Interview with Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of historical fiction Wench

Dolen Perkins-Valdez´s fiction and essays have appeared in The Kenyon Review, StoryQuarterly, African American Review, and elsewhere. She is a 2009 finalist for the Robert Olen Butler Fiction Award. A graduate of Harvard and a former University of California President´s Postdoctoral Fellow, Dolen splits her time between Seattle and Washington, DC.

Dolen is also the author of the historical fiction novel, Wench, just released from HarperCollins. We interviewed Dolen to find out more about her wonderful book.

Thank you for this interview, Dolen. Can you tell us briefly what your latest book, Wench, is all about?

In 1851, a lawyer named Elias P. Drake purchased a plot of land near Xenia, Ohio with the intent to establish a summer vacation resort where the country´s elite could relax and enjoy the mineral springs in the area. At the time, it was believed that natural water could cure illnesses and bring about good health. What made this resort unusual, however, was that it became a popular vacation destination for southern slaveholders and their enslaved mistresses. Ultimately, these flagrantly open relationships offended the northern abolitionists who also frequented the resort. After four years, the resort closed.

This part of the story has been confirmed by historians. I took this forgotten historical note and sketched in a fictional account of what it would have been like to be an enslaved woman traveling to this free state each summer. Why wouldn´t the women try to escape? What kinds of emotional attachments did they have with these men? Initially, I believed that it was entirely possible that they actually loved the men. Ultimately, I discovered that it was much more complicated than that.

Can you tell us who or what was the inspiration behind your book?

I found a reference to this summer resort in a biography of W.E.B. DuBois. I was fascinated by this little-known historical footnote. I wondered what it would have been like to be the sexual paramour of your master and travel north to a free state each summer for "vacation." Obviously, the slave women did not leave behind a written historical record. As a result, I decided to try to imagine what it would have been like to be one of these women.

Is this your first published book and if so, can you tell us your experiences in finding a publisher for it?

Yes, this is my first published book. After I signed with an agent, she took over from there. Fortunately, we submitted the manuscript to Amistad/HarperCollins first, and they agreed!

How has Amistad/HarperCollins been to work with?

Amistad/HarperCollins has been fantastic. Although I am a debut author, they have been extremely attentive to my book. My editor Dawn Davis believed in WENCH from the start, and I am grateful that she gave me this opportunity.

Do you have an agent?

Yes, my agent is Stephanie Cabot of the Gernert Company.

Can you tell us how long it took you to write your book and also how long it took from the time HarperCollins sent the contract and the time it was released?