Maria
asked
Ruta Sepetys:
Hi Ruta! My name is María and I am from Spain. I read your books Between Shades of grey and Out of the easy last year , and I loved them. I think they are very inspirational. I have remembered the books since I finished reading them. Was the book Out of the easy based on true events? Thank you.
Ruta Sepetys
Hi Maria! What a great question. "Out of the Easy" has parallels to my mother's personal history. I wanted to explore feminism in historical context through a girl in postwar America, a girl who dreamed of being the author of her own destiny. All the characters are fictional except for Willie, who was inspired by the New Orleans madam, Norma Wallace. Thanks for asking!
More Answered Questions
Alyssa Daniele
asked
Ruta Sepetys:
I am a huge fan of Between Shade of Grey, I always suggest them to my friends who have the same love for reading as me. I was wondering why you did the ending the way you did? I felt as though the stories just kind of stopped, I wish I could have seen Lina be released. I did however love the idea of having her leave behind a letter. What inspired you to write such an ending?
Sam Dauphinee
asked
Ruta Sepetys:
Hi Ruta!! I have always gravitated towards historical fiction stories for a good read, and I got to say, Between Shades of Gray is without a doubt one of the best I've read so far. My question is, was the story and the characters inspired or related to your personal life or bloodline? The profound emotion and heartbreak in the piece is heart wrenching. Thanks for the great story.
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