Showing posts with label authors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label authors. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

We're pleased to meet Kasie West...plus a book giveaway


Today we are celebrating the publication of Kasie West's debut adult rom-com, We Met Like This. It sounds like a fun and sweet story and it's receiving rave reviews already. We enjoyed chatting with Kasie and hope you will enjoy getting to know her too. Thanks to St. Martin's Press, we have FIVE copies of We Met Like This to give away!

Kasie West is the author of 16 young adult books and counting. Her debut, Pivot Point, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and was a 2014 YALSA BFYA (Best Fiction for Young Adults) pick and the 2013 Whitney Award for Best Novel by a New Author. Kasie is also the author of PS I Like You, Sunkissed, and many others. Kasie’s books have been translated into over 20 languages, including German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Turkish, Danish, Polish, Indonesian, Czech, and Slovakian. Kasie lives with her family in Central California. We Met Like This is her adult debut.

Visit Kasie online:
Website * Facebook * Instagram

Synopsis:
Can the wrong kind of meet-cute still lead to Mr. Right?

Margot Hart is a hopeless romantic who dreams of repping love stories as a literary agent—and living one herself. Which is why she despises dating apps. The only guy she keeps matching with is Oliver, whose one disastrous date with her ended in nothing but a memorable kiss.

When Margot loses her job and runs into Oliver again, he’s convinced she just wants a repeat make-out. And maybe she does. They’re total opposites, after all. But as she fights to launch her own agency, Oliver proves steady, supportive, and impossible to ignore.

Now Margot has to decide if true love can come from the one place she swore it never would.

Kasie West’s adult debut sparkles with witty banter, messy meet-cutes, and romance worth swiping right on.

"West’s adult debut is everything―vulnerable, spicy, funny, and squeal-out-loud romantic." 
- Kirkus (starred review)

"YA author West’s (Better Than Revenge) adult debut gives second-chance romance and opposites-attract tropes a new twist. This engaging, witty, unputdownable romance is a must for all collections." 
- Library Journal (starred review)

"A fun and delightful romance from a beloved author." 
- Culturess

What is a favorite compliment you have received on your writing?
My very favorite compliment is when people tell me that they related so much to the character that it was like they were reading about their own life. I love that. I love when people feel understood when reading something I wrote. I think it is such a human need—to feel seen. To know we are not alone in this world and that other people have felt the things we’ve felt or experienced some of the same joys and heartaches that we have. I love it when books make us feel that way. 

How is Margot similar to or different from you?
People have told me that Margot is a lovable mess and I would agree with that. I don’t think I’m super similar to Margot except in the fact that she and I share the same organization style. I have a chair where I keep my not too dirty but not completely clean clothes as well. I also have a very unorganized bookcase. And I often find myself distracted by my phone while trying to work. Oh, also, I’m a total romantic. On the other hand, I do not have a love/hate relationship with my sister and I’m pretty driven. 

If We Met Like This was made into a movie, who would you cast in the leading roles?
This is a tricky question because people tend to hold you to this down the road if any casting ever does take place. And honestly, I don’t picture any particular actors/actresses when I’m writing. BUT, since you asked, and since I think it’s fun, I will list off a few who I think would do a fabulous job and who I could picture in the role. But I think there are so many options for all these characters.

Margot: Cailee Spaeny
Oliver: Diego Boneta
Sloane (best friend): Yara Shahidi
Audrey (sister): Skyler Samuels
Rob (boss): Matt Bomer

What is your favorite autumn activity?
Drinking iced pumpkin spiced chai because I am that girl and yummy drinks are my happy place in any season. But I also love driving around and looking at all the pretty fall colors. Autumn really is my favorite season.

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it? (Like how John McEnroe narrated Devi's life on Never Have I Ever.)
Okay, so I love Never Have I Ever and he does a fabulous job. The writing on that show is chef’s kiss (as is the acting). Anyway, my life…who would I want to narrate it? I’m a Swiftie so Taylor would be awesome, of course. I think she’d be funny too and a bit chaotic, which is me. But I also love a deep voice with a sexy accent, so maybe Tom Hiddleston. He could make my life seem more intriguing and exciting than it actually is. 

If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
I’m lucky enough to live right in between two national parks: Yosemite and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. They are both amazing and if anyone ever comes and visits me, I think they must go to see either of them. They are truly stunning. 

Thanks to Kasie for chatting with us and to St. Martin's Press for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Gleam to enter the giveaway. (Rafflecopter is shutting down at the end of September, so we are switching over to Gleam.) If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Gleam on our blog, enter the giveaway here.


We Met Like This (5 print copies)


Giveaway ends September 21st at midnight EST.

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Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Sara Goodman Confino's trip back in time...plus a book giveaway

Introduction by Melissa Amster

We're pleased to have Sara Goodman Confino back at CLC today to celebrate the publication of her fifth novel, Good Grief! While I love everything Sara has written, this one is her best one yet. Check out my initial thoughts on my Bookstagram. I've met Sara a couple times and she's just as delightful in person as she is online. She's so funny too! If you haven't read her books yet, don't hestitate to check them out. If you are as big a fan of hers as I am, then you're in for a treat with her latest. Today, Sara is taking us on a virtual trip back in time, to the 1960s. We hope you all enjoy the ride. Thanks to Get Red PR, we have TWO copies of Good Grief to give away!

Sara Goodman Confino is the bestselling author of five novels: Don’t Forget to Write, Behind Every Good Man, She’s Up to No Good, For the Love of Friends, and Good Grief. After spending more years than she’s willing to publicly admit teaching high school English and journalism, she is currently writing full time and trying to make a living off of the crazy stories in her head. She lives in Montgomery County, Maryland with her husband, two sons, two miniature schnauzers, and a goldfish that seems to be vying for the world record of longest living fish. When she’s not writing or frantically parenting, she can be found on the Peloton, at the beach, or at a Bruce Springsteen concert, sometimes even dancing onstage. (Bio courtesy of Sara's website.)

