Lucinda Riley

Lucinda Riley is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen novels, and her books have sold more than thirteen million copies in over thirty languages globally. She was born in Ireland and divides her time between England and West Cork with her husband and four children.

Riley's latest book to appear in the US is The Pearl Sister, the fourth installment in The Seven Sisters series.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Riley's reply:

As a writer, after a long day of working on my novels or researching historical periods, I love to immerse myself in a different world before going to bed, so I read every single day. I’m the type of reader who gets obsessed with one author and one series of books, and my current obsession are the Ruth Galloway novels by the fantastic writer Elly Griffiths.

The novels are all set in Norfolk, a part of England where I have lived for many years, so it is wonderful to read about places that I know so intimately. Her main character is Dr Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist who lives with her two cats in a little seaside cottage in the marshes of Norfolk.

It is what I would call ‘cosy crime’ – not too gruesome and very readable. The books are funny and Ruth is a wonderfully inspiring female character – not only is she a ‘boff’ – a complete nerd, passionate about archaeology, but she is also complex, and you really feel as if you know her. I’ve also learnt a good deal about the history of Norfolk through these novels.

As a writer of a series myself, I often get emails from fans telling me to write as fast as I can as they cannot wait for the next instalment (and I promise, I am writing as fast as I can!). Elly Griffiths sparks that love and impatience in me, and I am urging her to write more books in the series. It is currently at ten books, and I have devoured every single one.

Visit Lucinda Riley's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Susan Kietzman

Susan Kietzman is the author of Every Other Wednesday, The Summer Cottage, A Changing Marriage, and The Good Life.

Her new novel is It Started in June.

Recently I asked Kietzman about what she was reading. Her reply:

I read Stewart O’Nan’s Last Night at the Lobster several years ago, and I have no idea why it has taken me so long to circle back to the work of such an insightful and witty author. The Odds (A Love Story) is about Marion and Art Fowler, who find themselves in a desperate financial situation and on the brink of divorce after thirty years of marriage. Against their better judgment, they drain their bank account and take a bus to Niagara Falls – in a last ditch effort at rekindling their love (well, for Art anyway) and winning enough money at the casino to move them out of the red and into the black.

The Odds, like The Lobster, is a look at how regular people act in irregular times. The Lobster details the final night of operation of a Red Lobster restaurant. And The Odds zeroes in on how a couple can rationalize gambling everything they have via the whim of a roulette wheel. In both stories, no matter what happens, tomorrow promises to look nothing like today. Moments like those described in both The Lobster and The Odds reveal that what defines a person is not what he or she does in everyday life, but rather who they become when the world they have come to depend on no longer matters.

Visit Susan Kietzman's website.

The Page 69 Test: It Started in June.

--Marshal Zeringue

Danielle Teller

Danielle Teller (formerly Morse, nee Dyck) grew up in Canada, where she and her two brothers were raised by the best parents in the world. As a child, she was a bookworm who dreamed of being a writer, but she chickened out and went to medical school instead. In 1994, she moved temporarily to America, and she has been living temporarily in America ever since. Teller attended Queen's University during her undergraduate years, and she received her medical training at McGill University, Brown University and Yale University. She has held faculty positions at the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard University, where she investigated the origins of chronic lung disease and taught in the medical intensive care unit. In 2013, Teller quit her job to pursue her childhood dream of being a writer. She lives with her husband, Astro Teller, and their four children in Palo Alto, California.

Teller's new novel is All the Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella’s Stepmother.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Her reply:

As a child, I was a bookworm. Then I grew up, got a job, had kids, and only had time and energy to read on airplanes or the rare beach vacation. Now that I’m a writer, I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do! My reading diet is eclectic; besides books I choose for pleasure, I also read for research, book club, because-someone-told-me-to, and I listen to audiobooks while I cook or run errands.

I’m currently reading Circe by Madeline Miller. It’s the story of the goddess Circe, most famous for bewitching Odysseus’s men in Homer's Odyssey. I’m a fan of Greek mythology, and it’s refreshing to see all of the gods and heroes through the eyes of a female character for a change! The language is beautiful and the magic thrilling. It’s rare for me not to pick apart a book in my head as I’m reading, but this one I’m just purely enjoying. The things that ruin books for me are usually plot messiness and lack of believable motivation for characters’ actions. This book has none of those problems, because Greek myths are all deus ex machina, and no god in the pantheon has ever needed a reason to do crazy sh*t.

