Interview with Eva Maria Hamilton

Eva Maria Hamilton spent years studying people from all different areas of academia and brings that understanding of the human condition into each of her written pieces. An advocate for lifelong learning, Eva Maria Hamilton studied in both Canada and the United States, earning a diploma in Human Resources Management, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, an Honors Bachelor of Arts Degree in History, and a Master of Science in Education.

Eva Maria, it’s great to have you at Novel PASTimes today. Could you share with us some of the surprises you’ve encountered along the road to publishing?

Thanks so much for having me on Novel PASTimes today! I’m excited to be here!

There have been many great surprises along the road to publication. The best of course is getting “the call”! An unpublished author never really knows when that is going to happen, but when it does, it’s wonderful! The other thing I was very surprised about was how a spelling mistake found in a book could not be easily fixed. Before I was published I always seemed to find spelling mistakes in books and thought about writing to the author to tell them. Now I know, however, that once a book is printed, that’s pretty much it. The printing process for a book doesn’t work the same or as easily as Microsoft Word.

Congratulations on your debut novel! How exciting! Please tell us something about your new book.

Thank you! My debut is titled Highland Hearts and here is part of the back cover description:

Logan McAllister survived years of indentured servitude in the Americas to reach this moment. Now he’s returned to Scotland, ready to redeem the secret promise from Sheena Montgomery’s father – that his years as an indentured servant would earn him Sheena’s hand in marriage. But when he arrives home, he learns that Sheena’s father has died, his contract has been lost… and Sheena is engaged to another man.

If anyone is interested in reading the first scene from Highland Hearts please follow this link:
http://amzn.to/HighlandHearts

But then, of course, please come back.

Would you please tell us something about the time and place you’ve set your story in and what inspired you to do so?

Highland Hearts is set in 1748 Scotland, two years after the famous Battle of Culloden ended and the Jacobite rebels lost their plight. This tumultuous time was a major turning point in the Highlands where their way of life was severely intruded on and they were forced to finally accept that Scotland was no longer an independent nation but now part of the United Kingdom.

I’ve also always been intrigued by the idea of indentured servitude. Why would someone sell themselves? What would happen to that person after their indenturement commenced? These and a ton of other questions wove this story together.


Have you found that similar themes throughout your writing? Why? Or why not?

That is a tough question to answer. I think I’ll leave that task to the reviewers.

What drew you to writing an historical novel?

I’ve always loved history so getting to play in the past is a great source of fun! From my studies and just researching now, I always find so many interesting historical facts that seem to call out for their own story.

If you’re anything like I am, one favorite book is hard to pick! Do you have two or three top picks among the historical genre that you would care to recommend?

Come back tomorrow to learn more about debut author
Eva Maria Hamilton.

Please answer the following question from Eva Maria
in the comment section for a chance in this week's
drawing for Highland Hearts:

Since I am always looking out for new names for characters,
what are some of your favorite Scottish names, both first and last names?

(Don't forget to answer the question by 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday.
Leave your email in the form name[at]domain[dot]com to
qualify.)