On Inspiration: Interview with Aimie K Runyan

My guest today is Aimie K  Runyan who writes fiction, both historical and contemporary, that celebrates the spirit of strong women. In addition to her writing, she is active as a speaker and educator in the writing community. She lives in Colorado with her amazing husband, kids, cats, and pet dragon. She has been honored as a Historical Novel Society Editors’ Choice selection, as a three-time finalist for the Colorado Book Awards, and as a nominee for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer of the Year. Her previous historical novels include The School for German Brides, Daughters of the Night Sky and A Bakery in Paris.

To learn more about Aimie, please visit her website.

You can find all Aimie’s books on her Amazon page. You can buy Mademoiselle Eiffel here.

What or who inspired you to first write? Which authors have influenced you?

I was assigned to write a short story in third grade, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I’d loved reading and stories, and getting permission to tell my own was heady stuff. I was then cast as Scribbler Mouse in the school play later that year, and the rest is history!

What is the inspiration for your current book? Is there a particular theme you wished to explore?

I wanted to write a book set in the Belle Epoque as a sort of follow on to A Bakery in Paris. I came across Claire Eiffel’s story—or at least a few snippets about her—and I was riveted. I really wanted to explore the themes of feminine duty and sacrifice.

What period of history particularly inspires or interests you? Why?

I love any period of great upheaval or growth. Post war periods, periods of rebirth. That’s why A Bakery in Paris and then Mademoiselle Eiffel were so much fun to write.

What resources do you use to research your book?  How long did it take to finish the novel?

I used a large number of scholarly works, of course, as well as some on the ground research in Paris and quite a long dive into the archives at the Musée d’Orsay. It was so much fun to research!

Is there a particular photo or piece of art that strikes a chord with you? Why?

For years I loved Renoir’s “Woman Reading”. It seems on its surface to be a rather nice impressionist tableau of a woman with strawberry blonde hair dressed in black and reading a book. When one learns that Renoir preferred women who couldn’t read because they had sweeter tempers, and I’m rather glad she gets to defy the very man who painted her for as long as the painting exists.

What do you do if stuck for a word or a phrase?

I’ll put whatever bland word I can think of and go back. Writing is re-writing and I’m not afraid to go back and do some polishing.

Is there anything unusual or even quirky that you would like to share about your writing?

I do love writing in my recliner. And I generally prefer to write when there’s no one in the house. Solitude helps a lot.

Do you use a program like Scrivener to create your novel? Do you ever write in long hand?

I do use Scrivener, and I love it. I think in scenes, so it’s very intuitive in many respects. I write in longhand when I am stuck and occasionally for “morning pages”. Fountain pens are a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

What advice would you give an aspiring author?

Stop aspiring, start writing. Make like-minded writer friends who will give you honest feedback, and work on developing a thick skin. Your toolbox will require discipline, a solid group of writer pals, and a whole truckload of resiliency if you’re going to make it in the crazy business.

From the author of The School for German Brides and A Bakery in Paris, this captivating historical novel set in nineteenth-century Paris tells the story of Claire Eiffel, a woman who played a significant role in maintaining her family’s legacy and their iconic contributions to the city of Paris.

Claire Eiffel, the beautiful, brilliant eldest daughter of the illustrious architect Gustave Eiffel, is doted upon with an education envied by many sons of the upper classes, and entirely out of the reach of most daughters. Claire’s idyllic childhood ends abruptly when, at fourteen, her mother passes away. It’s soon made clear that Gustave expects Claire to fill her mother’s place as caregiver to the younger children and as manager of their home.

As she proves her competence, Claire’s importance to her father grows. She accompanies him on his travels and becomes his confidante and private secretary. She learns her father’s architectural trade and becomes indispensable to his work. But when his bright young protégé, Adolphe Salles, takes up more of Gustave’s time, Claire resents being pushed aside.

Slowly, the animosity between Claire and Adolphe turns to friendship…and then to something more. After their marriage in 1885 preserves the Eiffel legacy, they are privileged by the biggest commission of Eiffel’s career: a great iron tower dominating the 1889 World’s Fair to demonstrate the leading role of Paris in the world of art and architecture. Now hostess to the scientific elite, such as Thomas Edison, Claire is under the watchful eye not only of her family and father’s circle, but also the world.

When Gustave Eiffel’s involvement in a disastrous endeavor to build a canal in Panama ends in his imprisonment, it is up to Claire to secure her father’s freedom but also preserve the hard-won family legacy.

Claire Eiffel’s story of love, devotion, and the frantic pursuit to preserve her family’s legacy is not only an inspired reflection of real personages and historical events, but a hymn to the iconic tower that dominates the City of Lights.

Thanks so much, Aimie. What an incredible story of the woman behind the most famous iconic landmark!

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