Category Archives: Author Interview

Episode 93: Interview with Peter Farris author of The Devil Himself

May 24, 2022Author InterviewArcade Crimewise, Crime, crime noir, Georgia, Peter Farris, southern noir, The Devil Himselftopshelfatmerricklibrary

“The Devil Himself thunders off the page with beautiful writing and a killer sense of place. It’s urgent, triumphant, and unflinching.” — William Boyle, author of Shoot the Moonlight Out and City of Margins

What a pleasure to sit down with the 2021 Le Prix Lire En Poche finalist, author Peter Farris. The Devil Himself is a gritty southern noir with themes of family, estrangement, and redemption; a riveting deep dive into the genre. First published in France with enormous critical acclaim and winning multiple literary awards, The Devil Himself will mark Peter Farris as a major crime writer in America as well.

We talk about the book, his other fantastic novel, Last Call for the Living, character development, French love for his books, rattlesnakes, and so much more. Thank you so much Peter!

Peter Farris recommends these authors: Pete Fromm; William Boyle; Sa ra Gran; and Eli Cranor.

Follow Peter Farris on Instagram at peter_farris and on Twitter @authorPJFarris

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Episode 92: Interview with Emma Straub author of This Time Tomorrow

May 17, 2022Author Interview13 Going on 30, Books Are Magic, brooklyn, Emma Straub, New York City, penguin random house, Quantum Leap, Riverhead Books, subway, This Time Tomorrow, time traveltopshelfatmerricklibrary

“Libraries and bookstores are the most important spaces in the world to me.” ~ Emma Straub

For this wonderful episode I had the pleasure of hosting author Emma Straub for her latest book, This Time Tomorrow. We talked about the book, NYC and Brooklyn of the 1990s, going back in time, and Emma’s love for libraries and independent bookstores. This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub asks the age old question, if you could revisit your teenage self, what would you do differently? Oh gosh, please don’t miss this special story of love and family and friendships – it’s terrific.

Emma Straub recommends, I’ll Be You by Janelle Brown; Book Lovers by Emily Henry; By the Book by Jasmine Guillory

Place your hold here for all Emma Straub titles. Click here to go for Books Are Magic, Brooklyn, NY

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Episode 91: Interview with Adriana Trigiani author of The Good Left Undone

April 25, 2022Author InterviewAdriana Trigiani, Arandora Star, Churchill, Contemporary Fiction, dutton press, England, France, Glasgow, historical fiction, Italy, Lucca, Marseille, penguin random house, Scotland, The Good Left Undone, Viareggio, WWIItopshelfatmerricklibrary

“This book is layered like a napolean…there’s no chuffa in The Good Left Undone!” ~ Adriana Trigiani

There is just something special about the latest from Adriana Trigiani that sets it apart from her other remarkable books. Author Lisa Scottoline says of The Good Left Undone, “Adriana Trigiani has written the triumph of her career in this historical epic. It’s an opus – a gorgeous opus!” The book is filled with historical fiction of the kind I had never heard of, yet it’s every bit contemporary: our main character, Senora Cabrelli, looks back on her life and relates her remarkable story to her adult granddaughter. You will not be able to put this one down, I can assure you. As Goodreads says, “Prepare to be enthralled…”

Thank you so much Adriana Trigiani, what a special, special interview. I am so grateful. Grazie Mille!

Place your holds here for all the Adriana Trigiani books!

Just LOOK at all these Adriana Trigiani titles!

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Episode 90: Interview with Annie Hartnett author of Unlikely Animals

April 22, 2022Author InterviewAnnie Hartnett, Ballantine Books, Dr. Dolittle, New Hampshire, penguin random house, Rabbit Cake, Unlikely Animalstopshelfatmerricklibrary

“Unlikely Animals is a wondrous and wonderful story filled with unforgettable characters…an instant classic.” – Jeff Vandermeer, author of The Southern Reach Trilogy

An instant classic indeed! Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett is a novel about familial expectations, imperfect friendships, and the possibility of resurrecting that which had been thought irrevocably lost. To say more would be a spoiler. This interview is chock full of fabulous things, so please give a listen and please don’t miss Unlikely Animals... Thank you Annie!

Annie Hartnett recommends: How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu; Bunny by Mona Awad; Good Grief: On Loving Pets, Here and Hereafter by E.B. Bartels; Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel.

Place your holds for Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals here!

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Episode 89: Interview with Cadwell Turnbull – No Gods, No Monsters

April 13, 2022Author InterviewBlackstone Audio, Blackstone Publishing, Cadwell Turnbull, Convergence Trilogy, Fantasy, No Gods No Monsters, Science Fiction, The Lesson, trilogytopshelfatmerricklibrary

What a thrill to welcome back Cadwell Turnbull to the podcast! Cadwell was here for E41 and his debut THE LESSON. Now he’s back to talk about the first book in his brand new and very exciting Convergence Trilogy, NO GODS, NO MONSTERS. We talk about alot in this episode including what it’s like to write a trilogy, no easy feat!

“As creatures from myth and legend reveal themselves to be real, we’re reminded that people often are the actual monsters. Turnbull’s prose is gorgeous and lush, using contemporary fantasy as a lens to examine real-world oppression and injustice.” Those are my words from the Library Reads Top Ten Books of September 2021 for NO GODS, NO MONSTERS! I was honored to be chosen to cheer on the new book.

Thank you so much for joining me Cadwell – it was terrific and I cannot wait for book two!

Cadwell Turnbull recommends: Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap; the Murderbot Series and the entire Martha Wells collection; Naomi Novik collection; Emily St. John Mandel collection; the Martine Arkady collection.

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Episode 88: Kathleen West author of Home or Away

March 29, 2022Author Interviewfamily relationships, harrassment, hockey, Me Too, Me Too Movement, Minnesota, sexual harrassment, women's hockey, youth hockeytopshelfatmerricklibrary

HOME OR AWAY is the latest from Kathleen West and for this episode we talked about ice hockey, the #metoo movement, balancing careers, motherhood and more. HOME OR AWAY is about two friends, one Olympic dream, and the choice that stood in the way.

I was so fortunate to once again join forces with Cindy Burnett host of Thoughts From a Page podcast to bring you this special episode and we just had a blast. Thank you Cindy, and thank you so much Kathleen!

Kathleen West recommends: Will by Will Smith, both Cindy and Kathleen raved about the audio. Both Kathleen and I raved about Agatha of Little Neon by Claire Luchette (a guest or our from Episode 67!)

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Episode 87: Eli Cranor author of Don’t Know Tough

March 22, 2022Author InterviewArkansas, Author Interview, Book Discussion, book discussions, crime noir, debut, debut author, Don't Know Tough, Eli Cranor, Football, Friday Reads, noir, Peter Lovesey, Readers Advisory, Russellville, Soho Press, southern noir, Staff Picktopshelfatmerricklibrary

You may not know tough but author Eli Cranor sure does in his debut, DON’T KNOW TOUGH, a book that S.A. Cosby calls, “…a searing and stunningly poignant study in what makes us and what breaks us and ultimately what brings us to a place of peace. Eli Cranor is that rare writer who can make you gasp, cry and cheer often in the same paragraph.” There’s not a single a lie in that review.

Sarah Weinman, of the The New York Times Book Review and true-crime writer says, “Eli Cranor’s top-shelf debut, DON’T KNOW TOUGH, is Southern noir at its finest, a cauldron of terrible choices and even more terrible outcomes . . . There is a raw ferocity to Cranor’s prose, perfectly in keeping with the novel’s examination of curdling masculinity.” All I can say about DON’T KNOW TOUGH is, think Friday Night Lights with a much darker edge. Speaking of the edge? I was on the edge of my seat for this incredible debut. For this episode, we talk football, Arkansas, recording his own audiobook and more. Thank you Eli!

Eli Cranor recommends: Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland both by S.A.Cosby; Shoot the Moonlight Out and all of the novels by William Boyle; The Turnout and all of the novels by Megan Abbott; all the work by Ace Atkins; The Devil Himself by Peter Farris;

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Episode 86: S.A. Barnes author of Dead Silence

March 18, 2022Author InterviewDead Silence, Horror, Macmillan, S.A. Barnes, Science Fiction, Space Horror, Stacey Kade, Titanic, Tor Nightfiretopshelfatmerricklibrary

“While I was writing this book, I had the worst nightmares…” ~ S.A. Barnes about her science fiction horror book, DEAD SILENCE.

In DEAD SILENCE, the crew of the LINA respond to a distress signal in space and it’s from a space liner that has been missing for twenty years…oof, hold onto your hats folks. Think Titanic meets Event Horizon. Yikes!

S.A. Barnes talks about the book, corporate greed, the Titanic, and this fascinating genre. Thank you so much Stacey, this was great…

S.A. Barnes recommends: Dead Space, and Salvation Day: both by Kali Wallace; Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo; The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood.

Carol Ann recommends: Providence by Max Barry; The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling.

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E85: Interview with Sarah McCraw Crow author of The Wrong Kind of Woman

March 9, 2022Author Interview1960s, 1970s, Campus novels, Harper Collins, MIRA Books, Sarah McCraw Crow, The Wrong Kind of Women, Women, Women's fictiontopshelfatmerricklibrary

“A glorious debut filled with characters grasping to find a place to belong in a world on the edge of change.” ~ Carol Rifka Brunt, bestselling author of Tell the Wolves I’m Home

That quote right there is for THE WRONG KIND OF WOMAN, the debut by Sarah McCraw Crow. Virginia finds herself suddenly widowed one wintry day in the late 1970s, and her world begins to change in completely unexpected ways. A campus novel of sorts, THE WRONG KIND OF WOMAN is a powerful exploration of what a woman can be when what she should be is no longer an option. Sarah created a must listen-to playlist over at Largeheartedboy.com that is an excellent companion piece to the book. We talk about the 1970s in light of the present day in this special interview, thank you so much Sarah!

Sarah McCraw Crow recommends: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel; Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan; Manifesto by Bernadine Evaristo

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Episode 84 : Interview with Katy Regan author of How To Find Your Way Home

February 28, 2022Author InterviewAuthor Interview, berkley publishing, Birding, Book Discussion, book discussions, Contemporary Fiction, Friday Reads, Homeless, How to Find Your Way Home, Katy Regan, Little Big Love, mental health, migration, penguin random house, Readers Advisory, siblings, Staff Pick, swallows, swiftstopshelfatmerricklibrary

From Katy Regan, the author of Little Big Love (a huge favorite of mine) comes her latest, How to Find Your Way Home, a warm, life-affirming novel. When a sister discovers that the brother she hasn’t seen in more than a decade is homeless, she learns the true meaning of belonging when she tries to reconnect. How to Find Your Way Home is not to be missed.

I enjoyed this conversation about the book so much, thank you Katy Regan! Keep an eye-out Roger…I’ll see you soon.

Katy Regan recommends: Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave; Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers; Attic Child by Lola Jay.