Austin author Martha Louise Hunter recently published her debut novel, Painting Juliana. The book has elements of magical realism, but it was inspired by actual events in Hunter’s life.
Like her protagonist, Hunter went through a period in her life "where things just weren't coming together like [she] wished that they would." While going through some personal changes of her own, she was caring for a father with Alzheimer's disease and "trying to get to know him a little bit better before it was too late." Juliana is facing many of the same issues, but as Hunter says, "Juliana borrowed things from my life, but it's... not me."
She began writing the novel in 2008, after her father passed away. The events in the book are more outrageous than the actual events of Hunter's life, which she says makes it "funner to read." The response to the book has been better than the author expected; it's garnered many positive reviews and has kept her busy with book readings and interviews. The novel is currently available most places books are sold.
