“In Adele Holmes’s debut novel, a white herbalist and her Black best friend challenge a slick conman and the KKK in 1917 rural America. The strong characters and vivid sense of place lingered in my mind long after the last page. That’s my measure of a darned good book.”

—Marcia Preston, Mary Higgins Clark Award Winner and author of The Spiderling and The Butterfly House

“Adele Holmes’s Winter’s Reckoning is a beautifully written story that reminds America of our unresolved sins against humanity and our struggles to place value where it’s due. Protagonist Madeline Fairbanks and her protégée Ren Morgan represent our hopes of resolving our fears of the other and erasing old hates.”

—Janis F. Kearney, author, publisher, and personal diarist for President Bill Clinton in the White House   

“A spellbinding narrative that brilliantly captures both the price of standing against segregation and how bold action paves the way to unexpected healing. Holmes’s beautifully developed characters allude to our inevitable connection to the past in a story that resonates to the bone. Simply unputdownable.”

—Cara Brookins, author of Rise: How a House Built a Family

“Set in the brooding rural South, and for a good portion of the novel in the challenging and crystalline world of a deep snowstorm, Winter’s Reckoning is rich in storyline and character with plenty of mystery woven throughout. Simply put, here’s a story that takes on issues whose harm remains with us today. With a climactic pulpit scene that’s not to be missed – and one novel we can highly recommend!”

 —Chanticleer Reviews   

“Brimming with all the feels—friendship, passion, hatred, prejudice. A remarkable debut.”

—Julia Daily, author of No Names to Be Given   

“Tear out a page of Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, add in a mix of Deliverance and The Apostle, along with a dash of Nell… and you have yourself a die-hard Appalachian story set so far back in the woods and so backwards in their thinking, that Madeline Fairbanks, the local healer, must find an inner strength to fight the racial and misogynistic prejudice permeating the town.”

—Historical Fiction Company Review

“A timeless story of kinships, friendships, and secret legacies born of good and evil. With a keen eye for detail and an intricate plot leading to a satisfying conclusion, this tale is sure to enchant readers.”

—Donna Everhart, author of The Road to Bittersweet and The Saints of Swallow Hill

“Holmes’ satisfying conclusion offers a twist to the tale. . . . [and] the novel’s explorations of the horrors of misogyny and racism have powerful contemporary resonance. Along the way, Holmes constructs a vivid and believable historical setting and populates her novel with well-developed characters who are flawed and relatable as they seek to triumph over evil. A notable tale that offers the hope that even small actions can lead toward greater good.”

—Kirkus Reviews

The post Winter’s Reckoning appeared first on She Writes Press.

“When the ineluctable past catches up to the present, the stakes are raised, and Among the Survivors, mordantly witty from the first pages, becomes a disturbing and consequential story. Ann Z. Leventhal is an astute and surprising writer who has really hit her stride with this long-awaited second novel.”
—Katharine Weber, author of True Confections and Triangle

The post Among the Survivors appeared first on She Writes Press.

“A hilarious spoof of academic intrigue, Slipsliding by the Bay mirrors the societal turmoil and follies of the seventies.”
―Independent Publisher, Notable July Indie Book Release

“With a sharp eye for detail and a complement of perfectly peculiar characters, Barbara McDonald has devised a wonderful satire of the academic world. Her portrait of a small liberal arts college―its lecheries and larcenies―exactly conjures the atmosphere of that unique modern institution where absurdity and logic are married so closely: the campus.”
―Louis B. Jones, author of California’s Over, Particles and Luck, and Radiance

“Intriguing. You got me hooked with the moving plot and interesting characters. I was curious to see what mischief Gudewill and Stein would cook up. Magdalena and Lucy continued to surprise.”
―Louis Owens, author of Sharpest Sight and Bone Game

“Barbara McDonald’s Slipsliding by the Bay is an absorbing novel. A comedy both dark and light, it recounts an often wild search for survival of an embattled small college in 1970s San Francisco. The battle is within: a new president recruited to save the college, diverse students, faculty and alums, and most engagingly, a famed artist Sister Magdalena, whose sculptures embody a fierce war against corporate America, notably the college’s chairman of the board. McDonald’s gift for lively dialogue carries the college from one crisis to another, the denouement in suspense until the very end. An intriguing read from start to finish.”
―John Boettiger, author of A Love in the Shadows

“I am always cautious when approaching a novel written by a published poet but Barbara McDonald made reading Slipsliding by the Bay easy for me. Enticing and entertaining, I read it with mounting pleasure.”
―Chester Aaron, author of About Us

The post Slipsliding by the Bay appeared first on She Writes Press.

