The #read99women series started well before we knew what wide-ranging effects the COVID-19 pandemic would have on the United States, so most of the recommendations you’ve been reading were made long before #StayHomeAndRead became a thing. But today’s guest has a recommendation specifically for quarantine reading, and I know so many of us are seeking comfort in books these days. Comfort comes in different forms for different people, but the good news is, there’s a book out there for everyone.

To get your hands on new books, definitely check out Bookshop.org, where your purchases support local bookstores, most of which are suffering a huge decrease in business due to stay-at-home orders. And if you’re looking for a heartbreaking, immersive YA historical novel to keep you company, include this one in your order: THE BLOSSOM AND THE FIREFLY by today’s guest, Sherri (rhymes with Capri) L. Smith.

Sherri L. Smith is the award-winning author of YA novels Lucy the Giant, Sparrow, Hot Sour Salty Sweet, Flygirl and Orleans. Her bestselling novel, The Toymaker’s Apprentice is the Southern California Booksellers Association Award winner for Middle Grade. Her books have been listed as Amelia Bloomer, American Library Association Best Books for Young People, and Junior Library Guild Selections. Flygirl was the 2009 California Book Awards Gold Medalist. Sherri was a 2014 National Book Awards judge in the Young People’s Literature category. She is a three-time writer-in-resident at Hedgebrook retreat in Washington State, as well as a resident at Wassard Elea retreat, in Ascea, Italy. Sherri is a faculty member of the Creative Writing MFA program at Goddard College and the MFA in Children's Writing at Hamline University. She lives in Los Angeles with the love of her life and a disreputable cat.

“These are hard times. We are hunkered down at home, worrying about what we cannot see. From Covid-19 to legislation and policies affecting our health and the environment, to the lack of human contact with our loved ones, it’s an isolating time. So naturally, I turned to a series of books about a woman who lives on a lonely Saltmarsh on the edge of the sea. Ely Griffith’s Ruth Galloway Mysteries tell the story of a forensic archeologist brought in by the local police in the neighboring British town, to identify bodies, bones and other possibly ancient (possibly recent) discoveries. Rife with literary references, Roman and Celtic history, and scientific insight, these books are a pleasure to read. Dr. Galloway is my kind of lady—a little overweight and under-fashionable, brilliantly knowledgeable, insatiably curious, believably desirable, and tired. This twelve book series starts with The Crossing Places. The most recent installment, The Lantern Men, hit shelves just this February. If you pace yourself, you’ve got good company for as long as you are sheltering in place. “