It gives me great pleasure to welcome Vicki Olsen onto the website today. Vicki is the author of A Sparrow Falls, which was a Wishing Shelf Book Awards finalist in 2018.
Alex: Tell me a bit about yourself, Vicki.
Vicki: Where are you from? That’s the question I dread most. Depending on the day of the week, the answer could be Arkansas, Texas, Idaho or I don’t know. This is a dilemma familiar to many military brats.
I lived in Dallas, Texas for three decades of my adult life, but native Texans don’t consider me a Texan, nor do I, even though I gave birth to two native Texans. I consider myself from somewhere else, though I’m not exactly sure where that is.
I was born in Arkansas, as were both my parents and my two brothers, but I left when I was two and never lived there until I went back to attend university.
I started first grade in Idaho and graduated from high school there, but between the first and twelfth grades I attended six schools in two states and two countries. By the time I graduated university I had lived in five states, Germany and 13 houses.
That is the long answer. The short answer is: ‘Home was a bunch of Air Force Bases and some of them more than once. I currently live in North Little Rock, Arkansas.’
But I have never envied those people who came from “normal families” and can give a simple answer to that simple question. I loved our nomad lifestyle and there is a huge extended Air Force family we belong to. And if you don’t like your neighbors, just wait six-months and you will have new ones.
Alex: Tell me a bit about yourself, Vicki.
Vicki: Where are you from? That’s the question I dread most. Depending on the day of the week, the answer could be Arkansas, Texas, Idaho or I don’t know. This is a dilemma familiar to many military brats.
I lived in Dallas, Texas for three decades of my adult life, but native Texans don’t consider me a Texan, nor do I, even though I gave birth to two native Texans. I consider myself from somewhere else, though I’m not exactly sure where that is.
I was born in Arkansas, as were both my parents and my two brothers, but I left when I was two and never lived there until I went back to attend university.
I started first grade in Idaho and graduated from high school there, but between the first and twelfth grades I attended six schools in two states and two countries. By the time I graduated university I had lived in five states, Germany and 13 houses.
That is the long answer. The short answer is: ‘Home was a bunch of Air Force Bases and some of them more than once. I currently live in North Little Rock, Arkansas.’
But I have never envied those people who came from “normal families” and can give a simple answer to that simple question. I loved our nomad lifestyle and there is a huge extended Air Force family we belong to. And if you don’t like your neighbors, just wait six-months and you will have new ones.
Alex: When did you you first begin writing?
Vicki: I began writing by accident. I was helping a friend get his book ready for publication. He was a 77-year-old actor who had written a novel based on his life as an actor in Hollywood. I did a beta read of his book. In the process of sharing my reactions and opinions about what aspects of his book were working and which weren’t, I found myself deeply invested in his book. In the Acknowledgements of his book, he said of me “I would never have finished this book without her valuable help. She spent hours poring over what I had written, making changes and suggestions. She paved over the many bumps and potholes I had created on the road to a viable novel. If the book had been any longer, I would have felt remiss in not giving her credit as the co-writer." After his book was finished, I suggested that one of his minor characters that had intrigued me deserved her own book. He started to write that book, but soon lost interest and bequeathed the character to me. He also gave me the use of his fictional town of Tolerance, Arkansas.
It took five years of writing nights and weekends while I worked a full-time job, but by the time I had finished writing this book, I was hooked. I couldn’t stop writing. I currently have the sequel to my first book 50 percent complete and the third book of a trilogy about 30 percent finished. But they have to wait for my current work in progress and its sequel.
Alex: Are you a writer that plans a detailed synopsis or do you set out with a vague idea and let the story unfold as you write?
Vicki: I tried once to work from a synopsis and outline, but it just doen’t work for me. My characters take over and do what they want without a care for what I want. One example from my debut book, A Sparrow Falls: Sarah, my main character found a stray puppy. I decided I would call the dog “Spot” like in the old Dick and Jane readers. I went back and changed the description of the dog so that it would be a black and white spotted dog. Then I began to write... Sarah said “ I think I will call you... and with that my fingers typed “Joy.” When I was considering dog names, Joy was not even under consideration! Writing an outline is a waste of time for me, because my characters are in charge, not I.
