“A nuanced, insightful, culturally relevant investigation of one woman’s personal and artistic awakening, Queen of the Owls limns the distance between artist and muse, creator and critic, concealment and exposure.”
―Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times best-selling author of A Piece of the World and Orphan Train

“This is a stunner about the true cost of creativity, and about what it means to be really seen. Gorgeously written and so, so smart (and how can you resist any novel that has Georgia O’Keeffe in it?), Probst’s novel is a work of art in itself.”
―Caroline Leavitt, best-selling author of Pictures of You, Is This Tomorrow and Cruel Beautiful World

“Readers will root for Elizabeth―and wince in amusement at her pratfalls―as she strikes out in improbable new directions … An entertaining, psychologically rich story of a sometimes giddy, sometimes painful awakening.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Queen of the Owls is a powerful novel about a woman’s relation to her body, diving into contemporary controversies about privacy and consent. A ‘must-read’ for fans of Georgia O’Keeffe and any woman who struggles to find her true self hidden under the roles of sister, mother, wife, and colleague.”
―Barbara Claypole White, best-selling author of The Perfect Son and The Promise Between Us

“Probst’s well-written and engaging debut asks a question every woman can relate to: what would you risk to be truly seen and understood? The lush descriptions of O’Keeffe’s work and life enhance the story, and help frame the enduring feminist issues at its center.”
―Sonja Yoerg, best-selling author of True Places

“A gifted storyteller, Barbara Linn Probst writes with precision, empathy, intelligence, and a deep understanding of the psychology of a woman’s search for self.”
―Sandra Scofield, National Book Award finalist and author of The Last Draft

“Barbara Linn Probst captures the art of being a woman beautifully. Queen of the Owls is a powerful and liberating novel of self-discovery using Georgia O’Keeffe’s life, art, and relationships as a guide.”
―Ann Garvin, best-selling author of I Like You Just Fine When You’re Not Around

“Obsession, naivety, seduction, desire, self-deception, love, and courage―all emotions subtly and powerfully revealed in this story of Elizabeth, mother, wife and intellectual, as she follows her idol, artist Georgia O’Keeffe, along a path to herself. A thought-provoking novel that readers will want to savor and share.”
―Jenni Ogden, author of Nautilus Gold Award-winning A Drop in the Ocean

“An absolutely wonderful book that every woman should read!”
―Kathy L. Murphy, founder and CEO of The Pulpwood Queens, a network of 780 book clubs across the U.S. and beyond

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“Mysterious, vivid, and deftly drawn, The Way You Burn explores the perils of intimacy and the psychic burdens of the past. You’ll stay up late turning pages as if they were hot to the touch.”
―Molly Prentiss, author of Tuesday Nights in 1980

“The Way You Burn is a thrilling mystery, a complex romance, and a beautifully written character study all in one. I loved the vivid, poetic prose and tight storytelling, and I know the characters will stay with me for a long time. A gorgeous, haunting debut!”
―Sonia Belasco, author of Speak of Me As I Am

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“Poignant, funny, and smart, Brunch and Other Obligations is a must-have for contemporary women’s fiction shelves. Readers will want to watch for what Nugent does next.”
―Booklist

“Brunch and Other Obligations is women’s fiction at its finest! A tender, witty, heartfelt novel that had me laughing out loud in one chapter and reaching for tissues in the next. With humor, heart, and hope, Nugent reminds us that, once in a lifetime, if we’re very, very lucky, we just might find a friend who knows us better than we know ourselves.”
―Lori Nelson Spielman, New York Times best-selling author of The Life List

“A delightful debut that captures the beauty and complexity of relationships.”
―Amy Blumenfeld, author of The Cast

“Brunch and Other Obligations is an engaging, often sweet, and absolutely laugh-out-loud story of how relationships can evolve even among individuals who would like to believe they are vastly different―and lifelong frenemies. Suzanne Nugent’s writing is sharp and masterful, with spot-on dialogue and scenes that jump to life on the page.”
―Sherry Stanfa-Stanley, author of Finding My Badass Self: A Year of Truths and Dares

“… an inspiring and fun read for the beach.”
―Travel + Leisure

“. . . a bright and witty debut novel―and what readers will hope is [Nugent’s] first of many. . . . For dog-lovers and dog-haters, Francophiles, caregivers, wives, mothers, girlfriends and introverts, Brunch and Other Obligations will be a good read.”
―BookTrib

“A thoroughly upbeat and fully entertaining novel from cover to cover.”
―Midwest Book Review

