Why do we lose those we love? Why do important parts of our world vanish? These are not questions for a detective story, existential or not. But they are the questions to which, in the end, Holt's wonderfully ambitious book leads us.

It took me "five months and 15 years" to write my 2010 book about Bible translation: five months of actual writing, and 15 years of research.

How important is social media for book sales? I decided to ask this question to someone who has had a front row seat to the success of Gillian Flynn as well as many other authors.

You know that dreaded nine-letter word describing certain novels. The word that makes literature students run screaming from classrooms and older readers tremble even when dressed warmly. Yes, the word is (gasp) "difficult"!

A lot has changed since I wrote my last book in 2006. When I launched Speed Lead, I was largely reliant on the way the publishing trade worked to prom...

I'm glad I learned early that even a roman à clef is not the place to covertly write about your enemies or that girl you just couldn't stand because she always smelled like peanut butter sandwiches.

Once upon a time, authors wrote big books about big topics. The competition was Freudian: whoever had the longest one could brag the most. Today, however, neither authors nor readers seek size from their books.

If you take nothing else from this, just remember, when someone flames you and you feel like lashing out electronically, think: "What would Mark Coker do?"

What began as an experiment in shouting out each other's books into the vast blinding blizzard of social media, has become a virtual world of tight friendships and support--and proof that, among some authors, cooperation trumps competition.

Children are much smarter than adults. They play outside, tell people their opinions straight, and finagle their way into forbidden bedtimes, junk foods, and TV shows.

I'm not impressed with the near-universal acceptance of "chick lit" as a pejorative.

In today's hyper-caffeinated, attention deficit-disordered world, most of us long for a pause button powerful enough to stop more than just our electronic devices. Like our endlessly spinning hard disk of a brain, for example. Or the downward spiral of the economy.

Lisa Gardner is a very talented writer of mystery thrillers. Each of her previous novels have shown growth in her writing skills. However her latest novel, Touch and Go, is a slight step backwards.

People who love both fiction and music might waffle Hamlet-like about whether to enjoy a book or some tunes in their free time. But there's a way to combine both!

You have a book in you. I know it, you know it, but it has been how long already? I know you have a million reasons to not go ahead with it. Today, I will help you with the few reasons why you simply have to!