Name:  Lorna Dickinson

Hometown: Looe, Cornwall, England

Book Title:  I Am a Feather

Genre: Historical Fiction based around real events.

Dorrance Publishing (DP): Describe your book in 10 words or less:

Lorna Dickinson (LD): America’s origin story is not what you think it is.

DP: What made you want to write your book?

LD: Getting frustrated with reading Thanksgiving stories with no basis in fact.

DP: How long did it take you to write your book?

LD: It took years of research, thinking someone must have written this story already then realising if I didn’t write it no one else would.

DP: How do you choose the names of your characters?

LD: I use real names throughout, apart from the young protagonist who is given a popular contemporary name.

DP: What do you do when you have writer’s block?

LD: Sleep on it.

DP: What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

LD: The chapter which dealt with the actual Thanksgiving celebration, because I found a historical document in a University library which tells of how before the Pilgrims arrived, the East Coast Indians all started dreaming about music and they all heard the same tune.

DP: If you were stuck on an island and had to have one person from each category with you, who would they be and why?

– One character from your book:

LD: Squanto

– One fictional character:

LD:  Mary Poppins

– One famous person (living or dead):

LD: William Shakespeare

DP: Besides writing, what are your other interests?

LD: Family, Friends, Food, Music and Travel

DP: Do you keep a journal?

LD: Fitfully.

DP: How did you celebrate the publishing of your book?

LD: Breathing and smiling.

DP: If your book was made into a movie, who would play the main characters?

LD: Sir Ian McKellen, Jason Mamoa, Sacheen Little Feather and Scott Eastwood – a real Mayflower descendant.

DP: What did you enjoy most about working with Dorrance Publishing?

LD: The freedom to create the book I wanted.

DP: Five favorite books of all time?

LD: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou

A Wrinkle In Time – Madeleine L’engle

The Golden Notebook – Doris Lessing

Woman On The Edge Of Time – Marge Piercy

Framed – Frank Cottrell-Boyce

DP: One sentence of advice for other writers:

LD: JUST DO IT!

Are you ready to publish your book? Contact us today!

The post Author Spotlight: Lorna Dickinson appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Where and how you choose to spend your holidays can say a lot about you. Thanksgiving in particular can say a lot about your personality and relationships since it is a holiday that centers around togetherness, food, and family. It can give your readers or even you those same new insights about your characters.

For example, let’s say one year a character elects to go see friends instead of going to their Aunt’s like they normally do at Thanksgiving. This could indicate that they may have a strained relationship with their family right now and that may make a friend dinner have higher stakes and pressure for a fun evening.

On the other hand, perhaps the character just generally has a super combative family. Thanksgiving, then, becomes the perfect setting to bring them together and show all of the different relationships at play and how your character relates or feels about each of them individually. Your protagonist’s extended family may not even be a part of your story or your outline, but exploring a scene like this could unlock an interesting dynamic that may be worth including in your manuscript.

Writing Prompt: Pick a particularly eventful thanksgiving in your protagonist’s life. It could be a year when they were a child or a year that will take place during the events of your story. How does your protagonist spend the holiday? What family members or friends are present and what is the nature of their relationship with your protagonist? What events take place over the course of the evening? What interesting conversations are overheard or which games are played or what does your protagonist learn when catching up with their extended relatives?

The post Writing Prompt: Thanksgiving Dinner appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Though Thanksgiving is meant to be a reminder to give thanks for what you have and to spend quality time with your loved ones, what would this holiday be without a delicious feast?

While the host of your holiday party is tirelessly working to make sure that the turkey is brined to perfection and each place setting is just right, you might be scrambling to come up with a recipe idea for the side dish that you’ve been assigned to bring.

For some people, cooking just isn’t their “thing,” or for others, they just can’t make up their mind about what they want to cook. If you fall into either of these categories, at Dorrance Publishing, we think we have the perfect solution: How About a Casserole!

Now, these aren’t your run-of-the-mill casseroles. In fact, one of our Dorrance authors, D. A. Samarin, compiled an entire cookbook of casserole recipes that young and old people alike can cook and enjoy.

How About a Casserole! is much like a user’s guide on how to prepare quick, easy and delicious casseroles that would complement any turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

As if cooking a dish for a group of people wasn’t difficult enough, satisfying their food preferences is an added layer of pressure. For instance, someone wants chicken, another wants beef, and for the vegetarian in your life, they’ll want something meat-free. Luckily, this cookbook has recipes for all three, and a collection of miscellaneous non-casserole dishes, too!

But, How About a Casserole! isn’t just for the holiday season; it can be used for everyday dinners, too! For instance, if you’ve been searching for a vegetable lasagna recipe or perhaps a delicious idea for a chicken tetrazzini casserole, look no further. This Dorrance-published cookbook has these recipes and more!

If, for some reason, you weren’t able to put this book to good use for your Thanksgiving Day feast (although we doubt that’s possible with all of the recipes that are included), with the holiday season in full effect, you still have time to give this cookbook as a present to friends or family or to treat yourself! At Dorrance Publishing, we have to admit that How About a Casserole! is a gift that keeps on giving!

So, this week, when you’re brainstorming recipe ideas, think How About a Casserole!

Happy Thanksgiving from Dorrance Publishing to you and your family!

The post “How About a Casserole” This Holiday Season! appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.