After college, Essex briefly modeled in Europe before returning to the U. S. where she found an entrée into the film industry as a costume designer. She moved into executive positions, becoming vice-president of a subsidiary of Blake Edwards Entertainment and senior vice-president of Force Ten Productions, a bi-coastal company that financed Broadway, Off-Broadway, and motion pictures. By the early 1990s, she had given birth to her only child and had resigned from film production to pursue a career in writing.[2]
Writeredit
Essex first short story, “Three Audreys,” was published in The Sun: A Magazine of Ideas. Based on that story and on her knowledge of popular music, she was hired by L. A. Style Magazine to write a lengthy profile of the band Los Lobos, which began her career as a music journalist. In 1991, she wrote a cover story for The L. A. Weekly, "In Search of Bettie Page", which kicked off the Bettie Page revival and led to a biography of the pin-up queen, Bettie Page: Life of a Pin-Up Legend, written with the reclusive Page’s cooperation.[3] In 1994, Essex moved to Nashville, where she worked as a music journalist and taught writing workshops at Vanderbilt University’s Women’s Center. She returned to Los Angeles in 2000.[4]
In 1992, while studying women’s history, Essex discovered that the historical Cleopatra had little to do with the Elizabeth Taylor creation that existed in the popular imagination. Her two-volume novel, Kleopatra and Pharaoh, published in 2001 and 2002 respectively, reimagined the queen as a shrewd ruler and diplomat. Essex also adapted the books into a screenplay for Warner Bros.[5] In 2004, while staring at the mural opposite The Last Supper in Milan, she decided to write a novel about the powerful Este sisters—both muses to Leonardo da Vinci—and their rivalry for the attentions of the Duke of Milan as well as for the artist. Leonardo's Swans was published by Doubleday in 2006 and became a bestseller both nationally and internationally. It was especially popular in Italy, where it became a runaway bestseller and won the 2007 Premio Roma for foreign fiction. Stealing Athena (Doubleday 2008) tells the story of the controversial Elgin Marbles told from the dual narratives of Mary Nisbet, wife of the Earl of Elgin, British ambassador to Constantinople, and Aspasia, mistress of Pericles during the Golden Age of Athens.[6] All of her novels have received praise for her meticulous research, attention to detail, and evocation of the historical settings.[citation needed] No matter what the setting, Essex’s books are always about women and power. In an interview on her website about Stealing Athena, Essex said. “Although women of power and influence have always existed, history has not always recorded their contributions and achievements. It has been my ambition in each of my novels to retell the stories of strong and beguiling women who helped to change the world.”
In 2010, Essex released Dracula in Love, a retelling of Bram Stoker's Dracula from the viewpoint of Mina Murray. AudioFile magazine gave the audiobook recording its Earphones Award, calling the story "the real deal" and writing that narrator Bianca Amato "gives Mina a measured, deeply felt emotional depth that brings her alive and keeps listeners engaged."[7]
^"Audiobook Review: Dracula in Love (2010)". AudioFile. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
External linksedit
Author Website
Myshelf.com, Author of the Month Interview
January 01, 1970
karen, essex, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, from, article, talk. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Karen Essex news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2015 Learn how and when to remove this message Karen Essex is an American historical novelist a screenwriter and journalist Karen EssexBornNew Orleans Louisiana U S OccupationHistorical novelist screenwriter journalistNationalityAmericanEducationTulane UniversityVanderbilt UniversityGoddard College MFA Websitekarenessex wbr com wbr main wbr Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 2 1 Film production 2 2 Writer 3 Published works 4 References 5 External linksEarly life and education editEssex was born in New Orleans Louisiana As a teenager she got involved with the theatre and focused her collegiate studies on costume design and theatrical history at Tulane University She later attended an interdisciplinary graduate