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“This is a novel of great tenderness and great brutality―Debra is right inside of her characters’ minds, bodies, spirits, their souls, and doesn’t spare the reader either tenderness or brutality.”
―Alma Luz Villanueva, author of The Ultraviolet Sky, winner of the American Book Award

“Debra Thomas has deftly interwoven the horrors and indignities, as well as triumphs, of the harrowing journey of Mexicans and Central Americans to the United States, ‘bringing to light’ the commonalities of what by appearances are insurmountable differences. With love there are no borders.”
―Luis J. Rodriguez, author of Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A., and It Calls You Back: An Odyssey of Love, Addiction, Revolutions & Healing

“Luz is a deeply generous novel, steeped with compassion, [and] written with an open, observant heart. Our narrator, Alma, is enamored with math, and this book becomes a beautiful equation in itself―pain and hope and love adding up to a timely, magnificent story.”
―Gayle Brandeis, author of The Book of Dead Birds, winner of Barbara Kingsolver’s Bellwether Prize for Fiction of Social Engagement

“Debra Thomas has written a novel of beauty and the nobility of the human spirit in the face of brutality and overwhelming odds. It’s an adventure as well, full of vivid characters, most notably Alma Cruz, as wise and courageous a heroine as you’ll find anywhere in literature. Luz is a story we need to read now more than ever.”
―Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen

“An earnest novel about the journey of a young Mexican immigrant. . . . A sensitive but unsparing coming-of-age drama.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“This reader was mesmerized by the depth of pain and love that guides this story along the trail of Alma’s fearful journey to her hopes for her daughter.”
—Charlotte Robin Cook, Next Generation Indie Book Awards Judge

“Your novel is our platform to have a voice that has the power to soften hearts, to understand the suffering of migrants and the current evil system that must be reformed.”
—Father Richard Estrada, Immigrant Rights Activist, Founder of Jovenes, Inc.

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“…a heartwarming story that anyone with a complicated life and identity can relate to. A multifaceted, rich, and moving exploration of the trans experience.”
―Kirkus Reviews,(starred review)

“An important purchase both for its heartwarming demonstration of a family’s unconditional love and for effective advocacy for transgender individuals . . . a model for other families searching for acceptance and ways to support their loved one’s transition journey.”
―Library Journal, starred

“A must-read in today’s political environment, this courageous book demonstrates how to fight prejudice and embrace acceptance.”
―Steve Adler, Mayor of Austin

“This is a story of how acceptance happens. It is a universal one about how good people can struggle to find the right path when challenged by the unfamiliar. This optimistic book is an excellent read for anyone nervous about sharing their private lives and thoughts with their loved ones, and for those who are unsure about how to respond. Never a Girl, Always a Boy guides us through the key decision points Jeremy and his family got to and got through as parents, siblings, and Jeremy himself all moved toward acceptance―at different speeds, but ultimately, together.”
―Mara Keisling, founder and executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE)

“Familial support is so crucial to reducing misconceptions and stigma surrounding the trans community. It is often the difference between success and support vs. crisis and instability. This beautifully written and vulnerable narrative does a phenomenal job of telling the story of the Ivester family’s journey as their son and brother came to embrace his truth and live in it. The insight and perspective Jo so skillfully shares while keeping the reader engaged throughout the story makes this a must-read.”
―Emmett Schelling, executive director of the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT)

“This book will save lives. It is a testament that love and kindness can and do win out. A moving, powerful, and life-changing story not just about how a family cares for one another but also of how they’ve used the lessons of their transgender journey to pave the way for others. I’ve spent a lifetime searching to find myself reflected in the world around me. And now, it’s as if someone found the movie reels of my childhood and told my story, only in a different family, in a different town, and with more of a fairy tale ending. This is the book I wish I could have read when I was on my own journey of self-discovery.”
―Sam Slate, member of the National Board of Directors of the Human Rights Campaign

“This heartfelt book shines the light on how important unconditional love is when someone is transitioning to become their authentic self. The way Jo and Jeremy Ivester track this journey in Never a Girl, Always a Boy gives people insight into what it really means to be transgender. The Ivesters are amazing allies in the fight for equal rights and dignity and respect for the LGBTQ community.”
―Angela Hale, acting chief executive officer for Equality Texas

“When I read Ivester’s book, I had to put it down and come back several times because it addresses so honestly the difficult issues I personally faced growing up as a transgender man. In my professional life, I work with families like the Ivesters every day and see firsthand how they want to be supportive but sometimes don’t know how. Never a Girl, Always a Boy is a testament to a family who tried and succeeded and grew closer to one another on the journey. I cannot wait to share it with the families I seek to help through Trans-Cendence International.”
―Finnigan Jones, executive director of Trans-Cendence International

