Book Trailer Fridays - THESE GIRLS by Sarah Pekkanen

Visit Sarah Pekkanen's website for more info!

Book Trailer Fridays - The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

Visit MJRose.com for more info.

Book Trailer Fridays - PURE by Julianna Baggott

Visit Pure-Book.com for more info.

Book Trailer Fridays - Ernessa T. Carter & 32 Candles

I love how books, movies, and TV shows give us a common history.  How many twenty and thirty-something women dreamed of their own Molly Ringwald storyline after watching Sixteen Candles as a teenager?  I know I did.  So I'm super excited to read Ernessa T. Carter's debut novel, 32 Candles, about a woman who didn't get her dreamy fade-to-black romantic ending in high school.

Here's a description:

Davie Jones—an ugly duckling growing up in small-town Mississippi with a mother who couldn’t get any meaner—is positive her life couldn’t be any worse. Just when she’s resigned herself to her fate, she sees a movie that will change her life—Sixteen Candles. But in her case, life doesn’t imitate art. Tormented in school and hopelessly in unrequited love with a handsome football player, Davie finds it bittersweet to dream of Molly Ringwald endings. When a cruel school prank goes too far, Davie leaves the life she knows and reinvents herself in the glittery world of Hollywood—as a beautiful and successful lounge singer. Just as she’s about to ride off into the L.A. sunset, the past comes back with a vengeance, threatening to crush Davie’s dreams—and break her heart again.

With wholly original characters and a cinematic storyline, 32 Candles introduces Ernessa T. Carter, a new voice in fiction with smarts, attitude, and sassiness to spare.

Here's what people are saying about 32 Candles:

“A disarmingly moving tale” –Bridgette Bartlett, Essence magazine

“Carter’s first novel is a winner on all fronts.” –Kristine Huntley, The Booklist (STARRED review)

“This is an easy 5 out of 5 stars and one of my top five favorite fiction novels [that] I’ve ever read in my entire adulthood.” -Shamontiel, AssociatedContent.com

“First there was Stella and she got her groove back, then there was Bridget Jones and she managed to find love despite her own loveable neuroses. Now there is Davie Jones. 32 Candles, at last, is the answer to the question ‘What should I read next?” –Erica Kennedy, author of Feminista and Bling

“ I loved 32 Candles. Its ridiculously good. Its my favorite fiction debut of the year.” –Color Online

“...a solid beach novel for someone looking for a chick-lit vibe with a bit more substance" – Confessions from a Rambling Mind

"It really is one of the best books that I’ve read this year. I didn’t simply enjoy it – I know that I’ll return to it, just like how I often return to the film that served as inspiration." –The Eclectic Book Lover

And here's the trailer:

You can learn more about Ernessa T. Carter and 32 Candles on her website and blog, and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Book Trailer Fridays - Stephanie Cowell and Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet

Stephanie Cowell is author of Nicholas Cooke: Actor, Soldier, Physician, Priest, 1996 American Book Award winner, The Physician of London, The Players: A Novel of Young Shakespeare, Marrying Mozart, and the most recent, Claude & Camille: A Novel.  Her books blend facts with fiction to tell the fascinating stories of what could have happened in the lives of historical figures.

Claude & Camille: A Novel has gotten rave reviews from critics and readers, and is out in paperback now, just in time to tuck in your beach bag or take along on your summer vacation.

In her bio, Stephanie says:

"Looking back on my novels so far, I have found I return often to the passions and struggles as well as the intimate daily world of artists, writers and musicians of the past: Claude Monet half a century before he painted the water lilies, the unmarried Mozart choosing between four musical sisters (talk about sibling rivalry!), Shakespeare leaving his resentful family in Stratford to try make it as a playwright in London 1590 where he had never been in his life, and my latest intense love story about a much-loved writer from the nineteenth century...but more to come on that!"

