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Author News & Interviews

Interview: Jamie Day, author of The Block Party

Jul 27, 2023

In Jamie Day’s THE BLOCK PARTY, an upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On pick, the residents of the exclusive cul-de-sac on Alton Road are entangled in a web of secrets and scandal. On the night of the annual summer block party, there has been a murder. But who did it and why takes readers back one year earlier, as rivalries and betrayals unfold. In this interview conducted by Carol Fitzgerald, the president and co-founder of The Book Report Network, Jamie talks about the inspiration for the book, the decision to take readers back to what happened the year prior to the block party, why the story is told from two characters’ points of view, the creation of an online message board that appears in the novel, and what readers can anticipate from Jamie next.

Author Talk: Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Ghost Eaters

Jul 12, 2023

One of Vulture's Best Horror Novels of 2022 and now available in paperback, GHOST EATERS is a terrifying supernatural page-turner that will make you think twice about opening doors to the unknown. In this interview conducted by Quirk Books, Clay McLeod Chapman explains where the idea for Ghost, a drug that allows users to see the dead, originated. He also offers his thoughts on why the menacing nature of horror lends itself well to themes of grief, memory and addiction; talks about why he set GHOST EATERS in Richmond, Virginia; details his writing and research processes; and reveals his horror inspirations for this book.

Author Talk: Patti Callahan Henry, author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea

May 4, 2023

When a woman discovers a rare book that has connections to her past, long-held secrets about her missing sister and their childhood spent in the English countryside during World War II are revealed. That is the premise of Patti Callahan Henry’s latest historical novel, THE SECRET BOOK OF FLORA LEA --- which is an Indie Next pick for May, along with being this month's Barnes & Noble Book Club selection and Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites pick. In this interview, Patti talks about her extensive research for the book, what inspired her to center the novel on a bookstore, why she loves writing historical fiction, and the creation of “Friends and Fiction” --- a popular weekly web show, podcast and Facebook group that she founded with Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel and Kristy Woodson Harvey.

Author Talk: Marie Benedict, author of The Mitford Affair

Jan 20, 2023

Probing the torrid political climate in the lead-up to World War II and the ways that seemingly sensible people can be sucked into radical action, THE MITFORD AFFAIR follows novelist Nancy Mitford's valiant efforts to stop the Nazis from taking over Great Britain, and the complicated choices she must make between the personal and the political. In this interview, Marie Benedict talks about why she decided to take a certain degree of liberty with this true story and add more action to it; the kinds of sources she consulted in order to learn more about the Mitford sisters and their world; which sister she found the most challenging to write about and understand; and why she believes that loyalty must have its limits.

Interview: C. J. Carey, author of Widowland

Aug 18, 2022

WIDOWLAND by C. J. Carey is a thrilling feminist dystopian novel set in an alternative history that terrifyingly imagines what a British alliance with Germany would look like if the Nazis had won WWII. In this interview conducted by Bookreporter reviewer Rebecca Munro, Carey talks about her inspiration for the book’s premise; explains how she approached her research of major historical moments and figures to write the story; introduces readers to her main character, Rose, and Rose’s role in society; and offers a sneak peek at the sequel to WIDOWLAND, THE LAST QUEEN, which takes place two years later in 1955.