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!

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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 | Amazon | Bookshop.org [36:40]

Three NEW RELEASES She’s Excited About

• Maddalena and the Dark by Julia Fine (June 13, 2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:56]
• Carmen and Grace by Melissa Coss Aquino (April 4, 2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:01]
• The Night Flowers by Sara Herchenroether (May 2, 2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:11]

Last 5-Star Book Katie Read

• The Revivalists by Christopher M. Hood | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:21]

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

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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.