Visit Sara online:
Website * Facebook * Instagram

Synopsis: 
It’s 1963, two years since Barbara Feldman’s husband died. Raising two kids, she’s finally emerging from her cocoon of grief. Not yet a butterfly, but she’s anxious to spread her wings.

Then one day her mother-in-law, Ruth, shows up on her doorstep with five suitcases, expecting a room of her own with a suitable mattress. Abrasive and stuck in her ways yet well meaning, Mother Ruth arrives without warning to help with the children. How can Barbara say no to a woman who is not only a widow herself but also a grieving mother? As Ruth’s prickly visit turns from days to weeks to what seems like forever, Barbara realizes Ruth has got to go. But Barbara has an ingenious plan: introduce Ruth to some fine gentlemen and marry her off as fast as she can.

Soon enough, something tells Barbara that Ruth is trying to do the same for her. At least they’re finding common ground—helping each other to move forward. Even if it is in the most unpredictable ways two totally different women ever imagined.
(Courtesy of Amazon.)

“Barbara and Ruth share a similar pain. Living under the same roof, the widowed mother and daughter-in-law butt heads as they wade through loneliness and grief. And when they each scheme to find love for the other one, Confino does what she does best: crafting a brimming tale of family and second chances while finding joy through our sorrows. Special nod to the tiny gems from former books Confino has sprinkled within the pages. But mostly, readers will fall in love with this bighearted story full of hope.” 
—Rochelle B. Weinstein, bestselling author of This Is Not How It Ends

“Sprinkled with romantic side plots for both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and cameos from beloved characters of the author’s previous books, Good Grief is another winner from Sara Goodman Confino and guaranteed to delight her large existing fan base and bring in new readers who have yet to experience her charming and hilarious stories.” 
—Meredith Schorr, author of Roommating

One of the questions I am asked most frequently is why I choose to set the majority of my novels in the early 1960s when I clearly wasn’t alive in that era. 

It’s a valid question—I’m an elder millennial who never in a million years thought that I’d be writing about a time period when my parents were children. 

But it’s a multifaceted answer. The starting point is likely that my favorite movie is Dirty Dancing. I used to lie and say it was higher brow titles, like Breakfast at Tiffany's and Casablanca, which I do love. But if Dirty Dancing comes on the tv, I’m watching it. In fact, my dogs hide if they hear “Time of My Life,” because they know one of them is getting held overhead in the infamous lift. 

Did I watch that movie way too young? Yes. Did I understand the abortion subplot? ABSOLUTELY NOT. When I watched it again, older, I was shocked by how much I missed. But even more shocked by how relevant that storyline still was. 

Fast forward to college. My favorite class that I took was a seminar on America in the 1960s. I thought I was going to be learning about hippies, but we focused on the whole decade, with a large chunk of it dedicated to the Kennedy assassination and the ways in which that shifted the entire country’s future. And I somehow got to write papers on Simon and Garfunkle and compare the different portrayals of Romeo and Juliet through the era contrasting West Side Story with the Zeffirelli film. No boring analysis essays here!

And then along came The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (you knew I was going there, right?). The clothes! The colors! The family dynamics! The Jewish humor even if Rachel Brosnahan herself isn’t! I loved it all.

So when a bookstagrammer called me “The Marvelous Mrs. Confino” on publication day for my second novel, an idea was born. I wanted to write something set in that bright, colorful era before the Kennedy assassination, where everything looked so happy. But there was a lot going on beneath the surface that was decidedly less so. And like in Dirty Dancing, a lot of the issues that people were dealing with then are still relevant today. And that’s where Don’t Forget to Write and Behind Every Good Man came into play.

For Good Grief, I wanted to tell a more intimate story. My paternal grandfather died suddenly in 1960, when my father was nine. And my grandmother raised him in an era where she couldn’t even get a credit card without a man signing off on it. What jobs could she get? As a Jewish immigrant, who married at 19, and never went to college? And, she persevered because what choice did she have?

Women today can find work much easier, and childcare, while expensive, is available. We can get our own credit cards, car loans, mortgages. But we’re still expected to do it all—balance a career, a family, a home, and with social media, it often feels like everyone is doing it better than we are. 

Barbara, the main character, who suffers a similar loss to my grandmother’s, eventually realizes she can’t do everything herself. She has to be able to ask for and accept help—an issue that modern women struggle with as well. She faces antisemitism, inspired by a real incident that happened to my grandmother in that era, but mirroring today’s climate in ways I couldn’t have anticipated when I wrote the book. 

I love seeing how far we have come. But writing books set in the past has helped me see how far we still need to go as well. And I think that’s an important lesson for today’s readers—it wasn’t that long ago that we, as women, lacked the rights we take for granted today. And it isn’t impossible that we could revert to not having them again. And that, combined with a love for Dirty Dancing, is why I’ll continue to tell these stories. 

Thanks to Sara for visiting with us and to Get Red PR for sharing her book with our readers. (And now we have "Hula Hana" in our heads.)

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here

Giveaway ends September 1st at midnight EST.

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Listen to this book on Speechify!

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

A Novel Beginning for Elise Wayland...plus a book giveaway

 
Photo by Dan McClanahan
We are excited to have Elise Wayland here today to talk about her debut novel, Rivals to Lovers. Elise's answers to our questions were a lot of fun and we hope you will enjoy reading them too. Rivals to Lovers sounds like an entertaining story and thanks to Crooked Lane Books, we have TWO copies to give away!

Elise Wayland is a Midwestern writer and humorist, recently published in The New York Times, Electric Literature, The Rumpus, Scary Mommy, McSweeney's, and other outlets. 

Visit Elise online:
Website * Instagram * BlueSky * TikTok

Synopsis:
Mo Denton has been obsessed with the classic feminist novel The Proud and the Lost for as long as she can remember. When Mo puts everything she has into writing a modern adaptation of her all-time favorite book, her agent Yuri loves it—but can’t pitch it anywhere. The original author’s estate must approve any adaptation, and so far, it has never allowed one to go forward.

