{"id":865,"date":"2014-10-30T07:29:10","date_gmt":"2014-10-30T11:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lgoconnor.com\/site\/?p=865"},"modified":"2014-10-30T07:29:10","modified_gmt":"2014-10-30T11:29:10","slug":"october-author-spotlight-historical-fiction-author-kristen-harnisch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lgoconnor.com\/site\/october-author-spotlight-historical-fiction-author-kristen-harnisch\/","title":{"rendered":"OCTOBER Author Spotlight: Historical Fiction Author, Kristen Harnisch"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kristen<\/a>I had the tremendous pleasure of meeting, fellow She Writes Press historical literary fiction author,\u00a0Kristen Harnisch<\/strong>, at the recent Writer's Digest Conference in New York City in August, and I\u2019m thrilled to feature her as my OCTOBER \u201cAuthor Spotlight.\u201d A hybrid author, Kristen is published by Harper-Collins in Canada, and She Writes Press in the US.\u00a0 We spent part of a\u00a0truly enjoyable afternoon at the book fair together this summer following her engaging session on hybrid and \u20183rd<\/sup> way\u2019 publishing. I can\u2019t say enough wonderful things about her.\u00a0 I am thrilled to highlight her and her debut novel, The Vintner's Daughter<\/em><\/strong>, on my blog today.<\/p>\n

What people are saying about The Vintner\u2019s Daughter<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u201c[A] fast-moving romantic saga about two independent, ambitious people hoping to succeed in winemaking\u2026.<\/strong>This relaxing summer read offers an enjoyable armchair voyage to wine country.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014<\/strong>Historical Novels Review<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>\u201cLush and evocative, this novel brings the Loire Valley and its glorious vineyards to life in\u00a0a story that will\u00a0delight readers everywhere. \u00a0Enjoy with your favorite glass of Merlot!\u201d \u2014Adriana Trigiani<\/strong>, bestselling author of\u00a0The Shoemaker\u2019s Wife<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the novel\u2019s highlights is it\u2019s rich history of the wine-making process through the eyes of a woman who is passionate and meticulous about each step\u2026In the beginning, [Sara] endures nonstop pain and loss, but these tragedies transform her from a smart, hardworking girl into an independent, resourceful woman. At its core, The Vintner\u2019s Daughter<\/em>\u00a0is a story of perseverance and transcending one\u2019s past.\u201d
\n\u2014Booklist<\/strong><\/p>\n

Please join me in giving Kristen a warm welcome!<\/p>\n

Let me dive right in\u2026<\/p>\n[LGO] Kristen, I understand you worked in banking \/ finance at one point. When did you decide to you wanted to be writer?<\/p>\n

My nine years in banking taught me about finance, managing people, speaking comfortably in public, and most importantly, to be precise in my work. But it didn\u2019t feed my soul. I had always enjoyed writing, but when I left banking to start a family, I decided that while I raised my three children, I would take a crack at pursuing my other dream: to write historical fiction. I took several writing courses, started researching the plot for\u00a0The Vintner\u2019s Daughter<\/em>, and eventually committed to finishing the first draft.<\/p>\n[LGO] What has been the absolute coolest experience you've had as a new author?<\/p>\n

There are so many! Truly, I love connecting with readers. Recently, one reader wrote that she read my book while in Napa on vacation, and was moved to tears by the end. She thanked me for writing a book about women\u2019s trials and tribulations in a man\u2019s world, and said that Sara\u2019s story encouraged her to keep pushing to achieve her dreams. If that\u2019s not encouragement to keep writing, I don\u2019t what is!<\/p>\n

Oh, and walking into an indie bookseller, a BAM or a B&N and seeing my novel on the\u00a0Recommended<\/em>\u00a0table is awesome. I still do a happy-dance out to the car.<\/p>\n[LGO] One of the things I truly enjoyed about your novel, The Vintner's Daughter, was the lush imagery you used to paint your turn-of-the-century setting in France's Loire Valley, New York City, and Napa Valley, California. I admire that so much. How did you research and come up with all those nuances within your settings?<\/p>\n

