An Escape to Italy with Donna Leon
What author do you turn to for predictability? For a story that’s not too unlike one the author wrote previously? Perhaps, it’s a fantasy series set in a particular world (a la George R.R. Martin) or a mystery series featuring the same protagonist (a la Agatha Christie). It might even be a literary author whose books, while featuring fresh characters and storylines, offer consistent quality writing and beautiful insights (like Kazuo Ishiguro). For me, it’s the police procedurals of Donna Leon. I’ve always read literary novels that brim with gorgeous…
Why I Set my Stories in Paris
Though I was born in Chicago and have spent most of my adulthood in Seattle, I’ve always felt more European than American. There’s nothing really wrong with America, it is the land of hopes and dreams and opportunity. America’s resourcefulness and belief in a better tomorrow is ingrained in me. The open friendliness of America is in me too. But in a country that looks to the future, we don’t often value the past. And I’m big into the past. The past is like a dream to me. It draws…
