David I. Kertzer

David I. Kertzer is the Paul Dupee, Jr. University Professor of Social Science and professor of anthropology and Italian studies at Brown University, where he served as provost from 2006 to 2011. His books include The Popes Against the Jews, which was a finalist for the Mark Lynton History Prize, and The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. He has twice been awarded the Marraro Prize from the Society for Italian Historical Studies for the best work on Italian history.

Kertzer's new book is The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe. From the author's Q & A with Randy Dotinga at the Christian Science Monitor:

Q: It's amazing to imagine that the Catholic church cozied up to fascism. How did that happen?

We see things retrospectively in terms of where fascism ended up. But under Pius XI, fascism was totally new, an Italian invention headed by Mussolini – a bunch of former left-wingers who became fascists at the end of the first world war.

As for the church, things were very different than they are now, post-Vatican Council. It's not all that long ago when there was really a much more authoritarian, medieval vision in the Vatican and the church.

There was no sympathy for multi-party democracy in the church at the time. Popes thought it was better to work with an autocratic system. You could have guarantees through a police state that the church will retain rights like freedom from abuse. The church didn't believe in the freedoms we worry about – freedom of speech, of religion, of association.

Q: Why was the Catholic church so uninterested in democracy?

A: The liberal democratic state that separated church and state was an abomination that needed to be overturned. Fascism pledged to do away with much of that, and it was viewed as an unexpected gift from God by the pope at the time.

What people don't realize is that...[read on]

--Marshal Zeringue

Dara Horn

Dara Horn, the author of the novels All Other Nights, The World to Come, and In the Image, was chosen one of Granta’s "Best Young American Novelists" in 2007, and is the winner of two National Jewish Book Awards. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and four children.

Horn's latest novel is A Guide for the Perplexed.

From her Q & A with Rachel Gordan at Religion & Politics:

R&P: I have always thought that you write novels the way a historian would like to write fiction: historical events are made relevant to contemporary issues via a thrilling narrative. Why is history such a rich source for you, as a novelist?

DH: I do seem to spiral into these historical moments. This is my fourth novel, and when I began it, my intent was to write a completely contemporary book. When I was on tour for my last novel, about Jewish spies during the Civil War, I had people coming to my readings in costumes, with muskets. It was a little too much historical saturation for my taste, so I hoped to write something as contemporary as possible: the main character is a software developer! But when I saw that the program she created was precisely about recording everything—about the distinction between memory and history—I saw that I needed to test that distinction against something more significant than a fictional character’s childhood. So I went back to the original genizah at that point, and then back into Maimonides’ life. But your question is really about why I’m drawn to writing about the past at all.

The snarky answer, of course, is that historical fiction is always about the time when it’s being written, not the time when it supposedly takes place, because there has to be a reason why the writer is drawn to that particular time and the questions it raises. (The same is true of historians!) But the sincere answer is that I feel that the sense of shallowness that pervades much of American life is due to the fundamental American cultural premise that having a past is optional, that each of us is a self-made person with no antecedents that matter, that one can build a Wal-Mart on an Indian burial ground and call it progress. There is a genuine importance in that national priority of forgetting and the room it leaves for opportunity and invention. But it runs so counter to [what is at] the heart of...[read on]

Learn more about the author and her work at Dara Horn's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

The Page 99 Test: The World to Come.

The Page 99 Test: All Other Nights.

The Page 69 Test: A Guide for the Perplexed.

Writers Read: Dara Horn.

--Marshal Zeringue

Laura Lippman

Laura Lippman's new novel is After I'm Gone.

From her Q & A with Connie Ogle at the Miami Herald:

Q: Why does the crime genre work so well for you as a writer?

