1--What is the title of your latest release?
HER LOST WORDS
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
From A Vindication of the Rights of Woman to Frankenstein, Her Lost Words is a tale of two literary legends—a mother and daughter—discovering each other and finding themselves along the way.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Both Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley lived in England and traveled extensively throughout Europe, so I was happy to trace the map of their wanderlust.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonists in real life?
Absolutely!
5--What are three words that describe your protagonists?
Brilliant. Feminist. Authors.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Mary Shelley kept her husband’s embalmed heart in her desk drawer. (You can’t make this stuff up!)
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Definitely wait until I’m totally done.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Champagne and strawberry cake.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
My sunroom doubles as my writing space and has a great view of Alaskan mountains and Cook Inlet.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Kate Quinn and Kristin Harmel are both two of the busiest—and most generous—historical fiction authors I know.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr absolutely blew my mind about the interconnectedness of the past, present, and future. It’s basically a love letter to the written word.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
This was actually the second book in a two-book contract, so I got two books in one!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I love a sprawling fantasy—think S.A. Chakraborty’s The City of Brass—for escapist reading.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. It’s adorably heartwarming.
15--What is your favorite season?
Long Alaskan summer days are the best!
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
With cake and champagne. (See #8.)
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I just watched Wednesday with my 16-year-old daughter and lost track of all the times I laughed out loud.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Mexican, followed closely by Italian. And Japanese. (I love food!)
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I keep bees, run, hike mountains, and travel.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’m dabbling in a few different projects right now, but as always, I love dusting off stories from history’s forgotten women.
From A Vindication of the Rights of Woman to Frankenstein, a tale of two literary legends—a mother and daughter—discovering each other and finding themselves along the way, from USA Today bestselling author Stephanie Marie Thornton.
1792. As a child, Mary Wollstonecraft longed to disappear during her father’s violent rages. Instead, she transforms herself into the radical author of the landmark volume A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, in which she dares to propose that women are equal to men. From conservative England to the blood-drenched streets of revolutionary France, Mary refuses to bow to society’s conventions and instead supports herself with her pen until an illicit love affair challenges her every belief about romance and marriage. When she gives birth to a daughter and is stricken with childbed fever, Mary fears it will be her many critics who recount her life’s extraordinary odyssey…
1818. The daughter of infamous political philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft, passionate Mary Shelley learned to read by tracing the letters of her mother’s tombstone. As a young woman, she desperately misses her mother’s guidance, especially following her scandalous elopement with dashing poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Mary struggles to balance an ever-complicated marriage with motherhood while nursing twin hopes that she might write something of her own one day and also discover the truth of her mother’s unconventional life. Mary’s journey will unlock her mother’s secrets, all while leading to her own destiny as the groundbreaking author of Frankenstein.
A riveting and inspiring novel about a firebrand feminist, her visionary daughter, and the many ways their words transformed our world.
Historical | Non-Fiction Biography [Berkley, On Sale: March 28, 2023, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593198421 / eISBN: 9780593198438]
Stephanie Thornton is a writer and high school history teacher who has been obsessed with infamous women from history since she was twelve. She lives with her husband and daughter in Alaska.
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