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Author News & Interviews

Interview: Kevin O'Brien, author of Tell Me You're Sorry

May 2, 2014

Kevin O’Brien has come a long way since his days as a railroad inspector. Now he’s the bestselling author of 14 internationally published thrillers; his latest, TELL ME YOU’RE SORRY, may be his best to date. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Joe Hartlaub, O'Brien talks about what inspires his thrillers (including movies, nimble editors and metaphorical landladies), constructing his settings from memory, and how his experience as a wannabe screenwriter is elemental to the cinematic scope of his novels. He also explains why he loves throwing in odd details that are familiar to readers (“blasts from the past”) and considers what he would do if someone bought Jeffrey Dahmer’s boyhood home --- recently put on the market --- for him as a gift.

Interview: Pia Padukone, author of Where Earth Meets Water

May 1, 2014

In Pia Padukone’s debut novel, WHERE EARTH MEETS WATER, a man searches for meaning in the wake of incomparable tragedy. Bookreporter.com’s Alexis Burling talks to Padukone about what she has learned from her first publishing experience and why she is fascinated by other writers’ processes, as well as the important and not-quite-lost art of diary writing. She also considers the difference between the very human states of wanting and needing, how secrets can be both helpful and harmful, and the joy of co-writing a blog with her husband, Two Admirable Pleasures, which combines her two major loves: cooking and reading.

Author Talk: Amanda Vaill, author of Hotel Florida: Truth, Love, and Death in the Spanish Civil War

Apr 25, 2014

Amanda Vaill is the author of the bestselling EVERYBODY WAS SO YOUNG, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography, and SOMEWHERE, for which she was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship. Her latest book, HOTEL FLORIDA, traces the tangled wartime destinies of three couples against the backdrop of a critical moment in history: the Spanish Civil War. Here, Vaill talks with HeadButler.com founder Jesse Kornbluth about her work, researching HOTEL FLORIDA, and the theme that links each of her seemingly dissimilar subjects. She also considers the difficulty of wartime journalism and reflects on how writers --- and people in general --- struggle with honesty in their personal lives.

Interview: Francine Rivers, author of Bridge to Haven

Apr 24, 2014

Francine Rivers has been a bestselling author of Christian fiction since the mid-'90s, when her highly acclaimed statement of faith, REDEEMING LOVE, was re-released by Multnomah Publishers. Her latest novel, BRIDGE TO HAVEN, is about a young woman named Abra, whose early childhood trauma has left her angry and confused. Seduced by the glamour of Hollywood life, Abra burns every bridge to get what she thinks she wants --- only to find the price of fame too high, and the attention not enough to heal her broken heart. In this interview conducted by reviewer Michele Howe, Rivers talks about the biblical story that inspired BRIDGE TO HAVEN and how her personal struggles are present in all her writing. She also discusses the sometimes-paradox of heartache, the difference between what the world calls “love” and love that is real, and the transformative power of accepting God into our hearts.

Interview: Holly Peterson, author of The Idea of Him

Apr 4, 2014

Holly Peterson is a former journalist and the bestselling author of THE MANNY. Her writing has been published in the New York Times, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and numerous other publications. Her latest novel, THE IDEA OF HIM, brings readers back into the world of the Manhattan elite. This time, it’s about Allie Crawford, who is forced to face the reality of her “perfect” marriage when she finds her husband cheating on her. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Bronwyn Miller, Peterson talks about why women sometimes fall in love with “the idea of” men, why it’s important not to marry someone for his or her résumé, and why leaving a relationship can be easier than staying in one. She also discusses her own writing habits, and how Allie is a complicated character whose messy life any woman can relate to --- regardless of her social status.