Please welcome today’s guest author Alyssa Palmer. Today Alyssa is going to plunge us into the time of prohibition — the years from 1919 to 1933 when it was illegal to manufacture, sell, or transport alcohol. The ban was ushered in by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution and ended with the ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment which reversed the Eighteenth Amendment. If you saw the Ken Burns documentary on this period in American history which aired a few months ago you already know it was a time of great social change…a wild time…a time which gave rise to organized crime.
Alyssa uses this time period as the back drop for her novel Prohibited Passion. She also uses Prohibition as a metaphor for the prohibition of love between certain types of people. I’m sure you’ll find her post intriguing. I certainly did.
One lucky person who comments on Alyssa’s guest post will receive a free copy of her novel Prohibited Passion.
Prohibition Squared
by Alyssa Linn Palmer
The most famous prohibition of US history was the passing of the Volstead Act and the banning of the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcohol, but that wasn’t the only prohibition I was thinking of when I wrote ‘Prohibited Passion’.
Homosexuality itself wasn’t illegal in the US, but many things surrounding it were, depending on the state (laws against sodomy, for example), until Lawrence v. Texas (2003), which struck down the remaining state laws. Societal views in the 1920s, though loosened with the advent of the ‘Roaring Twenties’, were conservative in comparison to today.
In ‘Prohibited Passion’, Ruth is an isolated young woman in a small town in Montana. She’s isolated because she knows she’s different. She has no one to confide in, no one to tell her whether her feelings for other women are normal. In a larger city she might be able to find someone like her, but with small towns, the chance of being shunned is far greater.
Her world is shaken up when she meets CeeCee, the flapper companion of a rum-running gangster. CeeCee is already a misfit, sticking out like a sore thumb with her drop-waist dresses and forward ways. When Ruth seeks her out, attracted by her daring, she finds out that CeeCee, like her, likes women too.
Imagine if Ruth were a man instead of a woman. Let’s call him Luke, just to stick with the Biblical names. The townspeople might frown upon Luke’s tastes, but they’d probably just shake their heads and murmur, “Boys will be boys.” He’d lose some face with the most conservative residents. The other boys would be patting him on the back, and the girls would be envying his choice of playmates. Unless he did something particularly shocking, like having sex in a public place, it’s very unlikely that he’d ever be turned out of his home or shunned.
There’s a good double whammy in Ruth’s case: she’s expected to toe the line and obey her father, and she’s expected to marry and have children. Not a good place to be when your own feelings go against everything you’ve ever learned.
I hadn’t intended to use Prohibition as a metaphor for prohibited love. It’s one of those things that becomes apparent after the fact. I wanted to write in the era, and the title was a catchy bit of alliteration. But Prohibition really does suit as a metaphor… both liquor and love are frowned upon, both are controlled by laws of the state, and both involve personal freedoms.
If you’re a writer, do you intentionally place metaphors in your work, or do they appear afterward?
If you’re a reader, do you find yourself spotting metaphors in the books you read? Do you know of any authors that use them purposely?
A lucky commenter will win a copy of Prohibited Passion.
The Blurb From Prohibited Passion:
Ruth wants to escape the boredom of Bandit Creek and the strict expectations of her father, the local pastor. Her life changes the day she meets CeeCee, a world-wise flapper, and an irresistible attraction develops between them. She’ll be disowned and shunned if anyone discovers their prohibited passion, but can they keep their growing affection a secret?
CeeCee is drawn to Ruth, but things become complicated when her gangster companion disapproves of their liaison. He’s in town to broker a deal with the owner of the local speakeasy, and he’s not above using them to further his own plans. Can CeeCee protect Ruth and their budding relationship?
As Ruth gets drawn further into their world, she must decide between her familiar life and a new, dangerous path with the woman she loves.
Prohibited Passion is available at many ebook retailers, including Amazon and Smashwords. (http://www.amazon.com/Prohibited-Passion-Bandit-Creek-ebook/dp/B006X28218/) (http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/119035)
About Alyssa Palmer:
Alyssa has many passions. Fortunately, none of them are prohibited. When she isn’t working, she’s writing dark tales inspired by mid-20th-century noir books and films, cooking up a storm in her kitchen, and reading. You can find her at her website (http://www.alyssalinnpalmer.com), and on Twitter (@alyslinn).
Thank you stephanie for this great post
Thanks for visiting with us yesterday. I had intended to get back last night to ask what you are working on now but I got sidetracked and didn’t get back. So…I’m asking today. What’s next on the agenda?
Presently I’m looking to release a short story on Amazon. It’s called ‘Betting the Farm’ and is f/f fiction. I’m just waiting on my cover designer, then it’ll be up!
My current WIP is a prequel to this novella, and it’s entitled The Orpheus. It’s set in Chicago in 1925 and follows Sheridan and Cecilia (CeeCee) in their struggles to survive poverty.
Thanks so much for having me on the blog!
You’re welcome Alyssa. It was my pleasure to host you. I hope you had a good time here.
It sounds like you are going to be very busy for a while with your new release and your WIP.
Please drop me a note if you’d like to come back and visit us again when your other books release.
This is such a good book Alissa. I enjoyed every page of it. You did such a good job of juxtaposing the characters drives and motivation against the setting.
well done.
Thanks Louise!
A friend years ago thought it useful for everyone to see their own life as a metaphor. He chose for himself the idea of a canvas on which were painted and repainted incidents and events from his life. It’s a revealing exercise, I think. Right now I liken myself to the myth of Sisyphus rolling up that everlasting stone. Other days, water in a stream trying to find the path of least resistance.
