In the Bones by Tessa Wegert

A special thank you to the author, Tessa Wegert, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It’s almost summer in Cape Vincent, and as the heat rises, ex-professional ice hockey superstar Mikko Helle arrives, ready to move into his extravagantly renovated waterfront home. Mikko is 30, handsome, and wealthy. He’s a stranger in town. There’s no reason to suspect Mikko is anything other than he seems.

Local married mother-of-two Nicole Durham works her connections hard to get hired as his cleaner. She needs this job—and not just because of the money. Nicole is desperate to expose a secret, and she’s running out of time.

But when Nicole disturbs an intruder while cleaning, New York State Police Investigator Tim Wellington discovers that the luxury mansion is hiding its own unthinkable truth. Deep in the basement lie the bones of a young woman, identity unknown.

The celebrity athlete. The local. The thief. Everyone is hiding something—but someone in the North Country’s a ruthless killer, and one of the three knows exactly who it is. 

The arrival of a celebrity athlete on a remote peninsula in New York’s Thousand Islands unearths dark and deadly buried secrets in this heart-pounding blend of suspense and mystery, the first in the new North Country series—Agatha Christie meets Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley. Although In the Bones can be read as a standalone, reading the Shana Merchant series not only provides the atmospheric escape of a thriller, but it offers insight into many of the characters. This background information fully fleshes out the cast only for Wegert to yank the table cloth right out from under the reader without disturbing the masterfully crafted plot. Highly recommend!

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TESSA WEGERT is the critically acclaimed author of the Shana Merchant mysteries, as well as the North Country series. Her books have received numerous starred reviews and have been featured on PBS and NPR Radio. A former journalist and copywriter, Tessa grew up in Quebec and now lives with her husband and children in Connecticut, where she co-founded Sisters in Crime CT and serves on the board of International Thriller Writers (ITW).

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Q & A with Tessa Wegert*

GWR: How did you start writing/become a writer?  

TW: I grew up in a house packed to the gills with books, so I fell in love with reading and creative writing early on. For a long time I focused on short stories, and got so into it that I won some awards, but I didn’t attempt to write a novel until I had two little kids (perfect timing, right? Ha!). The first book I wrote, which was a speculative thriller, got me my first agent, but it took several more years and practice books for me to land a contract. The timing was very lucky...I’d written an homage to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, and it went on submission just as the contemporary locked-room mystery craze was starting to gain steam. That mystery—called Death in the Family—was picked up in a two-book deal, and it ended up kicking off the Shana Merchant series, of which there are now six instalments. 

GWR: What does your writing process look like? How many hours a day do you write? Are you a pantser/gardener or a plotter/architect?

TW: Honestly, it’s a mixed bag. I write almost every day, but the timing and location vary, so while I try to get a few hours in every morning, I’ll also type up scenes while sitting in the rink during my son’s hockey practice, while I’m waiting for dinner to finish cooking, or at midnight when the house quiets down. I always have an initial outline, but have found over the years that my stories benefit from a more flexible approach. With several books, I’ve changed the identity of the killer within days of my deadline, and I think that made the mystery more unexpected (if I don’t know whodunit until I’m in deep, the reader isn’t likely to know either). 

GWR: How do you decide what point to start the story at and how much detail you’re going to provide?

TW: I aim to start the story when the action’s about to ramp up—like with The Coldest Case, which starts with a woman arriving by snowmobile at the police station to report a man missing from an isolated island, or In the Bones, which begins with a woman stalking a celebrity hockey player who’s about to move into his summer home. When it comes to decisions about details, I like to withhold quite a few of those to keep readers in suspense. There’s enough action that they’re engaged and curious, but they don’t have all the puzzle pieces quite yet. 

GWR: What draws you to darker themes? Why thrillers?

TW: I’ve grappled with this question a lot, and I think it comes down to fear. Writing mysteries and thrillers lets me channel my darkest fears and anxieties into a medium I can control, which is pretty cathartic. I’m also really curious about people and what makes them tick. Thrillers are risk-free escapism, and they pull back the curtain on the facets of human nature that we don’t always get to see. 

