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Monica Spence Historical Fiction spiced with Romance Currently working on a Historical Fiction about the Medici family Monica Elaine Spence has been writing since high school, back when rocks were soft. She is a Speech and Theater Department graduate of Seton Hill College who went on to receive a Masters with a specialization in Costume History and Construction. After working for six years as a costume designer in the professional theater, she spent 24 years as a swimwear designer and patternmaker in New York City. In 2004, Monica began her new career as a professor in the Fashion Design Department at the Art Institute of New York City. She teaches Fashion History, Textiles, and various technical classes. |
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In 2005 Monica stumbled upon the Writing Popular Fiction program while surfing the net for a distance writing program. After 32 years, she returned the hallowed halls of Seton Hill College-- now a University, for her second Masters, which she completed in June 2008. Her thesis is a Historical Fiction novel set in Sixteenth Century Florence. It is the first book of a series and the second book is also completed. She is currently working on a third book, set in the same time period in Italy. When Monica is not reading, writing, or researching, you can find her in her sewing room reproducing the garments seen in Sixteenth Century portraits. In November of 2008, she traveled to Florence for a costume colloquium about the extant clothing from the Medici burials. Monica is currently the President of the Long Island Romance Writers, Chapter 160 of the Romance Writers of America. She is also a member of the Romance Writers of America, the New Jersey Romance Writers and the “Elements” RWA chapter, which specializes in non-traditional romance. She also belongs to PennWriters. She is a member of the Costume Society of America, the Sixteenth Century Society, the Society for Renaissance Studies, the Historical Novel Society, and the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). She is an assistant editor of the Compleat Anachronist, a publication for the members of the SCA and reviews new fiction for the Historical Novel Society. One day Monica hopes she finds an agent and a publisher who will fall in love with the tales of the Medici, as she did over twenty years ago. She credits her husband, Paul Kowalinski, for his support in keeping her sane and being the best “plot consultant” in the history of the novel. | |