#read99women: Kip Wilson

It’s not uncommon for writers to be occasionally outgoing introverts, and that’s definitely the bucket I’m in, personally. While I need long stretches of solo time, I also love to meet readers (my Events page for the WOMAN 99 paperback is filling up!) and I especially love to meet other authors. Conferences are great places for both, and at last summer’s Historical Novel Society Conference, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel on World War II fiction and getting to know several authors doing really cool work in that time period.

One of those really cool authors was today’s guest, Kip Wilson. Her amazing YA novel-in-verse WHITE ROSE, about anti-Nazi political activist Sophie Scholl, received starred reviews from Kirkus, School Library Journal, Shelf Awareness, and Booklist. WHITE ROSE won the 2017 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Children's Book Discovery Award and was a 2019 Winter/Spring Indies Introduce and Spring Indie Next title. Kip holds a Ph.D. in German Literature, was the poetry editor at YARN (Young Adult Review Network) for five years, and wrote her doctoral dissertation about the poet Rainer Maria Rilke. She's lived in Germany, Austria, and Spain, and currently calls Boston home.

Kip Wilson

The book Kip recommends is the latest from Sherri L. Smith (who was also on that World War II panel I mentioned), THE BLOSSOM AND THE FIREFLY, about the relationship between a teenage kamikaze pilot and a young woman he meets on the air base just days before his final mission. Here’s the lead-in to Kip’s recommendation: “Written in gorgeous, lyrical prose, THE BLOSSOM AND THE FIREFLY transports readers to the impending doom hovering over an air base in Japan during the final days of World War II. This little-known slice of history comes alive through the voices of Nadeshiko girl Hana and tokkō pilot Taro, two teenagers whose sense of duty to their country is equal only to their shared feelings of loss as they hover between life and death.”

Click here to read the full review on BookBub.

You can also click here to follow Kip Wilson on BookBub or click here to follow Sherri L. Smith and find out more about their books and other recommendations.

#read99women: Mary Kubica

There are certain writers whose work you just devour, and Mary Kubica is one of those writers for me. I love to write books where the bottom drops out and leaves the reader reeling at least once along the way, so it’s no surprise that I enjoy reading thrillers that do the same, and Mary is a master of the twisty, oh-wow-NOW-I-get-it form.

Her latest thriller, THE OTHER MRS., is out today! And it’s already been optioned by Netflix, which is putting together the film adaptation as we speak. Can’t wait.

Mary Kubica is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE GOOD GIRL, PRETTY BABY, DON’T YOU CRY, EVERY LAST LIE and WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT. A former high school history teacher, Mary holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children. Her first novel THE GOOD GIRL was an Indie Next pick in August of 2014, received a Strand Critics Nomination for Best First Novel and was a nominee in the Goodreads Choice Awards in Debut Goodreads Author and in Mystery & Thriller for 2014. Mary’s novels have been translated into over thirty languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. She’s been described as “a helluva storyteller,” (Kirkus Reviews) and “a writer of vice-like control,” (Chicago Tribune), and her novels have been praised as “hypnotic” (People) and “thrilling and illuminating” (Los Angeles Times).

Mary Kubica

So what book did Mary choose as her #read99women recommendation? “Uber-prolific writer Sara Shepard’s latest adult thriller, REPUTATION, boasts five female narrators, each as unique and captivating as the next. What starts as an email hack scandal soon turns into murder, in a novel that’s juicy, scandalous and totally twisted. Even better, REPUTATION has one of those picture perfect endings that may leave readers a little choked up – it’s that good. If you’re a fan of smart female characters, jaw-dropping twists and page- turning suspense, check this one out!”

For more on Mary, her novels, and other recommendations, click here.

#read99women: Catherine McKenzie

Please welcome to the blog Catherine McKenzie, a talented and prolific author who also belongs to a select but sizable group: writers who are also lawyers. (There are more than you’d think!)

A graduate of McGill University in History and Law, Catherine practices law in Montreal, where she was born and raised. An avid skier and runner, her novels HIDDEN, SMOKE and I'LL NEVER TELL have all been #1 Amazon bestsellers, and I'LL NEVER TELL was nominated for a Goodreads award in 2019 for best thriller and optioned for a TV show to Paramount TV. Her tenth novel, YOU CAN'T CATCH ME, will be released on June 9, 2020. Visit her online at www.catherinemckenzie.com.

Catherine McKenzie

Catherine’s recommendation for #read99women? THE OTHER MRS. by NYT bestselling thriller author Mary Kubica, which hits shelves tomorrow. She calls it “Mary Kubica's best book since her debut, THE GOOD GIRL.” High praise! Other reasons to read: it’s got “Wonderful atmosphere, amazing writing, a unique premise and pages that turn themselves.”

See Catherine’s recommendation in full on BookBub here.

And tune in tomorrow to see what Mary Kubica chose for her own #read99women recommendation!

