Kate Morton joined Carol Fitzgerald from Australia to talk about her latest New York Times bestseller, HOMECOMING, which is a Bookreporter Bets On selection. During the early days of the pandemic, Kate headed to Australia with her family for what was to be an Easter visit. As they realized that their time there was going to be longer than planned, Kate put aside a manuscript that she was working on. Inspired by the Australian landscape and the idea of her own homecoming, she began this book. In this interview, Kate shares how the story evolved. Beautiful homes, places and landscapes draw her eye (as witnessed on her Instagram page). From there, the characters and plot take shape.

There is also a book within the book here --- a true crime book that sparks the characters to learn more. Carol forgot to ask Kate if she wrote this true crime story first, so Carol circled back to her in email. She replied: “I made notes for Daniel Miller’s book in its entirety and knew from the start that it would have two basic parts: the Turner family’s activities on the last day of their lives, and the investigation afterwards. In concept, I thought the second part would be longer than it was. But as I progressed, I realized that I didn’t need to show the investigation via Daniel Miller, because Jess’ research provided so much of the necessary information. I wrote the first part, covering the Turner family’s final day, in one fell swoop; the rest I wrote as it appears in the book.” Carol and Kate cover a lot of ground in their conversation. HOMECOMING is worth the five-year wait since Kate’s last book, THE CLOCKMAKER’S DAUGHTER.

Book discussed in this episode: 

HOMECOMING by Kate Morton:

https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/homecoming-by-kate-morton

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Art Credit: Tom Fitzgerald

Edited by Jordan Redd Productions