'One Bad Apple' Virtual Book Tour: Author Interview with Rachel Kovaciny

Happy August!  

I'm excited to be participating in the virtual book tour for Rachel Kovaciny's newest novel, One Bad Apple.  The latest installment in Rachel's Once Upon a Western series of Old West fairytale retellings, OBA sets Snow White in the midst of the Exoduster migration. 

The book is told from the perspective of Levi Dalton, an orphaned white adolescent who is taken in by a Black wagon train along with his siblings and cousins.  I've already read it, and I can definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a compact, historical, textured take on Snow White.  However, I have to get this interview started, so I'll simply direct you to One Bad Apple's Goodreads page for more readers' thoughts.  {Be sure to also visit the other stops along the book tour, including a giveaway hosted by the author!}

Meanwhile, the interview!

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What was the easiest part of the writing process for this installment?

The dialog? Dialog is always my favorite thing to write. Let’s go with the dialog. Or I could say the research, because I did a heap of researching for this book, and that was so enjoyable and informative.

What was the hardest part of the writing process for this installment?

Everything else? Honestly, this book was a struggle. Have you ever read The Old Man and the Sea? I’ve spent about eighteen months as the old man, with this book as the giant fish that I insisted on catching, but which refused to cooperate with me. I wrestled with the first draft for almost eight months – whereas, the last two books took me about three months each for their first drafts. I then revised and expanded it, sent it to my sensitivity readers, revised it again, and then finally started editing it and polishing it.

What is the best advice you were given for writing BIPOC characters as a non-BIPOC author?

Work with sensitivity readers. Find people who are from the ethnicity you’re including and who are willing to share their knowledge, experience, and opinions with you by providing constructive criticism. I am blessed to have two Black friends who were wiling to read my book and offer their insights. One loves literature and one loves Black history, and both of them gave me so much good advice about how to make my portrayals of Black characters more accurate and sensitive.

What three albums did you listen to the most while writing this installment?

I listened almost exclusively to the score for The Tin Star (1957) by Elmer Bernstein while writing and revising. It’s going to be really weird watching that movie again because the whole score is now indelibly associated with covered wagons and Black pioneers and grieving orphans in my brain.

While editing, I listened to all eight of Ludwig Göransson’s episode soundtracks for The Mandalorian (2019), first on YouTube and then on mp3 because I bought them all. And I listened to The Commancheros (1961) a lot too, also by Elmer Bernstein.

Does Levi Dalton have a “theme song”?

There’s a song that was written for the 1967 Dr. Doolittle movie called “Something in Your Smile” that really nails how enamored he is through the bulk of this book. I’m partial to the Bobby Darin version, of course.

Does Hopeful Mallone have a “theme song”?

“Somewhere” from West Side Story reminds me a lot of how much she’s longing for a new, happier life than the one she’s currently in.

What is your favorite piece of historical trivia that you learned while researching for this installment?

I’m really fascinated by the town of Nicodemus, Kansas, which was founded by Black pioneers and became a thriving all-Black community. You can still visit a couple of the houses built by the town’s original inhabitants, and I’d love to visit those someday.

Were you inspired to do anything new in your non-writing life as a result of creating One Bad Apple (as in, did it inspire you to make a recipe, visit a museum, put together an OBA-themed outfit, anything like that)?

While on vacation last year, I insisted we visit the National Frontier Trails Museum in Independence, MO. It was wonderfully helpful for getting a clearer understanding of how much people could cram into a wagon, what trail life was like, and so on. And I may have spent about a pretty goodly chunk of money on books in their excellent little bookstore…

If you could describe One Bad Apple using three unrelated books, which three would you choose?

Take a chunk of the plot from Hamlet by William Shakespeare, add the idea of a young boy from Shane by Jack Schaefer who is mystified by adult behavior, and blend in the wicked wife who likes to poison people from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. 

Lastly: Can you give us any hints as to what the near future holds for Once Upon a Western?

Well, there will be a free short story coming in late fall or early winter that’s a sequel to One Bad Apple and ties it to a previous book in the series. The next full-length book will be a retelling of Beauty and the Beast that I am eager to turn my attention to! It’ll be more light-hearted, like Dancing and Doughnuts, but has ties to my Sleeping Beauty retelling, “The Man on the Buckskin Horse.” More than that, I dare not say!

One Bad Apple is available now!

Order here.