And today, she still uses a low-tech strategy to crank out each tome.
Below, she answers EW’s burning book questions.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:What is the first thing ever that you remember writing?
Credit: Beowulf Sheehan; Custom House
I was proud of my little shelf of self-published books.
What is the last book that made you cry?
I havent had such a visceral response to a novel in a long time.
I am tempted to read this novel again to see if I can figure out how she does it.
Which book is at the top of your current To-Read list?
Next on my list is Isabel WilkersonsCaste.
Her previous book,The Warmth of Other Suns,is utterly brilliant.
Were in a radical time of transformation, in many ways.Castecould not be more relevant and timely.
Where do you write?
Now I can, and do, write at home.
Which book made you a forever reader?
What is a snack you couldnt write without?
Trader Joe’s Sea Salt & Turbinado Sugar Dark Chocolate Almonds.
If you could change one thing about any of your books what would it be?
I dont like rereading my books because Im always tempted to re-edit them.
When I was on tour forOrphan Train, some readers expressed dissatisfaction about a pivotal moment in the novel.
In the end, I dont know if it was a good idea.
Im not sure I should have done so.
I think many readers enjoy figuring things out on their own.
Maybe it wouldve been better to leave it alone.
What is your favorite part ofThe Exiles?
Im really happy with the ending of this novel.
In the last section, the story leaps ahead more than twenty years.
What was the hardest plot point or character to write?
The character of Mathinna was the most difficult to write.
When they returned to London from Australia several years later, they abandoned her.
She spent the rest of her life between two worlds, and drowned at the age of 17.
It was never determined whether her death was murder, suicide, or a drunken mistake.
Its complicated to write about real people whose lives ended long ago, their fates solidified.
I knew from the beginning that I did not want to depict the brutal final years of Mathinnas life.
Her story, in my novel, is hard enough.
Write a movie poster tag line for your book.
The (starred!)
