Which side would you have been on?
It’s so hard to project what I’d have done at the time. The oralists really did believe they were doing something benevolent for the deaf community. With hindsight, however, it seems that teaching both oralism and manualism would have been the thing to do.
4. Della seemed to be ahead of the curve when it came to women’s rights. Did you intentionally write her character as more feminist?
There were many feminists at the World’s Fair in general and in the Woman’s Building in particular. In May, women held a “World’s Congress” at the fair. It marked the second greatest international convention of women. (The first had been in Liverpool ten years prior.) Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, and Clara Barton were among the speakers. The newspaper reported: “The hall of Washington was a sea of bonnets, with here and there a scared-looking man peering between them.” (Ha. I love the newspapers from back in the day. So hilarious.)
So with that in mind, I felt I needed to have Della in-the-know as far as the feminist movement went. So that’s why she might have appeared “ahead of the curve.” (Great question, by the way.)
5. Was it true that an automatic fire sprinkler system would have helped prevent the Cold Storage fire?
I can only guess at this since I’m neither a fire investigator nor a fire-prevention expert of any kind. But it seems to me that it would have put out that initial fire in the cupola, doesn’t it to you? If not, it seems that it might have bought the firemen more time. I just don’t know. What do y’all think?
Is that the event that inspired the idea for Cullen’s invention story line?
Believe it or not, I had already decided on his invention before I read about the fire. My inspiration came from looking through a giant book of the fair. It had thousands of pictures. One of them was of an exhibit of fire extinguishers. It struck me as interesting that fire extinguishers were so cutting-edge that they’d inspired not only an exhibit, but also a photograph for the book. When I found out about the Cold Storage fire, it was as if it were meant to be. I refer to those types of happenings as a “God-thing.”
6. Wanda’s speech is riddled with grammatical errors and irregular pronunciations. Was her speech reminiscent of country dialect during that time, or was it used as a device of contrast to demonstrate how differently educated she and Cullen were?
LOL. Girl, don’t ya know we still talk like that around these parts? I hear that dialect ever’ day o’ my ever-lovin’ life. I will admit, however, to wielding it in order to juxtapose the two characters.
7. Della seemed very mature for being twenty years old. Do you think women were “forced” to mature more quickly in that time because they married younger? Or was Della simply special?
Oh, golly. Now you’re making me tell all my secrets. I don’t really know. I do that with all my female leads, because, I mean, who wants a dimwit as a heroine?
8. What is your favorite genre to write?
So long as it happened in America, I enjoy writing about it. I’ve written in time periods ranging from 1644 to 1903. I do seem to have an affinity for the turn of the century, though. But then, I like the mid-1800s too. The 1600s were pretty tough to research. Not a lot of records from Pocahontas’s day. Don’t know if I’d want to tackle that time period again.
Do you ever miss writing for magazines?
Not for a minute. Not even for a second. The journalism simply supported my “fiction habit.” Writing novels is definitely my first love.
9. What is your favorite thing about writing love stories?
That initial spark of attraction between a man and a woman, and the push and pull of emotions during the courtship are my favorite. That’s such a fun time. I love to recollect those times in my own life when my man was courting me thirty years ago. A good portion of our courtship took place in Norway because we were oil brats and our parents lived next door to each other. During the summer, when the sun stayed in the sky until 2:00 a.m., Greg would take me to the golf course to teach me how to play golf. He’d take me out there only at 11:00 p.m. because it was totally empty and he didn’t want me holding up any other players.
One of those times, I brought a tripod and camera with me. I set it up and took pictures, then made him do silly things such as pretend he was hitting a ball from the boughs of a tree or I’d laid him low with a golf ball to the head. I’ve attached a picture for you. (Note the golf ball resting on his eye.) LOL. He would NEVER do something like that now and is so embarrassed that he did it then. Hahaha. Love those times.
Do you prefer writing historical novels over modern-day?
I much prefer historicals to contemporaries. Things were simpler, more charming, and the dresses were downright yummy. I also find it intriguing that the things they struggled with are so relevant to what we still struggle with today.
10. Do you have plans to write another book?
Of course! I’m already deep in the research phase. For a sneak peek at the main characters, download my eShort, Tempest in the White City, from your favorite online store. For even more info, you can sign up for my newsletter at IWantHerBook.com. Then you’ll be privy to all kinds of secrets and exclusives!
Will we be seeing Cullen or Della again?
They might make a cameo appearance in my 2014 novel, but I won’t know for sure until I finish writing it.
© KOREY HOWELL
DEEANNE GIST—known to her family, friends, and fans as Dee—has rocketed up the bestseller lists and captivated readers everywhere with her very original, very fun historical and contemporary novels. She has been nominated for four RITAs and has won two Christy Awards. Deeanne has a background in education and journalism and a degree from Texas A&M. Her credits include People, Parents, and Parenting magazines. She has four grown children and lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband of thirty years. She has a very active online community on her website at IWantHerBook.com and at Facebook.com/DeesFriends.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Designed by Davina Mock-Maniscalco
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gist, Deeanne.
It happened at the fair : a novel / Deeanne Gist.
p. cm.
1. Inventors—Fiction. 2. Teachers of the deaf—Fiction. 3. World’s Columbian Exposition (1893: Chicago, Ill.)—Fiction. 4. Love stories. 5. Christian fiction. I. Title.
PS3607.I55I8 2013
813’.6—dc23
2012037839
ISBN 978-1-4516-9237-2
ISBN 978-1-4516-9239-6 (ebook)
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Epilogue
Author's Note
It Happened at the Fair Reading Group Guide
About Deeanne Gist