all, ill feeling against people from the South in general is morally wrong. In 1895, it is only 30 years since the Civil War ended and the idea of a family from Richmond, Virginia coming to live on Bluff Point brings back dreadful memories. Tyler: Do people need to read the previous books first, or can the sixth book be read alone? Mary Ellen: The books do not need to be read in order as each book stands alone. Danny and his family, the neighbors and friends are in each book. The characters’ personalities mature and develop as the months go by, but each book tells complete stories about events in their lives. Tyler: What do you hope children will learn from reading your books? Mary Ellen: My wish is that modern children will learn some valuable life lessons such as taking responsibility for your own actions, when and how to stand up for what you know is right, not to judge people until you know them, treat people the way you want to be treated, obey your parents’ instructions, stranger danger, and so forth. The readers will gain some historical knowledge about our country too. I hope this will influence them to read more history. Tyler: What have you found to be the most difficult part of writing historical fiction, especially so it will be interesting for children? Mary Ellen: I have some difficulty keeping my imagination from running away with me while I’m writing. The history that I write about must be true and not embellished by me in anyway. Reading historical novels are a great way to learn what has happened in the past in a painless way. We cannot understand what is happening now if we don’t understand what has happened in an earlier time. As circumstances evolve, members of our elected government make decisions based on their current knowledge and their knowledge of our country’s past. We the people must make the same kind of judgment. Keeping up with the changes is our duty. Trying to make history interesting to children is fun for me. I place myself in the time and location I am writing about. I become the characters. I become the storyteller, which gives me great pleasure. Remembering the distinguishing characteristics of an individual is sometimes difficult for me when I begin a new volume of the “Danny” series. As I write, their qualities come to me, Ruthie is know it all, Danny is serious and considerate, Mary is inquisitive and laughs easily, little Carolyn is a chatterbox with a sing-song voice. I try to make each child grow emotionally and physically. I must make sure I have not accidentally strayed away from the truth into fantasy. Of course, there are stories of adventure such as when Pa asks Danny to go to Pulteney to pay a bill. He rides his horse, Sally, and takes his best pal, Stan, with him. The two boys and Sally ride a steam workboat across the west branch of Keuka Lake. It is only a few miles from the landing to the hardware store. Excitement occurs in Pulteney when Sally manages to untie her lead from the hitching rail and goes to the village square to nibble on grass. The boys panic when they miss Sally but soon find her in the park. All goes well for Stan and Danny until it comes time to cross the lake again to reach Bluff Point and home. The wind has come up and there are big waves on the lake. How will Sally take riding on the steam barge in very rough water? Will the boys and deckhand be able to keep her from jumping overboard? Or will the boys have to spend the night, alone, in Pulteney? Remember, there is no way for them to contact their parents. Ben: How do you get yourself to write every day? Mary Ellen: I don’t write unless I feel like it as I will enjoy it more and do a better job. Occasionally I become discouraged when I can’t find a way to introduce a new story line or character. I must have a logical reason to have my characters do something. In “Danny and Life on Bluff Point: Lost in the Dark,” I couldn’t make up my mind how I was going to introduce the main historical element. I wanted my Grandfather Scott to tell a Civil War story, but how was I going to introduce it? So I went for a long walk; gradually ideas came to mind; most I discarded. Then, the answer popped into my mind. I rushed home and began to write. Tyler: What sort of research did you do in writing this series? Do you have to do extensive research for each book, or after the first book, did you understand the time period enough that you don’t need to continue doing any research? Mary Ellen: The historical element in each book must be accurate, carefully researched, and thought out. I ask myself these questions, for example:
