'Establishing a human connection': Author Tosca Lee to discuss 'The Long Road Home' in Kearney
KEARNEY — Novelist Tosca Lee understands that people read novels for different reasons. While the reasons vary, she acknowledges the simplicity of the most important reason.
"First, they read for entertainment," she said during an interview from her home in Fremont. "They also read to learn something in an entertaining way, but if that was the only reason, we'd all be reading nonfiction. And last, they read to not feel alone, to see themselves in the pages, to go on a vicarious adventure from the safety of their easy chair. The most important thing when I write is the same when I go to events and connect with people: Establishing a human connection."
Lee believes that the stories we return to time and time again, the ones that create the biggest impact on us, are the stories that connect us with our feelings.
"The question at the end of the day is, how do we, as writers, do that?" She said. "That's the hard part. You can write a technically 'perfect' book that hits all the three-act structure and the high points, but if you haven't helped the reader 'feel,' then you've failed."
Lee will talk about these topics — and others — when she makes an appearance at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Kearney Public Library. She will talk about her most recent novel, "The Long March Home," published in 2023 and winner of the International Book Award for historical fiction.
Admission to the event is free.
"That is my third International Book Award," she said. "That was a fun thing to get. It's timely because every now and then, especially when you're facing a new project like I am, it's easy to think, 'Gosh, I don't know if I remember how to do this.' You feel like you're reinventing the wheel every time you start a new story or dive into a new story world. When you have a lull between projects — like I often do and as I have for this one — it can be intimidating."
Getting recognition like an International Book Award reminds Lee that she can tell stories and that she can do it in an effective manner.
"It's not a well-you've-still-got-it,' but it's more like you-can-still-figure-it-out,'" she said.
The New York Times Bestselling author compared storytelling to cooking.
"I was making chicken enchiladas the other night," Lee said. "I don't make them very often so I threw a question out there to my Facebook friends and I knew people would respond. There are like 50,000 ways to make chicken enchiladas, right? And all of them taste great. Everybody has their own way of doing it."
The guidance and reassurance she received helped Lee make her own enchiladas.
"So this assistance might not help me right now while I'm staring down this new project, but I know I have done this before," Lee said. "Maybe I can get through it again."
Her work has been translated into 17 languages and optioned for TV and film. Lee's work has been praised by Publisher's Weekly, The Historical Novel Society, Booklist, Kirkus, Woman's World, BookReporter, The Dallas Morning News, and The Midwest Book Review, as "deeply human..." "powerful..." and "mind-bending historical fiction."
Some of her titles include "The Line Between," "The Progeny," "The Legend of Sheba," and "Iscariot: A Novel of Judas."
"The Long March Home" follows Jimmy Propfield and his best friends, Hank and Billy, as they find themselves in the Philippines in 1941. They end up as part of the Bataan Death March and vow to make it back home together.
While some people believe readers pick up a book to fall asleep, Lee believes just the opposite.
"Readers don't really want to fall asleep," she said. "They want to be kept up all night. Whenever you read a great book, what do you say when you rave about the book? 'I stayed up all night. I couldn't put it down.' Whenever a reader says I stayed up all night or I called into work sick so I could finish your book, I secretly put a notch in my belt. That's what I want, too, when I read a book. There are very few compliments that can rise above the rest; one of them is that I stayed up all night reading your book."
Other compliments include "I go back to this book over and over," or "This book changed my life." As an author, Lee recognizes a sense of success each time she hears that compliment.
Meeting readers also gives Lee a chance to connect in a personal way.
"It's so fun for me because I'm connecting with readers," she said. "Every writer I know is a reader first. We all connect through stories and our love of stories. Getting to connect with readers is amazing. This particular book, 'The Long March Home,' is a whole new connection point for me because I'm connecting with readers who very often may have a family member who served in the Philippines during WWII. They often have their own personal stories to share or they are reading the book because they have a personal legacy."
In her other historical novels, Lee has written about what she called "ancient history."
"To be able to connect with people who have this meaningful family history that is very personal to them is new — and very much an honor to do that," she said. "That's new history. The thing I hear over and over from family members is that, more often than not, these veterans who returned never spoke about their experiences because it was so traumatizing. A lot of times the family members are reading to learn more about what happened or why their family members never spoke of it."
