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20 | Art & Entertainment
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Q&A with Karen White
Local bestselling author joins
trio in historical adventure novel
BY JOHN RUCH
johnruch@reporternewsipapers.net
Karen White is a bestselling author in
her own right in the mystery and South
ern women’s fiction genres. And the Mil-
ton resident is part of a trio of authors -
along with Beatriz Williams and Lauren
Willig - who have co-written the best
selling historical adventure novels “The
Glass Ocean” and “The Forgotten Room.”
The novel-writing team is back togeth
er for “All the Ways We Said Goodbye,”
a romantic drama about three differ
ent women’s adventures at the Ritz Par
is hotel during both world wars and the
1960s. While Williams and Willig live in
the Northeast, all three authors will vis
it White’s backyard together on Jan. 13
at 1 p.m. for a book event at the Sandy
Springs Branch Library at 395 Mount Ver
non Highway NE in Sandy Springs.
Via email, the Reporter asked White
about her inspirations and the new novel,
which hits the shelves on Jan. 14.
Q: Writing fiction in a trio is unusu
al. What is the best part of writing as a
team? What is the most challenging?
A: The best part of writing as a team is the
shared creativity. When
writing solo, only crick
ets answer when we ask
“what if” when stuck on
a plot point. But with
two other brains in the
mix, it becomes an entire
well of possibilities. The
most challenging aspect
is not living geographi
cally close to each oth
er. We’re great friends
as well as writing part
ners and it would be a
lot more fun to meet for
coffee to chat plot points
and characters (among
other things) if we did live in the same
corner of the world.
Q: You have mentioned the Nancy Drew
mysteries as an early inspiration. How
does she continue to influence your
work?
A: I remember how excited I would get
to find a new Nancy Drew book in the li
brary or bookstore, and how I would stay
up in the wee hours of the night reading
because I couldn’t put the book down.
And then I would re-read the book to ex
perience it all over again.
That is the feeling I want
to give to my readers;
an unputdownable read
with characters that lin
ger long after they turn
that last page.
Q: Do you have any fa
vorite local bookstores
or other literary spots?
A: We are extremely
lucky here in the Atlanta
metro area to have some
really fabulous book
stores! They’ve all been
such great supporters of
mine, and do a terrific
job of recommending books and authors
to readers, and hand-selling
books. FoxTale Book Shop
pe in Woodstock is a favor
ite, as is Bookmiser and The
Book Exchange, both in Mar
ietta.
Q: The new novel is set in the
Ritz Paris hotel. What was an
interesting fact you learned
about the hotel in the histori
cal research?
A: There were many! The most interest
ing was that the hotel was used as the
headquarters for the Luftwaffe, the Nazi
Germany air forces, during World War
II, as well as the permanent residence
of fashion designer (and suspected Nazi
agent) Coco Chanel. Oh, the stories those
walls could tell!
Q: You’ve said that your grandmother
Grace Bianca was an early influence on
your interest in storytelling. What sort
of stories did she tell?
A: I remember spending hours beneath
my grandmother’s kitchen table in Indi-
anola, Mississippi, and listing to her, my
mother, my four aunts, and an assort
ment of extended female members of my
family talk about life, about their gardens
and fruit crops, about local gos
sip, and also reminiscing. My
favorite story is how my grand
father, who owned the first car
on the street, would pile the
family into the car in the mid
dle of a hot summer day (this
was before air conditioning!),
and drive around town with
the windows down so they
could catch a breeze.
SPECIAL
Karen White.
WORTHWHILE CONVERSATIONS
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