Q&A with Daniel Hurst

 

 

 

Daniel Hurst is the author of the novel The Doctor's Wife. His other books include Til Death Do Us Part. He is based in the UK. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Doctor’s Wife, and how did you create your characters Fern and Drew Devlin?

 

A: Whilst visiting Bowness-on-Solway, a remote part of Northern England on the border with Scotland, I had the idea for a couple who moved to a place like that from the city. I wanted the husband to have a secret reason for why he decided to make them move there, and the wife to seem like she was the naïve partner, when actually she wasn’t.

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between them?

 

A: Both of them are extremely clever and calculating and both feel like they are always one step ahead of the other. They used to make the perfect couple, him with his upstanding job and her being the glamorous wife, but behind their perfect facade, secrets and shocks lurk…

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: I had a vague idea, but am always open to exploring new possibilities within the story as I write it. All I knew was that I wanted some twists and turns as the story unfolded, to keep the reader, and the characters, guessing!

 

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

 

A: I hope they wrestle with the idea of whether Fern is a victim or not, and whether she deserves sympathy or disdain. She’s a very multifaceted character and it’s hard to say whether you will be on her side, or Drew’s!

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am writing a few short stories at the moment, which I plan to release at the end of the year. They are short, standalone psychological thrillers and the only thing I can say is that all of the stories have a huge twist at the end!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I originally intended for The Doctor’s Wife to be a standalone book, but due to its popularity in the UK, where it reached #1 in the Amazon Kindle Store upon release, the story has continued and now spans four books, soon to be five. My readers can’t seem to get enough of Fern and Drew!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Elizabeth Goodenough and Marilynn S. Olson

 

Goodenough

 

 

Elizabeth Goodenough and Marilynn S. Olson are the editors of the book What the Presidents Read: Childhood Stories and Family Favorites. Goodenough teaches at the University of Michigan, and Olson is a professor emerita at Texas State University. 

 

Q: What inspired you to create What the Presidents Read?

 

A: The idea hatched at the 2017 Children’s Literature Association conference in Tampa. After Marilynn Olson’s exciting talk on JFK and Billy Whiskers, Liz Goodenough approached her about collaborating on a book that would cover all of the presidents’ favorite books.

 

Q: How did you choose the material to include, and did you find anything that especially surprised you?

Olson

 

A: “What was your favorite book when you were a kid?,” a traditional question to ask American presidential candidates, has embedded many “favorites” in interview material and presidential memoirs. 

 

Letters and speeches also quote from stories presidents read as children: Aesop’s Fables often appears in this way. Some presidents advise children to read the books that were first valuable to them. Childhood books that presidents kept and wrote in as adults are also suggestive. 

 

LBJ’s name inscribed on the front of two early books changes from round elementary school letters to his later dashing presidential signature.

 

The book is organized around eight themes, so some presidents and first family members are represented more than once when they had “favorites” in more than one category. 

 

We divided chapters to identify youthful interests: history and geography; sports, games, play, and music; animal tales; oral recitations, speeches, plays heard or performed; instructive lessons valued later; newspapers and magazines (often more available than books); biographies and autobiographies of famous people; and fictional stories.

 

Everyone will have their own surprises. We loved thinking about Garfield trying to go to sea from rural Ohio because he had read the Jack Halyard story about a sailor boy. Fillmore may be forgotten as a president, but he established the first White House library in interesting ways.

 

Q: Do you see any particular trends as far as presidential reading is concerned?

 

A: For the presidents, a childhood book may represent a turn in the course of history. Their early reading can both reflect and instigate patterns and future trends.

 

Many presidential favorites are not current household names– some quite unknown to most people – but they were very popular in their culture. Rollin’s Ancient History, for example, explains how the founders, their families, and their fellow citizens thought about the world.

 

“Favorites” are a window into another time and electorate. Many presidents seemed to recognize early the things they’d need in the books they read.

 

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

 

A: That presidents and first ladies were real people and quite possibly not the people that we thought we knew.  That we can ponder and compare what we ourselves were like and the books we read as we imagine their different beginnings.

