Reece Hirsch

Reece Hirsch is the Thriller Award-nominated author of four thrillers that draw upon his background as a privacy attorney, the latest of which is Surveillance.

From Hirsch's Q & A at My Bookish Ways:

Will you tell us what fans of the Chris Bruen series can expect from Surveillance? What inspired you to write the series?

Readers who have followed the Chris Bruen series know that I write fast-paced thrillers that touch upon scary, cutting-edge privacy and security issues, from cyberwarfare and deadly computer viruses, to state-sponsored hackers to, in “Surveillance,” NSA domestic surveillance.

The Bruen series was inspired by the issues that I deal with in my day job as a privacy and cybersecurity attorney. Much of my work involves helping companies respond to and prevent security breaches committed by hackers and cybercriminals. While my work isn’t nearly as exciting, or as hazardous, as Chris Bruen’s, I do know attorneys who do some of the things that Bruen does. For example, a few years ago I was giving a presentation with a colleague and I asked him where he was headed next. He told me that he was flying to Amsterdam to knock on the door of a hacker, in coordination with a local law firm and law enforcement, to try to recover a client’s stolen intellectual property. That story became Chapter 2 of “The Adversary,” which introduces Bruen as a character. Of course, in my version there’s a body count.

What makes Chris such a compelling character? Will you tell us more about him?

Chris’s background as a teenage hacker and a former Department of Justice cybercrimes prosecutor makes him uniquely qualified to combat cybercriminals. He’s also a cancer survivor with a case of survivor’s guilt because his wife was not...[read on]

Visit Reece Hirsch's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Insider.

The Page 69 Test: Surveillance.

Writers Read: Reece Hirsch.

--Marshal Zeringue

Mingmei Yip

Mingmei Yip is the author of a Secret of a Thousand Beauties, The Nine Fold Heaven, and most recently, The Witch's Market.

From her Q & A with Deborah Kalb:

Q: Do you usually know how your novels will end, or do you make many changes along the way?

A: Unlike some writers, I do not plot out the entire novel before I start to write. Instead, what I need is an idea that excites and intrigues me.

I’ll give two examples. Once I attended an academic lecture where the speaker talked about hongfen kulu, skeleton women. The term refers to scheming women, so beautiful that they could destroy men and turn them into skeletons.

Skeleton woman is a term from a very wicked period of Chinese life. I’d heard it as a child when the adults talked in hushed tones about these evil, but irresistible women.

Right in the middle of the lecture I decided that my next novel would be about these skeleton women. Many of these women used their charms to serve as spies, a kind of life I knew nothing about.

I started doing research about them and, fortunately, was able to find some old books about these brave, though treacherous, people. Though most were men, there were two or three women, as beautiful and scheming as one could hope for!

Another example is my new novel, The Witch’s Market. I wrote the entire novel...[read on]

Visit Mingmei Yip's website.

My Book, The Movie: Secret of a Thousand Beauties.

The Page 69 Test: Secret of a Thousand Beauties.

--Marshal Zeringue

Susan Crawford

Susan Crawford grew up in Miami, Florida, where she spent her childhood adoring her older sister, reading mysteries in a hammock strung between two Banyan trees, and collecting lizards, baby skunks and other odd, exotic creatures.

She later moved to New York City and then to Boston before settling in Atlanta to raise three amazing daughters and to teach in various adult education settings. A member of The Atlanta Writers Club and The Village Writers, Crawford works for the Department of Technical and Adult Education and is a member of her local planning commission. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and a trio of rescue cats, where she enjoys reading books, writing books, rainy days, and spending time with the people she loves.

Crawford's new novel is The Other Widow. From her Q & A at The Writing Well:

Q. Your first book dealt with mental illness in that your main character suffered from bi-polar condition. This book the insurance investigator is an Iraqi War veteran with PTSD. What is it about psychological issues that you are drawn to write about in your stories? Why is that compelling for you as a storyteller?

Susan: It’s almost impossible to get through life without some kind of psychological issue unless you live in a box, which would create even more psychological issues, actually! I think many mental illnesses are the result of horrific experiences – normal reactions to abnormal situations that change the lens through which we see the world. Maggie, for example, has PTSD because she nearly died, because she was in a war zone, because she couldn’t help her friends. People are often judged for being different, for seeing things differently, so basically they’re stigmatized for...[read on]

Visit Susan Crawford's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Other Widow.

--Marshal Zeringue

Tracy Chevalier

Tracy Chevalier's new novel is At the Edge of the Orchard.

From her Q & A with Deborah Kalb:

Q: How did you come up with the idea of the Goodenough family, and what surprised you most in the course of your research for At the Edge of the Orchard?

