HNS Conference Preview: Stella Duffy

We are getting ever closer to the Historical Novel Society Conference in St. Petersburg, FL! I can't believe it's so close! In celebration of the conference, I am very excited to welcome historical fiction writer, Stella Duffy, here to A Bookish Affair.

Stella Duffy

What got you first interested in historical fiction?

I was at a book festival in Ravenna, Italy and saw the mosaics of the Empress Theodora, astonishingly vibrant and beautiful after 1500 years, and was further astonished to find so little fiction written about her when I came home. So I wrote two books of my own to tell the story. I’m especially delighted that as well as the US and UK, the novels have been published in many European countries, relevant to Theodora’s life, and this year will be published in Turkey – so she can go home to Constantinople.

For you, what is the line between fiction and fact?
 
The only line I really care about is the one that asks how good a story is this, and how well can I tell it?

Is there a writer, living or deceased, you would like to meet?

Theodora herself wrote a hugely important work on prostitution – On Pimps and Prostitutes. Of course I’d love to meet her.

What book was the most fun for you to write?

Always the latest book – which is, always, also the hardest to write!

Thank you for visiting A Bookish Affair, Stella!