Interview with Catherine Aerie - Author of 'The Dance of the Spirits'

Today we're talking with Catherine Aerie, author of The Dance of the Spirits

FQ: War can be a tough subject to write about, how did you decide what to include when describing the battles, surgeries, and wounded?

AERIE: I wanted to emphasize the varying reactions of the human mind when under the crushing weight of hopelessness, despair, and depression - in this case, that of the barren, hellish, bleak, napalm burnt, and shell scarred terrain that was the Korean Peninsula. In my personal opinion, the various scenes of carnage and violence are there to serve the developments of the characters involved in them.

FQ: The Korean War doesn't get as much attention in novels as other wars (thinking WWII for example). What made you decide to write about this war/time period?

AERIE: In the past, I’ve noticed that many historical fiction books set during the Second World War take place on the European fronts. Without meaning any offense, this seems to be because many of the writers behind such literature tend to be unfamiliar with the complexity of Asian cultures, and thus is perhaps why there’s a tendency for fewer novels revolving around the Pacific campaigns.
While there’s also the uniqueness that comes with setting the novel in a conflict and time period often left obscure and untouched by fiction writers, a major aspect of Dancing with the Spirits and the Korean War in general, is of the symbolic clash between the cultures and nations of the West and East. Also, I felt that such symbolism can be timed perfectly with the current rising influence of Asia into the cultural, political, and economic affairs of the West.

FQ: There are times in this book that Chinese architecture is mentioned, is this an interest of yours?

AERIE: Yes; in fact, I was originally born into a family of architects whom were often on the move due to the valuable nature of their work. The quaint, foreign, and mysterious nature of the described architecture also serves to highlight the alien and unfamiliar world in which the book’s Western characters are dropped in.

FQ: Jasmine is an intriguing character who is strong and determined so I was expecting her upbringing to be different. Was she an easy or difficult character to create?

AERIE: It was indeed challenging to write about Jasmine, whose story is a complete inverse of the fabled rags-to-riches adventure. However, almost all humans will inevitably have to face the unpredictable currents of the sea that is life, or else be swept away and consumed by time and misfortune. Both Jasmine and Wesley are shipwrecked in some sense, with the former being disavowed by her country while the latter is captured in battle. In the trials and tests that follow, both characters are tempted to give up to the figurative sea in desperation of escaping the suffering and pain around them. However, a major theme in my book is of how people can find the inspiration and drive to keep on swimming despite the tides around them, and eventually hold on long enough to be rescued while many others fail to.

In essence, Jasmine’s fall from a comfortable and carefree girl living in wealth and residing in a prosperous city to a mud and blood soaked woman struggling to get by on a battlefield, does the job of serving as a platform for trials and tribulations to be thrown at her. Instead of an optimistic Dickens style transformation where the miserable achieve strength and courage through rising to happiness, Jasmine gains such traits through coping with life after being robbed of such happiness and learning to find another form of it in the process.

FQ: It is mentioned a few times about certain characters having a “thinking problem.” What is your definition of this in regards to this story?

AERIE: The aforementioned “thinking problem” as stated by several of the Chinese characters, is a blanket term for personality traits and behavior deemed potentially dangerous or resistant against the supposed merits of the new Maoist culture of China. Those suspected of “thinking problems” were thought to be unappreciative of the reforms theoretically meant to benefit them. Thus, it was lawful in the new China for political personnel to take the initiative in “correcting” these “thinking problems” in whichever method they thought to be effective. On a much more broader scale, the “thinking problems” as mentioned in the book represent the iron handed nature by which tyrannical governments in general assert their authority and ruthlessly stamp out even the most subtle forms of potential discord.

FQ: It was interesting to see a glimpse into Wesley’s point of view and he seems to have some of the same compassion and determination as Jasmine. Was it your intention for them to be alike personality wise?

AERIE: Yes; as readers may have noticed, it is in fact the willpower and perseverance of the two that enables them to reunite and interact with each other again and again, lest alone survive individually, despite the constantly changing circumstances of the war raging around them often striving to separate them.

FQ: The efforts of doctors in the war was highlighted with Jasmine’s character, what research did you have to do in order to write about that part of the war?

AERIE: Apart from several notable books regarding the US MASH units, namely Otto Apel’s MASH: An Army Surgeon in Korea and as well as various passages describing them from general Korean War histories, my main sources for The Dance of the Spirits also included several dated surgical textbooks, and as well as interviews with relatives who practice medicine.

FQ: The ending was a surprise for me. Without giving the ending away, did you plan from the beginning to have the story end that way it did?

AERIE: Surprisingly, yes; I wanted the plot to ultimately fall along realist lines despite using a number of liberties over the course of the book. I also wanted to reflect the prevalent misfortune and suffering people go through in harsh times, even if it meant slightly upsetting readers expecting a more optimistic and satisfying conclusion.

As a matter of historical fact that can hand-wave the nature of the book’s final climax, it should be noted that the United Nations’ faction of the war struggled with the immense burden of providing safety and shelter for its thousands of communist prisoners; despite the alliance’s best efforts, suicides, violence, and even riots continued to occur in its camp housing its prisoners of war.

To learn more about The Dance of the Spirits please read the review at: Feathered Quill Book Reviews.

Book Review - The Dance of the Spirits

The Dance of the Spirits

By: Catherine Aerie
Publisher: Aurora
Publication Date: September 2013
ISBN: 9780989690928
Reviewed by: Kristi Benedict
Review Date: January 7, 2014

In the midst of a brutal and devastating war, a small sliver of light emerges with the love of two strangers on opposite sides. The Dance of the Spirits by Catherine Aerie tells the story of two people caught in the middle of the Korean War and against all odds seem to keep finding each other.

Jasmine Young volunteers to go into the war as a doctor thinking that this will be a way to bring her family honor. After barely graduating from medical school she is thrust into the battle and quickly realizes that she will have many soldiers’ lives depending on her alone to survive. With unrelenting determination she gives each patient she sees her utmost attention and does everything she can with the limited resources that are available to her. As the war continues, she is transported from one place to another until she finds herself at the front lines trying to survive bombs and gunfire coming down around her. In an attempt to find cover she is knocked unconscious and is found by Wesley Palm, who takes her to a hospital not believing that he will ever see her again.

On the other side of the line Wesley is a Lieutenant in the American army who has a knack for staying alive and creating a strong connection with his men. During one trek across the snow covered battle field Wesley, along with his companion, stumble along a body that looks feminine, which is not seen often. Curiosity gets the best of Wesley and he discovers that this girl is also alive and in need of immediate medical attention. After grumbling a little about the time it will take to save her, he picks her up and gets her to a hospital where she makes a great recovery. Later in a twist of fate Jasmine and Wesley find themselves hiding out in a cave praying that they are not found by the Chinese army. Thankfully, they escape this predicament and are placed in the same camp where an attraction is felt by the both of them. However, the love is short-lived as they are only able to spend one night together before Jasmine is sent off to a prisoner of war camp. Both of their hearts are filled with defeat as they wonder if they will ever get to see each other again.

From the very first page I could feel that this would be an enduring love story and I was hoping that through the reading I would be able to find out more about each character. I was not disappointed in regards to Jasmine as the author went into great detail about her upbringing, her parents, siblings, and all the circumstances that brought her to volunteer in this war. Learning all of that was great and I hoped for something similar for Wesley, although I was a little disappointed as there was not too much background information about him. As I was reading I kept thinking that any minute I was going to go into a chapter that would tell about his upbringing, family, and what brought him to the war but it never came. On the other hand their love story was quite enduring and as soon as they met I could not stop reading and was intrigued with their devotion to one another. The fact that Jasmine and Wesley were technically on different sides did not matter because their love was a love no one could take from them and amongst all of the harshness of war they found something beautiful.

Quill says: This is a heart-wrenching, page-turning love story that shows even in the brutality of war something enlightening can be found.

Books In For Review

Here's a look at what has come in over the last few days for review.  Check them out and then stop by our site in a few weeks to read the reviews.




The Dance of the Spirits by Catherine Aerie Spring 1951: it is the fiery zenith of the Korean War, a war that the youthful US Army lieutenant Wesley Palm and his men thought that they had won… until the Chinese swept across the Yalu River. Traveling with the million-man army bent on driving back the march of “American imperialism” is Jasmine Young, a Chinese surgeon who has volunteered herself into the war for unspoken, grave reasons. Through a chronicle of merciless battles, freezing winters, and the brutality and hypocrisy of human nature, the two will find themselves weaving through the twists and turns of fate and destiny. Though their love is forbidden, their passion and pursuit of liberty cannot be quenched.

Leave Tomorrow Behind: A Stella Crown Mystery by Judy Clemens She’s back! Tattooed, hard working, and often crabby dairy farmer and biker Stella Crown is hot—both in temperature and temperament. Her sister-in-law is a nag, her fiancée Nick is ill, and her bank account is in the red. But when a local country star turns up dead at the county fair, where Stella's teenage employee Zach is an exhibitor, things turn from hot to ugly.  

Dream Treaders by Wayne Thomas Batson Book #1 in a trilogy from fantasy author Wayne Thomas Batson explores the concept of dreams and their effects on us. People are fascinated by dreams, and the Bible has a great deal to say about them. From Jacob’s dream of the heavenly stairway in Genesis 28 to angels visiting Joseph during dreams in Matthew 1 to the Apostle John’s “waking dream” from which he obtained the book of Revelation—dreams have been powerful ingredients of God’s plan as revealed through Scripture. Fourteen-year-old Archer Keaton discovers he has the ability to enter and explore his dreams. He is a dreamtreader, one of three selected from each generation. Their mission: to protect the waking world from the Nightmare Lord, who wreaks chaos in the Dream World. But as Archer’s dreams become more dangerous and threatening, so too does his waking life. Rigby Thames, the new kid from England, builds a suspicious rock star-like following at Dresden High School a little too quickly. Even Archer’s best friend and confidant, Kara Windchil, seems taken in by the cool guy with the wild blond hair, which definitely rubs Archer the wrong way. Archer must face two foes in two worlds, but he cannot succeed alone. Archer sets off to find other dreamtreaders in a desperate attempt to defeat the enemy terrorizing his friends and family.

Cinders: A Chicken Cinderella by Jan Brett Jan Brett sets her Cinderella story in a snowy Russian winter where one magical night, Cinders, the most picked upon hen in the flock, becomes the most loved by Prince Cockerel when she arrives at his ball looking so beautiful that even her bossy sisters don't recognize her.