The agent who represents the estate—Wes Spencer—is also working on an updated version of the beloved story. Promoting Mo’s project would go against Wes’s own interests, and he’s reluctant to bring it to Estelle Morgan, the elderly daughter of the original novelist. But when Yuri contacts Estelle herself, Estelle invites Mo and Wes to her home for a weekend where they will pitch each book to her and let her decide whose book will be approved–and whose work will be destined for deletion. 

Soon, Mo and Wes realize that they have more in common than just their love of the original book. As they grow closer and wait for the estate’s decision, will the secrets Wes is keeping ruin the bond between them, or can they find their way to a happy ending? (Courtesy of Amazon.)

Rivals to Lovers is a love letter to the power of the written word, and the passion that just the right book--and just the right person--can ignite within us. A love story about and for book lovers!”
—Jen Deluca, USA Today bestselling author of the Well Met series

“I adore books about books and this cozy, heartfelt story did not disappoint. This will-they-or-won't-they, rivals-to-lovers story was the perfect slow-burn romance, and a testament to the staying power of a great novel.”
—Lindsay Hameroff, author of Never Planned on You

Rivals to Lovers is rivals to lovers perfection. Full of not only witty banter and delicious tension, but tender, swoonworthy moments, this is required reading for book lovers!”
—Katie Holt, author of Not in My Book

In one sentence, what was the road to publishing like for you?
Publishing is so wild that we need a pitcher of margaritas, a quiet table, and three hours to talk about it.

How is Mo similar to or different from you?
Mo is a Midwestern girl (like me) who has had previous book projects fail to sell to editors (also me), but unlike me, she decided to move to New York to make her dreams come true. I love New York and have family there, but my partner is a settled Midwesterner and we’ve made our home here. The artistic life can look all kinds of ways, and it was fun writing Mo’s version of it. One other major difference: while Mo and I both love cheese and ice cream, I’m lactose intolerant so some of the dairy consumption in the book is wish fulfillment.  

If Rivals to Lovers was made into a movie, who would you cast in the leading roles?
I love this question. For me, Wes is a total Jonathan Bailey character. When Wicked came out and I saw his portrayal of Fiyero as this dashing, very sexual nepo baby with hidden depths--- yeah, that’s like Wes. Plus, he’s only 5’11, which is about Wes’s height. I love a good 6’5” hero, but Wes isn’t that. I could see Jennifer Lawrence as Mo. She’s funny and forthright and not going to take no for an answer. 

What is the last movie you saw that you would recommend?
I’m late to the game, but I finally saw the new Superman this past weekend and it defied my expectations (and I’m obsessed with the new Superman’s dimples). Before that, I’ve been on a classic movie kick, especially the comedies. Recently, I’ve loved Singin' in the Rain and Bringing Up Baby.

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it? 
I would say Kristen Bell, because I think about The Good Place almost constantly in the year 2025. 

If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
The Iowa State Fair is going on right now! I would take you to see the butter cow (which is, yes, a cow sculpted entirely out of butter, and yes, they re-use the butter for years and years). In the same building at the fair, they always have hard-boiled-eggs on a stick, which I mistook for a cake pop the first year I went. We’d get cheese curds and I would regret them later. I’d show you around the show barns and take a picture in front of the Big Bull, who is over 3,000 pounds. After we left the fair, I’d take you to some of the fabulous indie bookstores in Iowa. We are a very book-ish state. 

Thanks to Elise for visiting with us and Crooked Lane for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here

Giveaway ends August 24th at midnight EST.

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Listen to this book on Speechify!

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Jennifer Jabaley has a lot to share...plus a book giveaway

We're excited to welcome Jennifer Jabaley to CLC to celebrate the publication of her debut thriller, What's Yours Is Mine. Melissa will be reading this soon and is excited to dig in. We enjoyed chatting with Jennifer and learning more about the book and other fun information. Thanks to BookSparks, we have one copy up for grabs!

Jennifer Jabaley is the award-winning author of Lipstick Apology and Crush Control. She won Georgia Author of the Year in the young adult category and was nominated for the Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award. Jen is a practicing optometrist. She brings sharp focus to eye care by day and to storytelling by night. She lives in the north Georgia mountains with her sports-obsessed family and two rescue dogs. 

Visit Jennifer online:
Website * Instagram

Synopsis:
Valerie Yarnell is a hardworking single mother who’d do anything for her daughter, Kate. Kate is a dancer with dreams of stardom, just like her talented best friend, Colette. Despite Valerie’s sacrifices, it’s Colette’s mother, former prima ballerina Elise, whom Kate adores. And Colette has become like the practically perfect sister Kate never had. How can Valerie not feel frustrated, ineffectual, and a little jealous of the queen bee of dance moms? Not only has she hijacked her daughter, but Elise is married to the man Valerie pines for.

Rivalries are forming. Tension is mounting. In preparation for an elite dance competition, Kate outshines the more promising Colette onstage, and the pressure is on for Colette to keep her position in the spotlight—and especially to keep her demanding mother happy. Who could have foreseen the violent attack that sabotages everything? Anyone who’s been watching closely.

As ruthless and sinister ambitions are exposed, a media firestorm and an explosive town scandal erupt. Before it’s over, two mothers and two daughters will learn just how fierce and dangerous a rivalry can still get. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

“A gripping mother-daughter story set in the highly competitive dance world, What’s Yours Is Mine had me hooked from the first page. Jennifer Jabaley is a fresh new voice in women’s fiction, and I can’t wait to read what she writes next.”
—Camille Pagán, bestselling author of Good for You

“A fascinating dive into the secret, scandalous lives of two dance moms and their daughters. Packed with twists and compelling characters, I tore through it.”
—Sarah Pekkanen, New York Times bestselling author of The Locked Ward

What is a favorite compliment you received on your writing?
When my editor bought WHAT’S YOURS IS MINE, she said my writing style was “A beach read, but there’s a shark in the water.” This perfectly encapsulated the type of stories I like to tell.

