Skip to main content

Blog

Kim Michele Richardson’s novel, THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK, is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller that released to rave reviews last year. It is based on the true story of the Pack Horse Library Project, a group of librarians who delivered books on horseback to rural areas of Kentucky during the Great Depression. In this timely and much-needed blog post, Kim Michele draws on the history of these brave and dedicated traveling librarians to deliver an important message to readers: Support local bookstores, because today’s booksellers are yesterday’s Pack Horse Librarians, delivering wisdom, escape, entertainment and education during these difficult and uncertain times.
Jeffrey Siger has penned a series of mysteries starring Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, which explores political and societal issues confronting contemporary Greece. The 10th and latest installment, ISLAND OF SECRETS, is now available in paperback following its hardcover publication last year as THE MYKONOS MOB. The book takes place on the Greek Aegean island of Mykonos, where Jeffrey has lived for the past 35 years. In MYKONOS AFTER MIDNIGHT, the fifth in the series, he warns how Greece’s dire financial crisis led to Mykonos falling prey to foreign opportunists seeking to turn the island into a wide-open hedonistic playground bearing little relationship to its roots. ISLAND OF SECRETS sadly depicts the consequences of Mykonos ignoring that warning, as Jeffrey explains in his thoughtful blog post.
Sulari Gentill’s latest novel, AFTER SHE WROTE HIM (originally published in 2017 as CROSSING THE LINES), is a captivating thriller that Dean Koontz calls "pure delight, a swift yet psychologically complex read." To celebrate its rerelease, Sulari was kind enough to write a piece for us about the significance of To-Be-Read piles and why she never reads fiction while she’s working on a new manuscript. Don’t miss the eighth installment in her series of historical mysteries featuring Roland Sinclair, A DANGEROUS LANGUAGE, which will be available on June 9th.
It is hard to believe that within the span of just a few weeks, we have lost two pillars of the literary world: Mary Higgins Clark and now the great Clive Cussler.
The last weekend of January, I was lucky enough to join 19 other authors and over 150 avid readers aboard the Queen Mary ocean liner in Long Beach, CA for the first ever Super Book Weekend, hosted by Adventures by the Book. Organizers Susan McBeth, Kathie Bennett and Robin Hoklotubbe kicked off the weekend with a sunset cocktail party at nearby Signal Hill Public Library, where the authors shared their love of libraries.
Authors Tasha Alexander and Andrew Grant have been married since 2010. At no point during these 10 years have their books come out on the same day. Until now, that is. January 7th saw the releases of IN THE SHADOW OF VESUVIUS, Tasha’s latest Lady Emily mystery, and TOO CLOSE TO HOME, the second installment in Andrew’s series featuring intelligence agent-turned-courthouse janitor Paul McGrath. In this fun and informative conversation, Tasha and Andrew talk about relocating from Chicago to Wyoming, and explain how their new environment (with its “sense of space and isolation --- combined with stunning landscapes and amazing wildlife”) has enriched every aspect of their lives, especially their writing careers.
January 9, 2020

Nordic Noir? Huh?

Tagged:
Michael Stanley is a pseudonym for the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip. Their latest novel, FACETS OF DEATH, is a prequel to their award-winning Detective Kubu series set in Botswana. Nordic noir (aka Scandinavian noir) has become an enormously popular genre of crime fiction over the last couple of decades. But in this enlightening essay, Stanley maintains that the homicide rate in these stories, many of which take place in cold climates, requires an unreasonable suspension of belief --- and they have statistics to back this up.
We wrap up this year’s Holiday Author Blog series with Alena Dillon, whose debut novel, MERCY HOUSE, releases on February 11th. Alena and her husband are looking forward to celebrating their first Christmas with their son, who will be 10 months old. At first, they were just going to wrap up some toys they already own, or let him tear through gift bags with nothing but tissue paper in them. And surely, his grandparents would have plenty of goodies for him to unwrap. But then Alena put on her writer’s hat and finally figured out the ideal presents for her baby boy: books, of course. Lots and lots of books.
Liz Moore is the author of the acclaimed novels HEFT and THE UNSEEN WORLD. In her upcoming book, LONG BRIGHT RIVER (releasing January 7th), two sisters travel the same streets, though their lives couldn't be more different. Then one of them goes missing. As a child, Liz was a voracious reader. She was always deciding between books she wanted to read and those she thought she should read --- especially during Christmastime. In our penultimate blog post of the holiday season, Liz explains how the discovery of gift certificates marked the beginning of her private relationship with books, which, in turn, helped lead to her writing career.
Jean Kwok is the New York Times and international bestselling author of GIRL IN TRANSLATION, MAMBO IN CHINATOWN and her latest novel, SEARCHING FOR SYLVIE LEE, which untangles the complicated ties binding three women --- two sisters and their mother --- in one Chinese immigrant family, and explores what happens when the eldest daughter disappears and a series of family secrets emerge. In this touching holiday blog post, Jean talks about immigrating to New York City from Hong Kong with her family at the age of five, the hardships they had to endure, and her very first Christmas, which turned out to be more special than she ever could have imagined.