Here's a description of Claude & Camille:

Journey back to the Bohemian streets of Paris 1865, a time of young love and the early beginnings of Impressionism. We are climbing five steep flights of dark steps to a small painters’ studio cluttered with art to meet the handsome young Claude Monet and his friends, his passion for painting, and the young woman who will haunt him all his life — the beautiful and mysterious Camille.

Here's what people are saying about Claude & Camille:

"Stephanie Cowell is nothing short of masterful in writing about Claude Monet’s life and love...Claude & Camille is both a historical novel and a romance, but Cowell’s graceful, moving treatment of Claude and Camille’s turbulent love defies categorization. It’s an enthralling story, beautifully told..." - Boston Globe

"...a diverting fictional representation of the Impressionist maverick Claude Monet and his first wife, who died at the age of 32...an account of his rocky ascent as he endures poverty, disappointment and disapproving parents, flanked by fellow artists Renoir, Pissarro, Cézanne, Manet and Degas." - New York Times

"Cowell presents a vivid portrait of Monet’s remarkable career. She writes with intelligence and reverence for her subject matter, providing a rich exploration of the points at which life and art converged for one of history’s greatest painters.” - Bookpage

"You'll never look at Monet's water lilies the same way after reading Stephanie Cowell's luminous [novel] of the artist and his muse. An ode to the Impressionists and the women...who inspired them." - Romantic Times

"The historical figures become as real to the reader as any contemporary character...one of the best and brightest writers of historical fiction..." - Washington Times

And here's the trailer:



You can learn more about Stephanie on her website, and follow her on Twitter and Facebook!

What are you reading right now?

Book Trailer Fridays - Maria Dahvana Headley & Queen of Kings

Maria Dahvana Headley's novel, Queen of Kings, the first book in a trilogy, hit stores yesterday, and is listed as one of USA TODAY's 10 books not to miss in May!

Here's a description:

Once there was a queen of Egypt…a queen who became through magic something else…

The year is 30 BC. Octavian Caesar and his massed legions are poised to enter Alexandria. A messenger informs Queen Cleopatra that her beloved Mark Antony has died by his own hand. Desperate to save her kingdom and resurrect her husband, Cleopatra turns to the gods for help. Ignoring the warnings of those around her, she summons Sekhmet, goddess of death and destruction, and strikes a mortal bargain. But not even the wisest of Egypt’s scholars could have predicted what would follow…

In exchange for Antony’s soul, Sekhmet demands something in return: Cleopatra herself. Egypt’s queen is possessed, transformed into a vampiric creature of mythical proportions, an immortal shapeshifter with superhuman strength—at once ferocious and seductive. Fighting to preserve something of her humanity, Cleopatra pursues Octavian back to Rome: she desires revenge, she yearns for her children…and she craves human blood.

Clashing against witches and monsters, gods and warriors, Cleopatra journeys from the tombs of the Pharaohs to the great amphitheaters of imperial Rome to the ancient underworld—where she will meet her love once again, and where the battle between man and beast will determine the fate of the world.

Blending history, mythology and the darkest of fantasy, Queen of Kings brings the timeless story of Cleopatra to life like never before in this stunningly original and spellbinding debut.

Here's what people are saying about Queen of Kings:

"The dark, romantic novel Queen of Kings by Maria Dahvana Headley mixes history with vampire lore, imagining Cleopatra as a vengeful, bloodthirsty queen who travels to the underworld to save her kingdom and her king." ~Tres Sugar-Pop Sugar's May Must Read

"You may think you know vampires, and you may think you know Cleopatra, but in Maria Headley's inventive and sweeping historical fantasy, Queen of Kings (Dutton, May), the rulers of ancient Egypt and Rome grapple with bloodlust, magic, and betrayal in ways you'd never expect...Readers of Guy Gavriel Kay will love the rich storytelling, laden with historical detail." ~Publisher's Weekly 

Just when you think the subject and the character of Cleopatra have been exhausted, Headley adds a new twist to the timeworn legend by blending history, fantasy, and epic battle scenes in this intriguing genre bender, the first volume in a projected trilogy...Can Cleopatra defeat Octavian, bring Rome to its knees, and even conquer death itself? Readers will keep turning the pages to find out. ~Booklist

And here's the trailer:

You can follow Maria, who is also the author of The Year of Yes, on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

Book Trailer Fridays - Rebecca Rasmussen and The Bird Sisters

Rebecca Rasmussen's debut novel The Bird Sisters is on my must read list.