What were the biggest rewards and challenges with writing What's Yours Is Mine?
The biggest challenges were keeping the three different POVs sounding unique to their age and experience, creating enough red herrings so the reader would be surprised by twists, and doing enough research into the world of competitive dance to make the setting/backdrop authentic without it being “a dance book.”

The biggest rewards so far have been hearing early readers’ fantastic reviews, and listening to my daughter’s take on the book play by play as she read.

If What's Yours Is Mine was made into a movie, who would you cast in the leading roles?
Valerie: Selena Gomez
Kate: Jenna Ortega
Elise: Reese Witherspoon
Colette: McKenna Grace
Andrew: Justin Baldoni
Chad: Liam Hemsworth

What is the last thing you had a really good laugh about?
My husband is a big jokester and we laugh a lot, but for some reason the first thing that popped into my head happened a little while ago. At the dinner table my daughter said, “Oh there’s a banquet next week. I’m getting induced (instead of inducted) into the National Honors Society.”
And my husband said, “Geez, they must have really high standards.” 

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it? 
This is the best question I’ve ever heard!! I absolutely love that show. And I love John McEnroe’s narration. I totally struggled and over-thought this question. But when I asked three separate friends who they thought would narrate my TV life, all three of them, without hearing each other, said Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. And yes. That works.

If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
I’m fortunate to live in a beautiful, charming, mountain town. Think Stars Hollow from The Gilmore Girls. This time of year, we’re overrun with tourists (well almost year-round we’re overrun with tourists). We’d tour Mercier’s Orchards, take a boat ride on Blue Ridge Lake, and drive over to the gorgeous Ocoee River and hike the Rhododendron trail while watching kayakers and white-water rafters sail by. We’d stroll through downtown visiting the boutiques, coffee shops, and the new indie bookstore. We’d do cocktail hour at one of the many local vineyards, then follow with a dinner at one of the amazing fine dining restaurants in town. 

Thanks to Jennifer for visiting with us and to BookSparks for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here

Giveaway ends August 10th at midnight EST.

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us.

Listen to this book on Speechify!

Thursday, July 31, 2025

Kate Hash has made a new home for herself...plus a book giveaway

Please help us give a warm welcome to Kate Hash, whose debut rom-com, Gracie Harris is Under Construction, is now available. We enjoyed learning more about Kate and her novel and are excited to feature her here today. Thanks to Dutton, we have THREE copies of Gracie Harris to give away!

A graduate of The George Washington University with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in English, and an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Louisville, Kate Hash has lived in Washington, D.C., Louisville, KY, and Florence, Italy before settling in Chapel Hill, NC. Her professional path has included magazine publishing, marketing, consulting, and—most recently—a decade in higher education IT at one of the country’s top public universities. 

A lifelong reader and writer, she spends her evenings diving into books or working on fiction once her kids are asleep. Her debut novel releases on July 29, 2025. Between writing seasons, she enjoys watching college sports and rewatching classic TV with her husband. She also writes a weekly newsletter on Substack, It’s Been a Week. (Bio adapted from Kate's website.)

Visit Kate online:
Website * Instagram 

Synopsis:
Gracie Harris never intended to become the queen of grief. But when an essay she writes the night of her husband Ben’s memorial goes viral, she lands a popular column on love and loss and an impressive book deal.

Now, the biggest tragedy of her life is the center of her world. With a looming book deadline and her kids at summer camp, Gracie escapes for a summer of solitude to the ramshackle mountain house she and Ben bought for their family before his death. When charming contractor Josh arrives on her doorstep to help renovate the home, Gracie discovers an unexpected connection that is energizing . . . and surprisingly flirtatious.

As her feelings and resilience grow, Gracie must decide whether she’s ready to embrace a new version of her life. Gracie’s first Happily Ever After didn’t last as long as she’d expected. Now she has to wonder: Could Josh be her chance for a second great love story? (Courtesy of Amazon.)

"A raw and compelling exploration of grief and rebuilding, Gracie Harris left me full of hope and with a renewed faith in second chances."
—Annabel Monaghan, national bestselling author of Summer Romance

“Touching, honest, and hopeful, Gracie Harris is Under Construction is the perfect second chance romance to remind us that there is life and love again after loss. Kate Hash’s stunner of a debut leaves zero room for doubt that she is the next big voice in romantic comedies.”
—Sara Goodman Confino, bestselling author of Don’t Forget to Write

"A stunning and sensitive exploration of falling in love while grieving an unimaginable loss. Perfect for fans of Annabel Monaghan and Beth O'Leary who love to read their love stories with a box of tissues in their laps."
—Ellie Palmer, author of Four Weekends and a Funeral

In one sentence, tell us what the road to publishing was like for you.
My road to publishing has been somewhat unexpected (I’m a debut novelist at forty-one years old!), but altogether a wonderful, very creatively fulfilling experience.

How is Gracie similar to or different from you?
Gracie feels like a friend to me at this point. She feels real and like a girlfriend I would meet on the weekend for brunch. I worked really hard to give her character that relatability. Of course, I want her to resonate with everyone who reads the book, but I had a generalized ‘reader avatar’ in my mind while I wrote – women, in their 30s and 40s, working moms, chronically online, etc. I constantly thought of that reader with the goal of making Gracie accessible to her.
So, in that sense, Gracie feels both familiar and similar to me…I created her to be that way. I hope that a lot of women see themselves in Gracie!

If Gracie Harris is Under Construction was made into a movie, who would you cast in the leading roles?
I can see a few different actors playing the lead roles, but I always think of them in pairs. Jo Swisher and Taylor Kitsch would be great as Gracie and Josh. So would Rachel McAdams and Brandon Sklenar. If we went with slightly younger actors, Sofia Carson and Gabriel Basso would be great.

What is the last book you read that you would recommend?
I read across a lot of different genres, so it’s hard to pick just one! The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir are both recent favorites. 

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it? 
Anna Kendrick. My life would require a little sassiness and sarcasm in the voiceover!

