We chat with author Gwenda Bond about The Frame-Up, which follows a magically gifted con artist must gather her estranged mother’s old crew for a once-in-a-lifetime heist.
Hi Gwenda, welcome back! How have the past two years been since we last spoke?
What is time? They’ve been mainly good, if chaotic at times (who among us?), and busy. I can’t complain, though that doesn’t always stop me.
Your latest novel, The Frame-Up, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Cheating by truncating a title, but: Think Dorian Gray meets Oceans 11.
What can readers expect?
A big art heist that takes place in a version of our world that also contains a secret magic underbelly. The heroine, Dani Poissant, has been alone for ten years when the book starts, having been ostracized by her mother’s former crew after sending her mom to prison. Now a mysterious man from the past hires her to steal a painting from an impenetrable collection, and offers to reunite her with her mother if she can do it. To have any hope of pulling off the job, she has to reunite with the people from her past, including her former best friend and her first love. Expect colorful characters, fun twists, real emotions, and a very good dog.
Where did the inspiration for The Frame-Up come from?
I love heist stories and I love taking on a challenge. Anyone who has studied or written a heist of any kind knows how hard it is. I had the bones of an idea about art thieves and the character of Dani in mind, so I immersed myself in heist stories of all kinds to figure out what I liked best in them.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I think this book and world has some of my favorite moments and fictional people I’ve created in it. I really love writing ensemble dynamics, so Dani and her found family, and Dani interacting with other families, were all delicious. Of the smaller characters, the Curator sauntered onto the page and always surprised me. And I loved writing Dani’s border collie, Sunflower, who is a very well-behaved riff on my own border collie, Sally.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? If so, how did you overcome them?
Oh, always. Every book brings its own obstacles and this was no different. Heist books are tricky, period, and I wanted to make this particular heist work both within the rules of our world and within the rules of the magic world in the book. So that dual layer was challenging, and I hope I pulled it off.
With it being the month of love, what are some of your top romance movies?
I’m an old(er) movie girl at heart, and since we’re talking heists, let’s do some of those: To Catch a Thief, The Thomas Crown Affair, Out of Sight, and How to Steal a Million. Also, for counter-programming featuring sheer female camaraderie and competence, I have to throw in a plug for Oceans 8, which I feel is unfairly maligned.
You’ve had books published for just over a decade. What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned when it comes to writing and the publishing world since your debut?
Hang onto the love of telling stories and of connecting with readers and the writing and publishing community. We’re all in this together. At the end of the day, all you can do is write the best book possible and hope it finds the readers you wrote it for.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently working on two books for next year, a time travel romantic fantasy and the first in a trilogy of historical fantasies… Plus, some secret things!
Lastly, are there any 2024 book releases that you’re looking forward to?
So many! This month also features Olivia Dade’s At First Spite, which I inhaled, and Kelly Link’s The Book of Love, which is genius from a genius. I aslo can’t wait for Leigh Bardugo’s The Familiar and Elle Cosimano’s latest Finlay Donovan novel, Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice.