I have many nonfiction history books that I can use for reference. I also use the Internet for research. There were times when the Penn Yan Public Library and the Oliver House Museum were my second homes. The sixth book gave me some difficulties. The historical interest is the internal combustion engine, how it compares to the external combustion engine (steam), and how it will change the lives of my 1895 characters. It is easy to say, “I’ll write about the development of the internal combustion engine.” Yes, but, how? The development of this engine excites me. How do I convey this excitement to my readers? How do I make these engines simple to understand when they are not simple? Solving this kind of problems is the fun part of writing for me. I did research on the early inventers of the internal combustion engine but was disappointed that no American was involved early on. One of the ancillary characters of my books, Mr. Brown, a retired school superintendent, purchases a small internal combustion engine. He shows its abilities to the Lee family and two steamboat men. Charles Lee, Danny’s father, sees the engine as a work and time saver. The steamboat men view it differently. To them it is a noisy, smelly, machine that is without the grace of a steam engine. I still read books about the 1890s as it is a very interesting time. It was then the automobile was first put to use. The internal combustion engine offered many ways to reduce labor. Electricity had been harnessed; riding bicycle was all the rage. Women had gained some freedom; they could ride bicycle if their ankles didn’t show! How they rode with their long, full skirts, I’ll never understand. The telegraph and telephone were coming even to rural areas. The idea of these kinds of advancements should astound you. They do me, for the industrial age was changing life very dramatically. Ben: How long do you spend researching your books? Mary Ellen: I can’t answer this question definitively as it depends what the subject is. Sometimes I can pick one of my history books from its spot in the bookcase and find just what I am looking for. When I was looking for a Civil War photo of Fort Stevens (volume 3), I spent quite sometime and still failed. I did find a photo of a gun battery from one of the other temporary forts that surrounded Washington City. I sketched it and described it in the book. While I was waiting to find a publisher for my first book, I spent considerable time taking interesting notes from documents, period books, and newspapers. Those notes still help me a lot. Ben: Once you have written the book, how many times do you usually revise it? Mary Ellen: Many! I must be sure I have stayed in first person, present tense. I must check to make sure I have made myself clear. Am I writing in character? I’m not telling the same story I wrote about in a previous book, am I? Have the children mentally and physically grown a little? These kinds of things are endless. Of course, there is grammar, spelling, and punctuation to be checked. UGH! Tyler: Besides your grandfather’s journals and family history, did you have any literary influences, such as other historical series for children like the “Little House on the Prairie” books for example? Mary Ellen: The reading of many children’s historical novels has given me much enjoyment and has helped train my mind to think as an author should think. The “Little House” books have given me inspiration as has “Black Beauty,” “The Yearling,” “Old Yeller,” “Caddie Woodlawn,” “The Man who was Poe,” and many others. I have learned to focus on a theme throughout a book and draw attention to an important concept such as accepting people who differ from what we expect. Tyler: Mary Ellen, will you tell us a little bit about the illustrations and why you decided to have the books illustrated? Mary Ellen: I draw the crude sketches. As the books are written in the first person, present tense, we are looking at things through Danny’s eyes. Therefore, Danny is doing the sketching. An earlier book in the series brings this to light. Danny’s drawings give big sister Ruthie something to tease him about and give little sister Mary one more reason to admire her big brother. What are children’s books without pictures? I hope they give the reader a view of what I see while writing. I see Danny in his bulky winter clothes, the girls in long skirts, high-button shoes, and coats that cover them from head to toe. I see Danny proudly taking care of his horse, the girls feeding the poultry, and the adults trimming and tying grapevines. I see Pa reading to the children and Ma baking cookies. Tyler: What about life in 1895 do you think appeals to your readers? Mary Ellen: The 1890 life is quaint and unfamiliar to young readers of modern times. What did the children do for entertainment? They played with yo-yos, jacks, farm animals, and their neighbor friends. What kind of clothes did the children wear? They had heavy woolen winter garments that constricted them. They only had a few clothes for winter and a few for summer. What did they eat? They didn’t have a varied menu as they mostly ate what was grown on their father’s farm. Modesty dictated they swim with their clothes on in the summer. The children have work to do to help their parents, such as milking