With that in mind, my current work in progress is a novel about the French Underground during WW2. Because I need it to be historically correct, I will, at the beginning of each chapter make a note of what the purpose of that chapter is. I find this to be a helpful tool to keep me on track. But I do this one chapter at a time, not an outline.
Vicki: I began writing by accident. I was helping a friend get his book ready for publication. He was a 77-year-old actor who had written a novel based on his life as an actor in Hollywood. I did a beta read of his book. In the process of sharing my reactions and opinions about what aspects of his book were working and which weren’t, I found myself deeply invested in his book. In the Acknowledgements of his book, he said of me “I would never have finished this book without her valuable help. She spent hours poring over what I had written, making changes and suggestions. She paved over the many bumps and potholes I had created on the road to a viable novel. If the book had been any longer, I would have felt remiss in not giving her credit as the co-writer." After his book was finished, I suggested that one of his minor characters that had intrigued me deserved her own book. He started to write that book, but soon lost interest and bequeathed the character to me. He also gave me the use of his fictional town of Tolerance, Arkansas.
It took five years of writing nights and weekends while I worked a full-time job, but by the time I had finished writing this book, I was hooked. I couldn’t stop writing. I currently have the sequel to my first book 50 percent complete and the third book of a trilogy about 30 percent finished. But they have to wait for my current work in progress and its sequel.
Alex: Are you a writer that plans a detailed synopsis or do you set out with a vague idea and let the story unfold as you write?
Vicki: I tried once to work from a synopsis and outline, but it just doen’t work for me. My characters take over and do what they want without a care for what I want. One example from my debut book, A Sparrow Falls: Sarah, my main character found a stray puppy. I decided I would call the dog “Spot” like in the old Dick and Jane readers. I went back and changed the description of the dog so that it would be a black and white spotted dog. Then I began to write... Sarah said “ I think I will call you... and with that my fingers typed “Joy.” When I was considering dog names, Joy was not even under consideration! Writing an outline is a waste of time for me, because my characters are in charge, not I.
With that in mind, my current work in progress is a novel about the French Underground during WW2. Because I need it to be historically correct, I will, at the beginning of each chapter make a note of what the purpose of that chapter is. I find this to be a helpful tool to keep me on track. But I do this one chapter at a time, not an outline.
Alex: Tell us about your latest novel.
Vicki: Le Devoir de Memoire – the Duty of Memory is a novel based on real events and real people. It was inspired by the members of the French Underground in northern France who ran an escape line for downed Allied airmen in 1944. My father was one of those airmen, but rather than tell his story of escape from the Nazis, I am telling the story of those who helped him escape. In 1959-1962, as a child, I was lucky enough to have met, and spent much time with one of those helpers and his family. In 2017 my brothers and I went to France to follow my father’s escape route and hear stories from people who were there when his plane was shot down in May 1944. ( for more information go to https://www.vickiolsen.com/new-blog) This trip inspired me to tell the story of what it was that brought these people to risk their lives and the lives of their families to help these airmen. The answer is as varied as the number of people involved. I tell the story of a Polish tailor, born in Germany, who, as a French soldier became a POW at Dunkirk, and a French Army Doctor, an English housewife living in Paris, a member of the French Airforce, a Communist Chemical Engineer working at a factory, an auto mechanic, a saddle maker, a housewife whose husband is a POW and others.
Alex: What was the first book you read?
Vicki: Probably a Nancy Drew book. When I was a child, my mother would read to us in the car on the long road trips we had to take as a military family. She would read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. My mother was orphaned at age 13 and had to leave school, but she was a very intelligent woman and an avid reader. She instilled that love for reading in me. Another tidbit from A Sparrow Falls:
“There’s nothing wrong with Nancy Drew. I read them too when I was a girl. Nancy often offers a direct path to Agatha Christie and it is a short journey to Sherlock Holmes and, suddenly you are at the door of Edgar Allen Poe, and that’s when you’re in English teacher territory.”