GWR: In the Bones is told from multiple points of view and feature familiar characters from the Shana Merchant series.  Were you consciously allowing readers to see Shana through a different lens? And what was it like to get inside those supporting characters’ heads? 

TW: This was such a fun book to write, because it’s the first in what’s essentially a spinoff series. It was definitely a conscious decision to diverge from Shana’s point of view, which is what you get with books in the Shana Merchant series, and provide a fresh perspective on her life and world. In the Bones allowed me to dig into secondary and new characters in a way that I couldn’t when I was in Shana’s head. I loved telling this story through disparate voices, and making decisions about who would reveal key aspects of the plot. 

GWR: Your books are set in the Thousand Islands and have a small-town vibe that is as claustrophobic as it is atmospheric. What role does setting play when constructing a mystery?

TW: Setting is hugely important to me, to the extent that I always start a book with atmosphere and mood rather than plot and let the setting drive the story. I’m so jealous of those writers who can visualize a twist before writing the first word! Typically, I see the crime—which is closely linked to setting—long before I know the killer, and the solution reveals itself as I get to know the characters and their motives. The Thousand Islands region is the gift that keeps on giving, because there are so many places where an interesting story stepped in local culture and socioeconomic dynamics can play out. So far, I’ve centered mysteries around priceless private island, controversial wind farms, street festivals that attract hordes of tourists, a tiny icebound community, and a waterfront home with a deadly secret, and there are so many more places I have yet to go.

GWR: What’s the one element of a thriller that is a must?

TW: High stakes, whether physical, emotional, or moral. Readers need to feel that turn of the screw and sense the danger mounting. The action and pressure has to be earned, though, so if I could add a second must-have, it would be a believable motivation. 

GWR: How do you write an effective red herring when you are so close to the material?

TW: The most effective red herrings are the ones that aren’t just surprising to readers but also throw the protagonist off kilter as they experience suspicion, betrayal, and doubt. I look for candidates among the cast of credible suspects I’ve written, and count on beta readers to confirm that the strategy worked. It’s all about misdirection and withholding just enough. Mystery and thriller readers can be pretty brilliant, so I have my work cut out for me.

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

TW: Ooh, I love this question (and researched the heck out of it, haha). In the Bones would be a Death in the Afternoon, which was apparently created by Hemingway. It’s made with absinthe and champagne: cryptic and bold, with an intense finish. 

GWR: What are you working on now?

TW: I’m currently drafting Book Two in the North Country series! It involves cross-border drug smuggling and a high-profile missing persons case, and it’s due to release in late 2026. 

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.

In the Weeds by B. K. Borison

A special thank you to the author, B. K. Borison, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Evelyn St. James isn’t the kind of woman you forget.

Beckett Porter certainly hasn’t. One incredible weekend in Maine, and he’s officially a man distracted. He’s not unfamiliar with hot and heavy flings. He knows how it goes. But Evie wove some sort of magic over him during their tumble in the sheets. He can’t stop thinking about her laugh. Her hand pressed flat against his chest. Her smiling mouth at his neck.

Also, her eyes. And her legs. 

So when she suddenly appears on his farm as part of a social media contest, he is…confused. He had no idea that the sweet and sexy woman he met at a bar is actually a global phenomenon: social media influencer Evelyn St. James. When she disappears again, Beckett resolves to finally forget her and move on. 

But Evelyn St. James has a problem. 

Feeling disconnected from her work and increasingly unhappy, she’s trying to find her way back to something real. She returns to the last place she was happy, Lovelight Farms and the tiny town of Inglewild. 

It has absolutely nothing to do with the hot farmer she spent two incredible nights with. 

Nothing at all. 

Borison's follow-up to Lovelight Farms is a second-chance romance about finding one's own happiness and worth. 

Evie is a workaholic that is struggling in her daily life with balance and burnout. Beckett is surrounded by strong women—his mom, his sisters, Stella, and Layla—but even with the emotional depth this allows him, he has trouble voicing his wants. There is an added layer of vulnerability that comes through in his love for animals and how social settings are a bit much for him (cue the earmuffs).      

Borison's writing is quiet and unassuming. It literally creeps up on you and envelopes you in a giant hug—which is what you will want to do with this book when you finish it. Besides a few missteps with punctuation, it is hard to believe that she isn't a seasoned author and is self-published. 

