Luanne Rice Writes Novels in Her Dreams,
and Millions of Readers Listen In

Little Night by Luanne Rice
(Pamela Dorman Books/Viking June 2012)

How We Started by Luanne Rice
(eSpecial, Viking/Penguin June 2012)

New York Times Betselling author
Luanne Rice

Luanne Rice

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Luanne Rice admits that that she "writes in her dreams." Lucky for readers, the practice has resulted in thirty compelling New York Times bestselling novels. In this intimate Authorlink AUDIO interview, Luanne talks about abuse and family violence, a topic she often explores in her novels, and about how victims can find healing and peace.

This year marks a major milestone for Luanne as she released her thirtieth novel LITTLE NIGHT.  On May 1st, Rice also published her first eSpecial, HOW WE STARTED, containing two short stories featuring characters from her last novel The Silver Boat and the forthcoming LITTLE NIGHT.  

LITTLE NIGHT begins in 1993 when Clare Burke’s life takes a devastating turn after she tries to protect her sister Anne from an abusive husband and ends up serving two years in prison for assault.  At the trial, Anne defended her husband—all lies—and the sisters have been estranged ever since.  Now, nearly twenty years later, Clare lives a quiet life in Manhattan as an urban birder and nature blogger, and the years since have done little to melt the ice around her heart--until one night her grown niece, Grit, unexpectedly shows up at her door.

LITTLE NIGHT has elements of classic Luanne Rice—the complex family dynamics, the atmospheric sense of place (specifically, her incredible descriptions of New York’s wildlife and natural areas). But it is also extremely suspenseful as we learn the truth of what Grit has endured the past twenty years.  Because Grit’s mother Anne is absent for most of the book, she has a ghostlike, haunting presence, affecting Grit and Clare as deeply as if she were present. Above all, LITTLE NIGHT is a riveting story about women and the primal, tangled family ties that bind them together. 

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HOW WE STARTED, Luanne Rice’s first eSpecial, contains two tales of early love and longing.  “Paul and Clare” introduces the heroine of her upcoming novel LITTLE NIGHT and offers a glimpse into how she met the love of her life—and the beginning of her life-long passion for birds and nature, even in New York City.  “Miss Martha’s Vineyard” is a snapshot of the quirky, unconditional friendship with larger-than-life blueblood Harrison Thaxter that has kept Rory McCarthy from The Silver Boat afloat even in rough romantic seas.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LUANNE RICE is the New York Times bestselling author of thirty novels that have been translated into twenty-four languages.  The author of Beach Girls, Crazy in Love and Cloud Nine, Rice’s books often center on love, family, nature and the sea.  Rice is an avid naturalist and bird-watcher and is involved with Georgetown University Law Center’s Domestic Violence Clinic.  Born in New Britain, Connecticut, Rice divides her time between New York City and Los Angeles.   

--Doris Booth