Here's a description:

When a bird flies into a window in Spring Green, Wisconsin, sisters Milly and Twiss get a visit. Twiss listens to the birds’ heartbeats, assessing what she can fix and what she can’t, while Milly listens to the heartaches of the people who’ve brought them. The two sisters have spent their lives nursing people and birds back to health.

But back in the summer of 1947, they knew nothing about trying to mend what had been accidentally broken. Milly was known as a great beauty with emerald eyes and Twiss was a brazen wild child who never wore a dress or did what she was told. That was the summer their golf pro father got into an accident that cost him both his swing and his charm, and their mother, the daughter of a wealthy jeweler, finally admitted their hardscrabble lives wouldn’t change. It was the summer their priest, Father Rice, announced that God didn’t exist and ran off to Mexico, and a boy named Asa finally caught Milly’s eye. And, most unforgettably, it was the summer their cousin Bett came down from a town called Deadwater and changed the course of their lives forever.

Here's what people are saying about The Bird Sisters:

"Achingly authentic and almost completely character driven, the story of the sisters depicts the endlessly binding ties of family.” --Publisher's Weekly

"Rasmussen's debut novel is full of grace and humanity. Her heroines are fearless and romantic, endearing and engaging, and her poetic prose creates an almost magical, wholly satisfying world." --Library Journal, Starred Review

“A magical debut, original and poignant, lovely and moving. The Bird Sisters evokes the richly imaginative joys of childhood and the throat-aching betrayals and loyalties of being an adult." --Jenna Blum, Bestselling Author of Those Who Save Us and The Stormchasers

And here's the trailer:



You can follow Rebecca on her blog, Twitter, and Facebook.  She's touring this spring! You can see if she's doing a reading near you on her website.

Book Trailer Fridays - C.W. Gortner and The Tudor Secret

I'm completely fascinated with historical novelists, the depth of research they do, and the way they deftly mix fact and fiction, giving new life and personality to characters from our past.

C.W. Gortner is the author of The Confessions of Catherine de Medici, and The Last Queen.  His latest novel, The Tudor Secret, came out in February to rave reviews.

Here's a description:

Summer, 1553: Brendan Prescott, an orphan reared in the household of the powerful Dudley family, is brought to court, where he finds himself sent on an illicit mission to King Edward VI’s brilliant, enigmatic sister, Princess Elizabeth.

But soon Brendan is compelled to work as a double agent by Elizabeth’s protector, William Cecil—who promises in exchange to help him unravel the secret of his own mysterious past. 

A dark plot swirls around Elizabeth's quest to unravel the truth about the ominous disappearance of her seriously ill brother, King Edward VI. With only a bold stable boy and audacious lady-in-waiting at his side, Brendan plunges into a ruthless gambit of half-truths, lies, and murder.

Filled with the intrigue and pageantry of Tudor England, The Tudor Secret brings this world to life from a new perspective, telling the story of a spy who becomes the protector of England's future queen.

Here's what people are saying about The Tudor Secret:

"Gortner handles action with aplomb, adding a riveting, fast-paced thriller to the crowded genre of Tudor fiction."—Publisher's Weekly

"An exciting, vividly rendered story of intrigue and espionage." —Book List

"A brilliantly executed plot and three-dimensional characters . . . this is historical fiction, and very well done at that; very highly recommended." —Historical Novels Review, Editors’ Choice

Here's the trailer:



And here's Christopher talking about his work:



You can follow Christopher on his blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

Book Trailer Fridays - Evan Dawson and Summer in a Glass

Evan Dawson's debut book, Summer in a Glass, hits shelves on April 5th. Evan, a Rochester news anchor, and managing editor of the New York Cork Report, spent two years interviewing Finger Lakes wine makers to uncover the stories of family, dreams and hope behind some of the great Finger Lakes wineries.

Here's the description:

How did a brilliant German winemaker end up in a small region in upstate New York after leaving his family in the middle of a harvest night? How did a Danish-born winemaker lose his family’s wine estate in southern France, only to see his career revived in the Finger Lakes?

Why are they here? How did they get here? And what is the world learning about the land they now inhabit?

These are the fascinating questions that permeate the wine in New York’s Finger Lakes region, and journalist Evan Dawson provides thrilling answers in Summer in a Glass: The Coming of Age of Winemaking in the Finger Lakes. After spending two years on the road, in the cellars, and in the vineyards with these talented men and women, Dawson tells their deeply personal stories in a way that stitches the new, emerging story of the region together.

Here's what people are saying about Summer in a Glass:

"Dawson stitches together diverse portraits to compose a useful travel guide, lessons in Wine 101, and, most important, a reminder of what makes wine so alluring. A fast, engaging read for wine lovers, especially those planning to visit the Finger Lakes region." 

--Library Journal

"Evan has the gift of a great journalist and storyteller. Summer in a Glass is an intimate glimpse into the lives, inspiration and perspiration of the brave men and women of wine in The Finger Lakes Region. . . without looking, the reader learns effortlessly about wine through entertaining, compelling and heartfelt stories. It’s a delight!" 

--Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan MW, author of The Great Courses: The Everyday Guide to Wine

"Every wine region of real quality deserves not just a champion–it’s too easy to be a mere booster–but a storyteller of grace, insight and affection. The Finger Lakes region in upstate New York has just such a storyteller in Evan Dawson, who brings to life–fires your imagination, really–the triumphs, travails and intimate personal decisions that are the real ingredients of fine wine. For once, the folks in Napa Valley should envy the Finger Lakes in winning the articulate affection of a writer as fine as Evan Dawson." 

--Matt Kramer, Wine Spectator columnist and author of Matt Kramer On Wine

And here's the trailer:



You can follow Evan on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.  Evan has some great (and wine-filled) book events coming up in the Finger Lakes and beyond.  Check out the schedule here.

Book Trailer Fridays - Christina Meldrum and Amaryllis in Blueberry

My Fridays have tended toward hectic lately, so I haven't put up any trailers in several weeks, but now Book Trailer Fridays is back, starting with Amaryllis in Blueberry by Christina Meldrum!

Here's a description of the book:

Meet the Slepys: Dick, the stern doctor, the naive husband, a man devoted to both facts and faith; Seena, the storyteller, the restless wife, a mother of four, a lover of myth. And their children, the Marys: Mary Grace, the devastating beauty; Mary Tessa, the insistent inquisitor; Mary Catherine, the saintly, lost soul; and finally, Amaryllis, Seena's unspoken favorite, born with the mystifying ability to sense the future, touch the past and distinguish the truth tellers from the most convincing liar of all.

When Dick insists his family move from Michigan to the unfamiliar world of Africa for missionary work, he can't possibly foresee how this new land and its people will entrance and change his daughters—and himself—forever.

Nor can he predict how Africa will spur his wife Seena toward an old but unforgotten obsession. In fact, Seena may be falling into a trance of her own.

Here's what people are saying about Amaryllis in Bluberry:

"Satisfying." —Library Journal

"Intoxicating." —Publishers Weekly

"Meldrum writes beautifully."—Kirkus Reviews

"A uniquely memorable read that will stay with you long after you turn the last page." —Carol Cassella, National Bestselling author of Oxygen and Healer

"A beautifully layered, intensely emotional story, with unforgettable characters."—Michelle Richmond, author of the New York Times and international bestseller The Year of Fog

Here's the book trailer:



And here's a video of Christina talking about Amaryllis in Blueberry.



You can follow Christina on Twitter and Facebook.

What are you reading right now?

