Jennifer Vido: What inspired your new release, THE GIRL FROM THE PAPERS?
Jennifer L. Wright: When writing my first novel, If It Rains, I did a lot of research on the Great Depression era – so much so, in fact, that I couldn’t possibly fit all the information I had into the book. Unwilling to let the fascinating details I was collecting fall to the wayside, I started sharing various tidbits on my blog, including a short article about Bonnie and Clyde, which unknowingly caught the attention of my editor at Tyndale. She mentioned how their story would make a fascinating book but admitted she wasn’t sure if I could put a redemptive arc on such a tragic tale. Never one to back away from a challenge, I decided to try it anyway. What struck me the most as I dove deeper in the lives of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow was their strong faith background: both were raised in Christian homes, and Clyde was even baptized in late childhood. Member of their gang reported seeing the pair praying together nightly during their life on the run. These little nuggets of information started my mind spinning with “what if” questions….and from those questions, The Girl from the Papers was born.
Jen: Who is Beatrice Carraway, and what are her big dreams?
Jennifer: When we first meet Beatrice, she is an adolescent girl, just growing out of the beauty pageant scene. She had a lot of success as a child, which helped support her widowed mother and sprouted dreams of stage and screen within her heart. As the years passed, however, the wins—and the attention—began to wane, causing this budding starlet to struggle with her self-identity. Although she refuses to give up on her dream, the reality of life during the Great Depression begins to plant seeds of bitterness and discontent deep within her soul.
Jen: What happens when Beatrice meets Jack Turner?
Jennifer: After moving to West Dallas, Beatrice suffers set-back after set-back on her quest to conquer the city’s theater scene, and she begins to suspect it’s not her talent but her lower-class status that’s holding her back. But, just when she begins to think a life in the slums might be the only future to which a girl like her can ever aspire, she meets Jack Turner—another down-on-his-luck West Dallas-ite. The only difference is that Jack refuses to believe the line between the haves and have-nots is an unscalable one. He vows to cross that threshold…in whatever way he can. Soon, Beatrice is swept into a glamorous and exciting life of crime right along with him.
Jen: How does Beatrice feel about their life of crime?
Jennifer: At first, Beatrice finds it exciting. The money and fame the pair are bringing in fill the void that has defined her life of poverty for so long. But as the crimes grow in both their daringness and their violence, Beatrice begins to question whether the payout is worth the risk.
Jen: Who is your favorite character in the story, and why?
Jennifer: I really enjoyed writing the character of Beatrice. History has reduced the real Bonnie Parker to a caricature, a sort of femme fatale, but there was so much more to her than what the public saw. I enjoyed being able to explore the emotional aspects beneath her decisions. I wanted to humanize her and make the reader really understand the pain and longing underneath the hardened, criminal exterior audiences saw in the newspapers.
Jen: Who would you cast in the roles of Beatrice Carraway and Jack Turner if your book becomes a movie?
Jennifer: I think Jennifer Lawrence has the range and chops to play a complicated character like Beatrice. She’s a little bit older than Beatrice is in the book, but that’s never stopped Hollywood. And Taron Egerton would make an amazing Jack.
Jen: What’s the best way for readers to stay connected with you?
Jennifer: I have a love/hate relationship with social media, but I try to post a few times a week on both Facebook (@JenniferWrightLit) and Instagram (@jennwright82), just to let my readers know what I’m up to. Mostly, though, it’s pictures of my guinea pigs. Messages from my readers make my day, though, and I respond to each and every email I receive. Use the contact form on my website (www.jenniferlwright.com) if you’d like to connect with me in this way.
Jen: Sneak peek! What is your current work in progress?
Jennifer: I am just finishing up a dual-time line novel set to be released in summer 2024. I can’t reveal too many details yet, save to say to it centers around the Civilian Conservation Corps on one hand and around New Mexico’s most famous outlaw on the other.
Jen: Which is more challenging, writing the book or editing it?
Jennifer: I think they are equally challenging, but in very different ways. There is nothing more daunting staring down a blank Word document, attempting to create an entire world out of nothing. But there is a type of freedom in writing, simply getting your words and ideas out of your head and onto paper. On the other hand, with editing, you at least have something to work with, yes, but now you actually have to start of making what you’ve written make sense. The plot holes you gloss over during the first draft now have to be filled!
Jen: What’s on your TBR stack?
Jennifer: I’m really excited about the new books coming out from Amanda Cox (He Should Have Told the Bees, releasing August 29), Katie Powner (The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass, releasing September 26) and Michelle Shocklee (Appalachian Song, releasing October 3.) In the meantime, I’m getting ready to read Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke.
Jen: Thank you for stopping by to chat about The Girl from the Papers. Happy summer!
Jennifer: Thank you for having me!
THE GIRL FROM THE PAPERS by Jennifer L. Wright
Inspired by one of America’s most notorious couples, Bonnie and Clyde, Jennifer L. Wright delivers a riveting tale set during the public enemy era of the Great Depression.
Beatrice Carraway has dreams. Although she’s aged out of the childhood pageant circuit, she’s intent on carrying her talents all the way to the big screen—if only she can escape the poverty of West Dallas first. But as the Great Depression drags the working class further and further under, Beatrice struggles just to keep herself, her mother, and her younger sister afloat. After a string of failed auditions, she feels defeated.
And then in walks Jack Turner. Though Beatrice is determined to pull herself up by her bootstraps, Jack has decided on a different path out of the gutters. It isn’t long before Beatrice is swept into an exciting and glamorous life of crime beside the man she loves. Keeping one step ahead of the law, she sees her dreams of fame come true when her name and picture are plastered in newspapers across the country. Yet as their infamy grows, the distance between them widens. While Jack begins seeking bigger payouts and publicity, Beatrice starts to long for a safe, quiet life and something deeper to fill the emptiness in her soul. But when the danger of Jack’s schemes ratchets up, Beatrice fears her dreams—and her future—will end up going down in a hail of bullets.
Christian Historical [Tyndale House Publishers, On Sale: August 8, 2023, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781496477569 / eISBN: 9781496477590]
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About Jennifer L. Wright
Jennifer L. Wright has been writing since middle school, eventually earning a master’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. However, it took only a few short months of covering the local news for her to realize that writing fiction is much better for the soul and definitely way more fun. A born and bred Hoosier, she was plucked from the Heartland after being swept off her feet by an Air Force pilot and has spent the past decade traveling the world and, every few years, attempting to make old curtains fit in the windows of a new home. She currently resides in New Mexico with her husband, two children, and one rambunctious dachshund.
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About Jennifer Vido
Jennifer Vido writes sweet romances set in the Lowcountry filled with southern charm and hospitality. In between chapters, she interviews authors for her bi-weekly Jen’s Jewels column on FreshFiction.com. Most mornings, she teaches an arthritis-friendly water exercise class for seniors before heading to the office to serve as the executive director of a legal non-profit. A New Jersey native, she currently lives in Maryland with her husband and two rescue dogs and is the proud parent of two sons who miss her home-cooked meals. To learn more, please visit her website.
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