I’m also reading The Financier by Theodore Dreiser; that one is going a bit more slowly as I’m taking notes. This novel was first published in 1912; it chronicles the rise of a financial tycoon in late 19th century America. It contains a wealth of period details, most importantly about the banking industry, that provide context for a new novel I’m writing. I like to read works by authors who lived through the periods they describe, because they lack the filter of modern sensibilities, and I can see their world clearly through their eyes.

Visit Danielle Teller's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Humphrey Hawksley

Humphrey Hawksley is a BBC foreign correspondent who has reported from the world’s hot spots for more than thirty years. He works in both non-fiction and fiction and his latest thriller, Man on Ice is set on the remote and wild US-Russian border in the Bering Strait. Action bounces and twists between the White House and the little-known Diomede islands of which one is American and the other Russian. A closed, unmarked, unmanned border runs between.

Asked what he is currently reading, Hawksley answered:

I have several paper and e-books going at once, some for ideas, some for research and some for a hinterland to take me away from work which whether fiction or non-fiction focuses on global politics and shifting balances of power.

Top of the pile of my research is Super Highway: Sea Power in the 21st Century by Admiral Chris Parry (Rtd) which is a brilliant layman’s read of how we are going to use the seas for war, trade and pleasure in the coming years. I am working on a sequel to Man on Ice set in the North Atlantic because this is becoming a new Cold War battleground between Russia and Europe. The international thriller often carries a Dystopian backdrop so I have with me Collapse: Europe After the European Union by Ian Kearns which lays out scenarios for upheavals in Europe. We’ve been there before with the Balkans and two world wars and those of us who live in Europe have a deep sense of foreboding at what is unfolding now. Finally, the new Tim Marshall geopolitical Divided: Why We Are Living In An Age of Walls, a sequel to his best-selling Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics. Few authors cut through to the chase as well as Marshall does.

For thriller ideas I have with me the spy maestro Adrian Magson’s Close Quarters which moves between Ukraine and Washington with an edge-of-the-seat opening in Tehran; and the brilliant Redeployment by Phil Klay, a series of agonizing fictional short stories of troops returning from Iraq. I covered Iraq and in Klay’s words and dialogue could smell the sand, sweat and insoluble human frustration.

On my hinterland, I am in the middle of Things to Leave Behind by Namita Gokhale, a novel on how the dreadful Indian caste system destroys human spirit. The opening line – “First the sky, a pure, clear blue with clouds shaped like elephants and sheep...” Beautiful. My other hinterland book is of similar vein, Good Children of the Flower by best-selling Chinese author, Hong Ying. She tells of her journey from a rugged village childhood to international literary stardom. Both have stopped me dead with horror as the authors show us a human spirit of hope and love with which we are all familiar and set it against the violent cruelty that poverty and hardship creates -- a state that so few of us understand.

Visit Humphrey Hawksley's website.

The Page 69 Test: The History Book.

My Book, The Movie: Security Breach.

My Book, The Movie: Man on Ice.

--Marshal Zeringue

Will Walton

Will Walton is an indie bookseller in Athens, Georgia.

Anything Could Happen was his first novel.

Walton's new novel is I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain.

Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. His reply:

Kheryn Callender's Hurricane Child is the best book I've read in recent history. It's poetic and also unpretentious. It's an incredibly moving exploration of a young person's inner life, and it's set on St. Thomas Island. I can't wait to read Callender's upcoming This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story.

I think Becky Albertalli's Leah on the Offbeat is pitch perfect, and I have a soft spot for it because my boyfriend, Tyler, and I make brief appearances in it as passersby.

Also, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan's most recent collaboration, Sam & Ilsa's Last Hurrah made me cry and laugh and want to hug my friends.

Follow Will Walton on Facebook.

The Page 69 Test: Anything Could Happen.

My Book, The Movie: Anything Could Happen.

--Marshal Zeringue

Christina June

Christina June writes young adult contemporary fiction when she’s not writing college recommendation letters during her day job as a school counselor. She loves the little moments in life that help someone discover who they’re meant to become – whether it’s her students or her characters.