How about you?
That’s an interesting way to look at life. I guess how I view it varies somewhat day to day. In general I view life as a journey with very widely spaced stepping stones. The journey has times when I am on the stepping stones (and feel comfortable) other times when I am between stepping stones and am looking for the next one.
Another way I view life is as a giant jigsaw puzzle with many shifting pieces. I view learning new things as getting a piece of the puzzle…having that ahhh…moment when the piece slides smoothly into place.
This was an excellent question to pose.
Good question!
I think this is something I’d have to ponder further, but in a nutshell I look at my life as a series of opportunities and learning experiences. The canvas idea is very apt, and I quite like it, being an artist myself. Or perhaps the idea of life as a never-ending memoir…. yes, I could see that.
Alyssa, you used the metaphor excellently in this book! I don’t set out to do these things as a writer, they mostly happen subconsciously. But as a reader, I love it when I read something like this. I’ve read this novella, and while it’s not my usual genre, Alyssa did a fabulous job with characters, pacing and character arc. The winner of this will be treated to a great novella!
Thanks so much, Michelle!
I do think that the best and most interesting metaphors are ones that are unplanned. Quite possibly anything else would seem forced.
As a reader, I love when authors use metaphors and blend them into the story without the reader noticing. You did this in Prohibited Passions. It was so seamless, I’m in awe. Another author who does this is Jennifer Crusie.
Thanks Sheila
I don’t know that I’ve ever read any of Jennifer Crusie’s work, but I’ll have to check her out.
This sounds like a great book. I’d love to read it. Very interesting interview.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on it
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I LOVED this book. Setting the story in the prohibition era, and using that backdrop as a metaphor for other things prohibited, like homosexuality, was absolutely inspired. That the lead character is also a preacher’s daughter, pushed the envelope even further. This author is definitely on my Must-Read list.
Thanks Donna
The child of a preacher part was one that survived from the very first ideas I had with this story. It helps to bring conflict, since there’s the religious/moral aspect coming into play as well as the general societal mores.
Good Morning Alyssa,
Thought I would toss out a question or two for you this morning.
First, I’m curious about the idea for the book. Which part came first? Did you start out thinking you wanted to write a book set during prohibition or did the idea for the characters come first and you realized setting it during prohibition would work? Which character came to mind first?
Were there any points at which the story took a drastic turn from where you thought it would end up?
It was the Prohibition and small town setting that came first.
I’d been speaking with my great aunt about small-town liquor smuggling and Prohibition a few weeks before I started this story.
Cecilia (CeeCee) was the first character, as Ruth’s was originally a boy. I suppose that was the most drastic change!
I’d say changing Ruth to a girl is definitely a big change.
I expect making Ruth’s character a girl made the story stronger in a lot of ways. Women, it seems, are usually held to higher expectations than men are, at least when it comes to issues of sexuality.
Women definitely have that double standard keeping them down, even now. If the character had been male, it would have ended up a fairly typical m/f romance, and I just couldn’t call up the interest to write it that way.
As a writer I think metaphors occur to me as I am writing…generally in the last three or four passes on a section. They happen as a way to clarify what I am trying to say…describe…or put across to the reader.
As a reader I think it is interesting to see metaphors. It’s one of the things I have found interesting about the TV series THE WALKING DEAD which my husband and I both watch.
Some aspects in the show have struck me as metaphors for the abortion debate. I find it interesting that a show about zombies can also serve as social commentary…and yet it does if you look for the metaphors. And of course, though the show is about zombies…zombies is just a backdrop for a story about what happens when the fundamental parts of society – law – order – the backbone of rules of society break down. Who then determines right or wrong? It’s a fascinating show on that level even if zombies don’t particularly appeal.
I haven’t yet seen The Walking Dead, but I think I’m going to put it on my list!
I do know that Charlaine Harris (and thus Alan Ball, by extension) used vampires and their treatment as a metaphor for the treatment of minorities (esp. GLBT) in the Southern Vampire Mysteries/True Blood.
I REALLY like Walking Dead, though there is at least one weekly gruesome part in which a zombie either kills someone or is dispatched via an axe, shovel, knife, or some other object to the head. It’s also the kind of show you need to watch from the beginning (I think) to really “get” it. I could do without the bloody gruesomeness…to me the story is about a lot more than that. But the gruesome moment is there every week. You have to get used to it.
I haven’t watched True Blood. My husband and niece both watch it. I’ll have to mention the metaphor to my husband. He is usually very aware of metaphor.
It does sound like a great read…particularly being set against the backdrop of the prohibition era…an era that I have been immersed in quite a bit lately.
We watched the Ken Burns documentary (highly recommend it — but then I’ve enjoyed every Ken Burns documentary I’ve seen.) We have also been immersed in a marathon viewing of the first season of Boardwalk Empire which is set during the prohibition era.
I very much like the use of prohibition of alcohol as a metaphor for prohibition of certain kinds of romantic/sexual relationships.
I’ve not read the book but it sounds like a great book. It is definitely set during an interesting historical period.
The cover is lovely.
A thought provoking post – I love that. I had not given this dilemma, for want of a better word, a thought before. I must read PROHIBITED PASSION.
I hope you’ll enjoy the book
I hadn’t intentionally meant to contrast and compare the two prohibitions, but it worked out rather well.