We rarely post letters from male authors on the blog but mostly because we read female authors but when I learned of this C.W. Gortner’s quest for publication, I thought it was particularly inspirational. After all, rejection knows no gender. While The Last Queen is Gortner’s debut novel to most the world, he actually first self published after thirteen years of snubbing from New York.
Gortner has an M.F.A. in writing from the New College of California and has taught university courses on women of power in the Renaissance. The Last Queen tells the story of Juana La Loca who many people believed was insane. Gortner’s story, however, told through Juana’s eyes, suggests that insanity was the pretense by which she held power and saved her country. P.S. Jayne, I asked for a review copy for you. It’s on the way.
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In May, 2007, I received a phone call from my new agent, the fabulous Jennifer Weltz at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency. She told me my historical novel, THE LAST QUEEN, had gone into auction. A few days later, Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, …
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