Emily Carpenter

Tell us about your latest book.

Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is a follow-up to my debut novel Burying the Honeysuckle Girls and follows the life of Dove Jarrod, a well-known evangelist and faith healer from the 1930s and her granddaughter Eve Candler, who has become the keeper of Dove’s secrets. When it appears that Dove’s death might have been a murder, Eve is forced to go to Alabama to delve into Dove’s past and figure out who could’ve wanted her dead and her secrets exposed.

What's your writing process?

I’m typically inundated with ideas and I walk around in a fog for a couple of weeks or even months, letting the story take shape in my head. I don’t outline much. My theory is if it’s worth remembering, I remember it. Then I draft like a banshee – write every day until I’ve got a semblance of a first draft. Editing is a much longer, more sedate and reasonable process.

Are there themes you like to explore in your books?

All of my books end up being about the same things ultimately - mothers and daughters, the existence of God and what he/she has to do with organized religion, the legacy of the South, and all the things I’m terrified of!

Do you listen to music while you write?

Not usually. I’m more of a have the TV on in the background kind of writer. Either news or a movie or show that I’ve already seen.
 

What's your favorite genre to read?

Right now I’m loving romance. The times call for something delightful and fantasy fulfillment.

What are you reading right now?

Bromance Book Club, Blacktop Wasteland, and Midnight Sun.

What's the next project and when can we expect it?

So I’ve got a Southern Gothic ghostly-type story in the works and also a book about a mysterious house. I’m so superstitious about saying too much about works-in-progress, so I’ll leave it at that.

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Emily Carpenter is the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of suspense novels, Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, The Weight of Lies, Every Single Secret, Until the Day I Die and her most recent release REVIVING THE HAWTHORN SISTERS, published by Lake Union. After graduating from Auburn with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication, she moved to New York City. She’s worked as an actor, producer, screenwriter, and behind-the-scenes soap opera assistant for the CBS shows, As the World Turns and Guiding Light. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she now lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her family. You can visit Emily at emilycarpenterauthor.com and on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram.