Vicki Lane Power Profile
When I joined the Regal House family, I was invited to select some titles from their list to read and review. Vicki’s forthcoming novel, And the Crows Took Their Eyes, will be released on October 16, 2020. The first thing that intrigued me was the cover (I have an obsession with all things corvid), but the real hook to this book was the subject matter: the tangled Southern Civil War history.
I grew up in North Carolina, and my family has roots that are hundreds of years deep there. I have long been haunted by the legacy of deep racism and brutality of the South, juxtaposed against some of the most beautiful land I’ve ever seen. I love the South—and I hate the South—and I am of the South—so I am always looking to literature to help me wrestle with the contradictions inherent in being Southern.
Her novel addresses the Shelton Laurel Massacre, where Confederate troops executed 13 men and boys suspected of Unionism. Told through five different voices, the novel grapples with the neighbor versus neighbor trauma of the Civil War, and the intergenerational wounds that came out of that time. This novel may be set in the past, but its messages are incredibly timely. Anyone wanting some insight into the tangled racial web of America would do well to pick up this book. (You can preorder at the link above!)
I’m thrilled to elevate her work here.
LH: What issues/ideas/questions do you find continue to circle through your work?
VL: Though I am not a member of any religion, I find that religion and the problem of a just God who allows evil continues to inform my work. Another recurring theme is the difficulty of communication and the fact that we are all unreliable narrators, seeing events through the prism of our own limited understanding.
LH: How do you engage with literary citizenship and its role in building a community of supportive writers?
VL: I teach writing—usually critique workshops – and I always remind participants that we are here to help writers become better—not to discourage them. I have been delighted with the camaraderie that grows in these classes and the support that goes on long after the class is over. My nearest local bookstore is about an hour away but I try to attend book launches, etc. there, On my daily blog, I often feature books, old and new, that I’ve read and enjoyed.
LH: Self-promotion is a necessary task in today’s marketplace. How do you approach self-promotion and have your views changed on it over time?
VL: I find self-promotion difficult but I grit my teeth and do my best. I self-promote on my blog and on FB, as well as contacting bookstores, libraries, and print media. Since I’ve had six novels out, I have something of a track record in various bookstores which makes it easier.
LH: There are so many extreme crises in the world today demanding our attention. Often, we hear push-back from others about how art doesn’t matter or isn’t worth the time of the artist or the receiver. What is your answer to those who say art is a waste of time?
VL: Art expresses humanity at its best. Making art enlarges the soul as does reading, viewing, or listening to art. During the current period of social distancing, so much art – museums, concerts, etc.-- is on line, serving as a reminder of better times and a very present help in desperate times.
LH: What metaphor best expresses your creative process?
VL: A compost heap. I read widely--sometimes with a particular focus and sometimes very much at random, pay attention to real life, and from these sources throw in all manner of odds and ends and let them work till they turn into something useful.
LH: What are you currently working on and why does it matter to you?
VL: A series of linked short stories about the people in the area in which I live. It matters to me because I haven’t yet said all I have to say. And because I believe that my small mountain community contains multitudes.
LH: What writer’s work would you like to elevate here?
VL: Jessica Handler’s The Magnetic Girl.
The story of the Shelton Laurel Massacre continues to haunt the mountain county where Vicki Lane has lived since 1975. Vicki’s previous novels include Signs in the Blood, four other Elizabeth Goodweather mysteries, and The Day of Small Things. Authentic dialogue, evocative detail, and rich, clear, intelligent writing capturing the essence of the Carolina mountains and their people are hallmarks of her work. Visit her daily blog at http://vickilanemysteries.blogspot.com/
or her old website http://www.vickilanemysteries.com/