If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
If it was your first time in North Carolina, I’d want to take you west to the mountains (Blue Ridge Parkway, Pisgah Forest, etc.) so that you can see the setting for the book and fall in love. You don’t need to be outdoorsy (I’m definitely not!) to adore this part of the state. After we explored, we would then head as far east as we could go and spend a few days relaxing on the Outer Banks. North Carolina has it all!

Thanks to Kate for visiting with us and to Dutton for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here

Giveaway ends August 5th at midnight EST.

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us.

Listen to this book on Speechify!

Tuesday, July 29, 2025

Stacy Finz is a wish come true...plus a book giveaway!

 Credit: Carlos Avila
Gonzalez
We're pleased to welcome Stacy Finz to CLC to celebrate the publication of her latest novel, Your Every Wish. The story sounds charming and we are loving the cover! We enjoyed getting to know Stacy and hope you will too. Thanks to Kensington, we have FIVE copies to give away!

Stacy Finz is a New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance. After more than twenty years covering notorious serial killers, naked-tractor-driving farmers, fanatical foodies, aging rock stars and weird Western towns as a newspaper reporter, she figured she finally had enough material to launch a career writing fiction. She lives in Northern California with her husband.

Visit Stacy online:

Sign up for Stacy's newsletter.

Synopsis:
Scrappy, worldly Kennedy Jenkins and soft-hearted Emma Keil barely know each other, but when life throws them each a curve ball, they’re suddenly living together—in a rundown trailer park they’ve inherited from their late father, in a nowhere California town aptly called Ghost. After all, their neighbor, Madam Misty, is a soothsayer-witch, and Halloween is just around the corner.


A casino host, Kennedy is hiding out from a high roller who wrongly thinks she stole tens of thousands of dollars from him. Emma, a flat-broke advice columnist who can’t take her own advice, has lost her apartment, and her on-again, off-again, commitment phobic boyfriend, Dex, is no help. Still, she’s charmed by Ghost, its quirky residents—and the enigmatic guy who lives in trailer 510—while Kennedy is sure their father hid a fortune somewhere. She’s determined to find it—even if it means turning to Madam Misty . . .

When Madam Misty grants them three wishes, they’re clear: Kennedy wants money; Emma just wants Dex. But as the nights get chillier, and Halloween descends, a special kind of magic ensues—one that will reveal surprising truths about their father, themselves—and what they really want out of life . . .
(Courtesy of Amazon.)

What is a  favorite compliment you have received on your writing?
I love when readers tell me they couldn’t put one of my books down and read it in one night. That’s when I know I’ve done my job because holding someone’s attention for an entire book is no easy feat.

What is one thing you would tell the debut novelist version of yourself?
Not to be too hard on myself and to stop saying yes to everything. In those early years, I didn’t know how to say no. I was killing myself to make impossible deadlines and had to learn how to achieve a realistic work-life balance. 

If Your Every Wish were made into a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
Emma would be played by Anna Kendrick and Kennedy would be played by Dakota Johnson. Wouldn’t that be fun? I think they’d do a great job. 

Aside from becoming a published author, tell us another wish that has come true for you.
A few years back, my husband and I were able to buy a lake cabin in California’s Sierra Foothills. It took me forty years to make that wish come true but it was worth the wait. During Covid it was our sanctuary. And the place has become my muse for many of my books, including Your Every Wish. The town where the book is set, Ghost, is loosely based on Grass Valley, the nearest town to our cabin. The wonderful town of Ghost makes its first appearance in Nothing Less Than Magic. I loved it so much that I based Your Every Wish there too. But even before those two books, the area played host to my entire Dry Creek Ranch series.    

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it?
Ooh, this is a hard one. I think Lauren Graham, who played Lorelai Gilmore in the Gilmore Girls, would be a good choice. A lot of her Lorelai character reminds me of me, especially the sarcasm and humor. 

If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
I live full-time in the Bay Area and in my past life I was a food writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. So, we would probably spend a lot of time going to all my favorite restaurants. We’d get fried chicken sandwiches at Bakesale Betty and Cajun food at Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen (leave room for the chocolate pot au crème). We’d cross the bridge to San Francisco for some fresh baked bread at Tartine and some Mexican food at Nopalito. The next day, we’d hit the Napa Valley for some wine tasting and shopping, maybe finish the trip in Sonoma County at Willi’s Wine Bar with some small bites and a tasty Russian River Pinot Noir. 

Thanks to Stacy for chatting with us and to Kensington for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here

Giveaway ends August 3rd at midnight EST.

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Thursday, July 24, 2025

Ellen Marie Wiseman tells us no lies...plus a book giveaway

We are so pleased to have Ellen Marie Wiseman back at CLC today to talk about her latest novel, The Lies They Told, which will be available next week. Melissa is a huge fan of her writing and has only good things to say about this novel on her Bookstagram. (Full review coming soon.) Ellen has TWO copies to share with a lucky reader!

Ellen Marie Wiseman is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the highly acclaimed historical fiction novels The Orphan Collector, What She Left Behind, The Plum Tree, Coal River, The Life She Was Given, and The Lost Girls of Willowbrook. Her seventh novel, The Lies They Told, will be released by Kensington Publishing on July 29, 2025. 

Born and raised in Three Mile Bay, a tiny hamlet in northern New York, she’s a first-generation German American who discovered her love of reading and writing while attending first grade in one of the last one-room schoolhouses in New York State. Since then, her novels have been published worldwide, translated into twenty languages, and sold more than one million copies in the United States alone. A mother of two, Ellen lives on the shores of Lake Ontario with her husband. (Bio courtesy of Ellen's website.)

Visit Ellen online:

Synopsis:
When Lena Conti—a young, unwed mother—sees immigrant families being forcibly separated on Ellis Island, she vows not to let the officers take her two-year old daughter. But the inspection process is more rigorous than she imagined, and she is separated from her mother and teenage brother, who are labeled burdens to society, denied entry, and deported back to Germany. Now, alone but determined to give her daughter a better life after years of living in poverty and near starvation, she finds herself facing a future unlike anything she had envisioned.

Silas Wolfe, a widowed family relative, reluctantly brings Lena and her daughter to his weathered cabin in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains to care for his home and children. Though the hills around Wolfe Hollow remind Lena of her homeland, she struggles to adjust. Worse, she is stunned to learn the children in her care have been taught to hide when the sheriff comes around. As Lena meets their neighbors, she realizes the community is vibrant and tight knit, but also senses growing unease. The State of Virginia is scheming to paint them as ignorant, immoral, and backwards so they can evict them from their land, seize children from parents, and deal with those possessing “inferior genes.”

After a social worker from the Eugenics Office accuses Lena of promiscuity and feeblemindedness, her own worst fears come true. Sent to the Virginia State Colony for the Feebleminded and Epileptics, Lena face impossible choices in hopes of reuniting with her daughter—and protecting the people, and the land, she has grown to love.
(Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

Praise for Ellen's writing:

"An immersive historical tale with chilling twists and turns. Beautifully told and richly imagined." 
—Stephanie Dray, New York Times bestselling author (on The Orphan Collector)

“A must read for WWII Fiction aficionados—and any reader who loves a transporting story.” 
—Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us (on The Plum Tree)

What is one thing you would tell the debut novelist version of yourself? 
If I could tell my debut novelist self one thing, it would be this: keep the faith—because what’s ahead for your books is beyond anything you could imagine!

What is something you learned from writing your previous novels that you applied to The Lies They Told

That’s a tough question because every novel feels like a completely new challenge—no matter how many I’ve written, it never really gets easier. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned and brought with me into writing THE LIES THEY TOLD, it’s to trust my instincts.

If The Lies They Told were made into a movie, who would you cast in the leading roles?
Silas Wolfe—Bradley Cooper 
Lena Conti—Amanda Seyfried
Bonnie Wolfe—Vivien Lyra Blair
Jack Henry Wolfe—Grant Feely
Miriam Sizer—Ann Dowd
George Pollock—Benedict Cumberbatch 

What is the last thing you had a good laugh about?
I’m not sure I can pick one thing because my six grandkids make me laugh all the time. 

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it? 
I have to pick my favorite, Meryl Streep. 

If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
First, I’d take you for a boat ride on the beautiful waters of Lake Ontario, where we’d explore charming bays and quaint little villages along the shore. Then we’d head to the St. Lawrence River and the stunning 1000 Islands to see the massive freighters, incredible islands, and Boldt Castle—a full-scale Rhineland castle on picturesque Heart Island in Alexandria Bay. It was built in the early 1900s by George C. Boldt, millionaire proprietor of the world famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.  

Thanks to Ellen for chatting with us and for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here

Giveaway ends July 29th at midnight EST.

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Tuesday, July 22, 2025

A friendly chat with Linda Dahl...plus a book giveaway

Credit: Geoffrey Doughlin
Today we are pleased to welcome Linda Dahl to CLC. Her latest novel, Tiny Vices, is now available and it sounds fascinating! We enjoyed learning more about Linda and this novel and we hope you will too. Thanks to Caitlin Hamilton Marketing & Publicity, we have TWO copies to give away!

Linda Dahl began her career as a travel journalist and college teacher before turning to writing full time. An award-winning author, she has written groundbreaking books about women in jazz and women’s needs in recovery from addiction, as well as six works of fiction. She has been widely interviewed in print, at conferences, and on NPR and BBC programs and other radio stations (including a 2023 3-hour presentation on WKCR about women in jazz.) She has also co-produced several New York jazz concerts. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Jazz Studies. Soul on Soul, her screenplay about legendary pianist Mary Lou Williams, was a finalist for the Sundance Episodic Lab in 2020. Her latest novel, Tiny Vices, is now available from She Writes Press. She lives in New York City. Visit Linda at her website.


Synopsis:
Mid-life: Its obligations and demands, its petty foibles and evasions. And sometimes, its crises. Dreams are deferred, shortcomings rationalized. Like favorite old clothes, petty misdemeanors may feel comfortable, but they’re not a good look.

The Talley siblings are planning a family beach vacation—all four of them together for the first time in years. They suspect it will be their last. And God knows they all need a vacation. But wait, is it really such a good idea? Corina, with her recently diagnosed Alzheimer’s, can hardly manage to get through a day without a debacle. Pete is a just-barely-walking catalog of medical calamities stemming from his longtime addictions. Becca is reeling from her teenage son’s latest misadventure. And then there is Kathy, the eldest. After firmly avoiding going back to Rincón Bay, the beach town just a few hours south of the Arizona–Mexico border that has haunted her since a college spring break trip three decades ago, she’s determined to go back and face her ghosts—though she might be better off facing the fact that her marriage is in serious trouble.

When the Talley siblings and their entourage (two spouses, added on at the last minute, and Corina’s Mexican housekeeper/caregiver) finally land in Rincón Bay, they all encounter unexpected consequences from the wounds inflicted by careless loving—but maybe, too, the seeds of healing and hope. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

“Siblings take a last-gasp vacation to Mexico in Dahl’s novel....There’s a lot of complexity crammed into this fairly brief story, and the realism is impressive . . .”
—Kirkus Reviews

“. . . a wise novel about navigating midlife . . .”
—Foreword Reviews

“. . . a feisty, well-written tale of present-day adult siblings. . . .The plot twists and character development will keep readers turning the pages, and maybe even see a bit of themselves in some of the sibling interactions. A very worthwhile book to read.”
—StoryCircle Book Reviews

What is a favorite compliment you received on your writing?
I like a review on Amazon for my last novel, An Upside-Down Sky: “Fast paced. Riveting. Hilarious. Pitiful. The author had me from page 1. A great story about human conflict and love.”

Side note: This novel was reviewed at CLC a few years ago.

What were the biggest rewards and challenges with writing Tiny Vices?
The biggest challenge for me in writing Tiny Vices was that, in focusing mostly on the petty failings and resentments of a group of siblings and their loved ones, I sensed how easily the story could fall into cliché or triviality. The reward? When I let the characters take the lead and attempt to forgive and accept each other and past hurts in the course of their day-to-day living.     

