I’m so happy to welcome Erika Robuck, author of The Last Twelve Miles to Musing. This is a book about two strong women on opposite sides of the law during the Prohibition Rum Wars. I believe summer is the perfect time for a book about mystery and intrigue on the water. – Rae Ann Parker, Director of Books and Events for Young Readers
First, tell us a bit about your book and what inspired you to write it: Three separate people at three separate events for my women in WWII intelligence novels told me I should write about cryptanalyst Elizebeth Smith Friedman. When I began to research her fascinating life, though she worked from the Great War through World War II, I was most captivated by the Prohibition years, when she handled almost all the codebreaking for the U. S. Coast Guard. The cast of rumrunner characters she helped nab was rich and colorful but when I found the notorious, glamorous, devious, brilliant Marie Waite I knew I hit the story jackpot. Truth is always more interesting and much stranger than fiction.
I love to watch: I was obsessed with The Crown and there is a real hole in my life where that is gone. From the opening credits to the cinematography to the scripts and casting, Hemingway’s iceberg principle is in full effect. We see just a sliver but what looms out of view is every bit as—if not more—powerful than what’s on the surface.
My family loves to watch Jeopardy and The Office together. We’ve also started watching good old-fashioned music videos on MTV. Some nights it’s eighties, others hip hop or nineties alternative—we all love it.
My husband and I just started The Bear, and it’s riveting. The characters are already lodged in my heart after two episodes.
I’ve been listening to: My favorite podcasts are spiritual in nature, and I listen on long daily walks after writing. I’m on my fourth trek through Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz, and I love Abiding Together with Sr. Miriam James, which is geared toward women and deeply therapeutic. Finally, Saint Maria Faustina’s Diary in a Year is heavy, mystical, and challenging, but I love it. I’m working on getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.
In terms of craft, I love Dedicated Podcast, hosted by Doug Brunt, which pairs authors and their favorite cocktails. It seems especially fitting considering my current novel subject matter.
Something I saw online that made me laugh, cry, or think: Seeing Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs sing Fast Car together at the Grammys made me cry. The two of them are so different yet they sang Chapman’s iconic song together in perfect sync. Their distinctive voices came together beautifully, and they kept looking at each other and smiling. It was pure joy to watch. Talk about the iceberg principle. There was a lot going on in terms of bringing people together. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the audience.
A creator who’s doing something I admire: I’m obsessed with map artist Ed Fairburn. He overlays hand drawn portraits over old maps. It’s a world in a person or a person in a world. It’s my dream to have one of his creations as a book cover.
A book I recently recommended to someone else: Just one? Impossible. I’ll limit myself to four.
I’m nuts over Chanel Cleeton’s novels, and her recent The House on Biscayne Bay was gothic fiction at its finest. I loved Allison Pataki’s Finding Margaret Fuller—epic bio-fiction at its finest. Finally, The Secret of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry has really stayed with me. I love her books.
Finally, in terms of nonfiction, Wanting by Luke Burgis was eye opening. It explores mimetic desire—we want what we want because the people around us want it. It follows that who we surround ourselves with, and by extension what we consume (media, books, news, shows, reels, etc.), shapes who we are. I mull this constantly and it has led me to be a far more thoughtful curator of content and people.
If I could teleport anywhere in the world right now, I’d go to: I’m dying to go to Turin, Italy. I have a personal fascination with the Shroud of Turin, the scientific studies on it, and its history. I’m also a fan of a young man from Torino named Pier Giorgio Frassati who died in the early nineteenth century of polio. There have been two miracles attributed to him, so he will likely be canonized in 2025. That is also a year slated for a potential showing of the Shroud. If those events could intersect, I would love to teleport to Italy.
I wish I knew more about: I wish I knew more about cryptanalysis. Researching Elizebeth Smith Friedman, I tried on one occasion to start to learn codebreaking. It lasted approximately seven minutes before I quit. The book would be much better if I could get into codebreaking scenes in more detail, but I can’t, so it’s not. Ha!
My favorite thing about indie bookstores: I love indies because they capture the heart and soul of a region. Place is important to me. It shapes so much of who we are. Indie bookstores have the personality and flavor of the region that allow readers to get to know a place, and a place to get to know readers. Community and coming together makes us all better, especially when ideas can be exchanged freely and in good faith. That’s something I hope we never lose.
The Last Twelve Miles will be published on June 4, 2024. Pre-order your copy now!
Musing 