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Archives - August 2013

Interview: Gregg Hurwitz, author of Tell No Lies

Aug 28, 2013

Gregg Hurwitz is the critically acclaimed, New York Times and internationally bestselling author of 13 thrillers. His most recent, TELL NO LIES, is a stand-alone title featuring Daniel Brasher, who, after receiving a series of anonymous threats meant for others, finds himself and his loved ones unexpectedly on the radar of a relentless serial killer. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Joe Hartlaub, Hurwitz talks about why he’s drawn to complicated characters like Brasher, and the one morally resonant question that served as the jumping-off point for the entire plot. He also discusses what it really means when people talk about “place as character” and how that played out in his choice to set TELL NO LIES in San Francisco --- as well as a few theories as to why the city historically has been the site of so many serial murders.

Author Talk: Stephen White, author of Compound Fractures

Aug 23, 2013

New York Times bestselling author Stephen White draws upon over 15 years of clinical practice as a psychologist to create intriguing plots and complex, believable characters. In COMPOUND FRACTURES, the riveting conclusion to his Dr. Alan Gregory series, the Boulder psychologist is forced to acknowledge that the perils that may bring him to his knees are not the dangers he recognizes, nor are they orchestrated by the nemesis he has long feared. In this interview, White discusses what he will miss most about the series now that it’s drawing to a close with its 20th installment, as well as why leaving home --- metaphorically, of course --- can be a good thing, even for an old man. He also opens up about the similarities between himself and his protagonist, how closely based on his own life some of the early stories were, and what he plans to work on next.

Author Talk: Jojo Moyes, author of The Girl You Left Behind

Aug 23, 2013

Jojo Moyes is a journalist and the author of several books, including the New York Times bestseller ME BEFORE YOU. Her latest novel, THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND is about two unsinkable women, and the controversial painting that unites them, even though they live almost a century apart. In this interview, Moyes reveals the news story that inspired the book and why she is interested in writing stories about ambiguous morality, with complex characters in complicated situations. She also talks about researching one of her main characters, the artist Edouard Lefèvre, in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, what she has learned about writing an effective sex scene --- one that’s neither too prudish nor too trashy --- and why keeping her characters apart is as important to their romance as getting them together.

Interview: James Patterson, author of Treasure Hunters

Aug 23, 2013

James Patterson is an author who needs no introduction. Frequently on best-seller lists for both adult and children's books, he's known for writing great stories. But did you know about his efforts to get children reading? For the past decade, James has been devoting more and more of his time to championing books and reading --- from the James Patterson Pageturner Awards, to his website ReadKiddoRead.com, to  his regular donations of hundreds of thousands of books to schools here in the states and troops overseas and more.

In this interview, Patterson talks about why he began writing books for kids, how reluctant readings can get hooked on reading and what books he's working on!

Interview: Wilton Barnhardt, author of Lookaway, Lookaway

Aug 21, 2013

In LOOKAWAY, LOOKAWAY, his first novel in 15 years, Wilton Barnhardt introduces readers to Jerene Jarvis Johnston and her husband, Duke, exemplars of Charlotte, North Carolina’s high society. Jerene works tirelessly to preserve her family's legacy, even if her loved ones aren't cooperating. Bookreporter.com's Bronwyn Miller gets Barnhardt to open up about his inspiration for this proud-to-a-fault Southern matriarch, and the delicacy with which he had to write her in order to avoid any camp or irony. Barnhardt also discusses his own liberal brand of Southern pride, the interesting --- sometimes jarring --- way the South's past and present seem to intersect, and why he and his book-loving family started the Barnhardt Family Fund at Warren Wilson College.

Interview: William Kent Krueger, author of Tamarack County

Aug 21, 2013

William Kent Krueger is the award-winning author of 13 Cork O’Connor mysteries, as well as the stand-alone title ORDINARY GRACE. In his latest book, TAMARACK COUNTY, private investigator Cork O’Connor begins to detect a pattern of ominous incidents throughout Tamarack County and must break it before his loved ones are forced to pay the ultimate price for the sins of others. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Joe Hartlaub, Krueger talks about how this story presented the long-awaited opportunity for him to spotlight Cork's kids, Stephen and Anne. He also reveals how staying true in his fiction to the ever-changing nature of family life --- and life in general --- has kept things interesting for him, and explains why he loves to write about Minnesota, even though he isn’t technically a native.

Author Talk: Elizabeth Camden, author of Into the Whirlwind

Aug 12, 2013

Elizabeth Camden is the author of four books, including the Christy Award winner AGAINST THE TIDE. Her latest novel, INTO THE WHIRLWIND, is about a woman named Mollie Knox, who is desperate to save her business after the Chicago fire of 1871 destroys her city. While she struggles to rebuild, two men battle for her heart. Can Mollie rise from the ashes with both her business and her heart intact? In this interview, Camden talks about the surprising lack of adult fiction set during the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire and, of course, her immediate instinct to fill that niche. She has always been moved by the story of the Fire, and felt that it was the perfect dramatic backdrop for a character-driven story because "tragedies burnish the true character of a person."

Author Talk: Julianna Deering , author of Rules of Murder: A Drew Farthering Mystery

Aug 12, 2013

Julianna Deering is a longtime fan of classic mysteries written in the 1920s and '30s. From the tip of his black Homburg to the crease in his stylish cheviot trousers, Drew Farthering, the hero of Deering's own mystery series that launches with RULES OF MURDER, is the epitome of a stylish 1930s English gentleman. In this interview, Deering discusses how her passion for murder mysteries inspired her own writing, along with her discovery of Father Ronald Arbuthnott Knox's rules for crafting a proper mystery story...and her subsequent decision to "bend" them. She also talks about the spiritual journey of her foppish main character and how --- once stripped of his social and monetary advantages --- he is forced to confront his own very desperate need for God.

Author Talk: Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You

Aug 2, 2013

Jojo Moyes's ME BEFORE YOU, which was a huge hit when it released last New Year's Eve in hardcover, is now available in paperback. The novel follows Louisa Clark, who takes a badly needed job working for ex-Master of the Universe Will Traynor --- wheelchair-bound and having a hard time adjusting to his new life. In this interview, Moyes talks about the very real and tragic news story that inspired the book, as well as the personal experiences that led her to it. She also discusses her fascination with the love-hate bond between siblings, which allowed her to write so compellingly about the relationship between Louisa and her sister, Treena. Lastly, Moyes tentatively weighs in on the re-heated debate about whether or not having children is essential to understanding the human condition, and how achieving broader commercial success has changed her writing process --- for better or for worse.

Interview: Elaine Hussey, author of The Sweetest Hallelujah

Aug 1, 2013

Elaine Hussey is a writer, actress and musician who lives in Mississippi, where her love of blues and admiration for the unsung heroes of her state’s history served as inspiration for her latest book, THE SWEETEST HALLELUJAH. Bookreporter.com’s Terry Miller Shannon talks to Hussey about how her Southern roots have influenced her storytelling (“the history of the Deep South is woven into my bones”) and the patience she had to have while waiting for her characters to mature and fully inhabit the story she was trying to tell. On a more personal note, she opens up about the message that is central to the novel --- female empowerment --- and the importance of her own friendships with the women in her life. An eternal optimist, Hussey shares how she balanced her own glass-half-full outlook with some of the book's darker themes, and her own routine that prepares her mentally for writing.