If Tiny Vices were made into a movie, who would you cast in the leading roles?
It’s a big cast! First, the three Talley sisters: I’d love to see Parker Posey play oldest sister Kathy Talley, Chloe Sevigny as the middle sister Corina (recently diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s), and Jenna Fischer as the youngest sister, Becca. Christian Slater would be great as Pete, their brother and Daniel Kaluuya as Kathy Talley’s husband, Bernard Barris Junior. Finally, Selena Gomez would play Imalia, Corina’s Mexican housekeeper.

What is the last movie you saw that you would recommend?
I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui), a Brazilian film about a woman who is an ordinary wife and mother of five until the violently repressive military dictatorship, which ruled with an iron fist in Brazil from 1964 to 1981. After her husband is one of the many thousands who are “disappeared” by the military, she reinvents herself, becoming a courageous lawyer and activist. 

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it? 
Jamie Lee Curtis would be my first choice. Like me, she is open about being a longtime recovered alcoholic/substance abuser - a through-line in both of our lives. She would “get” the before and after parts just right, I think. 

If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
I live in New York City at the northern tip of the Bronx next to the Hudson River. We have beautiful paths along the river for walks or biking, and beautiful gardens nearby. We would go to Wave Hill, with its incomparable views of the river and magnificent old trees and gardens. Then on to Untermyer Gardens in nearby north Yonkers, which boasts a beautiful walled Persian garden, an amphitheater and a stunning mosaic reflecting pool. Hungry now? Let’s go to my favorite restaurant in Riverdale, Tobala, which takes Oaxacan-Mexican cuisine to a new high level.  

Thanks to Linda for visiting with us and to Caitlin Hamilton Marketing for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here

Giveaway ends July 27th at midnight EST.

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Thursday, July 10, 2025

Amy Dressler gives great advice...plus a book giveaway

Credit: Jenny Jimenez
We're pleased to welcome Amy Dressler to CLC today, to talk about her latest novel in her Shakespeare Project series, The Best Advice, which is a contemporary retelling of As You Like It. We enjoyed reading her answers to our questions and we hope you will too. Amy has one copy, along with some swag, for a lucky reader!

Amy Dressler writes witty, engaging contemporary fiction featuring heroines who wrestle their emotional baggage while maintaining a sense of humor. As a literature major, theater nerd, and believer in the cathartic power of humor, Amy has always gravitated toward Shakespeare’s comedies. In the Shakespeare Project, she transposes those stories into contemporary settings that highlight the heroines’ emotional arcs. 

Amy is an active member of the Author's Guild, Women's Fiction Writers Association, and the Pacific Northwest Author's Association, where her books have twice been recognized as contest finalists. She holds a certificate in Popular Fiction from the University of Washington, as well as a BA in English from Whitman College and a Master's in Library and Information Science, also from the University of Washington. She spends her days shepherding government documents but has also worked as an academic librarian and freelance pop culture writer.

Amy’s hobbies include barely running (she’s completed ten half marathons, slowly), cooking and baking, hiking, tending her neighborhood Little Free Library, relaxed traveling, and attending live theater. When she’s not writing, Amy can often be found cozied up reading, eating fancy cheese, shopping for fancy cheese, or cooking with fancy cheese. She lives in the Seattle suburbs with her husband, two senior rescue cats, and next door to her sister.

Her love language is jokes.

Visit Amy online:

Synopsis:

Meddling in other people’s business is kind of her thing. Rosalind writes a popular advice column in a magazine. When she butts heads with her editor over a controversial letter response, she loses her job and byline. To keep writing, Rosalind establishes a fake identity with a male pen name at the dubious suggestion of her friends.

Retreating to a small town on the water, she starts a new column for a local newspaper. The unexpected online success of her advice writing only serves to exacerbate her bad habit of meddling in real life. This threatens to damage her relationships with family and friends. It also complicates her budding romance with ruggedly handsome travel television star Andy Arden. He’s gorgeous, he’s outdoorsy, and he writes her (terrible) poetry. But he also thinks “Gavin,” the guy giving him relationship advice via text, and his new love interest are two different people…

Rosalind juggles it all because her advice is ALWAYS right. Usually right. Would you settle for sometimes right? Can she outgrow her game-playing and confront her grief in time to untangle the mess she’s made of her personal and professional life?
(Courtesy of Amazon.)

What is a favorite compliment you received on your writing?
One of my beta readers for my first book, How to Align the Stars, said I made her "literally wish public gastric distress on fictional characters." It made me laugh, while telling me my writing was working as intended.

In one sentence, what was the road to publishing like for you?
Long, because I've wanted to be an author since I was a teenager, but kind of like one of those road trips where you have to do a hundred chores before you get around to leaving the house, because I didn't start writing fiction until I was in my thirties.

If The Best Advice were made into a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
I think Kaitlyn Dever would be perfect for Roz and Harry Richardson has the right look for Andy. Ashley Park would make a great Olivia. Celeste was one of the only characters I pictured as an actress as I was writing--that's Anna Baryshnikov.

What is the best piece of advice you were ever given?
This is not writing advice, but it's on my mind because I am saying goodbye to the world's sweetest cat right now. It's this: Animals only understand quality of life, not quantity. When it is time, the kindest thing we can do for our pets is to gently let them go.

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it? 
Lauren Graham, because I know she can talk fast enough to keep up with my spiraling thoughts, and she's good at sarcasm, which is a must.

If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
I'd take you on the trip the characters in The Best Advice take--a ferry from the Seattle waterfront to some of the cute small towns on the Olympic Peninsula. We'd walk through Pike Place Market first for snacks, and go to the Norwegian bakery in Poulsbo for an afternoon treat.

Thanks to Amy for chatting with us and for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here

Giveaway ends July 15th at midnight EST.

