Hank Phillippi Ryan tours with 'The Murder List'

WORCESTER—Author Hank Phillippi Ryan, on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV and bestselling author of 11 thrillers, came to the city with her newest book, “The Murder List,” on Sept. 7.

Ryan spent years as a television reporter before writing fiction. Her career has provided a rich well of familiarity with crime and motivation, leading to ideas for her novels.

Hank Phillippi Ryan

The latest is a twisting exploration of the conflict between defending and prosecuting attorneys, each dedicated to seeking justice from an opposing point of view. She does so skillfully. To personalize the plot, Ryan created a young law student, Rachel, who is torn between her defense attorney husband’s side of the fence and that of her temporary employer, a powerful district attorney. There’s a fascinating pull between the two forces as Rachel observes them, but there’s also a sucker-punch conclusion that unites her with both sides of the legal question. 

The author has an impressive resume. She’s collected numerous top writing awards from mystery organizations, including five Agatha Awards and a Mary Higgins Clark Award. Her novels have been listed in Library Journal's Best of 2014, 2015, 2016 and her recent novel, “Trust Me,” made it to numerous “Best of 2018” lists. About her newest, “The Murder List,” the Library Journal says, “Masterly plotted—with a twisted ending—a riveting, character-driven story” and “a must-read for fans of legal thrillers.”

It is. The final chapter is a mind-blower.

Ryan says the book is a study, really, of “how defense and prosecuting attorneys compete, each with the goal of winning a murder trial.” Her thought process in creating the book is in itself a study in fiction writing:

“I was listening to my criminal defense husband discuss a murder case one day. One track of my mind was listening to his narrative, and the other track was thinking, ‘Wow, what a good guy he is.’ The authentic real thing—standing up for the little guy, protecting the rights of the individual against the vast power of the state and the prosecution, making sure the prosecution plays by the rules and that the trial is fair and just.”

Using her writer’s imagination, she twisted the notion a bit: “I thought, ‘what does the prosecutor’s wife think about her husband?’ Certainly, she thinks he’s a good guy—protecting the public, putting miscreants behind bars, keeping criminals off the streets, standing up for law and order.

 “So how, I thought, can everyone be a good guy? And I started thinking about ‘good,’ especially when it comes to the justice system, and realized that everyone involved chooses the side they think is the good side. And then they fight it out to see which ‘good’ wins.”

She had the basis for a book, then and there, but kept thinking:

“Added to that, the obsession with lawyers to win. You ask a lawyer, ‘What’s a good case?’ And they’ll say ‘winnable.’ So, given that they all think they’re good, and that they all want to win—and they’re always always in a battle with each other—doesn’t that set up perfect conflict? And the question of how far someone might go to win?”

It certainly could. But she needed characters to manifest the differences and interact. Hence, Rachel Stone.  “Add a newbie—a young lawyer wannabe who has to choose a side. So I created law student Rachel, trying to figure out her legal life.”

Alongside, she created two influences—Rachel’s brilliant defense attorney husband and her new employer, a powerful DA whom he despises. “Two sides, battling for the legal soul of this novice attorney, she said. “At least, that’s what they think they’re doing.” 

Insert a murder and a war ensues, with Rachel experiencing the warring viewpoints toward justice and more than a little trouble on the domestic front. In fact, no one is exactly as the reader expects in this book.

During her years with WHDH, Ryan saw enough criminal behavior and courtroom performance to draw conclusions about that niggling little flag of truth waving for all its worth under the weight of battling winds.

“I have been a television reporter for 43 years,” she said. “I have wired myself with hidden cameras, confronted corrupt politicians, chased down criminals and gone undercover and in disguise.” … I have covered court proceedings from the Claus Von Bulow murder to the Boston mobs, to the case that became ‘A Civil Action,’ and dozens of murder cases. So people ask, ‘Do you do research?’ and I say—I’ve been doing research for 40 years.”

The underlying competition is used to elevate suspense in this thriller. 

“To get ahead in a cut-throat business, people use whatever tactics they can devise and sometimes wind up doing things they might not have predicted they were capable of,” she said.

Despite the book’s contrivances, Ryan doesn’t use an outline as she crafts her story. “That’s what gets me to the computer every day,” she said. “I have to find out what happens next. So, when people say ‘Wow, I never saw that ending coming,’ I say, yeah, wasn’t that a surprise? I surprised myself! That’s part of the magic of writing. And that’s what makes it a joy every day.”

She’s not kidding. Ryan derives the energy she needs for a schedule pivoting from a reporting assignment for her editor to writing and, quite often, author appearances across the country. She has kept up with a very busy schedule, one that puts her on planes—writing.

“My goal is to make my books be realistic and authentic, so if I need to check facts of course I do—that’s part of the fun. But my stories, being fiction, rely on my experience in the real world, and are shaped by that. My thrillers are not my TV reporting turned into fiction, but all that deep experiences translates into making genuinely believable stories.”

She’s been pleased by reactions from those in the criminal justice field. “I’ve gotten so many emails from lawyers who have read ‘The Murder List,’ saying how pleased they were to read a book that not only nails the justice system, but also nails the relationships that attorneys have with each other, and their psychological drives and motivations.”

Ryan loves her life, despite her busy schedule. (She visited six or seven states during the first week of her current book tour.) Participants ask her all kinds of questions, including this uncommonly known fact: her name. “I get asked about my name, and where my story ideas come from, and whether I know the endings of my books before I start writing. The answers are: It’s a nickname for Harriet (which someone made up my first day of college); I have no idea, and No!”

“Having these successful novels is a dream come true, ever since I was a little girl reading Sherlock Holmes under the covers. I challenge myself to be better and better every time, to be a better writer, to make my books be more compelling and surprising—I want people to miss their stop on the T because they are so riveted by the book.”

Her goal must be in reach. CNN named “The Murder List” an ultimate beach read this year.

Consequently, she travels a lot, and her appearances are often before packed audiences. “It’s exciting and rewarding, and actually inspirational, to meet all the people who come to my signings or write me emails and want to chat about thrillers and the book world.,” she said. “There are very few vacations, and I have basically given up cooking. Don’t tell. Luckily, I have a very supportive husband.”

Would she change anything? “If we could possibly make the days have more hours, that would be very nice,” she said. “Other than that, I am the happiest and luckiest person ever.”

