Q&A with Michael O'Donnell

  

 

 

Michael O'Donnell is the author of the new novel Concert Black. He also has written the novel Above the Fire. Also a book critic and an attorney, he lives in the Chicago area. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Concert Black, and how did you create your characters Ellen Wroe and Cecil Woodbridge?

 

A: Long before I started writing books, I wrote about books. I have been a book critic for over 20 years, and biographies are my favorite.

 

I have read countless stories about the tension that often arises between a biographer and a subject. The biographer wants to tell the whole story—particularly the juicy bits. The subject wants to shape a legacy and present their best side.

 

John Le Carré’s biographer Adam Sisman went so far as to publish a second book after Le Carré died, filled with all the things he wasn’t allowed to say while the famous novelist was alive.

 

It seemed to me that the relationship between biographer and subject provided a perfect opportunity for drama. But I decided to raise the stakes somewhat, beyond the prickly tango that ordinarily exists.

 

Instead of the usual questions of legacy and competing agendas, I gave my character a secret. And not just any secret, but something that would ruin him if his biographer discovered it and put it in her book.

 

To create the conductor Cecil Woodbridge, I drew on my years as a music student and the huge egos and personalities I encountered in the conservatory setting.

 

To create the biographer Ellen Wroe, I worked in some of my own habits as a writer—the drive and self-discipline that this job requires—and also drew on some of the fierce and powerful women in my life.

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between the two?

 

A: Tense. The opening scene between them, as Wroe seeks to win Woodbridge’s blessing for the project, establishes their relationship. They trade the initiative back and forth.

 

Both are formidable—Woodbridge in a showy, ostentatious way, and Wroe in a manner that is less demonstrative but equally forceful. She is at the height of her powers, whereas his are waning, at the end of a long and successful career. Neither suffers fools.

 

Each makes the mistake of underestimating the other at various points in the story. By the end of the novel, they’ve fully got each other’s number.

 

Q: The Booklist review of the novel called it a “compelling, beautifully crafted story of the human costs of ruthless ambition and flawed genius.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: It is a flattering endorsement and I’m grateful for it. I do think the emphasis on ruthless ambition is right—that’s a key theme of the book.

 

I once heard Trent Reznor, the creative force behind Nine Inch Nails and now a highly regarded film composer, give a really thoughtful interview about the anxiety and regret that comes with achievement.

 

In order to get to the top of a field or art form, sometimes you step on others along the way. Looking back, Reznor said, you ask: was it worth it? Then again, you might think, would I be here if I hadn’t been a little ruthless?

 

Readers will apply those questions to both Wroe and Woodbridge and come to their own conclusions.

 

Q: How did you research the novel, and did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: My favorite part of the research was a trip to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where Woodbridge studies the cello as a young man. The staff there helpfully showed me around the parts of the beautiful facility that existed during the postwar years.

 

Being there gave me countless details that made their way into the book. For example, my eye caught the tilework on the floor in the building’s lobby, which a character traces with the toe of his shoe while waiting for his date.

 

I also spent some time across the street at St. Marylebone Parish Church, which was bombed and partially destroyed during the blitz.

 

One of the themes of the novel is the value of art and how much we should be willing to sacrifice in its pursuit. Seeing the church and reading about its five-year restoration helped cast that issue into stark relief.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am working on a new novel, and the writing is going well. It’s not quite ready for prime time, and I don’t want to jinx it by discussing it before it is fully formed. But I will be excited to share it with readers soon!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: There is a fantastic audiobook of Concert Black narrated by the great Simon Vance. As you know, the novel has American characters, as well as British, Irish, Scottish, and Hungarian ones. The demands on a narrator are therefore considerable in terms of character accents.

 

But, true to his reputation as one of the best narrators in the business, Simon did an outstanding job. His performance is urbane, suave, funny, heartbreaking, and—at the right moments—full of delicious poison. For those who love audiobooks, this one is a real treat.