“Parrish is in possession of such precise prose, devilish wit, and big-hearted compassion that I couldn’t help but be drawn into the hijinks and mishaps of the Dugan family. I found myself one moment laughing out loud, and the next, overcome with emotion. I’d compare these linked stories to those of George Saunders, Elizabeth Strout, or perhaps even Flannery O’Connor, if Parrish’s voice weren’t so clearly and wonderfully her own.”
—Ross McMeekin, Editor, Spartan

“Parrish knows the subtle movements of families in turmoil and the flailing attempts at love and peace. She takes you inside the homes of your neighbors, or of people like them, and she captures in fi ne detail their private, crippling agonies and their tiny, saving grace notes. Reading Our Love Could Light the World is like holding up a mirror—you see yourself, and then, if you look closely, you also see things you might otherwise have missed.”
—Craig Lancaster, author of 600 Hours of Edward

The post Our Love Could Light the World appeared first on She Writes Press.

“. . . darkly comic. A fun crime tale with creepy cult elements.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Mixing multiple genres of science fiction, fantasy, romance, and crime, author Susan Ritz creates the perfect adventure that may keep the reader awake at night. Perfect for fans of intrigue, suspense, and murder stories!”
—Readers’ Favorite, 5 star review

“Susan Ritz has crafted an original and compelling murder mystery that will keep you up late turning pages as you’re sucked into a world of dreams and dreamers, mystics and bartenders, artists and cops. With a wonderfully intriguing cast of characters and a richly atmospheric small-town setting complete with its own cult, A Dream to Die For is a tangled web of a book you won’t want to tear yourself away from.”
—Jennifer McMahon, New York Times Bestselling author of Burntown and The Invited

“A perplexing crime, a rural setting, a cast of quirky characters, and a reluctant amateur sleuth are staples of the cozy mystery genre, and everything comes alive at the tip of Ritz’s pen. Ritz keeps the tone light and amusing—there are powerful messages that ring through the story.”
—OnlineBookClub.org

“What if the small town where you live turns out not to be the sweet place you thought it was? What if the people you thought were your friends aren’t? Worse yet, what if your dreams are not your own? These are the questions that come to haunt Celeste (or Miss) Fortune, the reluctant yet dauntless heroine of Susan Ritz’s spellbinding debut novel.”
—Kathryn Davis, author of Duplex and The Thin Place

“With intrigue and humor, Susan Ritz has created an arresting novel that strikes at a core fear: what if your dreams were not safe? This psychologically compelling mystery about the murder of a therapist-cum-cult leader proves Ritz a natural storyteller. . . . Ritz is masterful at leading readers through a small city’s best and worst instincts with finesse and wit. Hold your own dreams close, but be sure to share A Dream to Die For, a most tangible tale of virtual reality that stays with you long after every secret is revealed.”
—Shelagh Shapiro, Vermont author and host of Write the Book podcast

“A small-town crime caper with plenty of action and a cast of quirky, unforgettable characters. Ritz’s comic timing is flawless, and her rollicking plot is expertly balanced against a sobering premise: That last bastion of personal privacy—our own dreams—may no longer be secure. The idea has an alarming ring of plausibility, adding a shivery edge to this entertaining mystery.”
—Kathryn Guare, award-winning author of The Conor McBride suspense series

“Susan Ritz’s A Dream to Die For is a deft debut mystery that will appeal to anyone who loves a good puzzle with a feminist twist. The heroine, Celeste, is torn between her male therapist and the man she has begun to love. When the therapist is murdered, many suspects emerge from the cult of his patients—as well as a technological twist that will surprise you.”
—Mary Fillmore, author of An Address in Amsterdam

“Susan Ritz’s A Dream to Die For exposes our universal human need to identify ‘us’ and ‘them,’ and the confusion that can come when group dogma no longer lines up with experience. Her dialogue rings true, and her lively small-town characters make sore subjects fun. Her mystery embodies crises we all face in a new world of techno fake news and resulting divisions. What’s real? What truly matters? Who can you trust? There’s nothing like a murder or two to clarify purpose, community, and one’s deepest identity as a blood-pounding, passionate woman with a brain.”
—Rickey Gard Diamond, author of Screwnomics

“Ritz does a brilliant job of making us care about what happens to her characters and is a master of detail. Impossible to put down!”
—Michelle Cox, author of the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series

“A gripping Gothic whodunit featuring obscure clues muttered by a dying man, strange encounters in foggy cemeteries, car chases on lonely roads, and clairvoyant dreams.”
—Bernie Lambek, author of Uncivil Liberties

“Oh, what a wonderful book! It’s everything I want in a mystery! A wild imagination that made me believe every word.”
—Abigail Thomas, author of A Three Dog Life

“A Dream to Die For stays true to the hallmarks of a classic murder mystery, yet offers a unique story that seamlessly blends in fantasy and science fiction. This merging of what’s real and what isn’t quite real turns the narrative into an immersive experience. . . . a wild psychological mystery brimming with intrigue, humor, and female empowerment.”
—IndieReader

The post A Dream to Die For appeared first on She Writes Press.

