Fans of internationally renowned author Paullina Simons were given a glimpse into her literary world in Hobart yesterday.
The New York-based writers, whose best-selling novels include Tully and The Bronze Horseman, spoke about the personal aspects of her novel, Children of Liberty, during a lunch at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.
Russian-born Simons moved with her family from Leningrad to America at age 10, an experience that has informed many of her popular stories.
Quite a lot of have been about a person coming into a new place, of belonging somewhere else or not belonging,” she said.
Describing her relationship with her readers as one of the most important in her life, Simons said she believed it was the heart-to-heart connection that attracted fans. “I think it’s because when the story becomes alive in me, from that place insie where all fire, passion and heartbreak comes from, that’s exactly the place it connects to in people who read the books,” she said.
Dymocks owner Kate Campbell said it was always exciting to have international authors visit the state. “And once they come to Hobart they seem to return,” she said.