Debbie
asked
Paula McLain:
Hello Paula, I just saw you Authors In April. I was so engrossed your in story and I just loved The Paris Wife but my favorite was Circling the Sun (I've read it twice). I don't really have a question but a thought. Back in that era if a man or a woman was truly unhappy the sometimes took left their respective families to start anew. Have you ever thought about a story like that? How do you pick your subjects?
Paula McLain
Hello, Debbie. I'm horrified that it's taken me so long to respond to your note. Please forgive me, and thanks for taking the time to write! I SO enjoyed my time in Shreveport for Authors in April. And your remark is a really interesting one. I think a woman who left her family would deal with a lot more societal backlash than a man (Did you read Loving Frank by Nancy Horan? A wonderful book and a great example of this!). But I also wonder about those who snuck off and tried to pass themselves off as someone without a past. That would be an intriguing story. Maybe you should write it!
As for your question, I'm usually inspired by something I read that get's my imaginative engines revving and makes me feel instantly obsessed with knowing more about a particular world. For The Paris Wife that was Hemingway's A Moveable Feast. For Circling the Sun, that was Beryl Markham's West With the Night.
Hope this is helpful, and thanks so much for reading!
As for your question, I'm usually inspired by something I read that get's my imaginative engines revving and makes me feel instantly obsessed with knowing more about a particular world. For The Paris Wife that was Hemingway's A Moveable Feast. For Circling the Sun, that was Beryl Markham's West With the Night.
Hope this is helpful, and thanks so much for reading!
More Answered Questions
Martie Nees Record
asked
Paula McLain:
I love all your work and voted for your book. My question is when is your next one coming out? Will it be short stories, poems, or another historical fiction? If you have time please look at my reviews. I am a very stingy with my stars but not with you. Happy Thanksgiving.
Sarju Shrestha Mehri
asked
Paula McLain:
Writing a historical fiction seems to be a challenge as you do not want to compromise the facts with fiction. How did you manage to write the balance of what is real in Beryl Markham and what you created? Love.. love your work.. please keep on writing and very anxious to your new book.
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