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Author News & Interviews

Interview: Jamie Ford, author of Love and Other Consolation Prizes

Sep 14, 2017

Jamie Ford, whose debut novel HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET is being adapted into a film, returns with a new work of historical fiction. Inspired by a true story, LOVE AND OTHER CONSOLATION PRIZES is about a boy whose life is transformed at Seattle’s 1909 World’s Fair. In this interview conducted by Carol Fitzgerald, the president and co-founder of The Book Report Network, Ford discusses his inspiration for the novel, the social issues that are explored here (specifically class in its many forms as an underlying theme), and his penchant for writing strong female characters. He also talks about his decision to add titles to his chapters, why his original title for the book, “The Consolation Prize,” had to be scrapped, his tendency to overdo it when it comes to his research, and what readers can look forward to seeing from him in the near future.

Interview: J.T. Ellison, author of Lie to Me

Sep 8, 2017

J.T. Ellison writes dark psychological thrillers starring Nashville Homicide Lt. Taylor Jackson and medical examiner Dr. Samantha Owens, and pens the Nicholas Drummond series with  fellow bestselling author Catherine Coulter. Her latest stand-alone novel, LIE TO ME, is about the disintegration of a marriage as grief, jealousy, betrayal and murder destroy the facade of the perfect literary couple. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com’s Joe Hartlaub, Ellison discusses her inspiration for the book, which is more of a domestic thriller than the police procedural to which her fans have become accustomed; talks about how the structure of the novel changed as she was attempting to find the right rhythm for this “rhythm book”; explains what her book journal is and includes a few examples from the journal she used for LIE TO ME; and offers a sneak peek at her numerous upcoming projects.

Interview: Eva Woods, author of Something Like Happy

Sep 8, 2017

Eva Woods has written two women’s fiction novels, as well as crime fiction under her own name, Claire McGowan, all in the UK. She makes her North American debut with SOMETHING LIKE HAPPY, which finds the two main characters --- one of whom starts out the book cynical and depressed, and the other of whom is initially positive and upbeat --- embarking on a remarkable mission: One hundred days. One hundred new ways to be happy. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com's Megan Elliott, Woods talks about how her own experiences at a young age influenced the writing of her book, her struggle to balance the more uplifting parts of her story with the harsh reality of her protagonist’s illness, and the message she would like readers to take away after turning the last page.

Author Talk: Philippa Gregory, author of The Last Tudor

Aug 15, 2017

Philippa Gregory’s latest novel, THE LAST TUDOR, features one of the most famous girls in history, Lady Jane Grey, and her two sisters, each of whom dared to defy her queen. In this interview, Gregory talks about the book’s origin, explaining why she was interested in telling the story of all three Grey sisters and with three different narrators. She also discusses what surprised her in the course of writing it, the film that introduced her to the Tudors when she was just a teenager, and her involvement in a project called Gardens for The Gambia, which was established in 1993 to provide water for wells in the gardens of rural schools in The Gambia, one of the poorest countries in Africa.

Author Talk: Fiona Davis, author of The Address

Aug 8, 2017

In her debut novel, THE DOLLHOUSE, Fiona Davis pulled readers into the lush world of New York City's glamorous Barbizon Hotel for Women. For her follow-up, THE ADDRESS, the setting shifts to another iconic New York building, The Dakota, one of the first apartment houses to be built on the Upper West Side. In this interview, Davis talks about her inspiration for her second novel, how she chose the story’s two timelines (the 1880s and the 1980s), the research she conducted, and the ways in which she seamlessly blended fact and fiction.