Trueblood, Valerie 1944(?)-

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1944; married; husband's name Richard Rapport (a writer), 1972; children: Daniel. Education: Brown University, B.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Seattle, WA.

CAREER:

Writer. Once worked in Chicago, IL, for five years as a case worker; later held temporary secretarial positions.

WRITINGS:

Seven Loves (novel), Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor of short stories to periodicals such as One Story, and to anthology The Best Short Stories, Houghton Mifflin (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

Valerie Trueblood published her first novel at the age of sixty-two, after devoting much of her writing time to short stories. She had submitted her work for publication several decades before, but nothing was accepted. Only as she approached the age of sixty did she decide to try again, finding that her longer short fiction was much more in style than it had been during the 1970s. Her first short work was accepted by One Story, a New York-based magazine that focuses each issue on one short story. After that another short work was eventually lengthened, and became her first novel, Seven Loves. The book tells the story of May, a widow and mother of two daughters and a son, who is about to become incapacitated by a stroke. Her life is depicted in seven chapters through the experiences of seven people who had an effect on May's life. A contributor for Kirkus Reviews remarked: "This is a rare assured and capable debut, filled with breathtaking turns of phrase and pulsing with the rhythm of experience, despair and love." Writing for AARP Magazine, Wendy Smith commented: "Trueblood's sensitive, eloquent prose draws us into the turbulent memories beneath May's polished exterior, inviting us to marvel at the complexity of every individual existence." Library Journal critic Robin Nesbit stated appreciatively that "the novel teems with well-drawn and appealing characters."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 2006, Miriam Tuliao, review of Seven Loves, p. 74.

Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2006, review of Seven Loves, p. 437.

Library Journal, May 15, 2006, Robin Nesbit, review of Seven Loves, p. 93.

Publishers Weekly, April 3, 2006, review of Seven Loves, p. 36.

ONLINE

AARP Magazine Online,http://www.aarpmagazine.org/ (July 1, 2006), Wendy Smith, review of Seven Loves.

NYC-Plus Online,http://www.nyc-plus.com/ (September, 2006), Nan Goldberg, interview with Valerie Trueblood.