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I am thrilled to announce that my novel inspired by the art and life of Vincent van Gogh, The Sunflowers, will be published with Avon A--the trade-paperback imprint of Avon/HarperCollins--in Fall 2009. (Yaaaaaaaay!)
The Sunflowers is the story of Rachel, the prostitute in Arles famous to history as the girl to whom Vincent gave a rather grisly gift the evening of 23 December 1888. Sources tell us little about her: who was she? How did Vincent know her? Was he only her customer, or was there something else? The story begins with their meeting in July 1888 and continues until August 1890, covering the last two years of Vincent's life and the period when he created some of his greatest paintings. I started writing it in June 2006, after a trip to Paris and Auvers-sur-Oise, first as a bit of a lark...then I got serious! This is my first fiction publication, as up until now I've been solely a writer of things academic and scholarly.
Without turning this into an acceptance speech--I'll save that for the acknowledgment page!--I would like to thank my family and friends who have supported me on my journey and helped me find my voice; my agent, Barbara Braun, for finding my story a home; and the folks at Avon for giving it one. I am enormously excited, and I look forward to sharing the journey toward publication with readers of this blog. I'll be creating an author website in the months to come, so stay tuned!
[I should have illustrated this post with "Sunflowers," I suppose, but instead I chose "Oleanders" of August 1888, which shows not only Vincent's optimism and joyful spirit at that point in his life, but also his love of books. It's in the Met.]
13 comments:
YAY, Sheramy!!!
Let me be the first to offer official congratulations.
I can't wait to read it, then send my copy to you to sign.
And I do hope you'll do an interview on my blog when we get closer to the pub date! :)
Thanks, Julianne!! Ohh, an interview, that sounds so official -- you betcha!
Yaaaaaaaay indeed!
I get here second, but I want YOU for my blog as well. Vincent is so closely tied to France.
Oh, and I forgot to tell you something. Yesterday I was at Roissy-Charles-De-Gaulle, and I thought of you, because the whole airport was decorated with painted sunflowers. You would have loved that. I wish I had taken a picture. That was before I heard your news, of course.
Hi Catherine--That's neat about the sunflowers in CDG. How festive! I'd love to visit your blog too, when the time comes, thank you for asking, and thank you for the congratulations! Your example as lawyer-turned-novelist helped give me hope during the last stages of the process.
Hearty congrats Sheramy! May your book do work wonders for you! (Came via Julianne's blog)
Sheramy, congratulations! That's wonderful news! The book sounds really great. With your passion for Van Gogh and your incredible knowledge, no one is more deserving. Way to go!
Claudia
Hi Josh -- Welcome, and thank you!!
Hi Claudia--Thanks so much for the congrats and kind words!
Congratulations! I look forward to hearing more about it (and reading it when it comes out).
Hi Sarah -- Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for the congratulations. I am an avid reader of Reading the Past!
Congratulations on publishing your book! I am looking forward to picking up a copy. Strange with how much Van Gogh is loved by many...there aren't many contemporary novels out there about him. Lust for Life is the last one that I know and I'm not sure if there are any others. Thank you!
Hi Amanda--
Whoops, sorry, I didn't see this comment to reply to it sooner. I read a novel a couple of years ago by an author by Adam Braver called "Crows Over the Wheatfield," which although set in present day, is definitely van Gogh themed. An art history professor is involved in a tragic accident -- a child is killed -- and over the course of the novel, she must come to terms with her present while she digs into van Gogh's past. Includes some evocative scenes set in Auvers-sur-Oise. I really liked that book and would highly recommend it.
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