meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Sarah's Bookshelves Live

Ep. 82: JoAnne Tompkins (Author of What Comes After) + Book Recommendations

Sarah's Bookshelves Live

Sarah Dickinson

Bookrecommendations, Bookpodcasts, Sarahsbookshelvespodcast, Sarahsbookshelveslivepodcast, Sarahsbookshelveslive, Bookpodcast, Literarypodcast, Whatshouldiread, Arts, Bookreviewpodcast, Reading, Readingpodcast, Books, Sarahsbookshelves

4.9 • 732 Ratings

🗓️ 28 April 2021

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In Episode 82, JoAnne Tompkins (author of the debut novel What Comes After) shares how her previous career inspired her to write this story, the real-life case that partially inspired the book, and how she wrote a character-driven novel that was also a page turner.

This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

Highlights

  • How JoAnne’s prior career as a trial lawyer, judicial officer, and mediator inspired her to become a writer.
  • The real life case that inspired elements of the story in What Comes After.
  • How JoAnne found her agent and the story of her selling What Comes After to Riverhead.
  • How JoAnne took her characters on a journey that felt a bit like therapy without them actually going through traditional therapy.
  • How she decided to make Isaac a Quaker and her own experience living in a Quaker community.
  • What JoAnne did to make What Comes After introspective / character-driven AND a page turner.
  • How JoAnne approaches writing (and how that changed over the course of writing this book).
  • The most autobiographical part of the book.
  • The story behind Rufus, the dog.

JoAnne’s Book Recommendations [30:35]

Two OLD Books She Loves

Two NEW Books She Loves

One Book She DIDN’T LOVE

One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About

Last 5 Star Book(s) JoAnne Read [47:40]

Other Books Mentioned

About JoAnne

Website | Instagram

JoAnne Tompkins is the author of WHAT COMES AFTER, published April 2021 by Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Her first career as a trial lawyer and mediator immersed her in lives disrupted by conflict, injury, and far too often violence and abuse. Yet, she discovered in many a resiliency and passion for life that continues to move her. Her written work explores the small moments that hold the possibility of transformation and for finding grace in life’s darkest times. Her short work has appeared in journals such as High Country News, Lithub, Writer in the World, Stratus: Journal of Arts and Writing. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. She lives in Port Townsend, Washington.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Welcome to Sarah's Bookshelves Live. I'm Sarah of the blog Sarah's Bookshelves. Each week I'm

0:15.5

talking with one bookish guest about two old books they love, two new books they love, one book they don't love, and one new

0:22.7

release they're excited about. We're going to get real, and sometimes a bit snarky, about all

0:27.9

things books. If you like the show, I'd really love your support. Spread the word to your reader

0:33.0

friends, subscribe to the show, rate and review it wherever you listen to podcasts. Let's get rolling.

0:39.7

Hey everyone, welcome to Sarah's Bookshelves Live. I love talking with debut authors on this show,

0:45.6

as you all know, and I am thrilled that Joanne Tompkins, the author of What Comes After,

0:50.6

is joining me today. In case you missed the spring preview episode where I shared my thoughts

0:55.7

in more detail about this book, this is a propulsive yet character-driven story about the

1:01.9

aftermath of the death of two teenage boys in a small community in the Pacific Northwest.

1:07.2

It's about grief and anger, but also about forgiveness and healing. Prior to getting her MFA and becoming a writer, Joanne was a trial lawyer, a mediator, and a judicial officer. She lives in Port Towns in Washington, and as I mentioned, what comes after is her debut novel. Welcome, Joanne.

1:24.6

Hi. Thank you for having me on. You have such a wonderful program.

1:28.4

Oh, well, thank you so much. And I appreciate you taking the time to come talk with me.

1:32.3

And I can't wait to dig into this amazing debut, which once I closed the book, well, theoretically closed the book, it was on my Kindle.

1:40.8

I thought, wow, I can't believe that was a debut.

1:44.0

Oh, thank you.

1:45.7

So for those listeners who have not yet read the book, can you tell us a little bit about it,

1:50.4

kind of the elevator speech, if you will?

1:52.2

Yeah, I think in its essence, what comes after is a book about hope and resilience

1:57.4

and how people recover after great loss and trauma. How do they reconnect to life and love?

2:04.4

And it opens with the shocking dust of these two boys in the small community. And it leaves behind these two single parents, the father of one boy and the mother of another.

2:14.0

And they're just trying to make it through the grief and make sense of what happened

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sarah Dickinson, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Sarah Dickinson and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.