Author of Historical Fiction and Mysteries
I finally read Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders's Man Booker Prize winner for 2017, and it was quite an experience. The book made a splash for its unusual theme and innovative style - it is written in a quasi-dramatic form and composed in part of quotes from history books and primary sources, including diaries of White House... Continue Reading →
This week marked the release of my debut novel The Greenest Branch, based on the true story of Germany's first female physician. I won't lie - it has been been a long and challenging road. I started in earnest in the summer of 2011, after spending several months researching the life of Hildegard of Bingen,... Continue Reading →
Since I published The Greenest Branch, I have been asked by so many aspiring authors how I managed to write a novel from start to finish. They also want to do that - they say - but they don't have the time, or they don't feel competent, or they are afraid that it will fail,... Continue Reading →
I had thought I was over the story of The Phantom of the Opera. I had seen the musical no less than three times on Broadway, watched the movie at least twice on TV, and went through several (as in ten, but more like fifteen) years of regular benders listening to the CD on repeat.... Continue Reading →
Lavinia Maud lies and murders, but she is also hopelessly in love, goes to church regularly, and gives shelter to a pair of orphaned siblings. In other words, the heroine of K.M. Pohlkamp’s Apricots and Wolfsbane may be a monster, but she is also adorable. Herself orphaned at a young age, Lavinia turns her passion... Continue Reading →
As Christmas 1843 approaches the weather is unseasonably warm and Charles Dickens's career has stalled. Martin Chuzzlewit's reception has been lukewarm and his publishers are hounding him for a new and marketable book, though he is suffering from an acute case of a writer's block. To make matters worse, his wife is about to throw... Continue Reading →
The second part of Emily Hauser’s Golden Apple trilogy, For the Winner, is a reimagining of the myth of Jason and the Argonauts. Like the first book of the series, For the Most Beautiful, it tells a popular story from a female perspective, something that is rare in Greek and many other mythological traditions. There... Continue Reading →
The destruction of the ancient city of Pompeii by Vesuvius in AD 79 has inspired countless works of fiction and non-fiction over the years, but when I heard Sophie Perinot (of The Medicis' Daughter fame) talk about A Day of Fire at this year's literary festival in Newburyport, it piqued my interest. Perinot is one... Continue Reading →
In The Greenest Branch the medieval era comes vividly to life in all its romanticism and splendor, but the societal strictures that prevent women from being able to access education and live independent lives are also on display. The year is 1115, and Germany is torn apart by a conflict between the Emperor and the... Continue Reading →
P.K. Adams 