A: This goes back more than a decade ago, when I was watching friends get serious about their work. Dennis Lehane was publishing Mystic River. George Pelecanos was working on the series that started with Right as Rain. Even Michael Connelly was digging a little deeper, pushing a little further into ‘What can I do with my series character?’ I noticed that they were writing not just about crime but about what it means to be a man in contemporary culture. What role does violence play, and does masculinity always have something to do with that? I thought, ‘Well, I can’t write that book.’ But I do have a lot of ideas about what it means to be a woman in our culture, especially a teenage girl or how inevitable it is that women’s lives are so linked to the men they’re with. They’re still defined by their husbands, even famous women. I’ve got something to say about that. And the world of teenage girls seemed very noirish to me, shot through with danger and risk. That’s where I started.

Q: There are five distinct women’s voices in the book. Was one more difficult for you to pin down than the others?

A: You forget......[read on]

Learn more about the book and author at Laura Lippman's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue

Maureen Ogle

Maureen Ogle is a historian and the author of several books, including Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer.

Her latest book is In Meat We Trust: An Unexpected History of Carnivore America.

From Ogle's Q & A with Blake Maddux for The Arts Fuse:

AF: Why is In Meat We Trust an “unexpected” history?

Ogle: The “unexpected” part refers to the fact that the history that I uncovered had nothing at all to do with the standard claim about meat in America: Back in the old days, happy family farms raised happy livestock on happy pasture, and then along came the greedy commodities producers who got subsidies for corn and then drove those happy farmers off the land and the happy livestock into confinement.

None of that proved to be accurate. So: if, as a reader, you’re expecting the standard rap on meat, then, well, you’re in for an unexpected history.

AF: In the Introduction, you write, “meat is the culinary equivalent of gasoline.” Do you expect that someday a president will say, as George W. Bush said of oil, “America is addicted to meat,” and unveil a major policy initiative regarding its consumption?

Ogle: I think we’re very close to that point now. A couple of years ago, Mark Bittman, the cook turned pundit, made that very argument in his column for the New York Times. And given the way that, say, French fries and vending machines and fois gras are being regulated — either locally or federally — no, I won’t be surprised if “eat less meat” becomes an official policy.

Indeed, in some sense...[read on]

Visit Maureen Ogle's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

The Page 69 Test: Ambitious Brew.

The Page 99 Test: In Meat We Trust.

Writers Read: Maureen Ogle.

--Marshal Zeringue

Kathleen George

Kathleen George is the editor of Pittsburgh Noir and the author of Taken, Fallen, Afterimage, The Odds (Edgar finalist, best novel), Hideout, and Simple. Her latest book, A Measure of Blood, is her seventh Richard Christie novel.

From George's Q & A with Don Helin at The Big Thrill:

Is there anything special you’d like to tell us about A MEASURE OF BLOOD?

I started it in 2008. At that time, I was researching foster care in New York City. Wow, that was one of my toughest research assignments. I was told the system was tough, almost inflexible. I thought, why am I setting this in New York? More and more, as I thought about it, it became a Pittsburgh story. The sense it made to me—Commander Christie’s emotions, my own work in theatre, the Pittsburgh locations—I can’t even remember now why I thought I was going to set it somewhere else. It’s quite an emotional story about longing and family.

Did any particular event inspire the plot?

Well you know how one idea morphs into another . . . I know a woman, a distant relative, who was thrilled to have a child by artificial insemination. When he was still small (I think, seven) she became seriously ill. All of us who know her were devastated. What would the child’s life be like? She couldn’t care for him any longer. What was going to happen? I began wondering and concocting a plot. In my story, a woman, Maggie Brown, who has had a child by artificial insemination is murdered. The murderer is a man who is furious because he believes the child is his and that she has kept the child from him. He has to run from the scene before he can snatch the child. But he’s not done. He wants that boy.

I love the way...[read on]

Learn more about the book and author at Kathleen George's website.

The Page 99 Test: Afterimage.

The Page 99 Test: The Odds.

The Page 69 Test: Hideout.

My Book, The Movie: Hideout.

The Page 69 Test: Simple.

Writers Read: Kathleen George.

The Page 69 Test: A Measure of Blood.

--Marshal Zeringue

M.L. Brennan

M.L. Brennan's first novel, Generation V, was published in 2013 from ROC Books, and is a work of urban fantasy. Its sequel, Iron Night, was published January 7, 2014. The third book in the series is Tainted Blood and will be available in November 2014.

