Book: The Medici Mirror
Click to buy
Genre: Supernatural love story/Ghost story/Historical
Publisher: UK: Penguin Random House (Arrow); Germany: Insel Verlag; Norway: Vigmostad & Bjorke Forthcoming: Brazil, Turkey.
Publication date(s): 24 October 2013 (UK); 11 December 2013 (Germany); 6 May 2014 (Norway).
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Book:
Click to buy
Genre: Supernatural love story/Ghost story/Historical
Publisher: Penguin Random House (Arrow)
Publication date(s): 16 July 2015
Biography:
I was born in Derbyshire in 1971 but grew up in Lancashire. I read English at Oxford before studying law in London and then pursuing a career in media law. Now an extremely part time lawyer, I mostly spend my days at home at my writing desk, crafting ideas into words and talking to imaginary people. There’s usually a fair amount of cake involved in the process. The Medici Mirror was my first novel. My second novel, Beyond the Sea, will be published on 16 July 2015.
Website: www.melissabailey.info
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/melissa.bailey.9678067
Twitter handle: @mbaileywrites
Location: London
Links to blog posts: www.melissabailey.info/blog/
Writer Superpowers
I’ve always been drawn to the dark, the magical and mysterious, and I’ve loved ghost stories from being a child – experiencing the thrill of fear at what flickers at the periphery of our vision, what lies just beneath the surface.
I’m also fascinated by history, the past’s impact upon the present and the imprint that events and people leave behind them – whether that be the repercussions of occultish dabblings felt in an old Victorian shoe factory (The Medici Mirror) or the impression made upon the bricks and mortar of a lighthouse by those who once inhabited it (Beyond the Sea). For me writing is really bringing together these passions.
I also love to talk about writing (and I’m a calm and confident public speaker having presented regularly at conferences and seminars in my previous career). Shortly after publication of my first novel, I was interviewed on Newstalk radio’s Talking History programme (a fifteen minute one on one segment) where I discussed Catherine de Medici’s life, how it had informed her ruthless yet superstitious nature and her interest in dark magic, and how this has fed into The Medici Mirror. I also worked with a filmmaker to produce a promotional trailer for the novel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY2Ah3GDZB0) and read excerpts from it on camera.
I have given readings from The Medici Mirror at bookshops, including the Broadway Bookshop in Hackney and have given lectures at City University on the process of writing and genre (Mixing It Up).
I blog about writing and the subjects of my novels but also on more eclectic yet related topics such as the work of surrealist photographer, Guy Bourdain (an inspiration to one of the characters in The Medici Mirror) and on the history of the high heel (Catherine de Medici is said to have been the first woman to wear them!).
So I’m happy to produce posts or articles, or engage with people face to face about books and writing however big or small the event.
