Member in the Spotlight

Persia Woolley’s writing career started at age four when her gift for story telling began to blossom. As she herself bloomed, her love for stories evolved and by age nine she began writing them down.

Enamored in 1980 with “Camelot,” Persia felt the calling to re-tell the story from Guinevere’s point of view. Not a simple rewrite of the legend of Camelot, Persia knew that her work needed to say something new.

Persia bases her work on various legends and the real people behind these legends. She chose to write the legend of Guinevere as a historical fiction. Her work is not fantasy nor romance but an accurate account of the real people within real historical times. (Approximately, 500 A.D.)

After four years of research, including several trips to Britain, Persia wrote her first draft of “Child Of The Northern Spring.” It took her one year to complete her manuscript, and in the same year, Simon and Schuster made her an offer.

Book two, “Queen Of The Summer Stars,” and book three, “Guinevere -The Legend In Autumn,” took six years to finish. The complete trilogy, out by 1991, takes Guinevere from her childhood to the end of her life.

Persia’s technique for writing historical fiction beautifully weaves real characters and their culture. Braided into this is a psychological portrait of each character based on Persia’s understanding of why each character makes the decisions they make and takes the actions they take.

In 2000, Persia’s life took a turn when she began a seven-year descent into illness. Gravely sick, she moved to her son’s ranch outside of Sebastopol. In 2008, she became a member of Redwood Writers.

Linda McCabe noted her presence in a post and Sourcebooks Publishing contacted her. They wanted to reissue the Guinevere trilogy.

Persia just started what she calls her “Second Harvest,” having just completed her manuscript, “Ophelia’s Tale.”Three years into her research on the Trojan War, Persia spends the rest of her time speaking at conferences, bookstores and writer’s groups.

Persia’s advice for other writers:

- Recognize there will be many lean times.

- Choose a subject and style you love.

- Keep at it — all writing is good practice.

- Accept that marketing is now simply part of it.

“It’s a terrible way to make a living, but the best lifestyle in the world.”

Persia has given her readers the opportunity to explore historical times by creating a window into the culture and psyches of her characters. Her story telling technique is magnificent. Her characters are riveting and her historical facts, accurate, giving readers a wonderful adventure into different cultures and times.

Member in the Spotlight Editor: Osha Belle Hayden