Book Trailer Fridays - Kate Ledger & Remedies

I had the chance to tell you a bit about Kate Ledger's The Dogs' Book of Romance the other day when I announced the Valentine's Giveaway (have you entered yet?  Go enter!). But I didn't get to talk much about Remedies, Kate's debut novel, so I figured this would be the perfect Book Trailer Friday pick!

REMEDIES is a Self magazine book pick, an Indie Next List Notable Book, an Ingram Premier Pick, a "Community Read" selection of the Twin Cities Jewish Book Fair, and earned a starred review from Publisher's Weekly, who said: "Ledger's accomplished debut offers a compelling view of married life through the prism of unacknowledged grief...with rare insight... An impressive portrait of a family in crisis, executed with finesse and assurance."

Kirkus said: 

"Ledger makes medical science interesting and accessible, but her triumph is the creation of Simon, a deeply flawed and magnetic character... Complex, nuanced and engrossing portrait of a doctor's life."

Here's the description:

"Esteemed Baltimore doctor Simon Bear becomes convinced he's discovered a cure for chronic pain, a finding that could become the major medical breakthrough of our time. With reckless zeal and obsessive focus, he begins to recruit patients to test the therapy. As he yearns to prove he's a good doctor—and to make amends for a missed diagnosis years ago—he is oblivious to the pain he's causing at home. His wife, Emily, still struggling to move beyond the devastating loss she and Simon suffered fifteen years ago, realizes she hasn't felt anything for a long time-that is, until a lover from her past reappears and she's forced to examine her marriage anew."

Here's the trailer: 



And, because Kate is so lovely, she took the time to answer my questions! 

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer, or did you have other aspirations? 

I wanted to be a writer ever since Charlotte’s Web was read to me as a kid. Even back then, I liked books that were deep emotional experiences—that would make me gasp, or get teary, or feel like I’d just disappeared into another world and that my own life and well-being was bound up with these fictional characters. I took creative writing classes outside of school every chance I could, even as a seventh grader. For a few summers, I had internships working for newspapers, and even tried on other career ideas—at one point I thought being an immigration lawyer sounded like a really good aspiration—but I kept coming back to fiction. That led me to get a master’s degree in creative writing. And even after I started working at a job as a magazine writer, I was still bent on writing short stories and ultimately a novel.

Do you have any writing rituals, or specific things you do to motivate you while you're working on a manuscript? 


Rituals are great! They can be the tow-rope that guides you right back from the real world into your fictional world. I like mornings better than any time of day, coffee better than any beverage, and the computer better than any other writing tool. Those three things help me get started. I can work in noise—there’s a jackhammer on the street outside my window today—but I don’t like hearing music with lyrics while I’m writing, and can’t work near loud-talkers in coffee shops. I have a quirky belief that the brain wants to problem-solve, consciously and subconsciously, at the same time, all the time. So even when I think a sentence reads well, if I mistype or misspell a word, I believe my brain made the mistake intentionally and is telling me to go back and take a second look at what I’ve typed.

I love the concepts of pain and feeling you work with in Remedies. What inspired this story and these characters? 

Remedies is the story of a troubled family, but the novel was originally inspired by some of the non-fiction magazine writing I’ve done. For years, I’ve worked as a freelance writer, specializing in health and medicine. As I was writing articles on various topics, I was meeting and interviewing doctors and researchers who’d come up with amazing new treatments for patients. What really blew me away was that some of those treatments ran counter to established medical thinking, even though patients seemed to find them helpful. I started to wonder, as I was thinking about fictional characters—what kind of person would come up with a miracle cure? What would he be like? What traits would he have? And I started to write a book about Simon Bear, a well-respected doctor who believes he’s stumbled across a cure for pain.


It seemed like a fascinating topic—a guy who’s discovered something so incredible it may change people’s lives. But as I was writing, I kept wondering: why. Why would he believe he was right? As I thought more about Simon, I began to think that maybe Simon’s zealous desire to treat his patients’ pain came from a reluctance to deal with his own emotional pain. At that point, in my own life, I’d become a mom, and I’d come to regard the world in a totally new way. As I was thinking about emotional pain, I began to think about Simon’s family life, and the things that were most precious to me and closest to my heart. The source of his pain came into focus: Simon and his wife, Emily, lost a child years earlier, but never let themselves grieve. Instead of dealing with their pain, they’ve tried to move ahead with their lives. Simon still blames himself for not having made the diagnosis that might have saved their child’s life, and even years later, he’s still trying to make amends. The story about Simon and Emily’s complicated marriage and their journey to heal grew from there.

As a debut author, what's surprised you the most about the publishing process?


It took me a bunch of years to write Remedies, so it was kind of a shock to transition from a very isolated writing experience to the experience of giving readings and talking about the book with people. The very best part of the experience has been meeting book groups, people who really care about literature and who want to talk about what they experienced as they were reading. I’ve been visiting in person with as many book groups as I can, and like many other authors, am meeting with groups by Skype and speakerphone. Remedies is told from two sides of a marriage, and it’s great to hear people analyze the characters and the nuances of the relationship. I really learn a lot, too, from people who share their own stories.

What are you reading right now? 


I’m reading Rebecca Rasmussen’s soon-to-be published debut novel The Bird Sisters and Caroline Leavitt’s Pictures of You, which was just published recently. I’m also working on a new novel, and I’m reading specifically for that. The next book also has medical themes—and I’m reading several books about the lives of surgeons.

Thank you so much, Kate!


You can learn more about Kate on her website, and follow her on Twitter!

Book Trailer Fridays - Randy Susan Meyers & The Murderer's Daughters

The Murderer's Daughtersby Randy Susan Meyers has gotten rave reviews in hardcover.  It just came out in paperback this week and it's the most recent Target Club Pick, so I thought it would be a great choice for this week's book trailer.

Here's the description:

Lulu and Merry's childhood was never ideal, but on the day before Lulu's tenth birthday their father drives them into a nightmare. He's always hungered for the love of the girl's self-obsessed mother. After she throws him out, their troubles turn deadly.

Lulu's mother warned her to never let him in, but when he shows up, he's impossible to ignore. He bullies his way past ten-year-old Lulu, who obeys her father's instructions to open the door, then listens in horror as her parents struggle. She runs for help and discovers upon her return that he's murdered her mother, stabbed her sister, and tried to kill himself.

For thirty years, the sisters try to make sense of what happened. Their imprisoned father is a specter in both their lives, shadowing every choice they make. Though one spends her life pretending he's dead, while the other feels compelled to help him, both fear that someday their imprisoned father's attempts to win parole may meet success.

The Murderer's Daughters is narrated in turn by Merry and Lulu. The book follows the sisters as children, as young women, and as adults, always asking how far forgiveness can stretch, while exploring sibling loyalty, the aftermath of family violence, and the reality of redemption.

Here's the trailer:



And here's what people are saying about The Murderer's Daughter:

"Dives fearlessly into a tense and emotional story of two sisters anchored to one irreversible act of domestic violence. " Christine Thomas, The Miami Herald

"How both sisters live, from the squalor of an orphanage to the empty silences of suburban living, is all too believable and heartbreaking." Sarah Weinman, LA Times 'Knock-Out Debuts'

"A gripping tale of sisters Merry and Lulu struggling for 30 years to find their way in the world, one devoted to their imprisoned father, the other enraged at him." Jan Gardner, Boston Globe

You can follow Randy on Twitter @randysusanmeyer  and on Facebook.

What are you reading right now?

Book Trailer Fridays - Juliette Fay & Deep Down True

I've been meaning to blog all week, but I've been completely lost in my manuscript. It's a good thing, but I get to the end of my writing day and I'm kind of shocked that I'm still me. It's a little disorienting. Like watching a movie that's completely engrossing and when it's suddenly over, walking through the doors of the movie theatre back to the normal world seems surprising.

Or like the time The Other 1/4 watched the entire first season of Heroes around the same time that I did.

She called and said, "You know, the only thing I didn't like about it --"

"--was when you stopped watching and didn't have superpowers it was disappointing?" I said.

"Yeah," she said. "Exactly."

That's what I've been feeling like every Tuesday and Thursday when I finish writing for the day. Not that my main character has superpowers, just that right now, even though she's not real, I can't get enough of her.

But this weekend, I'm taking a break from work, writing, and everything else - except laundry, because the clean clothes situation around here is a little dire - and planning a good old-fashioned reading binge. Hot tea, my electric throw blanket, and my HappyLites. I'm going to pretend like I'm not tired of winter and enjoy being cozy while the snow falls. Deep Down Truecame out this week and I've been dying to read it!

Here's the description:

Newly divorced Dana Stellgarten has always been unfailingly nice--even to telemarketers--but now her temper is wearing thin. Money is tight, her kids are reeling from their dad's departure, and her Goth teenage niece has just landed on her doorstep. As she enters the slipstream of post-divorce romance and is befriended by the town queen bee, Dana finds that the tension between being true to yourself and being liked doesn't end in middle school... and that sometimes it takes a real friend to help you embrace adulthood in all its flawed complexity.

Here's the trailer:


Deep Down True by Juliette Fay book trailer from Keiji Iwai on Vimeo.

And here's what people are saying about Deep Down True:

“Heartwarming, funny, well-penned, unexpectedly suspenseful, this is a solid page-turner right through to the touching end.” –Booklist

“Familiar material gets sensitive treatment in this subtle novel. It expertly walks a heavily trodden path. ” –Publisher’s Weekly

“Sincere, powerful and heartfelt ... the intricate dynamics of friendship and family are immediately recognizable." –Emily Giffen, New York Times bestselling author of Heart of the Matter

You can learn more about Deep Down True on Juliette's website.  Follow Juliette on Twitter @juliettefay.

What's on your agenda this weekend?

Book Trailer Fridays - Kelly O'Connor McNees & The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott

I read Little Women in fourth grade, and was completely and totally mesmerized.  It was the first book that made me feel like I was living inside the story while I read it, because I was so emotionally invested in the characters.  I'd enjoyed reading up until then, but Little Women is the book that made me a reader, and it's still one of my all time favorites.

Little Women was also the book that sparked my interested in writers.  The woman behind the Little Women is just as interesting as the book itself.  Louisa May Alcott was a student of several members of the Transcendental Club, an abolitionist, and an advocate for women's rights.  She died at the age of 55, but wrote over 270 books in her lifetime.

I love that Kelly O'Connor McNees has written a novel about what could have happened in Louisa May Alcott's life to inspire the ending to Little Women.

Here's part of the description:

"In her debut novel, The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, Kelly O’Connor McNees deftly mixes fact and fiction as she imagines a summer lost to history, carefully purged from Louisa’s letters and journals, a summer that would change the course of Louisa’s writing career—and inspire the story of love and heartbreak between Jo and Teddy “Laurie” Laurence, Jo’s devoted neighbor and kindred spirit."

Here's the trailer:



And here's what reviewers are saying about The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott:

"…The Lost Summer is the kind of romantic tale to which Alcott herself was partial, one in which love is important but not a solution to life’s difficulties. Devotees of Little Women will flock to this story with pleasure." 

– The Washington Post

“… the book is so compelling and well written that I hated to see it end.”

– Historical Novels Review

“… McNees deftly combines historic figures and documented aspects of Louisa’s life with speculations about what might have been. Fans of Little Women may be first in line to read the novel, but the book will also appeal to others who enjoy historical romance.”

– Library Journal

Check out Kelly's website, and follow her on Twitter!

Book Trailer Fridays - Tatjana Soli & The Lotus Eaters

I re-read The Things They Carried for book club a few months ago.  It is a stunning book, and I'm completely in awe of Tim O'Brien.  So, my TBR pile has gotten a little taller, since discovering that he had this to say about The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli:

"Set amid the twin infernos of Cambodia and Vietnam in the early 1970's, The Lotus Eaters draws the reader into a haunting world of war, betrayal, courage, obsession, and love. Tatjana Soli's spare, lucid prose infuses this novel with a dramatic clarity that makes us eyewitnesses to the collapse of two civilizations. More than that, The Lotus Eaters helps us to see and hear and feel the terrible human costs of that conflagration." 