In the Weeds is a second-chance romance is about finding one's own happiness and worth. It is sweet, steamy, and sexy. A total smash! 

B. K. BORISON started writing in the margins of books when she was in middle school and hasn't stopped. Lovelight Farms was her debut novel.

Borison lives in Washington D.C. with her sweet husband, vivacious toddler, and giant dog. 

The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman

A special thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and Edelweiss for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Owens family has been cursed in matters of love for over three-hundred years but all of that is about to change. The novel begins in a library, the best place for a story to be conjured, when beloved aunt Jet Owens hears the deathwatch beetle and knows she has only seven days to live. Jet is not the only one in danger—the curse is already at work.

A frantic attempt to save a young man’s life spurs three generations of the Owens women, and one long-lost brother, to use their unusual gifts to break the curse as they travel from Paris to London to the English countryside where their ancestor Maria Owens first practiced the Unnamed Art. The younger generation discovers secrets that have been hidden from them in matters of both magic and love by Sally, their fiercely protective mother. As Kylie Owens uncovers the truth about who she is and what her own dark powers are, her aunt Franny comes to understand that she is ready to sacrifice everything for her family, and Sally Owens realizes that she is willing to give up everything for love.

Master storyteller Alice Hoffman revisits the Owens family in her spellbinding conclusion to the Practical Magic series. Hoffman's writing is bewitching and unforgettable, as are her characters—they are vivid, incredibly crafted, and fully fleshed out. 

Magical. Beautiful. Mesmerizing. Steeped in the history of witchcraft, The Book of Magic is a stunning celebration of mothers and daughters, sisters and brothers, and anyone who has ever been in love. 

Complete with magical recipes, conflict, and witchcraft, this gift of a novel can be read as a standalone, but you will want to devour all of the books in the series. Hoffman is at her finest and you will be under her spell. 

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ALICE HOFFMAN has a BA from Adelphi University and an MA in creative writing from Stanford University.

Hoffman's first novel, Property Of, was written at the age of twenty-one, while she was studying at Stanford, and published shortly thereafter by Farrar Straus and Giroux. Since that remarkable beginning, Alice Hoffman has become one of our most distinguished novelists. She has published over thirty novels, three books of short fiction, and eight books for children and young adults.

Her novel, Here on Earth, an Oprah Book Club choice, was a modern reworking of some of the themes of Emily Bronte’s masterpiece Wuthering Heights. Practical Magic was made into a Warner film starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. Her novel, At Risk, which concerns a family dealing with AIDS, can be found on the reading lists of many universities, colleges and secondary schools. Hoffman’s advance from Local Girls, a collection of inter-related fictions about love and loss on Long Island, was donated to help create the Hoffman Breast Center at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA.

Hoffman has written a number of novels for young adults, including Aquamarine, Green Angel, and the New York Times bestseller The Ice Queen. In 2007 Little Brown published the teen novel Incantation, a story about hidden Jews during the Spanish Inquisition, which Publishers Weekly has chosen as one of the best books of the year.

Her works have been published in more than twenty translations and more than one hundred foreign editions. Hoffman's novels have received mention as notable books of the year by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, Library Journal, and People Magazine. She has also worked as a screenwriter and is the author of the original screenplay “Independence Day,” a film starring Kathleen Quinlan and Diane Wiest. Her teen novel Aquamarine was made into a film starring Emma Roberts. Her short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe Magazine, Kenyon Review, The Los Angeles Times, Architectural Digest, Harvard Review, Ploughshares and other magazines.

She currently lives in Boston and New York. 

Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce

A special thank you to to Simon & Schuster Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.  

London, November 1941. Following the departure of the formidable Henrietta Bird from Woman’s Friend magazine, things are looking up for Emmeline Lake as she takes on the challenge of becoming a young wartime advice columnist. Her relationship with boyfriend Charles (now stationed back in the UK) is blossoming, while Emmy’s best friend Bunty, still reeling from the very worst of the Blitz, is bravely looking to the future. Together, the friends are determined to Make a Go of It.

