Q What inspired you to write this book?
A When I heard mention of the French detainment and learned spies were involved, I was hooked. I wanted to know much more and my research led to fascinating glimpses of this unusual situation. I loved imagining what it must have been like to have these cosmopolitan Europeans stuck in this luxurious prison in small-town Pennsylvania against their will.
Q What is your connection to Hershey?
A My father was born and raised there. I grew up visiting family on Maple Ave. and East Chocolate Ave. and still visit cousins. My earliest memories of Hershey are smelling chocolate in the air. My family even owned and operated a candy business for a number of years and I helped make nut brittles many times.
Q How much of the story is true?
A Quite a bit. A majority of the characters are based on real people or a combination of several people. The secondary plot, with Betty and Bertrand, follows actual events closely. Many of the events I depict are documented in the State Department records in the National Archives, including the swastikas in the snow, the rock throwing, the outburst in the department store, and Betty’s unexpected appearance at the gate on Christmas Eve.
Q Since your other books have been nonfiction, did you consider nonfiction for this book? Why fiction?
A Yes, definitely, but as usual I wanted to explore multiple perspectives and I couldn’t find French perspectives and several others I thought should be included. For effective narrative nonfiction, the sources must be available since you can’t make up words. With fiction, I realized I could easily build off actual scenarios and have my characters react to these.
Q What is one of your writing challenges?
A Knowing how much description to offer the reader. Some authors provide many details, others don’t. Finding the right balance of description versus leaving it to the reader’s imagination can be a challenge. Authors seek that sweet spot where they engage the reader’s imagination and hook the reader. As a reader, I prefer less description usually.
Q What was one of the biggest challenges in switching to fiction?
A Writing in a character’s point of view consistently is something I really had to work on. Readers want to get to know a character and see the world through his or her eyes. By the end of the book, a reader can anticipate how a character might react to a situation. When writing a book with multiple points of view, such as The Chocolate Prison, it is important to make transitions between POVs clear.
