Spotlight and Giveaway: We Got This

Today we are featuring We Got This (September 10th, She Writes Press), which is a compilation of personal stories from solo mom writers. Whether you are a solo mom or someone special in your life is, this is one you will want to add to your (or their) TBR pile! Thanks to JKS Communications, we have TWO copies up for grabs!

Frank, funny, and unflinchingly real stories by solo moms, for solo moms.

In the United States, more than 15 million women are parenting children on their own, either by circumstance or by choice. Too often these moms who do it all have been misrepresented and maligned. Not anymore. In We Got This, seventy-five solo mom writers tell the truth about their lives—their hopes and fears, their resilience and setbacks, their embarrassments and triumphs. Some of these writers’ names will sound familiar, like Amy Poehler, Anne Lamott, and Elizabeth Alexander, while others are about to become unforgettable. Bound together by their strength, pride, and most of all, their dedication to their children, they broadcast a universal and empowering message: You are not alone, solo moms—and your tenacity, courage, and fierce love are worthy of celebration.

“Isolated, scared, sad, and hopeless are some of the emotions I felt when I was going through my divorce eleven years ago. I had two small children and no family living near me, and I had never felt so alone. I wish I could have read We Got This back then. Reading this book made me feel like I had friends, women who understand me, who care about me, and who are here for me, and like no matter what, everything is going to be OK!”
―Jackie Pilossoph, Creator, Divorced Girl Smiling, "Love Essentially" Columnist for Chicago Tribune Media Group

Dr. Marika Lindholm founded ESME.com to ignite a social movement of solo moms. A trained sociologist, Lindholm taught courses on inequality, diversity, and gender at Northwestern University for over a decade. After a divorce left her parenting two children on her own, she realized solo moms lacked much-needed resources, support, and connection. She built her social platform, Empowering Solo Moms Everywhere (ESME), out of this combination of academic and personal experience. In addition to publishing numerous scholarly articles, Lindholm has been a regular contributor to Psychology Today, Working Mother, Mind Body Green, and Talk Space. She has published essays and fiction in the Daily News, Elephant Journal, The Hill, Ms., Silent Voices, and the Southern Indiana Review.

Visit Marika and ESME online:
Website * Facebook * ESME's Twitter
Marika's Twitter * Instagram * Pinterest

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. 

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Giveaway ends September 17th at midnight EST.

Sharing a meal with Nicole Meier...plus a book giveaway

Today we're celebrating the publication of Nicole Meier's latest novel, The Second Chance Supper Club. This novel looks and sounds really good and we're excited to dig in! Nicole is here to tell us more about it and thanks to Get Red PR, we have one copy to give away!

Nicole Meier is a native Southern Californian who pulled up roots and moved to the Pacific Northwest, where she lives with her husband, three children, and one very nosey Aussiedoodle.


Her debut novel, The House of Bradbury, was chosen as a Best Book of 2016 by Refinery29. Her sophomore novel, The Girl Made of Clay (reviewed here), was recently named a Top Book according to Bookbub readers. 

Nicole's works have been published in The Oregonian, Cascade Journal, Southern Oregon Magazine, Women Writers Women’s Books, Brazen Woman, and more. (Bio adapted from Nicole's website.)

Visit Nicole online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Synopsis:
Ginny and Julia Frank had a forever bond, until a sudden tragedy thrust them apart. Now, each at a crossroad in her own life, their paths are about to intersect. Broadcast journalist Julia has it all: a career, an ambitious fiancé, and the hard-won respect of her peers. Until a hasty and desperate decision destroys her reputation, puts her job at risk, and sends her reeling toward the only soul left to turn to: her estranged sister, Ginny.

The owner of a clandestine supper club hidden in the Arizona desert, Ginny has a lot on her plate. The last thing she wants is more drama—or the burden of nursing her younger sister’s wounded ego. Her young adult daughter Olive is enough to deal with. But family is family. Besides, Ginny can use the help in more ways than one, and she’s going to make sure Julia pulls her weight.

As a tenuous reunion reopens old wounds, Julia and Ginny have no choice but to confront the pain and betrayals of the past. Will working to keep the secret supper club running be just what they need to find common ground and a path toward forgiveness, or will the increasing stress push them even further apart?

Warm, comforting and brimming with hope, THE SECOND CHANCE SUPPER CLUB is the perfect reminder of the unique bonds that make up a family.

