1–What is the title of your latest release?
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Kate Warner is many things: the country’s first female detective, a Pinkerton agent, and a Union spy.
It’s August 1861, and her latest assignment could finally end the bloody Civil War and bring the fractured United States together again. All she has to do is win the trust of her captive: Confederate spy and socialite Rose Greenhow. But with Rose well aware of Kate’s working-class background and belief in abolitionism, it seems an impossible task. Worse, Kate has secrets that make her vulnerable, such as her forbidden love affair with a colleague.
With time running out, Kate faces not only the moral and political divides between herself and Rose, but also the ones she made in her own heart and life. She must decide which divides are worth crossing and how far she’s willing to go to defeat the Confederacy in this spellbinding and moving new novel from Megan Campisi.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
History decided for me!
4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
She’s a bit prickly, but she knows how to tell a good story. I’d love to sip some whiskey and talk to her.
5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Dauntless, dogged, prickly.
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned so much about the untold stories of women spies in the Civil War. What courageous women!!
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I write a “zero” draft (or “vomit” draft) and then cross my fingers and go back to see what I’ve got.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I love discovering new restaurants in Brooklyn. My current fav is a Taiwanese cafe that has amazing mochi bacon-egg-cheese sandwiches.
9–Describe your writing space/office!
Kitchen table. I live in a tiny Brooklyn walk-up, so I push all the Legos and dishes to the side and get to work!
10–Who is an author you admire?
I just finished R.F. Kuang’s Babel. It’s alt-historical fiction—a great mix of magic and history.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
Reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books as a kid set me on the path to writing historical fiction.
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was picking my kids up at school when I got the call. I took the kids out for ice cream!
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
Historical fiction.
14–What’s your favorite movie?
Oscar and Lucinda—this movie makes me laugh and cry. The story is both beautiful and quirky.
15–What is your favorite season?
Spring—I love cherry blossoms!
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I love to bake, so I take the morning and make either a flourless chocolate cake or an olive oil cake.
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I’m really enjoying all five seasons of Fargo. Plus, season 5 has a sin eater—which was the subject of my first book!
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Every type! Okay, fine: Ethiopian, Taiwanese, Japanese.
19–What do you do when you have free time?
Swimming or painting
20–What can readers expect from you next?
I’m working on a love story about a famous scientist.
THE WIDOW SPY by Megan Campisi
A Novel
The author of the “magnificent…complex, vivid” (New York Journal of Books) Sin Eater returns with a rousing and propulsive novel based on the astonishing true story of the first female Pinkerton detective whose next assignment could end the Civil War.
Kate Warner is many things: the country’s first female detective, a Pinkerton agent, and a union spy.
It’s August 1861, and her latest assignment could finally end the bloody war and bring the fractured United States together again. All she has to do is win the trust of her captive: Confederate spy and socialite Rose Greenhow. But with Rose well aware of Kate’s working-class background and belief in abolitionism, it seems an impossible task. Worst, Kate has secrets that make her vulnerable, such as her forbidden love affair with a colleague.
With time running out, Kate faces not only the moral and political divides between herself and Rose but also the ones she made in her own heart and life. Can she make the difficult decision over which divides are worth crossing? Or will she fail the most important assignment of her career in this spellbinding and moving new novel from Megan Campisi?
Thriller Historical | Mystery Woman Sleuth [Atria Books, On Sale: April 9, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781668024850 / eISBN: 9781668024881]
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About Megan Campisi
Megan Campisi is a playwright, novelist, and teacher. Her plays have been performed in China, France, and the United States. She attended Yale University and the L’école International de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. The author of Sin Eater, she lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her family.
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