Connie Palmen
Author Interview - Connie Palmen
Author of YOUR STORY, MY STORY
“From the award-winning author of The Friendship comes a shattering, brilliantly inventive novel based on the volatile true love story of literary icons Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.
In 1963 Sylvia Plath took her own life in her London flat. Her death was the culmination of a brief, brilliant life lived in the shadow of clinical depression—a condition exacerbated by her tempestuous relationship with mercurial poet Ted Hughes. The ensuing years saw Plath rise to martyr status while Hughes was cast as the cause of her suicide, his infidelity at the heart of her demise.
For decades, Hughes never bore witness to the truth of their marriage—one buried beneath a mudslide of apocryphal stories, gossip, sensationalism, and myth. Until now.
In this mesmerizing fictional work, Connie Palmen tells his side of the story, previously untold, delivered in Ted Hughes’s own uncompromising voice. A brutal and lyrical confessional, Your Story, My Story paints an indelible picture of their seven-year relationship—the soaring highs and profound lows of star-crossed soul mates bedeviled by their personal demons. It will forever change the way we think about these two literary icons.”
Author Interview - Connie Palmen
Author I draw inspiration from: I learned from every good writer I have read, but Philip Roth and Marguerite Duras still are on top of the long list.
Author Interview - Connie Palmen
Favorite place to read a book: Bed
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Philip Roth in Patrimonium. A True Story
Author Interview - Connie Palmen
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: I never wanted to be a writer, I have been one since I could think.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Paperback to read, hardback to keep.
The last book I read: Red Comet. The Short Life and Blazing Art from Heather Clark
Author Interview - Connie Palmen
Pen & paper or computer: iPad
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Vivian Gornick in Fierce Attachments
Author Interview - Connie Palmen
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: Stand-up comedian
Favorite decade in fashion history: Present
Place I’d most like to travel: New York
My signature drink: Water
Favorite artist: Francis Bacon
Number one on my bucket list: Empty
Find more from the author:
@Connie_Palmen
Author Bio: CONNIE PALMEN was born in Sint Odiliënberg, the Netherlands, and studied literature and philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. Her debut novel, The Laws, was voted European Novel of the Year and was short-listed for the 1996 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. In 2019, Vienna, Austria chose The Laws for their One City. One Book. campaign and gave away 100,000 copies to Viennese bookstore and library patrons. John Irving, Toni Morrison, Mario Vargas Llosa, Michael Ondaatje and Hillary Mantel were some of the authors who preceded her with this prestigious honor. Palmen is also author of The Friendship, winner of the AKO Literature Prize; Lucifer; and the autobiographical novel I.M. Connie Palmen currently lives in Amsterdam. For more information, please visit www.conniepalmen.nl.
