HER PERFECT LIFE--AND A PERFECT LAUNCH!

Jenn McKinlay: It goes without saying that the Reds are each other's biggest fans! So I am just over the moon, ecstatic, and positively thrilled to announce our Hank's latest book HER PERFECT LIFE will be released into the wild TOMORROW!!!

This book has already started to buzz hard with starred reviews from Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly and was declared “A spectacular thriller” in a rave review from Library Journal! It's Hank's second pandemic launch and the publisher says it's her “Most personal book yet.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

BUY NOW!!!

HER PERFECT LIFE

It’s about sisters, betrayal, guilt, fame, and revenge. Everyone knows television reporter Lily Atwood, and that may be her biggest problem. She has fame, fortune, and beloved daughter; and her devoted fans have even given her a hashtag: #PerfectLily.  But Lily also has one life-changing dark secret—and if anyone finds out, she fears her career and happiness are over.  Problem is: how do you keep a secret when you’re always in the spotlight? And when an anonymous source begins to tell Lily secrets about Lily’s  own life --she learns the spotlight may be the most dangerous place of all. 

There is a BIG launch party tonight so don't miss out! 

Register here:  https://bit.ly/HPLLaunch 

If you can’t come, boo, but Hank can still sign and personalize a book for you! Just click on the link. 

We all have questions for Hank--and we know you will, too! YAY, Hank--and we know this will be fabulous. Scroll down for the questions--and Hank's insightful answers.

JENN McKINLAY: Congratulations, Hank! This is so thrilling (intended)! We Reds have been fortunate enough to be a tiny bit in the loop during your writing process, and I have to ask is your protagonist television reporter Lily Atwood based on someone(s) that you’ve met during your own illustrious career as a reporter or was she inspired by something else? What was the spark that inspired her story? 

HANK: Oh, thank you! I am overwhelmed and nervous, just saying.  But I know exactly where this story came from.

  

When I worked in Atlanta, in the 80s, I was anchoring the weekend news. I came home after the eleven PM news one night, around midnight or even later, and my house was surrounded by police cars. Someone had broken into my house. The police caught him, and he confessed to them that he had chosen my house to break into--because he knew I was live on television, and not home!  Isn’t that chilling?

Because he knew where I was, he knew where I wasn’t. That understanding of the deep vulnerability of being a television reporter haunted me. And that was the beginning of the story.

And led to the irony in the title.

HALLIE EPHRON: Your titles always have multiple meanings and shades of meaning that reveal themselves to the reader. A case in point: “perfect” paired with “life”? Did the title come to you as you were writing, or did you start with the title and spin a story from there.

HANK: Oh, great question, dear Hallie!  In this book, the title did not emerge until about the middle of writing it. It was initially titled “The Next Caller” because one of the key elements is that an investigative reporter, who gets a lot of news tips from sources, gets a call from an anonymous person who appears to know some secrets about the reporter herself! 

 I thought it would be fascinating to turn the tables--to have someone whose life revolves, in a way, around telling secrets--begin to understand how it feels like to be in the spotlight. 

She has such a perfect public image that her fans have hashtagged her #PerfectLily. But soon she knows her seemingly-perfect life is about to be ruined. And that the spotlight may be the most dangerous place of all.

And once I thought the phrase “Her perfect life..” 

I thought--OH! Of COURSE.

LUCY BURDETTE: Yes big congratulations on everything Hank! Jenn stole my question about your spark, but here’s another one. You’ve talked about not plotting ahead while you’re writing. How much do you know when you start out? Do you use any turning points or character sketches or any kind of structure?

HANK: NO IDEA. Nothing. I know there would be a celebrated reporter who had a dark scary secret. What was it? NO idea! 

 I did have an image of a college freshman, a girl, who comes home for the holidays, and seems sad, and her mom finds her notebook, which has a calendar with the days crossed off.  And I thought--is she counting the days until something? Or after something? 

And that’s all I had.  (And that’s on page one, so no spoilers. ;-0) 

Lily’s seven-year-old daughter Rowen was a huge surprise to me. And she was a joy to write--mischievous, funny, confident, articulate, polite--and she pushes Lily a bit. And Lily pushes right back. And they are wonderful together. Until..what if that spotlight shines on little Rowen?  

(And oh, thank you, Lucy!)

RHYS BOWEN:  Many congrats on the new book, Hank. My question: do you become emotionally involved with your heroine? Identify with her? Or can you remain detached as you do in your job?

HANK: Thank you! Hmm. I BECOME her, as I write.  It’s almost like method acting. I know when I’m  writing Lily, I have good posture, and my brain presents Lily words, and I know what she wants, and her secrets, and I make her decisions. When I write Greer Whitfield, the ambitious/brilliant/complicated producer, my eyes narrow a bit, and Greer phrases come out. . And for college girl Cassie, well, I can’t talk about that. (HER PERFECT LIFE takes place in the past and the present.)  

But I DO identify with Lily’s concern for her personal life in a public arena. People who watch her on television think they KNOW her--she’s in their living rooms every night!--and they think they’re her friend. How dangerous is that? And Lily is an investigative reporter, like I am. She does a lot of good--but someone’s scheme is thwarted in every story she does--so she’s made a lot of enemies. And, like my burglar, they know where she lives.  

DEBORAH CROMBIE: It is such a fabulous cover, Hank! Everytime I see it I have to just gaze at it for a moment. Were you pleased with it? Is that how you imagined Lily? Did the cover design go through many iterations? 

HANK: Oh, totally totally totally. Thank you, dear Debs!  I GASPED when I saw this. And yes, we went through many iterations. I kept saying: elegant, classic, Mona Lisa, Grace Kelly, luminous,  mysterious, sophisticated. And then wow. Designer Katie Klimowicz at Forge hit a grand slam home run. Even the paper stock is incredible. (And here’s a secret--in the original version, her eyes are blue. I asked for green. And poof! Green.)

 

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: After these great questions, I'm afraid anything I might ask about HER PERFECT LIFE will slide into spoiler territory! So I'm going to ask about launching a BIG book in Fall '21 - you're doing a mix of Facebook Live, streaming, podcasting - and of course, you're still blogging here and at Career Authors and highlighting other authors with First Chapter Fun and The Back Room. Just typing that makes me want to lie down with a cold compress. How do you manage such a packed schedule and how - since I've seen this many times - do you keep delivering 100% at every event?

HANK: (Please don't make a list like that! It is a lot, but it's a lot of fabulous. xoxoo) Truly, I adore it, and it's part of the crazy-wonderful life as an author. And these days, all the more necessary to stay connected. And aw, thank you for the wonderful links!

And we all have packed schedules, right? But remember was it--Willie Mays? Someone like that? Who was asked: "Why do you always play the best you can in every game?" And he said: "Because there might be a little boy in the stands who's never seen me before."

Right?

And speaking of schedules:

All right, Readers, it's your turn to put Hank in the hot seat! What do you want to know about HER PERFECT LIFE?