A book festival brings writers to their readers (and vice versa), but for writers, so solitary by necessity, one of the best things about participating is that it's also a rare chance to meet colleagues. At Charlottesville's recent Virginia Festival of the Book, to promote my novel, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, I was on a panel, expertly moderated by novelist Larry Baker, with historian A. Roger Ekirch (Birthright: The True Story that Inspired Kidnapped--- one of those stories so strange it couldn't be fiction), and historical novelists Ben Farmer (Evangeline, based on Longfellow's epic poem about the Acadians) and Mary Sharratt (Daughters of the Witching Hill, also based on a true story, about the powerful witches of Lancaster, England). Check out their websites; if you find the descriptions of their work even half as fascinating as I did, you'll be sure to look for their books. Much more anon.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Virginia Festival of the Book: History and Historical Fiction
A book festival brings writers to their readers (and vice versa), but for writers, so solitary by necessity, one of the best things about participating is that it's also a rare chance to meet colleagues. At Charlottesville's recent Virginia Festival of the Book, to promote my novel, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, I was on a panel, expertly moderated by novelist Larry Baker, with historian A. Roger Ekirch (Birthright: The True Story that Inspired Kidnapped--- one of those stories so strange it couldn't be fiction), and historical novelists Ben Farmer (Evangeline, based on Longfellow's epic poem about the Acadians) and Mary Sharratt (Daughters of the Witching Hill, also based on a true story, about the powerful witches of Lancaster, England). Check out their websites; if you find the descriptions of their work even half as fascinating as I did, you'll be sure to look for their books. Much more anon.
