Author Spotlights / 46 posts found
Dolen Perkins-Valdez: On History’s Untold Stories
Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the New York Times bestselling author of Wench and Balm. She was a finalist for two NAACP Image Awards and the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for fiction, and was awarded the First Novelist Award by the Black Caucus of the ALA. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Dolen Perkins-Valdez Photo by Norman E. Jones In this post, Dolen discusses how a personal curiosity evolved into a fervent need to share in her new historical fiction novel, Take My Hand, her hope for other writers, and more! Name: Dolen Perkins-ValdezLiterary agent: Stephanie Cabot, Susanna Lea AssociatesBook title: Take […]
Laila Ibrahim: On Characters Throughout Decades
Laila Ibrahim is the bestselling author of Golden Poppies, Paper Wife, Mustard Seed, and Yellow Crocus. She spent much of her career as a preschool director, a birth doula, and a religious educator. That work, coupled with her education in developmental psychology and attachment theory, provided ample fodder for her novels. She’s a devout Unitarian Universalist, determined to do her part to add a little more love and justice to our beautiful and painful world. She lives with her wonderful wife, Rinda, and two other families in a small co-housing community in Berkeley, California. Her young adult children are her […]
Madi Sinha: On Life Inspiring Fiction
Madi Sinha is a physician and the author of The White Coat Diaries. She lives in New Jersey with her family. You can find her at madisinha.com or on Twitter and Instagram. Madi Sinha Photo by Ashley Walsh Photography, 2019 In this post, Madi discusses how working through a pandemic as a medical professional inspired her new novel, At Least You Have Your Health, what she learned along the way, and more! Name: Madi SinhaLiterary agent: Jessica WattersonBook title: At Least You Have Your HealthPublisher: BerkleyRelease date: April 5, 2022Genre/category: General fiction/Women’s fictionPrevious titles: The White Coat DiariesElevator pitch for […]
Grant Ginder: On Following the Story That Wants To Be Told
Grant Ginder is the bestselling author of five novels, including The People We Hate at the Wedding and Honestly, We Meant Well. Originally from Southern California, Ginder received his MFA from NYU, where he teaches writing. He lives in Brooklyn with his husband Mac and dog Frankie. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Grant Ginder Photo by Peter Schottenfels In this post, Grant discusses the process of listening to his instincts in abandoning one idea for what would become his new novel, Let’s Not Do That Again, what he hopes to have achieved with the book, and more! Name: Grant […]
Lian Dolan: On Finding the Right Place and Right Time
Lian Dolan is a writer and talker. She’s the author of three best-selling novels, The Sweeney Sisters, Helen of Pasadena, and Elizabeth the First Wife. She’s a regular humor columnist for Pasadena Magazine and has previously written monthly columns for O, The Oprah Magazine and Working Mother Magazine. She’s also written for TV, radio, and websites. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Lian Dolan In this post, Lian discusses the years-long process of putting down and picking back up the idea that would become her new novel, Lost and Found in Paris, the challenges of publishing a book in […]
Liisa Jorgensen: On Inspiring and Challenging Readers
Liisa Jorgensen has worked as a writer and story editor on a diverse variety of film and television productions for Myth Merchant Films for over 20 years. She believes in the power of story and its ability to help audiences transform and become better humans. She is especially interested in ending the stigmas associated with mental illness and disorders, as well as highlighting those who serve a greater good and live for something other than themselves. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Liisa Jorgensen In this post, Liisa discusses tackling a new perspective […]
Carole Lawrence: On the Vast Canvas of New York City History
Carole Lawrence is an award-winning novelist, poet, composer, and playwright. In addition to Edinburgh Twilight, Edinburgh Dusk, and Edinburgh Midnight in the Ian Hamilton Mysteries series, she has authored novellas, short stories, and poems―many of them translated internationally. She is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee for poetry and has won the Euphoria Poetry Prize, the Eve of St. Agnes Poetry Award, the Maxim Mazumdar playwriting prize, the Jerry Jazz Musician award for short fiction, and the Chronogram Literary Fiction Award. Her plays and musicals have been produced in several countries, as well as on NPR; her physics play, Strings, nominated […]
F.T. Lukens: On When the Writing Flows
F.T. Lukens is the author of In Deeper Waters and five young adult novels published through Interlude Press. Their book The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic was a 2017 Cybils Award finalist in YA Speculative Fiction, the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Gold Winner for YA fiction, the Bisexual Book Award for Speculative Fiction, and on ALA’s 2019 Rainbow Book List. F.T. lives in North Carolina with their spouse, three kids, three dogs, and three cats. Visit them at ft-lukens.com. Find them on Twitter and Instagram. F.T. Lukens In this post, F.T. discusses the process of […]
Gilly Macmillan: On the Thrill of Letter Writing
Gilly Macmillan is the internationally bestselling author of several critically acclaimed, fan favorites, including What She Knew, The Perfect Girl, The Nanny, To Tell You the Truth, and more. She lives in Bristol, England. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Gilly Macmillan Photo by Celine Nieszawer Leextra In this post, Gilly discusses how a movie from the 1940s inspired her new thriller novel, The Long Weekend, how she navigated writing and researching a novel during a pandemic, and more! Name: Gilly MacmillanLiterary agent: Helen HellerBook title: The Long WeekendPublisher: William MorrowRelease date: March 29, 2022Genre/category: ThrillerPrevious titles: What She […]
N. Griffin: On Connecting Truth and Fiction
N. Griffin is the author of The Whole Stupid Way We Are, for which she was named one of Publishers Weekly’s Flying Start Authors of 2013, as well as Just Wreck It All, Smashie McPerter and The Mystery of Room 11, Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of the Missing Goop, and most recently, Trigger. She received her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. N. Griffin In this post, N. Griffin discusses merging her life experiences with fiction in her new young adult novel, Trigger, what surprised her most in the writing […]