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Author News & Interviews

Interview: Susan Wiggs, author of The Apple Orchard

May 3, 2013

In a departure from her popular Lakeshore Chronicles series, Susan Wiggs has written THE APPLE ORCHARD, a novel of sisters, friendship, and how memories are woven like a spell around us. Bookreporter.com’s Alexis Burling spoke with Wiggs about the format of her book and her ability to seamlessly weave together details of two disparate settings in order to draw a complete picture of the characters’ family history. She also explains how writing the novel was similar to a treasure hunt (a nod to protagonist Tess’s job), talks about the inclusion of taste-tempting recipes that are sprinkled throughout the story, and reveals a unique test-taking “tip” that she told her students about when she was a math teacher.

Interview: Deanna Raybourn, author of A Spear of Summer Grass

May 3, 2013

Deanna Raybourn takes a break from her Lady Julia Grey mysteries to pen her latest stand-alone novel, A SPEAR OF SUMMER GRASS. In this interview with Bookreporter.com's Alexis Burling, Raybourn talks about the most significant challenge she faced in describing her setting --- an East Africa fraught with political, economic and racial tensions --- and the extensive research she conducted (which included reading close to 100 books!). She also explains why she wrote FAR IN THE WILDS, a prequel novella available in eBook format that tells Ryder’s story before he is introduced to Delilah, and previews her upcoming writing schedule.

Interview: William Kent Krueger, author of Ordinary Grace

Apr 26, 2013

William Kent Krueger so enjoyed the questions that were posed by our Sneak Peek readers for ORDINARY GRACE that he answered them in the interview that we have here.

Interview: Kristin Hannah, author of Fly Away

Apr 25, 2013

FLY AWAY, the highly anticipated follow-up to Kristin Hannah’s FIREFLY LANE, finally has been released. In this emotionally complex and often heart-wrenching novel, Hannah focuses on the characters of Tully, Johnny, Dorothy and Marah, and the stories and relationships that have made them who they are. Told with vibrant flashbacks, the book paints a portrait of growth, redemption, and what it means to be a woman. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com’s Norah Piehl, Hannah discusses grief, motherhood, and our misunderstandings of the people closest to us. She also talks about the craft and struggle of writing with flashbacks, and what led her to return to the world of FIREFLY LANE five years after its publication.

Author Talk: Helene Wecker, author of The Golem and the Jinni

Apr 25, 2013

Helene Wecker’s debut novel, THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI, is a magical tale of cross-cultural love in turn-of-the-century New York. The golem, Chava, was created to seem human only while serving her husband, and the Jinni is a creature whose true magical nature is being supplanted by his fascination with mortals. The two meet by chance, and learn together how to reconcile their cultures and their struggle for independence. In this interview, Wecker discusses what inspired her supernatural twist on a classic immigrant love story, the challenges of making mystical characters seem human (and modeling her Golem on Lt. Commander Data of “Star Trek”), and discovering that people across the centuries have always been wrestling with the same all-too-human issues: faith, identity and love.