“Your images of the art work are wall hangers. They are wonderfully exposed and composed and well balanced in regards to white balance. Great job.”
―Elliot Stern of Blue Ridge Photography

“The incisive poems of Claire Scott are the perfect complement to the expressive photography of Joan Scott. Claire probes the vagaries of everyday life and Joan’s close in images of hands symbolically express often overlooked aspects of the human experience… an eloquent and evocative rendering.”
―Robert Madden, former National Geographic senior assistant editor and staff photographer

“When do we ever stop to take time to look at hands? To understand their meaning in our lives, their work, their patience, their skill, their wonder? Here is a book celebrating hands, stunning images illustrating their capacity, awesome words illustrating the images, two sisters working together like two hands.”
―Kim Chernin, author of In My Mother’s House and The Hungry Self 

The post Unfolding in Light appeared first on She Writes Press.

“The thoughtful novel Intersections undertakes a compelling exploration of unexpected friendships and hard choices.”—Foreword Reviews

“Uhlmann is an experienced writer whose characters ring true: the resourceful Charlotte who slowly finds the courage to rethink her life and Ed, a good guy who is not all that sensitive or intuitive, but kind beyond measure. The title is apt in many ways: We are talking about more than cross streets.”—Kirkus Reviews

The post Intersections appeared first on She Writes Press.

“A spellbinding story of a complex woman and her imperfect choices, and how those choices resonate from mother to child and beyond. Probst’s latest is a treasure—her nuanced portrait of tragedy and renewal is profound and moving, and impossible to put down.”—Fiona Davis, New York Times best-selling author of The Stolen Queen

“Probst has created an unflinchingly gritty, sexy anti-heroine you can’t look away from. I gritted my teeth and hoped for the best as I raced toward the conclusion.”—Alka Joshi, New York Times best-selling author of The Henna Artist and the Jaipur Trilogy

“Roll the Sun Across the Sky mesmerizes from the first pages. How can one be good and still exist in a complicated world? Barbara Linn Probst deftly handles this question via her complex characters in this multi-generational novel. Stunningly written, compelling, and suspenseful, this is an unforgettable read.” —Julie Maloney, author of A Matter of Chance and director of Women Reading Aloud

“With vivid intensity, Probst delves into a woman’s decades-long journey through love, loss, and wisdom—an exploration of growth and self-discovery that is raw and profound.”—Randy Susan Meyers, international best-selling author of The Many Lives of Ivy Puddingstone

“If the devil is in the details, Probst is diabolically good . . . Characters are richly drawn, exotic locations are artfully described, and the language is fresh and sometimes poetic. . . Much to chew over, including explorations of the role of motherhood, the need for forgiveness, and the power of memory. Thought-provoking, textured, and touching.”—Kirkus Reviews

“I was immersed in Roll the Sun Across the Sky from the very first line … Probst does a marvelous job of making an unsympathetic character intriguing and showing her character arc. I literally could not put the book down!”—Midwest Book Review

“Probst masterfully succeeds in bringing out the nuances of mother-daughter relations, as well as the complicated nature of grief.”—BookLife Reviews, EDITOR’S PICK

The post Roll the Sun Across the Sky appeared first on She Writes Press.

“A tale of personal rebirth, It’s Always Been Me is a celebration of the unbreakable bond between women and the transformative power of self-discovery.”— Nicole Waggoner, author of The Circus of Women Trilogy

“In this empowering tale, art provides a language rich in metaphor and a path for self-actualization, mystical surprises, and the unfolding of women’s wisdom.”—Jude Berman, author of The Vow, a 2024 Kirkus Best Indie Book

The post It’s Always Been Me appeared first on She Writes Press.

“Set against the glittering backdrop of the Nashville music scene, this romantic and suspenseful story captured my attention from the first page. With twists and turns that will keep you guessing, Love On Tour delivers one heck of a ride.”—Tracey Garvis Graves, New York Times best-selling author of The Trail of Lost Hearts.

The post Love On Tour appeared first on She Writes Press.