1--What is the title of your latest release?
UNDER THE PAPER MOON
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Set in Los Angeles in 1948, the story follows two spies, Evelyn and Nick, who fell in love while working behind enemy lines. When the war ended, Nick betrayed Evelyn and broke her heart. Now they're both back in Los Angeles working as private investigators. When the husband Evelyn is following is murdered, she finds Nick at the crime scene. They team up to solve one last case.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I’ve lived in Los Angeles for the past twenty years. When I first moved out from New York, I thought it was going to be a soulless jungle of strip malls. However, the longer I’m here, the more I fall in love with the city. The afternoon light, about an hour before sunset, is magical and makes me feel like anything is possible. There is nothing better than driving through Laurel Canyon, on the rare occasion when there’s no traffic, with the windows rolled down and a really good song on the radio. And, of course, the food is incredible.
It’s common to think of Los Angeles as a young city, which it is when compared to many places in Europe. However, young does not mean without history or culture. The architecture of City Hall is gorgeous art deco from the 1920s. The ceiling in the rotunda of the Central Library is breathtaking. A lot of the old movie palaces are being refurbished as theaters or concert halls, complete with their original detail. One of the best parts about Los Angeles is that modern-day co-exists with the recent past, without losing the vibrancy of either.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! In fact, I kind of want to grow up and be her.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Sarcastic, capable, and kind.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Strong characters are wonderful and it’s so much fun to go on a journey with them. However, to really care about them, we need to see their flaws and vulnerabilities. No one is perfect and those imperfections make us beautiful and interesting.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I wait until I’m done. It’s so easy to be critical if I edit as I go along. I’ll focus on “writing well” and hit a wall. Instead, I tend to just throw everything in. For example, the first draft of the second book in this series was 100 pages longer than the one I turned into my editor. I need the freedom to get it all down, let it be awful, then go back and find the good. It’s almost always in there.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Sushi. Specifically, from Katsu-ya in Studio City.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
My husband and I share an office. There’s a comfortable couch, with a cork board up on the wall for breaking stories. I have a large drafting table that I use as a desk and an art deco sign for the 20th Century Limited train line between New York and Chicago, my hometown. Most of the time, I write here.
On the days when my husband works from home, I abscond to the living room, because he types ridiculously loudly. I have a laptop and don’t mind a change of scenery. However, our 60 lb. Australian Shepherd is convinced he’s a lap dog and he tries to shove the computer to the side so he can sit on me.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Ann Patchett. Her writing is always, always beautiful and I feel like her books cast a spell over me while I’m reading them. More than that, however, I appreciate the forthright honesty in her essays about her writing process and her experience as an author.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
The Awakening by Kate Chopin. I grew up in a suburb of Chicago. To my eyes, most families looked the same-- they were very domestic with the mother as the primary caretaker. At the time, that felt like a preordained script for my life-- I would go to college, meet my future spouse, move back to the North Shore, get married and have children all by the time I turned thirty. These can be wonderful things, but they didn’t fit me.
I first read The Awakening when I was fourteen or fifteen. It was a revelation to see that I wasn’t the only person who struggled with expectations for the future. Edna Pontellier had so few choices, yet she still fought for something different-- something that was just hers. It gave me the freedom to question, repeatedly, what I wanted in life and the strength to go out and find it.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I had gone to yoga in the morning, feeling very stressed about a different project. I checked my email after class as I walked back to my car. (Note: this is always a dangerous idea because I am a world-class klutz.) The subject on my agent’s email was: “Offer.” It was such a simple word and I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I opened the email and it was two lines telling me to call her because someone wanted to publish my book.
I headed home, wanting to talk to her from a place where I could focus. As I drove, I began to cry. I had worked so hard and so long towards this goal. The fact that it was really happening was incredible validation.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I don’t have a favorite genre because the best stories are all about the character. If I fall in love with them, or at least find them compelling, I’ll go on any adventure.
To me, mysteries are great because it’s fun to get caught up in the plot and see what a person might do when pushed to extremes. I like historical fiction because I think people are, in part, a product of their time. It’s interesting to see how they fit into or rebel against society’s expectations. I love science fiction because I’m curious how future technology might shape our humanity.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Clue and Princess Bride. I am a child of the 80s.
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall. Growing up in the Midwest, all the leaves changed color and the air was cool and crisp. It was cozy, but also felt like a reminder to appreciate the good moments before settling in for what could be a long, cold winter. In Los Angeles, fall is a much-needed break after the heat of the summer. I get way too excited when I dig out my wool sweaters.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I dread my birthday for a month leading up to the actual day, then it’s never as bad as I expect. I don’t really care what I do to celebrate, but I like to be with friends and family. Plus, the whole cake thing isn’t terrible.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
The Future by Naomi Alderman. She does a wonderful job at infusing science fiction with very strong, interesting characters. I stayed up way too late and read the book in two days.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I don’t have one. One of the best parts of Los Angeles is that there are so many different cultures and so many kinds of food.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
My son is four years old with the energy of a tiny tornado. I’m struggling to remember what free time looks like.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I wrote a film called Bride Hard starring Rebel Wilson, which is supposed to be released later this year. Plus, there will be more adventures with Nick and Evelyn! The sequel to Under The Paper Moon is coming out in May 2025.
Kate Quinn’s The Rose Code meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith in this intrigue-filled debut, as two former spies who shared more than just missions during WWII reunite in 1948 Los Angeles. Can they let go of heartbreak long enough to team up for one last operation in this tightly-plotted, emotionally rich postwar mystery?
It’s 1942, and as far as her father knows, Evelyn Bishop, heiress to an aeronautics fortune, is working as a translator in London. In truth, Evelyn—daring, beautiful, and as adept with a rifle as she is in five languages—has joined the Office of Strategic Services as a spy. Her goal is personal: to find her brother, who is being held as a POW in a Nazi labor camp. Through one high-risk mission after another she is paired with the reckless and rebellious Nick Gallagher, growing ever close to him until the war’s end brings with it an act of deep betrayal.
Six years later, Evelyn is back home in Los Angeles, working as a private investigator. The war was supposed to change everything, yet Evelyn, contemplating marriage to her childhood sweetheart, feels stifled by convention. Then the suspected cheating husband she’s tailing is murdered, and suddenly Evelyn is back in Nick’s orbit again.
Teaming up for a final mission, Evelyn and Nick begin to uncover the true nature of her case— and realize that the war has followed them home. For beyond the public horrors waged by nations there are countless secret, desperate acts that still reverberate on both continents, and threaten everything Evelyn holds dear...
Historical | Romance Historical [Kensington, On Sale: April 30, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781496747808 / eISBN: 9781496747815]
Shaina Steinberg is the author of the Bishop & Gallagher Mysteries, as well as a film and television writer who’s worked on Malcolm in the Middle, Everwood, Cold Case, Bionic Woman and Spartacus. Named to the Young and Hungry List in 2013 and the WriteHer List in 2017, she has developed pitches, pilots and features with companies such as Temple Hill, Endgame Entertainment, Fremantle, eOne, Blondie Girl, Josephson Entertainment and Alcon. Most recently, she optioned a feature film to Balcony 9 with shooting scheduled to begin in 2023. She lives with her family in Los Angeles, CA
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