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Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Read-Alikes
How to pronounce Ruta Sepetys: Roota Suh-PET-tees
Ruta Sepetys (www.rutasepetys.com) is an internationally acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction published in over sixty countries and forty languages. Sepetys is considered a "crossover" novelist, as her books are read by both teens and adults worldwide. Her novels Between Shades of Gray, Out of the Easy, and Salt to the Sea have won or been shortlisted for more than forty book prizes, and are included on more than sixty state award lists. Between Shades of Gray was adapted into the film Ashes in the Snow, and her other novels are currently in development for TV and film. Winner of the Carnegie Medal, Ruta is passionate about the power of history and literature to foster global awareness and connectivity. She has presented to NATO, to the European Parliament, in the United States Capitol, and at embassies worldwide. Ruta was born and raised in Michigan and now lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @RutaSepetys.
Ruta Sepetys's website
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Ruta Sepetys discusses Out of The Easy
How did you create Josie Moraine?
Years ago I was part of a mentoring program for young women. I met girls who were
swept into the dysfunctional current that surrounded their home life. But I also met
young women who made difficult decisions and divorced themselves from a negative
environment. That's incredibly hard. Those girls inspired me. They taught me that we
can learn to fly, even if we're born with broken wings. The idea of that broken, yet
beautiful bird became Josie Moraine.
Why New Orleans?
My introduction to New Orleans came through a vintage pair of opera glasses I received
for my birthday. The glasses, still in their original case from the jeweler in New Orleans,
were engraved and dated as a gift from someone named Willie. I'm nuts about history,
so I hired a researcher to trace the origin of the glasses. I learned that Willie was a
woman in the French Quarter. And the jeweler who sold Willie the glasses? Poisoned.
He ate a dozen oysters in the Quarter and kicked the bucket. My fascination with New
Orleans was born.
And what about brothels?
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