- What was your inspiration to write Veil of Doubt?
I stumbled onto the true story that inspired Veil of Doubt completely by accident through my work in historical preservation. I have always been passionate about history and the preservation of historic sites. In 2016, my husband and I embarked on an award-winning restoration project when we purchased our home, the historic Selma Mansion, a 19th century plantation manor that inspired my first book, Masque of Honor. I was involved in another preservation project and was reading newsletters published by the office of the clerk of the court when I came across an article on the Emily Lloyd case. I found the story fascinating. One of the defense attorneys at her trial was Powell Harrison, who at one time had represented the Western State Lunatic Asylum in Staunton, Virginia. I was intrigued both by Harrison’s background and his broad-minded position on many controversial issues confronting Virginia during Reconstruction. Later, when I learned that his daughter, Lalla, lived at Selma Mansion from 1902 until her death in 1945 (she died in my bedroom!), I knew Powell’s story and the Emily Lloyd trial was one that I was destined to write.
2. Most of your career was spent in the corporate world building a business. What caused you to change course and decide to write historical fiction?
When I was a little girl, my father and grandmother would tell countless stories about the history of the area where I grew up. They would point out a particular building that had served as “this” or “that” back in the day, or to a house where “so-and-so” lived or “such-and-such” occurred. These places served as catalysts to bring those latent memories forward, and they eagerly shared those remembrances with me and my brother. Through my father’s and grandmother’s telling, I became fascinated by those places and the history that those old structures held. After I sold my business, I had no desire to return to the corporate world; I wanted to spend my time following my passion for community and creativity. It is that passion, and the love of history that was instilled in me as a child, that gave rise to authoring historical fiction—to bringing the history of these old places and the stories of the people who lived in them, to life.
3. Is there any particular method you used during your research for Veil of Doubt and how did it help you piece together this captivating story?
I believe that historical facts should not be incidental as part of a blurry background that distracts, but instead, deeply embed the detail into the fabric of the story—the characters, scenes, settings, costume, customs, etc., to lift the story and carry it forward. One of the critical aspects of researching (and writing) historical fiction is determining the timebox for the piece. In Veil of Doubt, I decided to limit the story to just a year – the year 1872 to be exact – when Emily Lloyd’s last child died and the year she was tried. Once I set my timebox, I quickly moved on to searching online newspaper archives for stories about the case and to the courthouse archives for specific documents about the trial. I also used Ancestry.com to learn as much as I could about the families of the real-life people involved in the case. Birth and death records, family trees, census records, etc. all helped me “create” Powell, Janet, JW, Matthew, Emily, and the other characters in my story. From there, I created a timeline on a white board and used post-it notes to mark significant events in the Emily Lloyd case, and in the lives of the people involved in the case. The timeline helped to identify clusters of events and allowed me to easily see where the inciting event (10%), major plot points (25%, 50% and 75%) and concluding event (90%) either were, or should be. It was at this point that I had to make adjustments to improve pacing and establish the plot structure. Once I had built the scaffolding of the story, my research became more focused on compiling the details of the investigation, the trial, time period, world events, even the weather, to layer into the narrative. For example, there is a scene in Powell’s office when the attorneys are discussing trial strategy and Powell expresses frustration with his inability to make contact with a witness in Toronto. Through research, I identified the distraction of the Fenian Raids as a possible reason why the Canadian authorities might have ignored Powell’s requests. It is this kind of layering that I think is so important to building a captivating story.
4. What was the most difficult challenge you faced in writing this story?
Among the many challenges in writing Veil of Doubt, there are two specific difficulties that come to mind. The first was my struggle to choose Powell Harrison as the protagonist. Initially, I thought my protagonist would be Emily Lloyd. But the more I learned about Emily, the more I was convinced that the best way to tell her story was through the eyes of someone else. And once I had decided that person would be her lead defense counsel, my challenge became even greater. Who was Powell Harrison? What was his story and how was it relevant to Emily’s? What burden was he carrying, and how did he grow by the book’s end? These were questions I wrestled for months before settling on a specific character arc for him. The second challenge I faced was trying to understand Emily Lloyd. The more I learned about her real life, the more difficult the task became to develop her fictional character. Working with psychologists helped reveal much of her personality, but frankly, writing Emily Lloyd has been one of the greatest challenges in my writing career so far.
5.Were there any surprising or unexpected discoveries you made during your research that impacted your writing this book?
There were, but unfortunately to reveal them would spoil the story! I will say that the primitive state of forensic science and the lack of understanding of mental health disorders made for some very challenging writing. (Exactly how much is an English grain or a French gram anyway!?) The differences between our legal system today and the way it was in Virginia in 1872 was another interesting surprise. There were no discovery rules, no requirement for the prosecution to share its investigative findings or autopsy results with the defense. Witnesses were allowed to sit in the courtroom, listening to other testimony before testifying themselves. At times, I felt like I was writing scenes for a wild west movie!
6. Who is your favorite character in Veil of Doubt?
Powell Harrison, of course. He was calm, reserved, passionate, intelligent, introverted, principled, unwavering, and a workaholic. (And much like my husband!) He also was intolerant of incompetence and detested arrogance, corruption, and injustice. Powell was a sensitive man who cared deeply about doing the right thing even when it was unpopular and put him at odds with the people he cared about most.
7. What’s your favorite scene/part of Veil of Doubt?
Besides the reveal at the end, my favorite part of Veil of Doubt is that last day in the courtroom and Powell’s closing statement. Sometimes when I am writing certain scenes, it feels as if the words are coming from somewhere beyond myself. That’s how it felt when I wrote Powell’s closing argument. Now when I read that chapter, I can feel Powell’s presence in both the words I’ve attributed to him and in the setting itself. I think it’s hauntingly beautiful and, hands down, is my favorite part of the book.
8. What is the main empowering lesson you want your readers to take away after finishing your book?
The most compelling lesson of Veil of Doubt is the acceptance that the only thing we have control over is ourselves. That even though life is often unfair and truth seems out of reach, we can find peace in leaving it to God to do what’s right.
9. What was the biggest challenge you faced in your journey to becoming an author and how did you overcome it?
From being rejected by agents to finding a publisher who believed in my novel and my talent, I have had many challenges along the way. The toughest part of the journey has been learning to listen to my editor while at the same time listening to my gut. Editors are wonderful and mine have helped me hone my craft. On my first book, Masque of Honor, my development editor was vital in guiding me through cutting my 225,000-word manuscript into a 106,000-word novel that would sell. She also helped me immensely in defining my protagonist’s arc in Veil of Doubt. There are times, however, when a writer needs to listen to their instincts and take risks. Sometimes those risks could kill the commerciality of your book. Other times it can make the difference between delighting your readers or boring them. And unfortunately, many aspiring authors have difficulty with this balance. They either allow their book to become edited to pablum, or refuse to make difficult, but necessary cuts and revisions. I believe that is the hardest part of writing—knowing when to kill the sacred cows of your story and knowing when to save them.
10. Finally, can you provide any hints about your future writing projects?
One of the expert witnesses in Veil of Doubt was involved in another murder trial that piqued my interest. It’s the story of a woman convinced that her sister-in-law is killing off her family one-by-one but, because she was institutionalized years before, she is unable to convince anyone to take her accusations seriously. The story is set in Washington DC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia in the late 1860s and it is the first time I am writing a female protagonist.
Sharon Virts’ second historical thriller, Veil of Doubt (Girl Friday Books) released October 10, 2023. Visit Sharon Virts at www.sharonvirts.com .