Lisa Scottoline
Author Interview - Lisa Scottoline
Author of ETERNAL and The Truth about the Devlins
About The Truth about the Devlins:
TJ Devlin is the charming disappointment in the prominent Devlin family, all of whom are lawyers at their highly successful firm—except him. After a stint in prison and rehab for alcoholism, TJ can’t get hired anywhere except at the firm, in a make-work job with the title of investigator.
But one night, TJ’s world turns upside down after his older brother John confesses that he just murdered one of the clients, an accountant he’d confronted with proof of embezzlement. It seems impossible coming from John, the firstborn son and Most Valuable Devlin.
TJ plunges into the investigation, seizing the chance to prove his worth and save his brother. But in no time, TJ and John find themselves entangled in a lethal web of deception and murder. TJ will fight to save his family, but what he learns might break them first.
About Eternal:
“Praised by Lisa Wingate, Christina Baker Kline, Paula McLain, Adriana Trigiani and Sandra Brown name a few, Lisa Scottoline delivers a sweeping historical epic fueled by shocking true events. Set in the heart Rome during the ventennio, the twenty years of Mussolini’s rise and fall, it centers on three childhood friends: Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro. Elisabetta is a feisty beauty who dreams of becoming a novelist; Marco the brash and athletic son in a family of professional cyclists; and Sandro a Jewish mathematics prodigy, kindhearted and thoughtful. Now, as they reach adulthood and both Sandro and Marco hope to win Elisabetta’s heart, everything changes. In the autumn of 1937, Mussolini’s Fascists align with Hitler’s Nazis and alter the very laws that govern Rome. Soon, everything that the three hold dear—their families, their homes, and their friendship—is tested in unimaginable ways.”
Author Interview - Lisa Scottoline
Author I draw inspiration from:
I draw inspiration from every author I read, and every book. If I get stuck writing, I remember Anne Lamott in BIRD BY BIRD saying, Give yourself permission to write a crappy first draft.
Author Interview - Lisa Scottoline
Favorite place to read a book:
I love to read standing in my pool. I feel lucky to have a pool, and I stand because I can’t swim. But I can read.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
I feel like I live in an elevator crowded with my own characters, but that’s first draft talking. That said, I'd like to be stuck in an elevator with Myron Bolitar from Harlan Coben’s series, most recently HOME. He’s fun!
Author Interview - Lisa Scottoline
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I'm amazed that I’m an author, and I still can't even believe it's true. So, I can't really say there's a moment when I knew I wanted to become one.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Hardback, forever ever. I like holding them, looking at them, and owning them. Second choice is audiobook. I love audiobooks, and I just got back from a dog walk listening to Jess Walter’s THE COLD MILLIONS read by Edoardo Ballerini. I'm so honored to have him and Cassandra Campbell reading the audiobook of ETERNAL.
The last book I read:
I really loved SUNFLOWER SISTERS by Martha Hall Kelly, THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES by Lisa Wingate, and HOUR OF THE WITCH by Chris Bohjalian. I jumped around reading all three at the same time, so it's fair to include them all. If you ask me why I jumped around, it's because the books are all over the house, so I read whichever one is closest.
Author Interview - Lisa Scottoline
Pen & paper or computer:
Computer because my handwriting is completely illegible. I can't type either. See what I mean? It is kind of a miracle that I got to be an author.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
I really like Stephanie Plum in Janet Evanovich’s series, most recently in FORTUNE & GLORY. She's such a funny character! In a serious mood, I really like the Memory Man in David Baldacci's series, most recently REDEMPTION. He's a heartbreaking, lovable guy.
Author Interview - Lisa Scottoline
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
Librarian. I admire librarians so much and I love being around books, talking about books, and putting them into people's hands. When I went to a library as a child, I knew I had found my people. I also think that reading builds empathy, and that’s the secret to being a nice person. Which is why librarians are so nice.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
I love fashion and I think it's best decade is right now, because you can be as comfortable as you want to, or not. Like I love that flats have become cool because I am so over heels.
Place I’d most like to travel:
I would really like to go to northern Italy, or anywhere they have excellent carbohydrates.
My signature drink:
Patron Silver margarita, on the rocks, lime, no salt.
Favorite artist:
Wassily Kandinsky or any of The Fauves. I like color.
Number one on my bucket list:
I don't do the bucket list thing. I really try to do the things I want to do. That's why I'm divorced twice.
Anything else you'd like to add:
These are the shortest answers I've given to anything in my life. LOL.
Find more from the author:
@LisaScottoline on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
My website is scottoline.com
About Lisa Scottoline:
Lisa Scottoline is the #1 bestselling and Edgar Award–winning author of thirty-three novels. She has over thirty million copies of her books in print in the United States and has been published in thirty-five countries. Scottoline also writes a weekly column with her daughter, Francesca Serritella, for the Philadelphia Inquirer, which have been adapted into a series of memoirs. She has served as President of the Mystery Writers of America and has taught a course she developed, “Justice in Fiction,” at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, her alma mater. She lives in the Philadelphia area.
