The Sophie Mae Series started for me almost two years ago. I dreamt about wandering around a grand estate with invisible people who were just regular, transparent humans. Married couples, children, and elders all wanted to help me understand my surroundings. As all good ideas do, it stuck with me.
Wanting to write a story about the characters, I used the Great Depression as my setting based on discussions with the elders in my life concerning the hard times they endured. This was usually after I complained about not getting what I want, of course.
Sophie Mae is the embodiment of all the Grands in my family who had to sell eggs to earn a living and wear flour sack dresses to school. The men who persevered even as the years of depression and food shortages wore the community’s hope thin.
My hope is for kids today to read the series and wonder about the Great Depression and search out answers about the near-collapse of the American economy and how it affected the fabric of our country.