1–What is the title of your latest release?
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Crow Talk tells the story of three wounded souls whose fate intersect at a remote alpine lake following an encounter with an injured baby crow. The main characters are Frankie, a grieving daughter and ornithologist; Anne, a young mom who’s also an Irish musician; and her son Aiden, a bright, curious five-year-old who has suddenly stopped speaking. Anne and her husband are in conflict over what to do about Aiden. She and Frankie each have other struggles that unfold during the course of the story. The three of them meet by chance after Frankie rescues a baby crow and Aiden takes refuge in her cottage during a storm.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I’ve spent most of my life in the Pacific Northwest. Since I was a little kid, I’ve loved being in the woods, particularly at my family’s lake cabin. Early in the pandemic, when all the trails near my house (actually the whole state) were closed, I was reminded of how comforting the natural world is for me. When I started writing Crow Talk, I wanted to play with the idea of how this landscape—the wooded shores of June Lake—might help my three characters heal and connect.
4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Yes, I would want to hang out with all of them, and especially Frankie, but I’d have to persuade her! Frankie is all about work; her family members have been caretakers of the other cottages at June Lake for three generations. So I’d have to show up with boots, gloves, loppers, and a willingness to do chores. She’s also an introvert and pretty content to be alone, so I’d have to convince her I had something to offer.
5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Hardworking, capable, and undomesticated (i.e. hopeless in the kitchen and generally messy indoors.)
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned so many interesting things about crows—how they can recognize people, how they care for their young, how they look after injured family members. And they have dozens of different ways of vocalizing, which fascinated me.
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
For me, the writing process is constant revision. Write, edit, revise, repeat. Editing only stops when I have to turn in the manuscript.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Fancy ice cream.
9–Describe your writing space/office!
My office is north facing, so it’s the darkest, coldest room in the house. It’s been cozily decorated by my wonderful husband and is one of my favorite places in the world.
10–Who is an author you admire?
Wow – this is a tough one. There are so many! I’ll say, Kirstin Valdez Quade. I recently finished her novel The Five Wounds and loved how she writes about family—how we can come through for each other despite our flaws and failures.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
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.
When I saw my agents calling, my heart started galloping. They only call with good news, but sometimes excitement can be very stressful! I felt happy and overwhelmed and had to lie down on the floor after I got off the phone.
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
Fiction
14–What’s your favorite movie?
Oh, that’s a hard one…I don’t often rewatch movies. I like movies that are strange or surprising, so I’ll say, “The Favourite”, with Oliva Coleman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz – three actors I admire.
15–What is your favorite season?
Fall
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I like to celebrate my birthday with a few close friends and my husband. The day usually includes a mountain bike ride or hike and a great dinner.
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I love the new podcast “Wiser Than Me” by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She interviews older female authors, movie stars, musicians, and fashion icons – Amy Tan, Darlene Love, Isabelle Allende, and Diane von Furstenberg, to name a few. Every episode has been so interesting.
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Middle Eastern
19–What do you do when you have free time?
Read! Also I’m a beekeeper and I love to garden. I enjoy mountain biking, hiking, and kiteboarding too.
20–What can readers expect from you next?
Thanks for asking! I’m working on another story idea that I hope will turn into a novel. Stay tuned!
CROW TALK by Eileen Garvin
A Novel
Nationally bestselling author of The Music of Bees Eileen Garvin returns with a moving story of hope, healing, and unexpected friendship set amidst the wild natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
Frankie O’Neill and Anne Ryan would seem to have nothing in common. Frankie is a lonely ornithologist struggling to salvage her dissertation on the spotted owl following a rift with her advisor. Anne is an Irish musician far from home and family, raising her five-year-old, Aiden, who refuses to speak.
At Beauty Bay, a community of summer homes nestled on the shores of June Lake, in the remote foothills of Mount Adams, it’s off-season with most houses shuttered for the fall. But Frankie, adrift, returns to the rundown caretaker’s cottage that has been in the hardworking O’Neill family for generations—a beloved place and a constant reminder of the family she has lost. And Anne, in the wake of a tragedy that has disrupted her career and silenced her music, has fled to the neighboring house, a showy summer home owned by her husband’s wealthy family.
When Frankie finds an injured baby crow in the forest, little does she realize that the charming bird will bring all three lost souls—Frankie, Anne, and Aiden—together on a journey toward hope, healing, and rediscovering joy. Crow Talk is an achingly beautiful story of love, grief, friendship, and the healing power of nature in the darkest of times.
Women’s Fiction Family Life [Penguin, On Sale: April 30, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593473887 / eISBN: 9780593473900]
Buy CROW TALK: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Powell’s Books | Books-A-Million | Indie BookShops | Ripped Bodice | Libro.fm | Audible | Walmart.com | Target.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About Eileen Garvin
Born and raised in eastern Washington, Eileen Garvin lives in Hood River, Oregon. Her debut novel, The Music of Bees, is a national bestseller and was named a Good Morning America Buzz Pick, a Good Housekeeping Book club Pick, a People Magazine Best New Book, an IndieNext Pick, a Library Reads Pick, a Christian Science Monitor Pick, and named a Most Anticipated Book of 2021 by BookRiot, Bookish, The Nerd Daily, The Tempest, Midwestness and others. Her new novel, Crow Talk, will be out in April 2024 and has been named one of the Most Anticipated Books of 2024 by Zibby Mag. Eileen’s memoir, How to be a Sister, was named an Indie Next by IndieBound and was chosen as a Target Book of the Month and a Kindle Book of the Month. How to be a Sister was recently released in audiobook. Her essays have appeared with Mom’s Don’t Have Time to Read Books, The Oregonian, PsychologyToday.com, and Creative Non-Fiction Magazine. Eileen shares her backyard with four chickens, wild birds of all kinds, and about 120,000 honeybees.
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