Welcome, girlfriend April Henry, here to dish on her new book HAND OF FATE.
If Oprah invited you on her show to talk about your book, what would the theme of that show be?
Unintended consequences.
What was the most fun scene in your book to write? The most difficult?
The most fun was the crazy mayhem when downtown Portland was evacuated. The most difficult was what happened with Allison’s pregnancy
Do you have a muse, good luck charm, writing vice?
My vices are all not writing related. They usually involve food.
What do you write on (type of computer, or notebook, etc.) and where do you write?
On a MacBook Pro, often on my couch.
Have you had a “rock star” moment regarding your writing career? If so, what was it?
I was loading towels in the dryer when I got a call from our publisher. A bunch of folks were on a speaker phone yelling, “You’re on the New York Times bestseller list!” I jumped up and down and squealed and felt unreal – and then I kept putting towels in the dryer.
What do you do to celebrate your writing successes?
I am very bad about celebrating.
Describe your personality with five adjectives that would make your 5th grade English teacher proud.
Persevering, impetuous, assiduous, benevolent, convivial.
ABOUT HAND OF FATE:
When the host of a popular radio talk show is murdered, the suspects almost outnumber his millions of listeners.
Outspoken radio talk show host Jim Fate dies he opens a package and releases poisonous gas while his polarizing show, “The Hand of Fate,” is on air.
In the ensuing panic, police evacuate downtown Portland. Soon the triple threat of FBI Special Agent Nicole Hedges, crime reporter Cassidy Shaw and Federal Prosecutor Allison Pierce begin piecing together the madness, motive, and the mystery that lie behind Fate’s murder.
While Lis has worked with Bill O’Reilly for years (often serving as the voice of reason or his liberal foil, depending on your point of view), the character is NO WAY based on O’Reilly.
This is the second in the Triple Threat mystery series, which has been optioned for TV. The first, Hand of Fate, one was on the New York Times bestseller list for four weeks! And in April 2011, readers can look for Heart of Ice, which traces the path of a destruction left by a sociopath – and based on a real-life case Lis prosecuted.
About the authors
April Henry grew up in a little town in Southern Oregon where the main industries were timber and pears. When she was was 12, she sent Roald Dahl a short story she had written about a six-foot-tall frog named Herman who loved peanut butter. He not only wrote her back – he showed it to the editor of an international children’s author, who asked to publish it.
Since then, April has written nearly a dozen mysteries and thrillers for adults and teens, with seven more on the way. Look for her young adult thriller – Girl, Stolen – in October 2010.
Lis Wiehl is a former federal prosecutor who is now a legal analyst for FOX-TV.
What the critics are saying
“Exciting… readers will identify with these very real women as they try to uncover Fate’s killer, and each battles a personal demon—Allison her fear of miscarriage, Nic her fear of her daughter’s criminal father, and Cassidy her prescription drug addiction.”
–Publishers Weekly
“The second book by Wiehl and Henry featuring the Triple Threat Club ratchets up the excitement and suspense to another level. Realistic characters with authentic dilemmas will appeal to a wide array of mystery lovers.”
–Romantic Times, four stars
