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Interview with Megan Frazer Blakemore, author of Very in Pieces


Tell us a little bit about your new release, Very in Pieces.

Very in Pieces is about a mathematician in a family of artists. When her grandmother, a poet, falls ill, Very must try to figure out if who she is meant to be is pre-determined, or if she can write her own stories. It is my frist YA novel in about six years: my very first novel, Secrets of Truth & Beauty (2009) was YA, and since then I have been writing YA. It was so much fun to go back to the teenaged voice.

What are you currently craving?

Ice cream. The answer to that question is pretty much always ice cream. Unless you are talking book cravings. In that case, I'm kind of craving some good, meaty, narrative nonfiction right now.

If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would you choose and why?

The first name that came to mind was Annette Kellerman. I would love to travel with her on her journeys.

What's in your Netflix queue?

It turns out I need to clean up my list because I've actually seen a lot of the things I have there, but here are some things I want to see or TV shows I'm in the middle of watching: Orange is the New Black, In A World, Tig, Welcome to Me, Friday Night Lights, Short Term 12, Teacher of the Year, To be Takei, and Granite Flats. I also have Firefly in there. That show is like an old, comfortable blanket.

What's on your writing desk?

Books, papers, a cup of pencils and pens, a printer, my phone, a big to do pile, a manuscript I am revising, a sampler CD from Paste magazine, some lego toys, cinnamon gum, stickies, and compressed gas for cleaning electronics. For starters.

Where is your happy place? Why does it bring you joy?

I like being by the water, preferably a still lake. It just makes me feel calm.

What's your favorite quote or scene from Very in Pieces?

I love the ending. I had the image in my head from very early on in the writing process.

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

It's kind of silly, but, "All you can do is your best." It can be so easy to let fear guide you, or to put too much pressure on yourself. You have to give yourself permission to act, even if it means you might mess up.

Blakemore_MeganFrazerWeb


Megan Frazer Blakemore is the author of the new book Very in Pieces.

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Best Sellers Now In Paperback October 2015

5 Sumptuous Things About Mafia Romance, with Rachel Van Dyken

Where do you get your inspiration for your Mafia Bad Boy characters? .

The Godfather. I mean it's probably one of the best movies in history, I take a lot of inspiration from the way they dress, talk, etc.

godfather

Which mafia do you think has the sexist mafia men? Russian? Italian?

Haha! Horrible question! I'm always going to say Italian because of the clothes. Always.

well dressed

How do you balance the dark and the violent with the romance in Rip?

It was pretty difficult, I actually put this book down a few times and then came back to it. Normally I write books straight through, but because of the subject matter of this one, I did more research, came back to it and then tried to make sure it wasn't too dark by adding in some humor and a few much needed italian characters.

new girl

What is it that makes Bad Boys so deliciously appealing?

I think theres something really forbidden about wanting someone you know who's bad for you, it's dark, dangerous, and a total adrenaline rush.

grease

Give us some back story on the subtext "The doctor will see you now..." on Rip's cover?

Haha, he's a world renown doctor so it made sense to use that tagline, but he's also very dangerous and has secrets people won't see coming....so in my mind the doctor will see you now, isn't necessarily a good thing!

scrubs

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Rachel Van Dyken is the author of the new book Rip.

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Interview with Larissa Reinhart, author of The Body in the Landscape


Tell us a little bit about your new release, The Body in the Landscape.
The Body in the Landscape is the fifth book in the Cherry Tucker Mystery series. Cherry’s a sassy, Southern spitfire portrait artist, who loves her rural Georgia roots despite her classically trained profession.
Her reckless reputation has her in trouble back home in Halo, Georgia. When invited to paint the winning portrait for Big Rack Lodge’s Hogzilla hunt contest, it seems like a paid vacation. But when her woodland painting uncovers a body, Cherry fears the hunting party is prey for a vengeful stalker and her nosiness places her directly in the killer’s crosshairs.
(For those who don’t know Hogzilla, those are the massive wild hogs tearing up the South. And when I say massive, some have been close to 1,000 pounds.)

