Beneath The Slashings Tour: Guest Post

Hi my lovely followers! Today is my stop on the Beneath the Slashings Blog Tour which is hosted by the author of this awesome book Michelle Isenhoff! I didn't have time to review for her but I did say I'd be glad to be apart of the tour so she wrote up a guest post and I'm going to share it with you today! First here's the cover of the book!

Now here is the guest post!

Today I have a guest post by Michelle Isenhoff, which is part of a blog tour for her new middle grade novel, Beneath the Slashings. In it she shares an exclusive character interview between herself and Colonel John Nickerson, father of Grace, her twelve-year-old heroine.

Hello, Col. Nickerson. Thank you so much for agreeing to chat with me today. To begin, I’d like to ask you about your winter in Michigan. As I understand, it was your decision to move your family to a lumber camp that caused so much discord between yourself and your daughter, Grace. Is that correct?

That’s the long and short of it, I reckon. I’d been away in the army and didn’t realize how much the war had affected her. When I got home, I just knew I needed to find a job. Thing is, with so many vets coming home, they weren’t all that easy to come by. So when one of my army buddies secured a job for me as foreman of a camp, I jumped at it. I thought the fresh start would be the best thing for our family. (Chuckling) I guess you could say Grace didn’t agree with me.

Just to clarify for our audience, we’re talking about the American Civil War. And Grace was quite young when fighting first broke out. Can you elaborate for us on some of these effects the war had on her?

Well, Grace has always been a timid child. She doesn’t deal well with changes, and war brings a wagonload of them: people moving out of town, others moving in, neighbors coming home with injuries, others not coming back at all. Grace just wanted life to return to normal, but when I came home, I sort of jerked the rug out from under her.

Can you describe for us what life is like in a lumber camp?

It’s work, plain and simple. A lumber camp is a work camp. We’re up before dawn, cutting and hauling timber till dark six days a week. The food ain’t like exactly like Mama’s, and northern winters come with a nip in the air. And nobody’s too keen on hygiene, either, but you do meet some real interesting folks in camp.

I would say dangerous is a better word! What were your thoughts when you found out someone was trying to sabotage the camp?

Sam and Grace were my first concern. I never meant to place them in harm’s way. But I couldn’t close down the camp. With no other options, we just kept plugging away.

While all this was going on, can you describe what your kids were doing?

Working, same as the rest of us. Sam, that’s my son, Grace’s twin brother, hired on as chore boy, and Grace helped out in the kitchen. I’m afraid it was rather hard on Gracie, but she’s a real trooper, that one. I still chuckle when I think about her swindling the fellows out of their quarters. ‘Course, she had to wash their socks, and that is not for the faint of heart. I’m real proud of the way she bore up. In fact, it was her quick thinking that saved a man’s life.

Your daughter sounds like quite a girl.

One in a million. Braver than some of the men I served with.

In conclusion, do you have any final thoughts you’d like to share?

I don’t reckon so. Just keep your axe sharp, your boots dry, and your family tight.

Thank you, Col. Nickerson. I appreciate you sharing your story with us.

Michelle Isenhoff is the author of several middle grade and young adult novels. Her new release, Beneath the Slashings, is specially priced this month at .99 on Amazon,Smashwords and Barnes and Noble. You can find Michelle hanging out on her children’s literature blog, Bookworm Blather.

Thanks so much everybody for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed the guest post =)