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Author News & Interviews

Author Talk: Warren C. Easley, author of Moving Targets: A Cal Claxton Oregon Mystery

Sep 19, 2018

When a young woman walks into Caffeine Central, Cal Claxton's law office in downtown Portland, he has no idea that agreeing to help her will turn his life upside down. That’s the intriguing premise of MOVING TARGETS, the sixth installment in Warren C. Easley’s mystery series starring the former Los Angeles prosecutor turned small-town lawyer. In this interview, Easley talks about his approach to using topical themes in his fiction, his decision to make Oregon an essential element in the series (a main character, if you will), the most important thing he’s learned about writing crime novels, and his reaction to his fifth book, BLOOD FOR WINE, being nominated for the prestigious Nero Award.

Interview: Stuart Turton, author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Sep 18, 2018

THE 7½ DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE, freelance journalist Stuart Turton’s debut novel, reads like a retelling of Groundhog Day as told by Agatha Christie --- with a hint of science fiction. In this interview conducted by Bookreporter.com’s Rebecca Munro, Turton discusses how the premise of this unique thriller came about and took shape, why he chose a rotting manor for the story’s setting, the characters he enjoyed writing the most (and the least), and the reason for the title change in the US (the book released in the UK as THE 7 DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE).

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.