‘Burning’ questions about Lewiston author's new book

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Author Norah Perez of Lewiston signs a copy of her book, “River Burning,” for Jeanne Fischer, top right, as others wait their turn. By Timothy Chipp
Norah Perez, author of “River Burning,” her sixth novel, explains her process and the path the book took to being published as members of the Historic Association of Lewiston listen Monday at Barton Hill Hotel & Spa, 100 Center St., Lewiston. By Timothy Chipp

January 23, 2012

By Timothy Chipp Niagara Gazette The Niagara Gazette Mon Jan 23, 2012, 10:16 PM EST

LEWISTON — Lewiston resident and accomplished author Norah Perez had a story floating around in the deep recesses of her mind. She just needed someone to take a gamble and allow her to publish it.

The story was about a topic many in Lewiston and the surrounding area have a deep appreciation for. “River Burning” was a fictional account of the burning of Lewiston in December 1813. But her publisher told her the topic wasn’t broad enough for a national audience and wouldn’t be printed.

“My editor didn’t like it,” Perez said Monday, surrounded by a crowd of approximately 80 Historical Association of Lewiston members gathered at the Barton Hill Hotel & Spa on Center Street in Lewiston. “She said it was too narrow, that it didn’t have a national appeal. Plus, she added the War of 1812 didn’t interest her at all.”

So the six-time novelist shelved the story which she’d written while living in the Village of Youngstown, completed but unwanted. But after two years, a knock at her door from a member of the society changed the novel’s fortunes.

“I was asked if I would write a story about the War of 1812,” Perez said. “And I said ‘About that, I just happen to have a novel.’ ”

The book, now set to go to print through the self-publishing method, came out a few months ago through a Buffalo-based printer and a member of the association creating the cover art.

The book is a mix of red and orange, which Perez said is representative of the fire of the burning of Lewiston. It has a black bird near the top right corner, which represents the war and bloodshed of the times. But on the back, a white bird stands for the peace that developed.

The book’s design not only represents the content, 13-year-old fictional character Dell Hawkins’s attempt to deal with the burning of her village and the aftermath as she migrates east to Batavia. It also serves as a reminder to Perez of the struggle it took getting the novel, which is classified as Young Adult, published, with a peaceful ending despite the years she waited.

“ ‘River Burning’ did have a happy ending,” she said. “As for the War of 1812, I think it was a win-win. There’s been a peace that has lasted 200 years. (It) was a wonderful thing to happen.”

As far as inspiration for such a story, she said there wasn’t anything planned to write about Lewiston when she did it. But when she began writing, she said, her research pointed her to several real characters, whom Dell ends up running into in various ways.

So the story draws from real life while adding fictional drama to the events of the day, she said.

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