This week, we're pleased to welcome author Ginger Myrick, whose latest novel WORK OF ART is set in 19th century New York. The author will offer a free copy of To Work of Art to a lucky blog visitor - please leave your email address in the comments for a chance to win. Here's the blurb:
Work of Art is a Cinderella story with a violent twist set 139 years in the past. From the mean streets of Five Points to carriage rides in the park and lunch at Delmonico’s, it evokes all of the extravagance of the age along with the stark disparity between classes.
Work of Art is a Cinderella story with a violent twist set 139 years in the past. From the mean streets of Five Points to carriage rides in the park and lunch at Delmonico’s, it evokes all of the extravagance of the age along with the stark disparity between classes.
Every girl dreams of a handsome Prince Charming to whisk her away to a fairytale ending. For Del Ryan it seemed unlikely, but that’s exactly what happened.
In 1874, New York booms with prosperity and conspicuous consumption with a clear social divide between classes. Families have lost their men to the Civil War and do what they can to get by. Del Ryan, an intelligent and talented Irish immigrant, works as a lady’s maid for a society matron to support her invalid mother. Although plain and unassuming, she is an accomplished artist with the gift of clairvoyance. She meets Killian Arthur, a golden god from a privileged New York family. He is flawlessly handsome with impeccable manners and a penchant for bare-knuckle boxing. Fascinated by her, Killian transforms Del into a fine lady, the toast of her new class of friends.
But things are not always what they seem. Rough Jimmy Sheehan is from the same Irish community and has always thought of Del as his own. He has known Del her entire life and has a keen understanding of her plight. Hot-tempered and hard drinking, he is Killian’s polar opposite in form and deed. Jimmy has seen enough of the world to know that there is something not quite right about Del’s suitor and warns her to that effect. Is he simply jealous, or does he want the best for the woman he loves?
Then the fairytale takes a violent turn when girls from the neighborhood start turning up dead. Del witnesses the murders through her disturbing visions and documents them in startlingly accurate detail with her artistic talent. She realizes that with each new victim, the killer is getting closer. Will his identity be revealed before he comes for her?
**Q&A with Ginger Myrick**
How would you encapsulate Work of Art to pique a reader’s interest?
I am my own worst publicist, but I’ll give it a
go. Work of Art is a story of love and loss, romance and
mystery, with a smattering of tenderness and humor. It is a fairytale gone
wrong in which the upper class meets the mean streets of New York. Throw in a
love triangle, a bit of bare-knuckle boxing, a serial killer, and a plain Irish
clairvoyant who is transformed into the belle of the ball, and I hope I have a
story with enough intrigue and action to satisfy a wide variety of readers.
Work of Art is set in the late 19th century in Five Points, New York
City. How did you choose the era and setting for this novel?
I was drawn to this era because some of my favorite
classic books are set during the late 19th century: Tess of the D’Urbervilles,
Anna Karenina, The Age of Innocence, et al. I knew I wanted to set the book on
the east coast of the US, after the war and in a city with a large Irish
community. I also have a slight obsession with Jack the Ripper, and I guess my
subconscious mind chose a time period that would allow me to make the
connection.
As Work of Art
is a bit of a twist on the Cinderella/My Fair Lady theme, it was imperative
that the main characters, Del and Killian, be from two disparate social
classes, but their communities had to be located within walking distance of
each other. The most notorious Irish neighborhoods in New York at the time were
Hell’s Kitchen and Five Points. Of course, there are enough swanky areas in New
York that would have suited my needs for either location, but the capper was
the proximity to the museum, which was integral to a book titled Work of Art! Besides, I always like to
have a visual of the setting I’m attempting to portray. The film versions of
The Gangs of New York and The Age of Innocence were invaluable resources.
Martin Scorsese is meticulous in his attention to detail, ESPECIALLY when it
comes to his beloved New York.
Who was your favorite character to develop in Work of Art?
When you create a character it is very much like giving
birth, and you become very attached to him/her regardless of virtues or faults.
In fact, sometimes their faults make the characters even more engaging and more
fun to write. Del and her mother were both very sweet and endearing, and
Killian was so suave and such a gentleman. I even had a great time with the two
bad guy boxers, but I loved Mrs. Chester, Mrs. Arthur, Jimmy, and Deirdre for
their forthright manner. I have a soft spot for an unabashed, uncensored
personality, and these A-type personalities are a writer’s dream. Of course, I
am writing for others to read, but I might as well have fun while I do it.
And regardless of the brief mention of him in the book,
I really loved Del’s dad. In my mind he was a fully formed person who
influenced Del’s character and in turn much of the story. There is something
very honorable and valiant about the ideals he represents. A strong bond
between father and daughter fascinates me, partly because it’s something I have
never experienced myself. The chapter when the ladies were going through the
remnants of their life in Ireland was one of my favorites to relate.
If the police came to your house and seized your computer, do you think
they would be shocked at your Google searches? Would it be enough for them to
open an official file on you?
If the cops came to my house, I would probably be
writing my next book from behind bars! My search history would definitely raise
some eyebrows. I’ve always been a bit obsessed with serial killers, and
even before it ever dawned on me to write, I used to google all sorts of
twisted stuff. One of my fascinations is with the Borgias. Their preferred
method of eliminating opposition was by poisoning. They used a concoction
called La Cantarella, which was supposedly prepared by: “removing the abdominal
organs of a sow poisoned with arsenic, salting the organs with more arsenic,
then letting them slowly putrefy. The fluids that dripped from the rotting
viscera were then evaporated to dryness and collected as a white powder
resembling sugar.” Of course, this is highly impractical for a modern-day
murderer, so I settled for a less artful but more reliable hands-on method!
Your stories often include mysticism in the form of subtle magic or
dreams. Do you have any personal experience with such, or do you simply enjoy
incorporating it into your fiction?
I’m sure that by now some people view me as a writer of
supernatural love stories, but that is not entirely the case. As is typical of
my creative process, the inspirations come fairly complete and the mystical
elements are simply what the stories dictate. As for me, I don’t have visions,
but I do get little insights now and again. They can be very accurate, but they
aren’t crystal clear the way Del experiences hers. However, the way she records
what she sees parallels the way my writing takes over.
And I have a touch of healing. Nothing like Arlais in
The Welsh Healer, but I can feel where the painful spots are in another person
and am able to draw them out to a certain extent. I also have an instinctual
knowledge of herbs. I think it must come from genetic memory. My
great-grandmother on my father’s side was a curandera, sort of the Mexican
equivalent of a shaman. As of this moment, I have no further working ideas that
involve the supernatural.
Your other two books, El Rey and The Welsh Healer, are historical novels,
but this one falls more under the mystery/thriller genre. When you set out to
write this novel, did you know from the start that you were switching, and
possibly with a new audience?
Again, the story dictated itself, and there was not much
I could do to the contrary. I had concerns that my readers might not make the
switch, but my worries turned out to be unfounded. The book hasn’t sold enough
to garner very many reviews, but my handful of loyal readers have loved it. I
think that if you strike a chord with readers and they come to love your use of
language, the way you portray your characters and tell your story, they are
more willing to listen to what you have to say, even if it is a bit out of the
norm for them. I am the same way. I will go along with just about anything as
long as the storytelling and compatible writing style are there. The real risk
will come with the book I plan to write after my current WIP. If my readers
will stick with me through a pre-zombie apocalypse love story, they’ll be loyal
for life!
What’s next?
Ginger Myrick was born and raised in Southern California. She is a self-described wife, mother, animal lover, and avid reader and knitter. Along with the promotion for THE WELSH HEALER, and EL REY, she is currently crafting her third novel, which takes place during the U.S. Civil War. She is a Christian who writes meticulously researched historical fiction with a ‘clean’ love story at the core. She hopes to persevere with her newfound talent and show the reading community that a romance need not include graphic details to convey deep love and passion.