When the Ministry of Information calls on Britain’s women’s magazines to help recruit desperately needed female workers to the war effort, Emmy is thrilled to be asked to step up and help. But when she and Bunty meet a young woman who shows them the very real challenges that women war workers face, Emmy must tackle a life-changing dilemma between doing her duty and standing by her friends.

A light and endearing read, Yours Cheerfully is the second book in the Emmy Lake Chronicles. Pearce deftly balances the struggles and brutality of war with lightheartedness and wit. It is a glimpse into the realities and challenges women faced during wartime.  

Pearce's expressions and capitalization of phrases such as "The Unfortunate Hiccup" or "In It Together" both punctuates her points and is a compliment to the 1940s. Her characters are vivid, endearing, and just plain likeable. Pearce pays homage to the women of this time—their spirit, their unwavering support, and how they stepped up wherever they were needed while their men were away.  

Yours Cheerfully is equally as charming and enjoyable as Dear Mrs. Bird. It is a delightful and humorous read about the women on the homefront and the importance of female friendship.   

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AJ PEARCE studied at the University of Sussex and Northwestern University. A chance discovery of a 1939 women’s magazine became the inspiration for her international bestseller, Dear Mrs. Bird, the first novel in The Emmy Lake Chronicles series. 

Pearce lives in the south of England.

Shed No Tears by Caz Frear

A special thank you to Edelweiss and HarperCollins in exchange for an ARC for an honest review.

The discovery of a missing woman’s remains in a remote area of Cambridgeshire reignites a cold case. Six years earlier, confessed serial killer, Christopher Masters, lured four women to his house through an ad for a room for rent. He killed three of them, but the fourth, Holly Kemp, escaped and went missing. 

With the body being identified as the missing woman, Cat Kinsella and her partner, DS Luigi Parnell have been assigned to investigate the murder. But the evidence doesn’t line up—Kemp was killed in a different manner than the other victims and her body was found miles away from Masters’ house. It appears that someone else killed her and they will do anything to keep Kinsella and Parnell from solving the case.

Caz Frear’s latest instalment in the Cat Kinsella procedural is another gritty and compelling mystery. Meticulous in execution, Frear is exceptional with character development and plotting. Even in Cat's inner dialogue, there are subtleties which add more layers to the story.   

The characters are highly developed and well-written. Frear has an exceptional ear for dialogue—Cat and Luigi have such witty banter and I love DI Kate Steele. Why hasn’t this been optioned for TV?

The book begins in media res so I would definitely recommend reading the other novels in the series before this one. Unlike the other two books, this one can be a little confusing at times, but stick with it, it's worth it! 

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CAZ FREAR has a degree in History & Politics. When she’s not agonizing over snappy dialogue or incisive prose, she can be found shouting at Arsenal football matches or holding court in the pub on topics she knows nothing about. She is the author of three Cat Kinsella novels: Sweet Little Lies, Stone Cold Heart, and Shed No Tears.

Remain Silent by Susie Steiner

A special thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Detective Manon Bradshaw is now "married" (not legally) and happy to be part of the Cambridgeshire police force on a part-time basis in the cold cases department. This arrangement allows her to also be a mum to her toddler, Teddy, and her adopted teenage son, Fly. But things aren't as blissful as she envisioned them: she attends marriage counselling on her own because her husband, Mark Talbot, thinks that it would just be her "wanging on," there's meal planning, laundry, dishwasher emptying, and she's always exhausted because at 46, is feeling too old to chase after a toddler.

While out on a walk with Teddy, Manon discovers a body of a Lithuanian immigrant hanging from a tree with a mysterious note attached. One thing she knows for sure is that things are going to change. Manon finds herself back on force full-time to try to solve this case—is it suicide or could it be murder?

The story unravels through multiple perspectives. Steiner further develops her characters via their personal lives and relationships. Manon is layered, complex, and just plain endearing. Steiner writes her with such care—she is vulnerable and relatable. She is not only a good cop, but she's a mother that loves deeply, fiercely, and unapologetically.

When is this series going to be made into a TV show? I could totally see this as a dark copper drama like Luther or Broadchurch.  In fact, Davey reminds me of Justin Ripley from Luther.

