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Author News & Interviews

Interview: Sandra Dallas, author of Fallen Women

Oct 24, 2013

Sandra Dallas is the author of 13 novels, including TRUE SISTERS, THE BRIDE'S HOUSE, PRAYERS FOR SALE and TALLGRASS. Her latest, FALLEN WOMEN, is about New York socialite Beret Osmundsen, who gets word that her estranged sister Lillie has died suddenly in Denver. When Beret discovers the sordid truth of Lillie’s death, she makes her way to Denver, determined to locate the killer. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Alexis Burling, Dallas talks about her lifelong fascination with Colorado history, as well as how she went about researching the living conditions and culture of 19th-century prostitutes. She also discusses why it took her more than two decades to write FALLEN WOMEN --- her first mystery --- why she prefers to write fiction over nonfiction, and why we are more prone to deny fault when it comes to the people we love.

Author Talk: Jen Turano, author of A Talent for Trouble

Oct 18, 2013

Jen Turano’s Ladies of Distinction series includes A CHANGE OF FORTUNE, A MOST PECULIAR CIRCUMSTANCE, and the newly released A TALENT FOR TROUBLE. In this interview, Turano explains why she was drawn to the Gilded Age in New York City as the setting for her latest book and the reason she made the unlikely hero of Grayson Sumner so flawed. She also talks about how she came up with the initial story idea for A TALENT FOR TROUBLE, the novel’s underlying message, and how an incident at a department store Turano once managed provided the inspiration for the character of Felicia Murdock.

Interview: Emma Chapman, author of How To Be a Good Wife

Oct 17, 2013

HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE, Emma Chapman’s debut novel, is a psychological thriller about good wife Marta, who has been married for so long that she can hardly remember a past without her husband. But when strange visions flit at the corner of her eye --- including that of a blonde girl no one else can see --- she begins to wonder whether she is losing her mind…or starting to remember something important. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Terry Miller Shannon, Chapman talks about why she chose to write Marta’s complicated story in first person, as well as the creative freedoms and limitations that come along with writing from the point of view of an unreliable narrator. She also discusses why she became interested in exploring what it means to be “a good wife,” why she has a hard time writing about a place while she is living there, and, of course, what she is working on next.

Author Talk: Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project

Oct 11, 2013

In THE ROSIE PROJECT, Graeme Simsion introduces us to Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept genetics professor. When Don decides it’s time he found a wife, he develops the “Wife Project,” a scientific study to find the idle partner. In this interview, Simsion shares how his own experience allowed him to write a character who only sees the world as “data.” He also describes the process of transforming his original screenplay into a book, and how a formulaic approach to screenwriting both helped and hindered his work.

Author Talk: Jo Baker, author of Longbourn

Oct 11, 2013

Jo Baker has finally written the book we wanted but didn’t even know it: LONGBOURN, a reimagining of Jane Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Unlike the original, Baker’s version is told from the perspective of Sarah, an orphaned housemaid working in the Bennet household, Longbourn. But there is just as much romance, heartbreak and intrigue downstairs at Longbourn as there is upstairs. When a mysterious new footman arrives, the orderly realm of the servants’ hall threatens to be completely, perhaps irrevocably, upended. In this interview, Baker opens up about the inspiration behind her unique take on PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, as well as the obstacles she had to deal with in rewriting a beloved classic. She also imagines what it would be like to meet Austen in person --- although she’s reluctant to think about how the revered writer would react to Baker’s take on her masterpiece.