I’m so excited to introduce you to fellow Scrivenings author, Delores Topliff.
Delores Topliff grew up in Washington state but married a Canadian so enjoys dual citizenship. She teaches university, travels, and writes children’s books, historic novels, and her memoir-travelogue of many trips to Israel. She loves her two doctor sons and five grandchildren and divides her year between a Minnesota farm and the gentler climate and people of Northeastern Mississippi.
Christina: Let’s talk books! What is your book called?
Delores: Wilderness Wife
Christina: When was it released?
Delores: Feb. 11, 2022
Christina: Is it a series?
Delores: I’ll write the sequel after I finish one other project.
Christina: Would you share the blurb with us?
Delores:
Set in frontier North America in 1810, Wilderness Wife presents the early life of Marguerite Wadin MacKay who believes her 17-year marriage to explorer Alex MacKay is strong—until sudden fame destroys it. When he returns from a cross-Canada expedition, he announces their frontier marriage is void in Montréal where he now goes to make his fortune and choose a society wife—not one with native blood. Taking their son, MacKay sends Marguerite and their three daughters to a trading post where she’d lived as a child.
As an abandoned mother living only for her three girls, her hardships forge her into such a woman of strength that Dr. John McLoughlin will marry no one else. Together they carve out an inspiring legacy that changes North American History.
See the trailer at https://youtu.be/lV3H0W80UE0
Christina: That sounds like an incredible story. What inspired you to write this book?
Delores: My hometown, Vancouver, Washington, was established as Fort Vancouver by the McLoughlins in 1825. Everyone knew about Dr. John. The Lord impressed me to research Marguerite, and I found solid gold. Although she had been a disillusioned and abandoned single mother, she was courageous, inspiring, and won the admiration of many including younger Dr. John who kept proposing marriage until she finally accepted. Together they birthed five more children, crossed a continent, and changed history. Today they are known as the father and mother of America’s Pacific Northwest, and she as the kindest woman in Oregon. I loved researching Wilderness Wife, and felt like Marguerite became a personal friend.
Christina: I love how you said, what you found was ‘solid gold’. Can you tell me, what’s your favorite part of your writing process?
Delores: Researching and having early local events greatly shape the state and nation I grew up in in excellent ways.
Christina: Can you share any challenges you faced during the research or writing process?
Delores: There’s such a flood of fascinating information, it was hard not to stuff in too much history and only include the choices that took the heart of the story forward. I’m committed now to writing the sequel and there too that same selective process will have to find the clear meaningful theme throughout the years.
Christina: If you could give one piece of advice to budding creatives, what would it be?
Delores: Keep writing. Just like piano practice, every effort and exercise makes us better. Connect with critique groups and mentors. Develop a thick skin to welcome the corrections and suggestions that improve our work, realizing they are constructive to make us better—not critical.
Christina: So true! Can you describe your writing routine?
Delores: I do my best writing in morning hours and try to get some writing done six days a week. I also teach online university classes, so there are often emergency demands that require attention and take me away from fiction writing.
Christina: What do you hope readers will take away from your book?
Delores: Marguerite overcame painful loss and adversity and became greater and stronger than her limited circumstances. She became someone nearly everyone looked up and who in partnership with Dr. John McLoughlin, her second husband, truly helped expand the United States to include even the Pacific Northwest area rather than that remaining under the control of Canada.
Christina: What has been the most rewarding part of your publishing journey?
Delores: Imagine my joy last November when Marguerite’s 4th and 5th generation real life granddaughters contacted me. They had information I didn’t. I added to theirs. We had a fabulous book club Zoom meeting and scheduled another for next August. One descendant resembles Marguerite. These women portray Marguerite’s strengths and Christian qualities.
Last week I received an email from another direct descendant. I had the pleasure of introducing both lines of these people to each other while realizing that truly praiseworthy traits are never lost but continue from one generation to another and are living history now. I am in awe.
Where do we go next? More of Marguerite and John’s history should be written. I had started a sequel but was overwhelmed by the vast amount of material and the long span of years. However, recent feedback has so encouraged me, that I’ll finish current writing commitments, and then return to tracing John and Marguerite’s lives as they truly blessed and changed our nation.
Christina: Wow, that’s incredible.
So when you’re writing, what is your favorite snack to get your creative juices flowing?
Delores: Starbucks dark roast coffee with coconut flavored creamer.
Christina: Yum! What childhood story has stuck with you through adulthood?
Delores: Growing up within sight of Fort Vancouver which the McLoughlins established, prowling the grounds many times and seeing that their lives and decisions extend into living history today.
Christina: What book are you reading right now?
Delores: I Think I Was Murdered by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker. It’s our church’s book club’s choice for discussion this month.
Christina: I like Colleen Coble. I’m reading one of hers right now!
If you could have dinner with any author, living or deceased, who would it be and why?
Delores: Definitely with Marguerite. I’m privileged now to email and Zoom meet with some of her living relatives.
Christina: I love how your character has taken on a fresh life for you in the present.
Here’s a fun question: You just won free tickets to anywhere in the world. Where are you going? And who are you taking?
Delores: I’ve traveled to many continents but would love to visit Australia and New Zealand. I would take a close author friend with me and maybe my oldest granddaughter who is an excellent high school biology teacher.
Christina: Thank you so much, Delores, for taking us behind the scenes and sharing a glimpse into your writing world!
For more information about Delores and her books, check out these sites:
Website: https://delorestopliff.com
Blog: https://delorestopliff.com/blog/
Email delores@delorestopliff.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DETopliff
Newsletter: Subscribe to receive a free short story – bit.ly/Deloresnewsletter