#read99women: Kris Waldherr

I may have already mentioned this in a #read99women intro — we’re more than 20 authors in! — but one of the things I love most about being an author is the opportunity to read forthcoming books long before they hit shelves. One I really delighted in last year was Kris Waldherr’s moody Gothic debut THE LOST HISTORY OF DREAMS. It’s coming out in paperback from Atria in just a few days, and you’ll want to pick it up if you haven’t already. In my blurb I called it “a dark, shimmering gem of a novel, glittering with love lost, secrets kept, and long-buried truths revealed.” You can read more about it here. 

So I thought it was the perfect time to invite Kris to participate in #read99women. Kris Waldherr’s books for adults and children include Bad Princess, Doomed Queens, and The Book of Goddesses. The New Yorker praised Doomed Queens as “utterly satisfying” and “deliciously perverse.” The Book of Goddesses was a One Spirit/Book-of-the-Month Club’s Top Ten Most Popular Book. Her picture book Persephone and the Pomegranate was noted by the New York Times Book Review for its “quality of myth and magic.” Her fiction has won fellowships from the Virginia Center of the Creative Arts, and a works-in-progress reading grant from Poets & Writers.

Kris Waldherr

Kris says: “My recommendation is Erika Swyler’s LIGHT FROM OTHER STARS, a tour de force that intermingles magical realism and science fiction into a 1980s family saga unlike anything else I’ve read. Though the official description for LIGHT FROM OTHER STARS plays up the relationship between eleven-year-old future astronaut Nedda and her ‘mad scientist’ father Theo amid the backdrop of the Challenger disaster, it’s Nedda’s mother Betheen who steals the show. Betheen is just as brilliant a scientist as her husband—perhaps even more so—but has put her career on hold to raise a family; she instead funnels her ambitions into competitive baking. I loved that, when it all goes to pieces, it’s the mother-daughter relationship that ultimately saves the day. LIGHT FROM OTHER STARS received six starred trade reviews when first published last year. It also moved me to tears—it’s a novel that wears a huge heart on its exquisitely written sleeve.” 

Sounds gorgeous, doesn’t it? I’m sold. It’s another busy week in publishing — stay tuned for recommendations from, and of, authors launching new books in the next few days!

#read99women: Nicole Baart

The recommendations flooding in for #read99women are as varied as the authors choosing them! Suspense and romance, fantasy and nonfiction, intense and light-hearted — we’ve got them all.

Today’s recommendation comes from Nicole Baart, whose choice is, as she puts it, “both whimsical and profound.” Because none of us are just one thing or another, so why should our books be?

Nicole Baart is the mother of five children from four different countries. She is passionate about global issues and the cofounder of a non-profit organization, One Body One Hope. Nicole lives in a small town in Iowa where she enjoys cooking, gardening, yoga, and watching her kids play sports. She is the author of nine novels, including the People Magazine Editor's Top Pick LITTLE BROKEN THINGS and YOU WERE ALWAYS MINE. Find out more at NicoleBaart.com.

Nicole Baart

Nicole’s #read99women recommendation is THE CURIOUS CHARMS OF ARTHUR PEPPER by Phaedra Patrick. “Recently, I picked up The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper because I was in desperate need of something redemptive and hope-filled,” she says. “The quirky cover and flap copy made the novel sound light-hearted and adventurous, and I looked forward to an easy read. What I didn’t bargain for was the depth of emotion that kept me alternately in tears and doubled over with laughter as I traveled with Arthur on his amazing journey.”

Read Nicole’s full review on Bookbub here. And you can click here to read more about Nicole, her books, and her other recommendations.

get ready for THE ARCTIC FURY!

I am so delighted to share this news: my next historical novel, THE ARCTIC FURY, is forthcoming from Sourcebooks in December 2020!

December seems simultaneously a long way away and just around the corner, and both are kind of true. The important things are that a) there’s a book and b) I’ve actually finished writing it and c) the cover and the title are both killer.

You know the title — and next week, you’ll get to see the full cover. It’ll be revealed on social media and here on the blog next Thursday, February 20.

In the meantime, here’s a lovely, haunting hint. (I’m already in love with the font. It feels like an appropriately chilly, foreboding font. Brrrrr.)

(And if this whets your appetite for the book, go ahead and add it to your to-read shelf right now on Goodreads!)

#read99women: Gill Paul

Happy Valentine’s Day! Of course as I looked through my collection of yet-to-be-blogged-about #read99women recommendations, I figured today’s story needed to be a love story. But what kind? Romantic love? Family love? A book about a mother’s love for her child, a lighthearted will-they-or-won’t-they romance, an epic tale of passion and betrayal?

Then I decided that no matter what I picked, it would be appropriate, since this whole series is about books we love. And in nearly every recommendation I looked at, my writer friends talked about how they loved or adored the book they’d chosen. Basically, warm fuzzy feelings every day around here.

So I chose the recommendation from Gill Paul, a fabulous author from the UK, whose recommendation is full of book-love and also happens to sound like a fascinating love story of a most unusual sort: THE POISON BED by E.C. Fremantle.

Ah, but first! Gill’s bio: Gill Paul’s historical novels have reached the top of the USA Today, Toronto Globe & Mail and UK kindle charts, and been translated into twenty languages. She specializes in relatively recent history, mostly 20th century, and enjoys re-evaluating real historical characters and trying to get inside their heads.