Sarah laughed. “Yes, I took that trip. I also took a trip from Anthem to Fahrenheit 451 to Brave New World and 1984. I never thought of it as a trip, but I guess it really is like a journey... step by step.”
Alex: How much research do you do and what does it usually entail?
Vicki: It depends on the book. But I am a stickler for detail and love doing research, so I tend to do more than is probably necessary. I do most of my research on the internet and often find myself down a rabbit hole exploring something other than my original search.
For A Sparrow Falls I didn’t have to do too much. I verified some dates here and there and looked up things like popular songs in the 1960s. Once I looked up how the families of soldiers killed in Vietnam were notified of the deaths. Next thing I knew I was watching a documentary on the war. Maybe that’s why it took five years to write.
For The Duty of Memory, my work in progress, I have had to do a great deal of research. I read Fighters in the Shadows – A New History of the French Resistance, a 600 page non-fiction book written by an Oxford modern European History professor. I spent several hours one day Googling what kind of tanks the French 1st Light Cavalry Division used during WW2, then finding the make-up of the crew, and the interior configuration. That was all necessary just to write one sentence describing the character exiting the tank. That is just one of many examples of hours of research necessary to give an accurate description of an action by a character. I have also taken two trips to France to interview families of members of the Resistance and to explore some of the villages in the north of France that were occupied by the Germans. I am currently making plans for my third trip, this time to interview a 94-year-old member of the Resistance to get some first-hand stories of some of the characters in my book.
Alex: Do you ever base your characters on people you have encountered in real life?
Vicki: Yes. Usually, a character is a composite of more than one person I have encountered.
Alex: What are your interests aside from writing? And what do you do to unwind?
Vicki: Writing is how I unwind. I often have to make myself leave the computer to do errands or housework. Now that I am retired, I approach writing like a job. I start my day at 8 am and finish about 7 pm. Sometimes I am writing, other times I am doing research or editing. On weekends I update my website and attend to social media marketing or learning new skills for marketing my books. For fun, I take a Transatlantic cruise every year or so, with some friends from Australia. I spend some time in France with a childhood friend and then explore some other countr(ies) in Europe.
Alex: Which authors do you particularly admire and why?
Vicki: Of the American writers – the old guys we studied in high school – Steinbeck is my favorite. Nobody can string words together like he can. I have read East of Eden twice. Of the old guys that were banned in school libraries – J.D. Salinger. Nobody can create a character like he can. I have read Catcher in the Rye three times at three different stages in my life.
Then there is Dostoevsky – I read Crime and Punishment the summer I was 17 - because I wanted to. This year, I made my third attempt at reading The Brother’s Karamazov. This time I finished all 800 pages and loved every page.
Of the best seller guys - I have been a Stephen King fan since 1976 when I read Carrie. Every year for Christmas and my birthday the latest King novels are on my wish list. I’ve read 25 of his books. Then in 2003, after seeing the movie Mystic River I wanted to read the source material. I fell in love with the writing of Dennis Lehane... what a gem he is! I’ve now read 10 of his books and still going.
Alex: Thank you so much for sharing your writing journey with us, Vicki. It's been fascinating.
Vicki. It's my pleasure, Alex.
Vicki: Le Devoir de Memoire – the Duty of Memory is a novel based on real events and real people. It was inspired by the members of the French Underground in northern France who ran an escape line for downed Allied airmen in 1944. My father was one of those airmen, but rather than tell his story of escape from the Nazis, I am telling the story of those who helped him escape. In 1959-1962, as a child, I was lucky enough to have met, and spent much time with one of those helpers and his family. In 2017 my brothers and I went to France to follow my father’s escape route and hear stories from people who were there when his plane was shot down in May 1944. ( for more information go to https://www.vickiolsen.com/new-blog) This trip inspired me to tell the story of what it was that brought these people to risk their lives and the lives of their families to help these airmen. The answer is as varied as the number of people involved. I tell the story of a Polish tailor, born in Germany, who, as a French soldier became a POW at Dunkirk, and a French Army Doctor, an English housewife living in Paris, a member of the French Airforce, a Communist Chemical Engineer working at a factory, an auto mechanic, a saddle maker, a housewife whose husband is a POW and others.