“The author of The Outskirts of Hope tells another real-life tale that we all need to hear, especially the large number of us with no experience of a subject rightly seeking its place on the national stage. The more people read this enlightening family story, the easier the journey will be for those still subject to the discriminations of ignorance and prejudice.”
―Murray Biggs, Adjunct Associate Professor, Yale University

“Being transgender is a foreign concept to most people. For the Ivester family, it crashed into their lives when the child they thought was their daughter started to seek his true identity. Jo and Jon Ivester scrambled to support this quest with sensitivity and compassion. Never a Girl, Always a Boy is not just the story of a transgender journey but also of a family’s acceptance of one of its own. Told in frank and warm-hearted terms with a touch of humor, this gripping tale will stay with its readers for years to come.”
―Forrest Preece, Columnist, West Austin News

“Unconditional love and support―the very fabric that weaves a family together―is profoundly illustrated in this real-life story of one young man’s journey to become the person he was born to be. Courageously sharing their personal experiences, Jeremy and his family provide honest insight into how they navigated the challenges and triumphs of being transgender and having a transgender son. The Ivesters will undoubtedly touch their readers’ hearts as they share theirs with us.”
―Gregory Abbink, Senior Police Officer, Austin Police Department, Austin’s first openly transgender police officer

“Raw, insightful, and told from multiple perspectives, Never a Girl, Always a Boy is a poignant reminder that transgender people are our family, our friends, and our neighbors. A book that is both painful and inspiring to read, this memoir is a deeply emotional journey, one that will resonate for everyone. Whether you’re learning about transgender people for the first time or seeking inspiration and community, Ivester’s book is a must read.”
―Kasey Suffredini, chief executive officer of Freedom for All Americans (FFAA)

“I wish all transgender people could experience the love, compassion, and acceptance demonstrated in Never a Girl, Always a Boy. Ivester’s book is a poignant reminder that all of us―transgender or not―are on a journey toward understanding and self-acceptance.”
―Masen Davis, co-chair of the International Trans Fund Steering Committee, former executive director of Transgender Law Center, and former CEO of FFAA

“A unique addition to transgender memoirs, Never a Girl, Always a Boy centers author Jo Ivester’s and her family’s voices alongside that of her transgender son, Jeremy. Ivester elevates the questions, worries, and support of the entire family along Jeremy’s journey. Never a Girl, Always a Boy reveals the not-so-linear process of transition, love, and acceptance.”
―Seth M. Marnin, board chair of Keshet and former VP for Civil Rights at the Anti-Defamation League

“While discovering and exploring one’s gender identity is a profoundly personal and internal process―no one transitions ‘at’ anyone―the open honesty of Jo, Jon, and their transgender son, Jeremy, highlights how the ripples cast by one’s identity wash over the people in our lives. Fortunately, in Never a Girl, Always a Boy, Jo Ivester authentically portrays meeting the unexpected with love, openness, and compassion.”
―Rebecca Kling, transgender educator and advocate, inaugural member of The Trans 100, and former education program director of the NCTE

“Never a Girl, Always a Boy is a heartwarming affirmation of one family’s journey to navigate a just path and to realize and celebrate the remarkable potential unleashed when they embrace a transgender son and brother. While some in our society would exclude and marginalize those who are different, the Ivesters welcomed their son Jeremy as his authentic self. The family’s learned experience has led them to be vocal advocates for everyone on the LGBTQIA++ spectrum. By bravely sharing her family’s personal story, Jo Ivester invites her readers to be more accepting and to recognize that transgender individuals are due the same love, dignity and respect we all should enjoy.”
―Steve Adler, Mayor of Austin, Texas

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“Setting out from the wealthy enclave of Santa Barbara to a mountainous Oaxacan community to find her missing star pupil, Camille finds more than she could have imagined. Warm and lyrical, Lost in Oaxaca made me long for the tastes and authenticity of village life. Add the sweetness of romance, heartrending injustice, and the suspense that all could be lost, and you have a delightful and exciting read.”
―Rossandra White, author of Loveyoubye: Holding Fast, Letting Go, And Then There’s The Dog

