Peaceful seascapes a source of inspiration
Hilary Masters, novelist and essayist, has spent many happy months at beaches on Cape Cod, notably Provincetown, but these days when he needs a hit of beauty and calm midwinter, he returns with his wife Kathleen George, acclaimed mystery writer and Edgar nominee, to St. Martin where they get the peace they crave. "The spectacular beauty of St. Martin draws us back," she says. "I could listen to the waves and watch the boats bobbing in the harbour forever."
Masters lingers over his favourite breakfast - croissants and pain chocolate - and he thinks about the novella he is about to start. When he gets back home to Pittsburgh, he will fit his writing schedule to his teaching schedule at Carnegie Mellon University where he is a professor of English and Creative Writing. He loves his students who are already interesting writers.
George teaches theatre at University of Pittsburgh where she is a Professor. She began writing mysteries 10 years ago to entertain herself. Taken was her first novel – translated into six languages, Dutch and French among them. Then came Fallen, Afterimage, The Odds, which was an Edgar nominee for best novel, and this year her fifth, Hideout, will launch in August. But that date follows a big one in June, the launch of her Pittsburgh Noir, a collection of short fiction she edited, of stories set in the neighbourhoods of Pittsburgh. The launch date for Noir is June 1.
June 1 is also the date for Masters' wild novel, a fable entitled Post. Masters is an awardee in literature of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His Last Stands: Notes from Memory met with rave reviews and is considered a classic. Recent publications include In Rooms of Memory (essays) and How The Indians Buried Their Dead (stories).
He prepares for writing by relaxing in St. Martin, enjoying long breakfasts and... thinking.
"He's much more spiritual than I am," says Kathleen George. "He really sees, contemplates, enjoys. I'm the busy one. I exercise listening to a Philip Roth novel. I read non-stop at the beach. I make notes. I admire Hilary. He absorbs things. But then we're the classic opposites attract. Thank heavens we like the same things."
George's press for her novels is St. Martin's (NY). Her collection of stories is published by Akashic as part of their Noir series. Post comes from award winning BkMk of U. of Missouri, Kansas City.
