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 Chris Orcutt, Gregory Rench, Jordan Petrarca, Janet Evanovich, and many more. Enjoy your new mystery, thriller, and suspense novels. Happy reading!
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 W. Winters, Winter Renshaw, Nana Malone, P. Dangelico, Melissa Ellen, and more. Enjoy your new romance books and happy reading!
What can you tell us about your new release, Nothing But Blue?
Nothing But Blue tells the story of the ten weeks I spent working on a German container ship in the summer after my sophomore year at Middlebury College - with a mostly male crew. We sailed from New York to Australia and New Zealand via the Panama Canal- and back.
What or who inspired you to become an author?
My Papoo - Greek for grandfather - was an uneducated but well read immigrant. He wrote poetry to us all the time. His words, and those of the many great authors I admire, inspired me.
What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?
Shakespeare’s plays- my favorite changes daily.
Ulysses- James Joyce
Dr. Zhivago- Boris Pasternak
White Noise - Don Delilo
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?
In my dreams, Shakespeare. I’d ask how he did it. In reality, I’d interview Haruki Murakami and Jonathan Franzen together and ask them about how their styles have evolved over their careers
What's your favorite thing about writing?
How absolutely cathartic and therapeutic it is
What is a typical day like for you?
I’ve just returned from England where I earned an MA in Shakespeare Studies at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford Upon Avon. So days until recently have been those of a student - lectures, research, and writing papers and more papers! I’m readjusting to life in the States by practicing yoga (I’m an instructor) and writing daily.
What scene in Nothing But Blue was your favorite to write?
The first, where I board the ship with my family and realize what I’ve gotten myself into, and the one where an angry crew member almost threw me overboard
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
Sign up for our email and we’ll send you the best new books in your favorite genres weekly.
Literary fiction readers are in for a treat. This week’s latest releases list is full of intriguing reads you won’t want to miss! The new releases list includes so many bestselling authors like Elizabeth Berg, John Boyne, Jaclyn Gilbert, and many more. Enjoy your new literary fiction books. Happy reading!
Set off on an adventure to new worlds this week! This selection of new science fiction and fantasy books will surely please! Science Fiction fans should be excited about the latest from bestselling authors Jon Lee Grafton, Morgan Rice, Isaac Marion, and more. If Fantasy is what your library needs, you’ll be able to pick up the latest from Rhett C. Bruno, Melissa Sercia, S.M. Stirling, and more. Enjoy your new science fiction and fantasy books. Happy reading!
Are you an avid reader of Young Adult books? This week you are in luck! With all of these new novels, you’re bound to find a new favorite book to add to your reading list. This week includes new novels from bestselling authors Michelle Hodkin, Traci Chee, Robin Talley, and many more. Enjoy your new young adult books. Happy reading!
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 novels from Diane MeyerLowman, Michelle Obama, Jeff Tweedy, Tom Dittmer, and more. Enjoy your new biography and memoir books. Happy reading!
What can you tell us about your new release, Mafia University?
Mafia University was an idea I came up with 15 years ago when I was at college. My frat brothers and I were obsessed with the movie “Goodfellas” at the time, so we came up with mobster nicknames for ourselves which I eventually turned into a story. I finally decided to make it into a book and I’m very proud how it turned out. The story mixes the college experience and the mafia lifestyle together in a unique way and I hope that readers will be entertained and appreciate its original storyline.
What or who inspired you to become an author?
When I was in sixth grade, I wrote a play called “The Murder of Big Bird” about the assassination of Big Bird on Sesame Street. My English teacher liked it so much that she had me cast some of my classmates and perform it in front of the class. From then on, I knew I had a talent for storytelling. For the longest time I wanted to be a screenwriter, but after I read about thirty books in a year, I decided that I could write one. I just want to entertain readers with my original storylines the same way I have been entertained by all the great books I’ve read in my life.
What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?
Top Five Books in no particular order... “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo, “Omerta” by Mario Puzo, “The Stand” by Stephen King, “A Game of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin, and “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White
Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?
If I hosted a literary talk show I would want my first guest to be Mario Puzo, because to me, he wrote the most iconic book in history, “The Godfather”. I know he is no longer with us, but I would love to sit down with him and talk about “The Godfather” for the entire show. I would ask him what inspired him to write organized crime stories and I would ask him how he came up with some of the best characters to ever be written down on a page.
What's your favorite thing about writing?
My favorite thing about writing is dialogue. I love writing conversations and I feel like that is my strongest aspect of my writing. When someone reads a book of mine and says that my dialogue made it feel like it was real, it puts a special smile on my face.
What is a typical day like for you?
A typical day for me is waking up early in the morning and lying in bed with my wife and twin girls, before I go to my full time job working with autistic children. After work, I pick my girls up from their grandmother’s and I spend time with them until they go to bed. When my girls go to sleep, I either read or write, then watch a show or two before bed with my wife.
What scene in Mafia University was your favorite to write?