What’s the last book you read?

City of Bones, from the Mortal Instruments series. And a few days before that Warm Bodies. I’m on a YA fantasy/scifi kick right now, but I love to read in all different genres.

If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would you choose and why?

This sounds boring but I’d choose my husband and daughters. We have a good time and I can eat off their plates without disgusting anyone.

What's rocking your world this month?

I moved to Japan last summer, so an earthquake would be a good guess, but I hope not.

You wouldn’t be caught dead, where?

At a math convention. More specifically, a word problem convention.

What advice would you give your teenage self?

Trust your instincts. Particularly around guys named Rick.

Who are your literary heroes?

Agatha Christie, Meg Cabot, and P.G. Wodehouse

What's your favorite quote or scene from The Body in the Landscape?

My favorite scenes are never pivotal and usually involve a minor character. But in The Body in the Landscape, there’s a scene where Cherry and Todd go to the victim’s house because she heard he raised hunting dogs. The victim, Abel, is considered the town drunk and gossip. No one liked Abel, but Cherry found his body and feels drawn to learning more about him. She finds his dogs mourning their owner and it breaks her heart. She tells Todd the story of losing her Grandma Jo and what it did to their dog, Daisy. I tear up just thinking about that scene.

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

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ― Oscar Wilde

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Larissa Reinhart is the author of the new book Body in the Landscape.

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Mafia Romance Books: New Books to Read for 2015

One hot (get it?) trend in books we've noticed recently: mafia romance books. We got a couple of requests on Facebook to post some new release mafia romance books, and we aim to please.

Not sure if mafia romance books are for you? They're pretty steamy, generally have dark themes, and are sometimes violent. They're definitely NSFW (unless you work for NewInBooks) and not for youngsters. If you love romance novels with alpha males, feisty women, lots of suspense, and intense steamy scenes, give mafia romance books a try. We've picked the best new releases for 2015 below. Our advice: start with Rachel Van Dyken's new book Rip!

Mafia Romance Books: 2015 Book List


Rip

Rachel Van Dyken

Release Date: October 20, 2015

Why read it if you like mafia romance books: highly rated, low price, bestselling author, intense romance. Not for younger readers.

Mrs. John Doe

Alexei

R.E Saxton

Release Date: October 7, 2015

Why read it if you like mafia romance books: suspense, intense romance, dark scenes, defiant protagonist. Not for younger readers.


Code of Honor

Missy Johnson

Release Date: August 25, 2015

Why read it if you like mafia romance books: dark plot, lots of steamy scenes, bestselling author, new series. Not for younger readers.

Ruthless

Michelle St. James

Release Date: July 31, 2015

Why read it if you like mafia romance books: danger, suspense, dark romantic scenes, heart-pounding. Not for younger readers.



Keep

Kaye Blue

Release Date: August 31, 2015

Why read it if you like mafia romance books: alpha male + fiesty female, dark scenes, intense romance. Not for younger readers.


Secrets

Sapphire Knight

Release Date: March 11, 2015

Why read it if you like mafia romance books: intense romance, suspense, crime. Not for younger readers.


 

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Win Carole Radziwill's New Book

Carole Radziwill is perhaps best known for her time as one of the Real Housewives of New York City. Carole Radziwill is the bestselling author of What Remains (a memoir) and has written for some of our favorite magazines like Marie Claire and Glamour. The new Carole Radziwill book is her debut novel and will charm fans of Sex and the City and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Enter to win a copy of The Widow's Guide to Sex & Dating below!

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About The Book


Publication Date: October 20, 2015

Carole Radziwill's new book stars Claire Byrne, who Candace Bushnell (Sex and the City) hails as "a modern-day Holly Golightly."

Claire has a cushy (but bizarre) life, married to a sexologist who is unfaithful but undeniably loyal. And then he isn't, all of a sudden - because he's dead.

Claire must, of course, now reinvent herself in this wry exploration of death, sex, and love.

