Authors Interviewing Characters: Tracey Buchanan

While writing Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace, which takes place in the early 1950s, I got to know the book’s main character, Mrs. Minerva Place, very well. After all, we spent many hours over the course of several years together. But no matter how well you think you know somebody, with a person like Mrs. Place there is always more to uncover. This talented musician is also an author.

She chooses people who are buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, researches their lives, and writes about them. Fortunately, I was able to access the year 1952 (Note: time travel is exhausting) and Mrs. Place agreed to an interview. Though I thought I could predict some of her answers, this fellow writer still managed to surprise me with some of her responses. And while she didn’t answer everything I asked, she gave me a frank and authentic interview. My thoughts and observations are in parentheses.

TB: Thank you for inviting me to your home today. Is it alright for me to call you Minerva?

MP: I would prefer Mrs. Place.

TB: Oh. Um. Certainly. So. (I clear my throat with a flutter of anxiety. I must say I’m a little taken aback by her preference. I thought we were on more familiar terms. Minerva…Mrs. Place…sits in her living room in a sturdy upholstered chair angled by a large picture window. The beige drapes are open giving me a clear view of Harahan Boulevard, which is alive with the activity of the neighborhood children.)

This is a lovely street. The maple in your front yard is such a vivid red and the children running up and down the street create such a happy atmosphere. (Mrs. Place’s expression remains neutral as I make this observation.) Yes. So, Mrs. Place, you are an accomplished pianist. I know you once considered becoming a professional classical pianist. But, if you could be an expert in anything other than music what would it be? (Mrs. Place pauses so long before speaking that I worry she’s going to pass on answering my very first question. She begins to nod and eventually does speak.)

MP: I don’t believe in dwelling on what could have been for my life. It is what it is and there’s no changing it. But I will admit to having considered this question as it pertained to the people I researched and wrote about. How one decision could change the course of one’s entire life. If I could be an expert at anything—and thank you for the compliment about my musicianship, but I hardly call myself an expert. I am good at what I do, but by no means am I at a professional level despite what you may have heard.

Anyway, in answer to your question, I do wish I could speak several languages with fluency. Whenever I see a newscast in which someone is translating what a foreign leader, politician, or other person of interest is saying, I wonder how accurate the translation is. Can we trust words to accurately cross a language barrier or are nuances lost? If I could speak several languages I would know for sure. Besides, I think it would be of great interest to work as a translator at the United Nations. Next question?

TB: What’s your idea of the perfect day? (I’m encouraged that she quickly responds to this question.)

MP: I know this might not be a popular thought, but my perfect day would be rainy and cool—not at all like today. On my idea of a perfect day I would wake up without my arthritis bothering me and have a cup of coffee before I did anything else. A box of Munal’s donuts would be sitting right next to the coffee pot, and I’d eat one of their blueberry cake donuts with my coffee. Next I’d read the newspaper, which had been strategically thrown to land right at my doorstep, while I sipped a second cup of coffee.

After I read the entire paper I’d move from the kitchen table to the dining room where I keep my research in files. (She nods toward her dining room, which is right behind me. It’s wallpapered in an old-fashioned print that has faded. An uninspired houseplant struggles to remain upright.). I’d not hesitate to pick up any one of these files and refresh my memory about the information I had recorded about various people who had passed on and were now residing in the Oak Grove Cemetery here in Paducah. I’d spend the next few hours writing about somebody’s life. Right now I’m particularly interested in the Civil War era, so I’d probably choose someone from that period.

I’d stop for a lunch of Myrick’s pimiento cheese sandwich, a dill pickle wedge, and potato chips with a piece of cake that Nella—you know Nella my next-door neighbor—had made for dessert. Her chocolate mayonnaise cake is excellent. Then, after lunch I’d walk a few blocks to the cemetery and make some etchings. That evening, after a delightful dinner eaten at home while I read the latest Good Housekeeping or National Geographic, I’d watch the Milton Berle Show. I’d put my gown and robe on early and read a book for a while before going to sleep. The perfect day. (She pauses and looks pensive.) Please do not include anything about my gown and robe. I may have answered a little too thoroughly. Nighttime attire is personal.

