Kristin Hannah at Barnes & Noble

Kristin Hannah at Barnes & Noble

The first book I have read written by Kristin Hannah is Home Front, a brilliant novel about two women pilots in the National Guard dealing with deployments and the families they leave behind. It was so well-written, emotional and a real tribute to the men and women who serve their country.

I met Hannah on tour for that book and my blog post about that is here. Hannah's breakout novel was Firefly Lane, a novel that she said in a talk at the Barnes & Noble store on the Upper East Side last month that "changed my career and where I found my voice."

It was the first book she wrote in an all-female point-of-view. She said she wanted to try something different and she "fell in love with the book's characters and the journey of the novel." The book was a success, striking a chord with many readers who wanted to see a sequel.

But Hannah said that after spending the 14 months that it takes to research and write a novel, she is done with the characters. But Firefly Lane was different. She knew "there was more to the story." She ended up writing 1200 pages that she just threw in the trash, trying to find a voice for the sequel.

It was tough going; after 20 years, Hannah felt she had lost her confidence. Writing it "became an act of will" and in the end, it was "exactly what it was supposed to be." She said that "writing this book reminded me that it's hard."

She was most interested in Dorothy's story, but felt that she should write the story of Fly Away from three characters' perspectives- Dorothy, her daughter Tully, and Kate's daughter Marah.  My review of Fly Away  is here. My review of the first book, Firefly Lane is here.

When asked who Hannah likes to read, she said she likes genre fiction, and feels that she has "an epic fantasy novel" in her. She likes to read Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly, Tami Hoag and Chevy Stevens. She also reads YA and women's fiction; she's an eclectic reader for sure.

Kristin Hannah's website is here.
My review of Fly Away is here.
My review of Firefly Lane is here.