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Author News & Interviews

Interview: Jonis Agee, author of The Bones of Paradise

Aug 5, 2016

Praised by the New York Times as “a gifted poet of that dark lushness in the heart of the American landscape,” Jonis Agee is the award-winning author of 12 books. Her latest, THE BONES OF PARADISE, is a multigenerational family saga set in the unforgiving Nebraska Sand Hills in the years following the massacre at Wounded Knee, and is at once a mystery, a tragedy, a romance, and an unflagging exploration of the beauty and brutality that defined the settling of the American west. In this interview with The Book Report Network's Alexis Burling, Agee --- in characteristically sumptuous prose --- discusses why she chose to tell this particular story at this particular moment in time, why she believes it’s futile for people to fight the truth of their histories, and how in the world she has come to own over 20 pairs of cowboy boots.

Interview: Dorothea Benton Frank, author of All Summer Long

Jun 2, 2016

New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank is back with the perfect beach read, aptly titled ALL SUMMER LONG. It follows one charming New York couple --- prominent interior designer Olivia Ritchie and her husband, Nicholas Seymour, an English professor and true southern gentleman --- as they prepare to retire to the Lowcountry and find themselves pondering the next step of their lives. In this interview, Dottie talks to The Book Report Network's Jamie Layton about her personal style, the power of love, and whether or not money truly can buy happiness.

Interview: Laura Barnett, author of The Versions of Us

May 5, 2016

Laura Barnett is a writer, journalist and theater critic, whose first novel, THE VERSIONS OF US, is now available in the US. It’s a story of how lives intersect, of possibilities and consequences that ring across the shifting decades, of how even the smallest choices can define the course of our lives. In this interview with Carol Fitzgerald, the president and co-founder of The Book Report Network, Barnett discusses the challenges and delights of writing three versions of the same story and which story she likes best. She also opens up about her own feelings regarding fate and why she may not be as much of a romantic as she’d thought.

Interview: Laura Lippman, author of Wilde Lake

May 5, 2016

Since her debut, Laura Lippman has won multiple awards and critical acclaim for her excellent crime novels, set in her hometown of Baltimore. Her latest book, WILDE LAKE, is as provocative and timely as ever; the New York Times bestselling author challenges our notions of memory, loyalty, responsibility and justice in this psychologically complex story about a long-ago death that still haunts a family. In this interview, Lippman talks to The Book Report Network's Sarah Rachel Egelman about why she prefers to write about strong women (“write what you know”), what she learned about rape culture while thinking about and researching this novel, and how WILDE LAKE parallels the Harper Lee classic TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD --- while diverging in one key way.

Interview: Joyce Maynard, author of Under the Influence

Feb 25, 2016

Joyce Maynard is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous titles, including LABOR DAY and AFTER HER, as well as a memoir, AT HOME IN THE WORLD. Her latest novel is UNDER THE INFLUENCE, a poignant story about the true meaning --- and the true price --- of friendship. Like most of her books, UNDER THE INFLUENCE has an authentic, ripped-from-the-headlines appeal, and here, Maynard talks to The Book Report Network’s Norah Piehl about how her fiction intersects with her real life. She also discusses addiction, single motherhood, and the joys and horrors of online dating.