A Goodreads user

A Goodreads user asked Ruta Sepetys:

Hi! My name is Allegra. I read "Salt to the Sea" and absolutely fell in love with your writing. It was beautiful and amazing! Now I need to read "Between Shades of Gray" and "Out of the Easy!" I've never been much of a fan of historical fiction, but after reading about the Wilhelm Gustloff, I definitely want to try more historical fiction. What first inspired you to write historical fiction? Thanks so much!

Ruta Sepetys Hi Allegra! Thanks for your question! I am drawn to hidden history and stories of strength through struggle, so I look for topics that contain those elements. Writing historical fiction is like being a detective. I love discovering secrets and lost heroes. Sometimes history can be perceived as boring. But through characters and story, historical statistics become human and suddenly we care for people we've never met, we can find their country on a map, and then—the history matters. Through historical fiction we can give voice those who will never have a chance to tell their story. That inspires me!

More Answered Questions

A Goodreads user

A Goodreads user asked Ruta Sepetys:

Hi Ruta, I was wondering what is your power food or drink when writing stories. And, do you write notes for your novels in a journal or using some site on the internet to write them? I loved "Between Shades of Grey" by the way, and I can't wait to read "Salt to the Sea" since you are such an amazing writer! :)

A Goodreads user

A Goodreads user asked Ruta Sepetys:

Dear Ruta Sepetys, I read your book Between Shades of Grey back in I believe 2012, and the one thing I distinctly remember was being in tears because of how emotional and brilliant it was. My question is, how did you do it? How did you come up with the idea of the story and how where you able to make it so it connected with the reader on an emotional level? Thank you so much for taking the time to read my questio

Bailey

Bailey asked Ruta Sepetys:

Hi Ruta! As someone who's family is still strongly connected to their Lithuanian heritage finding Between Shades of Grey was amazing because you don't see that country mentioned often. (My grandmother actually recommended it to me) All of your books seem to contain settings that we don't seem to hear a lot about, especially during the time frames you focus in on. What inspires you to select the settings you do?

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