Brunswick County Author Mark Gordon Smith Releases First Fiction Novel, Harrisville

Highly successful author of the Private Italy trilogy releases novel for readers of fiction

Mark Gordon Smith, author of the Private Italy trilogy, announced today the release of his first fiction novel, Harrisville. In this new novel, he continues the tradition of passionate and lyrical writing first revealed in the Italian trilogy, this time creating a work of fiction that is suspenseful, haunting and is filled with unexpected twists.

“The town of Harrisville has always been a part of me,” said Mr. Smith. “I lived in that town when I was a child, and the most critical event in the novel is based upon an event that occurred while our family was living there. Small town and rural life has always captivated me,” Smith explained, “particularly as it was portrayed in novels written in nineteenth century England. Harrisville pays homage to George Eliot’s Middlemarch. The main character of my novel is based upon Dorothea Brooke who is the key character in Eliot’s novel. I found that Dorothea’s strength, her drive and her life were deeply absorbing. Mary, who is the lead character in my novel, is a reflection of Eliot’s character.”

Mark Gordon Smith spent his childhood and early adult years moving around the globe: Italy, Washington, DC, Salt Lake City, Hawaii and Colorado. It was during summer vacations that his family would return to Harrisville and Mio, Michigan to visit his grandparents. Those experiences provided the core inspiration for writing his first fiction novel, Harrisville.

Mr. Smith attended the United States Military Academy. Throughout those years, he continued to pursue a lifelong passion for writing. After graduating from West Point, he completed a five-year obligation and then worked in several multi-national companies, primarily in sales and human resources. He left corporate work in early 2001.

In the summer of that same year, he moved to Florence Italy and wrote the first volume of his Italian Trilogy, Tuscany Echoes, A Season In Italy. It was after his return from Italy that he began to work on Harrisville. In the midst of his work on the fiction novel, he wrote and released the second volume of his trilogy, Tuscan Light, Memories of Italy.

"Most of my work in the past has been non-fiction,” stated Mr. Smith, “yet I have been working on Harrisville for many years. I was motivated, right from the first word of the novel, to share my fascination with small town life through a story filled with challenges, hope and redemption. The narrative takes place in the town of Harrisville, Michigan, located along the northeastern shore of Lake Huron.”

“Ultimately,” Smith concluded, “the novel was written to share with readers the parallels in all of our lives, whether we live in small town America or a small town in England. I hope, of course, that people will read and enjoy the novel; I also hope that readers will be further motivated to explore nineteenth century English classics as well.”

Harrisville is available at the author’s website and from Amazon.com. Mr. Smith is available for interview and can be contacted using the information below.

Harrisville
Mark Gordon Smith
ISBN: 978-0-9740983-8-8

Contact:
Mark Gordon Smith
Private Italy
Phone: 910-575-6735
Web: www.private-italy.com
Email: AlmarBooks@hotmail.com