Alex: What was the first book you read?
Vicki: Probably a Nancy Drew book. When I was a child, my mother would read to us in the car on the long road trips we had to take as a military family. She would read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. My mother was orphaned at age 13 and had to leave school, but she was a very intelligent woman and an avid reader. She instilled that love for reading in me. Another tidbit from A Sparrow Falls:
“There’s nothing wrong with Nancy Drew. I read them too when I was a girl. Nancy often offers a direct path to Agatha Christie and it is a short journey to Sherlock Holmes and, suddenly you are at the door of Edgar Allen Poe, and that’s when you’re in English teacher territory.”
Sarah laughed. “Yes, I took that trip. I also took a trip from Anthem to Fahrenheit 451 to Brave New World and 1984. I never thought of it as a trip, but I guess it really is like a journey... step by step.”
Alex: How much research do you do and what does it usually entail?
Vicki: It depends on the book. But I am a stickler for detail and love doing research, so I tend to do more than is probably necessary. I do most of my research on the internet and often find myself down a rabbit hole exploring something other than my original search.
For A Sparrow Falls I didn’t have to do too much. I verified some dates here and there and looked up things like popular songs in the 1960s. Once I looked up how the families of soldiers killed in Vietnam were notified of the deaths. Next thing I knew I was watching a documentary on the war. Maybe that’s why it took five years to write.
For The Duty of Memory, my work in progress, I have had to do a great deal of research. I read Fighters in the Shadows – A New History of the French Resistance, a 600 page non-fiction book written by an Oxford modern European History professor. I spent several hours one day Googling what kind of tanks the French 1st Light Cavalry Division used during WW2, then finding the make-up of the crew, and the interior configuration. That was all necessary just to write one sentence describing the character exiting the tank. That is just one of many examples of hours of research necessary to give an accurate description of an action by a character. I have also taken two trips to France to interview families of members of the Resistance and to explore some of the villages in the north of France that were occupied by the Germans. I am currently making plans for my third trip, this time to interview a 94-year-old member of the Resistance to get some first-hand stories of some of the characters in my book.
Alex: Do you ever base your characters on people you have encountered in real life?
Vicki: Yes. Usually, a character is a composite of more than one person I have encountered.
Alex: What are your interests aside from writing? And what do you do to unwind?
Vicki: Writing is how I unwind. I often have to make myself leave the computer to do errands or housework. Now that I am retired, I approach writing like a job. I start my day at 8 am and finish about 7 pm. Sometimes I am writing, other times I am doing research or editing. On weekends I update my website and attend to social media marketing or learning new skills for marketing my books. For fun, I take a Transatlantic cruise every year or so, with some friends from Australia. I spend some time in France with a childhood friend and then explore some other countr(ies) in Europe.
Alex: Which authors do you particularly admire and why?
Vicki: Of the American writers – the old guys we studied in high school – Steinbeck is my favorite. Nobody can string words together like he can. I have read East of Eden twice. Of the old guys that were banned in school libraries – J.D. Salinger. Nobody can create a character like he can. I have read Catcher in the Rye three times at three different stages in my life.
Then there is Dostoevsky – I read Crime and Punishment the summer I was 17 - because I wanted to. This year, I made my third attempt at reading The Brother’s Karamazov. This time I finished all 800 pages and loved every page.
Of the best seller guys - I have been a Stephen King fan since 1976 when I read Carrie. Every year for Christmas and my birthday the latest King novels are on my wish list. I’ve read 25 of his books. Then in 2003, after seeing the movie Mystic River I wanted to read the source material. I fell in love with the writing of Dennis Lehane... what a gem he is! I’ve now read 10 of his books and still going.
Alex: Thank you so much for sharing your writing journey with us, Vicki. It's been fascinating.
Vicki. It's my pleasure, Alex.
