In today’s episode, I am chatting with Denise Smith Cline. Denise grew up in a textile town in Upstate South Carolina before the world got so complicated. The youngest of 5 spirited siblings, Denise realized early on to survive, she’d need to master the dual arts of watchfulness and eavesdropping. A shy kid, she buried her face in books and found a few fine friends for company. Denise started her writing career as a newspaper reporter fresh out of Davidson College. Denise still practices employment law in the firm she founded in Raleigh, North Carolina. She reads constantly and has an abiding interest in people from big families and small places. When she’s not working, reading or writing, she loves good conversations with her beloved family and friends. We are here today to discuss her latest novel, The Resettlement of Vesta Blonik.
Episode Highlights:
- Denise shares how her day job as a lawyer and her night job as a novelist complement each other.
- Why her legal background helps her craft compelling, character-driven stories.
- The surprising history behind New Deal resettlement programs and mental health institutions that inspired parts of her novel.
- The humorous (and humbling!) amount of research she did to accurately portray farm life and livestock.
- Her book flight features novels with strong female protagonists set in harsh climates.
Connect with Denise:
Books and authors mentioned in the episode:
- Elizabeth Strout books
- Jane Austen books
- Wellness by Nathan Hill
- Claire Keegan books
- Tana French books
- Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
- Peace Like a River by Scott Gould
Book Flight
- The House of Doors by Tan Twan Ing
- The Last Whaler by Cynthia Reeves
- The Resettlement of Vesta Blonik by Denise Smith Cline
Dessert Pairing
- Salt Houses by Hala Alyan
✨ Find Your Next Great Read! We just hit 175 episodes of Bookish Flights, and to celebrate, I created the Bookish Flights Roadmap — a guide to all 175 podcast episodes, sorted by genre to help you find your next great read faster.
Explore it here → www.bookishflights.com/read/roadmap
Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!
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