Amy Carol Reeves has a PhD in nineteenth-century British literature. She lives in Columbia, South Carolina where she works as an Assistant Professor of English at Columbia College and writes young adult books. When not teaching, writing, or spending time with her family, she likes jogging with her Labrador retriever, Annie, and daydreaming about Brontё novel hunks. Resurrection is her third novel.

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TC:  How does it feel now that you have finished the trilogy?

ACR:  I keep describing it in these interviews as bittersweet. I love the way I ended Abbie’s story, and yet there’s something that’s a bit depressing about not having any more story to tell.

TC:  Are you working on a new series?

ACR:  Right now I’m researching, pursing some new ideas.

TC:  Will you write any short stories about Abbie and William? Or tell us more about Richard’s past?

ACR:  Probably not. I like to leave readers with their last image of Abbie and William kissing in the rain.

TC:  If you write a new series will it be a historical YA or something different?

ACR:  I’m still working on that. It will probably be historical fiction. Right now I’m researching some of my favorite historical time periods: the Regency Era, the Victorian Era. Probably once I determine my new storyline, then I’ll decide if it will work better as YA or adult fiction.

TC:  When we first spoke when Ripper came out I asked you who you’d rather spend a day with Jane or Byron? You said a date with Byron. Is that still the case?

ACR:  Absolutely!

TC:  During a few scenes I was reminded of the night during a storm when a group of friends decided to write ghost stories. (Now I’m sure you know what group of “Friends” I speak of but for those that don’t I’ll clue them in.) I’m talking about the night Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley and John Polidori decided to write ghost stories… The most famous story to come out of that night was Frankenstein. Did this night have any bearing on Resurrection?

ACR:  The story about the birth of Frankenstein, like most great stories has been overdramatized a bit. My favorite biographer of Mary Shelley, Miranda Seymour, gives a great account of the tensions and relationships between Polidori, Byron, and the Shelleys at Villa Diodati. But yes, I love all of these personalities. I would have loved to have been at the Villa Diodati in 1816 with all of these great minds!

TC:  We’ve talked about you’re love of C.S. Lewis’s “Narnia” tales but before we never talked about Alice, yet in Resurrection you tie the work. What about Alice in Wonderland made you quote it this time?

ACR:  Abbie has to “cross some lines” and explore her moral boundaries in Resurrection. I felt like the “diving down the rabbit hole” image from Alice in Wonderland was a nice parallel to many of the occurrences in Resurrection.

TC:   What does Shawn think of Lord Bryon now?

ACR:  He’s not really threatened. Particularly since the guy’s been dead since 1824:)

TC:  Before I asked if you were rebellious as Abbie? As we’ve watched her grow what are the traits you think young readers will see in her?

ACR:  As I said before, I’ve never thought of her as rebellious—even though she is one to buck against the system when she thinks that a system is wrong or nonsensical. But I hope readers see that she is independent and brave.

TC:   What classes are you teaching this semester?

ACR:  This semester, along with my freshmen writing courses, I’m teaching two British literature courses. Both are Victorian and Modern British lit so we’re reading a lot of my favorites including, Jane Eyre, Dracula, and Mrs. Dalloway.

TC:   With both of the first books you’ve had a strong connection. How do you feel with this one?

ACR:  With each of the books, my connection with the storyline and characters has grown. In fact, I actually cried when I had to kill off one of the main characters in Resurrection.

 

TC:  What research did you do for Resurrection?

ACR:  It was great fun! I took another trip to London last year and walked around St. Pancras Old Church and Highgate Cemetery for quite a bit. I also visited the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Gallery. She was one of the first female physicians in London and established a hospital and medical school for women. The gallery is the restored first floor ward and entrance to her hospital. You can read about my trip on my blog at amycarolreeves.com.

TC:  Knowing how the trilogy ends would you change anything?

ACR:  Not a thing!

TC:  Do you think Lady Westfield would dislike William more or less if she learned who his real parents were?

ACR:  I think neither. Lady Westfield is who she is.

TC:  By the end of the series Lady Westfield seemed to have turned a new leaf is that because of Laura or because she thought she would lose Abbie like she lost Caroline?

ACR:  At the end of the trilogy, she was still Lady Westfield, but at the end of the day, she would always focus on what mattered. I think that losing Caroline because of her own stubbornness was an enormous burden on her and although Abbie challenges her time and time again, she doesn’t want to repeat the same mistake.

TC:   Why in the end was it so hard for Abbie to commit? Was it just her loss or something she didn’t even think of?

ACR:  I think her loss jolted her and the part of her that couldn’t love Simon romantically made it difficult for her to accept her persistent love for William. Also, the very practical matter was that it was much more difficult to marry and keep a profession. Furthermore, divorce was nearly impossible and the laws were skewed to favor men. Although Abbie loves William, she had too many fears/insecurities to just dive into marriage.

TC:   While Simon says he loves Abbie even through as we know it’s hard for him to show emotion anymore do you think it’s the same as she feels for William?

ACR:  For me, the love triangle was inspired by the St. John Rivers/Rochester love triangle in Jane Eyre; essentially, you have one more cool-headed love interest, and one more hot-headed. It’s not that Simon doesn’t feel—he feels passionately at times—even about Abbie. But he expresses his affections much differently than William.

Amy once again thanks for stopping by, I’m glad we got to chat. You guys can check out Resurrections trailer here.