Eileen Garvin
Author Interview - Eileen Garvin
Author of Crow Talk
CROW TALK tells the story of three wounded souls whose lives intersect at a remote alpine lake in the woods Washington State.
Frankie O’Neill and Anne Ryan would seem to have little in common. Frankie is a lonely ornithologist struggling to salvage her dissertation on the spotted owl following a rift with her advisor. Anne is an Irish musician far from home and family, raising her five-year-old son, Aiden, who refuses to speak.
At Beauty Bay, a community of summer homes nestled on the shores of June Lake, in the remote foothills of Mount Adams, it’s off-season with most houses shuttered for the fall. But Frankie, adrift, returns to the rundown caretaker’s cottage that has been in the hardworking O'Neill family for generations—a beloved place and a constant reminder of the family she has lost. And Anne, in the wake of a tragedy that has disrupted her career and silenced her music, has fled to the neighboring house, a showy summer home owned by her husband's wealthy family.
When Frankie finds an injured baby crow in the forest, little does she realize that the charming bird will bring all three lost souls—Frankie, Anne, and Aiden—together on a journey toward hope, healing, and rediscovering joy. Crow Talk is an achingly beautiful story of love, grief, friendship, and the healing power of nature in the darkest of times.
Author Interview - Eileen Garvin
Author I draw inspiration from:
Catherine Raven
Fox & I: An Uncommon Friendship. This book is memoir, not fiction, but I love how she writes about the natural world and its creatures.
Author Interview - Eileen Garvin | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
Stretched out on the living room couch on a rainy afternoon.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Stuart Little. I want to know where he went after he drove off in that tiny little car!
Author Interview - Eileen Garvin | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
When I stapled together my first book—poems—at age 6.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
All of the above. I prefer hardbacks when they first come out and paperbacks for roadtrips. I recently bought a Kobo e-reader for airplane travel, and audiobooks are great for when I'm cooking or cleaning the house.
The last book I read:
The Last of the Karankawas by Kimberly Garza. I loved this book set on the barrier island of Galveston Texas.
Author Interview - Eileen Garvin | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Both. I'm a pathological note-taker and I love to write in my journal. I write by hand for those practices. I draft my stories on the computer and print out each draft to read and revise with a pen in hand.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Nine-year-old Swiv in Miriam Towes' Fight Night (when I was nine, of course.) I was a scrapper at that age and felt misunderstood too. I think we'd get each other.
Author Interview - Eileen Garvin | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
Jazz vocalist
Favorite decade in fashion history:
Roaring twenties--I love those floaty, loose-fitting flapper dresses, cloche hats, and T-strap shoes.
Place I’d most like to travel:
Hucuktlis Lake on Vancouver Island. I love rain and this lake is reportedly the wettest place in North America—more than 23 feet of annual rain on average.
My signature drink:
WIlderton non-alcoholic botanical spirit with ginger ale, soda water, and a slice of lemon.
Favorite artist:
Billie Holiday
Number one on my bucket list:
Spring and a new season of beekeeping. I'm back yard beekeeper and excited for the weather to warm up I can work my bees.
Find more from the author:
https://www.instagram.com/eileengarvin/
https://www.facebook.com/eileen.garvin
About Eileen Garvin:
Author Interview - Eileen Garvin
Eileen Garvin is the author the nationally bestselling novel The Music of Bees and the acclaimed memoir How to Be a Sister. Her new novel, Crow Talk, was published in April 2024. She lives in Oregon.
