Book Reader Magazine

Featured Interview With Georgine Hodgkinson

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a writer and a teacher. I have also served as program coordinator for Re-Emerging Scholars, an academic program designed to support formerly incarcerated college students. The communication studies courses I teach shape the why and what of my writing. They also shape my author identity: I'm a memoirist fascinated with relationships. My writing explores family dynamics and human connection — with others and with ourselves.

Since 2020, I've split my time between California and Puerto Rico. As you probably guessed, I love warm weather and sunshine! This bi-coastal lifestyle was made possible by a pre-retirement program at my college — I teach in the fall and write from my home office in Puerto Rico each spring. There are other reasons I'm lucky enough to live in two beautiful locales, but you'll have to read Crypto Island to learn all the details!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I've been obsessed with books for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I would hide myself away — under the bed or tucked into the bushes in the backyard — so I could read the next Nancy Drew mystery I'd checked out from the library, uninterrupted.
By fifth or sixth grade, writing was already an important part of my life. I poured my heart out on the page, each entry beginning with the same looping "Dear Diary" scroll. I was a committed journaler even then. I have a mountain of these diaries packed away in my garage — the kind little girls loved in the '70s — little notebooks that locked with a tiny key.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Mary Karr, hands down. She's inspired me on two fronts — her knowledge of craft and her skill as a writer. The Art of Memoir is one of my favorite books on writing, and her own memoirs, Liar's Club, Cherry, and Lit, exemplify everything she teaches. Beyond Karr, I admire so many memoirists: Lara Love Hardin, Glennon Doyle, Melissa Febos, Elizabeth Gilbert, Joyce Maynard, and Sue Monk Kidd have all written books that stayed with me — the list really does go on.

Favorite genre: Memoir, without question — I'll admit to a bit of an addiction. I love the range within the genre: addiction and recovery, coming-of-age, relationship, grief, travel, cultural. I'm drawn to varied forms too — epistolary, braided, hybrid. And while I appreciate humor in memoir, I'm most moved by a confessional tone.

What inspires me: I find a front-row seat to other people's experiences irresistible. I want to understand their motivations, desires, and obsessions, and to share in the messiness of life alongside them. What a well-crafted memoir teaches me, again and again, is that at our core, we're more alike than different — we all carry grief, shame, love, and joy. That common ground is what keeps pulling me back to the genre, both as a reader and a writer.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
It's a memoir — that probably won't surprise you! Specifically, it's about facing past mistakes and embracing second chances. Crypto Island is a reminder that personal growth never stops, and that living authentically often demands both resilience and reinvention.

I once saw a t-shirt that said, "Bad decisions make the best stories," and as a young person, I made plenty. Before I was a wife, mother, and college professor, I was a wild and rebellious teen who struggled with poverty and substance abuse. In Crypto Island, I weave those adolescent stories into a major life transition: relocating to Puerto Rico with my husband, Mark, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, we moved to the island under Act 20 & 22 — tax legislation that grants residency in exchange for tax breaks — and my first year there was an adventure. I met other transplants who'd relocated for the same reason, and got swept into Puerto Rico's thriving (and often outrageous) cryptocurrency community. But the island had more to teach me than crypto — I also found myself untangling the political complexities woven into Puerto Rico's history and identity, and reckoning with what it meant to call this place home.

That same year, I turned fifty, became an empty nester, missed my daughters more than I expected to, watched my teaching job go remote, and learned to trade crypto. Turns out there were plenty of midlife lessons hiding inside all of it.

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Georgine Hodgkinson’s Website

Georgine Hodgkinson Facebook Page

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Featured Interview With Shane Keleher

