Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Lucinda Riley

Lucinda Riley's new book is The Storm Sister, the second installment in the seven book series, The Seven Sisters. Riley is the New York Times bestselling author of The Orchid House, The Girl on the Cliff, The Lavender Garden, The Midnight Rose, and The Seven Sisters. Her books have sold more than five million copies in thirty languages She lives in London and the English countryside with her husband and four children.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Riley's reply:
It’s an old adage, but it’s true: in order to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader. And I take this to heart; I consume books like a starving tiger devours its prey in the jungle. I have very eclectic taste, devoid of snobbery. In the past year I have read perhaps 40 books, including M. L. Stedman's The Light Between Oceans, the two Wolf Hall books by Hilary Mantel and most recently, the entire twelve book 'Inspector Gamache' series by Louise Penny. Set in the fictional idyllic village of Three Pines in Quebec, Canada, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache solves one ingenious homicide after another. The village has a startlingly high death rate considering its small population, rather like in good old-fashioned detective stories, but I would still love to move there! Penny’s writing delves into the psyche of the characters, and she has an exquisite knack for bringing across their habits and motivations in a witty and visual way. In a genre that is almost over-saturated, Penny can still surprise detective novel connoisseurs.

My research for the fourth book in the Seven Sisters series, CeCe’s story, has led me to discover more about the troubled history of Australia and its First People. Richard Broome’s Aboriginal Australians: A history since 1788 is a very sensitive and lucid portrayal of Australia’s controversial history since its colonization. Broome incorporates the oral stories of Aboriginal people in his scholarship, and writes from their viewpoint – tracing their pre-colonial culture, their survival amidst persecution, and the slow progress towards integration and a new Australia. Having been to the Australian Outback in January for research, it was incredible to experience the raw beauty of the landscape for myself. I cannot wait to begin writing about it.
Visit Lucinda Riley's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Storm Sister.

My Book, The Movie: The Storm Sister.

--Marshal Zeringue