Charlene Bell Dietz is an award-winning author who blends suspense, history, and science in her acclaimed mystery novels and short stories. Her Flapper-Scientist series including The Flapper, the Scientist, and the Saboteur and The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker, earned Kirkus Starred Reviews and were named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of the Year. In addition, her latest novel, The Spinster, the Rebel, and the Governor, won the Zia Award for Best Book by New Mexico Press Women.
Before retiring, Charlene was a long-term educator, traveling the United States to assist public-school districts with educational programs after a career teaching elementary, high school, and college graduate students. Her adventurous spirit has taken her to the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon jungle, and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. With a passion for paleontology, she founded the Friends of Paleontology of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, and volunteered for over two decades with the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute at Sandia National Laboratories.
Active in the literary community, Charlene is past president of the Sisters-in-Crime chapter in New Mexico, and an active member of Mystery Writers of America, SouthWest Writers, and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. She resides in the serene mountains of central New Mexico.
This one-on-one interview shares Charlene’s background and experience writing THE SPINSTER, THE REBEL, AND THE GOVERNOR.
Tell us about THE SPINSTER, THE REBEL, AND THE GOVERNOR.
In 1638, under the Protestant rule of England’s King Charles I, Margaret Brent risked her life by illegally educating Catholic women, which places her family at risk. She covets having a voice, yet even her father and brothers exclude her from discussions. Worried that the king’s men may know of her illegal activities, she flees to the New World where she can enjoy religious tolerance and own land, believing she will be allowed a voice. Once in Maryland, she presents cases in provincial court, is hired as the first American woman attorney, and even asks for the right to vote. Murderous rebels and bigoted gentlemen can’t prevent spinster Lady Margaret Brent from wielding her power to defend Maryland settlers from plunder and obliteration.
What inspired you to write THE SPINSTER, THE REBEL, AND THE GOVERNOR?
Writing never entered my mind, until I found myself with stories too good not to be told.
My genealogy research uncovered this: “In 1644, Giles Brent, gentleman of the Province of Maryland, married a nine-year-old Indian Princess.” Astounded, I excavated further and learned the more interesting tale seemed to be about his sister. Spinster Margaret Brent presented 134 court cases in Provincial Court in pre-colonial Maryland. The gentlemen of the county often hired her as their “attorney”, and she asked for the right to vote, twice. This was 200 years before Susan B. Anthony or Arabella Mansfield, first registered woman attorney.
Margaret became the story, but I couldn’t hear her voice. She left no letters, diaries, journals, or primary source materials, except her will. In addition, The American Bar Association awards five women attorneys their Margaret Brent Award each year, even though common knowledge about Margaret comes mostly from Wikipedia.
So, I did a years’ worth of intensive research, studying England and all its conflicts and social mores. I also took my research to Maryland, where I walked the land and talked to people. After I discovered the Maryland Historical Archives records of Margaret Brent’s court cases, I could actually hear her voice. The Internet, libraries, books, archives, maps, and people opened the world of pre colonial Maryland to me. Ultimately, her life became more than random facts because I had come to understand the probable deep, internal conflicts of the people’s actions, which drove this story.
What is one message you would like readers to remember?
Margaret Brent’s accomplishments revealed her autonomous personality, which I hope will inspire those who read about her. Questions historians have not answered are in the back of this book; however, researchers often stitch together pieces of information which can make faulty assumptions. For example, when researchers discovered Margaret Brent had built a fort, they assumed Governor Calvert built it for her during the rebellion.
Margaret knew she lived in a dangerous new world, and being fiercely independent, she wouldn’t wait for some man to protect her. Besides, Calvert could not have built a fort in the middle of a rebellion when his enemies searched to capture him. Wouldn’t this be like building a ship while at sea?
Instead of disparate research, I strive to understand people’s actions using probable motives arising from personal conflicts in their social, political, and religious mores. Margaret’s actions show the reader how to do what’s necessary, how to right wrongs, and the rewards of not giving up.
Purchasing the Book
THE SPINSTER, THE REBEL, AND THE GOVERNOR has received positive reviews from well-known literary organizations, authors, and reviewers around the world. Kirkus Reviews writes, “…sweeping in scope, covering Maryland’s foundational years from the perspective of a woman who played a crucial role in its existence. A robust imagining of the life of a largely unsung hero.” In addition, Amazon Reviewer Jennifer Bohnhoff writes, “An excellent read about an unsung heroine of American history and a time and place that has not been given the attention it deserves.”
The book is available for sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Nook, and other online bookstores. Readers are encouraged to purchase their copy today: https://www.apbooks.net/product-page/the-spinster-the-rebel-and-the-governor
To connect with Charlene and learn more about her work, visit: https://www.inkydancestudios.com. You can also find her on Facebook, LinkedIn and X.
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