GSMC Book Review Podcast · GSMC Audiobooks Network

The Bridge by Shanna Hatfield | GSMC Book Review Podcast

·44 min·3 clips

Five lives collide on Portland's St. John's Bridge above the Willamette River.

1. GSMC Book Review Podcast talks with Shanna Hatfield about The Bridge, a Christmas Eve story centered on Portland's St. John's Bridge. 2. Sarah hosts the interview and Hatfield is the author of The Bridge, which is described as her "An Archer Reigns Novel." 3. The episode asks what happens when five strangers are forced into the same emergency on a bridge above the Willamette River. 4. Hatfield says the book is set in Portland, Oregon, on Christmas Eve, and that the day brings "maximum impact" for the person in crisis. 5. Sarah reads the premise of Archer Raines, a police sergeant who wants to spend Christmas with his wife but is called to negotiate with a jumper. 6. Rosalie is described as a high-powered accountant and mom-to-be whose car gets trapped in the bridge chaos and who goes into labor. 7. Nova is introduced as an exhausted nurse who wants to get home after night shifts and stops to help Rosalie. 8. Carter is the tow truck owner who is sent to clear the multi-car collision and ends up facing a man pointing a gun at him. 9. Ian is the recent graduate whose car will not start before his big interview, putting him in a rideshare that narrowly avoids the wreck. 10. Hatfield says the story has romance, suspense, mystery, intrigue, and drama, and she places it in women's fiction. 11. Sarah notes that the cover looks like a thriller, but Hatfield says the book is "not the heart pounding" kind of thriller. 12. Hatfield says Nova was the easiest character to write because she has "the biggest, warmest heart." 13. She says Archer feels relatable because he starts the day eating sweetened fruit cereal and thinking Christmas Eve will go well. 14. Hatfield says she knew where all five points of view needed to end up, so she drove each storyline toward a shared connection point. 15. She explains that she is visually oriented and builds a Pinterest board for every book before she writes. 16. Hatfield says she had to research the Portland Police Bureau, bridge shutdown procedures, and negotiation tactics to keep the story realistic. 17. She says the St. John's Bridge appealed to her because it is an iconic Portland landmark with beautiful architecture. 18. Hatfield describes her style as "heart, humor, hope," and says she writes that way because she wants to share light. 19. Readers who enjoy Christmas-set women's fiction with multiple viewpoints will likely enjoy this episode. 20. Readers looking for a hard-edged thriller or high-ick suspense may skip it.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from GSMC Book Review Podcast