From Brennan's Q & A with The Troubled Scribe:

Q: Ok – I have to ask this – were you influenced at all by the TV show Being Human or movie Twilight? There are certainly similarities between the main characters.

Brennan: While I’ve heard of the show Being Human, I’m sorry to say that I have yet to watch it, so any similarities are purely chance or similar sourcing.

In terms of Twilight – while I never saw the movies, I did read the first two books. While I do have a similarity of vampires and a main character being to some sense shocked into a sense of growth out of a period of just-getting-by stagnation, I think the difference between Fortitude Scott and Bella Swan would be the instigation of the growth. For Bella, it’s meeting a romantic partner that triggers her out of a mindless routine of mediocrity, which is an external trigger. For Fort, though, it’s being faced with a moral situation where the easiest course of action would be to do nothing and return to his normal life, but that he instead chooses to engage with and, as a result, grows and evolves. So for him it’s an internal trigger.

Regarding TV shows – I think I was most influenced by Firefly, primarily the mix of action and high stakes with a hefty dose of humor, but also the extent to which...[read on]

Visit M.L. Brennan's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

The Page 69 Test: Iron Night.

My Book, The Movie: Iron Night.

--Marshal Zeringue

Hannah Kent

Hannah Kent is the author of Burial Rites.

From her Q & A with Randy Dotinga at the Christian Science Monitor:

Q: What's the true-life story behind "Burial Rites" and how did you come across it?

A: Ten years ago, I lived in Iceland for 12 months as a Rotary exchange student.

The town that hosted me was in the north of the country, and turned out to be located quite close to the site of Iceland’s last execution. A few months after I arrived, my host parents drove me past this site and told me a little about the 1828 murders that had resulted in two people being beheaded there.

Two men had been killed as they lay sleeping in a remote farmhouse, ostensibly because the perpetrators wished to rob them. As my curiosity about these events deepened, however, and as I continued to find out more about the case, I realized that the crime was much more complicated than it originally seemed, and that the motives of the two people who were convicted for the murders might have been deeply complex.

Q: What about the case did you want to unravel in the novel?

A: One reason the two men might have been killed is because of money. But their murders seemed also to have been the tragic culmination of a story of betrayal, ambition, unrequited love, poverty, and loneliness.

Most writers are drawn to what is unknown, rather than what is clear in any tale. The silences in this particular story were what held the greatest appeal for me.

I found that the largest gaps in the story surrounded the life, character and actions of Agnes Magnusdottir, the woman who was convicted of the murders alongside the 17-year-old Fridrik Sigurdsson. Where I hoped to find...[read on]

Visit Hannah Kent's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Laura McHugh

From a Q & A with Laura McHugh about her new novel, The Weight of Blood:

You grew up in the Ozarks and decided to use that as the setting for The Weight of Blood. Obviously your knowledge and connection to the place was a reason to write about it, but what about the Ozarks in particular drew you to place your characters there?

The forbidding landscape and the remoteness of the Ozarks create a sense of foreboding that helps set the tone of the novel. And I’ve always been fascinated by the culture, which is steeped in folk wisdom, home remedies, and superstition. We were outsiders in our tiny town, yet at the same time, it became my home. Years after moving away, I was still haunted by the place, and the novel allowed me to explore the darker side of those tight-knit rural communities where outsiders aren’t welcome.

Is this dark story based on truth? If so, tell us about it…

Part of it, yes. I started the novel knowing that Lucy’s friend Cheri was dead, but I wasn’t sure what had happened to her. Then I came across a news article about a shocking crime involving a young woman in Lebanon, Missouri—the small town where I’d attended high school—and I knew that Cheri would suffer a similar experience.

Living in rural communities, it often seems like everyone knows everyone else’s business, and that it would be impossible to keep secrets, but then you see...[read on]

Visit Laura McHugh's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Tara Ellison

Tara Ellison was born in London and raised between Sydney and Hong Kong before coming to the United States.

After enduring her own “miserable divorce” and the ensuing malaise, she realized that what she needed most was a good laugh. She turned to her passion for writing and began work on Synchronized Breathing. It is her hope that other ladies enduring trying times might get a kick out of Scarlett’s missteps on the path to love – and share a laugh along the way.

Ellison is married and lives in Los Angeles, California. Synchronized Breathing is her first novel.

A brief Q & A with the author:

How would you complete this line: "You might well enjoy my book if you like..."?

You might well enjoy my book if you like… Bridget Jones or if those old reruns of Sex in the City still make you laugh. Movies and books about dating mishaps have always grabbed my attention and everyone can relate to a romance derailing or a bad break-up. When I decided to write Synchronized Breathing (the story of a marriage imploding and one woman’s disastrous efforts to get back in the dating game), I knew exactly the tone and flavor I was looking for. Fun, with a racy edge.

If they make your book into a movie, who should direct it?

If they make Synchronized Breathing into a movie … Judd Apatow or Jay Roach would want to direct it. (Yes, let’s just put that out there. I aim high, people!) Judd Apatow is a big supporter of women being funny on film. He also knows how to fully exploit the comedic potential in dating, which makes him a natural match for Synchronized Breathing. And what can I say about Jay Roach? He is sublime. Who can forget Austin Powers or Meet the Parents? What a talent. Fun Fact: I used to work for his wife as an assistant many years ago. You’d think that would embolden me to send the book to him, but alas, so far I have not worked up the nerve.

What is your second favorite art form?

My second favorite art form is…film! This is a no-brainer. I fell in love with American movies when I was a child living in Sydney, Australia. Star Wars changed my life! I became obsessed with coming to the U.S. and pursuing an acting career, which I did for a long time until I found that writing held more allure for me. Getting lost in a bookstore or absorbed in a movie for a few hours is heaven to me. I find tremendous comfort in watching films. When I feel blue, I can disappear into a movie and forget about my problems for two hours. What could be better? Well, second only to a good book, but sometimes you want to be passive and have someone else do all the creative work for you (and not have to do the internal work of reading). But luckily we don’t have to choose one or the other.

I’ve also always loved to dance. Dancing is a very primal way of telling a story. The way I look at it, writing, dancing and films are all branches of the same (creative) tree. Telling a story in any number of forms is what hooks me.

Visit Tara Ellison's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

--Marshal Zeringue

Aram Goudsouzian

Aram Goudsouzian is chair of the history department at the University of Memphis. He earned his B.A. from Colby College and his Ph.D. from Purdue University. He is the author of King of the Court: Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution, The Hurricane of 1938, and Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon.

His new book is Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear.

From Goudsouzian's Q & A with Leonard Gill for the Memphis Flyer:

Why has James Meredith's "March Against Fear" not been the subject of a large-scale study such as yours?

Aram Goudsouzian: It's a familiar story to historians. They know the Meredith march is where "black power" began and Stokely Carmichael and Martin Luther King were on it. It's discussed in the big biographies of King. In Taylor Branch's, for example. But there's been nothing particularly in-depth. People focus on Selma in '65 or Memphis in '68. The Meredith march got caught in the cracks somehow.

But part of the appeal of this story for me is that it's relatively self-contained. The march took place over the course of three weeks, but it allows you to talk about so many aspects of the civil rights movement. The personalities give you so many different perspectives. It basically collects every major figure in the movement.

James Meredith being one of them. He was the focus of national attention when he integrated the University of Mississippi years earlier. But he's also been a figure hard for historians to estimate as a civil rights leader.

To some degree, he's an impossible man to explain, because he's so full of contradictions. He purposely likes to mask himself. He was my first interview for this book, and he started out by telling me, "James Meredith ain't nothing but a trickster."

I do think there are consistent elements to his ideology that date back to Ole Miss and continue when people thought he'd gone off the deep end — supporting Jesse Helms and David Duke. But...[read on]

Visit Aram Goudsouzian's website and Facebook page.

The Page 99 Test: Down to the Crossroads.

My Book, The Movie: Down to the Crossroads.

--Marshal Zeringue