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Author News & Interviews

Interview: Kelly Mustian, author of The Girls in the Stilt House

Apr 15, 2021

THE GIRLS IN THE STILT HOUSE weaves a beautiful and harrowing story of two teenage girls cast in an unlikely partnership through murder. In this interview conducted by Bookreporter.com reviewer Bronwyn Miller, Kelly Mustian talks about the inspiration for her debut novel, why she decided to set it in 1920s Mississippi on the Natchez Trace, her virtual book tour and how much it means to her to be able to talk to readers from all over the world about the book, her amazing experience volunteering at the Mooresville Public Library in North Carolina before the pandemic hit, and her next novel in the works, which is set mostly in Depression-era Mississippi.

Author Talk: Katey Schultz, author of Still Come Home

Nov 10, 2020

Katey Schultz’s debut novel, STILL COME HOME, revolves around three characters, each of whom are searching for the best way to be and the best way to live --- all the while fighting cultural, societal and political forces far beyond their control. In this interview, Schultz talks about the book’s plot, what she is reading now, the advice she has for aspiring writers, and her next work in progress.

Author Talk: Christie Tate, author of Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life

Oct 29, 2020

GROUP is November’s Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club pick. Here, Chicago-based writer and essayist Christie Tate details how she reluctantly chose to get psychologically and emotionally naked in a room of six complete strangers --- her psychotherapy group --- and in turn found human connection, and herself. In this interview, Tate discusses what inspired her to share her daring, exhilarating, painful and hilarious journey with the world; how her fellow group members have reacted to being featured in the book; her evolving relationship with her eccentric therapist, Dr. Rosen, and how she would encourage skeptical readers to embrace some facets of his unique approach; why she considers her memoir to be a bildungsroman; and her decision to end GROUP with a “Ten Years Later” update rather than with her wedding.

Interview: Ayad Akhtar, author of Homeland Elegies

Sep 16, 2020

Ayad Akhtar is a novelist and playwright who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play “Disgraced” and whose debut novel, AMERICAN DERVISH, was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012. His highly anticipated second work of fiction, HOMELAND ELEGIES, is about an immigrant father and his son who search for belonging --- in post-Trump America, and with each other. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com reviewer Harvey Freedenberg, Akhtar talks about one of the book’s most powerful scenes --- Ayad’s description of his experience in Manhattan on 9/11 --- and how he went about recreating the terrible sights and overwhelming emotions of that day; what he thinks it will take for those who harbor suspicions about Muslims to view them with less hostility; and the pivotal role that dreams play in the novel.

Author Talk: Rita Dragonette, author of The Fourteenth of September

Sep 14, 2020

Perfect for fans of Kate Quinn and Heather Morris, Rita Dragonette’s debut novel, THE FOURTEENTH OF SEPTEMBER, is based upon her personal experience on campus during the Vietnam War and is told through the rare perspective of a young woman who traces her path to self-discovery. In this interview, Dragonette talks about how what she lived through in 1969-1970 parallels the activism that is occurring right now in the United States; why she calls her book a coming-of-conscience novel; what she hopes readers will take away from the story; and her future writing projects.