Historical Q&A: Laura Frantz (A Moonbow Night)
Author Laura Frantz writes from her log cabin home in Kentucky, and fills her latest historical romance with the captivating nuances only a local can offer.
Can you briefly describe your new novel?
A Moonbow Night’s plot pivots around a little-known incident in the life of Daniel Boone, one that has fascinated me since childhood. Add a bit of romance and suspense, and you have a story that I hope is as intriguing as the book’s title.
Though in a different time period, the Kentucke setting of A Moonbow Night is your home. What was the most exciting part of writing about your home state — and what was the most challenging?
Kentucky history is so rich and evocative that it makes a wonderful foundation for a novel. The setting for this particular story is one of the state’s most idyllic spots, Cumberland Falls. Only two places in the world are known to have a moon bow — a nocturnal rainbow — and Cumberland Falls is one of them.
The most challenging part of writing about eighteenth-century Kentucke is adding real historical figures to the plot. How did they think? Act? Speak? I can only surmise, but perhaps that’s what makes fiction so fun!
You’re praised as a historical romance novelist. What do you like most about this genre?
I like happily ever afters. Real life doesn’t always give us happy endings, so it’s a joy to bring that about for readers through story. My characters often endure a bumpy ride, but I always promise an ending that satisfies heart and soul.
Where do you find inspiration for your characters? Which character in A Moonbow Night was most inspiring to you?
I love both Tempe Tucker and Sion Morgan because of their fearlessness, a trait that was a necessity on the frontier. Cowardly men and women were often ridiculed and run out of pioneer settlements. i knew when writing these characters that they could not be faint of heart. Inspiration comes easily, thankfully. I only have to read biographies of famous historical figures or history books to find incredible character templates. The possibilities are endless!
What do you hope readers learn about love from A Moonbow Night?
That true, lasting love is enduring — the embodiment of 1 Corinthians 13 — and is not dependent on circumstances or the passage of time.
Can you give us a peek into your next novel?
I return to colonial Virginia on the very eve of the American Revolution. My heroine is Lady Liberty, daughter of a British lord, and her Welsh hero is a patriot who is wanted by the Crown for treason. Historical fireworks!