That is a lovely compliment, thank you!\u00a0When I craft a description, I intend to lead the reader right into the scene with the characters, so they experience everything just as the characters do. Researching vineyard life in the late 1800s was a delight. I visited a Loire Valley vineyard, and toured historic Napa vineyards by bike and on foot. I snapped photos of ripening grape clusters, scribbled down notes about historic gravity-flow wineries, sifted the rough, porous clay loam through my fingers, and, of course, enjoyed the wines! I also delved into French and California wine history books, read years of nineteenth-century trade papers, consulted a master winemaker, and reviewed old maps and photographs at The Napa County Historical Society. To create descriptions of the Manhattan slums, I re-read Jacob Riis\u2019\u00a0How the Other Half Lives<\/em>, a photojournalistic account of the plight of poor on the Lower East Side in the late 1800s. Old photos of New York City streets also helped me craft some scenes. The Manhattan convent, however, was an invention of my imagination.<\/p>\n[LGO] What inspired you to write historical literary fiction over another genre for your first novel?<\/p>\n

I read for two reasons: to escape and to learn. I read mostly historical fiction because I enjoy being transported to a foreign time and place\u2014to learn about how people lived then, the challenges they faced, and how they persevered. I write for the same reasons.\u00a0The Vintner\u2019s Daughter\u00a0<\/em>explores the business of winemaking in the late 1800s, but it is also a seemingly impossible love story between two people who are hell-bent on succeeding as master winemakers in a tough industry. I am fascinated by this rapidly changing world of vineyard life at the turn of the century\u2014enough to write several books about it! However, once I finish this series, I do have plans to write a young-adult novel and a women\u2019s contemporary novel.<\/p>\n[LGO] Where did you draw your inspiration?<\/p>\n

The inspiration for\u00a0The Vintner\u2019s Daughter<\/em>\u00a0came to me in a flash, while I was visiting the Loire Valley in October of 2000. I was standing on the edge of a vineyard in Vouvray, France, marveling at the pristine rows of chenin blanc grapevines, the limestone caves, a whitewashed winery, and an abandoned watchman\u2019s house. I knew it would be the perfect setting for the novel I\u2019d always hoped to write.<\/p>\n[LGO] You are a true hybrid author, publishing the same book both traditionally in Canada and through partnership publisher, She Writes Press in the US. On top of that, you have an audio book and foreign language translations coming out overseas. Can you share with us a little about your journey to publication and how this is all coming together for you?<\/p>\n

My path to publishing was\u00a0circuitous! Twenty-three agents rejected my manuscript, and then April Eberhardt, my current agent and champion, signed me in January 2013. Within a few months, she secured a two-book deal with Harper Collins Canada. By December 2013, when HCC announced that they were going to publish\u00a0The Vintner\u2019s Daughter<\/em>\u00a0in Canada in June 2014\u2014ahead of schedule\u2014I was elated. Yet, we had no U.S. publisher, and we were running out of time. I asked my agent about She Writes Press, a partnership press in Berkeley. I belonged to their 23,000-member online writing community, and had heard about their recent successes. Luckily, April knew the publisher well. She pitched my book to Brooke Warner, requested a summer publication date, and we signed!<\/p>\n

\"bd2w\"<\/a>In the meantime, April had hired foreign rights agent Taryn Fagerness to sell the book overseas, and we quickly signed deals with a Hungarian and a Dutch publisher. I had retained the audio book rights (with the exception of Canada) and was interested in producing an audio version of the novel. I attended an audio book event at the Darien Library where I had the good fortune of meeting award-winning narrator\u00a0Tavia Gilbert<\/a>. After we exchanged e-mails, Tavia introduced me to the acquisitions editor at Blackstone Audio. With a hope and a prayer, I sent\u00a0Blackstone<\/a>\u00a0a galley copy of my novel. Two weeks later, they emailed me an offer! I was thrilled. And the icing on the cake? Tavia Gilbert has beautifully narrated the novel!<\/p>\n[LGO] Advice for aspiring or debut authors?<\/p>\n