“The Second Chance Supper Club is as warm and comforting as one of chef Ginny’s signature dishes. Meier writes with insight and heart, offering readers a vivid peek at the intriguing world of private supper clubs in this life-affirming story of three women reconnecting with the ones who matter most.” —Amy Mason Doan, author of The Summer List and Summer Hours

“The Second Chance Supper Club is a book to be savored. Meier expertly weaves the stories of two grieving sisters with humor, tenderness, and hope. Upon finishing this scrumptious book, I felt as one would feel after a good meal: satisfied but wishing I could take just one more bite.”
—Jennifer Gold, author of The Ingredients of Us

What is a favorite compliment you have received on your writing?
A reader wrote a review saying my book made her "ugly cry." I loved that I was able to evoke such emotion in my story. We all need a good cry now and then, right?

What was the inspiration behind The Second Chance Supper Club?
A couple of years ago I saw a film at an indie film festival. It was a documentary on underground dining. I'd never heard of the concept before, but knew instantly that I wanted to include some kind of culinary speakeasy in my next book. It was a lot of fun.

If The Second Chance Supper Club were made into a movie, who would play the lead roles?
Oh! I love this question. For the younger ambitious sister, Julia, I might pick Kristen Bell. For her older bossy sister, I would love someone like Laura Linney.

What is your favorite memory from elementary school?
Going to the library and checking out books.

What TV series are you currently binge watching?
A few! Dead to Me, Big Little Lies, and about a half dozen Food Network shows.

What is the strangest thing residing in your purse/handbag?
Oh, gosh. I'm a minimalist in that department. I just stick my credit card in my phone case and away I go!

Thanks to Nicole for chatting with us and to Get Red PR 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. 

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Giveaway ends September 15th at midnight EST.

Book Review: The Time of Our Lives

By Sara Steven

Luca is used to being the ‘single one’ at weddings – it happens, when all your other friends are engaged, married or taken. But when she bumps into Tom, her friend from university who broke her heart into a million pieces, she finds herself wondering what could have been.

It’s ten years later, surely she should be over that Tom by now? So why is he looking even more gorgeous than ever – and why doesn’t he seem to be able to keep his eyes off her either?

And as the champagne flows and old secrets resurface, Luca realises that perhaps the time to take a chance on love and life is…now? (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)

The Time of Our Lives reminded me of the TV show Friends. Luca’s friends have been in her life for over a decade, and they were all roommates, back in the day. We get to see where Luca is now in her life, with plenty of flashbacks that lend into those glory days where they were all young twenty-somethings, with loads of chaotic debaucheries and silly situations. The characters are so likable, all supporting Luca, who was well known as the one who held the glue together in her group. But time changes everything, which is well portrayed within her friendships in the present time.

I liked Luca. Female protagonists who find themselves falling back in love with a man from their past aren’t often written as strong and independent. I got the impression that Luca knows who she is and, no matter what Tom or any other man (and believe me, she finds herself in one doozy of a situation with more than one) throws at her, she’s going to be fine. The fact that Tom rattles her like he does, really showcased how deeply she felt for him, back then, and now.

Tom finds himself in some really awkward situations with former relationships, and in dealing with his feelings for Luca. This plays out in an almost pseudo love triangle, and adds a lot more tension between Tom and Luca. I got the impression that, while he’s a really nice guy, Tom needs to be a lot more assertive in what, and who, he wants out of life. It was this constant shift that helped in giving the reader the want to see these two together, yet we weren’t sure if we wanted that, too. It was a nice way to constantly shift perspectives.

Although The Time of Our Lives offers up romance, and the relationship between Luca and Tom could really draw the reader in, what had me the most hooked are the relationships Luca has with her friends, her former roommates. That Friends-like element that offered comedy, and an emotional depth to this story. While I shifted perspective on whether I wanted to see Luca end up with Tom, I had no doubts on how I wanted Luca’s friendships to end up. I wanted their friendships to last a lifetime! Overall, this was a fun, five-star read!

Thanks to Portia MacIntosh for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Portia MacIntosh:

Book Review: Too Close

By Jami Deise

The worst thing imaginable is the death of a child. The most monstrous crime imaginable is a parent who kills her own children. When a child is killed, it’s more often at the hands of a father, stepfather, or mother’s boyfriend. A woman who deliberately hurts her baby is almost beyond imagining. The cases are so rare that when a Susan Smith or a Casey Anthony occurs, the nation is transfixed.

