Category Archives: Blogs
Where Do Ideas Come From? My Apprenticeship as a Novelist
I often get asked “Where do you get your ideas from?” Actually, I waited for years for my first good idea to come along. Finally, when I was about fifty, I stumbled across the story of Veronica Franco, a poet and “intellectual courtesan” in 16th-century Venice . . . Were there any courtesans in papal Avignon, a city equal in splendour to Venice? . . . read more Read more
November-December News & Reviews
On All Saints’ Eve, I flew to Toronto for my first appearance in the International Festival of Authors, buoyed up by an interview in the groovy on-line mag, Hazlitt. Once settled in the authors’ hotel, I walked over to the festival site to check it out, then back to the hospitality suite, where authors unwound every night from the day’s activities. One of… Read More
L’amante del Papa, the Italian Muse
A box of copies of L’amante del Papa (the Italian Muse) has just arrived. Happy days! Heartfelt thanks to all the people who made this happen: Newton Compton Editori, The Cooke Agency, The Cooke Agency International, Dean Cooke, Suzanne Brandreth, Ron Eckel, Antonella Pappalardo, Elisabetta Colombo, Monica Ricci, Marco Vigevani Agenzia Letteraria, and Emanuele Sana. The roses were a gift… Read More
October News, Reviews, & Interviews
October was a busy month. I travelled with Random House on its Fall Preview tour in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver, and made new friends amongst the guests from Indigo, Chapters, and Coles. On the eve of the Vancouver Writers Fest, L’amante del papa was reviewed at mangialibri.com and Erin McPhee’s lovely profile of me was published in the North Shore… Read More
September News, Reviews, & Interviews
Events for Muse began with a pleasant book club evening at Book Warehouse (Black Bond Books). This year at Word Vancouver, the driving rain and gale-force winds drove us inside the Vancouver Public Library. I read from Muse in the Blenz coffee shop, a much warmer venue than the Canada Writes tent would have been outside. The first West Coast Bookstravaganza, held in the… Read More
Mary Novik’s Blog Tour for Muse
The nice people at Random House have set up an exciting blog tour with book giveaways for Muse that will take me to seven bloggers’ sites, beginning at their Retreat website on Thursday, August 22. I’ll be guest-blogging at a different blog every day between Monday, August 26 and Saturday, August 31, writing about the backstory and inspiration for my… Read More
August & September 2013 YummyMummyClub.ca Events
Muse has been spotlighted by YummyMummyClub.ca as a featured book club read with this groovy headline, Gratify Your Addiction For Historical Fiction. Lots of yummy things are going on here, including a book draw if you “click here to spill it”. Also, twenty lucky Twitter Book Club members can win free copies by retweeting the @BookaliciousCA #MuseNovel contest on Friday, August 23 until midnight ET. The Twitter book club chat will take place on Wednesday, September 18 from 9:00-10:00 pm ET using the hashtag #MuseNovel. Not only will you get a chance to chat with other yummy readers, but you can ask me–that’s @MaryNovik2–any question you want, as long as you stay within 140 characters. Read more
Muse’s Publication Day
On July 25, L’amante del Papa was published by Newton Compton Editori of Rome. The title, The Pope’s Lover, was no doubt chosen to seduce as many Italian readers as possible. The cover is a wild Dan Brown knock-off, with a looming black papal palace with flames shooting out of it, and a lurid yellow, red, and black sky. A… Read More
A Cover for Muse!
It’s been a busy and exciting time for my new novel Muse. First the copyedits. Then the proofs. And now I have a book cover that I can share. What do you think about it? The designer chose two lively paintings and put them together, with the woman standing in front of medieval Avignon. She’s lively and larger than life,… Read More
Muse is off to the copyeditor
At long last, my novel Muse is off to the copyeditor! I’m happy to announce that it will be published August 13, 2013 by Doubleday Canada. A translation will be coming out in Italy, which is very gratifying, given that the poet Petrarch, who features in Muse, came from Florence. I’ll post more information as soon as I have it. As soon as the copyedits and proofs are done, I’ll be adding information about Muse to this website. In the meantime, please use the contact page to get in touch if you need anything. A description of Muse and ordering information can be found here. Read more