Laura C. Rader Interview Published on: 16, Aug 2024

In my early 30s, I became interested in genealogical research and spent many Saturdays at the Carlsbad Genealogical Library in Carlsbad, CA. While researching the surname “Waite” in my maternal line, I found an account of the 1677 Raid on Hatfield, MA by Algonquian Native Americans. The story of love, conflict and courage resonated with me, and I began a first draft of the novel, which I set aside and didn’t resume until I retired in 2020.

King Philip’s War, led by the Algonquian sachem Metacomet, son of Massasoit, was the first true “war” between colonists and Native people, and I sought to portray both sides of the conflict, the complex motivations and tragic violence.

My background in psychology helps me develop my characters and adds to my understanding of what might have motivated people, and my background in history ensures that I diligently research my work to make it as authentic as possible.

Hatfield 1677 is my first novel, so all of it was challenging. The trickiest aspect is to reconcile my present day understanding of human emotion and thought with that of the past, so that my characters seem both relatable and historic, and to keep the prose true to the period but also accessible to modern readers.

I spent probably six months researching before I began to write, first using microfiche of primary and secondary sources about the raid on Hatfield and the captives’ trek north to Canada, then more recently, the internet. I researched everything that had any mention in my novel: the town, the Native American tribes, King Philip’s War, colonial government, Puritan beliefs, topography, vegetation, wildlife, foods, traps, hunting, weapons, etc. I also did additional research as I wrote.

One of the most surprising was the large variety of Native Americans in New England and Canada at the time, their interactions, alliances and enmities. The other was the lack of unification among the early colonies and the bureaucracy at even the most provincial governmental level.

Teaching a subject is one of the best ways to learn it, in my opinion. I developed my understanding of American history and my strengths as a writer and editor over the course of my career.

That in the early days of colonial America, colonists and Native Americans often lived peacefully and even cooperatively together, and how tragic it is that efforts to maintain that alliance failed. Also, the power of love and courage displayed by Benjamin Waite in his search for his wife and children; the strength of Martha Waite’s convictions that allowed her to survive and protect her children; and the desperate need for freedom that drove the sachem Ashpelon to take captives as hostages as he fled with his people to Canada.

I do as much research as possible, so that the events, dates, places, names, customs, social constructs and word choice is accurate, but I use my creativity and understanding of human nature to flesh out and develop my characters, write sensory descriptions, and create believable dialog.

I most enjoyed writing the following scenes: Martha and her children during the attack on their town; Martha’s experiences on the mountain in Putney, Vermont; Ben and Stephen and their guide Asseri on the way to Lake George; the reunion scene; and all of the sachem Ashpelon’s chapters.

I have a much more accurate understanding of the four seasons and the lush growth of the forests here in the east compared to the much milder weather in California and the largely oak and pine forests there that lack the seasonal changes in vegetation.

Genealogical research plays a huge part in the research I do for my novels. I research each character on ancestry.com. My enjoyment of cooking ensures that characters do a lot of it, and a lot of eating, in my books.

I love animals, and made sure to feature horses in Hatfield 1677. My dog and cat are both with me when I write—the dog asleep at my feet and the cat often disrupting my writing by sitting on my keyboard.

I am querying a historical biographical novel set during the Gilded Age in Chicago and New York, about the life of a pianist and composer, and writing a historical romance about the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty and the model who became his wife.

I really appreciate the value of being an AllAuthor member. I take full advantage of the weekly mockups, gifs, and tweets and consider AllAuthor one of my strongest marketing tools.