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Author News & Interviews

Interview: Garth Stein, author of A Sudden Light

Oct 3, 2014

Garth Stein is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN. His latest work of fiction, A SUDDEN LIGHT, is about Trevor Riddell, a 14-year-old boy whose willingness to face his family’s thorny history is the key to its future. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Kate Ayers, Stein discusses the evolution of this haunting (and haunted!) tale, including its original incarnation as a play, “Brother Jones,” and the hundred thousand words he wrote that never quite made it into the book. He also talks about why the best protagonists are always focused, his new appreciation for tree climbing (and his climbing guru), and why you don’t have to believe in ghosts to appreciate the magic of A SUDDEN LIGHT.

Author Talk: Matthew Thomas, author of We Are Not Ourselves

Aug 22, 2014

A graduate of the University of Chicago, Matthew Thomas has an MA from the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University and an MFA from the University of California, Irvine, where he received the Graduate Essay Award. His first novel, WE ARE NOT OURSELVES, was more than a decade in the making, and tells the sprawling story of Eileen and Ed Leary, a wife and husband drawn apart and together again by their complicated relationship with the American Dream. In this interview, Thomas talks about what compelled him to keep writing through all those years --- more practical than mystical --- and offers some advice to aspiring writers. He also discusses how, ironically, his characters were finally able to live when he stopped trying to recreate the real-life people on whom they are based, and why the language of baseball and identity are indefinitely intertwined.

Interview: William Kent Krueger, author of Windigo Island

Aug 22, 2014

William Kent Krueger is the award-winning author of ORDINARY GRACE, as well as 14 Cork O’Connor mysteries. In the latest book in the series, WINDIGO ISLAND, former-sheriff-turned-PI Cork O’Connor becomes involved in the investigation of a runaway teenage Ojibwe girl’s death and the grim circumstances surrounding her disappearance. In this interview with Bookreporter.com's Joe Hartlaub, Krueger discusses what compelled him to write about such a serious and disturbing subject --- the sexual exploitation of Native American women --- and the steps he would take to eradicate the situation. He also talks about honoring Ojibwe mythology by including some supernatural elements in his story, why he finds it’s nearly impossible for a man to write from a woman’s first-person perspective, and the part he likes to play in supporting local bookstores.

Interview: Martha Woodroof, author of Small Blessings

Aug 13, 2014

Martha Woodroof's debut novel, SMALL BLESSINGS, introduces readers to Tom Putnam, a college English professor who is stuck in an existence that hasn't changed in decades. Suddenly, he finds that his life takes on new light and expanded possibilities when everything around him is upended by what first appears to be a terrible tragedy. In this interview, Woodroof talks to Bookreporter.com’s Amie Taylor about what inspires people to venture out of their comfort zones and pursue happiness, and how love can hold together even the most diverse groups. She also opens up about why she can’t choose favorites when it comes to her characters and the reason she prefers country living to city life.

Author Talk: Sarah Loudin Thomas, author of Miracle in a Dry Season

Aug 12, 2014

Sarah Loudin Thomas's debut novel, MIRACLE IN A DRY SEASON, tells the story of Perla Long, who moves to Wise, West Virginia, a quiet, safe place for her and her daughter, where the mistakes of her past can stay hidden. But when drought comes to Wise, Perla is pulled into the turmoil of a town desperately in need of a miracle. In this interview, Sarah talks about her family legacy of colorful storytelling, what she does when she’s not writing, and the daily miracles that are too often taken for granted.