Gill also writes historical non-fiction, including A History of Medicine in 50 Objects and series of Love Stories. Published around the world, this series includes Royal Love Stories, World War I Love Stories and Titanic Love Stories. She also writes short stories for magazines and speaks at libraries and literary festivals about subjects ranging from the British royal family to the Romanovs, and about writing itself. Her next novel, JACKIE AND MARIA (about Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas) will be published in the US in August 2020 and in the UK in September 2020.

Gill Paul

Gill’s #read99women recommendation is THE POISON BED, by E.C. Fremantle. Says Gill, “I’ve bought this novel for loads of book-loving friends, and they’ve all loved it as much as I do. It’s an instantly absorbing, cleverly written historical mystery, told partly from the point of view of Robert Carr, a handsome, charismatic favourite of King James I, and partly through the eyes of the beautiful Francis Howard, of the famous Howard dynasty. The story opens with Francis being taken to the Tower after confessing to murder – but did she do it?” 

“She was previously married to Essex, a physically abusive and emotionally stunted man who failed to consummate their marriage. Her devious uncle plots to have the union annulled so he can wed her to Carr and thus wriggle into royal favour. Francis and Robert are attracted to each other so it seems a good plan. But in the background there are whispers of witchcraft, punishable by death, and Robert’s ex-lover Thomas Overbury stands in the way.”

“Elizabeth Fremantle’s prose is rich and delicious. She builds a convincing picture of the surreptitious glances and veiled nuances that create intrigue in the shadowy reaches of the English court, where Machiavellian ambition, gossip and self-interest rule. It’s Hilary Mantelesque but sharper and more focused. I knew little of the period, but learned this is the true story of what became a major scandal in the early 17 th century; you can feel in your bones that the research is impeccable. The characterisation of both Francis and Carr is subtle and convincing. She has been groomed to use her womanly wiles to secure her family’s fortunes, but might she have her own plans? Should Robert trust her? Should she trust him? We jump from the present day, as they are held in the Tower trying to save their skins, to the past as their romance develops, layer upon layer. It’s a sensual, addictive novel that gets inside your head, and a portrait of evil you won’t forget in a long time.”

#read99women: Rebecca Hodge

As promised in yesterday’s post, today’s guest is Rebecca Hodge, debut author of WILDLAND! If you missed Barbara Claypole White waxing poetic about WILDLAND yesterday, here’s where you can catch up quick.

Rebecca Hodge is an author of fiction, a veterinarian, and a clinical research scientist who lives and writes in North Carolina. Fiction writing is the space where her creative side comes out to play, and her writing centers on characters who discover that life is not a spectator sport. She has three grown sons, two crazy dogs, and one patient husband. When not busy writing, she loves hiking, travel, and (of course) curling up with a good book. WILDLAND is her debut novel. 

Rebecca Hodge

Rebecca’s recommendation is THE MOONSHINER’S DAUGHTER by Donna Everhart, which was released in early January. “Told with compassion and deft characterization, this is the story of a teenage girl fighting her own demons as she tries to balance allegiance to her father and brother with the illegality of the family business.” It’s set in western North Carolina in the early 1960s, and it sounds amazing. Read Rebecca’s review in full on BookBub here.

interview with Allison Pataki in CHIRB!

Briefly interrupting the steady stream of #read99women recommendations with an interview I didn’t want to lose in the shuffle! I got to ask the delightful Allison Pataki five questions on the occasion of the release of her new novel THE QUEEN’S FORTUNE, and her answers are just wonderful.

One of my favorite lines: “As a writer you want your reader to experience the action of history and the plot up close and in real-time, rather than through a character’s game of telephone. So that can affect the pacing and the narrative at times. Ultimately, isn’t that part of why we love reading historical fiction—because it allows us to enter firsthand into these most compelling and jaw-dropping of historical moments?”

Click to read our interview at the Chicago Review of Books.

#read99women: Barbara Claypole White

Such a busy week for new releases! Seems like all of February is jam-packed with shiny, new, beautiful books. And if your TBR weren’t toppling already, just wait to see what the rest of the month has in store. And it’s leap year besides, so February has 29 whole days of #read99women goodness.

Today’s recommendation — a debut novel “about an extraordinarily courageous woman facing a second round with breast cancer” — comes courtesy of Barbara Claypole White, an amazing writer who tackles writing about mental illness and family tensions with clear eyes and a kind heart.

The bio: Bestselling author Barbara Claypole White was born in rural England, but writes and gardens in the forests of North Carolina. Her passion for chipping away at stereotypes of mental illness inspires quirky stories about troubled but courageous characters, complicated relationships, and crazy critters…topped off with a dollop of hope. She is also an OCD advocate for the A2A Alliance, a non-profit that promotes advocacy over adversity.

Barbara Claypole White

Barbara’s recommendation is WILDLAND, Rebecca Hodge’s debut novel, which she calls “an incredible story of courage, survival, and humanity… I loved every word, every sentence, every plot twist, and every character.” Read the full recommendation on Bookbub by clicking here.

Curious about Rebecca Hodge herself? Tune in tomorrow for her bio and her own #read99women recommendation!