We are delighted to be able to offer a platform to showcase the literary talent of authors living locally, especially those whose work draws inspiration from the area. Tracey Warr, for example, is both a writer and a creative writing teacher who divides her time between Pembrokeshire in Wales and Laguepie in the Aveyron. She began writing fiction whilst living through a frigid winter in the Tarn Valley and visiting nearby medieval castles and villages. Her writing has been inspired by the landscapes, history and people of southern France.
In her talk, entitled ‘Inspirations for historical fiction’, Tracey will share with us where she draws inspiration from in writing of historical fiction. As well as the themes of love, power, duty and scandal which transcend time and structure the overarching narrative, Tracey will talk about how everyday medieval images and objects have inspired her writing, allowing her to contextualise the created story. Local artefacts such as the Statue of the Virgin in Albi Cathedral, and a 10th century map of Toulouse in the Musee d'Augustins, have played a significant role in her writing, provoking scenes and characters in her novels. The objects medieval men and women left behind them, both elaborate and ordinary, hint at their lives and environments, providing rich infusions for fiction.
Tracey’s first novel, Almodis: The Peaceweaver, published in September 2011, is set in the local area. It was shortlisted for the Impress Prize for New Fiction and the Rome Film Festival Book Initiative and received a Santander Research Award. It is a story of love, adventure and scandal based on the real life of the eleventh-century Countess Almodis de la Marche. Her second novel, Viking Hostage, set in 10th century France and Wales, is due to be published in September 2014. It tells the intertwining stories of three women living through turbulent times of Viking raids, Christian conversions, and struggles for power across Europe at the turn of the millennium.
