Classic Interview: Anne of Green Gables

 This week, I'm particularly pleased to introduce a very special guest, Miss. Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables fame. So, let's get right to the interview.

Greg:  Welcome, Anne. I'm so glad you could come down from Prince Edward Island to join us.

Anne:  Thank you for having me, I'm sure. It is most exhilarating to be here.

Greg:  Yes, I'm sure. I gather that you had a very difficult early life. Can you tell us a little bit about it?

Anne:  No more difficult than the next person, I shouldn't think. I was born in Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia, but my parents died of typhoid fever when I was only three months old, leaving me all alone in the world. My parents, Walter and Bertha Shirley were both schoolteachers, a source of great pride for me. I would like to follow in their footsteps and have endeavored to do so.

I was taken in by our housekeeper, Mrs. Thomas. But when Mr. Thomas died, Mrs. Thomas sent me to the Hammonds, where I looked after their three sets of twins. I have ever been cursed by twins, you know. But when Mr. Hammond died--my, an awful lot of people that I know seemed to have died, come to think of it--Mrs. Hammond packed all the twins off to relatives and packed me off to an orphanage on Prince Edward Island.

I spent some bit of time at the orphanage, but was taken in by siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. Unfortunately, and nearly tragically, there was a slight misunderstanding that nearly sent me back to the orphanage.

Greg:  Oh my, what was the problem?

Anne:  Well, Matthew and Marilla were under the impression that the orphanage was sending them a boy. You can imagine Matthew's surprise when he saw a freckle faced red haired girl waiting anxiously for him at the train station.

Matthew picked me up and brought me to their farm, Green Gables. I liked Matthew from the very start, and I believe he liked me. He was so kind and gentle spoken. A prince among men.

Marilla Cuthbert was made of sterner stuff. She frightened me. She was all about manners and religion and being proper, and she wanted no part of a girl on the farm. But oh, how I wanted to stay. Green Gables was just so perfect. I needed a knight in shining armor riding a white horse to come charging over the hill and save the day. And do you know what? My shining knight came.

Greg:  Really? Who was your shining knight?

---

Anne:  Why Matthew Cuthbert, of course. He talked Marilla into it, you see. Oh, I said he was kind and gentle, didn't I? A true knight.

Greg:  Of course. I gather Matthew convinced Marilla to allow you to stay. Were you able to make any friends in, what town was it?

Anne:  Avonlea, the most wonderful town that any child ever grew up in. It was hard making friends at first. It takes a while to find out if someone is a kindred spirit or not. It didn't take long to discover that Diana Berry was just such a kindred spirit, however. We became bosom friends almost immediately.

It took longer with others. That Gilbert Blythe for one. The first day of school he teased me and called me Carrots because of my red hair. Diana said he only did it because he liked me, but I swore that I would have nothing to do with Gilbert Blythe until my dying day. In that, I was somewhat mistaken, but that was revealed only a great deal later.

Greg:  Can you tell us a little bit about Marilla's friend, Rachel Lynde?

Anne:  Oh, Mrs. Lynde was a kindred spirit, although neither she nor I realized it for quite some time. When I first came to Avonlea, there was a misunderstanding between her and I that drove a wedge between us. She had a nose for gossip but was never a malicious gossip like some.

Greg:  You mentioned earlier that you wanted to become a teacher, like your parents. Was there anyone that helped you on the path to your chosen profession?

Anne:  My teacher, Miss. Stacy, yet another kindred spirit, showed me that I had the ability to teach. When she first came to Avonlea, many of the townsfolk did not take to her straightaway. They thought her too lenient. Spare the rod and spoil the child was their motto.

Miss. Stacy thought it better to encourage her students. That is what she did with me. She was my mentor and gave me the encouragement that I needed to reach for the stars. The star was Queens College. I owe her a debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid.

Greg:  And we owe you a debt of gratitude as well, Anne, for taking the time to share some of your life with us.

Anne:  Will this be in the newspaper? Because I want to make sure you remember to spell my name with an e, Anne. The e makes it much more distinguished, don't you think?

Greg: Yes, I suppose it does. I don't know if this will be in the paper, but it will be on the Internet, which is just as good these days.

Anne:  Internet? I'm not familiar with the term. Is that a newspaper chain? I've heard of those. Hearst is very prominent. I've not heard of the Internet family. Are they American?

Greg:  Mmm, from all over, I believe.

Anne:  Isn't that wonderful! I'll look forward to reading about myself. I don't care what Marilla says about vanity, I do enjoy reading about myself!

A Writer's Week #150: By Jove, I Think I've Got It!

 This past week was an important one in my as yet unnamed second Dragon Island Legends book. I had some time off and was planning to get some writing done. It turns out that I managed to write about 1,200 words. The book's length is now about 5,500 words. I wish I could have written more.

