Emily Colin

I’m excited to host Aimee Salter on the blog for several reasons. The first is that it gives us a chance to chat about her soon-to-be-released novel, LOVE OUT LOUD—which looks like it’s going to be pretty amazing. And the second is that Aimee has a really interesting story to tell.

Like debut author Carolyn Walker, I’ve always been drawn to dark contemporary fantasy. Her first novel, IMMORTAL DESCENT, mixes the fantasy and psychological thriller genres to tell the story of Ethan West, a man with ‘a haunted past and a strange sixth sense he sometimes can’t control.’

Hannah Fielding is fascinating for so many reasons. First, she divides her time between three countries: “a rectory in Kent, England; an old farmhouse near St Tropez in the south of France; and a Georgian house in County Wicklow, Ireland”—and she writes at a desk with a spectacular view in each one.

I love having debut authors on the blog, and having the privilege of being part of their books’ introduction to the world. You know what else I love? The trope of forbidden love. Negeen Papehn’s new novel, FORBIDDEN BY FAITH, is the tale of a Muslim woman and a Jewish man who fall for each other—and it’s inspired by Negeen’s own marriage.

When I was growing up, I never went to sleep-away camp—but there always seemed to be something magical about it: the inside jokes campers shared, the songs only they knew, the intense bonding that came from creating a home away from home with a group of kids your own age.

Whenever I travel, there are a couple of places I check out as soon as I’ve checked in: The closest coffee shop, a restaurant that the locals love, and the area’s independent bookstore. Two years ago, my son and I desperately wandered Sausalito until we found Book Passage, and then I bought four novels and hauled them all back to North Carolina on the plane.

Each time I interview an author on the blog, I feel like I get a glimpse into the world beyond the page. In Kelly Siskind’s case, I discovered that she shares my obsession with cheese—so much so that she and her husband opened their own cheese shop.

I was excited to interview Melanie Hooyenga about her latest YA sports romance, THE TRAIL RULES—and I did learn a lot about the book, which sounds like a lot of fun to read!—but y’all, I made one very important discovery: Melanie has a 12-year-old schnauzer named Owen who has nearly 12,000 followers on Instagram.

Before I read the blurb for Amy Trueblood’s debut, NOTHING BUT SKY, I’d never really thought about wing walkers . . . probably because the very notion terrifies me. As anyone who knows me can tell you, it’s a feat if I manage to make it through the day without bumping into something or tripping over my own feet. Performing stunts on the wings of a moving airplane?

Sometimes I really wish I had a teleportation device . . . and February 7, 2018 was one of those times. That night, The Regulator Bookshop (where I used to work, lo these many years ago), hosted an event that I would’ve adored to attend: Crazy Love—Writing Love and Mental Illness, with Katie Rose Guest Pryal, Katharine Ashe, and Barbara Claypole White.