Art In Fiction
Find out what makes great, arts-inspired fiction in a variety of genres, from mysteries to crime novels, historical fiction, thrillers, contemporary fiction, and more. Art In Fiction founder and author Carol M. Cram chats with some of the top novelists featured on Art In Fiction, a curated online database of books inspired by the arts. Discover your next great read and get valuable advice on what it takes to be a successful writer.
Episodes
My guest today is Alka Joshi, author of four novels listed on Art In Fiction including Six Days in Bombay listed in the Visual Arts category.
View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eYPoIKk9pOk
- Inspiration for Six Days of Bombay and its relationship to the real life story of artist Amrita Sher-Gil.
- Background on Amrita Sher-Gil and how her personality and sometimes shocking activities influenced the cre...
My guest today is Christine Ma-Kellams, author of The Band listed in the Music category on Art In Fiction.
View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZopqRgR9xG4
- Inspiration for The Band and its relationship to pop music, K-Pop, and popular culture.
- Motivation for writing The Band as a commentary on what may be happening behind the scenes of a successful K-Pop boy band.
- The novel as a scatching indictment o...
I'm speaking today with M. A. McLaughlin, 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...
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 ...
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 H...
In this episode, I'm chatting with Crystal King, author of In the Garden of Monsters listed in the Visual Arts category on Art In Fiction.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WElAb9vxuAI
- The genesis of In the Garden of Monsters and the decision to write a novel that incorporated elements of fantasy and the Gothic
- Inspired by the sacro bosco (sacred wood) at Bomarzo in Italy and its relationship to Surre...
Join me as I chat with novelist Alex Connor, author of several art thrillers listed in the Visual Arts category on Art In Fiction, including Rembrandt's Secret, The Caravaggio Conspiracy, and The Incubus Tapes.
View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Fbi3aA7gPl8
- Why Alexandra has chosen to center her novels, mostly art thrillers, around art.
- Seeing Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus in the National...
In this episode, I'm chatting with Judith Lindbergh, author of Akmaral listed in the Other category on Art In Fiction.
View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gGdvLEpGrZw
- The genesis of Akmaral from two points of reference in Judith's personal life: her obsession with archeology and her young son's obsession with pretending to be a knight in shining armor
- How Akmaral explores one woman&ap...
Join me as I chat with Alyson Richman, author of 9 novels listed on Art In Fiction, including The Time Keepers listed in the Other category and The Thread Collectors listed in the Textile Arts category.
View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vrYzy7mORwc
- Why Alyson likes to write novels inspired by the arts and the role the arts have played in her life
- How her novels answer questions such as "Can t...
Join me as I chat with Ferdia Lennon, author of Glorious Exploits, a wonderful debut novel listed in the Theater category on Art In Fiction.
View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3ZFFQ4rg4DU
- Genesis for Glorious Exploits
- Based on true events that occurred in Syracuse, Sicily during the Peloponnesian war.
- The theme of friendship in Glorious Exploits
- Theater and research of ancient Greek theater in the wr...
Join me as I chat with Laura Morelli, author of six novels listed on Art In FIction: The Gondola Maker in the Other category, and five novels in the Visual Arts category: The Painter's Apprentice, The Giant, The Night Portrait, The Stolen Lady, and The Last Masterpiece, which we will discuss in this episode.
View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/K1Zru2kCdtQ
- Genesis for The Last Masterpiece
- A tal...
Join me as I chat with Laurie Lico Albanese, author of three novels listed on Art In FIction, including Hester listed in the Textile Arts category and Stolen Beauty and The Miracles of Prato (co-written with Laura Morowitz) listed in the Visual Arts category on Art In Fiction.
View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vUuYVDmYdDQ
- Inspiration for Hester
- Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and its relations...
Join me as I chat with Margaret Ann Philbrick, author of two novels listed on Art In FIction: House of Honor listed in the Visual Arts category and A Minor listed in the Music category.
View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vUuYVDmYdDQ
- Genesis of House of Honor
- Obession with the life and work of Caravaggio
- Heist of Caravaggio's Nativity (still unsolved) as inspiration for the novel
- Use of color pl...
Join me as I chat with Margaret Porter, author of four novels listed on Art In FIction, including A Change of Location, The Limits of Limelight, and Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr listed in the Film category, and The Myrtle Wand listed in the Dance category.
View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ijPu_SVzY1c
- Why switch to a new genre - "romcom" - from historical fiction?
- Writing ...
Join me as I chat with Zoe Disigny, author of The Art of Traveling Strangers, listed in the Visual Arts category on Art In Fiction.
View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dYPEJThuFqk
- Inspiration for The Art of Traveling Strangers, based on an experience Zoe had while hosting art tours of Europe in the 1980s
- How her background as an art history professor helped her write her novel
- Making art accessible i...
Join me as I chat with Barbara Quick, author of Vivaldi's Virgins and What Disappears, both listed in the Visual Arts category on Art In Fiction.
View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nYq1nLL4xv4
- Inspiration for What Disappears going back several decades to when Barbara was just 22 years old
- Revisiting old work after it's "ripened"
- The role of idential twins in What Disappears
- Writin...
Join me as I chat with Linda Moore, author of Attribution and Five Days in Bogotá, both listed in the Visual Arts category on Art In Fiction.
View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/X33FE57ZDk4
- How Linda's background as the owner of an art gallery and her experience at an art fair in Colombia in the 1990s helped inspire her to write Five Days in Bogotá
- The political situation in Colombia and how i...
Listen in as I chat with Denny S. Bryce and Eliza Knight, co-authors of Can't We Be Friends: A Novel of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe listed in the Music category on Art In Fiction.
View the Video on YouTube
- How Denny & Eliza decided to write their novel about Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe
- Research tidbits that led them into the story
- How both Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe changed the...
Join me as I chat with Daisy Goodwin, author of Diva listed in the Music category on Art In Fiction.
View the Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dYCDxSyXwAU
Highlights include:
- Why Daisy chose to write a novel about Maria Callas, the great opera singer
- The nature of the female genius
- What's a diva?
- Writing about a real person; getting into their head
- Maria Callas's difficult relationship wi...
Join me as I chat with Nancy Bilyeau, author of several arts-inspired novels on Art In Fiction, including The Orchid Hour about a speakeasy in 1923 Jazz-Age New York and listed in the Theater category on Art In Fiction.
View the Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CvIYJYb-PfQ
Highlights include:
- Why Nancy set her latest novel in Prohibition-era New York
- The role played by the Italian American immig...
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