Johnnie Bernhard’s Third Book is One to Love

Mississippi author Johnnie Bernard's third novel, Sisters of the Undertow, debuts on Valentine's Day. The story of sisters Kim and Kathy Hodges, born 16 months apart, Sisters of the Undertow explores sibling rivalry and the idea that we can be born lucky or unlucky. As in her first two novels, A Good Girl and How We Came to Be, Bernhard writes with such humanity and genuine care for her characters that it's tough to leave them on the page. The rivalry and differences between Kim and Kathy impact the entire course of their lives, as they get swept up in the undertow of Hurricane Harvey. Thankfully, Bernhard gives us something to hope for amid the wreckage. We interviewed her by email about Sisters of the Undertow, the familial relationships she continues to explore in her novels and her setting of Houston, Texas.   Erin Z. Bass: Can you explain the title Sisters of the Undertow? The word "undertow" is quite powerful in terms of both relationships and nature. Johnnie Bernhard: The title is a reference to the undertows found within bodies of water, in this reference, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Both settings play essential parts within the lives of