Q & A

May 31, 2012 In his new mystery, Don’t Ever Get Old, Daniel Friedman spins an engrossing tale of intrigue, but that’s only one element of what makes this acclaimed debut so notable. He also manages to write page after page of hilarious—and sometimes poignant—commentary by an octogenarian ex-cop named Buck Schatz, a Jewish guy from Memphis who finds himself on the hunt for the Nazi war criminal who nearly killed him during World War II. On June 7 at 6 p.m., Friedman will discuss Don’t Ever Get Old at the Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis.

May 1, 2012 Nashvillian Gary Slaughter combines personal memory with extensive research in the creation of his Cottonwood novels, which are based on his own childhood during World War II. Slaughter grew up in Owosso, Michigan, near a German prisoner-of-war camp, and his novels begin with this little-remembered facet of American life during the war years. The final book in the series, Cottonwood Summer ’45, brings the novel’s young protagonists, Jase and Danny, to Nashville as they continue their adventures.

April 18, 2012 Seeing the name Ephron attached to a book, movie, or theatrical production is a pretty safe bet that said entertainment product will bring the funny; after all, sisters Delia and Nora Ephron are two of the reigning American comedy writers, both independently and as a duo. This spring, Delia Ephron’s latest novel, The Lion Is In, is sure to make critics’ summer-reading recommendations for witty, tender-hearted beach reads. Ephron will appear at the Regal Green Hills Cinemas on April 24 at 5:30 p.m. as part of the Nashville Film Festival.

March 30, 2012 Nashville novelist Karen Kingsbury has more than twenty million books in print and boasts a quarter of a million Facebook fans who look forward to the latest installment in her series fiction, stand-alone titles, and children’s books. Kingsbury’s newest offering, Loving, is the fourth and final book in the Bailey Flanigan series. She recently answered questions from Chapter 16 via email.

March 29, 2012 Jake Bohstedt Morrill, a Unitarian minister in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is also a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and Harvard Divinity School. His debut novel, Randy Bradley—a tiny hardcover volume very reminiscent of Maurice Sendak’s Nutshell Library—is an off-kilter narrative constructed around a massive, mysterious squabble between two sisters. Morrill recently spoke with Chapter 16 about literature, postmodernism, and why he’s drawn to aggrieved characters.