The acknowledgements at the end of the book completely shattered me. Susie Steiner, I don't know if you will ever read this, but please know that you are an incredible talent and that it was my sincerest honour and privilege to have reviewed this book.

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SUSIE STEINER is a former journalist at The Guardian, where she worked as a commissioning editor for eleven years. Prior to that, she worked for The Times, the Daily Telegraph, and the Evening Standard.

Steiner lives in London with her husband and two sons.

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

A special thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This anticipated follow up features the now iconic, Olive Kitteridge, in a more reflective state in her life. It has been two years since her husband, Henry, died and Olive has started a new relationship with Jack Kennison, a widower. Strout uses this relationship status as a vehicle for Olive's observations on her life, and how her actions have caused stress in many of the most important connections in her life.    

Strout is simply a gift. Her writing is breathtaking, gorgeous, and heartbreaking. Revisiting Crosby, Maine, Strout once again draws on the small-town characters and their connections to Olive. Her works speak to the reader with her signature style of subtle nuances juxtaposed against the not-so-subtle, Olive. This book is a character study that is a feast for the reader.

Admittedly I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as Olive Kitteridge, but it was lovely to revisit the brutally honest and discontented, yet empathetic, Olive.

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ELIZABETH STROUT is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge; the #1 New York Times bestseller My Name Is Lucy Barton; The Burgess Boys, and New York Times bestsellers; Anything is Possible and Abide with Me. She has also been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize in England. Her short stories have been published in a number of magazines, including The New Yorker and O: The Oprah Magazine.

Strout lives in New York City.

Stone Cold Heart by Caz Frear

A special thank you to the author, Edelweiss, HarperCollins Canada, and Bonnier Zaffre Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After a brief stint in the Mayor's Office, 26-year-old Detective Constable Cat Kinsella is back at the  London Metropolitan Police’s Murder Investigation Team. She is on the hunt for the killer of Naomi Lockhart, a visiting Australian temp worker who was last seen alive at a party thrown by her boss, Kirstie Conner. Her flatmate, Kieran Drake, an ex-con turned personal trainer, made the gruesome discovery of Naomi's body in their living room.

The evidence points to Kirstie's brother-in-law, Joseph Madden, who Cat recognizes as the owner/barista from the coffee shop around the corner from the police station. Madden insists he's being framed because at the time of the murder he was with his wife. But when the police question Rachel, she contradicts his alibi.

As the force build their case against Joseph, Cat is the one assigned with investigating the Maddens. She knows one of them is lying—she needs to figure out which one while also struggling with her own relationship issues.

Frear explores the secrets we keep from those we love and the ones that we want to remain in the dark.

The second instalment of the Cat Kinsella series is another banger! Frear is meticulous with her execution and is exceptionally gifted with character development and plotting. Even in the passages of Cat's inner dialogue there are so many subtle nuances that add layers to the storyline and ratchet up the tension.

Frear's ear for dialogue is exceptional—Cat and Luigi have such witty banter and I love DI Kate Steele. Why is this series not a TV show? But the best part, Frear has left her readers with a cliffhanger. I can't wait for the next book!

CAZ FREAR has a degree in History & Politics. When she’s not agonizing over snappy dialogue or incisive prose, she can be found shouting at Arsenal football matches or holding court in the pub on topics she knows nothing about. Sweet Little Lies is her first novel.

An Evening with Fredrik Backman

Photo credits: Girl Well Read and Blue Heron Books. Do not use without written permission.

Fredrik Backman was interviewed by award winning author, Terry Fallis, at the historic Uxbridge Music Hall. The event that was put on by Blue Heron Books, along with HarperCollins Canada, was in support of Backman's latest work, Us Against You (the follow up to Beartown). 

Backman, a huge sports fan, grew up playing all sports except (ironically) hockey because logistically he couldn't get himself there with all the equipment and he was a "fragile" kid. That being said, he was always a spectator. 

When doing research for Beartown and Us Against You, he said that he talked to a lot of people coming from the perspective of being an outsider which allowed him to ask stupid questions. Backman also admitted that he has never driven a Zamboni and Falls informed him that it was a Canadian invention to which he quipped "of course it is...you invented ice." What's remarkable about these two novels is that Backman initially thought that a book about hockey wouldn't do well. The books are doing so well in fact, that they have been optioned by HBO Europe as a limited series. Beartown could actually be any rural town in Canada and hopefully North American fans of the series will also get to see the books adapted for the small screen.

