M.J. Rose was the first really successful indie published writer I was aware of. (I hadn't yet heard of John Locke or Amanda Hocking.) I even had a book she'd written about self-publishing and selling the books herself. Then she got a traditional publishing contract. I liked her books and I liked that she was willing to share her tips. So I've been a fan for five years or so.
M.J. Rose writes lush prose.
I started out reading her Morgan Snow books, and they were a lot of fun. Her more work reminds me of the late, great Tanith Lee, and this new book (available in July) has pretty much everything I love in a book, plus Paris.
Here's the blurb:
In this riveting and richly drawn novel from “one of the master storytellers of historical fiction” (
New York Times bestselling
author Beatriz Williams), a talented young artist flees New York for
the South of France after one of her scandalous drawings reveals a dark
secret—and triggers a terrible tragedy.
In the wake of a dark and
brutal World War, the glitz and glamour of 1925 Manhattan shine like a
beacon for the high society set, desperate to keep their gaze firmly
fixed to the future. But Delphine Duplessi sees more than most. At a
time in her career when she could easily be unknown and penniless, like
so many of her classmates from L’École des Beaux Arts, in America she
has gained notoriety for her stunning “shadow portraits” that frequently
expose her subjects’ most scandalous secrets. Most nights Delphine
doesn’t mind that her gift has become mere entertainment—a party
trick—for the fashionable crowd.
Summer of Shakespeare took the summer off last year, but this year it'll be back, commenting on all things Shakespearean for three solid months. (Along with other items of interest and bookish things.) Get in the mood by wearing your "upstart crow" t-shirt, available on Etsy. The phrase "upstart crow" is attributed to Robert Greene, one of Shakespeare's contemporaries, who was throwing shade on the bard in his own work, A Groats-Worth of Wit. Greene died young (he was only 34), so maybe it's not fair to judge him on his body of work but honestly--just on titles alone, how memorable is A Groats- Worth of Wit, bought with a Million in Repentance? It sounds like required reading from a particularly humorless Sunday School teacher.
