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Narrative Nonfiction
Nationally published news and features writer
Paige Bowers is the author of The General’s Niece: The Little-Known de Gaulle Who Fought to Free Occupied France and co-author of Overnight Code: The Life of Raye Montague, the Woman Who Revolutionized Naval Engineering.
Paige is a nationally published news and features writer whose work has appeared in TIME, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, People, Allure, Thomson Reuters, Glamour, Pregnancy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Magazine and Palm Beach Illustrated. She lives in the Atlanta area with her husband, 15-year-old daughter and a Yellow Lab who thinks he’s a lap dog.
You can learn more about Paige Bowers on her website. Read our review of Overnight Code here.
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BOOKS:
The General’s Niece: The Little-Known de Gaulle Who Fought to Free Occupied France (2017)
Overnight Code: The Life of Raye Montague, The Woman Who Revolutionized Naval Engineering (2021)
Your biggest literary influences:
Erik Larson, Mary Gabriel, Susan Orlean
Last book read:
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
The book that changed your life:
There are a number of books that have changed my life for different reasons. However, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote changed my life because it showed me how to tell a richly layered, well-reported and beautifully written story that had a novelistic feel. I was much younger when I read it for the first time, and I knew I wanted to write books, but wasn’t sure I had the imagination to write fiction. Capote (and Harper Lee) offered me a glimpse of what I could do with the skills that I had, and for that I will always be grateful.
Your favorite literary character:
I have so many of them! For now, I will say Sancho Panza, because he is so loyal and down-to-earth. He knows who he is, and also realizes that to enjoy life, you take things as they come, one day at a time, all the while making room for simple pleasures and laughter. He’s a steadying force, and without him, Don Quixote can’t be who he is or go where he goes.
Currently working on:
Getting research together for what I hope is a new proposal. That’s about all I’m able to say at the moment. Stay tuned …
Words to live by:
“You will obtain your goal if you maintain your course.”
— A fortune cookie fortune that has been taped to the top of my monitor for at least 15 years
Advice for aspiring authors:
Read, especially across a variety of genres. It’s a discipline that teaches you so much about the world, about language and about the technique of putting together a well-told story. Also, be curious about people, places and things. Ask plenty of questions and be open to the answers you’ll receive, because different perspectives improve your own understanding and make your writing sharper. Finally, I wouldn’t say that I’m the “write every day, or else” sort, but I do believe in establishing a habit of sitting at your desk most days of the week and writing something, just to keep your hand in it. First drafts can always be revised and refined, but you don’t get something publishable until you work at it and refuse to allow your fears (all writers have them) to get in the way of any possible success.
Finally … keep at it and don’t give up. The hard work is definitely worth it!
Articles and Reviews:
Testimonials:
“Paige Bowers is an emerging talent in narrative nonfiction/history, an intellectually curious reporter who has the ability to tell rich, well-researched stories about some of history’s most fascinating people and events.”
— Aminda Marques Gonzalez, executive editor of Miami Herald, member of the Pulitzer Prize Board and former Miami bureau chief of People
Praise for the The General’s Niece:
“This is such an inspiring story, written with clarity and conviction. Paige Bowers’s excellent biography reveals Geneviève de Gaulle as one of the bravest and most dignified among young French resisters. At last, women who resisted the Nazis in France are being given the long-overdue recognition they deserve.”
— Anne Sebba, author of Les Parisiennes
“Paige Bowers delivers a story that is alternately pulse pounding and heart wrenching. With elegant style, Bowers gives Geneviève de Gaulle an independent identity, restoring her to her proper place in history.”
— Theresa Kaminski, author of Angels of the Underground