 

The profound influence of childhood reading and the importance of literacy to a democracy.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

EG: Teaching “Children Under Fire: Narratives of Sustainability” at University of Michigan. Writing to pinpoint how during the 19th century fairy tales and bird figures combined in a mystical understanding of the child as a spiritual communicator. Publishing James Munro Leaf’s poetry and prose, A Revolution of One (Atmosphere Press 2026).

 

MO: Researching an internationally known children’s outdoor game mentioned in the 18th century “first” children’s book by John Newbery, but pictured centuries before and still played today -- and also the relation of the Billy Whiskers series to the Oz books – both travel adventures that were rivals in the first decade of the 20th century.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: We arranged the book to be a browse with “choose your own adventure” page numbers at the bottom of the presidential passages that can be pursued to know more about the story.

 

The book can bring life to history or English teaching: we are within a few days of posting a chronological list of presidents and First Families with notes and special links for quick reference on our website: whatthepresidentsread.net

 

We hope the book helps teachers (and readers who are not browsers at heart). We would love to hear how its reception works out.

 

In a polarized world, everyone has been a child. Studying this universal experience and representations of childhood can offer a way to understand difference as we strive to live together in peace.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Tanya Harvey

 

 

 

 

Tanya Harvey is the author of the children's picture book 12 Days of Getting Ready for Christmas.  

 

Q: What inspired you to write 12 Days of Getting Ready for Christmas?

 

A: 12 Days of Getting Ready for Christmas was born out of a moment of joy in a family group chat. It was springtime, I had my corporate job had just come to an end, and it happened to be our turn to host Christmas.

 

As the messages poured in, I started jotting down all the little traditions we do every year — the often-forgotten (yet iconic) things like shoveling, untangling lights, or that annual one gift for you, one for me shopping trip.

 

I followed the spark, and the full first draft came together that very afternoon. What began as a playful list turned into a heartfelt, relatable Christmas story celebrating the real magic behind the holidays: the joyful chaos that brings families closer together.

 

Q: What do you think Chelsea Peters’ illustrations add to the book?

 

A: Chelsea Peters brought this story to life in the most magical way. I came into the process with a lot of ideas (possibly too many!), and she gently taught me that illustrations shouldn’t just mirror the words, they should expand the storytelling.

 

She layered in visual details that spark curiosity on every page and keep kids engaged with each reread. There are moments she captured that still make me tear up, and families tell me their children discover something new every time! That’s the kind of timeless quality I dreamed of.

 

Q: What are some of your other favorite holiday stories?

 

A: My girls love a good sing-along, so classics like Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer are on repeat at our house. But my personal favourite is Barbara Reid’s version of The Night Before Christmas. Her plasticine artwork is sculptural magic! Every page is a masterpiece I get lost in.

 

I love that her work reminds kids that creativity can take any form. It’s the perfect blend of classic storytelling and imaginative visual art that inspires children to bust out the Play-Doh with a new perspective.

 

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

 

A: I hope they feel that Christmas isn’t just about the big day — it’s about the whole season of togetherness. It’s the little rituals families repeat each year that become the memories we hold onto.

 

If kids can get involved in the preparations and find joy in each step along the way, then they’ll understand that the getting ready is just as special as Christmas morning.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: This is definitely my busiest season yet! I’m currently doing author signings, driving books to indie bookstores and toy stores, and shipping orders from my dining room like a very determined Christmas elf. Seeing this story land in the hands of families around the world has been magical.

 

Next, I’ll be animating my other children’s book, I’m Not Pooping — a humorous, supportive story for little ones struggling with potty training. I also have a few new picture book ideas drafted, and I’m excited to choose which two to bring to life next year.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Yes — the cat! The mischievous cat in the book is named Tyler, and he actually came with our house when we moved in. He’s grumpy, opinionated, and has very specific daily routines… and let’s just say he’s already inspiring ideas for a future children’s book of his own.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. This Q&A was conducted in partnership with Tanya Harvey. Enter this giveaway for a chance to win a festive prize package that includes a copy of 12 Days of Getting Ready for Christmas, a $100 gift card to your favorite bookstore, and a charming star treehopper to add some holiday sparkle to your home.

Q&A with Kerry Olitzky

 

 

Kerry Olitzky is the author of the new children's picture book Hamantaschen or Latkes?. Olitzky is a rabbi, and his many other books include Twist, Tumble, Triumph. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Hamantaschen or Latkes?

