Community, Friendship and the Enriching Power of the Arts in Two Novels by Alyson Richman

Join me as I chat with Alyson Richman, author of 9 novels listed on Art In Fiction, including The Time Keepers listed in the Other category and The Thread Collectors listed in the Textile Arts category.

View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vrYzy7mORwc

• Why Alyson likes to write novels inspired by the arts and the role the arts have played in her life
• How her novels answer questions such as "Can the creative spirit be extinguished in very difficult and dark times?" and "Can creativity be a form of resistance?"
• Genesis of The Time Keepers
• The use of watchmaking in The Time Keepers as a metaphor for how we process time, particularly after suffering trauma
• Research into watchmaking
• Why she decided to set her novel during the Vietnam war
• Parallels between events in the novel and current events
• Researching The Time Keepers, particularly talking with people who experienced the Vietnam war
• Prediction that more novels will start to be written around the Vietnam war now that it's 50 years in the past
• The theme of friendship in The Time Keepers
• Reading from The Time Keepers
• Collaborating with Shaunna Edwards to write The Thread Collectors
• The role Alyson's and Shaunna's ancestors played in creating characters for The Thread Collectors
• Parallels between the Civil War setting for The Thread Collectors and civil unrest and racism in our own time
• Repurposing cloth and thread in the Black community as inspiration for The Thread Collectors
• One thing Alyson learned from writing this novel that she didn't know before
• Alyson's new novel, due out in October 2025.

Press Play now & be sure to check out all Alyson's novels on Art In Fiction: https://www.artinfiction.com/novels?q=alyson+richman

Alyson Richman's website: https://www.alysonrichman.com

Music Credit
Paganology, performed by The Paul Plimley Trio; composed by Gregg Simpson

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Want to learn more about Carol Cram, the host of The Art In Fiction Podcast? She's the author of several award-winning novels, including The Towers of Tuscany and Love Among the Recipes. Find out more on her website.