A Shadow Melody
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***Synopsis***
In the early 1900s, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and Harry Browning each researched devices to contact the dead through scientific means. Only one of them succeeded.
Harry Browning is a prodigy with an extraordinary understanding of the natural sciences. Orphaned as a child, he becomes a beloved professor, a war hero... and a shell shock victim.
At war's end, he returns to his college hometown in Ohio and dedicates himself to research. Alone and isolated, he hires Elizabeth Rose, a young housekeeper with secrets. Together, they will seek to answer the one question that all humanity shares—what becomes of us after we pass beyond the veil?
They may not like the answer.
(Stand-alone novel, really, though it’s part
of a VERY loosely connected series of books. The next novel comes out in August
of this year. All historical fiction; all with protagonists who were once
professors at Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio. (Pretty thin connective
material, right?) A Shadow Melody takes place in 1920. The next novel, A
Persistent Echo, has no paranormal element and takes place in 1897.)
What is the sub-genre and trope? Did your characters lead you to this genre or was that decided before the story began?
A Shadow Melody has four parents, so to speak.
First, the novel is a historical, depicting rural Ohio in 1920. Set in the town of New Concord, home of Muskingum College, the small town flavor of small town life is an important element. Life in the cities changed fast back then, but small towns resisted change. In particular, I aimed at the 19th century novel for flavor. I love the writing of the Bronte sisters, and though my prose is different, you might catch elements of Wuthering Heights in the story.
The second parent is the romance novel. My characters are virtuous, so you may wish for some disruptive force to whirl through the literary landscape, smashing things. Your patience will be rewarded.
The third parent is Steampunk. This subgenre of science fiction endeavors to reverse engineer elements of the subsequent century and insert them into the Victorian era (the era of steam). My New Concord is post-Victorian (barely). The actual timeframe in the story is important, because the protagonist – Harry Browning – is a contemporary of Thomas Edison and Nicola Tesla.
The fourth and final parent is horror. There is a supernatural element (how could there not be in a story about building a machine to speak to the dead?). There’s no gore to speak of, but the ending is genuinely creepy.
Are you more character or plot driven?
Definitely character-driven.
With many main and secondary characters, how do you keep them separated in your mind? Do you have a story/vision board above your workspace?
I keep a computer file for each novel called “Threads.” Character descriptions, plot points, historical info, etc. But mostly, the story’s in my head.
I live in the mountains and hike a couple of hours every day. I think about the characters and various scenes, playing them out in my head (so I don’t have to think about exercise).
I know from previous interviews that characters take on a life of their own. Were any of the characters in this series determined to take their own direction instead of where you initially wanted them to go?
Not in this novel, though that has happened to me before.
Are any of the male POVs based on anyone you know?
No.
Are any of the female POVs based on anyone you know?
The female lead shares some character elements with my wife.
Was there any one character/scene that was harder to write about than the other?
In an early scene, my protagonist (as a boy) is told that his father is dead. There’s a delicate moment between Harry and his father’s employer that needed to be just right. I reworked it endlessly until it was properly understated.
I know that we aren’t supposed to have “favorites” as far as our children, but seriously, who’s your favorite character and why?
Elizabeth Rose. Because she’s who she is.
How do you get inside these characters’ heads to find their perfect HEA?
I mentioned that I think scenes through while I hike. I replay those scenes again and again, sometimes to extreme, until I think I know everything that’s going on.
Not all of it ends up in the book (as is appropriate), but I know.
What scene in this book sticks out the most for you? Why?
The scene between Harry (my male protagonist) and Sigmund Freud. So much subtext there; so much under the surface. I had to differentiate between psychoanalysis and psychotherapy without using jargon or resorting to an infodump.
This question is if you write in MULTIPLE POVs not just the hero and heroine - I love the multiple POVs in a book. It’s not just the hero and heroine, but we get inside the heads of multiple characters throughout this series. I feel that it gives the story further depth. Do you think you will write another book or series following this multiple POV outline?
My current unfinished WIP is another historical…this one in the horror subgenre. There will be five POV characters. Working in different voices, noticing different details, evaluating what’s seen through different eyes…very fun.
How long did it take you to write this book?
A Shadow Melody took me a year, start to finish.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
The title refers to an aspect of the ending. Can’t spoil it.
If you met these characters in real life would you get along?
Absolutely. More so than in most of my books.
Series question – Did you know in advance that you were going to write this as a series or did one of the characters in book one demand their own story?
A Shadow Melody used background notes from a different novel because they fit.
When I wrote the next book (A Persistent Echo) I started out writing the third of a series of three imagined novellas (the first two weren’t yet written) and the thin connection to Muskingum College revealed itself.
Then, on a night that featured a midnight walk and multiple beers, a whole series popped into my head. Character demands were not involved.
If your book/series were made into a movie, which actors do you see as playing your characters?
For A Shadow Melody, Harry would be played by Tom Hiddleston. Elizabeth Rose would be played by Emma Watson. And the writer’s option would top six figures, haha.
Can you give us a hint as to what we can expect next? Whether a new book and series or a sequel to an existing series? Can you share a small tease?
(A Persistent Echo) 1897. August Simms—explorer, soldier, world traveler (and former professor at Muskingum College)—returns to Rhome, Texas to chase one last adventure. Hundreds of UFO sightings have been reported, seven years before the Wright brother’s flight, and August intends to solve the mystery. Instead, the past comes calling. A murder, a lynching, and the death of his wife fifteen years earlier are inextricably tied to the present.
The adventure August finds will not be the one he expects…
(Historically, more than 400 UFO sightings were recorded over a one-month period in the Midwest and in Texas. Interesting mystery—which I think I figured out—but the real story involves racism, sexual preferences, and the power of community. Definitely the best thing I ever wrote.)
Check out all my interviews/reviews for Brian Kaufman!
https://readingbydeb.blogspot.com/2023/02/author-at-glance-brian-kaufman.html
By day, author Brian Kaufman is a curriculum editor for an online junior college.
By night, he’s an award-winning fiction writer with nine published novels to his credit. His latest, A Shadow Melody (Black Rose Writing, 2023) is a historical novel with a horror twist: In the early 1900s, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and Harry Browning each worked on devices to contact the dead through scientific means. Only one succeeded…
Connect with Brian:
Email: brian@nunntelwb.com
Harry Browning is a prodigy with an extraordinary understanding of the natural sciences. Orphaned as a child, he becomes a beloved professor, a war hero... and a shell shock victim.
At war's end, he returns to his college hometown in Ohio and dedicates himself to research. Alone and isolated, he hires Elizabeth Rose, a young housekeeper with secrets. Together, they will seek to answer the one question that all humanity shares—what becomes of us after we pass beyond the veil?
They may not like the answer.
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