Writers Read: Clare O'Donohue

Monday, June 20, 2011

Clare O'Donohue

Clare O'Donohue worked on the HGTV show, Simply Quilts for four seasons, eventually becoming the Supervising Producer, and has written and produced for a lot of other shows as well. In the last twelve years, she worked on shows for The History Channel, truTV, Food Network, A&E, Discovery, TLC, and others.

In 2008 she published The Lover’s Knot, the first in the Someday Quilts series, and followed the debut with A Drunkard’s Path and The Double Cross. The Devil’s Puzzle, the fourth novel in the series, arrives in the fall of 2011.

O'Donohue's new novel is Missing Persons.

A few weeks ago I asked her what she reading. Her reply:

I have a book deadline so reading has taken a back seat recently, and the pile is growing larger and larger. I'm waiting for that elusive free time to catch up on all the wonderful books I've collected this year. Having said that, I still have plane trips and doctor's appointments, so I've fit in a couple of books I've really enjoyed. I just finished Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test, which was surprisingly light and funny given the subject matter. It did make me a little nervous to read that while so many people can agree that individuals incapable of empathy do exist, very few people seem able to correctly identify them. Of course I gave myself the psychopath test and failed (thankfully) but now I'm on the lookout for psychopaths where ever I go.

I also finished Steve Martin's An Object of Beauty, which I loved. I collect art (though at a significantly lower price point than the characters in the book) and I think Martin did an amazing job of showing the perplexing allure of the art world and the sad fates of some who get caught in it. There's just enough absurd humor to recognize the hand of Steve Martin but it's a melancholy story and I got so caught up in it on a trip from San Diego to New York that I was disappointed when the captain announced our descent into JFK.

I just cracked open Louise Penny's Still Life. I don't mind that it might take me a while to finish because I always enjoy lingering in the world Penny creates, and book deadline or not I'm going to find the time to read it.