A: I was reading a book by Michael Pollan called The Botany of Desire.

In it there’s a section about Johnny Appleseed and apple trees in 19th-century Ohio, and about how most of the trees Appleseed sold actually produced sour apples used for making cider and applejack.

If you want sweet apples you have to graft trees from other sweet-producing trees, and Appleseed didn’t believe in grafting. So the whole healthy-lifestyle myth that grew up around him was just that – a myth.

That was what surprised me the most – how different reality was from the stories about him. In reality settlers were drunk a lot, as it was such a difficult life.

This made me imagine a couple fighting over apples – one wanting to grow sweet, the other sour. The book grew from that. Johnny Appleseed is not the main character, but he plays a small, significant role – basically as Sadie Goodenough’s...[read on]

Learn about Tracy Chevalier's favorite author.

See: Tracy Chevalier's six best books.

--Marshal Zeringue

Tessa Arlen

Tessa Arlen, the daughter of a British diplomat, had lived in or visited her parents in Singapore, Cairo, Berlin, the Persian Gulf, Beijing, Delhi and Warsaw by the time she was sixteen. She came to the U.S. in 1980 and worked as an H.R. recruiter for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the 1984 Olympic Games, where she interviewed her future husband for a job. She lives in Bainbridge Island, Washington.

Arlen's new novel is Death Sits Down to Dinner.

From her Q & A at Austenprose:

Comparisons of your novels to Downton Abbey were inevitable. When were you first inspired to write a mystery novel, and why did you select Edwardian era English aristocrats and their servants as your main characters?

I have always loved English history and in particular the short window of time we call the Edwardian era (1901-1914). It was an era of great innovation in all areas, but there was a tremendous leap forward in fine arts, the arts and crafts movement and the performing arts. The last decades of the 19th and the first decades of the 20th centuries saw huge innovations in communication, transportation and manufacturing, but I think the early 1910s were rich in societal changes: the fight for the women’s franchise became decidedly nasty with the breakaway from women’s suffrage movement of the Women’s Social and Political Union (Suffragettes). The Irish were becoming more assertive about Home Rule; there was a Liberal government hell bent on social reform and taxing the landowners to provide funds for those changes, and the House of Commons broke the power of veto in the House of Lords which meant that bills for social reform could be passed more quickly. But the rich had...[read on]

Visit Tessa Arlen's website.

Coffee with a Canine: Tessa Arlen & Daphne.

The Page 69 Test: Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman.

My Book, The Movie: Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman.

The Page 69 Test: Death Sits Down to Dinner.

My Book, The Movie: Death Sits Down to Dinner.

Writers Read: Tessa Arlen.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eileen Pollack

Eileen Pollack's new novel is A Perfect Life.

From her Q & A with Deborah Kalb:

Q: How did you come up with the idea for A Perfect Life, and were the characters based on real people?

A: I came up with it years ago, in the 1980s. My then-husband was doing his Ph.D. research at MIT at the lab of Dr. David Housman, who was working to find the gene for Huntington’s chorea.

I was fascinated by the role of a woman, Nancy Wexler, who was finding families who carried the gene for Huntington’s. Nancy herself was at risk for the disease.

Her mother had died of Huntington’s…Nancy’s father had funded a foundation to carry out research. Nancy had a sister who was also at risk.

Her story is so fraught. Everybody wondered if she had inherited the disease. It would be the first marker for an inherited gene. If she took the test [that was developed], she would know [if she would develop the disease], but there was no cure. I was very interested in Nancy and her decision: would she marry or have children?

Also, there was Arlo Guthrie. His father, Woody Guthrie, died of Huntington’s, and he also was 50-50 for the disease. He did fundraising for the disease. I thought, what if they fell in love with each other?

I knew the biology from living with my husband, and I have a background in physics. I was...[read on]

Visit Eileen Pollack's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Don DeLillo

Don DeLillo's new novel is Zero K. From the transcript of his NPR interview with Scott Simon:

SIMON: Let's set your - the scene of your novel a bit. Jeffrey Lockhart is summoned to this place called Convergence by his father Ross who's a famous billionaire. He is very devoted to his second, younger wife Artis and he wants to join her. How does this story proceed?

DELILLO: I think the essence of the novel is that Ross Lockhart wants to join Artis even though he is not on the verge of dying himself. Artis went into the cryogenic process because she was near death anyway. But he is a healthy man in his 60s. This is an incredible development, of course, in his life and in his son's life. The point is that this is a completely illegal process and takes place in the deepest physical levels of the Convergence, in an area known as Zero K.

SIMON: And do you write about this because you think we're on the course - in human affairs?

