Svetlana's Dream Conference of Authors and Characters

All true bookworms have their dream list of authors they’d love to meet, but what if you could plan your perfect panel of authors (or even characters) you’d love to hear speak at a conference?

As my long-time readers (thanks everyone!) know, one isn't certain on what review they will find on my blog because one day I might post a contemporary women's fiction title; another day a historical romance, and yet few days later I might go with suspense. However what is consistent on my blog is my focus on historical fiction and a large focus on literature from around the world, in particular from East Asia, with few instances from Southeast Asia, thus my dream conference/panel will be a mix of historical fiction as well as East Asian authors.

 

One of the moderators for my dream conference will be Margaret George because she has written a variety of biographies that take place from Tudor Era to more obscure and ancient such as a biography of Helen of Troy and her more recent novel Confessions of Young Nero. As for the East Asian side, I imagine Pearl Buck will do the job because she has written a lot of fiction that takes place in East Asia and she understands the Asian thought well.

As I imagine, most of the guests for my dream conference/panel will be authors with a few characters mixed in (some of my invited characters are real but are written as fiction, although I would love to have real historical figures on my panel.)

Here are some of my invitees for my dream conference and topics they will discuss:

The first author I would love to invite is Murasaki Shikibu, the author of The Tale of Genji. Tale of Genji is a story about a Japanese Emperor's son who is best described as dilettante and in the story Murasaki focuses a great deal on Genji's lost loves. There is a mystery about Tale of Genji as to how the story would have ultimately ended (it ends in cliffhanger)  and how many people authored Tale of Genji. For the topics, Murasaki Shikibu would have discussed that particular mystery and she also would have discussed how to use poetry on how to expand the story as well as seasons and colors and their significance in her story.

The second author I would love to invite is Margaret Mitchell of Gone with the Wind fame. In my dream conference, Margaret Mitchell would discuss researching the civil war as well as her inspiration on how she has created memorable female characters in Scarlet O'Hara and Melanie Wilkes. I also would love for her to address her feelings on the sequel (written by Alexandra Ripley) and why she has ended Gone with the Wind the way she did.

The third author(s) I would love to invite is/are those that wrote Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the Chinese classics about two wealthy families and how intertwined they are as well as their rise and decline of wealth. In particular the story focuses on the women and the sacrifices they make and don't get acknowledged for. The story was written by men, but it was written very sympathetically towards women. The author(s) would address the research they have done of women and of what ultimately led to the fall of the two wealthy families. I also would like them to address as to what is real in their story and what is false and how magic has played a role.

The fourth author I would love to invite is the author of The Plum in the Golden Vase, the Chinese forbidden classic that is about a merchant named Ximen Qing and his six wives and how these wives attempted to scheme and position themselves as Ximen Qing's "favored" wife.One of the mysteries about this particular story is who the author might be and his intentions in writing this story. In my dream conference that issue will be addressed, but along with that, the author will also address the idea of using sex as a political tool.

The fifth author I would invite is Stephanie Thornton who wrote The Secret History, The Daughter of the Gods, The Tiger Queens and The Conqueror's Wife (I only read The Tiger Queens and The Conqueror's Wife) Stephanie Thornton will address the research she has done towards her books and of how historical women influenced the men in their lives.

The sixth author I would invite is Sally Christie who wrote the fabulous Mistresses of Versailles trilogy. One of the things I loved about Mistresses of Versailles trilogy are the dialogues between her characters as well as how real the women felt which is what the author will talk about; how she managed to to shape mere outlines into all too human personalities.













Some of my dream characters will include:

Scarlett O'Hara and possibly Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind

Cleopatra (I would love a real person)

Nero (I would love a real person)

Alexander the Great (I would love a real person)

Genghis Khan and the women surrounding him

Genji and Murasaki from Tale of Genji

Ximen Qing from The Plum in the Golden Vase

These characters and authors as well as moderators will be there to answer questions or else to give autographs to the readers or discuss the books they come from versus reality (at least for Nero and Cleopatra)

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