Interview with Chris Eboch

Today, I'm pleased to offer an interview with author Chris Eboch about the inspiration and work behind her novel The Well of Sacrifice, set amid the Mayan Civilization.  Ms. Eboch has also recently released a new historical fiction novel about Ancient Egypt called The Eyes of the Pharaoh.  Her website (www.chriseboch.com) is full of great resources for teachers and is definitely worth checking out.

*** Suzanne Borchers did a great review of The Well of Sacrifice, which can be found here.*** 

What inspired you to write The Well of Sacrifice?

I've always loved foreign cultures and ancient history, perhaps because I lived in Saudi Arabia between the ages of five and 11 and got to travel a lot. After college, I spent a summer touring Mexico, Guatemala and Belize with a friend. Mayan culture fascinated me, and so did one of the great questions -- why did the Mayan civilization collapse before the Spanish arrived?

I didn't start The Well of Sacrifice for a few years, but when I decided to write a novel, I began with the image of a girl being thrown into a Mayan sacrificial well and surviving. I loved revisiting that region in my writing, diving into the past to imagine what Mayan culture might have been like over 1000 years ago, and creating a character strong enough to fight against great odds.

What sort of research did you do to help you write it?

Traveling to many Mayan archaeological sites certainly helped immerse me in that ancient world. Even though the great cities have decayed, I could get a feel for the scale of the architecture, the smells and sounds of the jungle, and much more. I took pages of notes while there, even though I wasn't yet planning to write a book about it. I did more research before and during the writing process. I was living in New York City when I wrote The Well of Sacrifice, so I had access to great libraries (this was before the Internet). I also visited museum exhibits, where I picked up additional useful details, like what a cocoa pod looks like.

What was the most difficult part of writing it?

This was the first novel-length work I'd written, so I wasn't sure what I was doing. I originally thought the book would open with the scene of a girl being thrown into the sacrificial well. But I kept deciding I needed to start earlier. Eventually, my "opening scene" got moved to the end of the book. The whole thing was a learning process, so it's amazing that it actually turned into a publishable book. I got lucky!

What was your favorite part of the writing it?

Even now, just thinking about the book reminds me of the sights, sounds and smells of Latin America. As a reader, I've always loved the power of literature to take me to different places and times. This book allowed me to do that as well, and to play the part of an amazing heroine. All my writing lets me get into the heads of other people, whether it's the 13-year-old boy narrating my Haunted series, or the 30-year-old history professor/treasure hunter in my first book for adults, Rattled. I like being able to explore what it might be like to be someone else for a while. I can have adventures as someone else, from the safety and comfort of my own home.

What are some children's books that you've read recently and really enjoyed?

I've been reading more adult fiction, since I'm now writing romantic suspense for adults under the name Kris Bock. I did recently read the YA novel iDrakula, by Becca Black, since I was speaking on a panel with her at a convention. I was impressed by her ability to convey so much primarily through the character's text messages.

Some time ago I read Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski, a fantasy set in medieval Bohemia, and I'd like to get back and read the rest in that series. The Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman had great drama along with an interesting look into an alternate version of medieval Italy. The Shamer's Daughter, by Lene Kaaberbol, had intense action and beautiful writing. That's another where I need to read the rest of the series.

You just published a historical fiction book about Ancient Egypt, called The Eyes of Pharaoh.  Can you say a bit about what it is about?

The Eyes of Pharaoh is a mystery set in ancient Egypt -- 1177 BC, to be exact. The book stars Seshta, a 13-year-old temple dancer, and the two boys who are her best friends, Reya and Horus. When Reya hints that Egypt is in danger from foreign nomads, Seshta and Horus don’t take him seriously. How could anyone challenge Egypt? Then Reya disappears. Seshta and Horus are determined to find him, and in the process they start to uncover a plot against Egypt. They spy on merchants, soldiers, and royalty, and start to suspect even The Eyes of Pharaoh, the powerful head of the secret police.

This book, for ages nine and up, draws on real history and touches on some issues still relevant today, such as immigration and the importance of each individual speaking up when they see something wrong. Interested readers can read the first chapter at www.chriseboch.com or on Amazon, where they can buy the book for $6.99 paperback or $2.99 e-book. The e-book is also available for the Nook.

The Well of Sacrifice

Title: The Well of Sacrifice    
Author: Chris Eboch    
Topic: The Mayan Civilization    
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Students: Mostly strong readers with just a few struggling or reluctant readers
Rating by: Suzanne Borchers from New Mexico

***An interview with Chris Eboch can be found here.***

Historically Accurate?

(4) Yes and also includes historical notes, primary sources, etc.

(3) Yes

(2) A few inaccurate or misleading portrayals

(1) Not a bit

An Engaging Story?

(4) Almost all students will beg to keep reading

(3) Most students will get caught up in the story

(2) Some students will read ahead by mistake

(1) Students will groan when the book is mentioned

Prompts Discussion?

(4) Students will still be talking about it in the hallway

(3) Will prompt discussion about major issues in the past as well as today

(2) Will prompt discussion about the characters and the events in the book

(1) Will not prompt discussion

Readability?

(4) Everyone - even the most reluctant readers – can get on board

(3) Can be used for a whole class read

(2) Can only be used with a small high-powered reading group

(1) Recommend only to students that love reading

Age Appropriate Content?
____Too mature
_X__Just right
____Too simplistic

A Comment from Suzanne Borcher: 
I used this book with my Grades 4/5 gifted students for language arts. We delved into the Mayan civilization, and both read the book in class and for homework. The students became immersed in the story, and answered higher level questions about character development, plot, and background. The students asked to dramatize their favorite scenes, which they wrote and worked on in small groups. The dramas were totally enjoyable. They also asked to write an Epilogue to the book. We culminated our reading the book by inviting the author, Chris Eboch, to a celebration of chocolate, oral reports, and discussion. I highly recommend this book for its depth and its readability. I definitely will use it again!


