Connie Hampton Connally
I am a writer who loves good music and good stories.
It’s been my privilege to combine these loves by writing fiction that honors the creation of beauty, even in the bleakest of circumstances, through the creation of music.
About
Connie
Connie Hampton Connally has loved music and the written word all her life, and many of her adult years she’s spent working in those fields as well. She holds a BA in English from the University of Washington and an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University. She’s published magazine stories and newspaper articles, worked as an editor, taught high school English and elementary music, and is currently a respected presenter at writing conferences. Through teaching music Connie discovered the work of Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály, who uplifted his nation through decades of war, political oppression and social upheaval. Connie couldn’t resist this theme of creating beauty amidst hardship. She wrote her novels Fire Music and The Songs We Hide as a result. Connie is currently writing a third novel, set in Peru.
Connie and her husband live in Tacoma, Washington. They travel frequently, since they have family members living abroad. Because of her family and her characters, Connie has set her heart—and often her feet—in faraway places.
Books
Fire Music
To be published by Coffeetown Press, April 2024
Antal Varga, a Budapest violinist, is 78 years old when a young American stranger places a yellowed music sheet into his hands. With shock he recognizes his own teenage handwriting, for he himself wrote this piece in 1945, when his city was under siege. Desperate to talk with this American woman, Varga enlists his grandson Kristóf to translate; and he finds that the woman, Lisa, shares his family’s painful heritage.
Now his grandson and this young American press him for the story behind the music, and especially behind its shattered ending. For decades he’s hidden this story of war, love, jealousy, and loss. Can he bear to tell it now? Can they bear to hear it?
Cautiously Varga, Kristóf and Lisa open the music and its hard secrets, hoping that although pain has extended over generations, perhaps love will extend further still.
The Songs We Hide
Published by Coffeetown Press
In 1951, a grim hush has settled over Hungary. After a lost war and a brutal transition to communism, the people live under constant threat of blacklisting, property confiscation, arrest, imprisonment and worse. In this milieu of dread, the best land of Peter Benedek’s peasant family is seized and his life upended. Moving to Budapest for a manual labor job, Peter meets Katalin Varga, an unwed mother whose baby’s father has vanished, most likely at the hands of the secret police. Both Péter and Katalin keep their heads down and their mouths clamped shut, because silence is the only safety they know.
But the two have something in common besides fear: they are singers. When Katalin starts giving Péter voice lessons, they take an intrepid step out of hiding by making music together. Little by little they tell each other what they cannot tell others. In their bond of trust, they find relief and unexpected happiness.
Yet the hurts and threats in their lives remain, waiting. As harsh reality assaults them again, is hope even possible? Facing their hardest trials yet, Peter and Katalin learn to carve dignity and beauty out of pain.
To order the book:
Events
Rivers of Ink: A Gathering for Eastern Washington Writers
On Friday and Saturday, October 6 and 7, 2023, I will join other writers and speakers at Rivers of Ink in Pacso, WA. Rivers of Ink is an intimate and friendly conference, full of helpful teaching and information, and an excellent way for Eastern Washington writers to...
Rivers of Ink, A Conference for Writers
Rivers of Ink is a wonderfully helpful and intimate conference in Richland, WA, this year held on October 7 and 8, 2022. For information about it, click here. I'm excited to be part of it, presenting a workshop titled Tension: A Story's Dynamic Uncertainty. The other...
Scriptoria Workshop for Writers
This June 20-24 in Grand Rapids, MI, I'll be attending a wonderful new writing workshop. Scriptoria is a joint effort of three universities: Calvin, Cornerstone and Aquinas. It follows the format of an MFA residency, with critiquing workshops in the morning, seminars...
Recent Blog Posts
Coming April 2024: A New Novel, Fire Music
Some things are years in the making, and that’s especially true of books. My novel Fire Music has been one of those long projects, and I used to wonder how I’d ever finish it. But now I’m delighted to announce that this huge labor of love is not only finished but has...
The Songs We Hide on Mighty Books Podcast
Ryan Oliver of Mighty Books podcast interviewed me about The Songs We Hide. It was an excellent conversation. Listen in ! Here's the link: https://youtu.be/wqGxc-4GOzw
Join us at Write in the Harbor!
This wonderful conference happens November 4 and 5, 2022 in Gig Harbor, WA. I'll be presenting, along with a terrific slate of other creative and talented people. If you're a writer or think you might like to be, come and join us!
Contact
Whether you’d like to schedule an event, share thoughts, or ask questions, I’d love to hear from you. Please contact me using this form.
