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Laura McHugh Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Laura McHugh

Laura McHugh

Laura McHugh Biography

Laura McHugh is the internationally bestselling author of The Weight of Blood, winner of an International Thriller Writers Award and a Silver Falchion Award for best first novel, and Arrowood, an International Thriller Writers Award finalist for best novel. Her work has also been nominated for a Barry Award, Alex Award, Goodreads Choice Award, and Pushcart Prize. McHugh's latest novel, The Wolf Wants In, will be published in August 2019. The author lives in Missouri with her husband and daughters.



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Interview

Laura McHugh speaks on the topic of Dark and Light, a topic she explores in her first novel The Weight of Blood, a gripping novel about two mysterious disappearances a generation apart

Lucy's voice is convincingly young adult. Did you find it difficult to write in her voice? What kind of preparation did you do?

That made me laugh, because I sometimes forget how far removed I am from being a young person. Lucy is the youngest of the narrators, but her voice came to me first. I didn't do any formal preparation, though I think a few things in my everyday life gave me a foundation to work from. I kept a journal throughout my teens, and I still remember how I felt and acted at that age. I tried to channel my 17-year-old self to an extent, though only a few bits and pieces of me ended up in Lucy's character. Some of my favorite books are adult novels with young adult narrators, and I kept those in mind as I was writing Lucy's sections. And I'm not sure whether this really helped or not, but as the youngest of eight kids, I spent years observing (spying on) my teenage brothers and sisters.

Did the evil side of this novel get to you at all while you were writing? Give you nightmares?

I didn't have nightmares, but I did spend an unhealthy amount of time worrying about the dangers that await my daughters out in the world. My oldest is in elementary school, and I won't let her walk home from the bus stop...

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Books by this Author

Books by Laura McHugh at BookBrowse
The Wolf Wants In jacket Arrowood jacket The Weight of Blood jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Laura McHugh but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Jane Delury

    Jane Delury

    Jane Delury grew up in Sacramento, California and attended UC Santa Cruz. She spent her junior year abroad in Grenoble, France, and she returned to the University of Grenoble after UCSC to complete a master's degree and ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Arrowood

    Try:
    The Balcony
    by Jane Delury

  • Patrick deWitt

    Patrick deWitt

    Patrick deWitt is the author of the critically acclaimed Ablutions: Notes for a Novel, as well as The Sisters Brothers, which was short-listed for the Booker Prize, French Exit and The Librarianist. Born in British Columbia, ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Arrowood

    Try:
    Undermajordomo Minor
    by Patrick deWitt

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