By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A former soccer player at Missouri Western State University has fulfilled a dream and published her first book.
Elora Maxwell’s book, entitled The Shore of Forever, is a historical novel based on the sinking of the Andrea Doria in 1956. Maxwell says she weaved the fictional stories of three passengers on that ill-fated voyage to bring history alive.
“Fiction is so wonderful, historical fiction is so wonderful,” Maxwell tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post prior to an appearance at The Den in St. Joseph. “For me, somebody who loves history, you’re able to take those stories, but write them in a way that will connect to a modern audience. You’re able to find those things in history that somebody now would be interested in.”
It seems so unlikely, but Maxwell’s interest in the deadly Andrea Doria sinking was sparked in kindergarten when a teacher gave her a book on famous shipwrecks. She became fascinated by the Andrea Doria and contemplated the wreck through the years, deciding to write about it.
In The Shore of Forever, Maxwell interweaves the fictional lives of Eloisa Nicoletti, Adeline Darbonne, and Arden Lund, all struggling with their own efforts to move past the horrors of World War II.
The Andrea Doria sank in late July of 1956 when it collided with the MS Stockholm and sank; 46 passengers of the Andrea Doria drowned along with five from the Stockholm.
Maxwell hopes readers will be prompted to dig deeper.
“The biggest thing for me about historical fiction is that it is a gateway to learning more things,” according to Maxwell. “So, I would hope that when readers read my book, they learn something, but are also inspired to go learn more about the events, go learn more about veterans of World War II, go out and learn about Bari (Italy) and those horrible bombings that took place, go out and learn about the Andrea Doria and shipwrecks and the people who were part of those tragedies.”
After years of contemplating writing the book, starting to write it in college, putting it on the shelf during an internship, Maxwell completed the novel.
“I’m just so excited to have this out in the world,” Maxwell says. “It’s been a long time coming and I think for anybody who wants to do this, I think there is a route for you. Nowadays, there’s a million ways that you could go about it. It’s not one set way. There’s no right or wrong way. So, if it’s something you really want to do, you’ve just got to sit down, research it, set those goals for yourself.”
Maxwell played soccer at Missouri Western and now serves as the university Digital Marketing Coordinator.
You can follow Brent on Twitter @GBrent, @680KFEQ, @StJosephPost.
