Indies Introduce Interview

Tracy Holczer is the author of The Secret Hum of a Daisy, a 2014 Summer/Fall Indies Introduce New Voices pick for middle grade readers. Learn more about Tracy Holczer and sign up now for the new Indies Introduce promotion.

Tess Sharpe is the author of Far From You, a spring 2014 New Voices debut for young adults. “Part murder mystery, part forbidden romance, this lovely novel is both chilling and poignant,” says Emily Ring of Inklings Bookshop in Yakima, Washington.

Alexandra Duncan is the author of Salvage (Greenwillow Books), a spring 2014 New Voices title for young adults and a Kids’ Indie Next List pick.

Kate Hattemer talks about her inspirations for the spring 2014 New Voices pick The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy, the importance of YA fiction, her favorite title, and more.

Marcia Wells talks about the inspiration for her debut title for middle grade readers, Eddie Red, Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile, her favorite books and authors, and what she’s working on next.

Abby Geni, author of the fall 2013 Indies Introduce debut and November 2013 Indie Next List pick The Last Animal, talks about the inspiration for her debut short story collection, the influence of nature on her life and work, and more.

Makiia Lucier talks about her debut title for young adults, A Death-Struck Year, the merits of historical fiction, and more.

TaraShea Nesbit is the author of the debut novel The Wives of Los Alamos, a spring 2014 Indies Introduce title and a March 2014 Indie Next List pick, which tells the story of women from all over the world who cut their ties with friends and relatives to live in isolation at Los Alamos while their husbands developed the atomic bomb.

Debut author Sally Green talks about the inspiration for her YA novel Half Bad, the importance of fiction, and some of her favorite authors and books.

Nickolas Butler, author of Shotgun Lovesongs, the #1 Indie Next List pick for March, recently spoke to BTW about the emotions that inspired his book, the notion of friendship, and being able to live out his dream.

Rohan Gavin’s Knightley & Son “is a clever, creative, exciting adventure perfect for everyone who loves a good, classic mystery,” says Kris Vreeland of Once Upon a Time Bookstore. Here, Gavin discusses the inspiration for his debut novel for middle grade readers and more.

Walton’s eloquent debut YA novel, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, about a girl with speckled wings and a heritage of love, loss, and magic has been called “timeless, beautiful, and perfect for lovers of magical realism” by bookseller Melissa Fox of Watermark Books and Café.

Jessica Hendry Nelson’s If Only You People Could Follow Directions is a collection of autobiographical essays about family relationships, addiction, and the chaos they bring. Reviewers have praised Nelson’s debut memoir as hypnotic and wryly funny.

Many of the stories in The UnAmericans were inspired by Molly Antopol’s family history, notably their involvement in the Communist Party. “I come from a big family of storytellers,” said Antopol, “and I grew up surrounded by tales of surveillance, tapped lines, and dinnertime visits from the FBI.”

Helen Peppe is the author of Pigs Can’t Swim, a memoir of childhood by the youngest of nine children in a hardscrabble, beyond-eccentric Maine family. Her debut title has been praised for being outrageous, hilarious, and touching.