Christina Baker Kline answers your questions

I keep checking if you have a new book coming out. I love reading your stories. Are you presently working on anything?

Christina Baker Kline Yes! I have my new thriller, PLEASE DON'T LIE, co-authored with the brilliant Anne Burt, coming out on 9/1/25. My latest novel, THE FOURSOME, is due to come out in Spring of 2026.

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Christina, I have since read and really enjoyed The Exiles. Interestingly, when I went to buy it, I found - and also purchased - another book, also called The Exiles, also about a young woman sent to Australia as a convict after a petty crime. By William Stuart Long, one of a series, written several decades ago. Were you aware of this book/ the series by William Stuart Long, when you wrote yours?

Christina Baker Kline Thanks so much, Jacqui. I heard of that book (after I chose my own title), published more than 40 years ago, but haven't read it. I love The Exiles and think it works well for my novel. I hope you agree! xo

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Is another book in the works?

Christina Baker Kline Hi Eileen - thanks for reaching out, and good question! It's been a while. I'm actually finishing two books at the moment: a long-delayed literary/historical novel set in Civil War-era North Carolina, and a thriller, which I'm co-authoring with a friend, Anne Burt, called First Frost. They'll be out in '25 and '26, I'm not sure what order yet! I'm under contract for four novels altogether and anticipate that I'll publish one a year in the next four years (roughly). I put the Civil War novel aside for two years (for reasons I'll discuss when it's imminent) to work on another one, set in Maine. When I'm finished with revisions for these two books I'll return to the Maine one. **phew**!

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Your new book based on your great-great aunts sounds fascinating! Does the research process feel different when it is a story that is close to your family/heart? Or do all of your topics/project become close to your heart throughout the course the research process?

Christina Baker Kline I love this question. I think every story becomes close to my heart through the process of exploring character. In some ways it's harder when the characters are based on real people; you need to have courage to invent their inner lives (as I found with Christina Olson, Andrew Wyeth's muse, in A Piece of the World, and Mathinna, based on a real person, in The Exiles). I"m going to North Carolina next week to do research where my new novel takes place, Mount Airy/Wilkes County. Can't wait to get a sense of the physical world and imagine my characters' place in it.

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Can you tell us a two-sentence horror story?

Christina Baker Kline The plot of The Exiles: You steal a loaf of bread on the streets of London to feed your family and suddenly find yourself bound for a workhouse prison in Australia, halfway around the world, never to return. You must battle prisoners, guards, and poisonous animals and plants, not to mention your own inner demons, to find your way to freedom.

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What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

Christina Baker Kline I'm writing a novel now based on a family story: my mother's great-great aunts, two sisters, married two brothers in Civil War-era North Carolina who happened to be Asian. They had a total of 21 children. How did that happen in such a segregated time and place? This is the mystery that interests me at the moment.

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What books are on your summer reading list this year?

Christina Baker Kline It's fall now (sorry for the delay) and I'm reading the new Jonathan Franzen (amazing) and the new Sally Rooney (I like it, but not as much as her first two, so far), and re-reading Anna Karenina. And of course reading some wonderful books to consider blurbing that won't be out til next year. I read The Paper Palace this summer and was struck by its lovely language and interesting plot ...

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If you could travel to any fictional book world, where would you go and what would you do there?

Christina Baker Kline It's not a fictional world, but it feels magical in my mind: New Zealand. I've never been. Ideally I'd stay for six months and explore!

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Hi, when I heard you talk about Christina's World in Aspen several years ago you said you were writing a book set in Tasmania. How is this going? I'd like to read!

Christina Baker Kline It's THE EXILES, my new novel. It came out last year! Check it out -- I think you'd like it.

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"Orphan Train" was completely absorbing, I could hardly put it down. How is it you were born in Cambridge, but grew up in Maine? I did a study abroad program in Cambridge, a lovely city. Would you ever choose it as a setting for one of your novels?

Christina Baker Kline Sorry not to have seen this sooner, Lana. I'm so glad you liked Orphan Train. My American parents were living in England; my dad did a PhD in British History at Cambridge, and we moved to Maine when he accepted a job in the history department at the University of Maine. I went back to Cambridge for graduate school. It is such a lovely city! In my novel BIRD IN HAND I have a character from Cambridge. I have dual citizenship and would love to live there for at least a year one of these days. Maybe while there I'll write a novel about it ...

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I adored your novel, The Exiles. Just one thing. I want to know a great deal more about Mathenna’s journey. Would it be possible for you to write a second novel centering on her life? Regards, Beth Meyer Meyerbd@comcast.net

Christina Baker Kline Hi Beth - So glad you enjoyed The Exiles. Mathinna was a real person; her life ended tragically early, at the age of 17. As you know, she was a social experiment for the Franklins, and it didn't end well. Here's a lot more information about her, and you can find more online by using the trusty google! http://christinabakerkline.com/the-ex... All best, Christina

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Are you available to ZOOM for half an hour with our book group on Oct. 7 between 4:00 and 5:00pm edt as we discuss your book, The Exiles? Our group of 11 women meet every month; we love our discussions with our authors. A few years ago, we read and discussed Orphan Train and this has been one of our favorites over the years. Please respond at your earliest convenience. We do hope you are available. Thanks. Lane Klein

Christina Baker Kline Hi Lane, due to my inundated schedule, I'm only able to drop in to bookclubs for 15 minutes or so. If this is of interest, please email my assistant, Kat, at: bakerklinebooks@gmail.com

See book club guidelines here: http://christinabakerkline.com/for-bo...

Thank you!

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2) why did you want the reader to think it was Molly going to be the Orphan train girl when itś actually Vivian but I don´t know if thatś just me who thought that I am just curious not trying to sound rude Just want to know or did you do that by accident anyway Iike I said I don´t know and you don´t have to respond Just want to know thats for answering if you do love your books?

Christina Baker Kline Sorry if you found the book a little confusing! :)

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Hi my name is Brooke I am a 7th grader and I am writing about your book and I have a few questions that I hope you don't mind answering 1)I am a little confused on the theme I was thinking it was about homes so I just want a clear answer because I also checked google but I did not get a clear answer so I was just wandering?

Christina Baker Kline Hi Brooke -- there are lots of themes in Orphan Train. It's about the poor and the dispossessed: people who have no power in a culture that values money and status. It's about immigration and assimilation. It's about kindness and connection. It's about overcoming adversity. Etc!

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I wondered if there might be a sequel since there is enough left untold for one: Did Vivi leave her property to Molly or Terry or her daughter or her nieces and nephews? Did Vivi's daughter want to meet Maisie's family? Did Molly win the prize & what did she end up going with herself? Did Dina ever get comeuppance? I get that none of those NEED answers, but there is enough for another novel? :)

Christina Baker Kline Hi Casey - I don't plan to write a sequel at the moment, but you never know! These are all such good questions. These characters felt so real to me that the story was, in the end, like real life: that is, hard to predict. I wasn't sure what would happen next, whether Molly would win the prize or whether Vivian would reach out to Maisie's relatives. I think those kinds of questions are interesting to ponder, and your guess is probably as good as mine. Thanks for reaching out!

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I finished reading The Way Life Should Be last night and I woke up this morning feeling lonely for Angela and her family and friends. Like Angela, I am Italian/Irish. I loved all the people who lived in this book and checked this morning to see if this was the beginning of a series. Do you plan to finish telling us the story of the others in the book?

Christina Baker Kline Hi Michele, I am so happy to hear that this book resonated with you! This book is not part of a series and I'm not currently planning a follow-up book, but I am hoping that there may be a future for the story on TV. Stay tuned!

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I wanted to thank you so much for writing A Piece of the World. Did you realize it made a wonderfully visual audiobook? It felt like I was watching a Masterpiece Theatre show in my mind! I was so intrigued not knowing which parts were factual and fiction, that now it has led me to find out more about the Wyeths and Olsons as well. I will definitely want to read all your other books as soon as I can.

Christina Baker Kline Hi Sally, That is wonderful to hear! I went quite deep into the research rabbit hole myself. You can view some of my research (and the research of a very keen reader conducted on Walton Hall) on my website: http://christinabakerkline.com/novels...

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Is there a sequel to the Orphan Train?

Christina Baker Kline There is not! But you may see some of the characters popping up in my future books...

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Christina, I just finished reading A Piece of the World and I found it completely engrossing. It really was a wonderful read. Where did your interest in Christina come from?

Christina Baker Kline Hi Barbara, Thanks for reaching out. I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed A PIECE OF THE WORLD. I was always drawn to the painting, perhaps because my name, my mother's name, and my grandmother's name--Christina. I grew up in Maine, near where the painting was created. On top of a familiarity with the setting, my grandmother grew up at the same time as the Christina in the painting and there were quite a few similarities in their lives. I discuss more of my interest in the painting and Christina in this interview: http://www.hectv.org/watch/maryville-... (skip to 10:00 to hear about A PIECE OF THE WORLD).

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I recently read The Orphan Train and was taken with the depth of detail you created. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the store and how Vivian came to know her abilities through that work. As one who sews, I also enjoyed, though pitied, those women in the "sweat shop." I wonder what elements of your own background you merged into your fiction? Or do details in this novel come entirely from research?

Christina Baker Kline Hi Dawn. My father’s parents worked in a woolen mill in Georgia, and I drew, in part, on their recollections of that experience. I also grew up sewing with my mother, and when I was about 12 I sewed clothes I wore to school (and bathing suits, which I have a hard time believing now!). Plus, of course, research! Thanks for your question.

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