Introductions
This author's secret to great characters? "I ... put them through the worst that U.S. history has to offer"
"I hate winter and don't do much on all these lakes," says historical fiction author
Will Tinkham.
For someone who lives in Minnesota, this may sound unusual. But Will spends his time in other ways, namely writing, reading, and watching old movies. "I live alone," he says, adding that he'll leave the house "only to catch some rock 'n' roll at local clubs."
He's a Twins fan, though, so you know he's the real deal.
Will's "offbeat" Americana series—now twelve novels strong—includes
The Reluctant Nazi, the story of an escaped German POW who is haunted by his Nazi past.
Here's Will to share a little about his life and work:
Welcome, Will! How would you sum up your Americana series?
My Americana series consists of twelve novels of offbeat-literary-historical fiction. I generally pair my characters with real-life historical figures—from Mark Twain to Woody Guthrie to John Prine—and put them through the worst that U.S. history has to offer.
What inspired Alice and Her Grand Bell, the first novel in the series?Stole the idea from a friend (with permission). He spoke of a grandmother who still believed a family story about a pact with God by a dying Civil War soldier. It had supposedly kept the McCoy males from ever fighting in wars. My tale involves that dying soldier and a eighteen-year-old in 1989 worrying about his sister who is about to be called up into the first Gulf War.
While I have fun at the expense of American history, the social issues—income inequality, guns, racism, war, sexism—are still flourishing today.
Why does this series resonate so well in this day and age?My Americana series needs to be told because history needs to shape our present. While I have fun at the expense of American history, the social issues—income inequality, guns, racism, war, sexism—are still flourishing today.
Did you have any life challenges that kept you from writing?Alcoholism. Spent years talking about a half-finished novel in bars until I sobered up nineteen years ago. I have since completed that book and am about to finish the thirteenth novel in my Americana series.
How often do you sit down to write?I write daily, usually ten a.m. to two p.m., with a modest goal of 400 words—which I exceed more often than I fall short of.
Will Tinkham lives and writes in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has published twelve novels in his Americana series, including
The Reluctant Nazi,
The Packard Sales Man,
The Teddy & Bara Show,
If I Lie in a Combat Zone,
The Miracles,
The Adventures of Hank Fenn,
Bonus Man,
No Happier State, and
Alice and Her Grand Bell. Will has published short fiction on three continents and long ago attended Bread Loaf on a scholarship. An actor of little renown, his credits do include the Guthrie Theater and Theatre in the Round.
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