New England area writers

Knowing about local authors and buying their books will support the writing community near home and may also give you an advantage in finding someone to visit or Skype with your club.
A local independent bookstore is also likely to know who is writing excellent books within your community. Another way to find them is to look for readings at area writing collaboratives, libraries and organizations that spotlight writers in a literary series like the Jewish Community Center series in Worcester. Many regional authors have been profiled or mentioned in this column; a short listing may give your group its next read. (Not all are available for visits or Skype events.)
Ali Hosseini of Hudson, author of “The Lemon Grove” and “The Place of Stones,” beautifully depicts the Iranian culture of his youth and the conflicts in modern Iran that changed what was an idyllic life for its people to one of suffering amid war and loss of their livelihoods. It’s published by Northwestern University Press; his webpage is www.alihosseini.com.
Ursula Wong of Chelmsford, whose fictional series on the Lithuanian resistance to Soviet occupation after World War II began with “Amber Wolf” and continued with “Amber War” and “Amber Widow,” is also the author of short stories and the novel, “Purple Trees.” She is at work on “Black Amber,” about a Boston man who plots to stop Russian plans for a gas line under the Baltic Sea. She will sign books in Putnam, Connecticut, during the July 21 Lithuanian Summer Festival there. Contact urslwng@gmail.com.
Mary Bonina, who grew up in Worcester, became a sought-after teacher of memoir writing after writing her own, “My Father’s Eyes: A Memoir.” A Cambridge resident, Bonina gives readings at libraries and literary events. Contact her at http://www.marybonina.com.
Poet and songwriter Rich Marcello of Harvard has written several novels including “The Color of Home,” “The Big Wide Calm” and “The Beauty of the Fall.” He teaches creative writing through Seven Bridge Writers Collaborative in Lancaster and is writing “The Latecomers,” his fourth novel. Contact him at www.richmarcello.com/contact.
Joe W. Bebo of Hudson recently released “Alex - A Lesson in Courage,” the story of a special needs boy surrounded by many people who cared enough to make his life better. Other self-published books include historical fiction, sci-fi and horror. See more on Facebook. To contact, joewbebobooks@gmail.com.
Frances Brown of Webster writes paranormal romance, women’s fiction and contemporary romance under the pseudonym Claire Gem. If that’s your thing, her books include the newest, “Electricity,” from her Haunted Voices series. Learn more at https://clairegem.com. She’ll read from and sign copies of “Electricity” from 1 to 3 p.m. July 20 in Booklovers’ Gourmet, 55 East Main St., Webster. This is Gem’s seventh novel, set on the grounds of a former Massachusetts mental asylum.
Steven E. Huff of Worcester wrote two humorous (and helpful) books based on the “Better Call Saul” and “Breaking Bad” TV series. His books are “Don’t Go to Jail!: Saul Goodman’s Guide to Keeping the Cuffs Off” and a follow-up book, “Get Off the Grid! Saul Goodman’s Guide to Staying Off the Radar.” An expert on crime nitty-gritty, he’s appeared on NBC’s “Dateline,” CBS’s “48 Hours Mystery” and MSNBC. Deputy digital editor for Maxim magazine, he writes for various online outlets and founded the first true-crime blog, True Crime Report. He also sings opera! More info at facebook.com/stevehuff.
R.A. Salvatore is an internationally recognized writer of fantasy series. He lives most of the year in California now, working, but is a Leominster resident who began his writing career there. Books include the latest Drizzt novel, “Boundless;” the Forgotten Realms series of trilogies and books; the Demon Wars and Dark Elf series; and “Star Wars: The New Jedi Order.”
Worcester native Thomas Christopher Greene has written a half-dozen books, including “The Headmaster’s Wife” and “The Perfect Liar” (2019). They’re clever and inventive. He lives in Vermont, where he founded the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier. Thomaschristophergreene.com.

Field trips to author's homes near Boston

Field trip, book clubs! Summer offers an opportunity to visit literary locations. Concord is a big one, home to houses lived in by “Little Women” author Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Boston publisher Daniel Lothrop, whose wife, Harriet (Margaret Sidney), wrote the “Five Little Peppers” series.
It’s not as far away as Salem, where the actual House of Seven Gables is located, or Hartford, Conn., where Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) lived and wrote, and Concord has nearby shops and restaurants.
The Wayside — the first literary site added to the National Park Service — was first built around 1717 as home to Samuel Whitney, a Revolutionary war soldier. The Alcotts lived there after moving from communal living in Harvard. Louisa’s father, Bronson Alcott, was an eccentric who wanted no part of it (having not recovered from his failed living experiment at Harvard’s Fruitlands, another neat spot to visit).
They named the house Hillside. Neighbor and fellow author Ralph Waldo Emerson helped them find it, even loaning the family some money toward its purchase; Mrs. Alcott paid the rest. She would later tire of Concord and move the family toward Boston, selling to Nathaniel Hawthorne, for $1,500! It was Hawthorne who renamed it the Wayside.
Hawthorne lived there from 1852-1869, writing “The Scarlet Letter,” “House of the Seven Gables” and other fiction.
The public may visit; the house is part of Minute Man National Historical Park and located at 455 Lexington Road. These writers tackled issues familiar to Americans who know their history — the Alcotts sheltered at least two runaway slaves, becoming part of the Underground Railroad network. They lived in the house from 1845 to 1852, and this was where Louisa May Alcott envisioned much of the childhood portrayed in her book, “Little Women.”
Daniel and Harriet Lothrop and, subsequently, their daughter Margaret, owned the house between 1883 and 1965. While lesser known, Margaret’s “Little Peppers” series was a huge hit in the early 1900s. In 1965, it became part of the national park.
More summer club suggestions:
Katherine Howe, “The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs.”
The author of “The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane” returns with the story of a New England history professor engaged in a race against time to free her family from a curse. Look for it on shelves now.
Tom Phillips has released “Humans: A Brief History of How We F*cked It all Up.”
The fall book club discussion will be lively and unquestionably funny after the group reads this collection of “wish-you-were-there” moments from history, spanning culture, science, politics and war. It details how infamous screw-ups in human nature came at just the wrong moment, entertaining the rest of us for decades. Samples: The Taiwanese general who stored gunpowder in his palace before a lantern festival, and an army attacking itself after a little too much alcohol consumption. Students sweating out history courses might enjoy this book as well. Nonfiction.

