Sunday, June 25, 2017

Interview with Betty MacDonald fan club honor member author Traci Tyne Hilton



Bildergebnis für Betty MacDonald and her garden



Betty MacDonald fan club fans, 

Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund interviewed author Traci Tyne Hilton who is a huge Betty MacDonald fan.

Many greetings to Traci Tyne Hilton and Betty MacDonald fan club fans around the world.

Lena


       Betty MacDonald fan  club interview with author Traci Tyne Hilton
                Copyright 2014/2017 by Traci Tyne Hilton & Linde Lund
                                        All rights reserved



I can find several interviews with you. Which two ones do you prefer?



 Here are two recent interviews. The second one is a "character interview" with the characters from my newest book, which is kind of fun.







 


 
This is a picture of me on my tenth wedding anniversary at The Betty MacDonald Farm on Vashon. My sweet husband planned our weekend away, but didn't realize that I actually wanted to STAY at the farm! But he did drive me there to see it before we went home, though. I'm pretty little in the picture, but if you look closely, you can see me by the door to the barn.



Which book by Betty MacDonald did you read first?


My mom gave me her copy of The Egg and I when I was about 11. It was my first taste of Betty Macdonald, but I was definitely hooked! I read it at least once a year until I was in my twenties and finally got around to finding the rest of her work at my library...and then collecting reprints.



What do you like most in Betty MacDonald's books?


I love her over the top humor paired with her brutally honest representation of life. 



Is there anything you dislike in Betty MacDonald's books?


One could call her portrayal of the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest in the Egg and I racist, but she was a woman of her time, and the things she writes about, such as alcoholism, are not untrue. They are just reported with that brutal honesty that she also uses for her white neighbors--no one is safe from her sharp pen. So, it makes me a little uncomfortable to read, but at the same time, I think it is real (from her perspective at least, and her perspective is valid,) and I don't dislike it, if that makes sense.



Did you ever read Betty MacDonald's books for children for example The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series and  Nancy and Plum?

Oh yes! I wish I had had them as kids, but I have been reading them to my kids which is even better! My sister in law bought me Nancy and Plum several years back, and I love it. I don't know why it's not a classic on par with the Secret Garden or the Little Princess! But...even better than Nancy and Plum are the Piggle Wiggle books. They crack my kids up, and were the first chapter books that my girls really devoured. They crack me up, too!



What is your favourite book by Betty MacDonald?



It is still The Egg and I. It's a book that formed so much of my opinion on fiction and held such an important part of my growing up--I don't think anything could beat it. My husband and I call snobby activities "The Theatah and the Dahnce" and I've been known to say "I itch, so I scratch, so what?" 



Did Betty MacDonald influence you as author?


Absolutely. Though I write mysteries I want them to be funny, and I hold Betty MacDonald's work up as a standard for humor.



What do you think is the reason Betty MacDonald is beloved all over the world?


 Betty's work gives us a glimpse into a world that we would have never known without her. Both life in the Olympic Mountains and on Vashon are so different from regular town and city life. I think readers love to escape, and the more remote the location, the more different the people we get to meet, the more we love the work! Betty's books help us all escape to a time that is getting farther and farther away, and a place that doesn't even exist anymore, but even when it did, it was unexpected, hilarious, and stunningly beautiful.



Dearest Traci I hope I don't bore with so many questions.

I wasn't a bit bored! Betty MacDonald is definitely my favorite author and I loved having a chance to talk about her work and why I love it so much!



As I already mentioned there are several Betty MacDonald fan club fans who enjoy your books very much.


That people who love Betty MacDonald also like my books is almost unbelievable to me, and really is a dream come true, as an author. When I was a young girl, curled up with her work, escaping to that remote egg farm, I never dreamed that someday people who loved her, would also enjoy what I had to say.


Dearest Traci thanks a million for this wonderful interview.
 
Lots of love to you and your family.

Lots of love to you, as well! Thank you.

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