The Artist Colony

-Crossing two popular genres: The novel crosses historical fiction with mystery, both popular genres that sell well.

-Timeliness: The racism against and fear of immigrants depicted in the novel is also prevalent in America today.

-Addresses important issues that will resonate with modern readers: The repression of human rights was the force behind Congress’s Immigration Act of 1924 that banned entry from all Asian countries; took away the inalienable rights of Asian Americans to own property; created anti-miscegenation laws making biracial marriages illegal, and even forbade Japanese students from attending white schools-actions that have been made relevant today by the actions of the US’s current administration.

Author Biography

JOANNA FITZPATRICK was raised in Hollywood. She started her writing habit by applying her orange fountain pen and a wild imagination to screenplays, which led her early on to produce the film White Lilacs and Pink Champagne. Accepted at Sarah Lawrence College, she wrote her MFA thesis Sha La La: Live for Today about her life as a rock ’n’ roll star’s wife. Her more recent work includes two novels, Katherine Mansfield, Bronze Winner of the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) in Historical Fiction, and The Drummer’s Widow. The Artist Colony is her third book. FitzPatrick divides up the seasons between her Monterey Bay home in Pacific Grove, California, and a hameau in southern France where she begins all her new book projects.