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News, Articles, and Upcoming Books and Events from Cynthia Hamilton

  • The Patience of Karma

    Little did I realize when I wrote a blog post in April 2019 that it would be a whole year before I wrote another one. There is a certain amount of defeat in that realization, since I’d been pretty regular about checking in, sharing books I’d written or read by other authors whose work I…

  • The Story Behind the Story: Soulla Christodoulou “The Summer Will

    As a reader, I was lulled into Soulla Christodoulou’s beautiful, heartbreaking and triumphant novel “The Summer Will Come”, which gives the reader a look into the idyllic life on the tranquil island of Cyprus in the early 1950s. An average day for these islanders wasn’t much changed from what their ancestors’ lives had been like…

  • The Story Behind the Story: Joan Livingston’s Isabel Long Mystery

    Before I embarked on my first novel 18 years ago, I harkened back to a piece of advice attributed to Ernest Hemingway: Write about what you know. The author of this week’s guest post is a perfect example of someone who has done just that in her debut series. Her protagonist, Isabel Long, is former journalist, just…

  • The Story Behind the Story: Jennifer Irwin “A Dress the

    It would be hard for me to think of a book that affected me on a personal level as much as Jennifer Irwin’s “A Dress the Color of the Sky”. Not only is it about as perfect as book can be in terms of narrative, flow, descriptions and overall story, it reflects a side of…

  • The Story behind the Story: Nin Romano “The Girl Who

    There’s a reason readers like myself love Nina Romano’s novels and short stories. With her natural curiosity and lust for life, she is drawn to anything that is special in some way, even if to others it might seem commonplace on the surface. After she’s finished describing it, we know how rich and varied it…

  • The Story Behind the Story: Kevin Ansbro “The Fish that

    We now live in a world where anyone who yearns to write can publish a book without an agent, a publishing company, a degree in literature or any of the credentials that signify someone has what it takes to tell an engaging story. The result is a tidal wave of authors and a tsunami of…

  • The Road to Storyville: Author S.S. Bazinet

    There are some writers who bring so much to the table besides good storytelling. You know instinctively they’ve come about their unique perspective the hard way, whether through their own challenging times or through observing the suffering of others. I’m not saying you have to suffer for the sake of writing, but seeing a larger…

  • The Road to Storyville: How I Became a Writer

    I’ve had several creative outlets over the years that allowed me to envision something that didn’t exist and create it. I painted, sewed, made ceramics pieces and mosaic furniture. Writing was something I never gave a thought to because all the wonderful books I had read convinced me that was a talent I didn’t possess.…

  • The Story Behind the Story: Catharine Riggs “What She Gave

    It takes confidence as a writer to create irritatingly flawed protagonists whom the reader ultimately roots for. Author Catharine Riggs manages to achieve this feat in her debut novel, “What She Gave Away”. Not only does she walk that tricky path, she slyly coaxes the reader to empathize with the frighteningly conniving Crystal Love and…