However, it turns out the writing was secondary. For months, all of 2026 in fact, I've been struggling with a major plot point/motivation. Shadra, the main character, had to accomplish something. I knew what the outcome should be, but I did not know how she was going to get it done without going against everything that I thought the character should be and represent. 

I puzzled and puzzled over it. It was such a big issue that I considered delaying starting the book. However, I had decided that I should start and see if the characters untied the knot on their own. As I was writing, though, I realized that it wasn't going to happen that way. It seems the characters were as much in the dark as I. 

So, I decided to lock myself in a room, sit down, and hash it out no matter how long it took. It actually did not take as long as I thought. Within a day, I'd come up with a decent idea and scribbled everything down. Now I've got a semi-complete outline, although I'm sure there will be a few more items to work out as I go.

The good thing is most of the heavy lifting is now done (I hope). The only thing remaining is to actually write the rest. I'll update you on how that goes in my next Writer's Week.

Peace

Classic Interview: Sherlock Holmes

                                                               Sherlock Holmes

This week we speak with one of the greatest sleuths in all of literature. He has mystified readers with his amazing deductions for over one and a quarter century. Of course, I'm speaking of the inimitable Sherlock Holmes. Let's see what he's got to say.  

Greg:  Good evening. It is a singular honor to be speaking with this week’s guest. He has solved some of the most baffling cases in history, always through outstanding feats of intellect and deduction. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Welcome Mr. Holmes.

Holmes:  Thank you.

Greg:  Tell me a little about your early life.

Holmes:  I don’t like to talk much about myself. It could give my enemies valuable information with which to do me injury. However, since I am retired and most of my enemies are jailed or dead, I shall indulge you just this once, although I shan’t go into too many specifics.

I was born in England in 1861. My ancestors were country squires, but the thought of lounging around on an estate all day never held much appeal for me. So, after sitting two years at Cambridge, I left school in 1880 to fight in the Second Anglo-Afghan war, where I was wounded.

Upon my return from the war, I decided to apply my immense powers of reason and my ability to disguise myself to use as a consulting detective. I had always had a talent in this line. In fact, it was while at university that I had first used my powers of deduction to solve a number of trifling cases that had been puzzling the local constabulary.

Greg:  How did you meet Dr. Watson?

Holmes:  As I said, I had been working as a consulting detective in London, but times were hard. Financial difficulties required that I advertise for a boarder. Dr. Watson turned up on my doorstep the day after I posted the ad in the Times. Wonderful bit of serendipity, that.

He and I lived and worked together for a number of years, quite successfully, until he decided to get married. After his wife’s untimely death, Watson returned, and I was happy to receive him. He has chronicled all of my most formidable cases.

Greg:  You’ve got a reputation as quite a clever fellow. It’s said that you can deduce anything about someone just by looking at them.

Holmes:  Quite.

Greg:  What can you deduce by looking at me?

Holmes:  That you love muffins, and that you have been through quite a lot to obtain one.

Greg:  How do you mean?

Holmes:  I mean that you set out for the bakery in your automobile but ran out of petrol on the way. You found that your cellular phone was dead, so you hiked to the nearest telephone, and rang the automobile club. You were picked up and transported back to your car, where you refilled the tank. You then purchased a muffin and a medium cup of coffee for yourself and the driver as a thank you.

Greg:  That’s remarkable Holmes! It’s almost like you were there with me through the whole ordeal. How did you deduce it?

Holmes:  Elementary. First, the crumbs on your shirt, and your slightly portly physique pointed to an overindulgence in sweets. Next, the mud and drops of petrol on your shoes were indications that you recently journeyed on foot and had filled your petrol tank. Behind you, I see that your cellular telephone is being recharged, which lead me to believe that you were unable to use it to telephone for help.

Greg:  Incredible, Holmes. But how were you able to sort out the bit about the automobile club and that I had bought the driver a treat?

Holmes:  Quite simple, really. On the table at your elbow lie your automobile club card and a receipt from a bakery. The receipt shows that you purchased two muffins and two medium coffees.

Now, while it is entirely possible that you purchased two muffins for yourself, I do not think that even you would have purchased two coffees for yourself alone.

So, you see it was really quite an obvious deduction. All one has to do is observe the clues.

Greg:  You’ve solved a great number of cases over the years. Which has been the most satisfying?

Holmes:  My cases have involved many lofty, even royal, personages throughout the years. While these have carried a certain amount of satisfaction, I find that I am most satisfied when dealing in cases involving the common man, for it is there that we see both the worst and the best that humanity has to offer.

Greg:  Well thank you so much for spending some time with us. It was most enlightening.

Holmes:  Yes, I am sure it was.