My favorite scene I wrote in Mafia University was when one of the villain mobsters from New York City shows up at the university the story takes place at and visits a backroad country bar in the middle of nowhere. A conversation between a city guy like him and a bunch of hillbillies was hilarious to me. It was a lot of fun to write.
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
I live one day at a time and try to be the best father and husband I can possible be.
Sign up for our email and we’ll send you the best new books in your favorite genres weekly.
What can you tell us about your new release, Taming Wes?
Taming Wes is the third standalone in the Billingsley Series. It's about the oldest Monroe brother who is determined to remain a bachelor for life. He runs the family farm with his father and has a playful personality with his friends and family, which he sometimes uses as a way to hide how he truly feels. He is loyal and loving to his friends and family, but has no plans to show that side of himself to any woman.
What or who inspired you to become an author?
I've always loved reading. I started at a very young age, picking up my step-father's John Grisham books. They probably weren't the most appropriate for my age at the time, but I enjoyed them. They were the gateway to me devouring books like candy. I never expected to become an author. I was in a reading slump one night and just decided to sit down and write something for myself. I shared it with my sister and she was my biggest supporter to publish my first book.
What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?
This shouldn't be the hardest question, but it is. I've read so many books and have had so many favorites through my life. Here is a list based on favorites at different stages: The Giver by Lois Lowry, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks, The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling (my first binge read), and because I'm a sucker for romance with a fun twist, the Samantha Jellicoe Series by Suzanne Enoch.
Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?
What would you want to ask? I've never actually thought about that...maybe John Grisham. He was my first favorite author. I have so many now, though. I guess I would ask him his best advice for a newbie author like myself.
What's your favorite thing about writing?
My favorite thing is getting lost in the world and characters. They feel so real to me when I'm writing.
What is a typical day like for you?
After I get my son off to school, most of my days are spent doing my first love: architecture. I have my own business doing commercial architecture. When I'm not busy with designing, I'm writing. My day usually ends with me spending time with my son and husband before tucking in for the night and reading.
What scene in Taming Wes was your favorite to write?
The bathroom scene with Devin and Wes. I won't give anymore away, though. 🙂
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
Lately, work smarter not harder. It's not to say I don't work hard, but efficiency and doing it right the first time is key. I want to have more time to enjoy life and my family. For years, I worked sixty plus hour work weeks and one day I realized I was missing out on so much being stuck in an office. I wanted more for my life.
Sign up for our email and we’ll send you the best new books in your favorite genres weekly.
What can you tell us about your new release, The Girl in the Hotel?
This suspense-horror novel was researched and written with rollercoaster rides as the model, in particular, the one in Santa Cruz, that begins with a terrifying drop into a dark tunnel. As a writer, you can learn a lot by studying haunted houses and rollercoasters. I also wanted to work with a vibrant, strong and resourceful fourteen-year-old girl, so Ed (Never Ever Eddie) Rang came to life.
What or who inspired you to become an author?
Being the odd child, the one who read the dictionary for fun, I was also an avid reader and in love with the mysteries and magic of the written word. In my late twenties, a voice spoke up inside my head and gave me the nudge, “Why don’t you write one? I dare you.” Seven months later, the first draft of my first novel, Distractions (1983), was completed.
What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?
The collected short stories of Somerset Maugham
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
White Jazz by James Ellroy
Nine Stories by J. D. Salinger
A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle
Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?
It’s tempting to answer, “James Ellroy” because I love his brutal honesty, passion, and gift for language, but I think I might wilt under his tendency to be combative. So, I’ll demand the production company bring the cadaver and ghost of Donald E. Westlake into the studio.
We would have a conversation about the craft, the “what goes on under the hood” efforts (research style, pen vs. keyboard, thoughts on the degrees of realism and background, his views on the importance of story). I’d find it very interesting and fun, even while the ratings tank and the audience dozes. Maybe to add a little jazz, I’d ask Donald to share his three favorite jokes (He was a brilliant wit).
What's your favorite thing about writing?
The months of gathering Ingredients and writing background sketches before the book is begun. Once the cast take over the book, I like transcribing for them, seeing what they stir up next while relegating me to their typist, their clerical pool.
Reviewing the ten to twenty thousand words of what I call the Ingredients and seeing the story begin to form: its theme, its genre, its skeleton, which is the start of the construction of the story, the roller-coaster I am privileged to build. Watching their story unfold through my fingertips.
The delight found in the imagination-play with words, the daily delight and frustration with words and sentences; searching for the most effective path to creative and thoughtful expression.
What is a typical day like for you?
I write seven days a week from 5am to 11am. Then I close the office to go explore and enjoy the real world. Yoga or surfing or the gym. Next is a casual leisurely outdoor lunch. Evenings are for reading, research, correspondence and chasing a certain fiery redhead.
What scene in The Girl in the Hotel was your favorite to write?
Ed’s rescue and adoption of Puppy, the one-pawed spider monkey in Mrs. Collins macabre taxidermy and doll shop.
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
For writing, “Just do it.”
In real life, I often go with, “When in doubt, laugh.” I’m also partial to, “If not now, when?”
Sign up for our email and we’ll send you the best new books in your favorite genres weekly.
