Ask the Author: Sally Christie
Answered Questions (15)
Sally Christie
Hi,
Check out the Resources Page on my website - http://www.sallychristieauthor.com/re... - there are a few other English language bios about him listed there, but none of them stick out in my mind as being very memorable or comprehensive. I really liked Bertin's biography, he's a very vivid writer and was very sympathetic to Louis XV, tried to be a little more nuanced than some.
Thanks,
Sally
Check out the Resources Page on my website - http://www.sallychristieauthor.com/re... - there are a few other English language bios about him listed there, but none of them stick out in my mind as being very memorable or comprehensive. I really liked Bertin's biography, he's a very vivid writer and was very sympathetic to Louis XV, tried to be a little more nuanced than some.
Thanks,
Sally
Sally Christie
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for the question. Anya Seton was great, and I plowed through all of Jean Plaidy when I was younger. These days I count Emma Donoghue as my absolute favorite, and also love Margaret George and recently really enjoyed the Hilary Mantel trilogy and her earlier stuff. I haven't read any Margaret Frazer - I'll check her out.
Thanks,
Sally
Thanks for the question. Anya Seton was great, and I plowed through all of Jean Plaidy when I was younger. These days I count Emma Donoghue as my absolute favorite, and also love Margaret George and recently really enjoyed the Hilary Mantel trilogy and her earlier stuff. I haven't read any Margaret Frazer - I'll check her out.
Thanks,
Sally
Sally Christie
Hi Vanessa,
Thanks for the question and glad you enjoyed the books!
I'm currently working on another project that is a bit of a departure from the MOV trilogy - historical fiction but not based around a real historical figure, though it is based on a real family.
Thanks!
Sally
Thanks for the question and glad you enjoyed the books!
I'm currently working on another project that is a bit of a departure from the MOV trilogy - historical fiction but not based around a real historical figure, though it is based on a real family.
Thanks!
Sally
Sally Christie
Hi Ashley,
Thanks for the nice words about the books!
I'm not particularly drawn to the 17th century as I am to the 18th, and the Sun King, despite being such a fascinating character, has never been a favorite of mine. So probably not...
There are some good books out there about his mistresses, including a couple by Sandra Gulland (of the fabulous Josephine trilogy).
Thanks for reading!
Sally
Thanks for the nice words about the books!
I'm not particularly drawn to the 17th century as I am to the 18th, and the Sun King, despite being such a fascinating character, has never been a favorite of mine. So probably not...
There are some good books out there about his mistresses, including a couple by Sandra Gulland (of the fabulous Josephine trilogy).
Thanks for reading!
Sally
Sally Christie
Hi Muttix (love your username),
I think the "if" was around writing immediately, but I will definitely want to write more - you're a writer too, you know it's in our blood!
Sally
I think the "if" was around writing immediately, but I will definitely want to write more - you're a writer too, you know it's in our blood!
Sally
Sally Christie
Hi Catherine,
Nice to hear from you. I searched in Kindle and the first thing that comes up on a "Sisters of Versailles" search is the trilogy, which is unavailable as of yet (the third book Enemies of Versailles comes out next March). Individually, the books are listed as available. Hope you enjoy them!
Sally
Nice to hear from you. I searched in Kindle and the first thing that comes up on a "Sisters of Versailles" search is the trilogy, which is unavailable as of yet (the third book Enemies of Versailles comes out next March). Individually, the books are listed as available. Hope you enjoy them!
Sally
Sally Christie
Hi Alexander,
Thanks for the question! It's been an intensive few years writing this trilogy, and at this point I don't know what the next step will be, but I am sure if I do continue writing it will definitely be historical fiction! The past really pulls me to it.
Thanks,
Sally
Thanks for the question! It's been an intensive few years writing this trilogy, and at this point I don't know what the next step will be, but I am sure if I do continue writing it will definitely be historical fiction! The past really pulls me to it.
Thanks,
Sally
Sally Christie
Hi Jason,
Thanks for the questions. I'm not sure about sheer force of will, but being very disciplined and responsible (e.g. responsible for the goals you have set) is fairly critical to being a writer. This was especially true before I had an agent or a publisher and had no externally imposed deadlines.
One of the overall most frustrating things for me personally about being a writer is the sense or the feeling that you are never done - everything can be improved upon and there is always more research or more polishing that can be done. Trying to find that point where you are truly satisfied with your work can be challenging.
Hope this helps,
Thanks,
Sally
Thanks for the questions. I'm not sure about sheer force of will, but being very disciplined and responsible (e.g. responsible for the goals you have set) is fairly critical to being a writer. This was especially true before I had an agent or a publisher and had no externally imposed deadlines.
One of the overall most frustrating things for me personally about being a writer is the sense or the feeling that you are never done - everything can be improved upon and there is always more research or more polishing that can be done. Trying to find that point where you are truly satisfied with your work can be challenging.
Hope this helps,
Thanks,
Sally
Sally Christie
Hi Aurora,
The pub date for The Enemies of Versailles should be finalized in a few weeks, most probably spring 2017.
