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I'm speaking today with M. A. McClaughlin, author of The Lost Dresses of Italy listed in the Textile Arts category on Art In Fiction.

View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rDe_rXrLC2k

• Overview of the story of The Lost Dresses of Italy as a dual time novel taking place in 1947 and 1864 and inspired by a three-week trip to Italy taken by Victorian poet Christina Rossetti.
• Poetry of Christina Rossetti and why it's endured
• Christina's sonnet sequence Monna Innominata as inspiration for the plot
• Combining a costume history and design with the story of Christina's time in Italy
• Reasons for setting the modern story in post-war Verona
• Researching costume design and preservation
• The role of pre-Raphaelite Dante Gabriel Rossetti in the novel
• Some of the challenges related to fictionalizing real people
• What is it about the Romantics and Victorians that Marty is particularly attracted to?
• Reading from The Lost Dresses of Italy
• Things that Marty learned from writing her novel - the complicated nature of Italy's participation in World War II and its aftermath.

Read more about M. A. McLaughlin on her website: https://martyambrose.com/

Are you enjoying The Art In Fiction Podcast? Consider giving us a small donation so we can continue bringing you interviews with your favorite arts-inspired novelists. Click this link to donate: https://ko-fi.com/artinfiction.

Also, check out Art In Fiction at https://www.artinfiction.com and explore 2300+ novels inspired by the arts in 11 categories: Architecture, Dance, Decorative Arts, Film, Literature, Music, Textile Arts, Theater, Visual Arts, & Other.

Want to learn more about Carol Cram, the host of The Art In Fiction Podcast? She's the author of several award-winning novels, including The Towers of Tuscany and Love Among the Recipes. Find out more on her website.

Join me as I chat with Ana Veciana-Suarez, author of Dulcinea listed in the Literature category on Art In Fiction.

View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BKX2HsA43_c

• Overview of the story of Dulcinea as being about a wealthy Barcelona woman called Dolça who is cast as the fictional muse of Miguel Cervantes
• Use of the dual-timeline narrative in the novel
• Ana's family background in Barcelona and its influence on her novel
• Why Cervantes? How the idea for the novel percolated for fifty years
• Research for Dulcinea and the benefits of visiting the areas where the novel takes place
• Spain in the 16th century: the constraints on women, the role of the church, and the tremendous civic power of the Inquisition
• Use of primary sources while researching Dulcinea
• Why Dolça is an artist, and the existence of female artists during the period
• How Dolça's relationship to her painting evolves in the novel as a result of her relationship with Cervantes
• The theme of Dulcinea
• Reading from Dulcinea
• Things that Ana learned from writing her novel
• What Ana is working on now

Are you enjoying The Art In Fiction Podcast? Consider giving us a small donation so we can continue bringing you interviews with your favorite arts-inspired novelists. Click this link to donate: https://ko-fi.com/artinfiction.

Also, check out Art In Fiction at https://www.artinfiction.com and explore 2300+ novels inspired by the arts in 11 categories: Architecture, Dance, Decorative Arts, Film, Literature, Music, Textile Arts, Theater, Visual Arts, & Other.

Want to learn more about Carol Cram, the host of The Art In Fiction Podcast? She's the author of several award-winning novels, including The Towers of Tuscany and Love Among the Recipes. Find out more on her website.

In this episode, I'm chatting with Mark Baker, author of The Needle of Avocation listed in the Textile Arts category on Art In Fiction.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BKX2HsA43_c

• The genesis of The Needle of Avocation as the third book in the Cuthbert series
• Creation of the "It" girl of the 8th century, the heroine of the first two novels in the series, led to the creation of her sister Hilda in The Needle of Avocation
• Why embroidery as a basis for the novel and how it became both Hilda's shield and her refuge
• The development of HIlda's character and the choices she must make to find balance
• Why Mark chooses to write about the Anglo-Saxon period in England
• The status of women in the Anglo-Saxon period and how it changed for the worse under the Normans
• What we know (and don't know) about textile arts in the 8th and 9th centuries, and its purpose (and the purpose of art in general, historically)
• Reading from The Needle of Avocation
• One thing Mark learned from writing his novels
• How Mark researches his novels
• What Mark is working on now

Press Play now & be sure to check out The Needle of Avocation on Art In Fiction: https://www.artinfiction.com/novels/the-needle-of-avocation

Mark Baker's website: https://gmbaker.net/

Are you enjoying The Art In Fiction Podcast? Consider giving us a small donation so we can continue bringing you interviews with your favorite arts-inspired novelists. Click this link to donate: https://ko-fi.com/artinfiction.

Also, check out Art In Fiction at https://www.artinfiction.com and explore 2300+ novels inspired by the arts in 11 categories: Architecture, Dance, Decorative Arts, Film, Literature, Music, Textile Arts, Theater, Visual Arts, & Other.

Want to learn more about Carol Cram, the host of The Art In Fiction Podcast? She's the author of several award-winning novels, including The Towers of Tuscany and Love Among the Recipes. Find out more on her website.