 

A: I have been intrigued by the pseudo-academic debates over which is better--hamantaschen or latkes--when I first witnessed one in the late 1970s. 

 

I was a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the debate was held at the Hillel Center at the University of Cincinnati, which was led at the time by my good friend Rabbi Abie Ingber.

 

One of the debaters was Dr Jonathan Sarna, who later became the leading American Jewish historian and, by the way, my doctoral advisor. Since I like to take difficult subjects or ideas and translate them into books for children, I thought the debate would be a great story line reimagined. 

 

The first debate was held at the University of Chicago in 1946 and has found its way in many iterations in many places since that time. 

 

Q: What are some of your favorite memories of eating those Jewish holiday foods?

 

A: We have always celebrated Jewish holidays in outsized ways in my immediate family--and this includes holiday foods, modes of dress and decorations. 

 

Each year, my wife experiments with different approaches to hamantaschen and latkes. We have our favorite family recipe with cream cheese chocolate filling although my most favorite remains poppy seed, which I consider to be the most authentic.

 

As for latkes, there are often carrot (with Indian spices), zucchini, sweet potatoes (probably my favorite), beets, and even chocolate. Especially now, I love it when my grandchildren are able to help with the holiday preparations.

 

Q: How did you create your characters Sandy and Zoe, and how would you describe the dynamic between them?

 

A: As an author, it is always difficult to sneak in people in my orbit into my books, especially as main characters. I consider it a challenge.

 

In this case, Sandy is my mother-in-law's name and Zoe is the name of one of my daughters-in-law. They have a loving relationship. In this book, Zoe and Sandy are peers--and have competitive personalities akin to sibling rivalry. 

 

Q: What do you hope kids take away from the story?

 

A: I wrote this story to be simply fun--part of the continuum of what might be called Jewish joy. Perhaps those who read it will begin to ask their family members which is better, or to stage a contest on their own.

 

It can be a great outreach event for Jewish communities--part of what I call Public Space Judaism, a term I coined some years ago when I was the executive director of the Big Tent Judaism (formerly the Jewish Outreach Institute).

 

I hope that the kids who read it might one day look back on the story and be motivated to participate in the great debate of Hamantaschen or Latkes?

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am always in the midst of numerous writing projects. In particular, my frequent writing partner (Deborah Bodin Cohen) and I are doing research on some Olympic and paralympic athletes in response to a call for manuscripts by PJ Library. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: There are many abstract ideas which we struggle with in Judaism. Rituals are often ways to concretize such ideas. The same goes for foods that are related to Jewish holidays. They represent bigger ideas. But more than anything else, they just taste good. And that is often enough!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Kerry Olitzky. 

Nov. 17

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Nov. 17, 1983: Christopher Paolini born.

Q&A with Carlo Rotella

 

 

Carlo Rotella is the author of the new book What Can I Get Out of This?: Teaching and Learning in a Classroom Full of Skeptics. His other books include The World Is Always Coming to an End. He is Professor of English at Boston College.

 

Q: What inspired you to write What Can I Get Out of This?

 

A: It's a book about what happens in the classroom, what it means, what value it has. In it I tell the story of one semester of one required freshman literature class. 

 

The semester is spring 2020, which started out as just another semester but was transformed by the covid pandemic in ways that obliged us to think hard about the value of school in general and face-to-face learning and teaching in the classroom in particular.

 

One of my main reasons for writing it is that the college classroom is a black box in our culture. There's no lack of strong opinions about what happens or doesn't happen there, but most of us tend to avoid the details. 

 

And yet many people who don't spend any time in classrooms are very sure that they know what's going on in there--from lowered standards to ideological indoctrination to failure to provide return on investment or equip young people for careers. 

 

So I thought it would be useful to open the black box and show some humans actually doing the humanities.

        

Also, I wanted to write about literature and about school in ways that do justice to the experience of people. Most writing about these subjects feels too abstract to me. But people's encounter with school and with literature is the opposite of that: it's immediate, full of feeling, often sweaty and uncomfortable. 

 

So I wanted to write a book about school and about the study of literature that was full of how humans feel. I did a lot of interviewing of my students to make sure that was possible.

 

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

 

A: A significant proportion of students in a required literature course start the semester regarding the interpretation of literature as sorcery or bullshit. So part of my job as a teacher was to show my students that this kind of analysis is a craft you can learn and master, like building a cabinet or planting a garden. 

 

That was part of moving them from their initial reaction to having to take the course, which was often Can I get out of this?, to adding one more word to that question: What can I get out of this? 

 

Q: The author Reeves Wiedeman said of the book, “Carlo Rotella has written a book about the art of teaching that doubles as a guide to being part of any community.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: Building classroom community has become much more important to me over the years. The cellphone and now AI have made college a lonelier experience than it used to be, and the pandemic accelerated the long-term waning of community on campus.  

 

While my students are generally more professional and accomplished than my generation of college students was, they are also more anxious and isolated. So I try to make the classroom a place where they feel not just free to speak but expected to speak, responsible for doing their part as a citizen. 

 

And the skills we're practicing in a discussion-based class--especially the delicate business of being a contributing member of the group without freeloading or taking over too much--are essential to belonging to all kinds of communities, from workplaces to families.

 

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

 

A: I hope that readers take away a fresh appreciation for just how much is going on in a classroom--not just between teacher and student or between student and student but in everyone's minds. 

 

One of the most important things to me in working on this book was to interview students in depth so that I could show a reader what's going on their heads. One of the many strange things about our national conversation about higher ed is that there aren't a lot of student voices in it, and I wanted to do something to put that right.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm writing a piece for The New York Times Magazine about teaching English in the age of AI. Then I have to decide what the next book is going to be about.  Maybe country music, maybe something else. Still thinking about that one.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Ben Yagoda

 

 

 

Ben Yagoda is the author of the new novel Alias O. Henry, which is based on the life of the writer O. Henry (1862-1910). Yagoda's many other books include O. Henry: 101 Stories. He lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

 

Q: As someone who has written about and studied O. Henry’s work, why did you decide to write a novel based on his life?

A: I started out with the idea of writing a biography of him, but in my initial research I discovered a biography from the 1950s, Alias O. Henry, by Gerald Langford, that was really good. Specifically, I didn’t feel that I could find out much more about O. Henry’s life than Langford had.

Meanwhile, I had started to read O. Henry short stories, and found I liked them, particularly the portrait they painted of New York City in the first decade of the 20th century.

The thought occurred to me to put the author—whose real name was William Sydney Porter—in that setting, use some of the facts of his life as tentpoles, try to work in variations on his actual stories, come up with answers for some of the questions that even Langford couldn’t answer, and see what came of it.

Along the way, I borrowed Langford’s title—I found I just couldn’t improve on it. 

Q: What did you see as the right balance between fiction and history as you wrote the novel?

A: It took a while to find the right one. I did a lot of research—both because that’s what I’m used to and enjoy doing, and as a way to procrastinate sitting down and making up stuff!—and when I finally did start to write, my challenge was to streamline the information about New York in this fascinating time to Goldilocks proportion: not too much, not too little, just right.

I hope and feel that in the final product, the characters complement the setting and vice versa.

Q: The Library Journal review of the book says, “O. Henry enthusiasts will get the literary references; however, intimate knowledge of his works isn't necessary to appreciate Yagoda’s clever irony, which pays homage to the master of the short story without attempting to overshadow him.” What do you think of that description?

A: What’s not to like?! It’s true that quite a few of O.Henry’s short stories show up in the novel, including his most famous one, and it was fun to come up with plausible origin stories for them.

As that review says, you don’t have to know the stories to enjoy the novel. But I hope the book sends readers back to the source, and possibly to an anthology I edited for the Library of America, O. Henry, 101 Stories.

Q: What do you see as O. Henry’s legacy today?

A: In his prime, he was probably the most popular short story writer in the country, but he fell out of favor not long after his death in 1910. Stories that relied on plot, not to mention the twist endings he specialized in, came across as old-fashioned, as did the sentimentality he sometimes displayed.

He’s still assigned in middle school and high school English classes, but that’s limited to a handful of his stories, notably “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Ransom of Red Chief.” But I hope the novel and the anthology will bring more readers to his work, which at its best is very sharp and often funny.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: A book about irony. No joke.

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: I wish I could supply an O. Henry-esque twist at the end, but I think that about covers it.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb