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New Literary Fiction Books For Your Reading List | Fall 2019

The seasons are changing and now is the perfect time to stock up on some new literary fiction books for your fall reading list. Don't miss exciting new novels from Marc Grossberg, Elizabeth Strout, Zadie Smith, Ann Patchett, André Aciman, and Fiona Valpy. Enjoy your new books!

The Best People

by Marc Grossberg

Release Date: October 8, 2019

A former cop from Brooklyn, Paddy Moran is now a licensed attorney in Houston with big dreams and aspirations. After surviving some early challenges, he manages to land two high-profile clients. After some outstanding outcomes, he finds himself on the success trajectory in the upper echelons of the city's divorce bar. Can Paddy balance his thirst for recognition with his sense of right and wrong?

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Olive, Again

by Elizabeth Strout

Release Date: October 15, 2019

The new novel from New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout... Olive, Again follows the life of beloved Olive Kitteridge. Olive is struggling to understand not only herself but the lives of everyone around her in the town of Crosby, Maine. “Strout managed to make me love this strange woman I’d never met, who I knew nothing about. What a terrific writer she is.”—Zadie Smith.

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Grand Union: Stories

by Zadie Smith

Release Date: October 8, 2019

Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal, Grand Union is a collection of short stories from bestselling author Zadie Smith... Including 11 new and unpublished stories, Smith combines her power of observation and her imitable voice to mine the complex experience of life in the modern world.

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The Dutch House

by Ann Patchett

Release Date: September 24, 2019

The Dutch House is the new novel from Ann Patchett, the New York Times Bestselling author of Commonwealth and State of Wonder... When the Second World War ended, Cyril Conroy uses some luck and a canny investment to begin a real estate empire. His first order of business is to buy a lavish estate in the Philadelphia suburbs, the Dutch House.

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Find Me

by Andre Aciman

Release Date: October 29, 2019

From the author of the worldwide bestseller Call Me by Your Name, André Aciman... Find Me tells the story of Elio's father, Samuel, as he takes a trip from Florence to Rome. He is traveling to visit Elio, who is now a gifted pianist. But a chance encounter on the train with a beautiful woman upends his plans.

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The Dressmaker's Gift

by Fiona Valpy

Release Date: October 1, 2019

Paris, 1940. While their city is occupied by Nazis, three young seamstresses try to go about their normal lives. But all of three of these women are keeping secrets. Mireille is fighting for the Resistance, Claire is in a relationship with a German officer, and Vivienne can't reveal her involvement to either of them.

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Interview with Lexi Madison, Author of Don't Fall For Him

What can you tell us about your new release, Don't Fall For Him?

Well, what’s hotter than finally having someone you thought you could never have? I mean, I think all of our teenage years involved a friend of our brother’s or sister’s or cousin’s, who we wanted but was totally off limits. This book is really about getting to experience that moment.

I love stories that make you feel like you’re falling in love, right there with the characters. Where your heart clenches and you get that stomach flip every time the characters interact. ‘Don’t Fall For Him’ has ALL of that. It’s a fun, sexy, butterfly-inducing tale, of two total opposites who are totally meant to be together.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

My mom! She always loved to write but she never took the ‘leap’ toward her dream. She still has a dozen manuscripts sitting in her desk at home that she’s never published. I know that she regrets her fears of never ‘going for it’ and so I hope that my love for reading and writing and my willingness to ‘leap’ into it will help inspire her, just as she has inspired me in so many ways!

What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?

Top 5 books? JUST FIVE??? Okay fine! I would say the list goes as follows (in no particular order)

- The Deal by Elle Kennedy

- Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

- On Dublin Street, Samantha Young

- Buttons & Lace, Penelope Sky

- Radiance, Grace Draven

Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

Omg! I think I would choose LJ Shen! I would say ‘WOMAN, TELL ME EVERYTHING!’

What's your favorite thing about writing?

The adventure that comes each time you put fingers to keyboard. I get to fall in love for a living, that’s freaking awesome!

What is a typical day like for you?

OMG, is it crazy to say, a total mess??? I mean, I wish I had some sort of system or organization but I don’t. It’s one messy day to the next. Sometimes I am writing late, sometimes early, sometimes it flows, sometimes it doesn’t.