Louis XIV is a fascinating man (though personally I like my Louis XV best, despite his shortcomings!) and the women in his life were equally interesting. The great Sandra Gulland has written two books about Louis XIV's first two mistresses: Mistress of the Sun and The Shadow Queen. I haven't read them yet but if they are anything like her Josephine trilogy, they'll be great reads!
Thanks,
Sally
The pub date for The Enemies of Versailles should be finalized in a few weeks, most probably spring 2017.
Louis XIV is a fascinating man (though personally I like my Louis XV best, despite his shortcomings!) and the women in his life were equally interesting. The great Sandra Gulland has written two books about Louis XIV's first two mistresses: Mistress of the Sun and The Shadow Queen. I haven't read them yet but if they are anything like her Josephine trilogy, they'll be great reads!
Thanks,
Sally
Sally Christie
Ha! Unfortunately, no, as my family history is not 1% as interesting as the Mailly Nesle sisters' is! A solid line of middle class boredom, as one relative described it.
During the research process, I had the opportunity to speak with a relative of the Mailly Nesle sisters, and also one of the descendants of Louis XV and a later mistress (who features in the 2nd book) - now if I had ancestors like that, I would be all over it.
All the best with your family research (it's amazing what you can find online these days) and here's to hoping you uncover an interesting ancestor!
During the research process, I had the opportunity to speak with a relative of the Mailly Nesle sisters, and also one of the descendants of Louis XV and a later mistress (who features in the 2nd book) - now if I had ancestors like that, I would be all over it.
All the best with your family research (it's amazing what you can find online these days) and here's to hoping you uncover an interesting ancestor!
Sally Christie
Yes..... Rivals is primarily the Marquise de Pompadour's story, and it can be read independently of The Sisters of Versailles. But there are some characters from the first book (think Diane and Richelieu, among others) that appear in Rivals, and of course Louis XV.
The Sisters of Versailles spends more time with Louis' backstory and how he came to be an unfaithful husband. By the time Pompadour entered his life, he was in full descent mode, and had mostly cast any qualms to the wind!
The Sisters of Versailles spends more time with Louis' backstory and how he came to be an unfaithful husband. By the time Pompadour entered his life, he was in full descent mode, and had mostly cast any qualms to the wind!
Sally Christie
Hi Diane,
Very sorry to hear that. I see you're in Ontario so I'll follow up with the folks at S&S Canada right away. Thanks for letting me know,
Sally
Very sorry to hear that. I see you're in Ontario so I'll follow up with the folks at S&S Canada right away. Thanks for letting me know,
Sally
Sally Christie
Hi Tegan,
Thanks for the question! I enjoyed WRITING Pauline and Diane the most, they were such fun characters to develop, but overall I think I have the most affinity for Marie Anne as a person - though I struggle to say why exactly.
So who was your favorite sister? I tried to see if I could put up a poll with that question on my GR site, but it seems only Trivia or Quiz are options. Readers are all so different, and it's very interesting for me to see how they react to the sisters.
Sally
Thanks for the question! I enjoyed WRITING Pauline and Diane the most, they were such fun characters to develop, but overall I think I have the most affinity for Marie Anne as a person - though I struggle to say why exactly.
So who was your favorite sister? I tried to see if I could put up a poll with that question on my GR site, but it seems only Trivia or Quiz are options. Readers are all so different, and it's very interesting for me to see how they react to the sisters.
Sally
Sally Christie
THE RIVALS OF VERSAILLES! Coming out early next year. After relatively chaste beginnings with the Mailly Nesle sisters (note the word relatively!), Louis XV continued on his womanizing ways... RIVALS is centered around the Marquise de Pompadour, but also includes stories from a selection of her rivals - it's been really fun writing it, especially the contrast between how Pompadour sees herself, and how others view her.
Sally Christie
Hi Elizabeth,
Glad you’re enjoying the book! There’s relatively little written about the Mailly Nesle sisters so not all the details could be based on fact. Twinkles and Bijou – no – they would have had endearments for each other, but we don’t know what they were. Only the King’s nickname for Marie Anne is based on contemporary sources (there’s a lot more information about her than about the other sisters).
I tried wherever possible to work in those little details that were known, for example Tante really was doing renovations on her Paris house in the 1730s; someone really did call Pauline a green monkey; the King really did dress as a Bat (cute!) at a masked ball, etc, etc.
Family tree... I found a great PDF of a Mailly family tree that shows clearly the relationship between the sisters and Louise’s husband and Tante, etc. I’ll put a link on my website - thanks for the idea.
Enjoy the rest!
Sally
Glad you’re enjoying the book! There’s relatively little written about the Mailly Nesle sisters so not all the details could be based on fact. Twinkles and Bijou – no – they would have had endearments for each other, but we don’t know what they were. Only the King’s nickname for Marie Anne is based on contemporary sources (there’s a lot more information about her than about the other sisters).
I tried wherever possible to work in those little details that were known, for example Tante really was doing renovations on her Paris house in the 1730s; someone really did call Pauline a green monkey; the King really did dress as a Bat (cute!) at a masked ball, etc, etc.
Family tree... I found a great PDF of a Mailly family tree that shows clearly the relationship between the sisters and Louise’s husband and Tante, etc. I’ll put a link on my website - thanks for the idea.
Enjoy the rest!
Sally
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