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The Eagle Speaks follows a couple who sift through the chaos of a splintering small town to find out who is behind the plot to destroy it. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
It’s America’s story. It’s what we grapple with every day—the systems in this country that favor some and disfavor others and our inability to talk about inequality objectively and make progress and change. It’s the current news stories. It’s my own experiences as a woman and the white half of an interracial couple for five decades and what I’ve learned in those roles.
Lester and Marian Greene are intriguing and well-developed characters. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
Marian is an optimist. No matter how bad it gets, and she’s seen and experienced a lot, she clings to the hope that the pendulum will swing toward good, justice, unity, and equality. She also loves Lester and witnesses his trauma and pain as a Black man, and she wants to make life better for him and everyone around her. She has a curious, intuitive mind and uses it.
Lester is driven by service to others. Even in the face of hatred and discrimination, he wants to serve people and his community, and he takes that role seriously. Even at risk of losing his life. Emergency workers have that kind of drive. He also grapples with depression, traumatic memories, and the darkness that many emergency workers carry within them and as a Black man in America who is well-acquainted with hatred, discrimination, and systemic racism. His love for Marian and his service to others may well be what keeps Lester going.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Race and gender equality. What equality looks like. The aftermath of violence. The imperfections of humans. How deeply rooted racism is in our history and how it survives and thrives today. Writing diverse characters who are not stereotypical and one-dimensional nor props in the story, but are real people with real emotions, thoughts, and actions.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
The third book of A Cadence Mystery series is almost ready to be handed to my editor. It’s titled Stony Place and will be available in July 2023.
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The Eagle Speaks
Author Dianne L. Hagan tackles a volatile and pressing conflict in America today through this riveting story. Hagan does a fantastic job remaining a neutral storyteller in a topic that divides so many Americans. There is good and evil and villains and heroes, but we are shown the assumptions people make and how there are several layers to seemingly one dimensional characters. Hagan proves that you can’t judge people based on appearances. This captivating crime fiction story delivers the message that there will always be injustice, but as long as there are people willing to fight for equality, we can make our corners of the world better and brighter.
This book grips you from the beginning as the story begins with the shooting of an unarmed young black man by a white sheriff in a small town in upstate New York. This is the second book in a series by Hagan and thus information is given throughout the story about the town’s history of cultures clashing and its new mission to be a place of multicultural unity. The main characters, Lester and Mariann, are a mixed racial couple who moved to the town of Cadence just a couple years prior. Mariann is on the Town Council and Lester is a retired EMT worker. They are seen as leaders in the small town along with their friends and fellow town council members, Craig, Delores, Enoch, Irma, George and others. Enoch is a Native American from the local tribe of the town and speaks to animals. He communicates with an American Bald Eagle that delivers messages that guide the group and helps them discover who is really behind this crime and what other dangers lie ahead. This adds a fascinating supernatural layer to an already captivating story.
Despite the protests, bombings and kidnappings that continue throughout the book, good-hearted people of different backgrounds work together to ultimately uncover the plot of antagonist. This thought-provoking story shows readers that systemic racism is the ultimate problem and not the acts of individual people.
This book hit very close to home for me. I enjoyed getting to know different types of characters through Hagan’s eyes and found her perspective to be refreshing. I respect her for tackling such a divisive topic through storytelling and hope this entertaining mystery thriller is able to make a difference in the race issues of our country.
Pages: 247 | ASIN: B0BNP5CM1X
LITERARY TITAN 