Ep. 132: Katie Gutierrez (Author of More Than You'll Ever Know) + Book Recommendations
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
Sarah Dickinson
4.9 • 732 Ratings
🗓️ 8 February 2023
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Katie Gutierrez joins me for a spoiler-free discussion of her debut novel, More Than You’ll Ever Know, which is a character study about a complex and fascinating woman behind a highly unusual crime. This is a deeply layered story touching on topics surrounding gender, motherhood, marriage, and the current fascination with true crime. Also, Katie shares her book recommendations — including 3 upcoming new releases!
This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
Highlights
- The incredible true story that was Katie’s original inspiration for this book.
- The author Anaïs Nin’s role in developing More Than You’ll Ever Know.
- Katie’s thoughts on writing a strong, but polarizing female character.
- How Katie incorporated motherhood and perceptions of motherhood into the story.
- What it was like marketing, and choosing a cover for, this unique genre mash-up of a book.
- Plus, Katie shares a bit about her next book!
Katie’s Book Recommendations [30:40]
Two OLD Books She Loves
- Shadows of Pecan Hollow by Caroline Frost | Amazon | Bookshop.org
[31:01]
- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:19]
Two NEW Books She Loves
- The Girls in Queens by Christine Kandic Torres | Amazon
| Bookshop.org [33:25]
- Beasts of the Earth by James Wade | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:03]
One Book She Didn’t Love
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë |
Three NEW RELEASES She’s Excited About
- Maddalena and the Dark by Julia Fine (June 13, 2023) |
- Carmen and Grace by Melissa Coss Aquino (April 4, 2023) |
- The Night Flowers by Sara Herchenroether (May 2, 2023) |
Last 5-Star Book Katie Read
-
The Revivalists by Christopher M. Hood | Amazon
Other Books Mentioned
- The Diary of Others: The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1955-1966 by Anaïs Nin [6:29]
- Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins-Reid [11:29]
- Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward [32:29]
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë [37:04]
- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote [38:36]
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab [40:34]
- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia [40:41]
- The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb [40:48]
- Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor [48:05]
- The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton [49:34]
About Katie Gutierrez
Katie Gutierrez is the author of the national bestselling debut novel More Than You’ll Ever Know, which is also a Good Morning America Book Club pick for June 2022. She is a National Magazine Award finalist whose writing has appeared in TIME, Harper’s Bazaar, The Washington Post, Longreads, and more. She has an MFA from Texas State University and lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband and their two kids.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Sarah's Bookshelves Live. I'm Sarah of Sarah's Bookshelves. Each week, I talk with a bookish |
| 0:15.6 | guest about two old books they love, two new books they love, one book they do not love, |
| 0:21.9 | and one new release they're excited about. |
| 0:23.6 | We're going to get real and sometimes a bit snarky about all things books. |
| 0:27.7 | If you like the show, I'd love it if you follow the show in your podcast player, spread |
| 0:32.2 | the word to your reader friends, post about it on your social media, or support the show on Patreon at patreon.com slash |
| 0:41.5 | Sarah's bookshelves. |
| 0:43.0 | Supporting the show on Patreon gets you access to bonus podcast episodes and lots of other goodies. |
| 0:48.6 | There's also a link in the show notes and in my Instagram bio. |
| 0:52.1 | Let's get rolling. |
| 0:53.5 | Y'all heard me talk about more than you'll ever know |
| 0:56.1 | on the debuts episode I did with Susie back in October. There's a crime at the center of the story, |
| 1:01.7 | but it is not a thriller. It's a character study of a complex and fascinating, if not totally |
| 1:06.9 | likable, woman behind a highly unusual crime, which is a woman living a double life |
| 1:12.9 | that leads to a murder. This story is deeply layered touching on the public's fascination with |
| 1:18.2 | true crime, gender, marriage, motherhood, and Mexican economic history in its interaction with |
| 1:24.7 | the economies of Texas border towns. It was a five-star read for me |
| 1:28.8 | and one of my best books of 2022. So I'm thrilled to have Katie Gutierrez, the author of |
| 1:34.5 | more than you'll ever know, here with me today. Katie has an MFA from Texas State University, |
| 1:39.2 | and her writing has appeared in Harper's Bazaar, The Washington Post, Long Reads, Texas, |
| 1:43.9 | Monthly, and more. She was born and raised in Laredo,ar, The Washington Post, Long Reads, Texas, monthly, and more. |
| 1:45.5 | She was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, where the book is partially set, and now lives in San Antonio |
... |
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