Author News & Interviews

Author Talk: Tracy Shawn, author of The Grace of Crows

Feb 6, 2014

An Interview with author Tracy Shawn by David Starkey

Question: Saylor Crawmore, the protagonist of THE GRACE OF CROWS, is deeply anxious about almost everything. Why did you find her anxiety so compelling?

Tracy Shawn: I have suffered from severe anxiety myself and wanted to write a story that others could relate to, learn from, and ultimately gain perspective and a grounded kind of hope from, as well.

Author Talk: Michael Ponsor, author of The Hanging Judge

Feb 5, 2014

Question: To what extent—if any—is Judge Norcross based on you? Is the trial in THE HANGING JUDGE based at all on any case or cases you’ve presided over?

Michael Ponsor: The trial is based generally on my experience as a judge, and my experience presiding over a complete death penalty trial. Judge Norcross, however, is not me. He is less experienced than I am as a judge now, and than when I presided over my capital case. He is also, in many ways, a nicer person than I am.

Author Talk: Thomas Moore, author of A Religion of One's Own: A Guide to Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World

Jan 9, 2014

Question: In many ways, A RELIGION OF ONE’S OWN revisits some of the themes you first raised in CARE OF THE SOUL. Would it be fair to say that you have been working on this book for the past twenty years?

Thomas Moore: It would be fair to say that I’ve been working on this book all my life. From the fifth grade in school, when I was an altar boy, through my monastic years and then my graduate studies in religion, I’ve been exploring the issues raised in this book. To me, they’re not just intellectual puzzles; they’re the object of my passionate search and have defined my existence.

Author Talk: Becky Aikman, author of Saturday Night Widows: The Adventures of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives

Jan 9, 2014

Question: Why did you decide to write a book about the SATURDAY NIGHT WIDOWS?

Becky Aikman: Losing someone close to you has to be one of life’s most universal experiences, but it wasn’t until it happened to me that I realized our culture doesn’t provide much guidance on how to start over afterward. A lot has been written about dealing with grief, raw, immediate grief, but almost nothing about how to take the next step, to begin to find happiness again. I set out to look at that.

: Antoinette van Heugten, author of The Tulip Eaters

Nov 4, 2013

Question: Where did you find your inspiration for writing THE TULIP EATERS?

Antoinette van Heugten: My parents were Dutch and fought in the Dutch resistance during World War II. Although they did not speak of it often, as children we heard stories of how our grandmother hid a Jewish boy in the cellar, how my mother transported microfiche on her bicycle and how my father had blown up munitions depots. We also were made well aware of the hardships their families and others suffered during the five years of Nazi occupation, particularly the starvation conditions during the “Hongerwinter” toward the end of the war. As such, I have always had a personal as well as an historical fascination with that time period. My parents’ heroism, demonstrated when they were only teenagers, was my initial inspiration. Reading the diaries and letters of so many Dutch people during the war inspired me further.