Featured Interview With Author Donna Lee Dicksson
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Sandpoint, Idaho and raised in Thompson Falls, Montana. My husband and I live in Garland, Texas with our two African Grey parrots, Lucy and Gracie and our house is never silent. I am a semi-professional photographer, love doing historical research, and am obsessed with birds. I speak Swedish after a four-year residence with my husband in Stockholm. The motivation for learning was to understand the culture, for culture is couched in language. I have two grown children, three granddaughters and one adorable great granddaughter… who is currently writing a book. Her foreign language is Braille, she is fluent and seven years old.
I was born with an insatiable curiosity and a compulsive need to share!
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I spontaneously started writing poetry when I was ten or eleven. I needed to sort out my feelings and the conciseness of poetry suited me. I never studied the genre, but I did write a good deal of the senior class literary project for seniors when I was a freshman. I just liked doing it and they didn't. My focus has always been to clarify and define the nature of being human and relationships. I want to know the story (research) and I want to tell it (write) so others can feel the joy of being human.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am terrible at remembering names and even worse at spelling, so I honestly don't remember most of the modern ones.
Julius Cesar -Shakespeare (Good teacher taught me to delve into it and understand)
Little Women -Louisa May Alcott (Inspired me to write warmly, kindly)
The Raven -Edgar Allen Poe (Scared me, made me laugh… gave license to write anything)
Wild Goose Brother Goose – Mel Ellis (Broke my heart and healed it at the same time)
Not as a Stranger -Morton Thompson (Taught me all people are not nice)
Last Woman Standing – Thelma Adams (Inspired me to make a story interesting enough to devour.)
… many others.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
"Pet Lions & Well-Dressed Elephants, a Circus Journey to Greatness 1846-1873" is a historically accurate novel about two real people who were fundamental to the birth and success of "The Greatest Show on Earth." Lots of stories about people and conditions of the Victorian circus are available both for free and for sale, but I was frustrated because absolutely nothing tied the story together so I could understand how the pieces fit.
I found a little woman called Anna White. She was with the Barnum & Bailey Circus during the years that my own great grandmother (Mattie Lee Price, the Forgotten Georgia Wonder) was in the sideshow of that same circus. I believed that Anna White and her husband Charles White could be Mattie's in-laws. I began to dig and found no relationship, but what I did uncover was an amazing story of two people who had amazing stories. After seven years of research and writing, I was able to publish the first half of their epic journey in Victorian Circus.
Blurb:
Raised on opposite shores of Lake Ontario in the mid-19th century, two talented young adults begin their journey toward becoming key players in the birth and success of P.T. Barnum’s “Greatest Show on Earth.”
A young man’s destiny
When fourteen-year-old Charley White stops to help with a crippled circus wagon in upstate New York, he has no idea that his act of kindness will alter the course of his life forever. He joins the show for just that one summer, intending to go home again at the end of the season, but he never does.
As the boy grows into a man, he will go from commanding animals to commanding men in a war within a torn nation. But, as the country recovers, Charley’s own journey toward healing comes from returning to the life he loved not so long ago.
A young woman’s search for a new life
Newly un-engaged eighteen-year-old Anna Matchett is determined to start afresh in the US. As she sets off from Canada West for New Orleans, little does she know her journey will be derailed in Cincinnati as rumors of war begin to spread.
Low on funds, the young woman uses her talent for sewing to make a living, until one day she fashions a costume for a handsome blue-eyed acrobat. Falling madly in love, Anna finds herself traveling off with her new husband and the little circus, earning a reputation as a talented seamstress.
The dawn of “The Greatest Show on Earth”
Planning a new circus unlike any other, revolutionary showman P.T. Barnum is determined to recruit the industry’s best talent. And with that, Charley White receives a telegram, Anna Matchett gets a referral, and the rest is history.
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles
Donna Lee Dicksson Facebook Page
Donna Lee Dicksson Twitter Account
To discover a new awesome author, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors around. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring!
If you are an author and you want to find new readers come submit your book to our Awesome Book Promotion service.