The idea of escape is prevalent in both the novels and in the writer himself. The town is in a state of economic decline and the hockey team is at the centre of the town—sports helps them elude their economic and personal issues. Backman fell in love with sports and literature at an early age and that was his break from reality. He said that he is "reality impaired" and that his need to escape is real. He used the example of going to a movie where it is a social contract of sorts to escape, but in his writing and life, he uses sports as the vehicle in which to do so. Backman hopes that the emotions he had while writing the book come through while reading it.

Throughout the novel, there is the repeated use of the word 'bang.' This was a conscious effort on Backman's part to not only explore the noise itself, but to link elements of the story. He also wanted the reader to think about the sound all throughout the chapter to figure out what kind of bang it was that they thought they heard.

Were there 'bangs' that could be taken out?

"No, I liked the bangs," Backman said. Part of the reasoning was he wanted to be long winded/bore the reader with a repetitious sound and then blindside them. Grief, pain, and fear work better when you are not prepared.

Backman plays with prejudice—especially with the people that say they aren't prejudice or don't have any. For example, Ove is the same person throughout the book, it is the reader that changes. Backman lets your preconception form and then he plays around with it.

The Beartown books are about the best and worst parts of sports and sports culture—the black and white of sports fans and by extension, the black and white of masculinity. He wanted to write a book that shows why hockey is so important and "hits the hockey fan over the head 150 pages in." Although more serious than what he intended, Backman's books talk about relationships and emotions. His characters become real to him because he cares about them and he explored what was important to each one with the town being the main character.

The whole book is about community and people making bad choices because it is something that they love—it is logical to them. "What is a community? It is the sum of our choices."

Describe your writing process, what does that look like?

Fredrik said that there are a lot of perspectives living in his head. He takes various notes on his phone and has to have a beginning and an end to start.

There is a brief window after the reader finishes where the author still has their attention and Backman wants to leave them with something.

In Sweden, Backman says that the all-seeing narrator is frowned upon. He actually feels the opposite and says that the omniscient narrator brings forth some awesome truths and offers foreshadowing. In the Beartown books, he needed the foreshadowing to keep the reader interested and to sneak up on them. The narrator is the town insider and outsider. They hate the town, but would defend it to its death. He never names them, instead uses 'we' to conjure up a "sense of belonging and intimacy." A book is intimate because it is between the author and the reader.

His writes his books in his native Swedish and then they are translated.

What is your approach to using humour?

Backman admits to sometimes being misunderstood, but that if you find something funny, you are more likely to care. "You like people that make you laugh." He also went on to say that "if you're funny, you tend to also forgive." He's also doesn't trust the reader to keep interested so he uses humour as a way to engage and keep the reader vested in the story.

What are you working on?

There will be another Beartown book. (Yay!) He also wrote a book about an involuntary hostage situation at an open house that was just published in Sweden.

Us Against You 

Can a town that is already broken, survive more tragedy?

After a scandal rocks Beartown and leaves a town divided, the citizens are dealt another blow when they learn that their beloved junior hockey team will be dismantled. Hockey is what binds them together and brings meaning to the term community. The only people that are happy about this are the former Beartown players that now play for the rival team in Hed. Tension is at an all time high and things are starting to get dangerous.

A new team starts to form around the fastest player, Amat; the loner, Benji; and instigator, Vidar. Under a new and unlikely coach, the boys learn to grow together, breaking old bonds and forging new ones.

As the big game between Beartown and Hed approaches, the incidents between the towns are piling up and the hatred is growing stronger day-by-day. Can Beartown hockey and its residents be saved?

FREDRIK BACKMAN is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove (soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks), Beartown, and Us Against You. His books are published in more than forty countries.

Backman lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children.

The Graeme Simsion Project

Photo credit: Text Publishing and Girl Well Read.  Do not use without written permission.

Blue Heron Books and HarperCollins hosted an event to celebrate the release of Graeme Simsion's newest Rosie book, The Rosie Result.