June is a voracious reader, loves to travel, eats too many cupcakes, and hopes to one day be bicoastal – the east coast of the US and the east coast of Scotland. She lives in Virginia with her husband and daughter.

Her debut novel, It Started with Goodbye, was released in May 2017; the newly released Everywhere You Want to Be is its companion.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. June's reply:

I just finished the wonderful A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole. It's a contemporary romance with a royalty bent. A woman who grew up in the foster care system, and is on her way to becoming a successful scientist, turns out to be the long-lost betrothed to a handsome prince from the fictional African country, Thesolo. It's Coming to America meets The Princess Diaries plus a woman in STEM. I loved it. Naledi is a fantastic heroine--she is smart, funny, and never once casts herself as a victim, despite having endured many challenges in her life. She is sure of herself and what she wants, which is a career where she makes a difference. The romance is just the cherry on top for her. She's a fantastic role model. Prince Thabiso was also a well-drawn character, with a witty sense of humor and sizzling chemistry with Naledi. I appreciate that every step of their relationship was driven by mutual respect. Cole has a companion novel coming next, starring Naledi's best friend Portia and I can't wait!

Visit Christina June's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Kathleen George

Kathleen George is the author of The Johnstown Girls, a novel about the famous Johnstown flood. She has also written seven mysteries set in Pittsburgh: A Measure of Blood, Simple, The Odds, which was nominated for the Edgar® Award from the Mystery Writers of America, Hideout, Afterimage, Fallen, and Taken. George is also the author of the short story collection The Man in the Buick and editor of another collection, Pittsburgh Noir. She is a professor of theater arts and creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh.

George's new novel is The Blues Walked In.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Her reply:

I had surgery on January 16 and it was a big one that involved my spine top to bottom, so ... I read. I read a lot. I read at least 30 novels since then and have slowed down a little since I am now out and about. I read a good number of the much talked about current books like An American Marriage and Tangerine and I was appreciative of almost everything, but I will talk about the ones that still haunt me.

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende caught me up in a redefinition of passionate love. The characters were interesting, ragged, unconventional and so was the secret love affair that lasted a lifetime. I was touched to think of such deep feeling. And the strength of secrecy.

Ali Smith’s Autumn (there is a theme here) amazed me with an unconventional young woman who never apologized for her passion for an idiosyncratic old man. In fact there is the feeling that they kept each other alive and that nobody could provide criticisms that could shake this relationship.

A quarter of the reading public complains that Amor Towles’ A Gentleman In Moscow isn’t dark enough, that nobody can believe such positivity and wit in a story of decades of house arrest amounting to imprisonment. But I believed it. I identified with it. And I am in the majority. To maintain wit, sensitivity, sensual pleasure, and kindness when one has no freedom is a triumph. I loved asking and asking, “When will this break down?” And being lifted again and again.

There is a character based on Philip Roth in Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday. The narrative question was, “This can’t go on and on, can it? Isn’t it bad for this young woman, his love interest?” The affair went on and on and it was bad but also it wasn’t and it was and it wasn’t. The book is smart, so smart.

Also sticking with me is Love and Ruin by Paula McLain. She is known for The Paris Wife about Hemingway’s first wife and has told the story in her newest book about Marty Gellhorn, his third wife, in the first person. Marty and Ernest and Dos Passos are all convincing and the novel is full of history and information as well as a scalding portrait of a doomed love affair.

All I can say is thank God for books, the ones you can let go and the ones that haunt. They filled me.

Visit Kathleen George's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Julie Clark

Born and raised in Santa Monica, California, Julie Clark grew up reading books on the beach while everyone else surfed. After attending college at University of the Pacific, and a brief stint working in the athletic department at University of California, Berkeley, she returned home to Santa Monica to teach. She now lives there with her two young sons and a golden doodle with poor impulse control.

The Ones We Choose is her first novel.

Recently I asked Clark about what she was reading. Her reply:

I just finished an ARC of The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan. This is a gorgeous debut that will completely capture your mind and heart. It's the story of childhood friends Laura and Casey, who are re-united after many years of estrangement. As they navigate their own memories of the past and what tore them apart, they are forced to reconcile what they each believed happened with a secret that was concealed from them both. It releases June 26, and I'm certain it will be one of the summer's hottest books!

