In Episode Two, we hear best selling author, Jasmin Darznik, discuss all that went into the first page of her latest novel, The Bohemians—set in San Francisco in 1918 about the famous photographer Dorothea Lange and chosen by Oprah as a Best Historical Fiction book for 2021. Hear how Darznik took on the voice of Lange with the gusto of a seasoned actress and how she deftly sets it all up in the first sentence and first page of The Bohemians. This episode will inspire anyone who's ever wondered just how authors take on a voice from the past and live inside that character for years. Remarkable and breathtaking and deeply engaging. You'll love Jasmin and her book.
Page One, produced by Booxby, celebrates the craft that goes into writing the first sentence, first paragraph and first page of your favorite books. The first page is often the most rewritten page of any book because it has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. We interview master storytellers on the struggles and stories behind the first page of their books.
About the author
Jasmin Darznik’s debut novel, Song of a Captive Bird, was a New York Times Book Review “Editors’ Choice,” a Los Angeles Times bestseller, longlisted for the Center for Fiction Prize, and awarded the Writers’ Center’s First Novel Prize. Darznik is also the author of the New York Times bestseller The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother’s Hidden Life. Her books have been published in seventeen countries. She was born in Tehran, Iran, and came to America when she was five years old. She holds an MFA in fiction from Bennington College, a JD from the University of California, and a PhD in English from Princeton University. Now a professor of English and creative writing at California College of the Arts, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family. You can find her at www.jasmindarznik.com.
About the host
Holly Lynn Payne is the CEO and founder of Booxby a startup building AI to help authors succeed. Holly is an internationally published novelist in eleven countries whose work has been translated into nine languages. In 2008, she founded Skywriter Books, an award-winning small press, publishing consultancy and writing coaching service. To learn more about her writing coaching services, please visit hollylynnpayne.com.