John Connolly, author of more than 30 novels and other works talks to Authorlink® about his latest book, THE LAND OF LOST THINGS (2023), a long-awaited sequel to THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS (2007 ). Connolly’s latest book is about the redemptive power of stories and family. The tale is set in the same enchanting, magical universe as the first story in the two-book series where fairies, dryads, and tree spirits reside.
In chatting with Authorlink’s Doris Booth, John talks about melding folklore with the real world. As a writer, he never underestimates the intelligence of the reader. “People who read are smart,” he says. He also characterizes himself as a “slow writer,” though he has published some 36 books in the course of his career. With every book he writes, there is always an element of fear whether he’ll get it right. “Talent is a fragile thing,” he says. His honesty and kindness shine in this up-close conversation.
The opening line of the new release immediately captures the imagination: “Twice upon a time—for that is how some stories should continue…”
Phoebe, an eight-year-old girl, lies comatose following a car accident—a body without a spirit. Ceres, her mother, can only sit by her bedside and read aloud the fairy stories Phoebe loves in the hope they might summon her back to this world.
But an old house on the hospital grounds, a property connected to a book written by a vanished author, is calling to Ceres. Something wants her to enter, to journey to a land colored by the memories of childhood, and the folklore beloved of her father—a land of witches and dryads, giants and mandrakes; a land where old enemies are watching and waiting…
The author talks to Authorlink® about why he waited so long to write the sequel, how he feels about storytelling and his own challenges in writing in a variety of genres.
John Connolly is the author of the #1 internationally bestselling Charlie Parker thrillers series, the supernatural collection Nocturnes, the Samuel Johnson Trilogy for younger readers, and (with Jennifer Ridyard) the Chronicles of the Invaders series. He lives in Dublin, Ireland. For more information, see his website at JohnConnollyBooks.com, or follow him on Twitter @JConnollyBooks.