Visit Julie Clark's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Glenn Cooper

Glenn Cooper is an internationally known bestselling thriller writer who has sold over seven million books in thirty translations. His first novel, Library of the Dead, sold over two million copies. Of his thirteen published novels, many have become #1 fiction bestsellers in various European markets. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in archaeology and got his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine before becoming an infectious diseases specialist. He later went onto medical research and biotechnology and became the Chairman and CEO of a large, publicly-traded biotech company in Massachusetts. During his free time he wrote screenplays and then tried his hand at novels, culminating in Library of the Dead, which is now in development as a TV series. His current series of religious conspiracy thrillers, beginning with Sign of the Cross, features Cal Donovan, professor of history of religion and archaeology at the Harvard Divinity School. Cooper lives and writes full-time in Sarasota, Florida.

Recently I asked Cooper about what he was reading. His reply:

I’m currently writing a new book, the fourth Cal Donovan in a new series of religious conspiracy thrillers that begins with the just-released Sign of the Cross in the US/UK. Parenthetically, the explanation for this English-language publication lag is that my European publishers have a leg-up on the schedule. While I’m writing, I tend to avoid fiction because I’m something of a magpie – i.e., in the heat of battle, I’m given to plagiarizing words, phrases, physical descriptions and whatnot. So leadeth me not into temptation. That’s why I’m reading non-fiction. Incidentally, in the brief inter-regnum between books, I eagerly read and enjoyed Le Carré’s A Legacy of Spies.

I’ve got a number of books on my table, mostly for research for my work-in-progress, one for pleasure/work. The latter is Foreign Devils on the Silk Road by Peter Hopkirk. My college degree is in archaeology and I try to keep up with new developments in the field for personal and professional edification (translation: fishing for new ideas for Cal Donovan who’s an archaeologist). The Hopkirk book is a revelation to me because it details an archaeological subject of which I was wholly ignorant—the wholesale looting at the turn of the twentieth century of China’s medieval cultural heritage by European, American and Japanese archaeologists and adventurers. It’s a gripping read and I’ve already got ideas spinning around that might land in Cal Donovan’s lap one day.

The other things I’m reading all involve historical background for my newest Cal Donovan book that draws heavily from the Elizabethan magus and polymath, John Dee, who exhaustively chronicled his conversations with angels that he summoned with his medium, Edward Kelley, to try to understand the mysteries of the universe. Dee learned how to speak and write the angelic language and I’m trying too without much success. It’s complicated.

Visit Glenn Cooper's website.

The Page 69 Test: Sign of the Cross.

--Marshal Zeringue

Mindee Arnett

Mindee Arnett is the author of the critically acclaimed sci-fi thriller Avalon as well as the Arkwell Academy series and the newly released Onyx and Ivory. An avid eventer, she lives on a farm near Dayton, Ohio with her husband, two kids, and assorted animals. When not telling tales of magic, the supernatural, or outer space, she can be found on a horse, trying to jump anything that will stand still.

Recently I asked Arnett about what she was reading. Her reply:

As usual, my reading material has been all over the board in terms of genre and themes. I started the year off with young adult fantasies like An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson and Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. Then I switched to sci-fi for a little while, reading book 3 in The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey (which the awesome TV show of the same title is based on), and then Obsidio, the third and final book in the stellar Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, and now I’ve moved onto some middle grade.

But the book I want to talk about most, the book that has stayed with the most so far this season, is The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. This is a portal fantasy about a girl who’s spent her whole life on the run from people obsessed with a set of fairy tale stories her grandmother published years ago—and from the characters in those stories as well. This book is trippy, beautiful written, and utterly gripping. I read it far too fast, and I keep going back to it in my mind. I have a feeling it’ll be one of my seminal reads, a book I go back to again and again simply to re-experience them (other books on this list include the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater, The Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor, and Harry Potter of course).

I think the reason why The Hazel Wood has made this list is because of the way it makes me feel—like magic is real, like the fantastical is waiting just around the corner, in the shadows beneath the bed, or in that faint movement out of the corner of my eye, the one I can’t quite catch no matter how fast I turn my head. Do you know the feeling I mean? The Hazel Wood made me feel like anything was possible while reading it, and that’s a feeling I’ll return to forever.

Visit Mindee Arnett's website.

The Page 69 Test: Avalon.

--Marshal Zeringue