And our Sue's Clues Mystery Author is:

Kristin Hannah is our Mystery Author this round. She is the author of the new women's fiction book, TRUE COLORS. After you are done reading her interview below, visit her at her website http://kristinhannah.com/content/index.asp and her blog at http://kristinhannah.com/blog/index.asp.

Thank you, Kristin!

1. I love the tradition I read about on your website of your family had of giving the kids a book each Christmas eve. Is there any one book you remember getting the was an especially favorite gift?

It was really wonderful, and definitely something I wanted to pass along with my own son. As far as particularly memorable Christmas Eve books, I would say: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Lord of the Rings boxed set, Stephen King's The Stand, and several of the Oz books.

2. How exciting that Hallmark will be featuring FIREFLY LANE for a national contest! How can our readers get involved?

I'm not sure precisely how the Hallmark promotion is working. I do know that they'll be selecting a winning book club and I'll be visiting their discussion. How cool is that? I'm really excited about it. In the past year, I've spoken to dozens of book clubs and it's been a blast. If people are interested, I suggest they go to the Hallmark site and sign up.

I'll look forward to meeting the winning club... .

3. And if Hallmark is this interested, any chance of a Hallmark movie coming about? How cool would that be?

Totally cool! As a huge movie fan, I must admit I'd love to see my characters come to life on the big—or the small—screen. *Fingers crossed*

4. Obviously, FIREFLY LANE is getting huge notice. It must be rather amazing to hear the impact your book has on others. Are there any particular reader reactions that stick out to you?

The reader response to FIREFLY LANE has been amazing, unexpected, and humbling. It has turned out to be a book that really impacts readers' lives, and I'm really proud of that. Especially since, as many people know, it's a very personal story to me. It really seems to make women think about the girlfriends and women who have had the most profound impact on their lives. I hear all the time that women finished the book and immediately called their best friend. I couldn't ask for a better response.

5. Your newest release is TRUE COLORS. Can you tell us about it?

TRUE COLORS is to sisters what FIREFLY LANE was to girlfriends. In other words, this is a big, juicy, emotional story about how important sisters are to each other. It starts out with the Grey sisters, who have always been close...or they think they have. In truth, their father has caused waves of jealousy to simmer beneath the surface of their lives, and when a stranger comes to town, those waves turn into a tsunami. It's a book about how sisters can hurt and heal each other, and about how easy it is to make bad decisions when your emotions are involved. Part legal thriller, part coming of age story, TRUE COLORS is probably the most romantic story I've written in years.

6. Your books are written on such emotionally based plots, it must be pretty draining to write them. Are you exhausted when you are finished?

I am exhausted when I'm finished, but I'm also exhilirated. I've lived with these characters, and these emotional issues for more than a year by the time I write "the end," and to be honest, I'm usually ready to let them go. I've said everything I have to say about that time in their lives. Although, on rare occasions, I do find myself looking back at a few special characters and wondering what they'd be up to now...

7. What is next? Any works in progress?

I am just editing the book for 2010. I can't say much about it yet, except that it's really different for me, and I can't wait to see what readers think of it...

 

Read more about Kristin Hannah from her previous interview with RRAH in February 2008.

Kristin Hannah image from http://kristinhannah.com/