What’s on my iPod: “Wide Awake” by Katy Perry

What I’m reading: Hell or High Water by Joy Castro

The last person I followed on Twitter: @ASU

This weeks Friday Five is an all Joy Castro Hell or High Water edition since her new novel is launching July 17.  Congratulations, Joy!

1.  Barnes & Noble Sits Down With Joy

Joy recently sat down with Barnes and Noble to dish details about her new book “Hell or High Water,” talk about her favorite parts of the book and what her plans for her next book are.  When asked what her favorite part of her book is Joy responded, ” I love the protagonist, Times-Picayune reporter Nola Céspedes.  She’s tough and smart and funny and sexy.  I love her voice.  She calls it like she sees it, and she gets into a lot more trouble than I do.  This might sound kind of lit-geeky, but my other favorite thing was incorporating the Cajun legend of the rougarou, a predatory creature, into a realistic crime thriller set in New Orleans.  There’s magical realism in the novel, but it’s not obtrusive.”  Be sure to take a look at the rest of her interview with Barnes & Noble.

2.  Joy Featured on Writer Unboxed

Joy shared her journey about how she was not as equipped as she had originally though to write a thriller.  “It was a fun novel to write, but it wasn’t easy. Though I’d come from a gritty background myself, as I’d documented in my memoir “The Truth Book,” my literary training left me unprepared to write action,” said Joy.  In order to begin writing her novel, Joy had a lot of preparation ahead of her.  “So like any veteran student, I studied. I started to read mysteries again, but in a serious, attentive way. I took notes. I outlined plots. I tore the sentences apart to see how they worked. Dennis Lehane. Tana French. John Banville writing as Benjamin Black. ‘Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal,’ wrote T.S. Eliot, so I stole. From Dashiell Hammett, whose hard-boiled voice helped me find my protagonist Nola’s.”  Check out the full interview on Writer Unboxed.

3.  Shining Review

Kirkus Reviews wrote a stellar review for “Hell or High Water.”  “Castro’s first mystery is fierce and intense, with both harrowing depictions of New Orleans after Katrina and psychological mayhem for its troubled heroine, who crawls under your skin and lingers there long after you’ve finished reading. A sequel is in the works.”  Take a look at the rest of this spectacular review.

 

4.  ‘Hell or High Water’ Featured on Chick Lit Central

Chick Lit Central gave a golden review for “Hell or High Water.”  “Whether you have or haven’t been to New Orleans, Castro writes with sweeping descriptions and love about the city she has spent some time in that you feel like you’re right there. Visually, I was taken on a tour into the good and bad parts every time I delved into the novel and I’m only minimally familiar with the city.”  Take a look at the rest of this amazing review!

 

5.  Order Your Copy!

Be sure to pre-order your copy of “Hell or High Water” or purchase it in stores on July 17!  Also, “Hell or High Water” is one of the books included in our Summer Reading Challenge.  The start of “Hell or High Water” in the challenge is on Monday, July 16.  Visit our Summer Reading Challenge  Facebook page in order to find more details about the challenge.  Happy reading!