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Author News & Interviews

Interview: Mary McNear, author of The Light in Summer: A Butternut Lake Novel

Jun 23, 2017

Mary McNear is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Butternut Lake series, the latest installment of which, THE LIGHT IN SUMMER, is now available. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com’s Megan Elliott, McNear explains what inspired her to make a single parent the main character in this fifth installment of the series, and why secrets --- those we keep and those we eventually choose (or are forced) to reveal --- are such rich terrain for writers. She also talks about the challenges of writing several chapters from the perspective of a teenage boy (her protagonist’s son) and gives us a sneak peek at the sixth (and, she believes, final) Butternut Lake novel.

Author Talk: Warren C. Easley, author of Blood for Wine: A Cal Claxton Oregon Mystery

Jun 23, 2017

Warren C. Easley was a research scientist and an international business executive before becoming an award-winning author. BLOOD FOR WINE is the fifth and latest book in his mystery series starring Cal Claxton, a former Los Angeles prosecutor who has settled in Oregon’s Red Hills after his wife’s suicide and runs a small law practice that includes some pro bono work. In this interview, Easley mentions the crime writers who most influenced his work in this series, discusses the feedback he has received from readers about Cal’s love interests that made him think about the direction in which he was taking his protagonist, and previews his next Cal Claxton mystery, MOVING TARGETS, which will be set primarily in Portland.

Author Talk: Thomas Kies, author of Random Road: A Geneva Chase Crime Reporter Mystery

May 11, 2017

Thomas Kies has worked for newspapers and magazines, primarily in New England and New York, for a number of years. His debut novel, RANDOM ROAD, kicks off his mystery series starring veteran reporter Geneva Chase, who is battling alcoholism and bad choices but has a chance to redeem herself by covering a horrific story: the murders of six people, all of whom were found naked and hacked to pieces. In this interview, Kies talks about the key event that led him to pursue his dream of becoming a published author, an important decision he made in the early stages of preparing the book’s first draft, and the challenges of writing from the point of view of a female protagonist.

Author Talk: Annie Hogsett, author of Too Lucky to Live: A Somebody's Bound to Wind Up Dead Mystery

May 11, 2017

Annie Hogsett enjoyed a long career as an advertising copywriter, and now is ready to embark on a new journey as a published author. Her debut novel, TOO LUCKY TO LIVE, introduces readers to Allie Harper, a lonely and broke divorce-survivor who gets much more than she bargained for when she meets and falls in love with Thomas Bennington III, a blind man who has just bought a MondoMegaJackpot ticket. In this interview, Hogsett talks about the moment when she realized she wanted to write books for a living, the mystery writer whose work she admires the most, and why she will want to continue hanging out with Allie for many more books to come.

Author Talk: Mark Sullivan, author of Beneath a Scarlet Sky

May 3, 2017

BENEATH A SCARLET SKY, Mark Sullivan’s highly anticipated new novel, is based on the true story of Pino Lella, who, during World War II, risked his life guiding Jews across the Alps into Switzerland, became a spy inside the German High Command, and fell in love with a woman who would haunt him for the rest of his life. In this interview, Sullivan talks about the emotional conversations he had with Pino, who ultimately was forced to choose between life and love; why historians have taken to calling Italy “The Forgotten Front”; the lessons that James Patterson (with whom he co-authors the Private series) has taught him about writing fiction; and how a chance encounter at a dinner party and his eventual friendship with Pino literally saved his life.