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Guelph, Ontario, but spent a good chunk of my younger years living abroad in the Netherlands and Asia, which completely changed how I look at the world. I came back to Canada about 15 years ago and now live in Kitchener with my partner, Leo. We used to have a wonderful dog, though sadly she passed away a few years ago and we still miss her. On the professional side of things, I hold a degree in English Literature and Language from the University of Waterloo and am a graduate of the Humber School for Writers. My schooling really fed into my deep obsession with 20th-century history—specifically, looking past the textbook timelines to focus on the deeply human stories of marginalized communities, which is exactly what drives my historical fiction writing today.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My love affair with books started early, around five or six years old, when I absolutely fell in love with L. Frank Baum’s Oz books. I was just completely captivated by the world-building and the adventure. That fascination naturally turned into writing pretty quickly. I actually wrote my very first (and very short) book when I was eight or nine. It was a mystery about a group of farm animals who realized one of their friends was missing and teamed up to go find him. Looking back, I guess I was already testing out the waters of ensemble casts and missing-person narratives before I even hit double digits!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My absolute favorite genre to read is historical and literary fiction, especially stories that dig deep into the emotional aftermath of major historical moments. When it comes to the authors who inspire my own writing, Margaret Atwood is at the absolute top of the list. I completely worship her sharp insight into human nature and her brilliant world-building. I’m also deeply inspired by Michael Ondaatje. His poetic, lyrical prose and the gorgeous way he treats memory and trauma is a huge influence on how I want my own writing to feel. And finally, Khaled Hosseini’s masterclass in writing about family, resilience, and the devastating impacts of war on ordinary people is something that constantly pushes me to make my own characters feel as honest and authentic as possible.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My debut novel is called Bring Me Into the Light, and it's a dual-narrative historical drama set against the stark, haunting contrast of 1940s Berlin and the bustling streets of 1950s Toronto. The premise is built on a single, devastating idea: in the wreckage of Nazi Germany, silence was survival, but in postwar Canada, it becomes a prison.

The story follows Anna, a woman who has spent a decade meticulously burying her past beneath her daily life in 1950s Toronto, operating under the quiet assumption that what is lost to the rubble stays there. But her carefully constructed life completely fractures when an impossible encounter reveals that her sister, Gerta, is actually alive. When they reunite, Anna discovers that the girl who used to skip over Berlin cobblestones has been replaced by a woman entirely hollowed out by the exact same shadows Anna has been trying to outrun. To find their way back to one another, they have to excavate the dangerous secrets they kept just to stay alive. It’s a visceral, heart-wrenching exploration of the archaeology of memory, the hidden scars of trauma, and the incredible amount of courage it takes to finally speak the truth.

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Shane Keleher’s Website

If you enjoyed this writer’s interview, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors to learn about. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring! If you are an author and want to get exposure to new readers submit your book to our book promotion service.

Featured Interview With Debadrita Sarkar

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Debadrita Sarkar (20/11/2008) is an author, bilingual writer, bilingual poct, blogger, Podcaster, record holder, self illustrator, editor (Magazine), compiler and advocate for environment. Human rights and mental wellness based in India. who is also interested in translating. She has opened a platform Abhiyanam", where she has held
campaigns and published e-books and online magazines for the advocacy of environment, Mental Wellness and Human rights.

I am raised in Haripal of West Bengal and still living in Haripal with my parents.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
At the age of 12, I started writting in my mother tongue, Bengali which gradually shifted to English when I turned 14. At 14 years age only, I realised that I should keep engaged in my writting career. At 15, I started my publishing career and now at 17, I am an author of nine books !

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read writtings of many authors. Sometimes, the legends and sometimes the new comers in the bestsellers. I read in both English and Bengali. I like stories and songs in Bengali and mainly poetry in English.

Though, I would say my favourite author in Bengali is "Kaviguru Rabindranath Tagore", "Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay" and "Satyajit Ray".

In English, I like the writtings of "William Wordsworth" and "Shakespeare".

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My recent book, "Unknown Braves Of Mother India" is the first part of "Bharat Katha Series". My book released on 21st June 2026 where I have explored and written short biographical notes on unknown freedom fighters of India and their notable actions for mother India. There were many children martyrs, courageous teenagers and adults and even older freedom fighters who dreamt of an independent India.

Preview –

"Unknown Braves Of Mother India" is the first book of Bharat Katha Series, The book consists many names of the unknown freedom fighters and their notable protests against the Britishers. The book consists both violent and armed revolutionaries, who have been forgotten by many of us through the passage of time. "Unknown Braves Of Mother India" is written by Debadrita Sarkar to remind all of the Indians about the forgotten braves who have sacrificed their lives selflessly for mother India.

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Debadrita Sarkar’s Website

Debadrita Sarkar Twitter Account