A childhood spent lost in
the pages of countless novels led Stefanie
Sloane to college where she majored in English. No one was more surprised
than Stefanie when she actually put her degree to use and landed a job in
Amazon.com's books editorial department. She spent more than five years reading
for a living before retiring to concentrate on her own stories. The
Devil in Disguise (Ballantine mass market,
May 24, 2011) is the first in a trilogy of Regency Rogues
novels, with The Angel in My Arms due
June 28 and The Sinner Who Seduced Me
on July 26. Sloane lives in Seattle with her family. Follow her on Twitter: @stefaniesloane.
On your nightstand now:
Mark Helprin's A Winter's Tale; Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton; and J.D. Robb's Treachery in Death.
Favorite book when you were a child:
The Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House series. Bottom line, what could be better than churning your butter, sewing your clothes and raising a few barns? My young mind found it all so charming--and so very different from my own world, which, I think, is what made it so attractive. I was intent on growing up, moving to the middle of nowhere and living like an Ingalls. And then I got a little older, discovered lip gloss was really hard to make from scratch, and gave up on my pioneering dreams. But the books will always hold a special place in my heart.
Your top five authors:
I always hesitate when asked to name my favorite anything--favorites seem to change depending on life, love and so on. But if pressed, I would include Albert Camus, Janet Evanovich, Jasper Fforde, Jane Austen and David Sedaris.
Book you've faked reading:
The Histories of Herodotus. Or, to be more precise, a book I very nearly faked reading. I almost added it to my nightstand listing up above, in order to look a touch more cerebral, but thought better of it. In theory, I should love this book. The subject matter is one that I find absolutely fascinating. But I've picked it up a million times, only to put it back down 20 pages in. Actually, maybe I should add it to my nightstand and see what happens.
Book you're an evangelist for:
The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption by Jim Gorant. Emotionally speaking, it's not an easy read--quite the opposite, actually. But as a pit bull owner, I have a responsibility to ensure that people understand exactly what happened and, more importantly, why. So that someday, hopefully, we'll know a world without such hate and abuse.
Book you've bought for the cover:
Millie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffensmeier. When my children were younger, I bought a lot of picture books. Something about Millie spoke to me. So many tales for the toddler set are sweet, and nice, and, well, sweet and nice. And that's all well and good. But Millie? She looked to be a crafty cow. And her story does not disappoint. Throw in the chicken sidekicks and you've got one wicked farm tale.
Book that changed your life:
Flannery O'Connor's Everything That Rises Must Converge. This was required reading in a Southern Fiction class I took in college. I can't even tell you precisely why, but I hated it with the burning enthusiasm that only a 20-year-old English major could muster. I'd experienced the power of storytelling before, but never from that particular vantage point. The idea that O'Connor could inspire such intense feelings with her words was, quite frankly, dumbfounding. And amazing. And a gift.
Favorite line from a book:
"I like you very much. Just as you are."--Mark Darcy to Bridget Jones, from Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding.
Okay, technically two lines. And simple, unadorned lines at that. But within the space of nine words, Fielding manages to convey absolutely everything that Bridget has ever needed to hear--no small feat considering the girl's countless idiosyncrasies and heartbreaking humanness. And Fielding based the book on Austen's Pride and Prejudice, so really, what more could one want? Oh, and extra points for its swoon-worthiness.
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel. It was like nothing I'd read before--every page literally delighted me with its humor, creativity and rather sly and skillful underpinnings. I reread all of the Thursday Next novels from time to time, but there's nothing like that first read--a whole new world to explore at your leisure. And whoa, can Fforde write whole new worlds.