Bookspo

Kerry Clare

A short form podcast in which authors of new books enthuse about the old books that inspired their works. kerryreads.substack.com

  1. MAR 16

    Free Bonus Bookspo: My New Book is Out!

    After I had Sharon Bala on my podcast in January to talk about her amazing new novel Good Guys, she reached out to ask if I would like her to interview me on the pod when my own book came out, and my automatic answer was OH MY GOODNESS, YES, PLEASE! And so here it is, a situation in which the BOOKSPO host chair is commandeered by one of the smartest, kindest, most excellent writers I know. Thank you, Sharon! And thanks to you, dear listener, for checking out our conversation, in which we talk about literary Trojan horses, the politics of Definitely Thriving, its mid-century British sensibility, and how Barbara Pym inspired me to write a homage. About Definitely Thriving: The heartening and hilarious story of a woman who doesn’t have it all figured out just yet. After accidentally-on-purpose exploding her listless marriage by being discovered in bed with the next-door neighbours, Clemence Lathbury returns to her hometown resolved to build a life for herself that is good and substantial, to become the kind of sensible woman who won’t be distracted by frippery and romance. It’s supposed to be Eat, Pray, Love, without the love part. But no woman is an island, and soon Clemence finds herself embroiled in neighbourhood drama; beginning a crusade at the local bookshop; becoming adopted by a well-groomed, one-eyed cat; and being forced to admit her attraction to two very different men—each a romantic lead in his own right. But how to choose? And never mind the complications of her quirky family … A novel about friendship, community, and church jumble sales, Definitely Thriving is a celebration of people who are perfectly imperfect, and all the love and support that’s required for one woman to make it on her own. Out Now! Order DEFINITELY THRIVING today! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kerryreads.substack.com/subscribe

    34 min
  2. JAN 28

    Season 4, Episode 4: Lauren Carter

    Purchase THE LONGEST NIGHT from your local indie bookstore https://www.indiebookstores.ca/book/9781990601958/ My book, Definitely Thriving: from your local bookshop: https://www.indiebookstores.ca/book/9781487013936/ from Indigo: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/definitely-thriving-a-novel/9781487013936.html From Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Definitely-Thriving-Novel-Kerry-Clare/dp/1487013930/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3PMJJOC69JHZB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.sWVQ1qYuWFqbCC5wQ_wmq83Vs_0GBgBAU4OyxgCCvCzGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.dHIYmVKXdn-7EtZX4YSrjNwqv79bgsH5GbliB5folaI&dib_tag=se&keywords=definitely+thriving&qid=1767376359&sprefix=definitely+thriving%2Caps%2C117&sr=8-1 From Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/definitely-thriving-kerry-clare/1147425682?ean=9781487013936 About The Longest Night: A taut and uncanny thriller about one girl’s search for home, melding time travel, magic realism, horror, and literary suspense. One forty-below December night, 18-year-old Ash Hayes finds herself locked out of her family home in rural Minnesota. She seeks shelter from the freezing cold and certain death at the closest house on the road, with neighbours she hasn’t yet met. The next morning, everything is off-kilter – the neighbours’ house has no mirrors or modern technology, and all the windows blocked. When Ash tries to call her parents, their numbers are disconnected. One of the strange inhabitants there is a doctor, who offers Ash a terrible form of help and won’t take no for an answer. In her efforts to get out of the house and back to her regular life, though, Ash finds herself transported to an even stranger place and time, setting off a chain of events that connect with (and alter) her past and her future. For fans of Mona Awad and Emily St. John Mandel, The Longest Night is a high-stakes, genre-twisting story about searching for something stable in a world where reality is ever-changing and can’t be trusted. Lauren Carter is the author of six books including her latest novel, The Longest Night, which has been described as “mind-bending, psychologically disturbing, and utterly captivating.” Her second novel, This Has Nothing To Do With You, won the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction from the Manitoba Books Awards while her short story collection Places Like These was a finalist for the 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Award. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph and brings her passion for writing, adventure, and community to events organized through her business Wild Ground Writing Retreats. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kerryreads.substack.com/subscribe

