Featured Interview With Trana Mathews
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
There's a Diane Hildebrandt who authors technical reference books, so I decided to use Trana Mathews as my pen name. I grew up in Northwest Indiana and worked for many years at public accounting firms in Chicago. I have two adult children who remain in the Midwest. Macchiato, my rescue cat, was kind enough to adopt me after several weeks in hiding.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Hooked on Nancy Drew mystery books, I soon became a confirmed "bookaholic." My family spent many hours inside book stores and libraries as I scanned shelves looking for my next read.
After retiring to beautiful southeastern Arizona, I began researching my third great-grandfather's life. As a child, I'd read a journal he'd written in 1798 during his travel from Massachusetts to Ohio and back. A limited edition of it had been given to family members. Fascinated, I wanted to know more! The home he built in 1805 is now owned by a historical society, and I toured this during the 1980s.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I enjoy many genres but have an aversion to romance novels because many of those are so similar. When I read, I want something new and exciting, not a rehash. LOL I love historical fiction, but also enjoy fantasy and sci-fi.
John Jakes has provided the most inspiration to me, especially his "Kent Family Chronicles." When I heard David McCullough was spending time at Marietta College to do research for "The Pioneers", I was worried he would have similar information about my relatives. Thankfully, his work was focused on the Cutler family with few mentions of General Rufus Putnam or John Mathews.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
"Dr. Increase" is the second novel in the Mathews Family Saga trilogy and is the sequel to "The Mathews Family". At age 25, Increase kept a diary as he traveled from central Massachusetts to the Northwest Territory. His written words provide a remarkable insight into this period of American history. Travel along mountain trails was treacherous and took weeks. Besides spending time with his brother John Mathews, sister Susannah Mathews Stone, and his Putnam relatives, Increase takes a packet boat to Gallipolis. He and Edwin Tupper stop to eat and fail to return to the boat on time. What discussion so absorbed these men that they missed it and hired a canoe to get ahead of the boat? You should read my book to find out more.