Literary New England Radio Show
July 14, 2014 § Leave a comment
It was a true pleasure to chat recently with Literary New England Radio Show host Cindy Wolfe Boynton about Will Poole’s Island. We discussed the genesis of the book, some of the historical research that went into it, the extent to which the protagonist is an autobiographical figure, and my version of the 21st century writing life. Cindy asked good questions, and I began by reading a brief excerpt from Chapter Four of the book. All in all, a most enjoyable conversation!
The show, which also features distinguished New England authors Deborah Harkness, Erika Johansen, and Courtney Maum, aired Monday, July 14, 2014, and is available as a podcast for you to download and hear at your own leisure by clicking here.
Note: Once you download the podcast you can move the cursor to whatever point you want to start listening. My portion of the interview begins at minute 38.50.
Kirkus Reviews!
June 25, 2014 § Leave a comment
“Immersive, like the best of historical fiction . . . This riveting portrayal of early Colonial New England shines a speculative but compelling light on the time and place.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Read the full review here. 
Early Reviews: Will Poole’s Island
June 8, 2014 § 1 Comment
Ron Samul of the New London Patch has written a thoughtful advance review of Will Poole’s Island. Here’s an excerpt:
“Will Poole’s Island is more than a coming of age story . . . the reader is left with a longing to find that place, that moment when everything is right and the everything is possible. It is a longing we all search for spiritually, geographically, and emotionally. This book proves that oppression, obstacles, fate, and the world we live in should not stop us from seeking that place. If we can’t find it right now, walk in the shoes of Will Poole and rediscover that lost island in your life. It will inspire you.” Click here to read the full review.
Author and blogger Patrick Joyce has also written eloquently about the book:
“Will Poole put me in mind of other boys in other places who ran away into the great wide world, searching for their place in it, also casting their lots with a social or cultural Other: Huck Finn, Jim Hawkins, and, most of all, Kim. Their stories had equally strong senses of place, with a similar innocence; Kipling’s Kim combined those with a spiritual element. And like Kim, Will Poole’s Island ends with a satisfying, ethereal quality.” Click here to read the full review.
The official launch date of the paperback is August 15, but books are already available to order from Nantucket Book Partners, Amazon, Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, or through your own favorite independent bookstore. For occasional news and updates, “like” the Will Poole’s Island page on Facebook.
New interview up at The Grub Daily
May 14, 2014 § Leave a comment
This has actually been up for awhile but i just found it (it was done in the lead-up to Grub Street’s exhilarating Muse and the Marketplace conference). Some thoughts on good books, strange places, favorite bookstores, and more. Read the full interview here.
At Muse14 with my wonderful cousin, the author Eleanor Henderson
Historical Fiction talk at Grub Street’s Muse and the Marketplace 2014
May 1, 2014 § 2 Comments
Very excited to be heading down to Boston tomorrow morning for Grub Street’s annual Muse & The Marketplace conference. I don’t attend many writing conferences, but I’ve been lucky enough to have participated in this one for the last two years and it’s very, very good. Grub Street is somehow able to attract such a smart and friendly crowd of writers, agents, editors, and various others associated with this business of putting words on paper to enrich and enliven our world.
Also exciting: this year will be my first as a presenter, or “Special Guest,” in the official parlance. I’ll be giving a talk called “Narrative as Time Machine: The Art of World-Building in Historical Fiction.” The talk will feature excerpts from some of my favorite works of historical fiction, including Edith Wharton’s classic The Age of Innocence, Mary Renault’s The King Must Die, James Welch’s Fool’s Crow, Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain, and Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient. Very much looking forward to it!
While there, I’ll have a chance to run a couple of works-in-progress by a few agents and editors, and, perhaps most exciting of all, I’ll be bringing along (and giving away) several advance readers’ copies of my new novel, Will Poole’s Island, which has an official release date of August 15, 2014, and which, ahem, can now be pre-ordered on Amazon. Wish me luck!
Tim Weed 