DELILLO: Science and technology are on that course. And I think they have been for quite a while. I can only expect that it will continue, perhaps, in a more refined manner. But I ought to add that I did not do a great deal of research. I did what was necessary.

SIMON: This place Convergence, which you sketch in so beautifully, raises the most essential questions of human existence. And I don't mind saying - as a reader, it can be a little creepy. But...[read on]

--Marshal Zeringue

Eric Jay Dolin

Eric Jay Dolin is the best-selling author of the award-winning Fur, Fortune, and Empire; Leviathan, which was chosen by the Los Angeles Times and Boston Globe as a best book of the year; and When America First Met China.

Dolin's new book is Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse.

From the author's Q & A with Deborah Kalb:

Q: Why did you decide to write a history of American lighthouses, and what would you say lighthouses symbolize in this country?

A: After my last book, When America First Met China, my long-time editor at W. W. Norton, and the head of sales, wanted to know if I was interested in writing a book about American lighthouses.

I was intrigued. Although I had seen a few lighthouses, I knew absolutely nothing about their history. So, I asked for time to think it over, and do some research.

The more I read, the more excited about the topic I became. Every day was a revelation. I literally had no idea how important lighthouses were to American history, and how many threads of the American experience could be woven into this book.

Far from being just a story about lighthouses, it was a story about colonial commerce, nation building, war, technological innovation, engineering feats, disasters, storms, tragedy, personal sacrifice, and inspiring determination, as well as poetry, art, and hope.

After about a month, I knew this was a book I wanted to write, so I submitted a formal proposal, and the book was born.

Lighthouses symbolize beauty, permanence, safety, societal altruism, rugged individualism, and economic security.

The beauty comes from their elemental form, grand towers of brick, stone, iron, and cement, starkly etched against the sky. Nearly every one is unique, with a character all their own.

Permanence is due to their longevity. Even though many lighthouses have been demolished, either by humans or nature, most have endured for scores, if not hundreds of years.

The main purpose of lighthouses is...[read on]

Learn more about the book and author at Eric Jay Dolin's website.

The Page 99 Test: Fur, Fortune, and Empire.

The Page 99 Test: When America First Met China.

The Page 69 Test: Brilliant Beacons.

The Page 99 Test: Brilliant Beacons.

--Marshal Zeringue

Theresa Kaminski

Theresa Kaminski is Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where she teaches courses in American women’s history. She is the author of Citizen of Empire: Ethel Thomas Herold, An American in the Philippines and Prisoners in Paradise: American Women in the Wartime South Pacific.

Her latest book is Angels of the Underground: The American Women who Resisted the Japanese in the Philippines in World War II.

From Kaminski's Q & A at DailyHistory.org:

If someone asked you to quickly summarize your book, what would be your 2 minute elevator version?

Angels is about the incredible risks American women took and the impossible choices they made to not only survive a wartime enemy occupation, but to undermine the Japanese occupation and help others survive it as well. It’s a World War II story few people know.

Your previous historical works have also focused on the Philippines and the South Pacific. How did you become interested in the Philippines?

From the academic side of my life, I have been fascinated with imperialism and colonialism, the kinds of hierarchies they establish and reinforce, and what that all means to the people who experience them. As an American historian, this interest directed me to the Philippines. I was especially intrigued by the women who decided to move so far away from the States to be a part of this imperialist enterprise.

From the personal side of my life, my father, who enlisted in the U.S. Army when he turned 18, always spoke fondly of the Philippines. He was stationed there for a time after World War II, so his experiences were with postwar rebuilding. I was glad he had positive memories, but when I became a historian, I wanted to...[read on]

Learn more about Angels of the Underground at Theresa Kaminski's website.

The Page 99 Test: Angels of the Underground.

Writers Read: Theresa Kaminski.

My Book, The Movie: Angels of the Underground.

Coffee with a Canine: Theresa Kaminski & Hugo.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jillian Cantor

Jillian Cantor's latest novel is The Hours Count.

From her Q & A with Deborah Kalb:

Q: The novel's title comes from a Pablo Picasso quote about the Rosenbergs, which you include in the book. Why did you choose that as the title?

A: My editor actually found this quote and suggested it as a title. I was about halfway through writing the first draft at the time and I absolutely loved it.

I loved that it was a real quote about the Rosenbergs but also that it applied to Millie’s life as a mother. I never really understood the expression the days are long but the years are short until I had kids! (And you see this expression makes it into the book as Millie reflects on her own life as a mother to two boys).

I kept thinking about the fact that Ethel didn’t get to see her sons grow up, all the hours and small moments she missed with them, and how those are the things that really count as a mother. I think the title really gets at...[read on]

--Marshal Zeringue