Book of the Week at PW!

Oh how I love Publishers Weekly. Just as I am reaching peak stress about GIRL IN DISGUISE (which comes out TOMORROW CAN YOU BELIEVE IT), it showed up on their PW Picks list of Books of the Week. (They also gave GIRL a starred review and put it on their staff list of Best Books I Read in 2016, so I'm pretty sure the love is mutual!)

All the picks are here, including City of Light, City of Poison, which I'm dying to read myself. Paris! Police! Witches, apparently? Must read.

taking five on Writer Unboxed

I'm a regular contributor on Writer Unboxed, and I'm tickled to be their featured writer on this week's Take Five. Read the interview here. 

And by the way, for writers at any stage of the publication process, I highly recommend Writer Unboxed's book Author in Progress -- it's like having 50 writing coaches stop by with brilliant advice. Me included! And this journey is so much better with company.

is Kate Warne having a moment?

As I roamed the country on pre-pub tour for GIRL IN DISGUISE last week, I found myself saying this sentence more than once: "I think Kate Warne's about to have a moment." Considering she died in 1868, the timing's a little odd. Then again, since my novel inspired by Kate's life is coming out next Tuesday (3/21), I'll take it. I wrote GIRL IN DISGUISE because I wanted her story to become better-known, and judging by what I've read lately, I'm not the only one.

So several books about Kate have popped or are popping up -- last year's How Kate Warne Saved President Lincoln was for young readers, and another children's book is due out in May called Kate Warne, Pinkerton Detective. (I got an early copy, because I know awesome booksellers.)

Not only that, only days after I got home, I noticed two online spotlights of Kate for Women's History Month -- this one on Time.com and a Mental Floss roundup of 10 Trailblazing U.S. Law Women, in which Kate was #1. 

And now the TV series "The Pinkertons" from Canada is on Netflix, so you can also get your fill of TV Kate along with all the other Kates.

On my travels so far, the largest group I've been able to ask about Kate was an audience of 160 librarians. Of those 160, only 5 had heard of Kate before I introduced her. Next year, and the year beyond, if I ask a group of the same size the same question, I bet we'll come up with radically different numbers.

And I am so excited.

win a copy of The Other Einstein!

So for Women's History Month, I've been recommending a book a day on Instagram (and Facebook and Twitter) with the hashtag #womenshistoryreads. Some are non-fiction (like Liar Temptress Soldier Spy by Karen Abbott) and some are fiction (like I Shall Be Near to You by Erin Lindsay McCabe). All are intended to shed light on some aspect of the lives of women of the past, whether collectively or individuals.

Today's recommendation is The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict, inspired by the true story of Mileva Maric, Albert Einstein's first wife and a brilliant scientist in her own right. How was her struggle different from her husband's? Did she make an uncredited contribution to the famous Theory of Relativity? Read the book and find out! Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below by midnight on March 16 for a chance to win your copy.

Q&A with Publishers Weekly!

When the very first advance copies of my debut novel THE MAGICIAN'S LIE were set to be distributed at Book Expo way back in 2014, the very first interview I gave was for the Publishers Weekly Show Daily. I paced my Brooklyn apartment, clutching my phone to my ear, oh so nervous -- but Claire Kirch quickly put me at ease and we had a great talk. So I was absolutely thrilled to speak with her again about GIRL IN DISGUISE, which she highlighted in PW as one of her favorite books of last year (those in the business get their copies early!) and called "historical fiction at its best."

Here's our interview. 

Library Journal loves GIRL IN DISGUISE!

OK, I had honestly forgotten that not all the trade reviews were in yet, and I was just settling in at my first book tour hotel (outside Minneapolis) when I got an email from my publicist with fabulous news. All book tours should start with news this good.

Here are a couple of highlights: "Macallister follows up The Magician’s Lie with another stellar historical novel featuring a fierce female lead....From Chicago’s mean streets to the battle lines of the Civil War, Kate’s dangerous journey is a never-ending thrill ride. Macallister’s masterly storytelling brings her characters to life, and the skillfully handled suspense never wavers."

You can find the full review here. So thrilled! Thank you, librarians!