program at Vanderbilt University and in 1999 received an MFA in Writing at Goddard College in Vermont 1 Career editFilm production edit After college Essex briefly modeled in Europe before returning to the U S where she found an entree into the film industry as a costume designer She moved into executive positions becoming vice president of a subsidiary of Blake Edwards Entertainment and senior vice president of Force Ten Productions a bi coastal company that financed Broadway Off Broadway and motion pictures By the early 1990s she had given birth to her only child and had resigned from film production to pursue a career in writing 2 Writer edit Essex first short story Three Audreys was published in The Sun A Magazine of Ideas Based on that story and on her knowledge of popular music she was hired by L A Style Magazine to write a lengthy profile of the band Los Lobos which began her career as a music journalist In 1991 she wrote a cover story for The L A Weekly In Search of Bettie Page which kicked off the Bettie Page revival and led to a biography of the pin up queen Bettie Page Life of a Pin Up Legend written with the reclusive Page s cooperation 3 In 1994 Essex moved to Nashville where she worked as a music journalist and taught writing workshops at Vanderbilt University s Women s Center She returned to Los Angeles in 2000 4 In 1992 while studying women s history Essex discovered that the historical Cleopatra had little to do with the Elizabeth Taylor creation that existed in the popular imagination Her two volume novel Kleopatra and Pharaoh published in 2001 and 2002 respectively reimagined the queen as a shrewd ruler and diplomat Essex also adapted the books into a screenplay for Warner Bros 5 In 2004 while staring at the mural opposite The Last Supper in Milan she decided to write a novel about the powerful Este sisters both muses to Leonardo da Vinci and their rivalry for the attentions of the Duke of Milan as well as for the artist Leonardo s Swans was published by Doubleday in 2006 and became a bestseller both nationally and internationally It was especially popular in Italy where it became a runaway bestseller and won the 2007 Premio Roma for foreign fiction Stealing Athena Doubleday 2008 tells the story of the controversial Elgin Marbles told from the dual narratives of Mary Nisbet wife of the Earl of Elgin British ambassador to Constantinople and Aspasia mistress of Pericles during the Golden Age of Athens 6 All of her novels have received praise for her meticulous research attention to detail and evocation of the historical settings citation needed No matter what the setting Essex s books are always about women and power In an interview on her website about Stealing Athena Essex said Although women of power and influence have always existed history has not always recorded their contributions and achievements It has been my ambition in each of my novels to retell the stories of strong and beguiling women who helped to change the world In 2010 Essex released Dracula in Love a retelling of Bram Stoker s Dracula from the viewpoint of Mina Murray AudioFile magazine gave the audiobook recording its Earphones Award calling the story the real deal and writing that narrator Bianca Amato gives Mina a measured deeply felt emotional depth that brings her alive and keeps listeners engaged 7 Published works editBettie Page Life of a Pin Up Legend co written with James L Swanson 1996 ISBN 978 1 57544 080 4 Kleopatra 2001 ISBN 978 0 446 52740 8 Pharaoh 2002 ISBN 978 0 446 53025 5 Leonardo s Swans 2006 ISBN 978 0 7679 2306 4 Stealing Athena 2008 ISBN 978 0 385 51971 7 Dracula in Love A Novel 2010 ISBN 978 0 385 52891 7References edit Ferguson Carrie 2000 04 16 Reclaiming the Queen The Tennessean p 10 11 Keel Beverly 2001 03 17 Her Brilliant Career The Nashville Scene p 69 Swanson James Essex Karen 1995 12 01 The Real Bettie Page Playboy Vol 42 Iss 12 pg 98 103 198 199 Bostwick Alan 2001 09 06 Unveiling the Truth About a Queen The Tennessean Section D page 1 Kit Zorianna 2001 08 03 Interview with Author The Hollywood Reporter Author Website Audiobook Review Dracula in Love 2010 AudioFile Retrieved December 8 2014 External links editAuthor Website Interview Goddard College website Myshelf com Author of the Month Interview BookPage Interview Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Karen Essex amp oldid 1223102133, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