 

And finally, thank you, Deborah, for all you do to spotlight your fellow writers and help us connect with readers! Your author Q&As are fantastic, and I’m proud to participate.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Joel Holland and David Dodge

  

Joel Holland

 

 

 

Joel Holland and David Dodge are the creators of the new book NYC Street Vendors: Food Trucks, Coffee Carts, Market Stalls, and More. Their other books include NYC Storefronts. They both live in New York City. 

 

Q: What inspired you to create NYC Street Vendors?

A: This is the third book we’ve worked on together, and it felt like a natural evolution of the series. The first two books focused on brick-and-mortar small businesses in Manhattan. Street vendors are arguably the city’s most visible small businesses, so focusing on them felt like a natural step.

 

We’ve always thought of these books as a celebration of small businesses, and street vendors are the smallest of the small. They’re also deeply tied to the identity of the city—so it felt like an obvious, and important, next step.

David Dodge

 

Q: How did you choose the vendors to include in the book?

 

A: This was definitely the hardest part! There are roughly 23,000 street vendors in New York City, and we could only include 150.

 

We started with the ones we personally know and love, but quickly realized that wouldn’t be enough to capture the full picture. So we expanded outward, leaning on our personal networks, crowdsourcing suggestions online, and doing a lot of independent research.

 

One challenge is that, unlike brick-and-mortar businesses, many street vendors don’t have much of an online presence, so finding some of them and learning their stories took a bit more work.

 

While the end result is by no means a comprehensive look at street vendors in New York, we tried to do our best to showcase the breadth and diversity of street vendors in New York. That included food vendors, who make up the vast majority, around 20,000 of the 23,000 total, and who come from roughly 60 different countries.

 

But interestingly, there are many others the city classifies as vendors, including street performers, artists, chess players, Elmo and Elsa in Times Square, and preachers — people who are selling art of a type of service and are just as much a part of the street ecosystem.

 

Ultimately, to be included in the book, we had two main criteria: the subject needed to have something visually interesting for Joel to draw, and there needed to be a compelling story behind it for David to write about. A lot of favorites didn’t make it simply because they didn’t meet both.

 

Q: Were the illustrations created before the text or vice versa—or were they created simultaneously?

 

A: The process has evolved across the three books. For the first Manhattan book, it really started as Joel’s passion project. During COVID, he began drawing his favorite storefronts and posting them online as a way to bring attention to small businesses that were struggling.

 

That caught the attention of our editor, Ali Gitlow from Prestel, who suggested turning it into a book. She then brought David in to write the text. So that first book is very much an homage to Joel’s personal favorites, many of which he had already illustrated.

 

For the Brooklyn and Street Vendors books, however, we didn’t have a stockpile of Joel’s drawings to start from. So the three of us (Joel, David, and Ali) suggested our favorite places, gathered recommendations through our networks, crowdsourced ideas online, and researched additional ones.

 

Once we landed on a list, David would first make sure there was enough to write about before Joel would move forward with his drawings.

 

Q: What do you think the book says about street vendors in New York City?

 

A: At its core, the book is a celebration of small businesses, of street life, and especially of immigrant entrepreneurship. About 96 percent of street vendors in New York City are immigrants, so you really can’t tell the story of street vendors without telling a story about immigration and the incredible diversity immigrants bring to the city.

 

We hope the book helps people recognize how central these vendors are to daily life. Everyone has their go-to coffee cart, fruit stand, halal cart, or lunch spot. These are relationships we all build as New Yorkers over years, and this book ideally will give readers a deeper look into their livelihoods.

 

At the same time, it’s impossible to ignore the challenges vendors face. Up until the end of last year, New York City only allowed 6,880 permits for mobile food vendors and 853 licenses for general merchandise vendors — despite there being 23,000 in the city.

 

That means roughly 65 percent of street vendors were forced to operate without a permit. For many, fines became just a cost of doing business. That tension—between how essential vendors are and how precarious their work can be—is part of the story too.