Graeme was engaging and funny. He spoke about the series, his writing process, and the inspiration behind the Rosie novels. A question and answer period, as well as a book signing, followed.

The Rosie Project was originally written as a screenplay and it took Simsion about three weeks to write. Optioned to Sony Pictures, Graeme said that Ryan Reynolds is being considered for the role of Don Tillman. (Um...yes, please!)

In the original story, Don was a physicist and then was changed to be a geneticist. Also, the working title was The Clara Project but Graeme was trying to come up with something that sounded good with the word "project" and thought that the "ro" of Rosie sounded good with the "pro" of project. Had he realized the pronunciation outside of Australia, he would have called it The Laurie Project ("la-rie" and "pra-ject").

On writing as a person that is not autistic

Simsion spoke to the politically correct language: Tillman is a person with autism, not an autistic person. He thinks it is okay to write as though he was a person with autism—authors inhabit their characters. Also, his books have been embraced by the autistic community.

What is your idea of a successful novel?

"When it touches or changes people."

What is your greatest fear as an author?

"Causing harm."

Who are the characters you like the least?

"Gary (Blanche's father) is close to a villain as possible. He is an anti-vaxer."

Who is the character you most admire?

"Hudson."

Who are some writers that you admire?

Camus—The Plague; Hemmingway—when he was 20; John Irving—assured writer (he name checks him).

What is an occupation that you would most like to try?

"CEO of a small company."

eReader or print?

"Print. I have never done a book event from an eseller," Simsion admitted.

Grammatical error that bothers you?

Apostrophe—it's, its.

What is your favourite word?

"Serendipity."

What is your favourite cocktail?

"Margarita," Graeme said. Don Tillman keeps it simple—lots of ice with two parts liquor, one part lemon or lime, and one part sweet (simple syrup or liquor).

What are you working on next?

Simsion is writing a guide to meals: Don Tillman’s Standardized Meal System: Recipes and Tips from the Star of the Rosie Novels (forthcoming).

How did you conduct your research on autism?

Graeme spent thirty years in IT and Tillman is an amalgamation of the people he met—he used real people as his research. These people were probably never diagnosed, but looking back, Simsion says that they were definitely on the spectrum. It was important to him to not be offensive or to enforce any negative stereotypes.

In the original book, Clara was a nerd, and he wanted to make it more challenging so Rosie was born. Simsion's wife is a psychiatrist who helped mold Rosie and shape what kind of woman would be attracted to Don.

A common misconception of someone with autism is that they have a lack of empathy when in fact it is a communication issue. What was acceptable in Rain Man would not be tolerated today.

While writing, Simsion stayed away from anything with autism (The Good Doctor, The Big Bang Theory, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) except for Helen Hoang's book, The Kiss Quotient, or any novels he was asked to endorse.

The Rosie Result

Don Tillman and Rosie Jarman are about to face their most important challenge.

Their ten-year-old son, Hudson, is struggling at school: he’s socially awkward and not fitting in. Don’s spent a lifetime trying to fit in—so who better to teach Hudson the skills he needs?

The Hudson Project will require the help of friends old and new, force Don to decide how much to guide Hudson and how much to let him be himself, and raise some significant questions about Don’s own identity.

Meanwhile, there are multiple distractions to deal with: the Genetics Lecture Outrage, Rosie’s troubles at work, estrangement from his best friend Gene…

And opening the world’s best cocktail bar.

Hilarious and thought-provoking, with a brilliant cast of characters, The Rosie Result is the triumphant final installment of the much-loved and internationally bestselling Don Tillman trilogy.

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GRAEME SIMSION is a bestselling author of most notably, the Don Tillman trilogy. The first book, The Rosie Project, has been optioned for film by Sony Pictures, it was also a Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year and won the Australian Book Industry Association Book of the Year. The second book, The Rosie Effect was also a #1 Globe and Mail bestseller, an instant New York Times bestseller, and a People magazine Pick of the Week. Another of Simsion’s novels, The Best of Adam Sharp, has also been optioned by Toni Collette. He has also co-authored a book with his wife, Anne, called Two Steps Forward.

Graeme lives in Australia with his wife, Anne, and their two children.