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FAQ
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- What is A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA about?
- How did you conceive of the idea of giving Romeo and Juliet a smart and savvy daughter and telling this story from her perspective instead of making an older Romeo and Juliet the focus?
- Who would like to read A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA?
- When and how will A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA be published?
- When does A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA take place?
- It’s often said that young love rarely lasts, but in A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA, you show Romeo and Juliet in their 30’s and just as crazy in love as when they were teenagers. What is it about them that allows their teenage infatuation to endure rather than fade?
- How did you do the research for A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA?
- What’s up next for Rosie and the Montagues?
- How can I keep abreast with news about upcoming books in the Daughter of Montague series?
- What if I want information on all your books?
- Is A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA coming out in audiobook?
- Will you still write contemporary suspense?
- How do I switch between the Daughter of Montague site and the Christina Dodd site?
- Should you join the Daughter of Montague newsletter list?
Q: What is A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA about?
A: A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA asks the question “What if instead of dying, Romeo & Juliet grew up, got married, had kids and their oldest daughter (still single at the ripe old age of almost 20) had to investigate the death of her betrothed?”
My publisher, Kensington Books, calls it “alternative history.” Author and friend Amanda Quick (Jayne Ann Krentz) says, “It’s not alternative history, because Romeo and Juliet aren’t historical. A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA is the ultimate fan fiction.”
Q: How did you conceive of the idea of giving Romeo and Juliet a smart and savvy daughter and telling this story from her perspective instead of making an older Romeo and Juliet the focus?
A: A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA is at its heart a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, with Rosie dealing with the rush of first love, albeit at a much advanced age (almost twenty!) While the exalted feminine ideal (according to the men who wrote history) was chastity, obedience, piety and silence in the face of male superiority, when you dig deeper into Medieval and early Renaissance history, you find amazing women who are famous, and you know that inevitably women managed to get around that ideal to be scholars, managers of businesses and households, and occasionally, they learned the basics of self-defense. In Rosie’s case, she learned from her father, Romeo, who is a famed and accomplished swordman and the father of six daughters who he cherishes and wishes to keep from harm.
As you discover in the first pages, Rosie is sarcastic about the romantic legend surrounding Romeo and Juliet, and at the same time she sees the genuine love between them and acknowledges it. Through her own clever manipulations, she’s managed to remain single, and her goal is to remain at home, managing the household, forever. As with Shakespeare, Fate has other plans and inherent amusement of listening to an intelligent, determined, self-aware female meet and face unexpected obstacles and murder and irresistible passion made her a joy to write. As one fan told me, “I do appreciate the characters with good use of sarcasm. I love good snark.”
Q: Who would like to read A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA?
A: A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA blends irresistible mystery, a wicked sense of comedy, her trademark plot twists, a swoony romance subplot, and an incorrigibly determined heroine into a delightful confection that will draw in readers of historical fiction, feminist women’s fiction, mysteries, historical romance, and young adult.
If any of those check your boxes, A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA is for you!
Q: When and how will A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA be published?
A: On June 25, 2024, A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA will come out in hardcover, eBook and audiobook. Pre-order your copy today!
Q: When does A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA take place?
A: About twenty years after Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet takes place, which according to Google is sometime in the 14th or 15th century. That’s two hundred years, considered late Medieval or early Renaissance, and that makes it very easy to create a fictional world to rival Shakespeare’s. And rest assured, it is fictional.
Q: It’s often said that young love rarely lasts, but in A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA, you show Romeo and Juliet in their 30’s and just as crazy in love as when they were teenagers. What is it about them that allows their teenage infatuation to endure rather than fade?
A: The Husband and I just celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. (What’s that you say? We look too young for that? Yes, thank you, that’s the right response. 😊 ) We married stupid young, whenever I’m asked about our long marriage, I quip that it’s been 43 happy years, and that’s about right.
It’s an odd thing to have gone from dumb kids in love (“It’ll never last,”) to the wise couple who’s struggled and fought and worked to stay together and stay in love. That’s what I’ve tried to portray with Romeo and Juliet. From the beginning of their relationship, they put everything on the line to be together, ending their lives (almost in my version) rather than be separated, and what started as passion they have made into a love worth fighting for.
Q: How did you do the research for A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA?
A: I traveled to Italy and spent 5 days in Verona, staying in the old city, visiting the church where the legend claims Romeo and Juliet were married, visiting museums and wineries (in my mythology, the Montagues are vintners.) You can read about it and see the photos and videos here.
Q: What’s up next for Rosie and the Montagues?
A: The second book is written and edited, and will be out in 2025 (think Hamlet!) It has a title; I can’t tell you yet. I’ve started book #3. The series is called Daughter of Montague, as is the website, and many books will follow.
Q: How can I keep abreast with news about upcoming books in the Daughter of Montague series?
A: Please join my mailing list targeted at the Daughter of Montague series.
Q: What if I want information on all your books?
A: My ChristinaDodd.com site is comprehensive and built on the same easy-to-navigate model as the Daughter of Montague site, and you can join that mailing list here.
One last word: #1 New York Times bestseller Susan Elizabeth Phillips says, “Who has the audacity to write a book about Romeo and Juliet’s daughter? Christina Dodd, that’s who! With its twisty plot and engaging characters, A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA is charming, funny, and totally engaging. First I smiled, then I chuckled, then I laughed out loud. It’s fresh, audacious, and altogether captivating. I highly recommend!”
Q: Is A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA coming out in audiobook?
A: Yes, and we have the audiobook links. Order your copy today!
Q: Will you still write contemporary suspense?
A: Yes. EVERY SINGLE SECRET (Never whisper the truth… Never reveal the past…) is out now in hardcover, audiobook and eBook, and another contemporary suspense (title and cover to be revealed) is being edited.
Q: How do I switch between the Daughter of Montague site and the Christina Dodd site?
A: It’s easy. Click the menu bar!
Q: Should you join the Daughter of Montague newsletter list?
A. That depends on you. You’re on the Christina Dodd newsletter list, and thank you for that. But you know if you don’t want to read or hear about the Daughter of Montague series and that should make your decision.
For the A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA Reviewers’ Club, we’ll choose from the Daughter of Montague newsletter list.
