Skip to main content

Author News & Interviews

Author Talk: Mark de Castrique, author of Secret Undertaking: A Buryin' Barry Mystery

Sep 12, 2018

Mark de Castrique is the author of the Sam Blackman and Buryin' Barry series of mysteries, both of which take place in his home state of North Carolina. The newest installment in the latter series, SECRET UNDERTAKING, is now in stores and continues the adventures of funeral director and part-time deputy sheriff Barry Clayton. In this interview, de Castrique discusses his inspiration for the Buryin' Barry books, which grew out of personal history; the challenges he faces in keeping his two series characters distinct, though ponders a potential crossover novel in which Barry and Sam join forces; and the mystery authors who have had the most impact on his crime fiction.

Author Talk: Stephen Markley, author of Ohio

Aug 23, 2018

Stephen Markley’s debut novel, OHIO, takes place in a small town in northeastern Ohio, which has been ravaged by the Great Recession, an opioid crisis, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One summer night in 2013, four former classmates converge on their hometown, each with a mission, all haunted by the ghosts of their shared histories. In this interview, Markley talks about his inspiration for the book and the research that went into it; how he crafted his characters’ individual voices, created their backstories and decided how their lives would intersect; the ways in which his work as a screenwriter and journalist has informed his fiction; and the enormous role that Toni Morrison’s novel SULA played in his decision to structure the story the way he did.

Author Talk: Doug Burgess, author of Fogland Point

Aug 23, 2018

Doug Burgess, a professor of history at Yeshiva University in New York City, has written his first novel, FOGLAND POINT. Burgess' protagonist, David Hazard, gets so much more than he bargains for when he returns to his hometown of Little Compton (the foggy New England village "on the wrong side" of Narragansett Bay where he grew up) following the murder of his grandmother’s next-door neighbor. In this interview, Burgess talks about his inspiration for his debut work of fiction, why he decided to cast David as a trans man, how he researched the book’s Rhode Island backdrop, and the mystery authors who were his chief influences growing up.

Author Talk: Judy Clemens, author of Beyond the Grave: A Grim Reaper Mystery

Aug 23, 2018

BEYOND THE GRAVE is the fifth installment in Judy Clemens’ Grim Reaper mystery series, which revolves around the travels and travails of Casey Maldonado in the wake of the tragic deaths of her husband and young son. Her constant companion is Death and follows her everywhere she goes. This time, she escapes to the quiet village of Armstrong, but soon finds herself surrounded by all kinds of trouble. In this interview, Clemens discusses her very personal reason for creating a mystery series with a supernatural twist; reveals her literary inspirations for Casey, who is a master of the Eastern fighting arts; explains why she decided to use the character of the Grim Reaper as occasional comic relief; and talks about the differences in her approach to writing this series and her Stella Crown mysteries, the latter of which features no paranormal aspects.

Interview: Jerrold Fine, author of Make Me Even and I'll Never Gamble Again

Aug 14, 2018

Hedge fund pioneer Jerrold Fine blends a heartfelt story of a young man fiercely intent on achieving independence with a fascinating insider’s look at the perks and pitfalls of a high-stakes life in the world of financial markets in his debut novel, MAKE ME EVEN AND I’LL NEVER GAMBLE AGAIN. In this interview conducted by Carol Fitzgerald, the president and co-founder of The Book Report Network, Fine explains his inspiration for writing his first work of fiction, why he chose to set the book in the 1970s and early ’80s, and the differences between the financial world and book publishing. He also pays tribute to two mentors who played key roles in his personal and professional lives, offers advice to those who would like to pursue a career in finance, and reveals how close (or not) Showtime’s “Billions” is to real life.