How does life in Bakerton compare to life in other mining towns?
I think it’s fairly representative. But today that world has largely disappeared. In Pennsylvania, coal mining is mostly a thing of the past. Nobody lives that way any more. Does Joyce’s experience mirror your own in any way? None that I can think of. The generational differences are very significant. Joyce was born forty years before I was, into an entirely different social climate. A very different set of opportunities was open to her. I never served in the military, or worked in a factory, and I have never held a family together the way Joyce does. Her resolve and competence and moral strength are a product of those life experiences. Did you ever consider writing Baker Towers in the first person, from Joyce’s perspective? Writing in the first person is difficult for me. I sometimes approach short stories that way, but I find it too restrictive for a novel. Part of what intrigued me about writing Baker Towers was the chance to show the reader a time and place through several differen
