Stephanie Storey Writes About the Bitter Rivalry Between Michelangelo and Leonardo.

Since she was a teen, Stephanie Storey has been obsessed with Michelangelo. She's devoured every book about him, studied all his art in college, and even dragged her husband along to Europe on a pilgrimage to see every one of Michelangelo's works. 

"I'm very lucky that my husband is willing to share me with a guy by the name of Michelangelo," she says.

It should come as no surprise then that Stephanie's debut novel, Oil and Marble, features Michelangelo as its protagonist. The fascinating book takes readers back to Renaissance Florence, where Michelangelo and Leonardo are engaged in an artistic rivalry like no other. 

Oil and Marble is a Los Angeles Times bestseller and was named one of Hudson Booksellers’ Best Books of 2016. It just came out in paperback, which is the literary world equivalent of making the playoffs. The book has also been optioned as a major motion picture, which I guess is the Super Bowl?

In our lively interview, we talk about the grueling, but still pretty fun, five-year process of getting the idea from her brain onto the bookshelves, how she researched the book, and what she learned about doing her own publicity. 

Need some inspiration for getting your book done? This is a good place to start.