Prolific historical fiction author Kate Quinn is coming to Turlock to discuss her novels, research and creative process as part of the ongoing Library Presents series.
Quinn’s presentation will be at the Carnegie Arts Center at 2 p.m. Nov. 2. Tickets for the event are $15.
The Library Presents was formed with an eye towards securing programs that appeal to children, teens and/or adults and connect the community. The program is overseen by the Friends of the Turlock Library. A large donation launched the program and has previously brought best-selling authors Jamie Ford, Tara Westover, Lisa Wingate and Chris Bohjalian to town. The program is overseen by the Friends of the Turlock Public Library.
Quinn is a native of Southern California who took up the pen to write her first story when she was 7 years old and wrote her first novel at 10 years old, with subsequent efforts coming one after another.
“It wasn't so much deciding I wanted to be an author as taking it for granted that I was one, and that hopefully someday I'd be lucky enough to get published,” Quinn told the Courier and Press out of Evansville.
Quinn went on to Boston University where she earned a Bachelors and Master’s degree in Classical Voice.
Her first novel, “The Mistress of Rome,” was published in 2010 and launched her “Empress of Rome” series, which included the novels “Daughters of Rome” (2011), “Empress of the Seven Hills” (2012), “The Three Fates” (2015), and “Lady of the Eternal City” (2015).
Exploring history through the eyes of women and over a series of novels proved to be a successful and a rewarding creative venture for Quinn.
“The broad spotlight of history, and thus the pages of the history books, tend to focus on the rulers of nations and winners of wars (and, let’s be honest, mostly white European males),” Quinn wrote in the article,” How to Turn Surprising Historical Facts into Compelling Historical Fiction,” for CrimeReads website. “That doesn’t mean that plenty of interesting historical events haven’t centered around other demographics of the population, and that’s where history gets interesting. Digging around the edges of the historical record, looking for the lesser-known stories—that’s where I love to play, and it’s where I find most of the ideas for my books.
“What were the ladies up to?” That’s the question I ask myself whenever I look at any historical event or period that interests me, given my particular interest in lesser-known women of the past,” Quinn wrote. “How did the ladies contribute?” Because if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that women are almost always involved in any historical event you can think of…and they are frequently doing something more interesting than you might have assumed.
Quinn’s other historical series is “The Borgia Chronicles” which includes “The Serpent and the Pearl” (2013) and “The Lion and the Rose” (2014).
She turned her attention to the 20th century with “The Alice Network,” “The Huntress,” “The Rose Code,” “The Diamond Eye,” and “The Briar Club.” She is also a co-author in several collaborative novels including “The Phoenix Crown” with Janie Chang and “Ribbons of Scarlet” with Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, Eliza Knight, Sophie Perinot, and Heather Webb.
Quinn’s reputation as a gifted storyteller shot into the stratosphere when her novel “The Alice Network” was named as a book month club for the popular Reese Witherspoon Book Club. It became a New York Times and a USA Today bestseller and was named NPR’s best book of 2017. The story is based on the real-life Alic Network, which was a spy ring in German-occupied France and Belgium during World War I. The story centers around a female spy in World War I France and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947.
Quinn’s novels will be available for purchase at the event.
For tickets to the event visit: https://bit.ly/3YfggS1
