When D-L Nelson wrote, 300 Unsung Women, she had no idea how consuming and rewarding it would be. Here's some things she discovered.
Q: What gave you the idea to write this book?
A: As a life long feminist, over the years, I discovered some very interesting women hidden in the fog of history. Also, I loved calendar books that give some information on a topic for each day of the year. 300 Unsung Women began as a calendar book.
Q: But there's only 300 women.
A: As I started my research, I discovered for some dates I couldn't find any women. On other dates, I could find many that should be included and whom I didn't want to eliminate. I then decided that 300 was a nice round number so I could include all the worthy women.
Q: How did you research the book?
A: Two things: One: the internet: There are sites listing famous people, although the number of men exceeded the number of women thirty fold. Two: Friends. I put out a call to friends for women they think would belong in a book like this. So many women and a few men, submitted suggestions. One woman, Isabel Richard, whom I knew in Geneva and now lives in Montreal, was incredible with the women she found.
Q: Is there anything you would do differently?
A: My goal was only to include women who had died. In many cases, I couldn't find birth and death dates. This was especially true of Canadian First Nations and American Indian women. I wish I hadn't deleted them. They would make a book all by themselves.
Q: Why did you format the book as you did?
A: Instead of dates, I used the area of the women's accomplishments. A majority of the women excelled in several areas. I listed those areas at the beginning of each bio.
Q: Did you have some favorites?
A: Oh yes. Florence Luscombe. Spoiler alert. I had interviewed her many years ago. She was an MIT graduate, one of the first in architecture and fought for women's rights at many levels throughout her life.
Kato Lomb who knew 17 languages. Having fought to learn French, I'm jealous of her abilities.
Marie Marvingt who did it all: pilot, journalist, athlete and more.
There wasn't a woman that I wrote about, that I didn't want to sit down with and have a cup of tea and a long, long conversation.
Q: Did you write them as you discovered them or after you had all the research?
A: I did all my research, then sat down and condensed the information into 200 words or less. That was difficult. Most of the women could be the subject of a book or movie. If I thought of a good sentence as I was doing the research, I wrote it down to use when I did the final writing.
Q: Did you ever want to give up?
A: I often felt the project was keeping me from my fiction. Because so many women had given me names, I didn't feel I could let them down. Nor could I let my subjects down. There dedication to their work was inspiring which gave me an impetus to continue often with enthusiasm.
Q: There's no index. Why?
A: I grouped the women within the areas where they succeeded and then by number. That way, if someone wanted to do research into women who became lawyers, they could find all the lawyers in the book, as other areas where they accomplished things.
Q: What would you like readers to get from your book?
A: I started the book before Trump started erasing women's accomplishments, but I see it as more important after. What I would like readers to come away with is the appreciation, motivation, understanding of what it takes to accomplish one's goals despite gender barriers. I also would like the women I wrote about to have a new minute in the spotlight for their accomplishments.
Q: Where can I get the book?
A: Order it from your favorite independent store or https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/300-unsung-women-d-l-nelson/1147305797?ean=9798990385504
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