Little Sacrifices
by Jamie Scott
233 pages
Published March 22nd 2012
Premise:
How much would you risk to stand up for your beliefs?
When Duncan and Sarah Powell move with their daughter, May, to Savannah Georgia in 1947, they hope against hope that they’ll be welcomed. But they’re Yankees and worse, they’re civil rights advocates almost a decade too early.
At first May can pretend they’re the same as everyone else. It means keeping quiet when she knows she should speak up, but it’s worth the sacrifice to win friends. Unfortunately her parents are soon putting their beliefs into action. And when they wake to find that they’re the only family on the block with a Ku Klux Klan cross blazing on their front lawn, the time comes for them to finally decide between what’s easy and what’s right.
Colorimetry welcomes Jamie Scott... or... Michele Gorman for an interview!
Hi Laura, wonderful, thank you.
What is the inspiration behind Little Sacrifices?
I got the idea to write Little Sacrifices, a coming of age tale about being caught between two sets of beliefs, because I was very nearly in the main character’s shoes. When I was ten or eleven my Dad accepted a job in Tennessee, which would mean moving from our sleepy Massachusetts town. We got a puppy around this time and there were lengthy discussions about his name (my little sister and I wanted to call him Rebel). Dad convinced us that we couldn't do that if we moved South and it struck me then that things in the South would be very different. The job fell through and we stayed in the North, but the idea of being plucked from a society you know and deposited into one you don’t stuck with me. And it’s been a theme in my writing ever since. The ideas for my books tends to be sparked by a "What if?".
By the way, we named the puppy Lucky, because after the first night of howling, Mom said he was lucky she didn't throw him out in the snow.
Lol. Lucky! What a great "What if?" - very.... well, thought-provoking!
Do you have a favorite scene or character?
I love Jim. In fact my best (boy) friend growing up was called Jim. It wasn't a conscious decision to name him after my friend, and his personality is completely different, but I guess the connection with the character was there from the start. I love that he is such a pragmatic boy, who knows his shortcomings and takes them in stride. He's a good friend to May and demands the same level of loyalty in return. In a way, he's her conscience.
My favourite part of the book is the Epilogue. I was able to see how everyone's lives turned out (I didn't know what would happen to them till I wrote it!). That happens a lot in my writing - the characters tell their own stories.
I love Jim. In fact my best (boy) friend growing up was called Jim. It wasn't a conscious decision to name him after my friend, and his personality is completely different, but I guess the connection with the character was there from the start. I love that he is such a pragmatic boy, who knows his shortcomings and takes them in stride. He's a good friend to May and demands the same level of loyalty in return. In a way, he's her conscience.
My favourite part of the book is the Epilogue. I was able to see how everyone's lives turned out (I didn't know what would happen to them till I wrote it!). That happens a lot in my writing - the characters tell their own stories.
Ha! That's awesome. I love that idea (despite the perfect sandwich below!)
Please share something personal!! Anything weird? Obscure? Delicious?
I fall down. A lot.
I count cake as one of my five-a-day.
I would rather put my hand in the toilet than be in the same room as a spider.
I see small wonders everywhere. This makes me very happy.
I make a sandwich with military precision - no off-centre bits are allowed.
I can lick my own elbow.
When I write, my characters often get away from me. Luckily they know where they are going.
I like being a little bit squishy around the middle.
I can knit, but only square things.
I’m a very good baker.
I nap every day.
My friends are like my family. Luckily my family is also like my family
Thank you, Michele!! I'm not starting a knitting circle, so your lil' squares are perfect around here! (No comment on the toilet thing.) The perfect sandwich makes me nervous.
More about the Author:
Michele’s background is financial rather than literary. In an attempt to get a “useful” degree she studied accounting and finance, and spent many years as a very bad auditor. Eventually she began to suspect that her future did not lie in banking, so she went back to school full-time in Chicago for her Master’s Degree in Sociology. Upon graduation she was highly qualified, and unemployed.
One kind company in London finally hired her, and she stayed there for 13 years, working part-time as a market analyst to fund her writing habit.
Michele’s writing career was born from the belief that someone ought to pay her for what's inside her head without having to change out of her pyjamas. It took a few years for her ability to catch up with her ambition, but the end result was her debut, Single in the City, published by Penguin UK in June 2010. Misfortune followed in March 2012, and The Twelve Days to Christmas in October 2012. And in July 2012 Michele published one of her earlier historical novels, Little Sacrifices, under the pen name Jamie Scott.
Find & Follow:
Get Your Copy:
Michele's Site
Amazon:
Also by Michele Gorman:
Here is the link to the mini eBook: http://michelegorman.co.uk/Jamie_Scotts_books.html
It's available in ePub (for Nooks, Kobos, Sony, etc), .mobi (Kindle) or PDF (for laptops - to save this, go to 'file', 'email attachment' and they can email it to themselves to open wherever they'd like)
Michele x
Thank you, Michele!!
Novella coming Oct 11th!!
I have created this Rafflecopter to thank Michele for her generosity in giving away a free mini-book! To WIN her book... um... follow the link above and download your preferred version!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
