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Author News & Interviews

Interview: Priya Parmar, author of Vanessa and Her Sister

Jan 22, 2015

Although VANESSA AND HER SISTER is only Priya Parmar’s second book (following her debut, EXIT THE ACTRESS), it has already wowed critics and readers. Set in the exhilarating days of prewar London, it tells the extraordinary tale of two gifted artists: Vanessa Bell and her sister, Virginia Woolf. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Roz Shea, Parmar talks about her fascination with Vanessa and Virginia, as well as the extended, equally eccentric Bloomsbury Group. She also discusses why she chose to tell the story in an epistolary format and why she hopes that the wonderful personalization of letter writing will not be lost in our technology-saturated world.

Interview: Amanda Eyre Ward, author of The Same Sky

Jan 22, 2015

Critically acclaimed author Amanda Eyre Ward spent the last year visiting shelters in Texas and California, meeting immigrant children whose stories inspired her latest novel, THE SAME SKY. In it, strong-willed Carla decides to leave Honduras with her young brother and make the difficult journey to Texas --- hoping to reunite with the only family they have left. In her interview with Bookreporter.com’s Bronwyn Miller, Ward reveals the real-life inspiration for Carla and how moved she was by the stories that the kids at the Brownsville shelter shared with her. She also discusses how she hopes THE SAME SKY will add depth to an issue that is often oversimplified in the news and will mobilize readers to get involved.

Interview: John Lewis, author of March: Book Two

Jan 14, 2015

Recently, John Maher of The Book Report Network interviewed Representative John Lewis, the author of the graphic memoir MARCH: Book Two, the second in a series about his experiences during the American Civil Rights Movement. The former chairman of the Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee, Lewis was one of the leading voices for nonviolent protest and civil disobedience in the 1960s. He is the only living member of the "Big Six," and one of 10 activists to speak to the more than 250,000 Americans gathered at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington in 1963. Lewis has served as the U.S. Representative for Georgia's 5th congressional district since 1987, and is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Interview: Charles Todd, author of A Fine Summer's Day: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery

Jan 12, 2015

In A FINE SUMMER’S DAY, the latest entry in their Ian Rutledge series, the New York Times bestselling mother-son writing team known as Charles Todd takes readers into the Scotland Yard detective’s past --- to his perplexing final case before the outbreak of World War I. It’s a can’t-miss for fans of the series, set in a more carefree time when Rutledge’s first love was still alive. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Ray Palen, the Todds discuss why A FINE SUMMER’S DAY isn’t quite a prequel --- although it's still a crucial chapter in Rutledge’s personal history. The pair also opens up about the challenges of writing as a team and how they’ve managed to make the most of their collaboration.

Interview: Jane Green, author of Saving Grace

Dec 17, 2014

Internationally bestselling author Jane Green’s latest book, SAVING GRACE, is fiction, although it seems to be in line with the old author wisdom to “write what you know.” It’s the story of Beth Chapman and her famous author husband, Ted, whose crumbling marriage is rescued by Beth, an assistant promising to calm Ted’s rages and lend Grace emotional support. It soon appears, though, that this too-good-to-be-true interloper might be the biggest threat of all. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Norah Piehl, Green discusses the real-life inspiration for SAVING GRACE and why writing Ted’s character was not a stretch for her. She also talks about the elusive idea of “home” and why she decided to write her own spinoff cookbook, HAPPY FOOD.