In Too Close, author Natalie Daniels’s debut, British wife and mother Connie has been institutionalized with dissociative amnesia after driving into a river with her daughter and her daughter’s best friend in the back seat. Forensic psychiatrist Emma has been tasked with trying to make her remember how and why she committed the crime. Written from both women’s first-person points of view, and moving between past and present, Too Close attempts to show that the wrong set of circumstances can push anyone too far.

Too Close is an admirable debut and a mesmerizing book. I was as captivated as Emma was by Connie, wondering what would push this happy suburban mom – the British press called her the “Yummy Monster,” a take on the British slang “Yummy Mummy” – to commit the most unforgivable of crimes. Connie begins her story by describing her relationship with Ness, her best friend and neighbor. At first, it seems like Ness, who’s married to another woman, is going to become obsessed with Connie (she quickly adopts Connie’s haircut and perfume) and that the book would become a Tangerine-type thriller. But “too close” also describes Connie and Emma’s relationship, as Emma’s own back story and relationship issues begin to color her treatment of Connie.

Connie’s characterization is uneven – as can be expected for a psychiatric patient – in ways that I found off-putting as a reviewer. At times, her confrontations with Emma reminded me of Clarice and Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, only Connie is the one who has the preternatural insight into Emma’s life. At other times, Connie comforts Emma as Emma’s life spirals downward. While Emma’s vulnerabilities made me sympathize with the psychiatrist, I was also impatient for an unbiased look at Connie’s actions.

And while I was happy that Connie’s story didn’t evolve into the cliché about a person being driven mad due to unrequited gay tendencies, I felt the outcome was even more cliched. True, Daniels’s careful character work makes the cliché she falls back on very specific to the people involved, but at the same time, I was disappointed. I wanted a solution more complex than what the author provided.

Then again, Susan Smith supposedly killed her children because her new boyfriend didn’t want to be tied down with small kids. Perhaps it’s the banality of evil that is the most monstrous part of stories like these.

Thanks to HarperCollins for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Liza Palmer is somebody to us....plus a book giveaway

Photo by Edwin Santiago

Today we welcome Liza Palmer to the CLC stage. Her latest novel, The Nobodies, publishes next week. It sounds really interesting and we're excited to check it out. Her answers to our interview questions were a lot of fun, so we hope you will enjoy reading them. Thanks to Flatiron, we have one copy of The Nobodies to give away!

Liza Palmer is the internationally bestselling author of Conversations with the Fat Girl and several other novels. An Emmy-nominated writer, she lives in Los Angeles and works for BuzzFeed. Like Joan in The Nobodies, she never went to college. Visit Liza at her website and on Twitter and Instagram.

“Liza Palmer's voice is fresh, exciting, and necessary. She's a must-read author.”
―Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones & the Six

Wunderkind journalist Joan Dixon took an internship at the Los Angeles Times straight out of high school and never looked back. That is, until the newspaper business collapsed, leaving her to patch together soulless freelance gigs and live with her parents. Desperate to get back on her feet, Joan takes a job as a junior copywriter at the tech startup Bloom, where her bosses are all a decade younger and snacks and cans of fizzy water flow freely. But once a journalist, always a journalist. As Joan starts to poke beneath Bloom’s bright surface, she realizes that she may have accidentally stumbled onto the scoop of her lifetime. Is it worth risking everything for the sake of the story?


What is a favorite compliment you have received on your writing?
Oh man.. I have a teeeensy bit of an issue taking compliments. I tend to get so embarrassed? That I go into this black out fugue state when it’s happening - which works out well because then I can wake up at and obsess about how weird I was in that moment (instead of, you know, absorbing to the compliment.) BUT… I like that people think my writing sounds real. That people act like that and talk like that. That they see themselves in my characters. It’s the highest praise.

How is Joan similar to or different from you?
Joan and I are quite similar…. In that we both failed and then both had some* (*way too much) time to think about said failure. That feeling of being so aware of yourself as you try something new and are, to your horror, actually quite bad at it (reasonably bad at it as you are… in fact, NEW to it – aargh, but why aren’t you perfect!?) It all happened to me as I started at BuzzFeed back in 2015. I’m endlessly grateful to those who patiently shepherded me – and Joan – through it all.

If The Nobodies was made into a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
For Joan… I’m obsessed with Natasha Rothwell right now. Emily Blunt maybe? She’s a delight. I mean, if Phoebe Waller-Bridge got anywhere near this I’d die… and YES, somehow we’d work in a hot priest FOR SCIENCE.