TB: It sounds like you’ve thought about that question before. You mentioned reading. What are some of your favorite books?

MP: Oh, my goodness, that’s a hard question. 

First off I think of Carson McCullers’ masterpiece The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. It’s been out a while, but I still think about that book on occasion. I hope this doesn’t sound too odd, but I strongly related to 13-year-old Mick, who was often lonely and bored. Not that I’m lonely…or bored.

I seem to be drawn to young protagonists, because A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is another favorite. After I read it I found myself actually looking for good things.

 Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis is another all-time favorite of mine. I liked reading about the character Zorba, who threw himself into whatever he was doing and who had such fascinating insights. One quote that remains with me is: “Man is a brute…. If you’re cruel to him, he respects and fears you. If you’re kind to him, he plucks your eyes out.”

And I enjoy the occasional Zane Grey western. My favorite one lately is The Roaring U.P. Trail. It’s about William Neale, a young engineer working for the Union Pacific railway. He’s trying to get a train across its route and has to contend with bandits, badlands, and bad weather. It’s a fun romp. And my father worked for a railway company, so there’s that.

TB: Back to your writing…Can you tell me more about it?

MP: No

TB: Um. Okay. (Her expression is neutral. Did that question offend her? I can’t help but fidget and hesitate before asking my next question. The clock’s ticks strike like a warning. Finally, I regain my bearings and plunge back in.)

TB: Mrs. Place, if you could have a dinner party and invite five people living or dead who would you invite?

MP: Forevermore! You come up with the oddest questions. Let’s see. Oh, mercy. I’d have to think about that before answering. Do you have another question? (She glances at the clock on the mantel and raises her eyebrows.) Oh, my, look at the time. I have an appointment I must keep. That’s all the time we have.

TB: Oh. Well, thank you very much for this opportunity.

MP: You’re welcome. I’ll need to review your article of course before it’s printed.

TB: I’m afraid that’s against policy. (She levels a look at me that makes me feel like she could burn my eyes out. Her mouth is set in a rigid line and her brows are furrowed. I feel like a kid who’s disobeyed her teacher. I crack.) But we can make an exception I guess.

(Mrs. Place rises from her chair and nods toward the door. Clearly the interview is over.)

TB: Thanks again.

Without another word and with the vaguest of smiles, if it indeed can be called a smile, she opens the front door and says, “Goodbye.”

—

BIO: Tracey Buchanan crashed into the literary world when she was six and won her first writing award. Fast forward through years as a journalist, mom, volunteer, freelance writer, editor, artist, and circus performer (not really, but wouldn’t that be something?) and you find her happily planted in the world of fiction with her debut novel, Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace (Regal House Publishing, June 20, 2023). She and her husband Kent live in Paducah, Ky. They have two married sons, seven perfect grandchildren, and one very mixed-up dog.

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TOWARD THE CORNER OF MERCY AND PEACE

“Tracey Buchanan is a welcome new voice in women’s fiction.” —Camille Pagán, bestselling author of Everything Must Go

It’s 1952 in the small western Kentucky town of Paducah and Mrs. Minerva Place would prefer everyone mind his own business, follow the rules, and if dead, stay dead. Nosy neighbors and irritating church members are bad enough but when residents of the local cemetery start showing up, the quirky widow wonders if she’s going crazy. Just as distressing, a new boy in the neighborhood seems intent on disrupting her life. Minerva, aggravated by the precocious six-year-old, holds him and his father at arm’s length.

Nevertheless, with charming perseverance they find a way into her closed-off life and an unlikely friendship begins. But just when Minerva starts to let her guard down, a tragic accident shatters her emerging reconnection with life. Now more than her sanity is at stake. With the help of the living and the dead, Minerva discovers the power of forgiveness and why it’s worth it to let others into your life, even when it hurts.

PREORDER HERE

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Interviews, On Writing