Ann S. Epstein writes novels, short stories, memoir, essays, and poems. Please use the links or site menu to go to the HOME PAGE; learn about her NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, MEMOIR, ESSAYS, and POEMS; find interesting facts in BEHIND THE STORY; read REFLECTIONS on writing; check NEWS for updates on publications and related events; see REVIEWS; learn about her END-OF-LIFE DOULA credentials and services; and CONTACT US to send webmail.
My Amazon review of A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline (Rated 5): Christina’s world painted in words – As surely as Andrew Wyeth captured Christina’s world in paint, Christina Baker Kline captures her world in words. From the small details of daily existence in rural Maine, to the bigger question of how we fashion a life with what we’re given, the book strikes a fine balance between bitterness and beauty. A painterly novel.
I’m excited to share the share the cover design for my next novel, A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (Alternative Book Press). Set 1935-1980, the novel is a fictional biography of the midget who played the Munchkin coroner in The Wizard of Oz. Read more in NOVELS.
Discovered while researching the story “Felines at Fault” – In the 1910s and 1920s, cats became pets instead of just mousers. An uptick in the number of house cats was accompanied by an increase in the number of divorces. Back then, couples had to prove a valid reason for dissolving their marriage. Cats often provided the excuse, with husbands claiming abandonment over their wives affection for their cats, or wives angered by their husband’s mistreatment of the animals. After no-fault divorce laws went into effect (late 1960s), the number of cat-related divorces declined. One suspects there was more to these marital spats than feline infelicity. Read more in BEHIND THE STORY.
My Amazon review of Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance (Rated 5): Flaws and foibles, love and loyalty – J. D. Vance teaches us to love and admire the people he loves and admires, with their flaws, determination, and above all, their loyalty to one another. He gives credit to them for saving his life. Humility and gratitude aside, he also deserves to take credit himself for breaking with tradition while at the same time honoring, and maintaining, it.
Vine Leaves Press is promoting its current publications with memes selected by the authors. Here’s the On the Shore meme: “Shame made my father envious, envy made him feel guilty, guilt made him angry.” Read more about the book and click the link to the trailer in NOVELS. Discover other Vine Leaves Press publications — literary novels, story collections, vignette collections, memoir, poetry, writing reference books, creative nonfiction, and essay collections — at http://www.vineleavespress.org.
My Amazon review of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Rated 5): Making the implausible “plausible” – Colson Whitehead makes the implausible, plausible, i.e., that the Underground Railroad was in fact a real, subterranean network of tunnels, tracks, and assorted railroad cars built by those “who built everything else in this country.” Even more accomplished is how Whitehead brings to life the heroic, and often tragic, existence of the slaves who dared to travel and lead others along its byways. Alas, their stories are too plausible and while the sum total is heartbreaking, readers will come away with admiration and the hope that their courage and determination persist today.
Unearthed while researching Chicago for the Al Capone story “Blood and Sand” – Chicago’s Navy Pier (originally named “Municipal Pier”) opened to the public on July 15, 1916. It was intended as a dock for freighters and passenger traffic, and a space for indoor and outdoor public recreation. Indeed, many events were held at the pier, including expositions, pageants, and other entertainments. Less well known is that in the summer of 1918, the pier was used as a jail for World War One draft dodgers. To read more unusual history lessons, see BEHIND THE STORY.
Researching the story “Undark” (winner of the Sewanee Review 2017 Walter Sullivan Prize), I discovered that New Jersey, site of the Radium Girls tragedy, experienced two atypical weather events in 1928. It was unseasonably warm during the week of January 7 to 15, with many days in the 50s. Conversely, there was a freak snowstorm on April 12, when temperatures dropped from a daytime high of 59 to a nighttime low of 30 degrees, when 1.2 inches of snow fell. The next day, temperatures went back up to 62 degrees. BTW: “Unusual weather we’re having” is said by the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz movie when the good witch creates a snowfall to awaken Dorothy and friends, put to sleep in a field of poppies by the wicked witch. If you’re a fan of Oz, see my forthcoming book A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. in NOVELS. To learn more interesting facts that don’t always make it into my fiction, peek BEHIND THE STORY.
When I write historical fiction, I keep the focus on the characters. The settings and events around them frame the narrative, but readers must care about the people experiencing them. This is equally true of engaging contemporary or futuristic fiction. Good fiction writers relegate their research, however fascinating it may be to us, to the background of the tale. Whenever something I learn about history motivates me to write about it, I first ask myself “What is the story I want to tell? Who is it about? How do the players act and how are they acted upon?” Answering these questions is how I bring history to life in my fiction. Read more of my thoughts about the art and craft of writing in REFLECTIONS.
Read the interview about my novel On the Shore and my writing in general by Danielle Lavaque-Manty in Fiction Writers Review. Learn about how and why I began to write fiction, researching the history behind my stories, and the why a book about immigrants who came to America one hundred years ago applies today. http://fictionwritersreview.com/interview/the-virtue-of-fiction-an-interview-with-ann-s-epstein/