In Episode 45, Liz Moore (author of Long Bright River) talks about the inspiration and research for her novel, mystery / thriller twists, and that comparison to The Girl on the Train.

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Highlights

• How Liz comes up with inspiration for her books.
• Her time working with a photographer in the Kensington neighborhood (which ended up being research for Long Bright River).
• Liz’s take on the twists in mysteries and thrillers.
• The origins of Long Bright River‘s title.
• Long Bright River as a movie…and Liz’s experience writing the screenplay for it (and for another of her books).
• Some real life author friendships.
• An upcoming release that isn’t even on the Internet yet.
• Writing as a mother.
• Liz’s take on Long Bright River being compared to The Girl on the Train.

Liz’s Book Recommendations

Two OLD Books She Loves 

• The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro | Buy from Amazon [22:09]
• Heat & Light by Jennifer Haigh | Buy from Amazon [24:56]

Two NEW Books She Loves

• All This Could Be Yours by Jami Attenberg (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [26:42]
• The Third Rainbow Girl by Emma Copley Eisenberg | Buy from Amazon [29:54]

One Book She DIDN’T Love

• Romantic Poetry [33:02]

One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About

• “TBD Title New Novel” by Asali Solomon (Author of Disgruntled) [36:37]

Other Books Mentioned

• Long Bright River by Liz Moore (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [2:09]
• The Unseen World by Liz Moore | Buy from Amazon [4:16]
• The Rust Belt Rising Almanac by Linda Gallant | Buy from Amazon [9:38]
• Heft by Liz Moore | Buy from Amazon [13:54]
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro | Buy from Amazon [23:56]
• Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [24:29]
• Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney | Buy from Amazon [24:29]
• All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg (My Review)| Buy from Amazon [27:47]
• Get Down by Asali Solomon | Buy from Amazon [37:10]
• Disgruntled by Asali Solomon | Buy from Amazon [37:10]
• Loving Frank by Nancy Horan | Buy from Amazon[38:08]
• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (My Spoiler Discussion) | Buy from Amazon[42:24]
• Miracle Creek by Angie Kim (My Review) | Buy from Amazon[46:56]

Other Links

• Jeffrey Stockbridge Kensington Blues photo series
• The Lotus Eaters by Tennyson

About Liz

Website | Instagram | Twitter

Her first novel, The Words of Every Song (Broadway Books, 2007), centers on a fictional record company in New York City just after the turn of the millennium. It draws partly on Liz’s own experiences as a musician. It was selected for Borders’ Original Voices program and was given a starred review by Kirkus. Roddy Doyle wrote of it, “This is a remarkable novel, elegant, wise, and beautifully constructed. I loved the book.”

After the publication of her debut novel, Liz obtained her MFA in Fiction from Hunter College. In 2009, she was awarded the University of Pennsylvania’s ArtsEdge residency and moved to Philadelphia.

Her second novel, Heft, was published by W.W. Norton in January 2012 to popular and critical acclaim. Of Heft, The New Yorker wrote, “Moore’s characters are lovingly drawn…a truly original voice”; The San Francisco Chronicle wrote, “Few novelists of recent memory have put our bleak isolation into words as clearly as Liz Moore does in her new novel”; and editor Sara Nelson wrote in O, The Oprah Magazine, “Beautiful…Stunningly sad and heroically hopeful.” The novel was published in five countries, was long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and was included on several “Best of 2012” lists, including those of NPR and the Apple iBookstore.

Moore’s short fiction and creative nonfiction have appeared in venues such as Tin House, The New York Times, and Narrative Magazine. She is the winner of the Medici Book Club Prize and Philadelphia’s Athenaeum Literary Award. After winning a 2014 Rome Prize in Literature, she spent 2014-15 at the American Academy in Rome, completing her third novel.

That novel, The Unseen World, was published by W.W. Norton in July of 2016. Louisa Hall called it “fiercely intelligent” in her review in The New York Times; Susan Coll called it “enthralling . . . ethereal and elegant . . . a rich and convincing period piece” in her review in the Washington Post. The Unseen World was included in “Best of 2016” lists by The New Yorker, the BBC, Publishers Weekly, Vox, Google Play, and Audible.com, among others.

Moore’s fourth novel, Long Bright River, is forthcoming from Riverhead Books in January 2020.

She lives with her family in Philadelphia and is a faculty member of the MFA program in Creative Writing at Temple University.

Next Episode

Mini Episode featuring Aubree Cheadle (@mnreadingmama)…airing February 12.

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