I'm Back

Now there's a concept. I've decided to write on my blog again. In fact, I'm trying to get my online "Brand" happening. Yes, it's sad but true, I'm back to marketing my self. Well, maybe it's not so sad, really, the reason I'm back to it, is I've finished my second novel. After three years of work, The Appassionata is done! (Definitely worth an exclamation mark.) So, following the advice of our brave new world, I'm now on Twitter (mollydwyer_CA) and Facebook and SmashWords and Amazon Central.

The Appassionata is set in Hugo’s Paris. Think narrow streets clogged with carriages and cafes overflowing with artists and Bohemians. The literati of Paris, names and faces we recognize for their contribution to culture. This is a time of political unrest and Revolution. Not The Revolution, but the upheaval that followed, the barricades as France fought its way to democracy. This is the birth of Romanticism as seen through the eyes of three women:

The first, composer, Jeanne-Louise Farrenc whose music is being rediscovered. She wrote symphony music at a time when it was considered improper, impolite, impolitic, indeed impossible for women to do so. Alexandrine Caruel was incarcerated by her husband after giving birth to the illegitimate son of one of France’s most iconic painters. Her child was taken from her. Her’s is a story of spiritual quest.

The notorious Marie-Anne Lenormand, the Sibyl of Saint Germaine. She was infamous for her ability to see the future and read cards for the likes of Robes Pierre, Josephine and Napoleon, Bonaparte. She wrote fourteen books in her lifetime and is our storyteller and weaves the novel together. The Appassionata is epic; it explores artistic genius, and particularly the struggle of women who seek to embrace that genius within themselves.

 

I'm about to turn Requiem for the Author of Frankenstein into an electronic book. I'll be announcing the launch in the next week, and well, I'm on the prowl.

I attended the San Francisco Writers Conference this last weekend and it got me jazzed. My manuscript was a finalist in the Adult Fiction Category. I had agents and editors expressing interest... things are moving. I have two appearances coming up, at Gallery Books in Mendocino at the end of March—Sunday the 27th. It's Community Day at the bookstore, celebrating local authors. And I'll be at the Ukiah Literary Festival, at Mendocino College on April 30th.

Stay Tuned. Who knows, I might even Tweet soon. (I've already got 2—count 'em 2 followers).

Did I say I'm teaching at Mendocino College now? Critical Thinking. I enjoy it immensely. I've also, believe it or not, started working on a new (my third) novel. Something entirely different.  I'll say more about that in the near future too.