In doing the research, I found myself consumed by a single, overwhelming question, as relevant today as it was seventy years ago: When would I, as a wife and mother, risk my life - and more importantly, my child's life - to save a stranger? That question is at the very heart of The Nightingale. I hope that everyone who reads the novel will ask themselves the question.

I love women being the heroes of the piece. There is just something so dramatic and important about this story [The Nightingale ].

I absolute adore epic journeys that require a protagonist to fight for every victory in the hopes of finding triumph.

Calling it lunacy makes it easier to explain away the things we don't understand.

Sometimes a story grabs hold of you and won't let go.

I think The Nightingale is my best, most mature, most moving novel, but maybe that's just because I love these characters. I love the setting.

I know I'm not normal in this, but [ Severus ] Snape is absolutely my favorite character in the Harry Potter books. He is completely mortal - good, bad, strong, weak, motivated by hatred, motivated by love. A gorgeous, compelling, complex character who definitely earns a spot at my table.