Amazon's Product Description: 
Eveningstar Macaw lives in a glorious Mayan city in the ninth century. When the king falls ill and dies, the city begins to crumble. An evil high priest, Great Skull Zero, orders the sacrifice of those who might become king, including Eveningstar's beloved brother. Suspicious of the High Priest's motives, Eveningstar attempts to save her brother, thus becoming an acknowledged enemy of the High Priest. Condemned to be thrown into the Well of Sacrifice, Eveningstar must find a way not only to save her own life but to rescue her family and her city from the tyrannical grasp of Great Skull Zero. Set against the vivid background of everyday life at the height of the Mayan golden age and illustrated with striking black-and-white paintings, Eveningstar's candid, gripping, and not-for-the-faint-of-heart account of the last days of a great city will have readers at the edge of their seats.

Link to reviews on Amazon
Link to the website of the author: Chris Eboch (which links to lesson plans designed to accompany The Well of Sacrifice)
Preview The Well of Sacrifice at Google Books
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Impatient with Desire

Title: Impatient with Desire   

Author: Gabrielle Burton

Category: Historical Fiction

Topic: The Donner Party, Westward Expansion

Grade Level: Upper high school (11th or 12th grade) and college

Students: Mostly strong readers with just a few struggling or reluctant readers 

Rating by: Andrew J. Peters from New York

(Andrew's extended review of this book is available at his website: http://andrewjpeterswrites.com)

Historically Accurate?

(4) Yes and also includes historical notes, primary sources, etc.

(3) Yes

(2) A few inaccurate or misleading portrayals

(1) Not a bit 

An Engaging Story?

(4) Almost all students will beg to keep reading

(3) Most students will get caught up in the story

(2) Some students will read ahead by mistake

(1) Students will groan when the book is mentioned 

Prompts Discussion?

(4) Students will still be talking about it in the hallway

(3) Will prompt discussion about major issues in the past as well as today

(2) Will prompt discussion about the characters and the events in the book

(1) Will not prompt discussion 

Readability?

(4) Everyone - even the most reluctant readers – can get on board

(3) Can be used for a whole class read

(2) Can only be used with a small high-powered reading group

(1) Recommend only to students that love reading 

Age Appropriate Content? 

_X__Too mature

____Just right 

____Too simplistic

Andrew J. Peters' Review:  

In the spring of 1846, George Donner led his family and eighty pioneers on a trail of opportunity from Illinois to California.  They made it as far as the Sierra Nevada mountains but were trapped by a snow storm.  The mission turned desperate, and a horrifying legend was born.

Gabrielle Burton's IMPATIENT WITH DESIRE is an intimate re-telling of the journey of the ill-fated Donner Party.  The story is told primarily through the letters and journal entries of Tamsen Donner, a schoolteacher and wife to George Donner, during the time they awaited rescue.

Burton is clear in labeling her work as a fictional account.  But it is based on nearly forty years of her research, a vigorous sideline of the author, which included a family vacation with her husband and five daughters to retrace the steps of the Donner trail.

Burton, who has garnered praise for her portraits of women (her debut novel Heartbreak Hotel) and contributed extensively to feminist discourse over the past four decades, casts Tamsen Donner as a compelling heroine.  Tamsen is self-assured, well-educated, and an independent thinker.  She prefers collecting botanical specimens for her students to baking pies, she asks her pastor to remove the words "to obey" in her marriage vows, and she has clever observations on gender inequality.  

Tamsen was the daughter of a Sea Captain, who encouraged her dream of traveling, at a time when women were expected to stay close to the home.  She was heartbroken by the death of her first husband and one of her sons, but she ventured beyond a life of widowhood to find happiness in a second marriage.  She was fiercely devoted to the promotion of her daughters, accepting the brand of unspeakable inhumanity so that they might survive.  Living under the authority of men, she emerges as much (or more so) as the leader who rallied her counterparts to take the chance to better their lives, and she stewarded morale and comforted them when grief and fear left them broken

As such, the book will provoke good classroom discussions about the status of women and men in the 1800's (and beyond), and it provides a multi-layered heroine for young readers—female and male—to get behind.  

The narrative never strays from Tamsen's point of view, but she is a circumspect and reliable storyteller.  While stranded with her family at a makeshift camp, she records the daily life and the history, which gives readers a vivid picture of pioneer life.  Like The Diary of Anne Frank, there are heavy themes here—starvation, many deaths, and of course the inevitable cannibalism—and they are explored frankly, realistically, but with a great deal of humanity.  The story poses the question:  what would you do to survive?—a curious, provocative topic for young readers, I think.  The decisions made by different party members can be debated as well as points of view on the story:  is it a cautionary tale about the price of ambition?  or is it a story about human resilience in the face of desperate circumstances?  

In terms of historical accuracy, there are Author's Notes at the end that clarify what is drawn from historical records, and what came from the author's imagination.  Largely, it's a story that seeks to be as authentic as possible.  The principal liberties are taken to bring to life Tamsen Donner, whose journal was never found.  Ms. Burton portrays Tamsen as an early women's liberationist of her time, in the mold of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, so the book would work well as a supplement to studies of the early women's movement as well.

I think the book is appropriate and useful for upper high school grades and college.            

*************************************

Link to reviews on Amazon 

Link to review from NPR's Fresh Air

Link to the website of the author: Gabrielle Burton 

Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound