You had me right at the beginning: “When you can’t control when you go, it’s nice to at least control how.”  How did you come up with the concept for this novel?
I was taking a walk past the stump of an old tree when the first lines of The Warbler came to me: “My mother is a willow. She stands by a stream that burbles like a toddler’s kisses, and her leaves dip into the water whenever the wind blows, to be nibbled by fish who don’t know any better…” These lines led me to Elisa, a woman who believes she is cursed to always be on the move, to never stay and put down roots. And I thought to myself, What if a woman who cannot stay comes to a town she cannot leave? This book grew from that single question.

Control is a huge theme. Is it also a theme in your other work?  And if so, how does this theme help create cause/effect in your work?
Control, power, choice – these are themes that show up in my work over and over again in different ways. I believe in the importance of chosing who you want to be and what dreams you want to chase. Loss of control, helplessness, powerlessness, having someone else shape who you are and who you become – that’s the nightmare.

How did you come up with Elise’s rules? She never stays longer than ten months anywhere. Why ten?
Elisa doesn’t have a rulebook for her curse, and neither did her mother, Lori. Lori invented the ten-month rule because she didn’t want Elise to have to move mid-school-year. If they stayed ten months, then Elisa could start a new school in the fall and then move again in the summer. Lori didn’t dare risk the curse by staying any longer than that, but she didn’t know for certain that was the limit. In fact, she didn’t know for certain that the curse was real at all… But she believed it was, and that was enough to keep them moving every ten months.

Elise is a protagonist wanting to not only establish the why over her life, but also some control. Yet, she is a traveler. Can you explain this irony?
One of the things I wanted to explore in this book is the idea that one person’s choice can be another person’s curse. Rose wanted to travel; Elisa is forced to travel. Having agency over your actions is sometimes more important than what those actions are. Being always forced to leave can be as much of a prison as never being allowed to go.

Mother-daughter theme is also another great theme. What do we inherit from our mothers--another of your reoccurring themes? Mother over father?
I do write a lot about family – how your family can strengthen you, damage you, shape you, free you, chain you. What’s meant as a gift can be a curse, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t given with love. We’re all trying our best.

All of the characters have great arcs. We want to follow and resolve all the history. However, Elise is a character that will remain in every reader's mind. How did you get into the “soul” of this character?
Every character’s voice has its own music – its own melody and its own rhythm. I can’t write a single page until I find that music. I found Elisa’s voice while she was packing to leave yet again – that moment was emblematic of all the times she’d left before, saying goodbye to who she was and moving on, and I knew it had to be the first chapter.

Which scene in the story did you hope would produce the most emotional impact on your readers?
I hope every reader finds the scene that resonates the most with them—reading is a highly personal experience. That said, I structured the novel to build, and I very much hope the moment near the end with the bird cages feels satisfying.

Which is your favorite scene?
My personal favorite moment is when Elisa realizes the bookstore has a cat.

The magical stone where wishes are made: I liked the paranormal used in this story. Is the paranormal something you enjoy placing in your plots? And this paranormal, making wishes, seemed something we might all do?
I do love to write about the impossible. I think it offers a way to bypass fact and go directly to truth.

I know it would be hard for me to pass up a new book of yours. What are you working on now that you think readers would enjoy with some of these same themes? Or are you working on something entirely new?
Right now, I am working on cozy fantasy – The Enchanted Greenhouse comes out on July 15, and it’s about a librarian, a gardener, lots of magical plants, and second chances. It’s a different kind of book from The Warbler, but I think you’ll recognize a lot of the same themes: choosing who you are and who you want to be, as well as finding strength through connection to others.
 
Thanks for the chat, Sarah.
Thanks so much for chatting with me!

“Although some things never change about growing up, the time in which you grow up isn’t one of them. It’s forever changing, shaping you in ways you can’t control or anticipate. As each year passes, the only wild card is you.” I love this, and it causes me to wonder if this was your reasoning for using To Kill A Mockingbird--using many of its themes and “mockingbird” --because so much has changed yet not changed at all culturally?  
You’ve said it extremely well.  I began writing the novel in 2021 when the “Black Lives Matter” movement was still resonating from the previous summer and it made me think of To Kill a Mockingbird––that is, how far we have come but also how far we still need to go. As for my “wild card” line you quoted, I wanted my characters, once I had them in mind, to be wild cards, to be different than the times were pushing them to be.  That’s why I set it in June of 1964: The Civil Rights Act passed in July of that year. And it is why I end it in 2021, so the reader can “see” their growth.

Did you set the novel in the ’60s because it echoed your childhood?
Oh yes, echoed is the right word.  In 2021, just six months after publication, West with Giraffes had sold 100,000, so my agent asked me to write another.  “I don’t have another,” I said. “Yes, you do,” she said back with a big smile.  So, I began to think about it. I don’t write fast and they wanted it to be done in about 2 years. As I mentioned, the Black Lives Matter movement after the George Floyd murder was still on my mind. So, if I were going to write something quickly, I might need to use my childhood, and that made me think of To Kill a Mockingbird. I grew up in a town with a railroad track down the middle separating its citizens, whites on one side/ blacks on the other, the schools still segregated. I lived only a few blocks from that railroad track and yet, as children, we were told never to cross it.  If your readers have read Mockingbird Summer, that will all sound very familiar. How about if you would have set it in current times?  That would have been an entirely different story, wouldn’t it? I have lived long enough to know that progress is a pendulum here in the United States and not a smooth one.  If I can mix my metaphors, we tend to go forward a step and then back a step. And, sadly, right now we seem to be going back two steps. But my hope is that pendulum will do its thing soon.

“There among the dead crows was also a dead mockingbird. And seeing that, she couldn’t keep the tears from coming.”  The mockingbird is a symbol of innocence. But you added crows. Why crows? 
[Laughs]. I don’t really know, except that crows are black, which is perhaps a symbol of loss of innocence?  Writers often write better than they know, as William Faulkner famously said.  I better go with that.

You have a very diverse background as a writer. Your novels are also diverse. From Mockingbird Summer to West With Giraffes.  
Plus, Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale, my 2012 first major novel. Yes, diverse is certainly the right word.  Do you take on novel subjects in much the same way you would select a journalism subject?  By the way—loved West with Giraffes. How do you decide what story to take on?  I have been eclectic and that probably does come from my journalistic background––that and my low boredom threshold. I do love to wander in my interests, which is probably the former travel writer in me. But, truly, I have no idea what story will hit me next. That’s half the fun for someone like me. I’m told editors will often ask a writer to write another novel like one that sold well, and I think that’s impossible.  It’s like trying to catch lightning in a bottle, isn’t it? So, I’m thankful I’ve only had the kind of editor who lets a writer do her own thing.

If I were still in the classroom teaching, I would use both Harper Lee’s book and yours as a lesson about themes. How proud are you that this ‘coming of age’ can also be so wonderfully used in the classroom?
Wow, that’s high praise, thank you! Yes, very proud.  I hope one day some teacher does that and I hope I’m around to hear about it.

Did Harper Lee’s book make an impact on you when you read it? Why?
I read Harper Lee’s novel when I was 15 in 1965. I devoured it, no doubt because of all that was happening during the Sixties. What other authors have made such an impact? Well, I’ve also been eclectic in my reading, largely due to earning a couple of literature degrees, which exposed me to many voices and styles. I do tend to gravitate toward more Southern literature as well as ones a little more globetrotting.  Good examples are John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and Travels with Charley. And more recently Yann Martel’s Life of Pi.  But there are so many others. To be a good writer, I strongly believe you need to read, read, read, broadly and deeply.

Some of your characters parallel those in To Kill A Mockingbird. Corky is a little older than Scout. Why did you decide to keep to the same first-person point of view? You know what I love about that question?  Mockingbird Summer isn’t from a first-person point of view––it’s third person––but you remember it as first person and that means I did my job of making it feel personal.  To Kill a Mockingbird is a distant first-person POV, as if the narrator is an adult telling it from memory.  I actually tried first-person POV yet quickly understood I needed to go broader. So, after studying To Kill a Mockingbird’s first-person narration, I tried to emulate it in my third-person POV, which you picked up on. And that, I hope, allowed my storytelling to be simple yet personal and profound.

What did you do in writing to keep your novel unique from Harper Lee’s? 
Voice is everything, isn’t it?  I’m not a good enough writer to have emulated her voice, but I didn’t want to; I just wanted to emulate her style.  So, the answer to that question is really that I had to be “me” on the page. And that meant lots of humor in service to the story’s upbeat gravitas. Robert Frost once said that a good piece of writing "begins in delight and ends in wisdom." I always aim to write the kind of story that stays with you, gives you food for thought and packs a velvet punch…but is always delivered with a dash of joy. That's my goal for all my novels.

Have you read Percival Everett’s  James—a rewrite of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s point of view?  A great concept. I haven’t gotten to it yet, but I will.  What is the challenge for an author in recreating from books so famously read? Mostly, to keep one’s own voice while emulating the book’s style. It’s definitely a tightrope you’re walking. Would you suggest other writers attempt this? [Laughs] If they are feeling masochistic, sure, go for it. What was your biggest challenge in the writing? To tell a story that was my own while keeping true to the intent of Harper Lee’s story. When I first entertained the concept, I asked everyone I knew––and I mean everyone young, old, male, female––if they had read To Kill a Mockingbird. Almost everyone said yes. That gave me the courage to try using it as a literal book in Mockingbird Summer that my two main characters would experience quite differently and poignantly.

What are you writing now? And when can readers expect it out? I love that question because that means that you and others love my writing. I came late to the party; I’ve always had literary pretensions but life kept getting in the way. I have some ideas banging around in my head, but nothing yet that’s grabbed me and won’t let me go. When you spend years with an idea it better be the latter, right?

  ​Thanks, Joe, for taking the time to chat and for writing such a wonderful book. I’m sure my readers will love it as much as I do, and authors will learn from you. My questions are crafted for both audiences, while aiming not to give away too much.

A 100-year-old man and a young boy are your two major characters. What inspired these characters, and were they drawn from your own life in any way?
     I think most writers would agree that the people we are close to in our lives (not to mention ourselves) tend to come out in our characters in unpredictable and often unintentional ways. But neither Jason nor Murray was based on anyone in my life...at least not intentionally. The closest to basing one of the characters on someone I know would be that, while writing Jason, I tried to remember what it felt like to be a ten year-old boy. I also wanted to push the limits of what he could get away with and still have the reader like him and root for him. Sometimes he's a bit obnoxious, I know, but I was hoping the reader would cut him some slack due to his illness and prognosis. 
      As for Murray, I had two wonderful grandfathers who both lived into their 80's, but I wouldn't say I based Murray's character on either of them. I just remembered what it was like to be in my twenties, compared that to how I felt in my forties, and imagined what it might be like to continue to age until one hundred. Writing his point-of-view in first-person, present tense also helped me get inside his head, I think. 
      The inspiration for the two characters came mostly from a "writer's" standpoint. I knew that the extreme difference in age would automatically create microtension in every one of their interactions (at least until they really got to know each other). The difference in familiarity with technology was one of the most enjoyable parts to write. 

Kiss a girl (on the lips), hit a home run, be a superhero, find a good boyfriend for Mom, etc.—Jason Cashman’s five wishes form the novel’s plot outline. They set the stage for Mr. Murray McBride’s journey. While the premise seems simple, it unfolds with deep storytelling possibilities. Did you plan these wishes before writing the novel, or did they emerge as you wrote?
     I really wanted to have the wishes be things that a kid in Jason's situation might wish for. So I wrote the list of wishes first, without regard for how I might resolve them...and then had to figure out how to make them come true. But it ended up being really helpful in creating both the characters and the storyline. For example, the reason I created Murray as an ex-Major League baseball player is so he'd have connections to make the home run wish come true. The reason Jason is a magician in the "bookends" of the story is because he wanted to do real magic as one of his wishes. The entire existence of Collins, which led to the writing of the "Art class chapters", was because I had to figure out a way for Jason to find a good boyfriend for his mom. So what started out as an intimidating task--figuring out how to make all these impossible wishes come true--ending up informing the creation of huge parts of the story.  

 “They’re not just his wishes now, they’re mine, too.” This blending of life goals between two people highlights the novel’s theme of mentorship. Have you had a mentor in your own life?
     Although I haven't had anyone in my life I would necessarily call a "mentor", I have had many people who have played mentoring roles. From various coaches and teachers to my own parents. And I have had a chance to be a mentor myself, through a local organization called Partners, which is very similar to Big Brothers/Big Sisters. And several people close to me have done a lot of mentoring. My sister has had the same Little Sister for thirty years now, and my best friend speaks glowingly about a mentor he had while growing up in poverty. So mentoring was definitely something I've always wanted to write about. 
 
How does it feel knowing this book is being used in classrooms—essentially making you a mentor to thousands, even millions, of students?
     Both humbling and terrifying. The funny thing about this book is that it was the first time in my life I wrote something without any regard for who might read it or like it, or what they might get from it. I'd had 17 years of failure and rejection before this book was published. Then I unexpectedly lost my dad, who I was very close to. The writing of this book became a form of therapy for me. All those "video game scenes" with Murray and Jason were created in very late drafts and were entirely there as a way for me to work through the questions and emotions I had after losing my dad. It taught me a valuable lesson about writing--that the most powerful writing I can do is writing that is authentic to myself. The moment I start writing to please someone else, things get contrived and the quality of my storytelling declines. 
 
Your book tackles emotionally complex themes: limited time, faith, gratitude vs. loss, acceptance, trust, and death. Yet, you weave them into a story with a simple structure. What did you keep in mind while writing to maintain this balance?
     I'm glad you asked about structure because you're right that this story has a very simple structure...intentionally so. I've come to believe that "literary" fiction is amazing because it can make you think about things in brand new ways, and "commercial" fiction is amazing because it can make you feel things in brand new ways. The best writing combines the two, but I try to lean toward creating strong emotions in the reader because I think feeling the wide range of human emotions--and feeling them powerfully--is one of the most important parts of being human. I think the accessibility of fiction that is simpler in structure (and language) is a main factor in why it's able to create such strong emotions. If the reader doesn't have to work so hard at understanding, if they don't have to think so much, it frees them to get deeper into the character's perspective and more invested in the story. And, when done well, that leads to really powerful emotional experiences. And those are the experiences that make reading worthwhile.  
 
How emotionally triggering was it for you to write this novel? Do you personally live by the themes you explore in the book? If so, how?
     Writing this novel was extremely emotional for me because I wrote it as therapy after losing my dad. But I wouldn't call it triggering. Maybe it's my own connotation of the word, but I think of being triggered as a negative, almost dangerous thing. Whereas I think of the emotions brought out by this story as being beautiful. Sad, sure. But not just sad. Also redemptive and hopeful (at least that was my intent). 
    And I certainly do try to live by a lot of the themes in the book. There are several...making the most of the time we have left, being generous and thinking of others before ourselves, being "SBK". The list goes on. 
      One of the reasons I write the kind of fiction I write is because it's the kind of thing I want to spend my time thinking about. I have nothing against other kinds of stories, but for me, I don't want to spend extended time in the mind of a serial killer, or someone like that. It's probably why most of my novels tend to be "protagonist vs. situation" instead of "protagonist vs. antagonist". Writing a novel requires the writer to spend a lot of time in their characters' heads. I want that to be a pleasant experience. 

While your story deals with sadness, it also offers laugh-out-loud humor that reflects human nature. How did you approach maintaining this balance for your readers?
     The balance between humor and sadness is key to my writing. It's something I think about constantly and something I sometimes struggle with. After all, a story that's just sad through-and-through will probably wear on the reader and make them need a break from it. And a story that's just funny gets boring, in my opinion. And the great thing about humor and sadness is that the presence of one brings out the power of the other. As a reader, my favorite stories to read make my laugh and cry both...maybe even at the same time!
 
If readers could take away and remember just one scene from this book, which one would you hope it to be? (I know—there are almost too many to choose from, but give it a shot!)
     I think it would have to be when Jason hits his home run. I love the pure joy of the moment. I love the friendship and support of Tiegan, Murray, and the Cubs. And I love the visual of it. But most of all, I love how that scene, when taken in its entirety, reminds us that tomorrow is never guaranteed, we never know how much time we have left, and we need to live and appreciate every moment as if it's our last. 

What theme do you hope readers will carry with them as they move through their own lives?
     There are two themes I think are the most important. First, that it's never too late. It's never too late to live. It's never too late to make a difference in someone's life. It's never too late to make the most of the time we have left. And second, SBK. It's how I sign books and it's a motto I think everyone should adopt. Be strong, be brave, and always be kind. If everyone can do that, the world will be a much better place. 
 
I’ve heard there’s a film adaptation in the works! Any updates? And what are you working on now?
      I'd love to be able to say it will soon be a movie, but the truth is we're very early in that process and it's still a longshot. We have sold the "screenplay rights" to a guy who has written a screenplay and is now shopping it around to production companies to see if anyone is interested. Seeing it as a movie would be a dream come true! Unfortunately, as of now it still seems like no more than a dream. 

Again, thank you, Joe.
It’s been a pleasure to meet you and experience this book.

   I loved the line in your novel, “…the worth of a man is not in what he owns, but in the work he leaves behind.” Having a PhD in art history must give you this appreciation of the artists and the work they left behind. Is the use of artwork in this novel, both a plot device and/or theme in most of your work?
First of all, thank you for reading! Thinking about how art connects people over time is at the heart of my work, both in fiction and non-fiction. Some works of art go on amazing adventures centuries after their creators are gone. This is certainly the case with the innumerable works hidden during World War II to protect them from damage, theft, or destruction. 
In fiction, a work of art can serve as more than an inanimate object or thing of beauty; it can be a powerful thematic element or even a character in its own right. For Stella in The Keeper of Lost Art, Botticelli’s Primavera becomes more than just an old painting that needs protection. It profoundly influences Stella’s evolving understanding of the world as she navigates the complexity of coming of age in wartime.

  How do you reflect on this quote when thinking of your own life as an author?  
Like works of art, books also have the power to transcend time, to leave a legacy far beyond material possessions. Think about the many authors and pieces of writing from antiquity we are still reading today, along with those from more recent centuries that are considered classics. Hollywood producers are making movies today from stories whose authors are long gone; that’s amazing!

As an author, it's humbling to think about creating something that might outlive you, but honestly, I don’t spend too much time considering that when I’m writing. I just follow my curiosities to see what deep historical rabbit holes they will lead me into, so that I can share them with readers and students.
There are countless incredible true stories from the history of art. I certainly don’t compare my writing to a Renaissance masterpiece, but I try to create stories that honor these works and the people who created and protected them for future generations. Like the characters in The Keeper of Lost Art, I try to contribute in my own small way to keeping these cultural treasures alive in our collective imagination. If I can connect readers and students to art history in a way that is both accessible and inspires wonder, then I am happy. 
 
Another wonderful quote: “Stella’s astonishment, she discovered that darkness reveals light.” I think this is also a strong theme in the novel, beyond the relationship to the paintings. Can you speak to it more as a theme, or if I have it wrong, what you meant by the quote?  
During war, when humanity seems at its darkest, art represents our highest aspirations. In several of my novels, I have explored how art has the power to bring people hope in times of darkness. 
World War II represents one of humanity's darkest chapters, yet against this backdrop, we witness extraordinary acts of courage, sacrifice, and beauty. Sometimes, individuals had to make the choice between saving a human life or a work of art. In other cases, ordinary people risked their own lives to protect a work of art for future generations. These remarkable circumstances speak to something essential about our relationship with art—it's not just about beauty or monetary value, but about preserving our collective cultural memory and identity.
For Stella personally, it's through her losses and struggles—being separated from her parents, feeling unwanted by her aunt, navigating the confusion and danger of wartime—that she discovers her own inner strength and capacity for connection. Her friendship with Sandro, her growing understanding of art, her evolving relationship with her family—these lights could only emerge through the darkness she experiences. 
 

 Okay, I will move away from quotes after this one—although your novel says a great deal that can be quoted. “It is the artist’s greatest calling to guide…perception to what he wants the viewer to see.” Your novel has exceptional detail in description and emotional impact. How does the reader come into your mind when you write? Do you have a method to help keep your reader foremost in view?  
Thank you! The themes of vision and seeing seemed to expand for me as I wrote this story. When we stand before a great work of art or a complex painting like Botticelli’s Primavera, it sometimes takes a long time and multiple encounters for us to “see” everything the artist intended. Sometimes, there are layers of meaning and details that help the meaning unfold for us as we slowly unpack them.
As I wrote this story, the theme of seeing expanded to the young characters and their own developing grasp of the complex world they are navigating. Sandro, with his failing vision yet a deep connection to the visual world, and Stella, with her increasing curiosity yet limited experience of complex adult circumstances, helped fuel this thematic element of vision.
In thinking about how the reader will engage with my work, I try to put them in the shoes of characters who might encounter these works of art for the first time. Stella's initially naïve view of Botticelli's masterpiece allows readers to discover it alongside her, without feeling put off by art historical jargon or analysis.

Many writers and filmmakers have explored the heroic actions of the Monuments Men and Women who contributed to art preservation. But yours is an intimate story, adding the historical aspect of the children who were sent out of the city in order to be protected from the war. Where did Stella’s story come from? And how did it cross your creative path?
In my novels The Night Portrait and The Last Masterpiece, I too have written about the incredible deeds of the Monuments Men and Women in protecting works of art in wartime. They play a supporting role in The Keeper of Lost Art as well, where our fictionalized Monuments Man and Woman, Wallace Foster and Josie Evans, are based on real-life individuals whose heroic actions saved so many works of art for future generations.
But I wanted to do something different in this book. While the main characters in my previous novels have been curators or conservators or art experts of some sort, I wanted to explore a main character who had no prior knowledge or experience with art. The true story behind The Keeper of Lost Art allowed me to imagine what it would be like if you were an ordinary person who was asked suddenly to protect and care for hundreds of priceless masterpieces in your own home. This is exactly what happened as the Florentine art officials were forced to pack up their collection and swiftly move these masterpieces to privately owned properties in the Tuscan countryside. These “hidden heroes” were ordinary families like Stella’s who found themselves at the center of impossible circumstances.
Stella’s story emerged from the deep research I did for my novel, The Last Masterpiece. Among the some 30+ hiding places for works of art in the Tuscan countryside, I read about the incredible true story of the villa at Montegufoni, where Botticelli's Primavera was hidden during the war. The facts alone were astounding—more than 250 masterpieces stacked against walls, German soldiers requisitioning the same space, hundreds of refugees in the wine cellar—but mostly, I wondered about the human dimension of this story, particularly how ordinary people might have experienced these extraordinary circumstances.
During my research in Italy, I had the privilege of meeting the grandchildren of some of these hidden heroes, who grew up hearing wartime stories that brought this history to life in ways no academic source could. Walking through those rooms with them, I began to see the events through the eyes of a child—someone who wouldn't necessarily grasp the historical significance of what was happening but would feel everything intensely.
Around the same time, I read Iris Origo's extraordinary diary, War in Val d'Orcia, which documents her experience sheltering refugee children from northern Italian cities on her estate in Tuscany. The details of daily life—continuing to plant and harvest, trying to maintain some normalcy for these displaced children, navigating the complex loyalties of wartime Italy—provided a glimpse of the world Stella would inhabit.
Stella herself simply appeared one day, fully formed in my imagination—a girl caught between childhood and adulthood, between city and countryside, between her lost parents and her newfound family, between high art and the daily tasks of survival. Her perspective allowed me to explore this history in a different way from my previous works. Through her eyes, we experience both the mundane realities of wartime life and the extraordinary circumstances of living alongside some of humanity's greatest artistic achievements.
I think what drew me to tell this more intimate story is that the grand narratives of war and heroism, important as they are, sometimes overshadow the quiet courage of ordinary people—the families who took in refugee children, the local people who protected art without recognition, the children who had to grow up too quickly. Stella gave me a way to illuminate and honor those unsung stories.
 
This novel is a coming-of-age story of Stella in Italy; however, it also moves to a coming-of-age in her appreciation of art. This is a brilliant parallel in the story. How did you decide on it? And does it parallel with your journey?  
There's something uniquely powerful about that adolescent phase when we're trying to make sense of both ourselves and the wider world—it's the perfect moment for art to become transformative. For Stella, discovering Botticelli's Primavera coincides with her awakening to adult complexities. As she learns to look deeper at the painting—to see beyond its surface beauty to its layers of meaning—she's simultaneously developing the capacity to understand the complicated adults around her, the ambiguities of war, and her own identity. The painting becomes a kind of mirror for her growing emotional and intellectual maturity.
This parallels my own journey with art, though mine was less dramatic! I remember the first time I stood before truly great works of art and architecture as a pre-teen. Those moments changed something fundamental in how I saw the world and inspired me to pursue art history. My academic training eventually gave me the vocabulary and context to analyze art, but the emotional connection has always been primary. That's what I wanted for Stella—not the scholarly appreciation that might come later, but that initial, transformative recognition that art can speak to us across time, that it can help us understand ourselves and our world differently.
 
  How do you determine that a historical event will make a good story for readers? And how do you set about outlining for your research?
There are so many amazing—and little-known—true stories from the history of art. I look for historical events that contain "narrative gaps"—moments where the historical record tells us what happened, but not how it felt to the people experiencing it. These gaps are where fiction can breathe life into history. The evacuation of Florence's art treasures was meticulously documented in archival records, but those records don't tell us about the fear, hope, and daily challenges faced by the people involved. That's where story lives.
I'm particularly drawn to events that juxtapose extremes—like the presence of transcendent beauty amid the brutality of war. The image of Botticelli's Primavera—this celebration of renewal and beauty—sitting in a darkened room while bombs fell nearby contains an inherent narrative tension that makes it perfect to explore in a fictionalized story.
When outlining my research, I work in concentric circles. I start with the core historical event—in this case, the hiding of artworks in a single Tuscan villa. My first research layer focuses on establishing the factual framework and timeline: what happened, when, where, and to whom. This involves academic sources, archival documents, and museum records.
The next circle widens to include the broader historical context—what was happening in Italy during this period, how the war progressed, how it affected civilian life. This helps me understand what constraints and pressures my characters would face.
A third circle focuses on daily life details—what people ate, wore, how they traveled, what news they received, what work they did. For this novel, I studied agricultural cycles in Tuscany, wartime rationing, and rural education systems, among other topics.
The final research circle explores the emotional and psychological context—memoirs, letters, diaries, and oral histories from people who lived through similar experiences. These first-person accounts are invaluable for understanding how historical events were processed emotionally.
Throughout this process, I'm looking for places where my fictional narrative can illuminate historical or universal truths. I want to honor the real experiences of people who lived through these events while creating characters and situations that help readers connect emotionally to this history.
Once I have this research foundation, I create a detailed “story spine” that interweaves historical events with my fictional narrative, ensuring that my characters respond to historical developments authentically. This becomes my roadmap as I write, though I always leave room for discovery along the way.
 
  Do you do research before, during, or after the first draft?
Yes to all three! My research process is cyclical rather than linear. I begin with substantial research before writing a word—enough to understand the historical framework and to feel confident that the story concept is viable. For The Keeper of Lost Art, this initial phase included trips to Tuscany, conversations with people who lived through the war, time in the Uffizi archives, and extensive reading about the evacuation of art during World War II.
However, I don't wait until I've exhausted all possible research avenues before beginning to write. If I did, I'd never start! Once I have a solid foundation, I begin drafting, knowing that the writing process itself will reveal what additional research I need. As I write scenes, questions inevitably arise—"What would they have eaten for breakfast?" "How would news from the front have reached them?" "What would the landscape look like in October?" I put these questions in brackets and come back to them over the course of writing and revising.
I believe this approach creates a more organic integration of history and story. The research informs the narrative, but the narrative also guides the research, creating a dialogue between fact and fiction that hopefully results in a novel that feels both historically authentic and emotionally true.
 

Historical fiction authors--who would top your list?
Some of my favorite authors are Geraldine Brooks, Ken Follett, Anthony Doerr, Tracy Chevalier, Maggie O’Farrell, Karen Maitland… I have tremendous respect for novelists who can write a well-paced story with beautiful literary language and sensory detail that sink you into the historical time and place. I also like to read books set in places I’ve never been to or historical time periods where my knowledge is limited. I’m constantly reading historical fiction, but I also read outside the genre—often mysteries, thrillers, or suspense stories—for a refreshing change. I read fiction every single day and always with the eye of a craftsperson; I’m always asking how the author has constructed the story or made the reader feel a certain emotion. There is so much to learn.

Are you writing a new book? When will it be out?
Always! I’ve just completed a long research trip in Italy, which has filled my creative well and made me tremendously excited about this new project. I’m turning away from wartime and into new territory with this dual-timeline project. I’m writing about two eras I’ve never tacked before in fiction. So much fun! I’m still drafting the book, so there will be many more revisions before it’s ready to land in the readers’ hands.
 
Many sincere thanks for this interview. I have enjoyed your work and look forward to getting to know you better.
Thank you, DJ, for your wonderful questions, and for reading my work.

 But Not Forgotten: a Clint Wolf Novel. “Clint Wolf, chief of police here in Mechant Loup.”Wow. By the end of Act I, I was exhausted. You left each chapter at a point where I had to turn to the next chapter. I was breathless to have my emotional ending chapter’s question answered. Where did you learn to write such an emotional, impactful structure?
 
If I’m being completely honest, I don’t really know how I do what I do, and it gets scary. Like, if I don’t know what I’m doing, how can I replicate it? I know the exact steps I need to take in order to throw a straight punch, or put three bullets in the same hole with my sniper rifle, or process a murder scene. However, as far as writing goes, I have no actual formula. I just do what feels right at the moment, and hope it works.
 
What I immensely appreciated was your ability to handle the clues laid out in the novel. You didn’t give me twists and turns that I would need to double back-read to see how you got to them. No, as soon as you were about to twist or turn, I did so with you. Structure again? 

Thank you for your kind words. For me, writing is like waking up in a strange cabin and trying to feel my way through the darkness. I think the thing that saves me is I know how to investigate a murder, so I just have my characters going through the logical steps of a homicide investigation. As they work, I try to imagine what real detectives would say and do in similar circumstances, and how they might react to what’s happening around them.
 
Which is better? To surprise your reader or lead them to the turn or twist? 

I love building up to a twist or turn. Since the late nineties, I’ve written about 100 short stories and more than forty novels, yet I still get very excited when I’m close to revealing something huge in a story. During these times, I have to force myself to settle down and not rush through it.
 
You have an extensive background in law enforcement. As a reader, I felt I was in safe hands through reading the novel: step-by-step processes, objectivity, and observation. How do you think your background aids in giving your stories a good reality base and in bringing your reader along for the ride? 

Without my law enforcement background, I would never be able to do what I do, and I certainly wouldn’t be able to write as fast as I do. For me, the hardest part is coming up with a plausible storyline. Once that’s done and I know who’s doing the killing and why, I just walk my characters through their investigative duties, while trying to make them grow as individuals. I also try to make each book a little different, which means I’m constantly dreaming up new ways to kill people.
 
I have friend writers who spend lots of time researching the investigative part of mystery writing, and this cuts into their writing time and slows them down. I don’t take for granted how much my background benefits me, and I share what I know with any author who reaches out to me. If I don’t have an answer to a particular question, I usually have reference materials on hand that might help, or I know where they can look to find the answer.
 
Offering a broken protagonist provides sympathy for your readers and takes them on an emotional journey. Clint Wolf is broken, which is the basis for this first novel in the series, but you also give him high moral integrity. Are both paramount to you when creating a protagonist?

I do tend to write protagonists with high morals, but they don’t necessarily have to be broken. Clint happens to be struggling in the first few books, but he eventually gets his act together. As a reader, I would be annoyed if a character remained in a broken state throughout the course of 33 books, and I’m guessing other readers might feel the same.
 
Could you write a protagonist without one of these traits? Or have you? 

I have written protagonists who weren’t broken. London Carter is one example. While he suffered a great loss as a child, it only served to harden him and motivate him to get revenge, rather than breaking him.

How much of you is in the character Clint Wolf? 
 
Not much. While he shares my same passion for hunting down criminals and doing it the “law” way (a reference from Young Guns), he’s a bit more diplomatic and reserved than I am. I’m pretty rough around the edges and I don’t have much of a vocal filter.
 
What genres do you prefer reading? What authors? And which has most influenced your work? 

Louis L’Amour has influenced every aspect of my life. I grew up a poor kid in a fatherless home, and I tell anyone who’ll listen that L’Amour—through his protagonists—raised me to be the man I am today. I learned about hard work, honor, respect, courage, and doing the right thing regardless of the obstacles. I don’t know where I’d be today, or what I’d be doing, had I not discovered his work at such a young age.
 
I also believe he’s had an influence on my work, but it’s not something that happened on a conscious level. For instance, an editor once told me that he liked my pacing, and he likened it to Louis L’Amour’s books. I hadn’t given it any thought up to that point, but since I’ve read everything he’s written many times over, it made sense that I learned a lot from him.
 
You have written a large volume of mystery, police procedural, and thriller. How do you label your work? 

Hardboiled mysteries. I also place them in the police procedural categories on Amazon, but they seem to do better in the hardboiled category.
 
What do you hope your legacy speaks to? 

I’ve not given any thought to legacy, but I did have to do some soul-searching when I retired from law enforcement.
 
Ever since I first became a cop in 1990, I’ve felt like I was making a small difference in the world. I was very passionate about seeking justice for the victims of crime, especially those who had been murdered or violently assaulted. While I have no clue if I’m a good writer, I have no problem saying I was very good at my job—and I say that with humility. I cared a lot, and it showed in my work. I solved a lot of cases, put away a lot of murderers and other violent criminals, recovered a lot of stolen property, and protected a lot of people. It was a very fulfilling job.
 
Fast forward to the summer of 2021. I had retired a year earlier at 49, bought a home and property in Tennessee, and was enjoying two of my lifelong dreams: being a fulltime writer and living in the mountains of East Tennessee like Louis L’Amour’s Sacketts. Over the coming months, I began feeling guilty. I felt like riding off into retirement and enjoying my life had been a selfish act. I felt like I had more to give, and I even considered getting back into law enforcement here in Tennessee.
 
These thoughts quietly plagued me for a few months, until I received two messages. One came from a man I didn’t know. He thanked me for writing the Clint Wolf series, and he cited some historical quote from history that talked about the importance of an author’s work. (I spent two days trying to find the email to share the quote, but I haven’t had any luck.)
 
The second message came from a mother from Louisiana who had lost her daughter in a car crash. She told me that she would read my books to her daughter while she lay in the hospital bed, and that my books had been a safe place of distraction. This came at the right moment for me. It was the first time since retiring that I felt a sense of fulfillment out of what I was doing, and I finally realized that being an author was not some casual pastime, but rather, an important responsibility.
 
Getting back to the question of legacy. I’ve accomplished a lot of things in my law enforcement career and also in my life, but if I were to be remembered as anything, I’d want it to be as a good dad to my kids, a good husband to Amanda, and a good pepere to my grandkids.
 
And last question: New book coming out?
 
Yes! But Not For Sacrifice, which is Book #33 in the Clint Wolf Mystery Series, is set to come out on March 21st.

“ Her heart was hammering as she heard the key turn in the rusted lock and the door squeak open just a few feet from where she crouched. He must not find her, or it would end now.   The prophetic shriek of the gulls again: death, death, death. The body in the marsh.  Dismembered.”
 
I wanted to start with this quote from the beginning of your book because its tone foreshadowed the essence of the novel. Wonderful.
How do you decide where to start your story and what to include in the first chapter to produce a tone for its entire narrative?
I always like to start with a dramatic scene as the best way get readers involved with the story. In this case I wanted to bring in some childhood fears, to intensify the feeling of terror, so had Liz choose a familiar cubbyhole in her family’s holiday home, and describe her fears of being caught.  
 
 This novel is not only a suspenseful mystery but also a forensic mystery in that a marsh is a different type of geographical area than most people are used to. Do you do your research before you write along with an initial plot plan, or do you research along the way?
It does vary, but generally I do the research as I’m going along. I’ve learned that this often saves wasted effort where I research something in detail only to then not include it in the plot. Just recently, I’ve written a scene about a woman who  makes a remarkable Houdini -like escape from a locked kit bag. She had a suspicion she would be abducted, and prepared for it by secreting a GPS enabled fitness tracker (minus its strap) under the shoulder webbing of her sports bra. I was lucky enough to have several female friends with different types of tracker who volunteered to test whether the device would still function in that location on the body. This enabled me to write the scene so that the woman’s police colleague was not only able to discover the location but also remotely monitor her heart rate and stress levels, to know she was in trouble.

I think your novel’s craft works well with your background in finance—left-brain, logical. One plus one needs to equal two. Would you say this is reflected in the plot while your right brain created the characters?
I don’t tend to think of my creativity in those terms. I’m certainly surprised at the fertility of my imagination, particularly relating to plotting whereas characters I have to work a little bit harder at. My finance experience certainly helps me to construct the property scam within the Body in the Marsh.

Craig Gillard is a memorable protagonist for a series, and  I think the quote “Dignity in the face of mayhem” reflects his character. How important was it in this first book of the series to show that Gillard was emotionally broken (love and marriage) but strong in morality?
You’ve hit on a very important point. One of the best pieces of advice for writing a truly compelling novel is to tighten the relationships between characters. Normally, the relationship between an investigator and a murder victim is simply a professional one. But there’s a great deal more emotional heft when the detective was in love with her, even if it was a long time ago. The subtler way in which Craig’s enduring obsession with her overshadows his empathy with and treatment of some of the other women in his life was lost on some reviewers.

Okay, you got me with the ending. I will be careful here because I don’t want to give any spoilers, but after finishing this read, I thought, yes, this author is more intrigued by the how than the why. Would you say that is true with your storytelling? 
The how and the why really have to work together. If the mechanics of the murder don’t work, all your efforts creating motivation are lost. Certainly in this case I wanted to imbue my perpetrator with an incredible level of preparation and skill, so that an almost impossible ‘how’ makes sense at the end.
 In a later book in the Gillard series The Body in the Stairwell, I created alternating viewpoints between vulnerable victims and an evil perpetrator, which showed exactly the detail of ‘how’ as it was developing. While there was no mystery about the direction of the plot, the tension instead came from the reader being unable to warn those endearing victims of the consequences of their foolish actions.
 
How did you hope to develop the character of Craig Gillard from this first book to the next several in the series? What was important for his arc? 
While Gillard’s development as a detective is perhaps conventional, the arc of his personal life as he moves on from book 1 is about re-engagement with women after the trauma of Liz. His relationship with Sam follows this throughout the twelve books.
 
I don’t see how this story could have been written without careful planning. Do you plot before writing? And how intricate is your plot in detail?
I’m definitely a plotter not a pants-er: I know exactly how each book is going to finish before I begin, and have a 5000 word treatment of each title prepared sometimes four or five books ahead. Over the years I’ve got much better at not having to make disruptive plot changes during the course of writing, by predicting  in advance which part of the plot are going to work, so I can work faster.

What software tools do you like to use, i.e., Scrivener, Plotrr?
I use dictation software for the first draft and then edit by hand. No charts, no diagrams, it’s all in my head! I have a Word scratch pad, for writing scenes one at a time, and then move them into the main body of the text when I’m happy with them. I do often write scenes out of order and then save them so that I can add them later.
I had to look up the other tools you mentioned, as I hadn’t heard of them!  
 
Where the body is found in your series is highlighted in your titles and essential to the story. How does this challenge you, more so than emphasizing the overall theme?
The naming convention The Body in… used by the publisher actually turned out to be a bit of a burden over the course of the series. Sometimes I would like to keep the location of the body a mystery, and other times I couldn’t really place the body in the type of locations that they are often found, because the body in the dumpster (for e.g.) doesn’t make for a good cover image! In such ways marketing leads content by the nose…

 I enjoyed this first book, the first in a series. I see you have other books published. Is this a second series or  stand-alones? What is your writing schedule like, and do you work to write one or two novels a year? Next book out you don’t want the readers to miss?
The twelve book DCI Gillard series is complete, though I may yet add another title or two. My new protagonist is a woman, Detective Inspector Jan Talantire, who is based in the beautiful coastal county of Devon. I signed an eight-book ebook, paperback, and audio deal, with a two book per year schedule, exactly the same as my Gillard series.
Some people would regard my writing schedule as punishing, because I work seven days a week, and rarely take a day off. But I create ideas like an apple tree grows apples. It never feels like work, and I never get writers’ block. My most recent first draft I wrote in seventy-seven straight days, which puts me months ahead of schedule.
The first book in the DI Talantire series is two The Two Deaths of Ruth Lyle, and the second is The Last Ride, published earlier this month by Canelo in ebook and paperback, and by WF Howes in audio.
 
 
Thanks for chatting Nick!
               Thank you for your time and interest, DJ.

 I loved this line in your novel: “The woman’s eyes showed her story was deep and troubled and not yet over.” It summarizes this story. So, I need to ask, how did this story come to you?
You’ve selected one of my favorite lines and I’m so glad it resonated with you. In many ways, those who know me would say that The Direction of the Wind does not seem like a story I would write, and that is mostly because I am someone who has never even smoked a cigarette, so I’m dealing with subjects outside of my personal sphere of knowledge and that needed to be heavily researched. (My google search history while I was researching The Direction of the Wind would certainly raise a few eyebrows.) But at the end of the day, the story is about addiction and the impact it has on a family. And that theme, is far more common than we speak about. I have had people close to me who have struggled with addiction, and whether that relates to alcohol, drugs, food, gambling, or anything else, addiction is at its core a mental health issue that requires serious treatment. I really wanted to bring awareness, empathy, and compassion to this disease that is often misunderstood or judged by society, and through Nita’s and Sophie’s eyes, I was able to give two perspectives.
 
I have also spent a lot of time in Paris and consider the city a second home, but I wanted to show a grittier side that is not often portrayed in media. There is a commonly held sentiment that the “West is best” when speaking about lifestyles and cultures, and I wanted to show that for someone like Nita, the West wasn’t the best choice for her despite her romanticized notions of it.  

 
I also love the line, which sets the overall theme: “The direction of the wind cannot be changed, but we can change the direction of our sails.” Where has the wind taken you? Especially your journey as a writer. 
I’ve been fortunate that the wind has taken me to many places thus far, and I can’t wait to see the places it takes me next. My journey as a writer was far from linear. As a nine-year-old girl, I knew I wanted to be a writer, but having grown up in an immigrant household that lacked financial stability, I knew I didn’t want that for my life. So, I became an entertainment lawyer and worked in Hollywood for nearly twenty years. Halfway through that career, the pull to write resurfaced, especially as I was working in an industry that centered around storytelling, but didn’t have the representation of my culture that I hoped to see. So, in 2009, I began taking writing classes and writing what would become my debut The Taste of Ginger. Within a year, I had finished my draft and began the process of querying agents and had some interest, but ultimately the book never found a home. For the next decade, I continued revising it and eventually started writing The Direction of the Wind, thinking that I’d have more success with another story and maybe The Taste of Ginger would be my “drawer book” that was good practice but would never be published.
 
Then in 2020, during the midst of a global pandemic and racial tensions in the United States following the murders of George Floyd and many others as well as rising Asian-hate, I was offered a book deal for both The Taste of Ginger and The Direction of the Wind. It was a difficult series of events that led to my childhood dream coming true, because the publishing industry along with so many others was having a racial reckoning that it hadn’t been equitable in promoting all voices in the past. I wrestled with feeling like a token. But the converse is that it seemed the world was finally ready to start hearing authentic stories of immigrant families and the sacrifices and burdens associated with assimilation and acculturation. I was grateful to finally have a platform to share my stories and truly believe that my books were published at the right time. Because of the social climate, I was able to cover issues in a more direct and authentic way. During the decade in which I was writing and revising without a book deal, I was growing and developing along with the world, and I think that my books were able to reach a much wider audience in 2022 and 2023 than they would have ten years earlier.
 
In 2022, I was able to fully achieve my childhood dream and retired from my legal career in order to be a full-time writer. While all of my novels center Gujarati families, each book takes place in a different country, allowing me to combine my love of travel and writing. I am so grateful that my life and work now consists of traveling the world and creating stories.


Having quoted two lines from your work, all of us who have read this novel are reminded of the beauty of your prose. Can you tell us how you developed this skill and how you can dig deeply into emotions? Especially through dialog.
First of all, thank you for the generous compliment. As for the focus on emotional development in my stories, I am someone who has always been fascinated by psychology (it was my university degree), and I think emotions and the human condition are at the heart of everything I write. Writers need to be observant, and I love seeing how people behave and trying to understand the why of people’s actions. When I started out, I took many writing classes at UCLA, because writing is a skill like any other, and I knew that creative writing was very different from the legal writing on which I had built my first career. That set me up with a good foundation from which to further develop my craft. I am someone who loves learning, and writing is an area in which we can continue to improve each day. My personal goal is to challenge myself and learn something new and grow with each book that I write, and so far, that has been the case.


The layout of the narration by time and point of view allows the reader to become deeply involved in the story’s journey. Did you construct the novel by writing various drafts or outlines?  
Writing a dual POV across two different time periods was a big challenge for me, because each storyline had to be engaging unto itself and they had to be connected in a way that made sense. I am someone who loves doing puzzles, and I saw this book as a big puzzle that needed to be put together. I had notecards with each scene written on them and had one color for Nita’s story and another color for Sophie’s story, and spread them out on my dining table, moving them around until I had a story that made sense and would be cohesive. In terms of drafts, there were many, as I was still very much in the learning phase of my writing. Plotting is the key element that keeps readers turning the pages, so I focus my first drafts on making sure that pacing is strong. Once I’m satisfied, then I go back through it and focus on the language and make sure each sentence is essential to the story and constructed in the best way possible.


We move through Sophie’s character arc by attaching ourselves to many of her experiences or learned lessons.  Possibly, some readers can identify with abandonment, curiosity, compassion, forgiveness, or at least compassioned understanding. Wow! Did you see this arc for Sophie when you grabbed this story idea? Where does Sophie come from psychologically—from a hurt inner child to a healed adult?  
Sophie’s arc was always very clear to me. I knew I wanted to write a character who had lost her mother early in life and had lived a very sheltered, comfortable life in India alongside her father. I wanted someone who would experience France and have a far more positive experience than her mother had, but still choose India as her home and not be seduced by the West. Sophie needed to grow into her own independent person who could take care of herself by the end of the story, and she navigates that journey well despite the many hurdles in front of her.
 
While I am fortunate to have been raised in a healthy, loving two-parent household, the older I get, the more I realize how rare that is. Through conversations with friends or family, I’ve seen the impact that not having that stable upbringing can have on a person, and I wanted to delve into the emotional journey that stems from feelings of abandonment. And most importantly, I wanted Sophie to find compassion for her mother and use that as her guiding compass in life because compassion is one of the most important traits we can have in life.


Okay, easier questions: What satisfaction did you receive when you placed THE END on this manuscript? What goals did you achieve?  
There is no better feeling than typing THE END on that first draft. Even though I know I’m going to go back through it at least a dozen more times, that first draft is the one where I know I have a book and haven’t wasted months (or years) of my life on a story that is going nowhere. After that first draft, I move to what I consider the fun part of revising, which is making sure the story flows and has the language I want. But the process of writing a first draft is all about battling imposter syndrome, and it’s nice to be able to move past that and really focus on making the story the best it can be.


Why do you think the novel has been so greatly received in the marketplace?  
That’s such a tough question to answer. When I’m writing, I focus on writing the best story and not worrying about whether anyone will actually read it. But, naturally, that becomes a question when it’s heading toward publication because publishing is a business at the end of the day. I think many of the themes covered in The Direction of the Wind are very universal. As I’ve heard from readers since the launch of the book, I’m aware of how many lives are affected by addiction and I think that theme and the way Sophie responds to it has really resonated with readers. I’ve been humbled by messages I’ve received of people who have forgiven or changed the way they view loved ones who have battled addiction. For me, that is the power of good storytelling, and I’m humbled that the book has resonated with such a large audience.


Working on another?  
Always. With writing as my full-time career now, I’m always working on another. My third novel A Good Indian Girl is being released on September 3, 2024, and I’m so excited for this book to reach readers. It takes place in Italy and is the culmination of my obsession with food and cooking, complete with original recipes in the back of the book. It is an immersive, fun and heartfelt novel about a disgraced Indian American divorcée who spends a summer in Italy, reconnecting with her passion for cooking and reckoning with cultural expectations to make the choice of a lifetime. I had so much fun working on this novel. I’ve also completed my fourth novel, which will be released in 2025 and takes place in Singapore. So, my days are currently spent working on my fifth novel, which takes place in Bali.
 

Future goals you have set?  
I aim to write a novel each year and have so far managed to keep up that cadence. Having had the career in Hollywood before becoming a writer, I would be thrilled to see one of my stories adapted for the screen and have a true full circle moment of being on the other side of one of those talent agreements that I used to negotiate on behalf of the studios.


Anything more you wish to share?  
Only to say thank you for reading and getting the word out about The Direction of the Wind. Writing is a very difficult business, and I would encourage everyone who enjoys reading to support those authors they love in whatever way they can. For those who can’t afford to buy the books, there are several free ways to support like requesting books from your local libraries, posting on social media, or leaving a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Every little bit helps to ensure that authors continue to have a platform to keep telling their stories, and we all appreciate the help from our readers so much.
 

 What I like most about your book The Booklovers Library is that not only does the story take me through a historical period, but the narrative makes me feel as if I, too, had the same experience.
 
 This was the first time I’d heard of a lending library—other than our public library in the U.S. How did you come upon this type of library?
I’m always reading some article or another, so I can’t recall where I first heard about the original Booklover’s Library, but my imagination immediately began wandering down a path of possibilities. I was intrigued by the name, because it's so perfect, but also by how women who worked there had such long engagements because they did not want to give up their jobs to get married (this was during the marriage bar). I knew writing a book about the children's evacuation was going to be a little heavier and the Booklover’s Library created the perfect setting to offer lightness and comfort – not only for my characters, but also for readers.
 
In your book’s afterword, you mentioned visiting the Bromley House Library in Nottingham and spending time there. Do you always physically research your settings? What is your ratio of time spent on research/outlining to writing?
I have been fortunate to have visited on location for three of my historical fiction novels (Lisbon, Portugal and Lyon, France for The Librarian Spy, Warsaw, Poland for The Keeper of Hidden Books, and Nottingham, England for The Booklover’s Library). The only book I have not gone onsite to research was The Last Bookshop in London as it was written during the pandemic. However, being an Army brat, I spent about 12 years in Germany which means I had the opportunity to visit London many times and was able to draw on those experiences.
I do a lot of research. Writing a historical fiction novel takes me approximately one year with 80% of that time spent on research and 20% on writing.

 Would you state this is true with all of your books?
​Yes. I love research! LOL It makes the world I’m writing come to life for me. Once I have about eight months of research under my belt, the entire story plays out in my head like I’m living the life of the character and I write the story as I experience it. I don’t think I could do that without so much research.
 
he mother-daughter theme, combined with themes of sacrifice and survival, was an intriguing plot and character concept. How did you decide to do this historical story from this point of view?
As a mother, the idea of the children’s evacuation in England during WWII has always plucked at a deep place in my heart. Having to send a child away for an indeterminate amount of time, to an unknown location, to stay with people you’ve never met…it’s unfathomable to have to make that kind of call. Especially when the idea of keeping your child home meant you risked them being killed or injured from bombs.  I wanted to write about this to understand what those parents went through and help others realize how deep their love for their children was to make the sacrifice of sending them away for their safety.
 
In the afterward, you state that you included several personal experiences in your story.  Is this usual, or is it more prominent in this book?
​There are parts of me in all the books I write. However, I put a lot more of my own personal experiences into this particular book. I was a single mother for several years and the protagonis, Emma, is a single mother as well. I drew on my own situations, feelings, and some particular instances as inspiration for this story. Additionally, I used my two daughters as the foundation for creating Olivia’s character, which only endeared her to me all the more.

The mention of excellent novels to read included in your story—because where would a library story be with books—made me want to read them all again. How great that you added a list on your website. How did you decide which books to use?
It’s always so fun for me to include some of my favorite books in my novels. Some of them are just personal favorites that have had an impact on my life. Like Anne of Green Gables, for example, which has an important role in this story. Other books are ones mentioned in that time period and come up again and again in my research. Books like Lady Chatterley’s Lover for being so risqué the library would never allow it to be out on the shelves. Or like Gone with the Wind that took the world by storm.

What is the best book for those who want to write a historical novel?
I think the best book in general to start with for brand new writers is Stephen King’s book On Writing. It’s a great intro. For historical fiction in particular, I would recommend joining HNS (Historical Novel Society) and taking advantage of opportunities to network with other authors, attend conferences, and take workshops.

Is this your favorite genre? Why?
Confession: Aside from historical fiction (which I feel is the obvious answer) I love thrillers. I have no idea why, but I’ve always been drawn to them ever since I was a girl sneaking R. L. Stine novels under my covers with a flashlight way past my bedtime. I think it’s the wild excitement of the story, but knowing that it ultimately ends up OK in the end.

The romance in this story is placed toward the end. Did you place the romance here so that romance didn’t take over the novel?
Because I’ve written romance novels previously with 35 published, there are some preconceived prejudices about my putting romance into books. I intentionally tone down the romance subplot as a result. But it is important to me to always still include a romance of some kind – after all, romance is a part of our daily lives. Our spouses, our partners, boyfriends/girlfriends, or even the absence of having someone in one’s life – it’s such a huge part of our daily world that not including romance of any kind would flatten the characters.

 What book should readers start with to learn your work?  What are you working on now?
My first historical fiction was The Last Bookshop in London which is a great one to start with. All my historical fiction novels are stand alone and can be read independently.
My next book is coming out September 2025 and is called The Secret Book Society. Set in Victorian London, a thrice widowed countess seeks to liberate repressed women through her secret book society operating under the guise of afternoon tea, but rather than gossip and other 'banal, womanly pursuits', the conversations take a far more subversive direction and enable the women to pursue freedom from their current lives.

 

The Orphanage by the Lake is a new series with Hazel Cho as your detective and protagonist. Where did she come from?
     I’ve always loved detective stories and I’ve wanted to write one for a long time. However, I felt like the grizzled, alcoholic, white guy with a haunted past had been done to death. I thought it would be fun to take that convention and turn it on its head with a smart, fun, spunky female detective like who resembled many of the women in my life.

           How is this series different from your Tree of Knowledge series?
     While I love them both, the two . are quite different. The Tree of Knowledge is more of a speculative fiction adventure series about larger historical themes: faith vs. logic, democracy vs. authoritarianism, etc. The Orphanage By The Lake is a much more focused, real-life mystery-thriller series about the demons we face every day.

          I like that Hazel is mid-age, 30 years old, single, and that her private investigator business is going under. The reader immediately roots for her to succeed.  Economics, or social levels, play a big role in this book. What are you saying beyond the mystery plot?
        Beyond the mystery plot, The Orphanage By The Lake is fundamentally about power and how it impacts everything we do in both subtle and overt ways. As an African-American orphan child, Mia is the personification of the powerless, so no one makes much an effort to find her. It’s only when Madeline (a powerful white woman) and Hazel (a fighter for the powerless) intervene that things begin to change. Likewise, because the perpetrators in Mia’s disappearance are powerful, no one with the power to find Mia actually wants to know the truth. I find this to be a major theme in our society, how power corrupts our search for truth.

          A missing person’s case linked with an orphanage was a captivating idea. What—WHAT IF—brought about the idea for the story?
     I actually reference the case that catalyzed the idea in the novel. I saw an article about a children’s home in which hundreds of children had run away over the years. I asked myself, “how could this be?” And the story flowed from there.

          Your novel is very informative about missing person cases while Hazel is ferreting out how a girl from an orphanage could have vanished. Where did you get your research? How extensive did you research before writing?
     I did a ton of research before writing this because I wanted the book to ring true. I spoke with experts in the field, including police and private investigators who had worked on missing persons cases. I also read everything I could find on police procedure. Finally, I had experts read the novel to check if anything I wrote missed the mark.

          Your plot features many characters with complex character arcs, many of whom become prime suspects. Do you outline your character arcs and plots before writing?
     Yes, and I swear by this as a writer. Before I write an ounce of story I write detailed character sketches so that when I’m writing the character I know everything that makes them tick. This enables the plot to flow naturally from the characters motivations. For example, Mackenzie isn’t just mean to Hazel because it serves the mystery, he’s mean to Hazel because he cares deeply about St. Agnes and doesn’t want to see his legacy ruined.   

          “…looked more like haunting houses now. Each one has a simple light on inside, big enough to lure you in but dark enough to trap you.”  The novel is set around Halloween and has some dark elements. But you keep the atmosphere more in shadow than darkness.  Were you tempted to go darker? If not, why not?            Great question. No. I’ve always liked Hitchcock’s approach of leaving the horror behind the curtain to allow people to imagine the worst.  

          The Orphanage by the Lake became an immediate bestseller. Why do you think it hit the market so big—other than it is a well-written and intriguing story? Did you set your mind to your reader and keep to that focus?  Research marketability?
     I think there were two big factors. First, was the fact that, unlike with the Tree of Knowledge, I targeted a very specific audience with the style and substance of this book. I wrote a book that would appeal to people who like fast-paced thrillers like Freida McFaddens, Charlie Donlea, Lisa Jewell, etc. Second, there’s something uniquely creepy about the old-school orphanage in our imagination that makes it irresistible to thriller-lovers.    

           Book 2 of the Hazel Cho series, The Red Letter, will be released on February 25th. Do you see this series as multi-volume?
     I would like to do at least three Hazel Cho stories. Beyond that, I’m not sure. It will depend on whether I feel like there’s a real story to tell with Hazel versus just cranking out another book.

          What are you working on now? And how best can readers connect with you other than here on this website?
​I’m putting the finishing touches on The Red Letter, which I actually like better than The Orphanage By The Lake. We’ll see if readers agree. After that, I’m working on a stand-alone novel. More to come on that. I love hearing from readers and they can email me anytime at [email protected]. I also post and interact a fair amount on Facebook and Instagram so please follow me there. 

                                                                                                                                                                                            Your journalistic talents are shown in reporting the death of Annalise. How do you balance your factual storytelling and your emotional narrative?
For me, the key to sparking emotion in a reader is to try to take the reader deeper via a character’s unique point of view. Every person—every single character, even the ‘villain’—is the hero of his or her own story. Everyone has reasons for doing things, an inner logic, feelings, past traumas and triggers. If we can see and understand the motivations driving a particular character’s actions, I believe it’s easier to feel their emotions.
 
I enjoyed your protagonist, Jane Munro. Why did you decide to tell this story in a multi-voiced narrative? Why would a writer choose multi-voiced over first-person?
 For my past few novels I’ve essentially been writing in two mystery/thriller sub genres: procedurals and psychological suspense. THE UNQUIET BONES—while leaning heavily into police procedural—is a bit of a combination of the two. A psych suspense wrapped in a procedural. The story follows Detective Jane Munro, my cold case cop, as she closes in on a group of old friends who made a pledge on a terrible night many years ago. At the same it shows how Jane’s peeling back the layers of the old friends’ lies messes with their heads, and they begin to psychologically unravel. The question becomes; how far might they go to stop Jane from learning the truth? And how might they turn on each other in order to save themselves, and to protect their own families?
 
 The plot comprises many characters, settings, and deaths.  Are all your books structured like this? Do you use any writing tools to keep the many details organized?
 I do tend to use multiple POVs in all my novels, and I often include dual timelines and various settings. I write with Scrivener. It’s fabulous for keeping track of characters, settings, research notes and links etc. And Scrivener folders from one book can also be transported to other projects, which is great for ongoing characters and series.
 
  I like how the plot doesn’t twist and turn to where the reader needs to pause, gather the clues, and catch up.  Instead, the plot grows like a pot set on a flame to boil. How do you think this method benefits suspense? What elements do you enhance to bring to the climax?
  I love the way you describe this. My goal was not to consciously craft the novel with this method, but rather to seed questions in readers’ minds (curiosity seeds), and to lay clues, and to misdirect with red herrings. Personally, I love to read stories where I think one thing is happening, and then realize—either suddenly, or with a slow, creeping dawning—that something quite the other is going on. And that the layers were much deeper than I originally thought. I particularly love it when I can then go back in the book and see—aha!— the clues were there all along. I love this ‘fair play’, and I strive to create a similar feeling when I write suspense.
 
 I love the line: “Just like the lines of tree trunks, our lives are written into our bones.”
How extensive is your forensic knowledge, and how do you go about your research—before the writing or during?
I have read a lot on the topic and attended various law enforcement workshops over the years that I have been writing. Hopefully my knowledge has kept on building over that time! Some of my research has been done before the plotting and writing begins. And some of it informs the plot. And then as I craft a novel I realize I might need more specific nuggets of information, and I hunt those out as I go along.
 
 I appreciated how the novel was informative allowing the reader to become knowledgeable, giving the reader what the protagonist knows and learns. Do you do character sketches of your characters before writing?
Thank you! I do create character sketches for my key characters. I find it difficult to actually start writing until I have a sense of who they are: what their dreams are, their hurts, their losses, their loves, their passions, their triggers and drivers. I like to know a little bit about what might have shaped their pasts. Once I get a sense of them as ‘real people’, they begin to talk in my head J . They begin to drive the book.
 
 How did some of your other novels help in the writing process of this one?
I suspect every single past novel helps shapes the writing processes of a future one. We are, after all, a result of our cumulative experiences.
 
Your bio states that you are a “recovering journalist” who resides in British Columbia, where this novel is set. Please tell us about the settings in your other work. Do you think the setting is as important as another character in the plot? Or do you use it primarily for the atmosphere?
Most of my recent suspense novels have been set in British Columbia, either in urban or rural environments throughout the province. I think characters—people—are products of their environments and environments create atmosphere that shapes both plot and character. To me they’re tightly interwoven.
 
 
 What is the next book we can expect?  Will it follow up on Jane, her need for closure, and Detective Noah?
  THE SWIMMER, a psychological suspense more in the vein of THE MAID’S DIARY, is releasing September 10. This will be followed by two novellas set in the world of detective Jane Munro and forensic anthropologist Dr. Ella Quinn, and we will begin to learn a tiny bit more about what might have happened to Jane’s fiancé, Matt Rossi (the father of her unborn child who has gone missing in the mountains).
 
 Is Detective Noah and the search for a serial killer in other of your books? 
 Yes!!! Forensic psychologist Dr. Noah Gautier and his hunt for a dark and cunning serial killer who has been operating for years will begin to take more of a center stage in the next Munro & Quinn works to come!


Thanks, Loreth.. All of us enjoyed getting to know you and yours work.