Dear Reader, Love Evy Journey

 

Dear Reader,

What do you think of illustrations in fiction? Me? I love them and wish we did more of them. I have a tattered, fragile copy—its back hardcover lost in my many moves—of a collection of Jane Austen’s novels featuring illustrations by a nineteenth century artist of scenes from her stories. Sadly, this book’s days are numbered. So, I got an illustrated ebook of her five mature novels. Not too long ago, I also bought a printed graphic novel of Pride and Prejudice. 

When an art history class introduced me to illuminated manuscripts (aka manuscript illuminations), I was intrigued at the thought that illustrated books likely have medieval beginnings that flourished during Charlemagne’s reign in the 9th century. While he revived classical art, his most lasting achievement is, in fact, the production of picture books. He saw illuminated manuscripts as a way to teach his subjects about God, most of whom couldn’t read. Some art historians suspected that Charlemagne, himself— holy emperor and medieval alpha male par excellence—couldn’t read. If true, it might have motivated him to champion the creation of picture books. 

Illuminated manuscripts were handwritten (no printers until the 15^th century) and illustrated on parchment (dried and stretched animal skins), often by the same creator who painted the pictures. 

An illumination is a picture or illustration in a book that conveys the meaning of a piece of text. Its capacity to “illuminate” is enhanced through the use of gilding—gold or silver decorations on letters and figures.  In medieval times, these manuscripts represented a high art form. 

My fascination with illuminated manuscripts took another leap to a higher plain when my research discovered an actual theft by an American soldier during WWII of a couple of these rare manuscripts. It was eureka moment. And a new book was born.

But the new book couldn’t just be about art and art theft that called for historical elements along with mystery elements. It also needed to mesh with the overall theme of the second set of standalone novels in my Between Two Worlds series—the adventures in self-discovery of multicultural heroines navigating an unfamiliar, sometimes hostile world. This time, it’s Clarissa, a biracial young woman who’s rootless and longs for a place to call home.

Try it. You just might like it.

Evy Journey

 

Evy Journey writes. Stories and blog posts. Novels that tend to cross genres. She’s also a wannabe artist, and a flâneuse. Evy studied psychology (M.A., University of Hawaii; Ph.D. University of Illinois). So her fiction spins tales about nuanced characters dealing with contemporary life issues and problems. She believes in love and its many faces. Her one ungranted wish: To live in Paris where art is everywhere and people have honed aimless roaming to an art form. She has visited and stayed a few months at a time.

Author Links  

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

 

A young woman of Asian/American parentage has lived in seven different countries and is anxious to find a place she could call home. An unusual sale of rare medieval manuscripts sends her and Nathan—an art journalist who moonlights as a doctor—on a quest into the dark world of stolen art.  For Clarissa, these ancient manuscripts elicit cherished memories of children’s picture books her mother read to her, nourishing a passion for art.  When their earnest search for clues whisper of old thieves and lead to the unexpected, they raise more questions about an esoteric sometimes unscrupulous art world that defy easy answers.   Will this quest reward Clarissa with the sense of home she longs for? This cross-genre literary tale of self-discovery, art mystery, travel, and love is based on the actual theft by an American soldier of illuminated manuscripts during World War II.

Buy Links:

Amazon | B&N | Apple Books