Q&A: Bestselling author Kristin Hannah talks about ‘The Women,’ her new book ahead of Saturday’s sold-out event | Entertainment

 New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah’s newest book “The Women,” about a woman who joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows her brother to Vietnam, is, in a way, one of her oldest books.

At least the idea for it is.

“ ‘The Women’ is actually a very unique writing experience for me,” says Hannah, who is set to appear in Lancaster for a sold-out event on Saturday.

“I first pitched this book to an editor in 1996 or 1997. My editor said, ‘I don’t think you’re ready for this. You’re not old enough, you need a lot more life experience and a lot more writing experience to write about this time in America.’ ”

Hannah, 63, was in elementary school and junior high school during the Vietnam War, agreed and put the idea aside. But, she says, during the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, while she was locked down with her husband in their home on an island off the coast of Washington near Seattle, she observed the trauma that nurses and doctors faced.

“That’s when it really all clicked into place,” Hannah says. “For me, this is about the nurses. This is about the women who went to war and what they experienced. I thought, I can’t put this off anymore. It’s time for this book now.”

Hannah will appear Saturday at Calvary Church on Landis Valley Road in Lancaster to discuss her latest book “The Women” with New York Times bestselling author Adriana Trigiani.

“I am really excited to meet Adriana Trigiani,” says Hannah, the author of more than 20 books including the 2015 breakout hit “The Nightingale.” “She’s such a huge talent and a great supporter of other writers. I think it’ll be really fun … .”

The record-breaking event is hosted by the Council of Friends of Public Libraries and Midtown Scholar Books.

“Our committee is thrilled with the response for this event, which will greatly benefit the public libraries of Lancaster County,” says Mary Ann Steinhauer of the Friends of Public Libraries in Lancaster County. “We have been connecting readers in our community with authors since 2000, but this event is the first time we have sold every available seat (2,150) in the house.”

Hannah took some time to speak during a phone interview a few days after New Year’s Day. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Your appearance in Lancaster will benefit the county’s library system. How have libraries impacted your life?

I am a huge supporter of libraries. It started when I was young. I had parents who were very adventurous and we moved around a lot. That means you’re always the new kid in town. The first stop was always the library with my mom to get us all library cards. The hallmark of my youth are the books I got out from the library, and the characters who became the friends that moved with me, kept me steady and entertained and feeling connected in all of these new towns and new environments.

Are there any specific books you discovered at a library that were important to your development as a writer?

It really all started with J.R.R. Tolkien and “The Lord of the Rings” when I was 13 years old. That’s a story about epic adventure and ordinary people doing extraordinary things in extraordinary times. That’s always been the kind of book I love best. I don’t care about the genre. I’m looking for a really big, important, emotional story.

Stephen King had a huge impact on me early on in my career with his remarkable portrayal of children and ordinary people facing the great unknown and battling good versus evil. Anne Rice, again, a big epic author, dealing with really interesting and deep philosophical issues in an unusual context. And I would say, finally, Pat Conroy, who taught me a lot about prose itself, about characterization, character arcs and the redemption of characters dealing with trauma.

Are you glad the success of “The Nightingale” happened after having already published more than 20 books? Did you feel pressure to repeat that success?

I was really glad “The Nightingale” came at a time when I was already an established writer, who was used to stepping up and writing the next book. And yes, it did mess with my mind a little bit. It was such a massive and unexpected hit that it was very difficult to figure out what to write next. There’s always pressure, I think in any kind of art, to do what you did last time. If it works, just do it again. I was very clear that I didn’t want to do that. I just remembered I am who I am, and I’m just going to write the next book and we’ll see where it goes. And that’s pretty much what I do every time.

During the Vietnam War, the country was really divided. Does that feeling remind you of the political climate in the United States today?

Absolutely. The pandemic highlighted so acutely how divided we are politically. I remember thinking at the time, it feels like my youth again. That’s part of what made me think that (the idea for “The Women”) was so relevant.

Did you get a chance to meet any Vietnam veterans as you researched and wrote “The Women”?

I went to [Washington, D.C.] in November for Veterans Day for the 30th anniversary of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, and I met these women who had served there. I’m just astounded at their strength — then and now. I’m just really happy to be able to shine a light on their service and remind the world that women were there.

Did you incorporate anything into “The Women” that you learned from the veterans you met?

My primary, I guess, adviser on this novel was a woman named Diane Carlson Evans, who also wrote a book called “Healing Wounds” about her service in Vietnam. She spoke at length to me about what it was like to have been this amazing combat nurse in Vietnam, and then to come home to a world that was so changed and so different.

And it became her quest, over many years, to make sure that the women were honored alongside the men. Watching her and hearing her stories about the fight that she waged for the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, and then seeing what it meant to the women who were there on Veterans Day was probably the most powerful thing of all.