 

The book is coming out at a particularly meaningful moment, though. After decades of organizing, led by the Street Vendor Project, a community organizing group founded in 2001 made up of over 2,000 street vendors, New York City is now in the process of expanding the number of available permits significantly. Within a few years, there will be 27,000 food vendor permits.

 

It’s a major shift, and it felt important to capture this community at a moment when things may finally be changing in a positive way.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Nothing formally in the pipeline at the moment, but we’ve loved working on this series together and definitely hope to continue collaborating in the future.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Like the previous books, this is really meant to be something you can carry with you and engage with the city differently. We hope readers will discover something new and seek them out, or learn something new about some vendors you might frequent or pass by every day.

 

And, in keeping with the spirit of the project: if you do pick it up, we’d always encourage buying it from a local bookstore.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

May 9

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

May 9, 1951: Joy Harjo born. 

Q&A with Bex Hogan

  

 

 

Bex Hogan is the author of the new young adult novel Owl King. It's the second in her Faery Realms series, following Nettle. She lives in Cambridgeshire, UK. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Owl King, and how did you create your characters Lyla and Ilsette?

 

A: When I was working on Nettle, the first book in the Faery Realms series, I would sit mesmerized by the birds coming to my window feeder. It reminded me of the frequent roles that birds played in the traditional fairytales that I was raised on, and I knew then that they would be an important part in my next faery book.

 

Two of my favourite stories from Grimm’s Fairy Tales - "The Juniper Tree" and "Aschenputtel" - both have birds central to the plot, which I had always loved.

 

There was also a local legend in the village I grew up in, about an owl man. He was said to be half-man, half-owl, with piercing red eyes, and was seen flying over the ancient church on the headland. So he definitely was a part of the inspiration for the Owl King himself!

 

As for Lyla and Ilsette, I had wanted to write about the relationship between sisters for a while, having two daughters of my own. I wanted the love story at the heart of the book to be that of sibling love rather than the romantic kind, as it’s such a unique and strong bond.

 

Q: How would you describe the relationship between this novel and your book Nettle?

 

A: Owl King absolutely isn’t a sequel to Nettle, but they are part of the same series, set in the same world. With Owl King I wanted to take the landscape I’d begun to create in Nettle and expand it, because a world as magical as Faery shouldn’t be just one thing.

 

So this is very much a continuation, to develop the history of the realms and introduce new rules – for example, the faeries in the Realm of Never Moon can transform into birds, which the faeries in Nettle cannot.

 

There are little nods to the previous book in this one, but you can read them in whichever order you prefer, as they are both standalone stories.

 

Q: How did you originally create the world in which the novels are set? 

 

A: I grew up in Cornwall, which is in the southwest of the UK. It is a small county, filled with a unique beauty. I think spending so many years surrounded by its natural magic has profoundly shaped me as a writer, and absolutely made imagining a faery world easy.

 

When I picture the Faery Realms, it is the untouched pockets of Cornwall I know, the ancient bluebell woods, thick with atmosphere and history. Or the wild moorland, dense with gorse and windswept trees.

 

I’m so fortunate to have grown up in such a beautiful place, and to have been so inspired by it. It makes my job far easier!

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: My main hope with any of my books is that my readers will enjoy themselves! My prime objective is always to spin a tale that allows them to escape to another world and lose themselves there for a while. It is what I love most about reading and hope others will have that same experience with my books.

 

Beyond that, I hope they will discover the power of nature, the strength of love, the importance of being yourself.

 

This is true of both Owl King and Nettle, as they feature similarly flawed yet determined protagonists, who make mistakes and don’t always have the answers. But they are guided by love as they navigate the dangerous unknown.

 

I wish I had been that brave when I was younger, and hope the books inspire young readers, who are in many ways travelling their own paths through dark forests.

 

Q: What are you working on now? 

