Thanks to Scene Magazine and Lacey Galbraith for the Best of Nashville 2007 Writers'Choice Award. 
PRAISE FOR THE ILLUMINATOR
Publisher's Weekly calls the novel "...enthralling..compelling...brilliantly sketched...absorbing, expertly told..." (starred review)
Library Journal says The Illuminator is a "remarkable first novel ...depicts this complex period with imagination and care." (starred review)
Praise from Booklist: "Her details and deft storytelling create a luminescent and very readable portrait of a dark time in history."
Brazil, Croatia, and Russia are the newest countries to purchase translation rights, bringing the foreign rights sales to a total of 14 countries!
Audiofile magazine has honored The Illuminator with an AudioFile Earphones Award for the Audio Renaissance edition of the novel. Congratulations to Simon Jones for his excellent narration of the text. The recorded version is available in both cassette (unabridged) and CD (abridged) formats from Audio Renaissance. The Illuminator is also available in large print format from Wheeler Publishing
Praise for THE MERCY SELLER
Publisher's Weekly says "Vantrease tells an engaging story and paints a vivid picture of 15th-century Europe . . ."
Kirkus Reviews calls THE MERCY SELLER an "engrossing follow-up to THE ILLUMINATOR."
Library Journal says "The many readers who liked Vantrease's debut, THE ILLUMINATOR . . . will be pleasantly surprised by this satisfying sequel . . . The same lovely period detail and attention to historical realities of the first book are here maintained."
These reviews are posted in totality on Barnes&Noble.com.
BookPage says "By turns exotic, mystical, regal and romantic, the story surges forward to a satisfying end. Anyone with an interest in European or Church history, religious movements or book arts will find this novel addicting."
The Nashville Tennessean says "(The Mercy Seller) vibrates with specific details and with characters who leap off the page and haunt the reader."
THE HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY says Brenda Vantrease is "an author who has a unique ability to build a story and develop characters--(Editor's Choice Review) To read this review and other Editor's Choice reviews of historical fiction, click here
Events
•Scottsville Public Library, Scottsville, KY, 1:00 p.m. August 19, 2008
•Southern Festival of Books. Oct. 10-12. tn-humanities.org/festival/index.php for details.
