Q&A with Sarina Bowen

 

Photo by Kate Seymour

 

 

Sarina Bowen is the author of the new novel The Five Year Lie. Her many other novels include Bittersweet. She lives in New Hampshire.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Five Year Lie, and how did you create your character Ariel?

 

A: My inspiration for this book was actually from a true story that an author friend of mine, Lauren Blakely, told me a few years ago. One day, Lauren received a text from a friend, and it didn't make any sense. At the same time, her friend received a text from her that didn't make any sense either.

 

Eventually they realized the texts had been delayed by several months. If you Google “texts delayed by several months,” you can even find a very brief news story about how this happened to thousands of mobile customers.

 

That story really stuck with me. And I wondered, what would happen if that confusing text you got was from a dead man? And I pretty much ran with it from there! 

 

Q: The writer A.R. Torre said of the book, “In a world where so many books feel so similar - this was a refreshingly unique read and an addictive blend of love and mystery that I couldn’t put down.” What do you think of that description, and what did you see as the right balance between love and mystery?

 

A: First of all, Alexandra Torre is a lovely human and I so appreciated her description of this book!

 

And if you think about it, a “blend” of mystery and romance is a tricky idea, because those genres make different promises. A true romance novel promises the reader a happy ending, and that’s not what I wanted to do in this case. A suspense novel, on the other hand, promises something different--that the reader will understand what happened by the end of the book.

 

This is a suspense novel because I wanted the freedom to let every single thing go wrong. It was really exciting to me to write a book like this, and I hope readers can tell when they read it.

 

Q: What was it like to write a suspense novel after writing many romance novels? Was your writing process similar?

 

A: The process for writing a suspense novel is different. It's less linear, and you have to match wits with the reader in a way that romance does not demand. So I found that challenging, but I really enjoyed the challenge.

 

Q: What do you think the novel says about technology?

A: Issues of tech in society are very interesting to me. I read Wired magazine cover to cover every month. I just love thinking about our messy technological lives. So I hope that the reader comes away with an appreciation for how complex the tech in our lives really is. And sometimes great tech has unintended consequences.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I just finished another thriller for HarperCollins. It's called Dying to Meet You. It also has a techy hook, this time involving a murder right at the beginning of the book. I’m so excited for this to come out in 2025!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Tracey Lange

 

 

Tracey Lange is the author of the new novel The Connellys of County Down. She also has written the novel We Are the Brennans. She lives in Bend, Oregon.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Connellys of County Down, and how did you create your character Tara and her family?

 

A: This book started with the idea of exploring the challenges a woman faces trying to re-enter society and rebuild their life after spending time in prison. I was particularly drawn to the question of how her absence and homecoming would impact her family.

 

Tara has a history of acting out and getting into trouble, but the more I got to know the Connellys the more I realized that she's a symptom of the dysfunction within the family as a whole.

 

These siblings raised themselves to large degree, which created a tight but, at times, unhealthy bond between them. They’re sort of stuck in that dysfunction because they’re all keeping some shameful secrets, from the world and from each other. 

Q: The Kirkus Review of the book called it a “compassionate look at family dynamics and a reminder that it’s never too late to heal.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love this takeaway. I think it gets to the central idea of the book. Everyone in this family really does have good intentions—they’ve just made some awful decisions along the way.

 

Tara’s homecoming brings a lot of these issues to the surface. Each Connelly sibling is forced to face the pain of the past and the mistakes they've made in trying to overcome it. 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: I never know how my novels are going to end when I start writing them. I think I intentionally avoid deciding because I don’t want to rule anything out.

 

I spend a long time developing my characters and getting to know them before I start writing the first draft, and they in turn help me find the story, including the ending. However, I also learn so much about the characters during that first draft, which inevitably results in changes.

Q: How was the novel's title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: I chose the title based on a fairy tale that is very important to the Connelly siblings. It's an emotional tie to the mother they lost when they were young and a connection to her upbringing in Ireland.

 

The fairy tale is really a reflection of the best their mother saw in each of them and how they bring it out in each other. It prompts Tara to find purpose in prison by developing her art while she’s there, which leads to a new career possibility when she’s released.

 

I chose County Down in Northern Ireland because that’s where my father comes from.  

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m very excited about my third book, What Happened to the McCrays? It's due out January 2025 and takes an intimate look at both sides of a marriage that has fallen apart. The setting is a small town so it's very much about the power of community. It’s also a little about the magic of middle school hockey! 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: One of my biggest thrills as a writer is connecting with people, so I’m so grateful to readers who have given my books a chance. It makes my day when someone takes time to send me an email, or post a picture or kind review. Thank you!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Norman Shabel

 

 

Norman Shabel is the author of the novel Four Women. His other books include The Badger Game. Also an attorney and a playwright, he lives in New Jersey and in Florida.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Four Women, and how did you create your cast of characters?

 

A: The four women in the story are actually women that I knew, and I thought that joining them together would make a good story and also give a platform to show that every person who went through the Holocaust had a different, yet horrible, story to tell.

 

I met each of the women separately, at different times, and as I heard their stories, I felt that what each experienced during the Holocaust and afterwards while putting their lives back together was worth telling. Notwithstanding the horrors and heartaches that each suffered, each one was able go on and live a happy, fulfilling life.  It shows the resilience of the human spirit.

 

I chose to set the story in Miami as I was an attorney with many real estate clients in Miami and was familiar with the real estate and political arena in the area at that time.

 

In the 1960s Miami was beginning to explode into a major world-class city. It became the home of many interesting types of people from all over the world, including many unsavory individuals. Corruption was rampant in politics, real estate, and other areas of economic growth. I thought this was a great background for my story, and another important issue to spotlight. 

 

Q: How did you research the book, and did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

A: When I was a young man, I visited Europe after the war and became captivated by the horrors of the Holocaust. I realized that every person had their own story.  I was determined to tell the stories of the people that I knew and those that I learned about.

 

My investigation and research centered around my observations as I traveled through Europe, mingling and discussing the war, hearing the stories, and learning about the feelings among the people who went through this horrible time. I used what I learned from them to write the Holocaust portions of all of my books.

 

As a real estate lawyer with clients in Miami in the 1960s I did not need to do research to understand the level of corruption that was rampant at that time. I lived through this and became part of the curative aspects while defending my clients and became painfully aware of the many, many problems that it caused in all aspects of their lives.

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: I always know the end of the story before I start writing a book. However, as I write and proceed through the story, I do wind up making changes, and continue that process until the story until it reaches a satisfactory culmination.

 

This describes my process for Four Women, too.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: I hope they enjoy the characters and stories in the book, as well as learning important facts about both the horrors of the Holocaust and the corrupt political and real estate market in Miami in the ‘60’s.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m working on bringing all of my novels and plays out into the world.  Especially in light of current events, now more than ever their messages must be heard.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: It brings me great joy to interact with readers and to discuss both my books and my plays with audiences who have experienced them.  Being able to touch and inform people with these stories is, I believe, one of the greatest accomplishments of my 87-year journey.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

May 11

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

May 11, 1918: Richard Feynman born.

Q&A with Michelle Paris

 

 

 

Michelle Paris is the author of the new novel Eat Dessert First. She also has written the novel New Normal. She lives in Maryland.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Eat Dessert First, and how did you create your character Abbey? 

 

A: I believe that romantic heroines should come in all shapes and sizes, so, I wanted to write a book where the main character was plus-sized. The original title of the manuscript was The Best Revenge, because I always wanted the main character to “get the hot guy.”

 

I also wanted readers to see how painful body shaming can be and create a character that didn’t lose weight to become happy in the end.

 

The character’s name, Abbey, came after I decided her parents were non-conventional hippie-types and huge Beatles fans. The music theme that plays throughout the book actually came in late the manuscript drafting process.

 

I like to look back at original outlines and then see what life the story takes on. It’s always different than what I originally planned.

 

Q: In our previous Q&A, you said of Eat Dessert First, “It’s about an overweight baker learning that self-love is more important than romantic love.” Can you say more about that?  

 

A: Personally, I struggled with body-image most of my life. And I learned late in life that the valuable lesson that no one judged me more than I judged myself.

 

Because of my own experience, I thought it would be important to write story about a character who is self-conscious about her weight and the journey she takes to self-acceptance.

 

In Eat Dessert First, Caroline, Abbey’s boss, is constantly hitting home this message because Caroline knows too well how crippling low self-esteem can be. Caroline is an older role model and the maternal support that Abbey craves and needs.

 

Caroline is a composite of a few of my friends who refused to allow other people’s judgement impact the way they felt about themselves. 

 

Q: Are you a baker yourself, and what are your favorite recipes?

 

A: I actually started taking baking lessons after completing Eat Dessert First. My favorite thing to bake is macarons. They are pretty daunting because so many things can go wrong. I’d say of the dozen times I’ve made them, I’ve only got them perfect maybe once. But that doesn’t stop me from giving them as gifts to my friends.

 

Q: The novel is set in Ellicott City, Maryland, and in Philadelphia. How important is setting to you in your writing?

 

A: I love Main Street in Ellicott City, Maryland, because it’s got a rich history, and it is so resilient. I can remember going there as a kid and thinking, "Wow, this is such a cool place." It still has that charming quaint appeal that I remember from my youth. It lends itself perfectly for a sweet story.

 

I chose Philadelphia because I wanted Abbey to have a long-distance romance, and Philadelphia is far, but not too far, and there’s good Amtrak service to and from.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m about 1/3 the way through my next book, called Alex in Onederland. Onederland is what Weight Watchers call when their weight reaches a magical place below 200 pounds.

 

In this book, Alex exudes confidence and is very happy in her skin. She’s got an over-the-top personality and really doesn’t care what people think. I want to continue to create heroines that are not stereotypical and continue the theme of what’s on the inside matters the most.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Thank you so much for this opportunity. If you’d like to learn more about me, please visit www.michelleparisauthor.com.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Michelle Paris.

Q&A with A. Ashley Hoff

 

Photo by Atila Sikora

 

 

A. Ashley Hoff is the author of the new book With Love, Mommie Dearest: The Making of an Unintentional Camp Classic. It focuses on the film that was based on Christina Crawford's memoir about her mother, film star Joan Crawford. Hoff's other books include Match Game 101, and he has worked for talent agencies in Los Angeles and Chicago.

 

Q: What inspired you to write With Love, Mommie Dearest?

 

A: Years ago I met Christina Crawford at an event and we talked about her book and the movie. While she isn't exactly thrilled with the way the big-screen adaptation turned out, she recognized how its popularity brought the topic of child abuse out into the open. This was long before I ever thought about writing a book on the subject.

 

Years later, I pitched the idea to my literary agent, and he said he already knew three or four editors who would be interested. 

 

Remembering my conversation with Christina, I knew I had to maintain a respectful tone. I didn't want a book simply making fun of the whole thing.

 

Moreover, I had worked for years in talent agencies in Chicago and Los Angeles, and knew how hard the cast, crew and production members worked to make that picture a success--it had an A-list star, A-list director, A-list budget, top-flight set and costume design--and yet, for a variety of reasons I detail in With Love, Mommie Dearest, was not received as it was intended.

 

And that's tough on the people who put so much time, effort, and creativity into their work. They could have been nominated for Academy Awards, and instead, they won Razzies! 

 

And yet, it was impossible to ignore the camp elements, or why the movie is seen by so many people that way. So I set out to explain what went into the crafting of Mommie Dearest, and how and why it turned out the way it did. 

 

Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: I started with the movie's original production files, kept at the Margaret Herrick Library at the Motion Picture Academy. The original cast and crew lists helped, allowing me to track down many of the production and crew members, and actors in smaller roles. 

 

Many of them had never spoken before about their experiences working on Mommie Dearest. They shared some great stories and their thoughts on why the movie turned out the way it did. 

 

What surprised me?

 

For one thing, I realized the filming of Mommie Dearest signaled the end of two great eras in Hollywood moviemaking. The end of Golden Age Hollywood--because so many great stars and filmmakers of that period were starting to pass away, and of course, Mommie Dearest is the iconoclastic tale about one of the greatest of those Golden Age stars.

 

And a number of the people working on the film had known or worked with Joan Crawford, and on other Hollywood classics. Makeup artist Charlie Schram, who worked on Mommie Dearest, had worked at MGM on The Wizard of Oz!

But it also, arguably, marked the end of the American New Wave of cinema that began with the release of Bonnie and Clyde, starring Faye Dunaway, reached its heights with Chinatown and Network, starring Faye Dunaway, and now ended with Mommie Dearest, starring--you guessed it!--Faye Dunaway.

 

That period between 1967 and 1981 saw the release of some great, character-driven movies that could not have been made earlier, largely due to censorship issues, and wouldn't be made today because with rising production costs, studios take fewer risks. 

 

Mommie Dearest was released in September of 1981, and a few months earlier Steven Spielberg released Raiders of the Lost Ark. The following year, E.T. hit theatres. And so began the rise of the special effects-laden cineplex blockbusters we see today.

 

With today's CGI and AI, there is no need to spend a percentage of a movie budget on the marble flooring and lavish, Art Deco sets they built for Mommie Dearest. Today, they would just greenscreen it in.  

 

Q: What do you see as the film’s legacy today?

 

A: For one thing, the movie helped bring the topics of child abuse and how to survive it into the mainstream. Since the publication of Christina Crawford's memoir and the release of its big-screen adaptation, laws have been passed and strengthened to better protect children. There is a greater awareness of the subject, and there are distinctions made between discipline and overt bullying. In previous generations there was no real distinction made. 

 

There are essentially three types of people watching Mommie Dearest: those watching it as a campy melodrama, a sort of over-the-top telenovela set in Hollywood; those watching it for cathartic or therapeutic reasons; and those watching the movie as a straight drama or as a bio-pic. And, judging by the film's continued popularity, I'd say each of those reasons to watch the movie is valid. 

 

Q: What do you hope people take away from the book?

 

A: Among the takeaways: Mommie Dearest has often been derided as a "flop," and an easy target for jokes. While it was critically panned, it was never a financial failure. In fact, while award-winning movies made the same year have fallen into obscurity, Mommie Dearest remains a fan-favorite. It makes one reassess one's definitions of "success" and "failure." 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I've been researching a couple of biographies and art books--books concerning the lives of artists, and cataloguing their artwork. And I'm researching and writing another book about a particular cult classic film. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: While I am not originally from New Orleans, I've spent some time there and have a lot of New Orleanian friends--and make a damn good jambalaya!

 

Also, I should add that I wrote an earlier book, published in 2019, titled "Match Game 101: A Backstage History of Match Game," about the popular ‘70s TV game show still airing in reruns. So, my goal is obviously to corner the market in Pop Culture!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Simi Monheit

 

 

 

Simi Monheit is the author of the new novel The Goldie Standard. She lives in Northern California.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Goldie Standard, and how did you create your character Goldie and her granddaughter Maxie?

 

A: The Goldie Standard started almost by accident, but it was something that, once started, felt inevitable. My sister and I came to the painful but realistic realization that our mother couldn’t live on her own anymore.

 

On the day that we brought her to the assisted living facility where she eventually moved, I witnessed her reactions: “Everyone here is so old.” This from an 89-year-old woman leaning on her walker. We sat with her during her intake interview, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

 

My mother was sharp, funny, incisive ,and honest. And she did look at the interviewer as if she had two heads. When I came home, the words poured out on the page – not how I saw it – how I imagined she did. And Goldie came into full fierce being.

 

Growing up, my mother was shameless about trying to set me up with “nice Jewish boys.” Especially doctors. When my sister married a neurobiologist, her comment was, “why not a REAL doctor?” 

 

And there was the time she answered a personal ad (pre apps) on my behalf. She wasn’t duplicitous, she actually wrote, “This is Simi’s mother. She won’t write herself, but you should go out with her.”

 

These were gems that had to be treasured and shared.  And celebrated. And don’t get me started on our ongoing relationship with my hair and clothes.

 

Goldie is fiction – the things in this book didn’t really happen, but they could have. Goldie was a character waiting to land on the page.

 

Maxie was a harder nut to crack. I wanted to bring in a younger voice to address issues of identity, family traditions, and generational differences. I wanted her to be a real person, with questions, insecurities and ambitions that young woman have.

 

Growing up with such strong family expectations and weighing them against her personal growth and beliefs, beliefs that her grandmother didn’t know she inspired, was the challenge and balance I was trying to convey with Maxie.

 

Goldie’s is a generation that we’re losing. Maxie’s is on the cusp. I tried to find their intersections.                
                                             

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between the two?

 

A: They adore and exasperate each other. Maxie had advantages that Goldie never had, Goldie faced challenges Maxie never had. How would each of them have been different (or the same) if their roles were reversed? Both are women who love deeply and fiercely, and who question the world around them.

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: Lots of changes along the way. I’m a pantser – not a plotter. I did know that Maxie would end up with T-Jam, but I wasn’t sure how she’d resolve getting there. And how Goldie would come around to it.

 

There were a lot of surprises as I wrote. Some twists I didn’t anticipate. I had a framework to tell the life of an older woman who lives in her past and present simultaneously, but the present was unfolding for her and me in real time.

 

Q: The writer R. Cathey Daniels said of the novel, “While this novel reads like a romantic caper, Monheit doesn't shy away from examining the most fraught of our human complexities.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: R. Cathey Daniels absolutely “got” the book. I love what she had to say about it. I’m asked if this a romcom. And it is. But it’s also a drama, and a comedy and at times it touches on some tragedy and trauma. I think that’s a reflection of a real life.

 

If there is a category for this book, I’d label it a “dromedy.” Dramatic Romantic Comedy. The story of a life fully, richly, lived – realistically.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I have two projects going on. One is about a young ultra-Orthodox girl on the verge of her year of dates leading to an arranged marriage who is questioning everything she knows and more about what she doesn’t.

 

The other is a steminist work set in the ‘80s, about a female computer scientist in the very early days of AI who stumbles into a career and a fascinating scientist – wrong and absolutely right for her in every way.

 

Q: Anything else we should know about?

 

A: I love to write, I love telling stories. The whole world is a canvas, isn’t it?

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb