Looking for some new biography and memoir books for your library? There are so many new releases this week that you’re bound to find a new favorite. You can pick up new books from Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Liz Phair, Andrew Ridgeley and more. Enjoy your new biography and memoir books. Happy reading!
By Tracey Jerald
How many times have you ever looked at a celebrity and thought, “Wow, I bet they have a perfect life.” But I’d be willing to challenge you they’re merely playing a role when the spotlight is on them.
After all, nothing is perfect. Certainly nothing about life or love is.
Perfection, or the lack thereof, was the jumping off point for Close Match. This story is more than just a love story; it’s more than just a journey. It’s a rebirth that requires two individuals to grow separately even as they learn to love one another while life tests their emotional bonds.
And their wounds.
We’re taught “close” isn’t good enough. So, with that, I approached the idea of love, the idea of being “perfect” for someone. It led me to ask the question of whether there indeed was such a thing as a perfect match for two people?
When I write, it’s little things that start to come together. When I was online earlier this year, a woman responded to a public post dealing with body shaming. What snagged my attention was her comment that while she might be thin, would anyone be willing to trade because she’d be gloriously happy with one of their less than perfect figures so she could live since she had Stage 4 cancer.
Another day, my 73-year-old mother was practicing her performing arts dance routine in my home office. As she twirled, it reminded me of all the times she took me to Broadway shows when I was a child.
And so, Evangeline Brogan was born – a star who on the outside had it all. She is a charming, dynamic beauty who puts the love of family above everything else in her life. When long-held secrets threaten everything, she’s left more vulnerable than she’s ever been under the spotlight.
But what kind of man would get her attention? Would it be someone from her world, someone who would understand her emotional burden? Linnie sneered at me, and her co-star, when we introduced her to one.
Along the way, Linnie’s life intersects with that of Montague Parrish. Arrogant and protective, Monty’s wary of the woman who appears to seamlessly ease her way into his family’s life from stage left. But if Monty’s mind is suspicious of Linnie’s, his body is all too ready to accept her.
The things that bring them together may be the catalyst for what ends up driving them apart. After all, lies have a way of doing that, even when the only person you’re telling them to is yourself.
In this book, you’ll go from the bright lights of New York City to the comfort of a horse farm in Virginia. You’ll see their strength; you’ll feel their weakness. And in between, you’ll realize that that love comes to anyone.
Even those of us who are just close.
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By Willow Rose
While being evacuated from Hurricane Dorian, I was writing this book. So, of course, I had to put a hurricane in the book.
It was odd writing about a hurricane while waiting for it to approach our home, not knowing what our house would look like after the storm.
When we left, it looked like it would be a direct hit on Cocoa Beach, and that scared me, to be honest.
So I evacuated to a beautiful cabin in the Smokey Mountains in North Carolina.
Here in these stunning surroundings, I was writing about Eva Rae Thomas searching for a vicious killer on Amelia Island.
She was also trying to mend the broken pieces between her and her father. All this while a cat 5 hurricane was approaching.
Luckily, we got off easy in real life, and nothing happened to our home or even our town. Others weren't so lucky, especially not people in the Bahamas, as you probably know. It was truly devastating to see the pictures coming out of there in the days that followed.
As usual, a lot of the elements in this book comes from real life - not just the hurricane.
There's a webpage, for instance, where people who fantasize about doing a mass shooting meet.
I found the articles written about the El Paso shooter how he posted his manifest on this webpage. Here people who dreamt about doing mass shootings could talk to one another and cheer on each other.
The webpage was initially created for people to be able to speak freely but later misused. It's closed down now, but they fear it'll just pop up somewhere else. It's a frightening thought that people like that can meet online and help each other along to do these awful things, and counting kill-scores. It scares me like crazy.
You can read more about it in this article if you want to know more:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-the-toxic-online-world-where-mass-shooters-thrive-11567608631
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In some exciting news for book lovers, Oprah's Book Club is making a return in a new partnership with Apple across Apple Books and Apple TV+. Oprah's Book Club will connect a community of readers around the world and help them discover exciting books by today's most thought-provoking authors.
For every one of Oprah's Book Club selections that are sold on Apple Books, Apple will make a contribution to the American Library Association.
“Few people in the world can bring us together like Oprah, whose compassion and grace celebrating the power of books are unmatched,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “It’s our honor to provide a new platform for Oprah’s Book Club and support the American Library Association in opening hearts and minds to the joy of reading.”
“I am who I am today because of the experience of learning to read at an early age. Reading opened up a whole world for me beyond the red dirt road and my grandmother’s porch in Mississippi,” said Oprah Winfrey. “I want to do that for everybody. And the opportunity to do this with Apple, to speak to people all over the world about the pleasures, the excitement, the tension, the drama that a good book can bring you … I don’t know what’s better than that.”
The first selection for the new Oprah's Book Club is The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Oprah will interview Coates in the first episode of her new Apple TV+ series starting on November 1st.
Release Date: September 24, 2019
The new book from the National Book Award-winning author of Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates... Hiram Walker's mother was sold away when he was very young, he was robbed of all memory of her. But he was gifted a mysterious power. This power saved his life when he almost drowned in a river years later. Hiram's brush with death spurs a daring scheme... to escape the only home he has ever known.
Have you been searching for the latest must read books in fantasy and science fiction? You won't want to miss these exciting new releases from bestselling authors D.M. Robbins, Anastasia Slabucho, Robinson Castillo, Michael Okon, Brit Lunden, and Hugh Howey. Prepare for some thrilling new adventures thanks to these latest fantasy and science fiction books!
Release Date: September 15, 2019
Reuben Mitchell is the last of the Sun Clan, the defenders of the soul's highest order. After the toxic attack of Narican, he was born to unknowing surrogates on Earth. Reuben is ignorant of his true nature except for brief glimmers in dreams. Now that he is eighteen, the Toxic Whisperers are coming for him.
Release Date: September 22, 2019
Few human wants, wishes or memories remained by 2135. This year was also when Geo Spears longevity treatment failed. Cast out by the Fusion, she only has weeks to live and is faced with mortality for the first time. Her betrayal of family in her past has now become entangled with the present.
Release Date: September 18, 2019
The first book in The Bearer futuristic urban fantasy series by Robinson Castillo... Earth 2502 AD. Nyyx Mara is the 523-year-old defender of the human race. He has seen it all so he isn't surprised when he sees three bomb toting ogres flying around in a delivery truck. Disposing of them was easy, but little did he know that he just pulled on a thread that could unravel the universal fabric.
Release Date: September 30, 2019
Wes Rockville is a disgraced law-enforcement agent but has one last chance to save his career when he is reassigned to a 232-year-old secret government organization, The Witches Protection Program. Wes must believe in witches... and himself if he is going to survive his first assignment.
Release Date: September 27, 2019
As the daughter of wild child Becky Dalton, reporter Dayna Dalton's reputation has been ruined since birth. She was always expected to follow in her mother's footsteps and was never given a chance to prove she is different. Dayna has been in love with Sheriff Clay Finnes since she was a teenager. But he's off-limits. Instead, she finds herself in a revolving door of bad relationships.
Release Date: October 1, 2019
The new novel from the New York Times Bestselling Author of Wool and the Molly Fyde saga... 500 colonists have been sent to settle on a far away alien planet. They were grown in a vat in a dream-like state and are educated by artificial intelligence through simulations. They should awaken at the age of 30 and be fully trained for their new world.
Are you a born traveler and looking for some inspiration for your next adventure? You won't want to miss these exciting new books from authors Sunny and Al Lockwood, Christopher Schacht, Dan Kois, Mark Kenyon, Christopher Ingraham, and Mary Jane Black. Enjoy these new books to read if you love to travel!
Release Date: October 1, 2019
Cruising the Mississippi is the new travel memoir from bestselling authors Sunny and Al Lockwood. A serious car wreck changed their lives, convincing them to stop postponing their travel dreams. Now you can join them on their latest adventure of cruising the Mississippi River on a genuine paddlewheeler. Experience everything with them, from culinary delights and rich architecture to breathtaking vistas and the famous hospitality of southern culture.
Release Date: September 17, 2019
At the age of nineteen, Christopher Schacht put his dream into motion. With only 50 euros in savings, he set off on an adventure to travel around the world. He would have to rely on his friendliness, flexibility, charm, and willingness to work for shelter and food. Over a period of four years, he managed to visit 45 countries and traversed 1000,000 kilometers on foot, hitchhiking, and sailing.
Release Date: September 17, 2019
Dan Kois and his wife always wanted to do the best for their children. As busy professionals in the suburbs of D.C. they scheduled their kid's time wisely. Dan, Alia, and their two pre-teen daughters were all searching for their own happiness. But they wanted to achieve happiness together. In this memoir, you can join the Kois family as they search for other places to live away from home, but also be closer together.
Release Date: December 1, 2019
That WIld Country is the new book from outdoor enthusiast Mark Kenyon. Follow Mark as he reflects on the past and future battles over America's public lands. The public land system in America has been embroiled in controversy since its inception. Mark will explore these lands involved in heated debates and learn how they came to be.
Release Date: September 10, 2019
If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now is the candid story of writer Christopher Ingraham and how he uprooted his whole life and moved his family to Red Lake Falls, Minnesota... A place that was made famous as "the worst place to live in America" according to a Washington Post article.
Release Date: October 1, 2019
Mary Jane Black was a schoolteacher that escaped an abusive marriage and found love on a blind date... Mary Jane's new husband Dwayne teaches her the joy of riding a motorcycle, as he's sure riding a Harley will restore her confidence. Fifteen years later and they have followed the white lines together. Then Dwayne was diagnosed with cancer. When she loses her husband, she must learn to live on her own again.
Erin Nicholas is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of contemporary romance novels. Some of her popular recent releases include Boys of the Bayou, Boys of the Big Easy, and Billionaires in Blue Jeans series. If you've been on the lookout for some sexy new romances, check out these books to read if you like Erin Nicholas!
Release Date: October 2, 2019
I made a bet that I could make 10,000 women happy. I bet my family's legacy on it. Marketing queen, Kendall Sullivan is the only hope I have of saving the ting I care about most. She doesn't have time for my playboy ways. But I can't get her out of my head. What happens when I only want to please her?
Release Date: September 26, 2019
The first book in the new Cultivated series by bestselling author Elin Peer... I used to have a major crush on Charles in college. He was the reserved, mysterious, and unattainable guy that got tangled up with the wrong crowd. As the heir to one of the largest business dynasties in the US, he was a target for the cunning cult leader O'Brien. Now I have to get him out.
Release Date: September 20, 2019
I can admit that I used to be an immature and entitled ass. But love changes people. I've seen what true love can do and I want that for myself. Somehow I am the only single guy left and Roxy Carter is the only single girl. The only time she hasn't been a loudmouth was that time we were making out at our best friends' wedding. It's been five years and she still refuses to talk about it. She's going to have to talk to me now.
Release Date: September 23, 2019
Talon Gold is great at football but terrible at love. He's obsessed with scoring but refuses to play by the rules. He is cruel and relentless but also brilliant and intoxicatingly attractive. Everyone wants a piece of him but it seems Talon only wants a piece of me.
Release Date: September 27, 2019
Emily had a perfect life but it quickly turned to disaster. Her trust fund brother is looking for a handout, her father is more like a board member than a dad, and her mother thinks she should just give up being a CEO and meet a man with a prenup and a yacht. And of course, there was that misunderstanding witnessed by Miami's paparazzi.
Release Date: September 26, 2019
I had no idea what I was in for when I signed up to be the in-home assistant of an NFL superstar. All of his previous assistants quit after a week and after meeting him I can understand why. He's brooding, impatient, and demanding... He's also way too sexy for his own good.
What can you tell us about your new release, The Price of Scandal?
It’s hot and hilarious! The Price of Scandal is a female billionaire romantic comedy with a badass, science nerd mogul heroine, a swoony crisis-managing hero, a free-range St. Bernard, drag queen brunch, and all the fun and heat of Miami.
It’s the first of the four Bluewater Billionaires books written by my talented, beautiful, hilarious author pals Claire Kingsley, Kathryn Nolan, and Pippa Grant. Four female billionaires written by four contemporary romance authors!
What books are currently on your nightstand?
Right this second I’m reading Maya Hughes’ Shameless King and Michael Connelly’s The Burning Room.
What advice would you give your teenage self?
Be who you are, not who you think others want you to be. Also, buy better hairspray and wear more sunscreen.
If you had an extra hour each day, how would you spend it?
I should say writing, but I’d definitely spend those sixty minutes reading!
What makes your world go round? Why does it bring you joy?
Besides tacos and romance novels? Good people. I get to work with Mr. Lucy and every single day I also get to interact with a positive circle of author friends and amazing, generous readers. It’s such a supportive, happy community. It’s kind of the best thing ever.
What scene in The Price of Scandal was your favorite to write?
I have so many favorites in this book! But the whole story started with the “meetnude” scene when Emily comes home from a very bad day and finds a naked stranger in her tub. While she’s hurling insults at him and calling security, he’s suavely promising to make all her problems go away... and drinking her scotch. Every time Emily and Derek are on the page together, the ereader screen starts to steam up.
Then there’s the drag queen brunch when our four, female billionaire BFFs are eavesdropping on the table full of romance novelists plotting books next to them. I was snort-laughing out loud writing that scene.
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What can you tell us about your new release, Bad Love?
I've always wanted to write a story about a super sexy bet - so Logan and Kendall's hot office-y romance was perfect. A reckless player with a heart of gold, a single mom with dirty fantasies, and the wager that makes their chemistry explode...it checked all the boxes for me as an author and a reader! Plus as my readers know, I love writing smart banter, electric tension, and characters you wish were your friends IRL. This book has ALL of those in extra doses.
What or who inspired you to become an author?
I've loved reading indie romance since the early days of new adult angst lol. Those raw, emotional books got me through a lot of tough times. I fell in love with the stories from authors like Ilsa Madden-Mills and Penny Reid and Kendall Ryan, but I also loved the freedom to do things any way I wanted. Five years in, I'm even more obsessed with the writing AND the business side of the journey.
What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?
Oooh, I have so many favorites across genres. My fave romance books are the co-written series by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen, but especially Him. I cannot read that enough times. Also, anything by Christina Lauren. For YA fantasy, which is my go-to when I'm not reading romance, I'm obsessed with Sarah Maas' Throne of Glass series. I just finished it this summer and am gearing up for a binge re-read... 😉
What is a typical day like for you?
Most mornings I get up about 7, make coffee, then work out. Some of my best writing ideas come from that time! Then I try and get my words in before lunch but if not, they spill over into the afternoon. That's the most important priority, always. I try to keep marketing pretty tight--it's usually an hour or two in the afternoon. I'm not a huge social media person so I find it pretty easy to stay focused.
What scene in Bad Love was your favorite to write?
Either Logan and Kendall's first kiss - which is the most ridiculously sexy first kiss I've ever written - or the scene where he follows her into the bathroom at work after their meeting, which I won't explain for spoilery reasons! I loved their chemistry and how totally opposite they were, but how they taught each other so much.
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
"Do all things with love." It's hard to go wrong with that.
Piper Lawson is the author of the new book Bad Love.
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What can you tell us about your new release, The Irispire Portal?
Well, this is my first foray into genre fiction, and it was a fun book for me to write. I have always been a fan of action/adventure and mixing that with urban fantasy, science fiction, and epic fantasy elements was both creatively stimulating and enjoyable for me. It’s a fast-paced book with heroic characters, reminiscent of pulp magazine adventures. If I were to equate it with traditional publishing houses, it would most resemble books from Baen Books, whose editorial vision is fun, fast-paced speculative fiction.
What or who inspired you to become an author?
I’ve always been inspired by adventure movies like Indiana Jones. The Chronicles Trilogy by Margarer Weis and Tracy Hickman. And also F. Scott Fitzgerald and Robertson Davies.
What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?
The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
What’s Bred in The Bone - Robertson Davies
Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Storm Front - Jim Butcher
Persuaded - Lee Child
Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?
My first guest would be Scott Fitzgerald, and no question. I would just ask him to please write and finish Love of The Last Tycoon, because it was shaping up to be his best novel yet.
What's your favorite thing about writing?
I love it, because it’s like playing pretend for adults. Those were always the best times I had as a kid, and writing gives me that well into adulthood. I can’t get enough of it.
What is a typical day like for you?
Well having two kids is definitely tough. But while I was writing this book. I would get up at 6am take care of the kids while my wife is at work during the day. During the kids nap times I would try to squeeze a twenty minute writing sprint (can usually get 500+ words in), then spend time with wife and kids after my wife gets home from work. We have about an hour together before I have to go to work from 3:30pm to 11:30pm. Rinse and repeat.
What scene in The Irispire Portal was your favorite to write?
I would have to say the midpoint reveal/action sequence at Club Rapture.
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
Not the artist alone, but every creative individual whatsoever owes all that is greatest in his life to fantasy. ~Carl Jung
Experience is wine, and art is the brandy we distil from it - Robertson Davies
Robinson Castillo is the author of the new book The Irispire Portal.
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