Her new novel is Outside the Lines, about which Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You, said: "Like a gorgeous dark jewel, Hatvany’s exquisitely rendered novel explores the tragedy of a mind gone awry, a tangled bond of father and daughter, and the way hope and love sustain us. This novel does what the best fiction does: it makes us see and experience the world differently."Not so long ago I asked Hatvany about what she was reading. Her reply:
I recently stumbled across Seré Prince Halverson’s debut novel, The Underside of Joy, and was immediately drawn into a complex world of blended families - one I’m intimately familiar with, being a step-motherVisit Amy Hatvany's website.myself. The story explores the relationship between a step-mother - reeling in grief over the recent loss of her husband - and the natural mother, who allegedly deserted her children when they were very young. After the death of the father, a custody dispute ensues between the women, and family secrets unravel. Halverson’s prose is rich, laced with clean, lyrical descriptions of the Northern California landscape and keen observations about how our society defines a “good mother.” Much of my own writing has focused on similar questions around motherhood, and I connected immediately with almost every character in the story. She is a writer to watch.
The Page 69 Test: Outside the Lines.
My Book, The Movie: Outside the Lines.
--Marshal Zeringue
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