Episode 71 - Lisa Williamson Rosenberg
I met Lisa Williamson Rosenberg in an online group for writers. She approached me and said she wanted to be on ReadMore, and I'm so glad she did. Her debut novel, Embers on the Wind, blew me away.
This novel is about Whittaker House, a home in Massachusetts that was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Some of the enslaved people who stopped there died on the property. The souls of two of the enslaved women who died there still haunt the home, which has been converted into an Airbnb. Clementine and Little Annie are particularly fascinated with the Black women who visit the house.
Many of the modern-day Black women who visit the house are also in search of freedom. While they may appear to have everything together on the outside, they're struggling to survive in white society.
This novel goes back and forth in time. Parts of the narrative take place while Clementine and Little Annie are seeking freedom. Other parts are set in the 1980s, and some of the action occurs as late as 2019. The book examines freedom and what it means to be free. It also explores the impact of the severing of the mother-child bond.
During our interview, Lisa reveals...
- The family connection that served as the inspiration for this story
- Why it doesn't bother her so much if a book lacks Black characters
- How her work as a psychotherapist influences her writing
You can listen to the episode here and help Lisa and the show by purchasing Embers on the Wind here.
The first listener to reach out to us on Twitter or Facebook to tell us the name of author Lisa did her senior thesis on will win a free copy of Embers on the Wind.
If you've won a ReadMore giveaway in the last 90 days, you're ineligible. If we ever attended a concert together at what was then American Airlines Arena, you're probably ineligible. But we'll always cherish the day.
EDITED TO ADD 2/22/23: A listener reached out to us on Facebook with the correct answer and won a free copy of Embers on the Wind. Congratulations, Diane from Illinois.