Get The Book


Other Carole Radziwill Books

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Interview with Rachel Vincent, author of Menagerie


Tell us a little bit about your new release, MENAGERIE.

MENAGERIE is the first in my new trilogy. It's a very dark, very gritty look the worst and best aspects of human nature, set behind the scenes of a traveling menagerie in which many of the acts are sentient mythological creatures kept in cages and forced to perform in town after town. Delilah Marlow receives tickets to Metzger's Menagerie for her twenty-fifth birthday, and while she's in attendance, she (and the rest of the world) discovers that she's not human. That very night, she's sold into the menagerie she just attended as a customer and it is through her eyes, in part, that we see what life is like for an entire subclass denied even the most basic of civil rights. Delilah's determination to free herself and her fellow captives is the light at the end of the tunnel, and I hope you find it to be a journey worth making!

Which book from your childhood or teenage years has stuck with you as an adult?

Many, many books have stuck with me. Little Women. Heidi. Nancy Drew. The Stand. Swan Song.

If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would you choose and why?

Shakespeare. I'd love to put the conspiracy theories to rest.

What's on your writing desk?

I actually only use a desk for web videos. The only thing noteworthy on my desk is dust. 😉

What is the one movie that you can quote the most?

Beaches. Clerks 2. Star Wars: A New Hope. (Couldn't narrow it down.)

If you had to pick one place to vacation for the rest of your life, where would you choose?

I can't know that until I've been everywhere!

What's your favorite quote from Menagerie?

"People think they are masters of the universe because they’ve conquered the skies, and the seas, and the heavens. Because they can kill with the press of a button and speak to anyone else on the planet, any time they like. But there are things older and wiser than humanity. Things more powerful and significant. Love, and loss, and birth. Pain, and bliss. Vengeance. They’re more than just words, Delilah."

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

I assume that everyone means well. That when people are rude to me, or cut me off in traffic, they're probably having a really bad day or an emergency. I've been burned by that philosophy--it turns out some people really are just mean. But I like to think that the rest of us vastly outnumber them. 😉


Rachel Vincent is the author of the new book Menagerie

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New Books like Divergent: Books to Read in 2015

Dystopian young adult adventures are some of the most popular books in modern literature. The Divergent series is at the top of the bestseller charts, and the Divergent books have inspired a generation of dystopian readers. We've already written about books to read if you like The Hunger Games and decided it was time for a second post in our YA dystopian recommendations: books like Divergent. When selecting books similar to Divergent, we focused on dystopian societies, female protagonists, and plenty of adventure. And, of course, all of these books to read like Divergent are new in 2015.

Though none of these books are exactly like the Divergent books (where's the fun in that?), they all have a similar appeal. Some are more fantasy, some more scifi, some more modern - but they're all worth your time.

Books like Divergent: The Best Books to Read for 2015


Six of Crows

Leigh Barduro

Release Date: September 29, 2015

Why read it if you're looking for books like Divergent: society on the edge of collapse, twists and turns, young protagonist, lots of action and some romance

The Rose Society

Marie Lu

Release Date: October 13, 2015

Why read it if you're looking for books like Divergent: adventure, vengeance, young protagonists, secret organizations


Illuminae

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Release Date: October 20, 2015

Why read it if you're looking for books like Divergent: futuristic dystopian, action and adventure

The White Rose

Amy Ewing

Release Date: October 6, 2015

Why read it if you're looking for books like Divergent: female protagonist, rebellion, dystopian



The Revolution of Ivy

Amy Engel

Release Date: November 3, 2015

Why read it if you're looking for books like Divergent: dystopian, page-turner, love story


Ice Like Fire

Sara Raasch

Release Date: October 13, 2015

Why read it if you're looking for books like Divergent: dystOpian, romance, female protagonist


A Fistful of Fire

Rebecca Chastain

Release Date: October 15, 2015

Why read it if you're looking for books like Divergent: deviant groups, teen enforcers, female protagonist, series

Winter

Marissa Meyer

Release Date: November 10, 2015

Why read it if you're looking for books like Divergent: adventure, war, dystopia, fantasy


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