Please Review / Author Interviews: The Human Condition

Before I jump into today’s main topic of author interviews, I have to issue a public service announcement on my own behalf. 🙂 Please help me out by rating or posting a review of Beautiful and Terrible Things on Amazon. The initial hoopla over the book’s release has passed, and my publisher is waiting to see how much traction the book gets before deciding what marketing dollars to invest (which is typical).

A “review” can be very simple and brief. You can merely rate the book and offer a few words. No need to post an in-depth analysis of your thoughts. Think of it like telling a friend, “I really liked this book. (Insert reason why if you want to.)”

Amazon reviews can be posted here. And if you’re not an Amazon user, you can post a review on Goodreads, BookBub and/or Barnes & Noble. Thank you! And now on to our main topic.

Author Interviews

Are you one of those people who, after watching a movie, looks for those videos interviewing the director and cast, or showing how they filmed a particular scene? I know I am. If you, too, like to know what goes on behind the scenes, then check out these new interviews with me, which were conducted in conjunction with the launch of Beautiful and Terrible Things, my contemporary novel published by Black Rose Writing on July 18th.

For me, doing author interviews with a lot of different media outlets is one of the best parts of launching a new book. But then, I have a background in public relations; I realize doing interviews is not every author’s cup of tea!

Here are highlights from three recent interviews I took part in.

Literary Titan Interview

Q. What are some things you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?

A. First, that we don’t always do what’s best for us, sometimes because we don’t see it, sometimes because we don’t want to see it, and sometimes because we acknowledge it but for some foolish reason think it might, against all odds, work out differently.

Second, that in trying to do right by one person, we sometimes hurt another. Such is the case when Jessica, in Beautiful and Terrible Things, makes a major sacrifice to help pull Charley, but her actions end up hurting another loved one in a very tragic way.

Read the full interview from Literary Titan here.

Reader’s House Interview

(Reader’s House, by the way, selected Beautiful and Terrible Things as an Editor’s Choice!)

Q. Your novels often tackle complex societal issues such as workplace harassment and mental health struggles. What drives you to explore these topics, and how do you balance entertainment value with the exploration of serious subjects?

A. While I love a good escapist beach read on occasion, I’m more drawn to fiction that challenges me in some way. So that’s what I write. Complex themes provide ample room to explore and provoke thought. As for balancing entertainment, that’s easy: simply portray life as we know it, which is, hopefully, filled with humor, light and love as well as challenges and tragedy.

Read the full interview from Reader’s House here and read the magazine’s review of Beautiful and Terrible Things here.

The Hippo Interview

The book is set in an unknown city, a bold decision intended to underscore the universality of many social issues in its pages, Stevens said by phone recently. “These conversations and events are taking place in a lot of Western countries today,” she said. “I just think the story means more to people if they can see it happening in what they consider their city.”

Racism, gender, climate change, mental health and immigration are all addressed. When it comes to the latter, Stevens hopes readers will take away one bit of knowledge. “One of my goals in writing this was to remind people that no matter what your view is on an issue, there are always real people behind the statistics,” she said.

Read the full review/interview from The Hippo here.

See more author interviews, including one from my local cable TV station, on my Interviews page.