Authors, book talks dominate Fall '17

Worcester's top annual literary event will be held Oct. 26, with five guest authors at a dinner benefiting the Worcester Public Library.

A Celebration of Authors 2017's moderator Joe Cox, president of the EcoTarium, will present speakers at the 5:30- 9 p.m. event in the White Room at Crompton Collective, 138 Green St.

Guests will be celebrated authors Andre Dubus III, John Dufresne, Margot Livesey, Elizabeth Searle and Annie Weatherwax.

Dubus, author of "House of Sand and Fog," "The Garden of Last Days," "Dirty Love" and the memoir, "Townie," teaches fiction at UMass Lowell. His New York Times best sellers have won numerous literary awards. "House of Sand and Fog" became an Academy Award-nominated film starring Ben Kingsley. Dubus grew up in mill towns along the Merrimack; his books are published in more than 25 languages.

Dufresne has written two short story collections, "The Way that Water Enters Stone" and "Johnny Too Bad," and the novels "Louisiana Power & Light" and "Love Warps the Mind a Little," both New York Times Notable Books, along with "Deep in the Shade of Paradise," "Requiem, Mass.," "No Regrets, Coyote" and "I Don't Like Where This is Going." He has written two books on writing fiction. His stories have twice been named Best American Mystery Stories.

Margot Livesey wrote a collection of stories and eight novels, including "Eva Moves the Furniture" and "The Flight of Gemma Hardy." A native of Scotland, she lives in Cambridge and is on the faculty of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. A novel, "Mercury," was published in September 2016. This past summer, Tin House published her "The Hidden Machinery: Essays on Writing."
Elizabeth Searle has written five novels, most recently, "We Got Him," involving the Boston Marathon bombing manhunt. Previous books include "Girl Held in Home," "A Four-Sided Bed" (being developed as a feature film), "Celebrities in Disgrace," which became a short film, and "My Body to You." A stage work, "Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera," has been produced in Boston and other major cities. Her writing has been published in over a dozen anthologies.

Annie Weatherwax, winner of the Robert Olen Butler Prize for Fiction, has published stories in The Sun Magazine, The Southern Review and elsewhere. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, she previously sculpted superheroes and cartoon characters for Nickelodeon, DC Comics and Pixar. She has written about the link between visual art and language for publications such as Publishers Weekly, The New York Times and Ploughshares. Her debut novel, "All We Had" (later a motion picture), was published by Scribner and was a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award.

Cost of the benefit event is $100. Register on the library website, www.mywpi.org.

***

Book festivals in Concord and Boston:

The Boston book Festival is Oct. 28 at sites surrounding Copley Square; most events are free. Dozens of authors and literary personalities appear in panels, talks and workshops (there's also a daylong event for teen readers featuring Lemony Snicket and Jennifer De Leon). Participants include Claire Messud, Celeste Ng, Ha Jin, Dennis Lehane, Brunonia Barry, Geraldine Brooks, Garnette Cadogan, Tom Ashbrook, Maureen Dowd, Chris Van Dusen, Regie Gibson, Daniel Jose Older and dozens more. Details are at https://bostonbookfest.org.

