Thirty years in the making, Judith Turner-Yamamoto’s award-winning novel, Loving the Dead and Gone, is part of a trilogy drawing upon memories of her red-dirt childhood. She was born into a family of storytellers in rural North Carolina. Publishers Weekly called it a bittersweet, fantastical must-read debut. A poet, journalist, art historian and inveterate traveler, she’s interviewed such luminaries as Frank Gehry and Annie Leibovitz, and has published more than a thousand cover stories and features in prominent publications across the country. She lives in Cincinnati with husband, visual artist, Shinji Turner-Yamamoto.