Don’t Blink: Austin Author Amanda Eyre Ward on “Close Your Eyes”
KUT's Jennifer Stayton and Amanda Eyre Ward discuss "Close Your Eyes" in KUT's Studio 1B. Photo by Jeff Heimsath for KUT News.Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Austin author Amanda Eyre Ward was deeply affected by an incident in her teens, and elements of that story play a significant part in her latest novel, Close Your Eyes.
When Amanda was a teenager in Rye, New York, a couple from a neighboring town was found murdered in their home. Almost five years later, a then-teenager was accused of the murder. He eventually admitted he had been drunk, blacked out, and could not remember what he had done. About the murderer, Amanda wrote he “was one of us, a teenage boy, a local.” She wanted to delve deeper into how someone like that could become a murderer. And Amanda says she believes in happy endings and wanted to write a novel in which the murder was solved. So she wrote Close Your Eyes.
Amanda Eyre Ward is appearing tonight at 7:00 at Book People in Austin for the launch party for Close Your Eyes. She will be sharing her reading with the winner of the Austin Young Literary Light Contest.
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