What scene in Don't Fall For Him was your favorite to write?

Without spoiling it, it’s when Libby meets with Ian at the coffee shop and they’re just talking, but there is so much great back and forth.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

Accept the chaos. Thrive in the chaos. Nothing in life is easy or perfect and if you can get through the chaos and learn to embrace it, you can handle ANYTHING!

Lexi Madison is the author of the new book Don't Fall For Him.

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Interview with Marc Grossberg, Author of The Best People

What can you tell us about your new release, The Best People?

I don’t even think I know how to answer that. I hope it is a good read with authentic characters that will make the readers happy they read it and that there will be some things they recall from time to time that gave them insights to themselves and other people in their lives. I hope the readers can come to love the glitzy meritocracy that is Houston, Texas almost as much as I do.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

The people my parents admired most when I was young were artists, musicians and writers. I’ve been wanting to write a novel since I was 16. David Westheimer (“Von Ryan’s Express” among others ) was a relative and a novelist. I held him in the highest esteem. He encouraged my writing. There have been times when I wished the household heroes had been entrepreneurs because I don’t think I have an entrepreneurial bone in my body.

What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?

I am going to respond not so much for greatness but for what took me in and I’m including only fiction. I’m leaving off classics because that would be pretentious and I love modern fiction anyway

Bonfire of the Vanities – Tom Wolfe

Herzog - Saul Bellow

Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

100 Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

And

Marjorie Morningstar (Okay – give me that one and Wouk did win a Nobel Prize for Literature)

The World According to Garp - John Irving

A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole

Three that go together Catch 22/Slaughterhouse Five/ Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

Philip Roth and Tom Wolfe are dead, so Milan Kundera. Your work is so beautiful in English and it obviously is in the original French. I want to understand the relationship you have with your translators.

What's your favorite thing about writing?

The self-deception of having created something very good.

What is a typical day like for you?

Much different than when I was more full-time as a lawyer. If I’m in Houston, I get up when I get up, I try to work out and do my ablutions. I quit reading the paper in 2016 but I’m edging back. Lately, I think I spend at least five hours a day working on things relating to the publication of The Best People. When I go to the office, it’s usually after lunch. I frequently go to something that entertains me in the evenings and that runs the gamut from The Astros to literary readings to movies and sometimes just good conversation with bright interesting people.

What scene in The Best People was your favorite to write?

Until that question, I never thought about it but I know it is the ending scene.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

Yes. I live in the NOW. I go wherever my green light tells me the intersection might be interesting. I accept the consequences of all the decisions I have made.

Marc Grossberg is the author of the new book The Best People.

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Interview with DM Robbins, Author of Narican

What can you tell us about your new release, Narican?

When the story came to me, a proper British male voice began speaking about this planet and the Sun Clan. Science Fiction was not a genre I typically wrote in, but as I drilled deeper, I wanted to learn more about it.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I'm not sure any one author inspired me to write. In fact, when younger, I was not a great reader. But ideas always captivated me, who we are, ideals to aspire to. I think growing up in the woods near my home inspired me to become a writer, as expression can be found in the simple. Out in the woods ideas can form and worlds built around them.

What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?

That's always a slippery slope for me. I usually forget who or what I've read soon after. Townie by Andre Dubus was powerful and stunning and raw. Henry Miller's The Tropic of Cancer held such power and directness that it became my writing bible. Recently I read John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, and I'm not sure a better book has ever been written.

Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

Hemingway, he's the father of modern literature of style and prose. I was hooked on him for a very long time as many writers are. I would ask, what inspired him to turn centuries of flowery prose into muscular poignant sentences.

What's your favorite thing about writing?

The space that it creates around me and within, like an access to something sacred. Life holds meaning in that space. Exploring and discovering, not just about characters, but myself.

What is a typical day like for you?

Get up early, a few cups of coffee, write, work, get outside, read.

What scene in Narican was your favorite to write?

I'd rather not say, but it was a challenging one near the end. My editor pointed out that it needed more attention. So I sat with it a few days and let it grow in the darkness of my subconscious. When it was ready the scene became that much more alive.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

I wish I was that profound. Expanding, unfolding, being aligned with who I am and grabbing pieces lost along the way.

