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Author News & Interviews

Interview: Sally Hepworth, author of The Things We Keep

Jan 21, 2016

Sally Hepworth is a former event planner and HR professional, as well as a world-traveler and the bestselling author of THE SECRETS OF MIDWIVES. She’s following up that success with THE THINGS WE KEEP, the story of Anna Forster, a 38-year-old woman in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease who checks herself into an assisted living facility, where she meets and connects deeply with another patient. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Rebecca Munro, Hepworth discusses why she was moved to write about a protagonist suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s (and why it was crucial to tell Anna’s story in the first person), and why she believes deeply in the ability of love to trump disease.

Interview: Katarina Bivald, author of The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend

Jan 21, 2016

Swedish author Katarina Bivald grew up working part-time at a bookshop, so it’s no surprise that her heralded debut novel, THE READERS OF BROKEN WHEEL RECOMMEND, is a sweet, smart story about how books find us, change us and connect us. What is surprising, though, is that it’s set in Broken Wheel, a small Iowa town, considering she never even had been to the United States. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Melanie Reynolds, Bivald reveals why she finds small American towns so charming and how Broken Wheel came alive so vividly in her imagination. Although she can’t quite decide what her favorite books are, she knows precisely what she likes to read about and shares some details about crafting all those elements into her own work.

Interview: Susan Meissner, author of Stars Over Sunset Boulevard

Jan 21, 2016

Susan Meissner is the acclaimed author of multiple bestselling novels, as well as a speaker and writing workshop leader with a background in community journalism. Her latest book, STARS OVER SUNSET BOULEVARD, is set in both the present and the past, and tells the story of two women who meet on the set of Gone with the Wind, whose friendship is tested by the glamour and deception of 1930s Hollywood. In this interview, Meissner talks to Bookreporter.com’s Susan Miura about the incredible research that went into making STARS OVER SUNSET BOULEVARD historically accurate, the role that her faith plays in her storytelling, and why she thinks friendship is the most interesting relationship to write about --- especially because there's a bit of Scarlett O'Hara inside us all.

Interview: Elizabeth Strout, author of My Name Is Lucy Barton

Jan 14, 2016

Not only is Elizabeth Strout a bestselling author, her work is also critically acclaimed and prize-winning --- including the Pulitzer Prize for OLIVE KITTERIDGE. Her latest book, MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON, features another strong female protagonist, Lucy Barton, a writer whose slow recovery from an operation reunites her with her estranged mother and the life she left behind. Turning a simple hospital visit into the story of a whole life is no easy feat, and in this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Katherine B. Weissman, Strout reveals how all the elements of MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON came together --- intentionally or unintentionally --- from Lucy’s distinctive first-person voice to the setting to the unique structure of the novel. She also discusses her journey as a writer, starting with a very supportive college professor, and why her own high standards are the only ones she strives to meet.

Interview: Michel Bussi, author of After the Crash

Jan 7, 2016

Michel Bussi is one of France’s most celebrated crime authors, and he’s ready to make his mark on American readers. AFTER THE CRASH is his first book to be translated into English, and it tells the riveting story of two families --- one rich and one poor --- who are battling for custody of a child who was miraculously the sole survivor of an air flight tragedy. In this brief interview with Bookreporter.com’s Joe Hartlaub, Bussi discusses his fascination with the nature vs. nurture debate and how that inspired him to write this novel. He also talks about beginning a story at its end, as well as some of AFTER THE CRASH’s precedents in American pop culture.