“Take a little romance (Mexican style), add enough suspense to string a reader along, pepper it with
evocative language underscored by a writer who knows her way around music, and you have a novel as engrossing in its storytelling as in the cultural nerves it touches. On the surface, Lost in Oaxaca is the story of a woman, Camille, trying to unravel the mystery of her star piano student’s sudden disappearance. The title quickly shows itself to be a bit of a ruse, however, a clever setup for a journey that, in the end, brings catharsis to Camille and with it a chance to reclaim even more than she thought she was looking for.”
―Deborah Batterman, author of Just Like February and Shoe, Hair, Nails

“Jessica Winters Mireles’s Lost in Oaxaca is a beautiful, moving, and timely love story that will tug at your heartstrings, along with your sense of right and wrong. Through the charming Camille and captivating Alejandro, you will leave this book believing that both love and music can rise above the inequities, injustices, and bullies of the world.”
―Jessica Anya Blau, author of The Trouble with Lexie

“Travel and awakening combine in [this] delicate romance. . . .Lost in Oaxaca is a vigorous, sensitive account of crossing borders to reimagine what love looks like when it’s poured without reserve.”
―Foreword Reviews

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“This illuminating coming-of-age account chronicles a young woman’s counterculture journey. Dukett’s revealing memoir effectively captures the restless disillusionment of many members of the generation that came of age during the ’60s and ’70s.”
―Kirkus Reviews

“. . . you can almost feel the author sitting next to you, telling her story as an aunt or grandmother would.”
―Readers’ Favorite (5-star review)

“No Rules is a compelling and complex memoir and a deep dive into intergenerational trauma, family, finding ourselves despite unconventional paths, and love in all its forms.”
—IndieReader

“Nothing better than an emotional dose of truth-telling to inspire a soul, and Dukett delivers!”
—Julie Cantrell, New York Times best-selling author of Perennials

“No Rules does more than pull us into the adventures of a girl who finds the courage to leave home and forge a life contrary to everything she has been taught. It is also a reminder that every girl has the right―and owes it to herself―to grow, learn, succeed, and become the woman she is meant to be, no matter how difficult it is to find her way and her purpose in a male-dominated society.”
―Victoria Zackheim, author of The Bone Weaver

“This memoir is filled with beauty and fear and fearlessness and courage and audacity and words to inspire all girls and women that life, as Helen Keller once said, is an adventure . . . Read this book. Give it as a gift to every woman who needs to believe in the greatness of her own life.”
―Amy Ferris, author of Marrying George Clooney: Confessions from a Midlife Crisis

“Beyond flawless exposition, Dukett’s memoir also offers an unflinchingly honest recollection of her years in late adolescence as a “hippie chick” runaway and in her competent story telling hands that is one hell of a story.”
―Corie Skolnick, author of Orfan and America’s Most Eligible

“With No Rules, Dukett gives us acute reality around the teenage fantasy of being so mad at your mother you run away from home. Since it’s 1971 and dropping out is a generational pastime, her long journey to womanhood is peppered with the familiar signs of the counterculture times. . . . Relive those days, or experience it all for the first time at her side. You know you want to.”
―Rita Dragonette, author of The Fourteenth of September

“Colorful, adventurous, and transformative . . . unflinchingly raw and unapologetic . . . No Rules is a thrill ride of a memoir.”
—The Nerd Daily

“No Rules, like all great memoirs, grants the reader the feeling of time travel — immersing you in the body of someone who was there to witness a now-alien era.”
—Salon

“Readers seeking a memoir that embraces personal, social, and cultural change and epitomizes the atmosphere of these times will find No Rules an intriguing examination of power, control, influence, and evolution. Its ability to capture the process of questioning and growth and the logical and illogical deductions that emerge during this process is particularly well done, and will lend to discussion as well as insights about the times.”
—Midwest Book Review

“. . . a great story, well told.”
—David Crow, author of Pale-Faced Lie

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“In this debut memoir, a father’s death reunites a mother and daughter but reignites familial tensions. Gay is a perceptive and compassionate narrator who manages to explore the gaps in everyone’s stories, including her own. She uses poetry, journal entries, and literary epigraphs to create an engaging metanarrative that explores how writing was vital to her process of overcoming trauma.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“An inherently interesting and impressively candid personal story . . .”
—Midwest Book Review

“In I’m So Glad You’re Here, Pamela Gay takes us on a psychological journey through which she heals her own trauma while discovering compassion and empathy. Gay’s prose is lyrical and moving. I guarantee once you start reading, you won’t be able to put this book down.”
—Maria Mazziotti Gillan, author of American Book Award winner All That Lies Between Us

