Trust me.  You will.  Susan is a fresh new voice in Southern Literary Fiction and her debut novel is fantastic.  The characters are rich and while you do feel the story is complete at the end, you find yourself wanting to know what happens to these characters next.

The book is the story of three Southern women — a proper Atlanta matron, her rebellious teenage daughter, and their housekeeper’s young daughter and the intersection of their lives.  While Susan tackles some complex issues like religion and gender identity, she does it with humor. 

I sat down with Susan shortly after the launch party to talk about the three main characters, the Big Weaner, and to find out what the heck buttered Saltines are all about. 

Enjoy the interview, and click here to check out the rest of the great authors talking about their books on our podcast page!

I was a bit nervous for the call, knowing that in addition to being a New York Times bestselling author, Stephen (I think we’re on a first name basis now) is also this uber famous and connected TV producer but truth be told, he couldn’t have been nicer or more gracious.

We talked about Stephen’s backround, and about the character of Shane Scully, his origins and where he may be headed next.   And though I know you don’t always think of action packed detective stories as being about some of the today’s most pressing issues, this one certainly is.

Both police corruption and immigration issues are focused on in the book and in the interview, Stephen talks about why he highlights these issues and what he wants the reader to take away.

A couple of days after the phone interview, I went to meet Stephen in person at his appearance at The Margaret Mitchell House.  In person, he was just as gracious as on the phone and he is a truly inspiring speaker.  If you ever have the opportunity, I urge you to go and hear him speak.

Oh – and if you’re into TV, Stephen appeared with James Patterson on the pilot episode of Castle on ABC!

Enjoy the interview, and click here to check out the rest of the great authors talking about their books on our podcast page!