This much awaited historical fiction work is already receiving praise, coast to coast, and even across the pond. It's in its final preparations to be published by Pearlsong Press, a publishing company in Nashville Tennessee. The book is based on the Apocryphal story of Judith, who slane Holofernes. Unfortunately and irritatingly, the Book of Judith had so little about her, so with the support of the Kentucky Foundation for Women, I researched and wrote the historical novel from the perspective of Judith. I'm honored to have come to know her in the way I meet and share any character's story.
There is tremendous significance for the painting that will serve as the cover of the book. The particular painting, and there are many depicting Judith, hangs in Florence Italy's Uffizzi, among the museums of il Polo Museale della citta di Firenze. It's by Artemisia Gentilechi, an Italian Baroque painter, today considered one of the most accomplished painters in the generation after Caravaggio. Gentilechi was a rape survivor, and was tortured during her rapist's trial where they tried to get her to confess that she had been her rapist's lover. As a rare female painter of her time, her talent, strength and conviction made acquiring the rights to this particular painting of Judith poignant for the cover of the novel.
Some of my loyal readers may notice that several entries by my sister have been removed. I have decided to not be defined by my medical condition and status. For the friends and family who continue to stand by me in my path to recovery after suffering a stroke May 2012, my deepest gratitude.