“An honest and moving account built upon her father’s mental illness and death and her yearning to be close to her mother. Gay details the repercussions of his illness on her family members and herself, giving us a brave and close-up view of how she coped with grief and trauma.”
—Roberta Allen, author of The Princess of Herself and The Dreaming Girl

“In this psychological travelogue, Pamela Gay fractures the surface of memory to peer into the depths of a family in all its complex dysfunction: shock treatment, alcoholism, feuding siblings, hissing turkey dinners, home burial, and yes, recipes—a surprising semiotic assemblage masterfully crafted at the crossroads of tragedy and comedy.”
—Mindy Lewis, author of Life Inside: A Memoir

“Pamela Gay dramatically illustrates that while wounds we carry from growing up in fractured families stay with us, they do not have to control us.”
—Susan Anderson, author of The Journey from Abandonment to Healing

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“This intense retrospective on people yanked out of the strait-laced Fifties and tossed into a culture of anything goes will appeal to readers wanting to learn more about Berkeley’s days of rage.”
—Historical Novels Review

“Like the writing of Jodi Picoult, Sarah Relyea has the ability to build a particular drama into a compelling plot, unveiled through multiple points of view. . . . Through music, literature, and actual events, the author creates a clear picture of the 1960s, especially the tumultuous events and the free-love flower power that swept the west coast in particular. This is a powerful, historical drama. Well constructed.”
—Readers’ Favorite, five-star review

“An eerily compelling déjà vu of the free, wild, and jeopardy-ridden kid scene in late-1960s Berkeley. Uncanny and powerful.”
—Charles Degelman, Editor, Harvard Square Editions

“Like a trip through the Looking Glass, Sarah Relyea’s engrossing debut novel takes you by the hand back to the sixties, where social rules were being challenged and political upheaval was the norm. Relyea tells the absorbing story of twelve-year-old Alice and her family through a series of narrators as they each experience the kaleidoscope streets of Berkeley. But she saves her most lyrical and beautiful language for the disintegration Alice sees and the heartbreak she experiences.”
—Patricia Hurtado, Brooklyn writer and journalist with Bloomberg News

The post Playground Zero appeared first on She Writes Press.

“Written in clear, direct prose and told in brief chapters, this novel is episodic but cohesive. . . . a hopeful account of a friendship across time.”
—4-star Foreword Clarion Review

“Coupe employs short sentences that pack a punch . . . in the tradition of Southern writers like Flannery O’Connor and Harper Lee . . . She lays bare each character’s truths, allowing the reader to piece them together. . . The novel is a testament to the importance of connection and empathy, and feels both timely and timeless in today’s fraught social climate.”
—Necessary Fiction

“This lyric novel is a gorgeous mosaic, fragmented in a way that lets the reader into the gaps in order to complete the meaning, to connect the narrative dots. Beginning with Cannonballs reminds me of an Alice Munro story, one that looks at people’s lives over decades, like catching them in snapshots, so we can see how they relate to the people they once were. Jill McCroskey Coupe is one savvy, irresistible, and fearless writer.”
—John Dufresne, author of I Don’t Like Where This Is Going

“Beginning with Cannonballs spans fifty years in a poignant yet difficult friendship. Through each episode, each explosive cannonball, the novel takes an unstinting and courageous look at how societal forces can seek to destroy the truth that lies beneath the surface of our skin: that we are all sisters and brothers at heart.”
—J.E. Irvin, author of The Dark End of the Rainbow and The Strange Disappearance of Rose Stone

“Jill McCroskey Coupe’s compelling story of an unlikely friendship in the segregated South is unforgettable. Hanna and Gail’s struggle to defy the odds of racism and social status is truly one of hope. Such lovely and deft writing from a masterful storyteller. A must-read.”
—Kim Bradley, short story writer and assistant professor of English at Flagler College

“As little girls doing cannonballs off a diving board, Hanna and Gail produce big splashes. A number of minor characters, just by showing up, do the same. The ripple effects make this powerful and perceptive novel an engrossing read.”
—Joan Zelinka, former medical social worker at Johns Hopkins Health System

“ . . . two intelligent women working through the barriers of white privilege, racism, and their own demons to see through the eyes of their oldest friend.”
—Historical Novels Review

“Coupe’s direct, accessible sentences combine with her depiction of complex relationships and the inevitable tragedies of life to make this a highly readable story.”
—Story Circle Book Reviews

“And some find hope in a book . . . Two thumbs up for Jill McCroskey Coupe and Beginning with Cannonballs, a wise novel much needed in a time of fear and foolishness.”
—Jeff Minick, Smoky Mountain Living

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