Yes. Aspiring authors, make sure your novel is well edited. Your manuscript should be free of grammatical errors, should hook the reader by the second page, and should continue to be a \u201cpage-turner\u201d from that point on. This seems obvious, but in fact, it takes time and many rounds of edits. Based on feedback from an editor friend and twelve beta-readers, I revised my manuscript seven times before I began to query literary agents. Patience and persistence are key!<\/p>\n

Also,\u00a0imagine your book\u2019s success. Visualize holding your finished book in your hands. What colors do you see? How does it feel like beneath your fingers? Can you smell the fresh ink when you flip the pages? Allow yourself to feel the excitement of that moment! Don\u2019t listen to anyone who does not support the vision you have for yourself and your book!<\/p>\n

Debut authors, enjoy the moment. Not everyone will love your novel as much as you do. Receive constructive criticism with grace, but find your tribe of readers and connect with them. Word-of-mouth is the very best way for your book to find its audience!<\/p>\n

Thanks for stopping by today, Kristen! It\u2019s been a pleasure.<\/p>\n

Without further ado\u2026The Vintner\u2019s Daughter<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"SWP_Text\"<\/a> Genre: Historical Literary Fiction
\nFormat: Trade Paperback (6 x 9)
\nISBN: 978-1631529290
\nPages: 355
\nPublisher: She Writes Press (HarperCollins in Canada)
\nPublished: August 5, 2014<\/p>\n

BOOK BLURB:<\/p>\n

Loire Valley, 1895.<\/strong> When seventeen-year-old Sara Thibault's father is killed in a mudslide, her mother sells their vineyard to a rival family whose eldest son marries Sara's sister, Lydia. But a violent tragedy compels Sara and her sister to flee to New York, forcing Sara to put aside her dream to follow in her father's footsteps as a master winemaker.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Philippe Lemieux has arrived in California with the ambition of owning the largest vineyard in Napa by 1900. When he receives word of his brother's death in France, he resolves to bring the killer to justice. Sara has travelled to California in hopes of making her own way in the winemaking world. When she encounters Philippe in a Napa vineyard, they are instantly drawn to one another, but Sara knows he is the one man who could return her family's vineyard to her, or send her straight to the guillotine.<\/p>\n

MY REVIEW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

RATING: 5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although I'm an avid reader, I must confess that I tend to shy away from literary fiction, preferring genre fiction or romance. That said, if you're like me and you have to pick just one literary read this year – pick this one! You'll be glad you did.<\/p>\n

This story has a smooth, delicious pull that draws you in from the first page. Sara is a strong and likable character who is ahead of her time. She knows her own mind and hungers to become a vintner in turn-of-the-century France when the highest aspiration expected from a woman was to marry well. But it doesn't stop there. The book has interesting and wonderful characters that fill the pages with life from start to finish.<\/p>\n

Kristen deftly weaves in historical detail and wine-making in a way that absorbs and teaches without being heavy-handed. The story is tight and doesn't waste time meandering between plot points like some literary fiction I've read, rather it carries you along in a swiftly moving tale.<\/p>\n

Just like the cover, the settings are lush and well-drawn, conveying accurate and engaging depictions of the Loire Valley, New York City, and Napa, California, making the historical aspects truly enjoyable.<\/p>\n

Bottom line, this is a story of betrayal, retribution, love, and redemption. It will enthrall, entertain, and move you. Enjoy! Chenin Blanc not included…<\/p>\n

To read the opening pages of\u00a0<\/em>The Vintner\u2019s Daughter,\u00a0click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"KristenHarnischPhoto<\/a><\/p>\n

Kristen Harnisch <\/strong>drew upon her extensive research and experiences living in San Francisco and visiting the Loire Valley to create the story for\u00a0The Vintner\u2019s Daughter<\/em>. \u00a0Ms. Harnisch has a degree in economics from Villanova University. \u00a0The Vintner\u2019s Daughter<\/em>\u00a0is the first in a series about the rapidly changing world of vineyard life at the turn of the century. Harnisch has a degree in economics from Villanova University and currently resides in Connecticut.<\/p>\n

Find Kristen Online:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Home<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n