 

A: I am busy with copyedits on Rowan, the third book in the Faery Realms series, which is coming out in the UK later this year. Beyond that, I’ve just finished drafting another YA fantasy which I’ve been working on in my spare time as a project just for me, and have another thousand ideas just waiting to be written!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: In my research for writing The Faery Realms, I’ve become somewhat obsessed with the history of fairytales. We think of retellings as something quite new, but when it comes to fairytales, they’ve been told and retold for centuries.

 

It’s fascinating seeing how they’ve changed and adapted for different audiences and cultures, and also discovering who told them originally – and for whom.

 

So if you have an interest in the tales we’re so familiar with, I encourage you to seek out their origins, and trace how they’ve evolved. You’ll never look at them the same again!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Maria Giesbrecht

  

 

 

Maria Giesbrecht is the author of the new poetry collection A Little Feral. She hosts the poetry community Gather. Born in Durango, Mexico, she lives near Toronto, Canada. 

 

Q: Over how long a period did you write the poems in your new collection?

 

A: Oh gosh, I’m terrible with keeping track of these kinds of things, admittedly. The oldest poem is well over five years old, and the newest one made it into the manuscript a week before I handed it in to my editor.

 

Q: How was the book’s title--also the title of the first poem in the collection--chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: When I write, I often sit at my desk well into the afternoon before I change out of my pajamas, especially if I’m really in a flow-state. My partner used to come to my office and joke that I was being “a little feral.”

 

Then, one day, during a walk in our neighborhood, we saw a car with the bumper sticker “a little feral” and had a lovely giggle. I wrote a poem about it, and all the ways in which I sometimes live my life in a sort of messy, defiant way.

 

Being a little feral, to me, signifies being awake. To be awake is to be a little feral. Feral defined as “in a wild state, especially after escape from captivity.”

 

Q: How did you decide on the order in which the poems would appear in the book?

 

A: I spent a few days alone in an Airbnb in a cute little town near me. I brought over 150 of my poems, printed out, with me. I spent a few days exploring which themes were coming through and which story arc I wanted to tell.

 

Once I firmed up the sections, it was a big, tiring game of Tetris, seeing where each poem clicked into place. I really needed the alone time to listen to what the poems wanted to say.

 

Q: The Foreword review of the book says, “With a tongue-in-cheek tone, the book ponders the value of breaking the rules when settling on a personal identity...” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love it. I believe living out a life that feels honest to you never comes without a cost. We must sacrifice something. For me, it was the comfort of a community that no longer supports us. I’m grateful that when I left the Mennonite community, I had the constant companion of words to guide me and hold me.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: This summer, I am working toward a first draft of a linked short story collection. My first story, “The Day of the Dog,” was a finalist in the 2026 Narrative Short Story contest, and I’m excited to build upon Chrissy’s world with more stories.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I will be touring North America in May, visiting Toronto, NYC, Minneapolis, Chicago, Seattle, Victoria, and Calgary. Tour dates can be found here. I love meeting folks in person, and would love to see you there!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Jill Rosenberg

  

 

 

Jill Rosenberg is the author of the new story collection Now I'm Photogenic and Other Stories I Tell Myself. She is a professor of creative writing at Montclair State University, and she lives in Montclair, New Jersey.

 

Q: Over how long a period did you write the stories in your new collection?

 

A: I wrote drafts of a couple of the stories in graduate school, which was over 20 years ago; the most recent story was written about three years ago.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: There’s a story in the collection called “Now We’re Photogenic,” and I thought that also made a nice title for the whole book, but because so many of the stories are about feelings of alienation, using a singular pronoun made more sense.

 

I also wanted to indicate that the title is somewhat ironic—I can’t imagine that any of my central characters would enjoy being photographed, and therefore, I doubt they’d be photogenic, but they might disingenuously claim to be.

 

I’m also interested in the way character is revealed through the stories we tell about ourselves, whether they’re true or not.

 

Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says, “Surreal images and emotional realities collide in this debut collection.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I’m pretty happy with it! I’m always reminding my students that surreality shouldn’t be employed simply to entertain. It should be used to spotlight aspects of reality that cannot otherwise be revealed—in particular, the emotional reality of being a real human in the real world.

