Welcome to My Website. I'm G.G. Vandagriff and one of my passions is writing. Here's my latest newsletter!
© 2008 - G.G. Vandagriff
All rights reserved.
Photograph by William Whitaker
Summer appears to be here!
It rained Memorial Day weekend, but now the temperatures are on the way up! I am up, as well, which is very good news as I was laid terribly low by my hip replacement surgery. Today I walked unaided all morning before taking to the ice pack and a reclining position. I also received a charming Mother's Day present of a jeweled caftan, which is far more glamorous for wearing around the house than pajamas.
My latest book,
The Last Waltz: A Novel of Love and War
, came out on April first to quite a fanfare. I have received overwhelmingly positive reviews which meant a lot to me since I spent 33 years writing and refining it. I know now that I had to go through my own fire before I could write convincingly about one of the most wrenching times in world history. After the worst war ever known, the whole face of Europe changed and my characters had to face the loss of an empire, an emperor and adjust to a world in which "The Divine Right of Kings," a doctrine under which Europeans had lived for nearly a millennium, was completely discredited. Aside from being a romance quite out of the ordinary, the book also tells the little known story of the demise of Austria's experiment with democracy.
Check out the website for
The Last Waltz
that my husband just finished, too.
Alas, because of my extended recovery, I have altered my plans for a signing tour in June. Thank heavens my husband made me wait before making plans! I am going to be home rewriting my next creation (a novel written twenty years ago) for most of the summer until mid-August when I will take to the road for a trip to Idaho, to stay with writing chum, Cindy Bezas (aka C.S. Bezas of Meridian fame). I will be doing signings in Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, and possibly Rexburg. Stay tuned for dates and times to be given in the Appearances section. (Will also be doing signings locally throughout the summer). September will find me touring the Denver and Phoenix areas—both the Deseret Bookstores and hopefully a few Barnes & Nobles.
The Hidden Branch, my fifth Alex and Briggie novel is being edited at this moment. It is a crazy book set in Huntington Beach (aka Surf City), CA amidst the surfing culture. The family being investigated is Armenian (don't ask me why) and has many quirks and loveable characteristics, except, of course, for the murderer. Briggie, everyone's favorite grandmother, not only takes to the surf, but has several brushes with the law and a very surprising development in her life. Alex's love life, as usual, is anything but smooth, and undergoes serious convolutions as she tries to find out why someone in this happy Armenian family tried to kill her and almost succeeded. The book is scheduled for fall release and was completed mere days before my surgery.
Check out H.B. Moore, one of my very favorite LDS authors, whose new book, Abinadi, won not only a Whitney for best historical, but also "Best of State" for fiction.
Happy reading and be sure to check out the new contest!
