Author Profile: Eleanor Tremayne

A local author has reached around the globe to bring readers a fictional story that’s close to her heart.

The title : “Seven Days In Lebanon.”

The setting : A frigid St. Petersburg, Russia, 1917.

The plot : With Bolsheviks on a hunt to destroy all aristocrats, 18-year-old Olga Von Eggert is forced to leave her country but fails to arrive at the point of departure. Thanks to the intervention of a Prima Ballerina, the Khan of Kiva is notified of the young woman’s peril. Decades later, related events unfold : an antique diary written in Russian is discovered and translated, a search is undertaken for its rightful heir and the only living descendant is located in Lebanon, Ohio. (Derived from Amazon.com)

The author : Liberty Township’s Eleanor Tremayne, the granddaughter of Olga Von Eggert Khadjieff, upon whom the gripping novel is based.

Familiarity creates characters

“She was an amazing lady,” Tremayne says of the real Olga. “At 18 years old she was a doctor. At that time it took less time in medical school. Her father was also a physician. When the Bolsheviks took control of St. Petersburg, Olga’s parents made arrangements for her to join a Prima Ballerinas entourage.

“She was captured before she made it, and was facing a firing squad, about to die, when a sergeant recognized her doctor’s cross,” Tremayne continues. “Her life was spared so that she could care for those same soldiers who wanted to kill her. After 18 months, she was rescued by a Cossack sent from the Prince of Kiva, a friend of the Ballerina.”

Olga’s astonishing story doesn’t end there.

“She then had to travel with the Cossack soldier to a port, still avoiding the Bolshevik army,” the local author recalls. “When she boarded the ship safely she met the Prince (the last Prince of Kiva) who was also exiling from Russia. Within seven days they were married in India.”

Tremayne then added the teaser :“The rest of her life is just as interesting, but you will need to read the book to see what happens next.”

It’s no surprise that Tremayne, a California native who’s lived in Liberty Township for the past eleven years, embraced her grandmother’s experience as the perfect plot for a novel. All of her characters “begin as various people I have known my entire life,” she says.

“From relatives to close friends, associates and even strangers that I may only meet for a short time...Combined with a plethora of literary personas, my mind blends them all together until I have the perfect combination needed” for her characters, says Tremayne, who has a Master’s Degree in Literature and has taught Advanced Placement English and Creative Writing on the high school and college levels.

Once retired she began writing her first novel, “Destiny Revisited,” a realistic romantic fiction that “questions the choices we make in our lives,” she says. “Destiny Revealed,” the sequel, “expresses how fate has the final answers to our dilemmas.” Both “Destiny” novels are available “for review” on the Literary Titans YouTube trailer, she says.

Bringing characters like Gabriella Girard, Maggie Martinez and Jake Chevalier to life by “creating experiences that allow them to grow throughout the novel is my main objective,” she explains.

A writing process some may deem unconventional...and kudos to “a 6x3  electronic wizard”

“Once I have a basic idea of what my novel will be about, I create a very rough outline. The two things that do not change are the ending and the title. I even select the cover of my novel before I begin writing. I believe this works because most of the novel is already written in my mind.”

“Once I start the actual writing process it continues until I force myself to stop,” Tremayne continues. “There are times when life determines just how much time is realistic to write. Yet, I never have difficulty returning when I must.”

When she’s not writing, Tremayne is “researching, reading books to review and discovering ways to promote” her

novels. “There are many evenings when I am forced to wake up and write notes on my iPhone. So many ideas are churning that until they are released I have no peace.”

“I am thankful that I live at a time where everything that I need is in a 6x3 electronic wizard known as my iPhone. It literally is my lifeline,” Tremayne declares. “Without this device, I would never have the patience to complete my first novel…”

For this local author having her phone nearby is important. After all, inspiration can emerge at any time.

“Since ideas often appear in many different forms and places, I am always ready for the challenge,” she says. “Some of my best ideas have developed on a Sunday morning listening to my pastor’s sermon. That’s when I try to camouflage my phone while I type a few words in order to jar my memory later.”

For instance, the name of Tremayne’s publishing company, “‘Scotoma, meaning ‘blind spot,’ came from one of those sermons,” she recalls. “I was not familiar with the word. When I looked it up, I thought it perfectly symbolized how many people do not look beyond their vision.”

Classical references are added to the mix

It’s important to Tremayne to enrich her works with literary references.  

“Every novel that I write has literary references that are woven throughout the page,” she says. “I believe that we have so much still to learn from the classics that introducing these ideas in a contemporary format keeps us connected to universal, philosophical issues.”

“One example of how I achieve this is by using quotes from various genres to introduce a chapter. Those quotes come from different writers throughout history. It encourages the reader to make connections with what is being foreshadowed…”

“Writers are like musicians, artists, and actors,” Tremayne continues. “We all thrive on an audience. I never expect everyone to enjoy all my novels, or even understand the various layers of complexity that I offer…

“What I do hope is that my readers will recognize the literary value that I have created in all of my fiction.”

The writing life is a busy life

Currently Tremayne is writing “The Mermaid’s Grandson,” which she describes as a “psychological fantasy that will ask readers to find common ground with a mythical creature. This has been a fun project with some challenging aspects,” she says. “I’m looking forward to its release in November.”

In March she’ll lead a new book club entitled “Reading Through the Eyes of an Author” in which participants can read her books and discuss them with her. “I am hoping that it will be the best experience for both reader and author,” she says. Its first meeting will be in the boardroom at MidPointe Library’s West Chester location on Tuesday, March 5, at 6 p.m. Those interested in attending can sign up at Meetup.

In April Tremayne will appear at the Dayton Book Expo to  premiere “Seven Days In Lebanon,” the historical novel inspired by her grandmother’s exile from St. Petersburg, Russia, and her marriage to the last Prince of Kiva.

“Speaking engagements and book signings are always events I look forward to,” she states. “Meeting new people with new ideas keeps my mind fresh.”

Tremayne’s advice to fellow writers…

“...I always tell them to never give up. Sometimes just finding another time or place to write is all you need.”

She says her personal philosophy is based upon the words of her favorite author, T.S. Eliot :

“Sometimes things become possible if we want them bad enough.”

Although three of Eleanor Tremayne’s books are currently on order at MidPointe Library, cardholders can still place a “hold” on the title(s) they want and then pick them up at any MidPointe location when they become available. Locations are Middletown, West Chester, Trenton, Monroe, or Liberty Center in Liberty Township.

Go to www.midpointelibrary.org > Catalog Search > Eleanor Tremayne or directly at:

http://encore.middletownlibrary.org/iii/encore/search/C__SEleanor%20Tremayne__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold

No library card? No problem! Sign up for your free card at any MidPointe location!

MidPointe Library loves local authors!

Today’s featured author was one of many writers who greeted the public at MidPointe Library’s ReadLOCAL event last year at its West Chester location.

We’re proud to feature local authors like Eleanor Tremayne on this monthly blog accessible via: https://www.facebook.com/MidPointeLibrarySystem/

Local authors are welcome to write and do research at any of our five locations.

Writers can reserve a meeting room at four MidPointe locations : Middletown, West Chester, Trenton or Monroe, by clicking on: https://www.midpointelibrary.org/page/meeting-rooms