—Tim O'Brien, National Book Award-winning author 

From Historical Novel Society:

The Lotus Eaters is one of the most honest, endearing, searing, and intriguing stories about the Vietnam War that I have ever read and as far as I’m concerned, one of the finest novels of the Vietnam era. It goes so much deeper and wider than a typical “war is hell” story. Tatjana Soli has caught the essence of this devastating conflict and the loves that ensue during and after the destruction it wrought. Highly recommended. —Viviane Crystal

I love hearing Tatjana talk about the story and her research for the book in the trailer.




The Lotus Eaters was a New York Times Notable Book in 2010, and is about a woman who begins her career as a photographer in Vietnam during the war.

What's on your To Be Read pile?

Book Trailer Fridays - Caroline Leavitt & Pictures of You

Hope you're all enjoying the holidays!

I've been busy working on J's Christmas present like crazy this week. If I can manage to keep it a secret for another twelve hours or so, it may actually be the first year ever, that he hasn't found out about his gift before Christmas. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

This week's book trailer is for Caroline Leavitt's book PICTURES OF YOU, which is currently at the top of my TBR pile.



I love how eerie the trailer is!

Here's what critics are saying about PICTURES OF YOU:

"Caroline Leavitt plumbs the depths of grief and forgiveness in the lovely Pictures Of You."  

~Vanity Fair, Hot Type

"Suspenseful...gripping. Leavitt is superb at revealing the secrecy inside many marriages and the way children grieve; several moving scenes involve Sam, who has come to imagine Isabelle as a crash scene "angel" who will take him to his mother. Most impressive is how Leavitt deals head-on with well-meaning people who come to realize, too late, that even an imperfect life is irreplaceable."  

~Jane Ciabattari, O, the Oprah Magazine

What's on your To Be Read pile?

Book Trailer Fridays - Claire Cook & Seven Year Switch!

I'm not sure if book trailers are something people outside of the writer/book blogger world are very aware of. Every time I mentioned the book trailer for STAY during the production process, people would ask what a book trailer is.

It's simple! A book trailer is like a movie trailer, but for a book! Lots of authors produce them, and they're a great way to get a feel for a new book.

For my very first Book Trailer Friday post, here's the trailer to one of my favorite books this year: SEVEN YEAR SWITCH, by Claire Cook.



About the Book:

Just when Jill Murray's finally figured out how to manage on her own, her ex-husband proves that he can't even run away reliably. After seven long years missing in action, he's back -- crashing into the man-free existence Jill and her ten-year-old daughter have built so carefully. And what's a good mother to do? To a child, even a deadbeat dad is better than no dad at all.

Jill's life just hasn't turned out quite the way she planned. By now, she'd hoped to be jetting around the world as a high-end cultural coach. Instead, she's answering phones for a local travel agency and teaching cooking classes at the community center.

Enter free-spirited entrepreneur Billy, who hires Jill as a consultant for an upcoming business trip. Is their relationship veering off in a new direction? And what about her ex? Jill couldn't possibly still have feelings for him . . . could she? Suddenly, her no-boys-allowed life is anything but.

They say that every seven years you become a completely new person, but Jill isn't sure she's ready for the big change. It takes a Costa Rican getaway to help her make a choice -- not so much between the two men in her life, but between the woman she is and the one she wants to be.

Here's what critics are saying about SEVEN YEAR SWITCH:

“Cook tells this involving story of forgiveness and acceptance with heart, charm, and characters you can’t help but root for.” —Booklist

“Bestseller Cook charms again with this lively warm-hearted look at changing courses mid-life.” —People

“A lot of fun to read? Definitely!”
-Redbook

And here's a clip of Claire on the Today Show! She is such an inspiration!