I'm on the Cover of The Big Thrill!

Very pleased to be on a magazine cover for the first time ever :) I was interviewed by Dawn Ius, an editor of The Big Thrill, on my new novel The Blue. How I got the idea for the book, the historical underpinnings of the 18th century, and creating the characters.

She concluded the feature with:

"The novel, both beautifully written and historically impressive, delivers surprises not only for the author, but for the reader as well, demonstrating just how much one is willing to suffer in pursuit and protection of their dreams."

To read the whole story, go here.

My Interview With Rhys Bowen

By Nancy Bilyeau

As the editor of The Big Thrill, I get books in the mail literally every day. Yes, even Sunday!

Last year, I was struck by the cover of one novel (an ARC in publishing lingo, standing for "advance review copy") and the author's name.

The book that I removed from its envelope.

I was intrigued. This didn't seem to be a book in one of Rhys's series of historical mysteries. (I'm an admirer of both series.) A glance at the press materials revealed that this was a "standalone," in the lingo of publishing, and a big epic World War II thriller.

Even though I had work up to my ears and was in the middle of two other books, I turned to the first page of In Farleigh Field, and was immediately captivated. I plunged into her suspenseful story of a family in 1941 England and how they become caught up in a widening conspiracy after a soldier is found on the family estate, dead in his parachute and with false papers. My favorite character was the young man living near the estate, the vicar's son, who is in love with one of the daughters but must investigate the possible treasonous conspiracy as a secret intelligence officer.

After finishing, I contacted Rhys's publicist and arranged an interview. We spoke for an hour on the phone and she was full of interesting stories and perspectives on England during World War II, women as spies, and how she wrote the book she wanted to write. Very inspiring.

And she was quite funny. I love the pictures she sent to accompany the interview, including one of her and a cutout of the Queen:

Please read my interview with Rhys here.

And check out In Farleigh Field!

My Interview With Ian Rankin

I'm far from the only fan of Detective Inspector John Rebus--the Rebus crime series is the best selling one in the United Kingdom--but I am one of the fortunate people who gets the opportunity to interview Scottish author Ian Rankin about his work.

As editor of The Big Thrill, I talked to Ian about his new novel, Rather Be the Devil, which was published in North America on January 31st. Among the topics, how does he handle writing mysteries with a protagonist past retirement age? His solutions are excellent while still being realistic!

I've spoken to Ian before, and he's thoughtful, funny, sarcastic and generous.

To read my interview, go here.

My Interview With Ian Rankin

I write novels.

I'm also a magazine editor and nonfiction writer. As the editor in chief of The Big Thrill, the online magazine of International Thriller Writers, I edit stories on the suspense-fiction genre and interviews, LOTS of interviews. A few of them I write myself, such as Sue Grafton in October.

This month I am proud to share my story on Ian Rankin, whose crime-fiction novels capture modern-day Scotland (they call it tartan noir!) with intricate stories. I'm struck by his complex views on morality, and during our hour-long conversation, I learned that he is someone who thinks about the reality of evil. He may not have obsessed over Thomas Aquinas' writings, as I did when writing The Crown, but man's capacity for darkness is on his mind a great deal

His new novel, Even Dogs in the Wild, "is about having to pay for past sins," he told me.

To read the interview, go here.