We chat with author Sharon Virts about The Grays of Truth, which is by true events involving one of Baltimore’s most powerful families and a story of one woman’s quest for answers in her fight for redemption—and to save the man she loves.
Hi, Sharon! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I spent most of my career in the ultra-competitive world of government contracting, starting my business when I was twenty-nine and after twenty-five years, selling the corporation in 2017. After the company’s sale, my husband and I bought an abandoned historic home designated for demolition. As we painstakingly restored the property to make it our home, I found myself drawn to the people who had lived (and died) in the house and the stories left behind. Unwinding those stories gave rise to writing my first historical fiction novel—and I haven’t stopped writing since!
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I have loved to write for as long as I can remember. I first learned to read when I was five and have been journaling daily since I was in the first grade. But I credit my love of storytelling to my father and grandmother who told me countless stories about the people and homes in our area. I became fascinated by those stories and the mysteries of the people who had lived in them.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The first book in the Trixie Beldon mystery series.
- The one that made you want to become an author: A Time to Kill by John Grisham inspired me to consider writing fiction.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: There are so many! Most recently Kate Morton’s Homecoming still lingers in my mind.
Your latest novel, The Grays of Truth, is out October 29th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
A dark, atmospheric, historical whodunnit
What can readers expect?
Inspired by true events involving one of Baltimore’s most powerful families in the Reconstruction-era, The Grays of Truth paints a vivid portrait of a woman fighting for redemption in a world where appearances are everything, and where the truth is cloaked in shadows. The novel is not only a gripping tale of suspense but also a meditation on the fragility of the human mind and the lengths to which we go to protect those we love.
Where did the inspiration for The Grays of Truth come from?
I first learned about this story while researching my second book, Veil of Doubt. As I delved into nineteenth-century forensic science, I stumbled upon the trial of Baltimore socialite Ellen Wharton. When I read the court transcripts of her trial, I realized the case had many of the elements I look for in a writing project: wealth, power and politics coupled with multiple unexplained deaths, a thwarted/botched investigation, national media coverage (providing access to details, attitudes, and backstory), early forensic science, and unsavory/unstable real-life characters, each with motive for murder. What more could one want in a great story?
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
As I researched this story, I fell in love with General William Scott Ketchum, the twice-widowed hero of the story. He served gallantly in defense of our great nation and worked for War Secretary Edwin Stanton during the final years of the Civil War and Reconstruction until Stanton’s resignation in 1868 (Edwin Stanton is another one of my heroes). He was a cheerful man; he was meticulous, loved listening to choirs singing hymns, and brought flowers for ailing wives and daughters of his War Department colleagues. He is one of the reasons I wrote the story.
Can you tell us a bit about your research process for The Grays of Truth?
While most of the resources I used to research this story were online, I still found myself at the library reeling through microfilm. Old chronicles and newspapers were extremely helpful in gleaning information about events driving the story and for providing unique insight into the tone and culture of the period. From advertisements to weather reports, I found content in those old journals invaluable for creating the ambiance of the book’s settings and scenes.
In addition to library and online research, I visited old historic homes, neighborhoods and cemeteries where the story took place to see, hear, smell and feel what my characters might have experienced in those same places. I even watched a couple of miniseries, The Pale Blue Eye (Ketchum and Hank Wharton attended West Point when Edgar Allan Poe was there), The Alienist (mental illness in the late 19th century), and Manhunt (Jane Wharton lived next door to Edwin Stanton and Ketchum worked for him directly), to get a sense of the scene, setting and the science at the time.
Equally important to my research are genealogy databases, like Ancestry.com, to study the real lives of the real-life characters of the story. Life events, such as birth order; number of siblings; ages when parents, siblings or spouses died; ages when married or when a child was born, etc., helped me shape the personalities, develop patterns of behavior and determine motivation for a character’s murder. Census data provided added insight into the households where my characters lived and served as a compass pointing to newspapers to search for further information.
What’s next for you?
My next book is set in 1902 and is about the lynching of a Black man accused of murder. The protagonist is the Virginia prosecutor who goes after the lynch mob, including some of the town’s most revered citizens, men to whom the protagonist feels indebted.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
I run a national historical fiction book club #ReadWithSharon and have the opportunity to read a lot of great fiction in curating my monthly picks. Amy Harmon’s The Outlaw Noble Salt, Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River, and Shelley Read’s Go As A River come to mind as some of my favorites from this year’s lineup. Readers can learn more about my book club here.
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