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Thursday, July 3, 2025

It's not summer without Brooke Lea Foster...plus a book giveaway

Credit: Deborah Feingold
We're pleased to have Brooke Lea Foster back at CLC today to talk about her latest novel, Our Last Vineyard Summer. Fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Amy Mason Doan will appreciate this compelling story (based on the buzz we've been hearing). Thanks to Gallery, we have THREE copies up for grabs!

Brooke Lea Foster is an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post Magazine, The Atlantic, The Boston Globe Magazine, and People, among others. An alumna of The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, she is the author of three nonfiction books and the novels Summer Darlings, On Gin Lane, and All the Summers In Between.

Visit Brooke online:
Website * Facebook * Instagram


Synopsis:
After suffering through her first year of graduate school at Columbia following her senator father’s death, Betsy Whiting is hoping to spend the summer with her boyfriend…and hopefully end the summer as his fiancée. Instead, her mother—a longtime feminist and leader in the women’s movement—calls Betsy and her sisters back home to Martha’s Vineyard, announcing that they need to sell their beloved summer house to pay off their father’s debts.

When Betsy arrives on the island a week later, she must reckon with her strained familial relationships, a long-ago forbidden romance, and the complicated legacy of her parents, who divided the family even as they did good for the world.

Following a dual timeline between 1965 and 1978, and filled with the vibrant, sunlit nostalgia of the cherished New England vacation setting, Our Last Vineyard Summer poignantly captures two generations of women navigating love, loss, and womanhood while trying to find the courage to stand up for what they believe in—and the strength to decide if the home they once loved is worth saving. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

"With a perfect blend of secrets, misdeeds, and unexpected love, Brooke Lea Foster has crafted a gripping, timely story that will captivate readers from start to finish." 
--Amy Poeppel, author of Far and Away

"Brooke Lea Foster’s Our Last Vineyard Summer has all my favorite book ingredients—intriguing mother-daughter dynamics, a vivid Martha’s Vineyard setting, a gripping dual timeline and, best of all, a family secret bombshell that I never saw coming." 
--Martha Hall Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls

"Foster depicts two generations of women who are stubborn and smart, vulnerable and competitive, but she does so with compassion and wit that makes you cheer them on until the end." 
--Jo Piazza, internationally bestselling author of The Sicilian Inheritance

A note from Brooke:
Hi! Thank you so much for having me today! I’m so excited to talk to you about Our Last Vineyard Summer. This is a book so close to my heart. I keep saying that this is the novel I was meant to write. Even if it’s my fourth book, it’s probably my most autobiographical novel in some ways. For example, I am one of three sisters. Like the Whiting family, I lived in Washington, DC, and was immersed in politics for most of my twenties and thirties, but I vacationed in Martha’s Vineyard. Most of all, I took my own experiences about the complications of family relationships and sister baggage and all of that stuff we carry around with us and worked it into this book. Now on to the questions!

What is a favorite compliment you received on your writing?
It’s funny because I have a tendency to remember the negative things people have said about my writing rather than the good. Isn’t that something women do? We’re our own greatest critic. One truly nice thing. I’ve had several people tell me is that, when they finished my book, they were disappointed that it ended. To me, that’s the hallmark of great characters and a fantastic story. You’re so immersed in it that you don’t want it to end. I’ve also been told I write telling dialogue, which makes me smile since I was a former journalist and spent two decades listening to people talk before I wrote my first novel.

What is one thing you would tell the debut novelist version of yourself?
Ooh. Another great question. I would say: You’ve been a writer since you were a little girl, and you’re a writer still. Follow your heart, tell a great story, and put everything you have into building complicated characters. All of this work will make someone see themselves differently or feel a little less lonely or maybe even inspire them to make a change in their life. Fiction can transform people. It’s transformed you, hasn’t it?

If Our Last Vineyard Summer were made into a movie, what songs would be on the soundtrack?
When I was writing this novel, I kept listening to Benson Boone’s song “Ghost Town.” I know it’s strange because it’s a contemporary song, but it has this line that says something like . . . “before I turn your heart into a ghost town, I’m going to take everything we built and tear it all down.” It was an anthem for this book. I felt like I was creating this ultra-close-knit family who loved each other dearly and then, in the interest of the plot, I was tearing it all down. It sort of broke my heart. Yet it made for a really powerful story. Another song on this album would have to be: “Me and Bobby McGee.” The sisters would definitely be belting that out in the kitchen while making breakfast. Maybe “You’re so Vain” by Carly Simon or “I Feel the Earth Move” by Carole King. These feel very emblematic of the kind of emotions running through the course of the novel, and since the book is set in 1965 and 1978, they feel vintage-cool enough to set the scene.

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it? 
I’ve never thought of myself as a character, but it reminds me of my teenage son telling me a kid in his school thinks he’s the “main character.” Ha! Okay, I would say that if I was the main character, it would have to be Jennifer Garner. I’m a mom; I’m a mix of goofy, fun loving and generous; and I’m a very authentic person. Jen Garner is all of those things to me, so I could see her nailing my constant inner chatter. 

If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
I would definitely whisk you off to Martha’s Vineyard. We would stop at Titcomb’s Bookshop along the way to pick some novels out on the Cape. We’d board the boat in Wood’s Hole with a stop for a lobster roll just before traveling across Vineyard Sound by ferry. When we got off the ferry, I’d take you straight to State Beach, the perfect eclipse of sand that sits between Oak Bluffs with its colorful antique gingerbread houses and Edgartown, the toniest town with its postcard-perfect colonials with white picket fences. For the rest of the week, I would take you on a bike ride to Morning Glory Farm to buy a bouquet of wildflowers. We would drive to North Tisbury Farms for my favorite chocolate chip cookies. Every night we would finish the day watching sunset on the porch with a glass of crisp white wine. Perfection!

What is the last book you read that you would recommend?
I’m halfway through The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater and I love everything about it. It’s historical fiction. It’s literary. It takes place in West Virginia at a luxury hotel. There’s so much going on and it’s so atmospheric that I can’t put it down. 

Thanks to Brooke for chatting with us and to Gallery for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here

Giveaway ends July 8th at midnight EST. 


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