What do you enjoy most about the fall?
Literally everything. I love fall THE MOST – the smell of fireplaces in the air (I just sighed so loud)… tea just tastes better. Everything. Literally everything.

What is the last book you read that you would recommend?
I just finished Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends and I loved it. I also just finished Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine… and man… that’s another good one. I read that on a train from England to France and it was the perfect companion. I also? Listened to Brené Brown’s, Dare to Lead and think everyone – especially women – needs to read it. It’s so good and she’s a national treasure.

What is the funniest thing that has happened to you recently?
My mom and I spend our Saturdays having lunch and then driving around looking at the houses that are being renovated. While doing so, we saw a peacock - as you do – see, Pasadena has peacocks just roaming free as well as wild parrots, but that’s a whole other story. So mom says, “They just have to be on their own once in awhile.” And she said it so seriously – like this peacock was on some thoughtful vision quest or a rumspringa. Well, once I said that the peacock was on a rumspringa – we almost wet our pants.

Thanks to Liza for visiting with us and to Flatiron 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. 

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Giveaway ends September 10th at midnight EST.

Spotlight: The Sea of Japan

Today we are featuring The Sea of Japan by Keita Nagano. It sounds very interesting and we hope you will add it to your bookshelf this fall!

Follow Lindsey in her journey for love, survival, and friendship in a small fishing town in Japan.

When thirty-year-old Lindsey, an English teacher in Japan who’s been assigned to a tiny fishing town, is saved from drowning by a local young fisherman, she’s drawn into a battle with a neighboring town that has high stakes for everyone—especially her.

As their efforts to save their town backfire, Hime gets closer to falling apart—putting Lindsey’s friends, her budding relationship with Ichiro, and her career in jeopardy. To save Hime, Lindsey realizes she’ll have to become a true American fisherwoman and fight for her new home with everything she has.

Keita Nagano is an award-winning Japanese author who has lived almost equally in Nevada and Tokyo—more than twenty years in each place—and reflects the difference of the two cultures in his novels. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Keio University in Japan, as well as an MBA in global business and Ph.D. in management from Walden University in Minnesota. The pursuit of the authentic American experience is his hobby: he has been to all fifty states, all thirty major league ballparks, and the top sixty big cities in America. He has published seventeen business nonfiction and eight fiction books in Japan. In 2013, he received a Nikkei (Japanese Wall Street Journal) Award for Contemporary Novel for his missing-child thriller, Kamikakushi. He is also an official weekly columnist for Forbes Japan. Nagano lives in Henderson, Nevada, with his wife and Welsh corgi, and their teenage daughter is currently studying in Tennessee.

Visit Keita online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Spotlight and Giveaway: The Sisters of Summit Avenue

Today we're pleased to feature The Sisters of Summit Avenue by Lynn Cullen. It publishes on September 10th from Gallery, who has THREE copies for some lucky readers!

Ruth has been single-handedly raising four young daughters and running her family’s Indiana farm for eight long years, ever since her husband, John, fell into a comatose state, infected by the infamous “sleeping sickness” devastating families across the country. If only she could trade places with her older sister, June, who is the envy of everyone she meets: blonde and beautiful, married to a wealthy doctor, living in a mansion in St. Paul. And June has a coveted job, too, as one of “the Bettys,” the perky recipe developers who populate General Mills’ famous Betty Crocker test kitchens. But these gilded trappings hide sorrows: she has borne no children. And the man she used to love more than anything belongs to Ruth.

When the two sisters reluctantly reunite after a long estrangement, June’s bitterness about her sister’s betrayal sets into motion a confrontation that’s been years in the making. And their mother, Dorothy, who’s brought the two of them together, has her own dark secrets, which might blow up the fragile peace she hopes to restore between her daughters.

An emotional journey of redemption, inner strength, and the ties that bind families together, for better or worse, The Sisters of Summit Avenue is a heartfelt love letter to mothers, daughters, and sisters everywhere.

Photo by Parker Clayton Smith

Lynn Cullen grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and is the bestselling author of The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Twain’s End, and Mrs. Poe, which was named an NPR 2013 Great Read and an Indie Next List selection. She lives in Atlanta.

Visit Lynn online:
Website * Facebook * Instagram



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. 

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Giveaway ends September 8th at midnight EST.