    21 min
  3. JAN 14

    Season 4, Episode 2: Eva Jurczyk

    Purchase 6:40 to Montreal from your local indie bookstore https://www.indiebookstores.ca/book/9781552455074/ Read Eva Jurczyk's essay "My character, my cancer and how my art reflects my life" https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-my-character-my-cancer-and-how-my-art-reflects-my-life/ My book, Definitely Thriving: from your local bookshop: https://www.indiebookstores.ca/book/9781487013936/ from Indigo: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/definitely-thriving-a-novel/9781487013936.html From Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Definitely-Thriving-Novel-Kerry-Clare/dp/1487013930/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3PMJJOC69JHZB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.sWVQ1qYuWFqbCC5wQ_wmq83Vs_0GBgBAU4OyxgCCvCzGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.dHIYmVKXdn-7EtZX4YSrjNwqv79bgsH5GbliB5folaI&dib_tag=se&keywords=definitely+thriving&qid=1767376359&sprefix=definitely+thriving%2Caps%2C117&sr=8-1 From Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/definitely-thriving-kerry-clare/1147425682?ean=9781487013936 Eva Jurczyk is amazing, the kind of person with whom conversation can leap from references to Swahili pulp fiction to one of the most hyped thrillers of all time (but made fresh again). Her new novel, 6:40 to Montreal, is a USA Today bestseller, a monthly mystery pick from Barnes & Noble, just as bloody and deranged as her previous thriller, That Night in the Library, but with an achingly human narrative thread that has the whole novel throbbing with love and meaning. Pickle Me This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. We talked about her novel’s debt to Agatha Christie and Murder on the Orient Expression, and also about what Jurcyk herself has learned about the writer’s craft from Christie, plus how her work as a librarian has influenced her as a reader and a writer. And then we turn to Gillian Flynn’s runaway bestseller, a book whose greatness and ingenuity is easy to forget in light of all the hype that came to surround it. Finally, Jurczyk continues to hold the line on her take that Blundstones are wholly inappropriate for Canadian winters. This was so much fun, and I hope you like it too! About 6:40 TO MONTREAL: From international bestselling author Eva Jurczyk, 6:40 TO MONTREAL is a claustrophobic, deceivingly bloody thriller that follows Agatha as she uses one day on the famous six-hour morning train from Toronto to Montreal as a mini writing retreat to finish her novel. No WiFi, no distractions. And no way out... Agatha’s husband has bought her a first-class ticket on the scenic six-hour train from Toronto to Montreal as a gift - a one-day writing retreat so she can get some serious work done on her new book, a highly-anticipated follow-up to Agatha’s runaway bestseller debut novel. The first-class car is the perfect place to be productive, with only a handful of other passengers, plenty of snacks and drinks, and beautiful views flying by outside the window. But Agatha has other plans for her day out. . . plans that are unexpectedly derailed when the train breaks down in the middle of the frigid Canadian woods and one of Agatha’s fellow passengers dies quietly in his seat. Soon, a pleasant morning in transit turns into a fight for survival against an unknown and unseen enemy. Will Agatha--or any of the passengers--make it out alive? Eva Jurczyk was born in a mining town in Poland and wound up halfway around the world in a Canadian city that often masquerades as New York in the movies. As her day job, she buys books, building library collections for the University of Toronto Libraries. She travels to Paris whenever the wind is good but currently lives with her husband, son, and collections of books in Toronto, Canada. Pre-order my new novel, Definitely Thriving, coming March 17 from House of Anansi Press This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kerryreads.substack.com/subscribe

    29 min
5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

A short form podcast in which authors of new books enthuse about the old books that inspired their works. kerryreads.substack.com

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