cows, feeding the poultry, cleaning up after the farm animals, doing housework, preparing food and so forth. Their life was very different from that of today’s children. I see the dangers of working with cows, horses, pigs, and even chickens. As a child, I often was chased by a rooster and once had to climb a tree to get away from a dairy bull. Tyler: What kinds of responses have you received from children? Why do they say they enjoy your books? Mary Ellen: They like the way I bring Danny and his friends to life and feel as if they are experiencing their adventures. Reading how people lived in the 1890s inspires them to learn more about the period. Mothers write me to say their child is reading the Danny books and this is the first time they are reading a book that is not required. I have been told they are used for schoolbook reports. Children remark about how real my characters are to them. They enjoy how I use my imagination to describe Danny’s adventures. Most of all, children enjoy reading how Penn Yan looked in the past, to come for a visit, and find the buildings I describe are still there! Some parents look for the farmhouse and barns on Bluff Point for their children. I am proud to say the place is farmed, the house is lived in, and the barns are in use. Tyler: What about the Finger Lakes area of New York makes a good setting for the stories? Mary Ellen: When the weather cooperated, farmers were prosperous and earned a good living for their families. The beauty of the New York State Finger Lakes region is unsurpassed and children had a never-ending list of fun things to do. Today’s children might not think of farm or house work as fun; perhaps my father didn’t always either. But when the chores were finished for the day, advantage was taken of every free moment. There was sliding down hill in your own fields, ice-skating on your own pond or nearby lake, fishing, sailing, iceboating, picnics, riding horseback, riding on the lake steamers, to name only a few. For the most part, children made their own entertainment. Families did things together; some of these events may not considered fun today but they were fun in the 1890s. Folks worked together and had a good time while doing it. Tyler: What responses have you received from readers familiar with the area in New York that you write about? Mary Ellen: People of Upstate New York enjoy reading about places and events that they were involved in when they were children. They are pleased to read the “Danny and Life on Bluff Point” books to their grandchildren and reminisce with their children about picnics in the woods, fun with farm animals, the meat market down the street, and jumping in the haymow. They remember taking the steam cars (trains) to visit a relative twenty miles away from home. The simple life lessons can be a beginning of discussion for parents and children. Tyler: What response have you received by readers not familiar with New York? Mary Ellen: Some have come to spend summer vacation in the Finger Lakes region. They explore Keuka Lake and Bluff Point. They take cruises on the lake and other lakes that are nearby. There are no longer steamboats on the lakes but children can pretend their boat is steam powered. Children love to see the stores in Penn Yan, Grandpa Lee’s farm, and places on Keuka Lake about which I write. Ruthie, thirteen, and Danny, ten, “lost” eight-year old Mary while Christmas shopping in Penn Yan. This was the first time the children were shopping without a parent. Did Mary remember her instructions if she was separated from her brother and big sister? Of course she did! Tyler: Mary Ellen, how many more Danny books do you think you will write? Mary Ellen: I would like to write six more to complete a year of farm life. Modern children will learn how life changed with the seasons. I haven’t run out of ideas yet! Tyler: Thank you so much for joining me today, Mary Ellen. Before we go, will you tell us about your website and what additional information may be found there about “Danny and Life on Bluff Point: The Conflict”? Mary Ellen: I thank you for this opportunity to talk about my “Danny and Life on Bluff Point” books and specifically about volume six of the series. “Danny and Life on Bluff Point: The Conflict” is my most exciting book so far. Have you ever fallen into a woodchuck hole? Danny’s youngest sister, Carolyn has. My web site has an old photo of Bluff Point and Keuka Lake, and a photo of the front cover for “Danny and Life on Bluff Point: The Conflict.” The reader will find the back cover blurb that gives more information about the excitement, adventures, and life lessons for children that are in this book. Tyler: Thank you, Mary Ellen. It’s been a pleasure. Good luck with your continued writing. Mary Ellen: You are most welcome. Thank you for your interest in my Danny books. Read Review of Danny and Life on Bluff Point: The Conflict |
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