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Archives - July 2012

Author Talk: Tana French, author of Broken Harbor

Jul 26, 2012

In BROKEN HARBOR, the fourth novel in Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series, Detective Mick “Scorcher” Kennedy explores a murder mystery in an abandoned mansion outside Dublin, with clues that point in all directions. As the case becomes more and more tangled, his personal and professional lives become increasingly endangered. In this interview, French discusses her feelings about the problems facing Ireland, how difficult childhoods affect people later in life, and the ways in which mental illness permeates all of her characters.

Interview: Chris Bohjalian, author of The Sandcastle Girls

Jul 19, 2012

THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS, Chris Bohjalian’s latest novel, follows Elizabeth Endicott, a wealthy, college-educated American woman as she tries to aid victims of the Armenian genocide, and meets a man who winds up falling in love with her. The story picks up in the present day with Laura Petrosian, who, after viewing a photo exhibit of Armenian refugees (some of whom have her last name) embarks on a journey to reconnect with her roots.

Author Talk: Deborah Harkness, author of Shadow of Night

Jul 12, 2012

Deborah Harkness, author of the All Souls trilogy phenomenon, continues her supernatural series with SHADOW OF NIGHT, which picks up where the first novel, A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, left off. Diana and Matthew resume their search for the enchanted Ashmole 782 manuscript in Elizabethan England amidst a world of spies, deception and new perils. In this interview, Harkness expresses her surprise at the popularity of the series, talks about the traveling she did to gain insights into the settings she uses, and reveals her own discovery of a lost text while completing her dissertation.

Interview: John Lutz, author of Pulse: A Frank Quinn Novel

Jul 12, 2012

PULSE, the newest installment in John Lutz's Frank Quinn series, follows the former NYPD homicide detective as he tries to track down an infamous serial killer (or perhaps a copycat killer) whose signature depravity begins to reappear all over New York City after 10 years of inactivity. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com's Joe Hartlaub, Lutz discusses his inspiration for the murderer, why imaginary serial killers are more interesting than the real ones, and whether or not some serial killers are beyond the reach of the justice system.

Author Talk: Dan Stephenson, author of The Underwater Window

Jul 12, 2012

THE UNDERWATER WINDOW by Dan Stephenson follows two best friends --- and rivals --- as they compete for the same gold medal in the Olympics. Archie may be the world’s greatest swimmer, but Doyle is rapidly approaching the end of his career with unfulfilled dreams of glory, and decides to give it one last shot in the 400 meter freestyle, which Archie holds the record for. In this interview, Stephenson talks about how he found time to write this novel, the incomparable sense of mental balance brought on by swimming, and the similarities between lawyers and swimmers.

Author Talk: Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl

Jul 6, 2012

People often ask me if I have a writing routine. The answer is: kind of.

Let me start with this caveat. I am not the world’s fastest writer. When I started GONE GIRL, I was not pregnant. Then I was. Then I had a son. Then the son became a toddler. As it turns out, 16-month-olds do not understand the phrase: “Mother is not to be disturbed while she channels her muse, my sweet.” I couldn’t write anywhere around the house anymore. I needed a lair.

Author Talk: Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl

Jul 6, 2012

I was not a nice little girl. My favorite summertime hobby was stunning ants and feeding them to spiders. My preferred indoor diversion was a game called Mean Aunt Rosie, in which I pretended to be a witchy caregiver and my cousins tried to escape me. Our most basic prop was one of those pink, plastic toy phones most little girls owned in the ’80s. (Pretty girls love to talk on the phone!) Alas, it was always snatched from their fingers before they could call for help. (Mwahaha) In downtime, I also enjoyed watching soft-core porn on scrambled cable channels. (Boob, bottom, static, static, boob!) And if one of my dolls started getting an attitude, I’d cut off her hair.

Author Talk: Joanna Brady, author of The Woman at the Light

Jul 5, 2012

Joanna Brady is a food writer at the Key West citizen. Here, she talks about what made her decide to write her historical novel, THE WOMAN AT THE LIGHT. She also discusses her main character, Emily Lowry and the issue of interracial couples within that time period.

Author Talk: Davis Bunn, author of Rare Earth

Jul 3, 2012

Undercover agent Marc Royce is back on assignment in RARE EARTH, Davis Bunn's latest suspense novel. As war breaks out in Kenya over valuable land, how far will Royce go to bring peace? In this interview, Bunn talks about his attraction to spiritual fiction, the role of the missionary church in today's world, and the difficult balance achieved in creating good faith-based fiction.