 

Q: How did you choose the order in which the stories would appear in the collection?

 

A: I knew I wanted to start with “The Logic of Imaginary Friends” because I see that story as a Rosetta Stone for the collection, and I knew I wanted to end with “If I Could Have Anything, I’d Only Choose This” because that story is sad but ends on a really hopeful note, with a character summoning the kind of courage that I’d wish for all of my characters and for real struggling people too.

 

Everything in between I arranged the way I’d make a mix tape or playlist. I wanted one story to lead interestingly to the next, but I also wanted to highlight connections between the stories, so I tried to pair stories that have similar subject matter but a different emotional impact, or characters with similar traits who have very different experiences.

 

The stories are quite emotional and intense, so I wanted the experience to be a little like a roller coaster. I tried to strike a balance in which the troubling stories are offset with playfulness and fun. I hope I did that within each story as well.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m writing a memoir and revising a novel.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: There’s one anachronism in the collection which I’d like to confess. In “16 Days of Glory,” which takes place in the summer of 1984, the characters eat Ben & Jerry’s Super Fudge Chunk, but that flavor wasn’t released until 1985. I just really like the name Super Fudge Chunk.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with John Trautwein

  

 

 

John Trautwein is the author of the new book The Will to Live: How One Family Turned Tragedy into Healing, Hope, and Purpose. The book focuses on the death of his son Will. Trautwein is a former professional baseball player, and is an international business executive, motivational speaker, and co-founder of the Will to Live Foundation.  

 

Q: First of all, I’m so sorry for the loss of your son… 

 

Why did you decide to write this book?

 

A: From the day my son took his life, and throughout that first week, I started keeping a small notebook with me so that I could write down all the wonderful acts of kindness that I (and my family) was experiencing - they were truly incredible. 

 

It was such an awful, sad, and emotional time for me that I was afraid I would forget all these acts of kindness, so I started a journal. Over the first year, this continued, and as we started the Will To Live Foundation, my family and I kept experiencing these acts of kindness, and love and hope. 

 

It was about a year later, I realized I had the makings of a motivational story that could inspire people to understand the power they have to deliver hope to each other. I felt my story, our story, could not only inspire people, but at the same time, in a positive way, could raise awareness of teen suicide and mental illness.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: The Will To Live. This title simply represents what I have been trying to do since the day my son lost his will to live. I want to create a culture where it is “okay to not be okay,” and by doing so, people talk - and relationships improve - and our Will To Live Increases. 

 

This became the name of our foundation as well. It was perfect, it represented what we wanted to do, and it very subtly incorporated my son’s name into something that I was doing as part of his legacy.

 

Q: The journalist and author Dan Shaughnessy said of the book, “In The Will to Live, John Trautwein takes the emotions of loss and turns them into a message of awareness and hope.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: Dan’s description is exactly why I wrote the book. I wanted to raise awareness and deliver hope through our story.

 

Q: What impact did it have on you to write the book, and what do you hope people take away from it?

 

A: Writing the book was pure therapy to me. It made me “express,” it made me “talk about it.” Every day, it gave me “Will time” - it motivated me, it inspired me because I knew it was a very good thing I was doing and it would have a positive effect on people’s lives. It would make teens and their parents more aware of the fact that depression is common - and treatable and beatable.  

 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the power we have to deliver hope to each other.  Something I wanted the teens to understand, so they talk to each other - and parents to understand - that it is okay for us to not be okay - in fact it’s normal, so let’s talk. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: We are getting ready to launch the book - and at  the same time, I am very committed to the Will To Live Foundation and my speeches. This, coupled with a full-time job, keeps me busy!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: We have had great success with our “Life Teammates” message that resonates throughout both the book and our Will To Live Foundation. With my experience as an ex-major league baseball player and Division One college athlete, my message to athletes, their families, their coaches and administrators has been extremely well received and a key focus of mine today.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb