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Enjoy the Trailer for "Love Among the Recipes"

The Women in the Arts Trilogy

THE TOWERS OF TUSCANY

A passion for art consumes a medieval woman in this award-winning page-turner described as “Hard to resist & highly recommended” by Anne Fortier, NY Times bestselling author of Juliet & The Lost Sisterhood. Winner of the Grand Prize Chaucer Award and Editor's Choice: Historical Novel Society.

A WOMAN OF NOTE

Beethoven’s crashing chords launch the career of a young woman desperate to share the melodies of her soul in this riveting novel. “Writing [is] so vivid, you can hear the music in your head as you read” (Historical Novel Society).

Winner of a Goethe Award and Editor's Choice for the Historical Novel Society.

THE MUSE OF FIRE

The sweeping themes of Shakespeare meet the wit of Jane Austen in a mashup of theater riots and drawing room angst dubbed “miss-my-train-stop good” by Discovering Diamonds Book Reviews.

Winner of the Bronze for Best Historical Fiction from the Independent Publishers' Awards and First in Category for the Goethe Awards.

The Towers of Tuscany is a delightful escape to the Siena we all love. Carol Cram has crafted a delicious story about a strong woman torn between her secret past, her love of painting, and the forbidden charms of her rich patron. Hard to resist and highly recommended! —Anne Fortier, author of the New York Times bestseller Juliet and The Lost Sisterhood

In A Woman of Note, Cram’s writing is so vivid, you can hear the music in your head as you read. —Historical Novel Society (Designated Editors' Choice)

The Muse of Fire is another page-turner from Carol Cram – this is an enthralling narrative set in the realistically gritty London theatre world of the early nineteenth century . . . I warmly recommend this wonderful novel.--Professor Braund

In A Woman of Note, readers will love Carol Cram’s colorful writing and attention to the minute details of daily life at this time in European history. . . .The book never loses its pace. and readers will be rapidly turning the pages until the very end.--Chanticleer Reviews

The Towers of Tuscany has all the elements of a wonderful historical novel . . . Carol is a first-rate storyteller. The details of dress, fabric, food, are flawless. The clever dialogue and fast pace make the novel zing along. —Roberta Rich, bestselling author of The Midwife of Venice and The Harem Midwife

From the very first page in The Towers of Tuscany, Carol M. Cram captivates with her writing, transporting you to the rolling hills and rich palette of fourteenth-century Tuscany. . . . I cannot praise this novel highly enough. —Janis Pegrum Smith, Historical Novel Society

The Muse of Fire is a miss-my-stop-on-the-train good, and that is high praise.--Designated a "Discovered Diamond", Nicky Galliers

Oh my stars, The Muse of Fire! Can I give it a standing ovation? Or throw roses at it? Or…what did people do back then when they enjoyed a theater performance…propose! Can I propose to this book, please?--Stacie Tyson, Book Blogger

What's New

Art In Fiction Podcast

I'm thrilled to announce the launch of the Art In Fiction Podcast! Listen to interviews with awesome authors who have arts-inspired novels listed on my the Art In Fiction Website.

Find all the episodes on Art In Fiction and just about anywhere you get your podcasts, including iTunes, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Deezer, iHeartRadio and ListenNotes.

Art In Fiction

Over the past several months, I've been very busy developing a brand new website. Called Art In Fiction, the website is a curated directory of novels inspired by the arts.

Visitors can search the extensive database by category or keyword to find great new reads in a range of genres and get a front row seat to the creative process. Hop on over to take a look!

The Muse of Fire

The Muse of Fire, my third novel, won a Goethe Award (First in Category) for Best Historical Fiction post-1750 on April 27 at the Chanticleer Authors' Conference in Bellingham, WA. I'm thrilled that the novel is receiving recognition!

The Muse of Fire already won a Bronze for Best Historical Fiction from the Independent Publishers Awards and was also a "Discovered Diamond" on Discovering Diamonds, a book review website in the UK.

If you're off to London, go to the bustling Covent Garden district where much of the action in The Muse of Fire takes place. The huge market covers much of what was once a spacious piazza, but the area is still crowded and lively, just as it was in 1809. Of course there are a few differences--you won't see horses and carriages and the air definitely smells better.

Pastel & Pen: Travels in Europe


I'm excited to announce the publication of Pastel & Pen: Travels in Europe, a "non-collaborative collaboration" between artist Gregg Simpson and myself. Over the years, Gregg and I have each in our own ways documented our travels in Europe. Gregg fills sketchpads with his drawings inspired by what he sees and I write.

We decided that after thirty years of traveling together, it was time to bring our two selves together. Pastel & Pen is a funny and engaging collection of stories and vignettes that Europe-bound travelers find highly relateable. The pairing of Gregg's art with my writing is symbiotic and unplanned. He doesn’t illustrate my writing and I don’t write about his art but put together our two art forms provide readers with “two ways of seeing.”

You can purchase Pastel & Pen online or contact me and I'll have a copy sent to you.

Jump into my Award-Winning Women in the Arts series and follow the adventures of an artist in medieval Tuscany, a composer in 1830s Vienna, and an actress in Georgian London.

I've developed two new websites that celebrate the arts! Go to Art In Fiction to choose from over 1,100 novels inspired by the arts and to Artsy Traveler if you're an independent traveler keen to explore Europe through an arts lens.

Let’s talk about your writing project. Do you need an editor or a mentor for your non-fiction book or your novel? Are you interested in developing your writing skills? I can help!