Mrs. George Clooney takes on the battle for the Elgin Marbles

STEALING ATHENA, my novel about the 2300 year journey of the contrversial  Elgin Marbles, is written from the perspectives of two of history’s most fascinating women. Now, another fascinating women,  Amal Alamuddin Clooney, has joined the legal team arguing for restoration of  the marbles (aka The Parthenon Sculptures) to Greece.  It’s a complex issue with a long history, and  I hope Mrs. Clooney can help move it forward in a constructive way.   Please read on…

WHO OWNS ART?  WHO OWNS DEMOCRACY? ... Read more.

A Roundtable Discussion of Gender and the Art of Historical Fiction with Margaret George, C. W. Gortner, and Karen Essex


At the HNS Conference, C. W. Gortner and I caught the great Margaret George red-handed in the bookstore buying our books. We were so thrilled that we had to have the incident preserved for posterity!

KE: At the Historical Novel Society Conference this summer, Margaret George, C. W. (Christopher) Gortner and I answered questions about gender and the art—and marketing—of historical fiction. Margaret’s novel, The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers (1998), is now a beloved classic, and it was written in the voice of a man, about another man, but by a female author (I sound like I’m pitching Victor/Victoria!). Christopher’s new novel, The Last Queen, has received much acclaim, and it is written in the voice Juana “la Loca.” I have written in the male voice, and I feel that two of the most authentic and inspired character portraits I have ever written were Julius Caesar and the eunuch Meleager, both from my Kleopatra series. ... Read more.

Candid and Uncensored with Andrew Davidson and Karen Essex

Also posted on Vintage/Anchor Books. Click here to check out their site.

In their respective novels The Gargoyle and Stealing Athena, Andrew Davidson and Karen Essex both tell parallel stories that take place in two different time periods, intertwining the lives of people separated by centuries. The books also explore common themes of the mystical, the mythic, karmic debt, the creation of art, and romantic love. In a candid and uncensored phone conversation, the authors compare their writing processes and talk about the sometimes numinous, sometimes laborious procedure by which they create stories and bring their characters to life. ... Read more.

The Paperback and a Bettie Page Bonus

I’m pleased to announce that the paperback edition of Stealing Athena,(with a saucy new cover) will be available wherever books are sold on April 28th. I will be returning to the States from London to tour in May and June, so please check in with the website for the dates and locations, and please do come out and see me. If we’ve never met, please introduce yourself!

http://karenessex.com/lectures.html

I’m also booking phone chats (and dinners, if the locale is right) with book clubs so if your group is reading Stealing Athena (or one of my other novels, for that matter), please go to the website and sign up for a possible chat.

http://karenessex.com/bookclubs.html

Also, with the passing of Bettie Page in December, I received many inquiries as to where to find my original L. A. Weekly article, In Search of Bettie Page, that led to Bettie’s subsequent resurfacing and revival. To commemorate Bettie’s birthday, which just passed on April 22nd, I’ve posted the article in its original form on the website, so please read and enjoy, and send your loving thoughts to our late dark angel. ... Read more.