DM Robbins is the author of the new book Narican.

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Interview with Ron Vincent, Author of Shake

What can you tell us about your new release, Shake?

Shake is a thriller that involves a young couple finding their way through murder, assassins, and a quest to solve a riddle.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

Why become an author? It is a compulsion in part inspired by the storytelling tradition in my family.

What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly
The Stand by Stephen King
A Place To Stand by Jimmy Baca
The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien
Woven Stone by Simon Ortiz

Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest?

Michael Connelly

What's your favorite thing about writing?

Favorite thing about writing: the moment I finish the outline for a novel.

What is a typical day like for you?

A typical day starts with a seven-mile walk then four to six hours writing.

What scene in Shake was your favorite to write?

The favorite scene is a tie between Tio Ernesto’s arrest at the Huntington Museum and the moment of discovery by Antonio and Marie in Tio Ernesto’s home in East LA.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

My motto as a writer is “ Tell the emotional truth.”

Ron Vincent is the author of the new book Shake.

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Interview with Michael Okon, Author of Witches Protection Program

What can you tell us about your new release, Witches Protection Program?

Witches Protection Program is 5 years in the making. What started out as an idea from a misread caption is now a published book being circulated in Hollywood as a possible movie/tv show. Broomsticks crossed!

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I love movies and the only way I was able to express myself and my ideas was to write them down. I used to write screenplays in college, and since they went nowhere, I decided to turn them into novels.

What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?

The Shining, Jurassic Park, Shogun, The Science of Getting Rich, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind.

Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

I’m actually the cohost of my show Okon Bros podcast. Without question, if I could interview anyone it would be Stephen King.

What's your favorite thing about writing?

That I don’t think about anything but the story. I don’t think about the issue at the office today, or any of the other things that bother me. I just think about my story. It’s like meditation for me.

What is a typical day like for you?

Up at 530am. Workout, then shower. At my office by 630am. Research and develop my characters/stories all day. Go home, have dinner with family. Tuck in kids, then wife, then put on Golf Channel on mute and write until my eyes go.

What scene in Witches Protection Program was your favorite to write?

The George Washington bridge scene. I don’t want to get into too many details, but it was the most vivid my imagination has gotten.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

"Write what you love, not what you think will sell." Brian Koppelman said that I think.

Michael Okon is the author of the new book Witches Protection Program.

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Interview with Dan E. Hendrickson, Author of The Legend of Deputy Jim

What can you tell us about your new release, The Legend of Deputy Jim?

The Legend of Deputy Jim grew out of my first three books “The Last Enemy Series”. Technically it is a prequel to those books but does stand on its own as a unique story in and of itself. Jim Edwards in the Last Enemy series is the father of Commander Jacob Edwards “the Hero of Cozumel”, and the grandfather of Danielle Edwards. He was very involved in fighting against a notoriously evil antagonist named Boris who wanted the Edwards Family killed so that he could take over Jim’s Business and use it in his criminal underground. The Edwards family do eventually come out on top and survive the crime lords attempts. But there is also something about Jim Edwards past that hints this is not the first time Jim has had a tough fight with some vicious criminals. Back in the early 1970’s Jim Edwards was a sheriff’s deputy in Sheridan Wyoming, and back then he had a run in with a notorious outlaw biker gang called ‘The Wild Wolves’. What happened back then was so violent that Sheriff Manning and his top Lieutenant Al Freeburger completely destroyed all records of Jim’s last year in the department. Jim and his wife never talk about what happened back then even to their son Jacob Edwards. The Legend of Deputy Jim is was a lot of the old timer Law enforcement people call what happened back then and the book tells the story.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

That’s easy it was my late father, Carl Edward Hendrickson. He was, among other things an, English professor. He loved writing poetry, plays, and short stories. He was also the most prolific reader I have ever known. I knew him to read three to five books a week. My brother and I used to kid him about having a different book in every room in the house that he would read simultaneously.

What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?

Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter

Midshipmans Hope by David Feintuch

Lord Fouls Bane, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson

The Hornblower Saga by C.S. Forester

Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

Stephen Hunter. I would ask him how he came up with the character of Bob Lee Swagger.

What's your favorite thing about writing?

Writing the first draft of a book. It’s when I get to enjoy my story. It’s all work after that.

What is a typical day like for you?

I get up around 5:30 am, get my dog Lightning up and we go for a walk. I get to work at about 7 am and I open the place up because I own the business. It is a Auto Body and Detail Shop. Once everything is set and my detail shop and body shop managers are there and starting the day I sneak off and start working on my writing. I can usually get a couple hours in in the morning before business starts pulling me away. Then the rest of the work day is pretty much taking care of my customers cars. I get home between 3 and 4 pm, exercise, eat, and maybe work a little more on my writing or do other activities.

What scene in The Legend of Deputy Jim was your favorite to write?

There are three sections in the book where I show the modern day telling of the Story in a famous bar in Sheridan Wyoming. They are pretty short compared to the rest of the book but I enjoyed writing them because they helped me tie the book to my first three books in The Last Enemy Series but still allowed me to make the Legend of Deputy Jim a stand-alone story.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

The fun is in the journey! Writing books is why I write books!

Dan E. Hendrickson is the author of the new book The Legend of Deputy Jim.

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Interview with Karen Renee, Author of Foolish Riot

What can you tell us about your new release, Foolish Riot?

Foolish Riot is the fifth book in the Riot MC series, but it can absolutely be read as a stand-alone. It began as a short story, but Roll and Trixie had too much going on for a short story. It's full of suspense, some angst, and readers tell me it gives them "all the feels."

What or who inspired you to become an author?

Many people and things inspired me to become an author. I've always had a vivid imagination, and there's nothing better than capturing it in words. My parents always said I needed to have a day job, but when I read the works of Lewis Grizzard and Erma Bombeck, I realized being a full-time writer was possible, it would just have to happen within the realm of journalism or advertising. As it turned out though, I only started publishing after leaving the communications industry, but that's the funny way life works out sometimes.

What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?

If I Ever Get Back to Georgia, I'm Gonna Nail My Feet to the Ground by Lewis Grizzard; The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling; Fire Inside by Kristen Ashley; and Beard Science by Penny Reid.

Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

I would have to say Lawrence Block. I would ask what he thinks of the changes that have taken place in the publishing industry. Where he gets his inspiration for his plots, and whether the character T.J. is based on a real person he knows or not. {Mainly because I love T.J.!}

What's your favorite thing about writing?

My favorite thing about writing is hitting the "writer's high" or the zone where your fingers are not your own, your thoughts are pouring onto the screen or paper and you never know what the characters are going to do next.

What is a typical day like for you?

My days are anything but typical lately! I tore my ACL and my meniscus back in April, so I have physical therapy in the mornings twice a week, and I cram in as much writing as I can during the afternoons after that. Depending on the muse and/or where I'm at with a work in progress, I might get another thousand words in at night.

What scene in Foolish Riot was your favorite to write?

The scene in chapter 15 when Trixie gets away from Roll and the entire Riot Motorcycle club. I love a good chase scene, and there aren't enough of those in romances. Trixie knew she would be chased, so she is forced to take numerous back roads to evade the men who want to protect her. The bonus is that it forces her to call on a close friend who is the heroine of my next book.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

Not really, but if pressed, I would say "One day at a time, one thing at a time." Very little about publishing {even self-publishing} is fast. Yet, there seems to be no end to the number of things I want to get done each day, so I have to pace myself and keep that perspective.

Karen Renee is the author of the new book Foolish Riot.

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New Mystery and Thriller Books to Read | October 8

Hold on to the edge of your seat as we hunt for clues and solve the case with these exciting new mystery and thriller books for the week! There are so many bestselling authors with new novels for you to dive into this week including Willow Rose, Dan E. Hendrickson, Ron Vincent, James Patterson, M.L. Bullock, and many more. Enjoy your new mystery, thriller, and suspense novels. Happy reading!

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New Romance Books to Read | October 8

Looking to fall in love with some new romance reads? You’ll adore these exciting new novels! This week you can get your hands on books by bestselling authors Willow Winters, Tracey Jerald, Danielle Norman, Karen Renee, and Lexi Madison, and more. Enjoy your new romance books and happy reading!