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Vanessa Riley wrote the novel 'Queen of Exiles' and she will be the focus of Georgia Writers Museum’s (GWM’s) Meet the Author event for May. (CONTRIBUTED)
The on-the-edge-of-your-seat book on Haiti’s only queen, Queen of Exiles, by award-winning author Vanessa Riley, will be the focus of Georgia Writers Museum’s (GWM’s) Meet the Author event for May.
GWM recently conducted a brief interview with Riley.
GWM: What is it about the historical fiction genre that appeals to you?
Riley: I enjoy bringing to life hidden figures or incidents that allow a reader to safely escape into the past, learn about life, love, and the law, and see people – all people – defy the circumstances of their birth or societal prejudices.
I love finding a warrior like Gran Toya ( Sister Mother Warrior) who seeks redemption by raising an army to fight a revolution. I enjoy finding an elegant queen who can protect princesses and yet find a place for themselves in European royal society.
GWM: You seem to laud strong heroines.
Riley: Yes, finding powerful women to write about is in my DNA. I’m drawn to the 1750s to 1830s, the most revolutionary period in mankind’s history, and I wish to discover women who made a difference.
GWM: Your Ph.D. from Stanford is in mechanical engineering. Does that background help at all with your writing?
Riley: My engineering degree helps immensely in my research. I believe I’ve never met a database that didn’t sing to me all manner of answers.
Nonetheless, the best approach that engineering gives is always to ask the questions: how and why? How did money move in a past society? Why would a woman travel in this manner? Answering questions like these deepen my understanding, which means my readers get meaty descriptions and world-forming constructs of past civilizations.
GWM: What can you tell us about your writing process?
Riley: I do a great deal of research, build exhaustive timelines, and try to learn as much about the settings and politics as possible.
I focus on the characters’ motivations, relationships, beliefs, and lies. Everyone grows up with a lie that will shape how they view themselves and the world until they outgrow or are healed of the lies.
When I have all of this, I can sit down and write.
GWM: Can you give us a sneak preview of your next book?
Riley: My next book is a lighter side of historical fiction. It is a historical romance called A Gamble at Sunset.
It is the beginning of a family saga starring three daughters trying to make a mark in the world and save their father’s coal delivery service while battling well-meaning ‘frenemies’ and that thing called love.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7 for Vanessa Riley’s GWM talk beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40 each.
Contact Georgia Writers Museum (109 S. Jefferson Ave., Eatonton) at 706-991-5119 or visit online at georgiawritersmuseum.org for reservations and to pre-order Queen of Exiles, which Riley will sign following her presentation.