Concord's Festival of Authors takes place over 17 days, mid-October into November, with talks, readings and discussions featuring Ann Hood, Gish Jen and Margot Livesey, and topics including a "Lecture for Young Readers," "Master Class for Writers," "The Story of the NFL," Memoirists on Writing the Hard Stories," a Mystery Night, and "Breakfast with the Authors." For times and details, check online at www.concordfestivalofauthors.com.

Area book groups:

Worcester Public Library has launched a new book club—the Popular Reads Café—for readers fond of popular books. Anyone is welcome to drop by at 3 p.m., Oct. 10 and Nov. 14, in the Banx Room, for discussion of popular nonfiction and fiction. Local authors are being invited in, and discussion includes news of the latest books from favorite authors. It's free, and Friends of the Library provides refreshments.

Merriam-Gilbert Public Library in W. Brookfield will hold a book group discussion of Michael Ondaatje's "The Cat's Tale," at 7 p.m., Oct. 10.

The Intrepid Readers Book Group at Douglas Library will discuss Michael Tougias’ "The Blizzard of ‘78" on Tuesday, Oct. 10, at 6:30 p.m. New England was knocked to its knees by the February storm—often referred to regionally as the worst storm of the century. Tougias' history includes photographs and chronicles the storm's progression from Cape Cod to Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. It explains how people survived the storm by spending more than 48 hours in their cars, and how coastal homes were torn from their foundations and smashed to smithereens by the vicious surf. Call the Library 508-476-2695 for a copy of the book. New members welcome.

Contemporary book Club will meet at Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Street, Worcester, at 6 p.m. Oct. 18, to discuss David McCullough's historical account of aviation pioneers, "The Wright Brothers."

O'Connor's Books, Brews & Banter will meet at 6:30 p.m., Oct 25, to discuss "Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End" by Atul Gawande. Meeting is at the restaurant, 1160 West Boylston St., Worcester.

Lancaster's Thayer Public Library Adult Book Group will meet at 6:30 p.m., Oct. 31, to discuss "His Bloody Project: Documents Relating to the case of Roderick Macrae," a novel.

In Grafton, the Daytimers Book Club will meet at 1:30, Oct. 17, to discuss "The Seventh Plague" by James Rollins. The Mystery Book Club meets at 7:30, Oct. 17, to discuss "Ghost Times Two" by Carolyn Hart.

Correction: The Silent Book Club chapter in Portland, Maine, mentioned in March, is not affiliated with Longfellow Books.

Send club selections and other comments to ann.frantz@gmail.com.

Very different books for a winter's reading

It's been a cool week of reading for me, an entry into two worlds I had little experience with, and a rewarding venture once taken.
Pressed for time, and always somewhat eclectic in my reading choices, I've gone back and forth through several selections, and two of them merit mention here. The first I read for my own reasons, the second relates to an article I'm preparing for the Telegram & Gazette in Worcester.
The first, Lawrence Hill's "The Book of Negroes," was published in Great Britain and Canada during the early 2000s (first published in the U.S. as "Someone Knows my Name").Hill's story is astonishing--a classic I'd put on a favorites shelf alongside such greats as "Gone With the Wind" and "East of Eden."
Aminata Diallo's fictional account of being kidnapped from a tiny African town and transported into slavery in the United States, with her subsequent journey toward freedom, is riveting, and reveals much of the drive an enslaved people have to be free. The story differs considerably from much that I've read about slavery and the events befalling slaves here, in Nova Scotia, Great Britain and the African coast (all true, although fictionalized).
Aminata's stamina and refusal to submit are truly heroic and likely to leave a lasting imprint on the reader.
Hill did a lot of research to recreate the world Aminata encountered after her capture at the age of 11, focusing on the losses, mistreatment and battered hopes of both Africans and Americans born into slavery on plantations (or in northern states). By the time she reaches London, she has become a figurehead for the abolitionist movement.
Aminata is an amazingly personal narrator, a young woman who bears all sorts of punishments and grief as she pursues her single-minded goal: escape to freedom.
This is not a book to be missed, and book clubs will find much to debate. While it's a long read, it's very absorbing; you won't want it to end.

