Author News & Interviews

Interview: Richard O'Rawe, author of Northern Heist: A Ructions O'Hare Novel

Apr 8, 2021

NORTHERN HEIST is a first novel by Richard O’Rawe, who as an IRA recruit robbed a Northern Bank branch in Mallusk outside of Belfast in 1977. Captured immediately afterward, he was sentenced to eight years at Long Kesh/Maze prison. While there, O’Rawe became the Public Relations officer for the prisoners who were participating in what would become their world-famous hunger strike, in which 10 of the striking prisoners ultimately died. 

In this interview, O’Rawe talks to Michael Barson, Senior Publicity Executive at Melville House, about his decision to become an author and write a novel about a Belfast bank robbery. According to the Wall Street Journal, the book’s “deeds and details seem as real as a smashed kneecap, while its stopwatch tension, heightened by present-tense voice, is reminiscent of such classic caper films as Rififi and The Asphalt Jungle."

Interview: Donis Casey, author of Valentino Will Die: The Adventures of Bianca Dangereuse

Feb 4, 2021

Donis Casey is the author of 10 Alafair Tucker mysteries. This award-winning series, featuring the sleuthing mother of 10 children, is set in Oklahoma during the booming 1910s. Casey has now penned VALENTINO WILL DIE, the second installment in her Hollywood-based series set in the 1920s and starring Alafair’s eighth child, Blanche, who has transformed into the celebrated Bianca LaBelle, the reclusive star of a series of adventure films. In this interview conducted by Michael Barson, who has worked in book publicity since 1984, Casey talks about her inspiration for turning Blanche into a silent movie actress, what intrigued her so much about Rudolph Valentino that she decided to make him the focal point for her latest novel, and which actors working today she believes would have been a huge success in the silent film era.

Interview: Reavis Z. Wortham, author of Laying Bones: A Texas Red River Mystery

Jan 15, 2021

Reavis Z. Wortham is the critically acclaimed author of the Red River Mysteries, which takes place in rural Northeast Texas in the 1960s, and a contemporary thriller series featuring Texas Ranger Sonny Hawke. In this interview conducted by Michael Barson, who has worked in book publicity since 1984, Wortham talks about the fascinating research he conducted for LAYING BONES, the eighth and latest Red River mystery; his decision to have these books progress one year at a time throughout the ’60s; which of his characters are inspired by people from his own life; the top five authors in his personal Texas Novelists Hall of Fame; and what readers can look forward to in future installments of the Red River series.

Interview: Thomas Perry, author of Eddie's Boy: A Butcher's Boy Novel

Dec 2, 2020

EDDIE’S BOY is the long-awaited fourth entry in Thomas Perry’s Butcher’s Boy series, following his Edgar Award-winning debut novel, THE BUTCHER’S BOY (1982); SLEEPING DOGS (1992); and THE INFORMANT (2011). In this interview, Perry talks to Michael Barson, who has worked in book publicity since 1984, about the unusually long period of time between installments; his thoughts on main character Michael Shaeffer, an ultra-proficient hitman who genuinely adores his loving wife; and the lessons he has learned in his 40 years as a published author.

Interview: Matt Coyle, author of Blind Vigil: A Rick Cahill Novel

Dec 2, 2020

Matt Coyle, whose books are set in contemporary San Diego, has revived the Raymond Chandler hardboiled PI model. In 2019’s LOST TOMORROWS, Rick Cahill solved the murders of his wife Colleen and cop friend Krista Landingham. He was shot in the face by the perpetrator and blinded by inflammation caused by bullet fragments.

In BLIND VIGIL, Rick returns to San Diego from Santa Barbara, the city of lost tomorrows. Though blind, he is engaged by PI pal Moira MacFarlane to aid in the investigation of Shay Sommers, estranged chum Turk Muldoon’s girlfriend. Heightened audio and olfactory senses aid Rick in his pursuit of justice, and lead to an astounding and credible conclusion.

In this interview, Coyle chats with Bookreporter.com’s Dean Murphy about the blind PI plot, his appearance as Left Coast Crime Toastmaster, and his writing life amid a pandemic.