Interviews

Steve Hamilton has visited the store since his first novel, A Cold Day in Paradise, was published in 1998.  Since then he’s been loyal, kind, and funny, and he’s long been a favorite with our customers. He is our bestselling author. We love his Michigan-centric series and look forward to every novel – I was happy to have the chance to ask him a few questions.

Q: One of the things I like best about your books is the way you use dialogue to tell the story.  Do you kind of think in dialogue?  Is that the way storytelling comes to you?  read more

I’ve known Kent since he invited himself to the store when his first novel, Iron Lake, was published in 1998. As long as I’ve known him, I’ve been a fan of his work. His new novel, Ordinary Grace, is an extraordinary leap – a deepening of previous work. It was a pure delight to read.

Q: One of the things I found most interesting about this book was the voice. While it’s set in 1961, it doesn’t in any way seem like a period piece or an historical novel. How personal to you are the memories of 1961 in small town Minnesota? read more

Last year’s Wicked Autumn by G.M Maillet was a break out bestseller for us – I was delighted when I discovered that the second book in the series would be a Christmas book.  Malliet has a love for the English village mystery, a love that’s revealed in her writing.  She graciously agreed to an interview, and a few of the questions are from friend/customer/reader Linda Kimmel (LK in the body of the interview).

Q:  Obviously you are a devotee of the golden age British mystery – Christie, Allingham, Marsh, Sayers, etc.  Though you seem to reference Christie/Poirot most often, I have to tell you I am reminded most of Marsh.   In Overture to Death, Marsh describes her vicar character as having a head “like a Roman Coin”.  You’ve updated and made your vicar resemble Hugh Grant instead of a Roman, but he’s certainly a dish.  Can you talk about that a little bit? read more

Eleanor Kuhns is the author of A Simple Murder, set in a 1700’s Shaker community.  This is her first novel.

Q: Your book won the MWA/Minotaur contest.  Can you talk about that experience a little bit?

A: I think my first reaction was disbelief. I’d been writing short stories for a long time but with very mixed success. When my mystery was accepted (and Minotaur was the first publisher I sent it to) I spent about two weeks after hearing I’d won expecting a phone call telling me it had been a mistake. Attending the awards ceremony was a dream come true. And it gave me another goal to shoot for: winning an Edgar. read more

Q: First of all, what led you to add mysteries to your list of literary accomplishments? William Gibson has also moved from speculative fiction into the contemporary thriller. Do you see some kind of a trend?

A: I don’t know that it’s a trend; maybe more a kind of artistic serendipity. Several people have told me that Available Dark reminds them of Gibson’s recent work, which surprised me — I admire Gibson immensely but didn’t really see any similarities until they were pointed out. I guess perhaps we share an apocalyptic view of The Way We Live Now, and a perception of 21st century cities as bell jars for global culture. read more

I’m such a big, geeky fan of Elly Griffiths – whose most recent book, The Janus Stone, was on our 2011 favorites list – that I was more than delighted when she agreed to an interview.  Her latest Ruth Galloway novel, The House at Sea’s End, come out this month, with the 5^th in the series due in the spring.  There’s a spoiler in the interview if you haven’t read the first novel. Otherwise, enjoy an interview with one of my favorite new authors.

Q: First off, the obvious – why archaeology?  Do you have an expertise, or just an interest? read more