Talking with Author Carol Orange about “A Discerning Eye” Her Bestselling Book

Carol Orange’s breakout book “A Discerning Eye” literally roared onto the bestseller list. In this literary masterpiece, an art heist is set into motion on a high-stakes operation that will involve Interpol, the FBI, the Mafia, drug lords, and a very daring female art dealer.

Orange has an extraordinary ability to create intriguing and compelling characters, which is in full force with Portia Malatesta, her protagonist. Malatesta is compelled to find the thief, and decides to construct a psychological profile by analyzing the common theme linking the stolen pieces, she suspects the mastermind behind the heist is obsessed with the interplay of dark and light—not only in art, but also in life.

If you want to find out what happens you will have to read this captivating and thrilling book that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

“A Discerning Eye” is the read of the summer and rest assured anyone who picks it up will not be able to put it down. Carol took some time out of her very busy schedule to tell us more about her work, her life and what’s next.

Your book “A Discerning Eye” is an amazing read, and it recently hit the bestseller list, which is a phenomenal accomplishment. What was it like for you when you found out your book was a bestseller?

Every author dreams of writing a book that becomes a bestseller. I was beyond thrilled and excited to learn that “A Discerning Eye” became a bestseller. I picked up a copy of my novel and danced around my kitchen to Pink Martini’s first album.

Every book, has a story about its creation, what’s the story behind “A Discerning Eye”?

I fell in love with art at age seven when my parents first brought me to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After college I worked as a research editor on a book of Spanish Art when I was twenty one and lived in London. Several years later I moved with my academic husband to Boston where I fell in love with

Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Venetian palace on the Fenway. I had an art gallery in Boston where I represented emerging artists. When the heist of 13 special art objects happened at the Gardner Museum on March 18, 1990 I was angry. How dare they steal our precious art. I wondered who could have been behind this heist and what was his motivation.

Portia Malatesta is a strong female sleuth, which I love. What or who was the inspiration for this intriguing and rather unique character?

Isabella Stewart Gardner was a strong female who collected world-renowned masterpieces and built a museum to house them. Portia Malatesta, my protagonist, needed to be equally strong and adventurous if she was going to help find the 13 stolen works of art from the Gardner Museum. Portia and Isabella both loved art with a deep passion.

While writing this book did you learn anything new about yourself?

I was amazed that I could write a complete novel. Before I began writing “A Discerning Eye” I focused on writing short stories. The complex novel format intimidated me. My protagonist Portia Malatesta encouraged me to take more risks, to be more daring and to not fear rejection. She also advised me to learn more about the craft of writing by participating in writing groups and writing conferences.

This may be a bit soon to ask but we are sure your fans are wondering – do you have another book in the works?

Yes, I have written the first twenty three chapters of a novel about Nazi-stolen art. In this novel Portia Malatesta and Julian Henderson, the FBI Art Crime Team expert she works with in A Discerning Eye, leave their former work. They decide to join together as a team of private investigators for a Cambridge family who hire them to find their stolen patrimony in Germany.

To find out more about this book head on over to Amazon.

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