Author News & Interviews

Interview: Meg Little Reilly, author of We Are Unprepared

Sep 7, 2016

Cli-fi --- fiction that deals with themes of climate change --- is a rapidly emerging new genre, and Meg Little Reilly is one of its uniquely qualified contributors. Her impressive list of credentials includes former treasury spokesperson under President Obama, deputy communications director for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), communicator for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and now debut novelist. Her first book, WE ARE UNPREPARED --- about a superstorm that threatens to destroy a marriage, a town and the entire Eastern seaboard --- has taken the book world by storm.

In this interview with The Book Report Network’s Megan Elliott, Reilly discusses why she doesn’t think fiction about climate change belongs in its own genre, why she is only minimally prepared for the event of a superstorm, and the reason she remains optimistic that future generations will work to appropriately address our changing climate.

Interview: Charles Todd, author of The Shattered Tree: A Bess Crawford Mystery

Sep 6, 2016

Bestselling mother-son writing team Charles Todd is back with an exciting new addition to the Bess Crawford mystery series. In THE SHATTERED TREE, the World War I battlefield nurse goes to dangerous lengths to investigate a wounded soldier’s background…and uncover his true loyalties. Here, the prolific duo talks with The Book Report Network’s Ray Palen about some of the interesting choices they made in order to keep a beloved, long-running series fresh, including adding a French perspective to Bess’ ever-evolving world, and pushing Bess out of her comfort zone and making her --- of all things --- a patient.

Interview: Susan Elizabeth Phillips, author of First Star I See Tonight: A Chicago Stars Novel

Sep 1, 2016

Bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips has found fans all over the world with her warm contemporary love stories that manage to touch both hearts and funny bones, so it’s no wonder she's the only four-time recipient of the Romance Writers of America's prestigious Favorite Book of the Year Award. Now, she returns with FIRST STAR I SEE TONIGHT --- the eighth book in her Chicago Stars series --- about a feisty female detective and a no-nonsense sports hero who go head-to-head in a seductive new story. In this interview with The Book Report Network's Bronwyn Miller, Phillips opens up about her latest heroine and hero --- including how they’re different from typical “SEP” characters, the reason she felt compelled to write their story, and why they’re a perfect match.

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.