The second book relates to an article I'm preparing about cozy mysteries.
Cozies, for those who aren't familiar, are lighter fare, easy to read and absent the horror, graphic violence and dark viewpoint of thrillers and modern mysteries. They are meant as a break from the day, a relaxing read that entertains, puzzles and rewards the reader with something at the end: often, recipes or knitting patterns!
Barbara Ross's "Iced Under" is part of a series Ross has entitled the Maine Clambake Mysteries. Her heroine in each is Julia Snowden, member of a family that has long operated a seafood restaurant at Busman's Harbor (think loosely of Boothbay Harbor, fictionalized).
Ross is skillful at constructing plots that don't give anything away and keep readers going. She is also good at creating characters we like. Fortunately for us, Julia is at the head of that line.
There's much of the flavor of Maine (and lobsters) to this mysteries series that will appeal to readers who are familiar with coastal New England, and love Maine's intricate coastline. But others will learn to love the state, too, through Ross's writing.

'The Ladies of Managua' author considers generations, cultures in collision

There's a bit of magic in Eleni Gage's life. She's willing to follow her instincts, and those of trusted others—so much so that she picked a wedding date a year ahead of time, before even meeting her eventual husband.

Oh, yes, she did. They married on 10-10-10. More about that later.

Gage has pursued a busy freelance and full-time career at magazines and is now executive editor of Martha Stewart Weddings, mother of two small children, and an author. In May, St. Martin's Press published "The Ladies of Managua," her second novel, third book.

Born in Greece, she grew up in Athens and North Grafton (where her parents, Nicholas and Jane Gage, still live). She is named after her grandmother, Eleni Gatzoyiannis—executed by Communist forces for whisking her children out of Greece to keep them out of Communist "training" camps. The children settled in the Worcester area, and one of them, Nicholas, became a New York Times reporter who researched his mother's death before writing an award-winning book, "Eleni." That book became a movie starring John Malkovich and Kate Nelligan in 1985.

With creative parents (Jane has turned to photography and art), and her brother Christos a screenwriter, she may have been destined to write as well, but she didn't plan it that way.

"I wanted to be a teacher. I saw my parents writing, and from the perspective of a child it looks fairly boring—you sit at the computer a lot. But it was a way of looking at things and observing things. Mom's not Greek, and she was always pointing out to me, 'Look at that ritual or celebration," "Isn't it interesting the way this is cooked or this holiday is celebrated?' So when I went to college, I studied folklore and mythology, because I became so interested in ritual and cultures—in what makes up a person's identity." That is what she has written about in her books and many of her travel articles.

After graduating from Harvard, she landed a role as editorial assistant (later associate editor) at "Allure" magazine. She moved on to "Elle" and "InStyle," later becoming beauty editor at "People." But with a solid career—still not teaching—she wanted to do more.

On a visit to Greece, she began writing a travel memoir, "North of Ithaka." She credits the elder residents of her grandmother's small village, Lia, who sat outside for part of each day and shared stories, for the memories and traditions that fed into her writing. "We were there overseeing the rebuilding of my grandmother's house, which had fallen into ruin after the Greek civil war," she said.

The memoir drew fans, but presented her with another problem. "A lot of people loved it, but I also got, from relatives, why did or didn't you do this?" She began to think writing fiction might be better.

One doesn't just sit down and become a novelist, however.

She pursued an MFA (Master's degree in fine arts) from Columbia University and achieved another goal: "I taught while I was getting it." She also wrote the draft of a novel. Later, she re-entered the freelance world, successfully publishing articles in travel and lifestyle magazines. (She has also contributed to The New York Times, Parade, and The American Scholar.)

She was researching a novel, when an Indian astrologer predicted her marriage to "a soft-hearted businessman" on 10-10-10, she chose that date for her wedding. She did, indeed, meet that businessman, a Nicaraguan coffee trader named Emilio Baltadano. "Other Waters" is about an Indian-American psychiatrist convinced her family is cursed. Its themes revolve around multi-cultural identity and conflict. The novel was released to good reviews in early 2012.

It was through her husband that seeds were sown for "The Ladies of Managua." The couple brought their first child to meet her Nicaraguan family. "We lived there for seven months between 2012 and 2013, in Grenada. He told me about his grandmother, who had gone to convent school in New Orleans during the late 1940s to '50s." His grandmother's own star-crossed romance as an adolescent led Gage to imagine one of the three characters who narrate the latest novel—her favorite, as it turns out. Her first draft took shape.

"I learned about the things girls learned in these schools: how to set a nice table, how to get into a cab properly." This set the character of Isabella in the novel, mother to the revolutionary Ninexin and grandmother to Maria Vazquez, who returns to Nicaragua for her grandfather's funeral. "I loved writing about her (Isabella); I feel like, as women we're always trying to figure out the rules of the world around us. We're raised to listen to the rules of society, as opposed to men, and I sort of realized by the time you figure out the rules, they've all changed. Older women carry so many worlds inside them—both the societies that don't exist anymore, and themselves at a younger age. I like how they (older women) are kind of uncensored. People of that age stop worrying about what others think."

She studied the revolution from the writings of a prominent Nicaraguan writer-revolutionary, Gioconda Belli. "I read a lot of books and articles by her; she wrote about coming across her daughter's college entrance essay (her daughter was raised in the United States, as is the character Maria). In it, her daughter wrote that she wished her mother had been around more. Belli felt badly when she read the essay, but her daughter told her it was alright, saying, 'You couldn't have been a good revolutionary and a good mother.' That inspired me for the conflict between daughter and mother. Guilt is hard to escape, especially for women. You're expected to do certain things. Raise your kids a certain way. Ninexin wanted to change society and was a little more fearless in that way, but the judgments of the people she loved weighed on her. She had this secret about Manuel (Maria's father) that she couldn't reveal because he was a national hero, and was a hero in his daughter's mind."

Their secrets, and their passage across years of disappointment and misunderstanding to find each other again, is what makes "The Ladies of Managua" a deeply satisfying novel. "They're all intelligent and I think they're all pretty passionate about things—but the difference comes in that they're all passionate about different things."

She wrote the novel in three voices, as "a way of exploring how much we can misunderstand even the people closest to us. Often, they don't know what we're thinking. So that was a really fun exercise."

She read a lot about women in Nicaragua and the revolution, while there. "There are not many novels written about that period of history in Nicaragua. But if you think of World War II, and about our own Civil War—how many books have been written about that?"

In September 2013, she became executive editor at Martha Stewart Weddings, living in New York City. "I have a great day job for a writer. You are exercising the skills that you use in writing; I'm writing and editing all day long, so that is really nice, and I enjoy the people I work with, but I do feel like there's never enough time in the world to do the things I want to do."

She finished working on "The Ladies of Managua" over the course of 18 free Fridays. With kids you have to plan carefully. She did a brief  book tour during maternity leave for her four-month-old. "It's a little crazy bringing the kids, but a lot of that is done digitally these days. You can blog or Skype with book clubs, or things like that. I try to fit in events when I'm going to places anyway. I was in Miami for my husband's work, and I did a reading there."

She hopes to do another book, when time allows, setting it in Greece again. But at present, she's enjoying the release of her newest, busy mothering her 4-year and 4-month-old children, and working full-time. She has learned to write whenever she can, wherever she is. "If you've got 20 minutes, sit down and write. You can edit it later. You can't wait for those magical moments when you'll have all the time in the world.

The author blogs at theliminalstage.com. There, she writes about themes of identity, family and cultural differences.