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Author News & Interviews

Interview: Sarah Blake, author of The Guest Book

May 8, 2019

Moving through three generations and back and forth in time, THE GUEST BOOK is Sarah Blake's triumphant new novel that tells the story of a family and a country that buries its past in quiet, until the present calls forth a reckoning. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com reviewer Amy Haddock, Blake explains her inspiration for writing the book --- her first since 2010’s THE POSTMISTRESS --- how she went about crafting the complex characters of her sweeping family saga, the America that she hopes readers see in the pages of her story, and why she thinks it’s so difficult for some people to see the privilege that exists in their own lives and to speak up when fellow humans are being degraded.

Interview: Kim Michele Richardson, author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

May 8, 2019

A young outcast braves the hardships of Kentucky’s Great Depression and brings truly magical objects to her people --- books --- in THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK, Kim Michele Richardson's new novel inspired by the brave women of the Pack Horse Library Project. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com reviewer Megan Elliott, Richardson talks about her inspiration for writing a book that features a pack horse librarian as the protagonist, the incredible amount of research she did for the novel (which began nearly five years ago), her remarkable ability to write in dialect without coming off as inauthentic or clichéd, and what she hopes readers will take away from her latest work of historical fiction.

Interview: Martha Hall Kelly, author of Lost Roses

Apr 9, 2019

Martha Hall Kelly’s runaway bestseller, LILAC GIRLS, introduced real-life heroine Caroline Ferriday. LOST ROSES, set a generation earlier and also inspired by true events, features Caroline's mother, Eliza, and follows three equally indomitable women from St. Petersburg to Paris under the shadow of World War I. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com reviewer Rebecca Munro, Kelly talks about her decision to write a prequel; the most interesting fact she learned about pre-WWII Russia; her references to the fashion and etiquette of 1914, which she sprinkles throughout the story; and her current project --- the final book in the trilogy, which will be based on Caroline's great-grandmother, Jane Eliza, and will take place during the Civil War.

Interview: Diane Setterfield, author of Once Upon a River

Dec 4, 2018

Diane Setterfield is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE THIRTEENTH TALE and BELLMAN & BLACK. Her third novel, ONCE UPON A RIVER, is about the wrenching disappearance of three little girls and the wide-reaching effect it has on their small town. In this interview, conducted by The Book Report Network’s Rebecca Munro, Setterfield explains her inspiration for this richly imagined storyline; the role that the river Thames plays as a plot driver, the effects of which are felt by each and every character; and the research she conducted that allowed her to immerse herself in the time period in which the book is set (towards the end of the 19th century) and what she learned during the process that surprised her.

Author Talk: Michelle Obama, author of Becoming

Nov 28, 2018

In her memoir, BECOMING, Michelle Obama describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it --- in her own words and on her own terms. In this interview, the former First Lady discusses her inspiration for writing the book and what she hoped to accomplish; offers advice to people who are unsure about their path in life and who need some help figuring out their passion; and explains how she has dealt with self-doubt, those moments in your life when you question whether or not you’re good enough.