Re-Introducing James T. Hogg

Dear Friends of James T. Hogg:

If you have subscribed to my website, it is likely that you have read my first
novel, Faythe of North Hinkapee.

I thank you for giving me that chance as a first-time author. To repay that
favor, I will introduce you to James T. Hogg and give you some deeper
background on Faythe and North Hinkapee.

I will start with why I am writing, and the best answer was given not by me
but by one of my favorite authors, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, who said this:
“Sometimes people ask me what piece of advice I would give to an
aspiring author. I’d tell them that you should only become a writer if
the possibility of not becoming one would kill you. Otherwise, you’d
be better off doing something else. I became a writer, a teller of tales,
because otherwise I would have died, or worse.”

I guess that overstates it a bit as I have had a career already, and I started
writing later in life, but his quote certainly resonates with me. I just love
telling stories, but there is more to it.

Anyone can tell a story and I’m sure you’ve heard or read many stories that
bored the heck out of you. I shudder if I do that. For me, the goal is to tell
you a story that when you are hearing it you, are enthralled – entrapped
within the pages, as you cannot stop wondering where the plot will take
you. And while you are reading it, you feel as if the characters are people
you know. Finally, when you are done you feel a sense of sadness, amidst
the fulness, as you are now missing the characters you have come to
know.

As my theme to describe this I came up with:
Stories You’d Ruin Tomorrow For

This with the metaphor that it is late at night and you know you should turn
off the light since you have to get up for work in the morning, but you find
you can’t do it, and you just have to read the next chapter.

The greatest moment in my writing career was when a friend who was
reading my book said something like the following to me:
“This is ruining my life, since I keep neglecting my business and my
family as I keep sneaking away to read the book.”

That made me feel the feeling I wanted to feel as a writer.

So to hide nothing at all, that is my goal – to Ruin Your Tomorrow. I pray I
did that for you – or to you – in Faythe of North Hinkapee.

And I give you my absolute solemn word that I am going to do my absolute
best to do the same thing to you with the sequel, Faythe and the
Marauders, which should be out for publication in early 2027. The first
chapter is on my website.
….
I should also say a few words about why I created Faythe as a character
and North Hinkapee as a place in history.

The first story was one I created for my daughters as they were growing up.
One of my daughters and I used to go for very long runs together, and to
pass the time I would make up stories, and this was one of them.

When fifteen years later I tried to actually write it as a novel, I learned that
the story I made up, although fun for my tween daughter, made absolutely
no historical sense whatsoever, and that engendered a major research
project.

Along the way, my passions were unleashed as I learned how women were
treated in colonial times. And it was awful. Among other things:
Women were second class citizens to the point that a woman who
was married was “part of” the husband, essentially an appendage to
him – this was generally called “coverture” in law

A woman who was raped was often thought to have brought it on
herself by dressing in garish attire or having an “impudent immodest
carriage,” “filthy communications,” etc.

The witchcraft accusations were worst of all, as women who refused
to confess to being witches were horribly tortured to elicit their
confession.

All of this made me furious at the injustice. Then I started to think about
some “what if?” questions?

What if a woman just decided to demand justice instead of asking for
it? In the first book, Faythe does exactly that when her sister is
attacked.

Better yet, what if these women turned the fear and accusations like a
fire hose on those who were using it all against them? In the second
book, Faythe forms the Marauders to attack the church itself and the
Puritan way of life with accusations of witchcraft?

What if these women were completely fearless and indomitable?
And then these stories – both of them – poured out of me.
The first book took over a year to write it, but the second book took just a
few months, and this despite my working full-time in my day job.
….
The time period has captured my imagination so much that I find myself
saying “’tis” and “thee” to people instead of current language. Go figure
that.

Also, the characters – and North Hinkapee – are now alive to me, almost
as much as the actual people in my life. I think about them often.
This leads me to have three sequels in mind plus some short stories from
North Hinkapee.
…

Finally, if you are reading my writings, I am not some highfalutin self-
important sage who knows everything. If you have thoughts about my
writing – or ideas for North Hinkapee – I would love to hear from you so don’t be bashful.

Best and sincere regards.
James T. Hogg