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Author News & Interviews

Interview: Charles Todd, author of No Shred of Evidence: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery

Feb 16, 2016

Charles Todd, the mother-son writing duo responsible for countless bestselling historical mysteries, returns with NO SHRED OF EVIDENCE, the latest entry in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series. When four young women are accused of a crime --- without a shred of evidence to clear their names --- war-scarred Rutledge embarks on a dangerous search for the true perpetrator, with many lives hanging in the balance. In this interview with The Book Report Network’s Ray Palen, the Todd team discusses how their protagonist (and the entire country) has been changed by the war and how the evolution of Rutledge's character surprised even them. They also talk about why they choose the specific time period and settings of their novels, and how they keep their mysteries entertaining, above all else.

Author Talk: Carol Goodman, author of River Road

Feb 11, 2016

Carol Goodman is the critically acclaimed author of 14 novels, including THE LAKE OF DEAD LANGUAGES and THE SEDUCTION OF WATER, which won the 2003 Hammett Prize. RIVER ROAD is her most recent book, and it tells the story of a woman who --- after hitting a deer while driving home from a holiday party --- is suspected of killing a young girl in a hit-and-run accident. In this interview, Goodman discusses the real-life incidents that inspired RIVER ROAD’s various narrative threads, the benefits and pitfalls of empathizing so deeply with every protagonist she writes, and why she believes all writing is motivated by “a desire to make the risky trip to the Underworld, and to bring someone or something back from the dead.”

Author Talk: Dawn Tripp, author of Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe

Feb 11, 2016

Dawn Tripp is an award-winning author and frequent essayist, whose work has appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review, The Believer, The Rumpus, Psychology Today and on NPR. Her fourth work of fiction, GEORGIA, is a biographical novel about Georgia O’Keeffe --- told in the first person --- that chronicles O’Keefe’s journey from unknown teacher to the most famous female American artist of the last century. In this interview, Tripp talks about why she wanted to write about O’Keefe, and what she wishes to add to the artist’s already extensive literary catalog and characterization. She also discusses the challenges in finding her heroine’s voice, as well as capturing the highs and lows of her tumultuous relationship with photographer Alfred Stieglitz.

Interview: Melanie Benjamin, author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue

Jan 28, 2016

Melanie Benjamin, the New York Times bestselling author of such novels as ALICE I HAVE BEEN and THE AVIATOR’S WIFE, is back with her latest foray into historical fiction: THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE, a triumphant novel about New York’s “Swans” of the 1950s --- and the scandalous, headline-making and enthralling friendship between literary legend Truman Capote and peerless socialite Babe Paley. In this interview, Benjamin talks with Bookreporter.com's co-founder, Carol Fitzgerald, about Babe Paley and the Swans, “the first Real Housewives of New York” --- from their glitz and glamour to their complicated relationship with Capote and beyond.  

Interview: Shilpi Somaya Gowda, author of The Golden Son

Jan 28, 2016

Shilpi Somaya Gowda, the internationally bestselling author of SECRET DAUGHTER, now returns with her highly anticipated sophomore effort, THE GOLDEN SON. It’s the lovely, complicated story of Anil Patel, who makes the difficult decision to leave behind his Indian village to pursue a medical career in the U.S. --- only to be called back after the sudden death of his father to fulfill his duty-bound role as village arbiter. In this interview, Gowda talks to The Book Report Network's Bronwyn Miller about why she is and always has been so fascinated by the Indian tradition of a panchayat, and how that kind of justice system plays out on a personal and communal level. She also discusses why she is drawn to stories dealing with cross-cultural issues, how volunteering at an orphanage changed her life, and what she’d like readers to take away from THE GOLDEN SON.