Meet Claire Fraser from OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon

October 27, 2016

kick-a** characters – Claire Fraser from OUTLANDER… time traveling British combat nurse, sassy Sassenach, and so much more. Dig into her story with this stop-motion tribute.

 


Author Graham Moore on how he began writing his first novel

October 24, 2016

Author Graham Moore (THE LAST DAYS OF NIGHT) talks about how he was inspired to start his first novel, THE SHERLOCKIAN… by telling a story no one else was writing about.

THE LAST DAYS OF NIGHT

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A thrilling novel based on actual events, about the nature of genius, the cost of ambition, and the battle to electrify America—from the Oscar-winning screenwriter of The Imitation Game and author of The Sherlockian

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING EDDIE REDMAYNE

New York, 1888. Gas lamps still flicker in the city streets, but the miracle of electric light is in its infancy. The person who controls the means to turn night into day will make history—and a vast fortune. A young untested lawyer named Paul Cravath, fresh out of Columbia Law School, takes a case that seems impossible to win. Paul’s client, George Westinghouse, has been sued by Thomas Edison over a billion-dollar question: Who invented the light bulb and holds the right to power the country?
 
The case affords Paul entry to the heady world of high society—the glittering parties in Gramercy Park mansions, and the more insidious dealings done behind closed doors. The task facing him is beyond daunting. Edison is a wily, dangerous opponent with vast resources at his disposal—private spies, newspapers in his pocket, and the backing of J. P. Morgan himself. Yet this unknown lawyer shares with his famous adversary a compulsion to win at all costs. How will he do it?

In obsessive pursuit of victory, Paul crosses paths with Nikola Tesla, an eccentric, brilliant inventor who may hold the key to defeating Edison, and with Agnes Huntington, a beautiful opera singer who proves to be a flawless performer on stage and off. As Paul takes greater and greater risks, he’ll find that everyone in his path is playing their own game, and no one is quite who they seem.

Praise for The Last Days of Night

“A satisfying romp . . . Takes place against a backdrop rich with period detail . . . Works wonderfully as an entertainment . . . As it charges forward, the novel leaves no dot unconnected.”—Noah Hawley, The New York Times Book Review
 
“This captivating historical novel illuminates a fascinating American moment.”People

“A fascinating portrait of American inventors . . . Moore crafts a compelling narrative out of [Paul] Cravath’s cunning legal maneuvers and [Nikola] Tesla’s world-changing tinkering, while a story line on opera singer Agnes Huntington has the mysterious glamour of The Great Gatsby. . . . Moore weaves a complex web. . . .  He conjures Gilded Age New York City so vividly, it feels like only yesterday.”Entertainment Weekly

“A model of superior historical fiction . . . Graham Moore digs deep into long-forgotten facts to give us an exciting, sometimes astonishing story of two geniuses locked in a brutal battle to change the world. . . . [A] brilliant journey into the past.”The Washington Post

“Mesmerizing, clever, and absolutely crackling, The Last Days of Night is a triumph of imagination. Graham Moore has chosen Gilded Age New York as his playground, with outsized characters—Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse—as his players. The result is a beautifully researched, endlessly entertaining novel that will leave you buzzing.”—Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl

“It’s part legal thriller, part tour of a magical time—the age of wonder—and once you’ve finished it, you’ll find it hard to return to the world of now.”—Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City

THE LAST DAYS OF NIGHT by Graham Moore. Penguin Books (September 13, 2016). ISBN: 978-0143128229. 272p.


James Dashner’s career before he was an author

October 21, 2016

Author James Dashner (THE FEVER CODE) talks about life before his writing career… when he was an accountant.

THE FEVER CODE

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Maze Runner, Book Five; Prequel

All will be revealed in the fifth book in James Dashner’s #1 New York Times   bestselling Maze Runner series. This is the story that fans all over the world have been waiting for—the story of how Thomas and WICKED built the Maze. You will not want to miss it.

Once there was a world’s end.
The forests burned, the lakes and rivers dried up, and the oceans swelled.
Then came a plague, and fever spread across the globe. Families died, violence reigned, and man killed man.
Next came WICKED, who were looking for an answer. And then they found the perfect boy.
The boy’s name was Thomas, and Thomas built a maze.
Now there are secrets.
There are lies.
And there are loyalties history could never have foreseen.
This is the story of that boy, Thomas, and how he built a maze that only he could tear down.
All will be revealed.

A prequel to the worldwide Maze Runner phenomenon, The Fever Code is the book that holds all the answers. How did WICKED find the Gladers? Who are Group B? And what side are Thomas and Teresa really on? Lies will be exposed. Secrets will be uncovered. Loyalties will be proven. Fans will never see the truth coming. Before there was the Maze, there wasThe Fever Code.

Don’t miss The Maze Runner and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, now major motion pictures from Twentieth Century Fox, starring Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Rosa Salazar, Giancarlo Esposito, and Aidan Gillen. And look for James Dashner’s new bestselling series the Mortality Doctrine: The Eye of Minds, The Rule of Thoughts, and The Game of Lives.

Praise for the Maze Runner series:
A #1 New York Times Bestselling Series
A USA Today Bestseller
A Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of the Year
An ALA-YASLA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book
An ALA-YALSA Quick Pick

“[A] mysterious survival saga that passionate fans describe as a fusion of Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, and Lost.“—EW.com

“Wonderful action writing—fast-paced…but smart and well observed.”—Newsday

“[A] nail-biting must-read.”—Seventeen.com

“Breathless, cinematic action.”—Publishers Weekly

Heart pounding to the very last moment.”—Kirkus Reviews

Exclamation-worthy.”—Romantic Times

THE FEVER CODE by James Dashner. Delacorte Press (September 27, 2016). ISBN: 978-0553513097. 384p.


Inaugural MysteriousPress.com Award Winner!

October 20, 2016

MysteriousPress.com is pleased to announce the winner of the $25,000 MysteriousPress.com Award: An action-packed heist novel by Mike Cooper, The Downside.

“We got some incredible manuscripts but in the end, Mike’s story was everything we were looking for: Fast, exciting, and well-written,” said Otto Penzler, President and CEO of MysteriousPress.com.

The contest solicited unpublished manuscripts from both established authors and newcomers, with the promise of a $25,000 award—an advance against royalties—as well as guaranteed worldwide publication. The book will be available sometime next year.

The final determination of the winner was made by votes from MysteriousPress.com’s publishing partners: Open Road Integrated Media, in North America and numerous countries around the world; Head of Zeus in the British Commonwealth; Hayakawa Publishing (Japan, Singapore, and South Korea); Bonnier (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland); Dutch Media Books (Holland and Belgium), and Bastei Lubbe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Greece, and selected Eastern European countries).

About The Downside:

In an age of cyber-crime, Finn is the last hardhat: He’s never stolen anything weighing less than five tons. Now fresh out of prison and flat broke, he’s got a line on his biggest job ever.

Cracking the most heavily guarded private vault in North America? No problem. Hauling $50 million of precious metal out past guards, dozens of policemen, and an armored SWAT battalion? Even easier. But navigating the betrayals of double-crossing partners, the machinations of a hedge-fund billionaire gone bad, and the ambiguous proposals of a woman with her own agenda?

Finn has only begun to figure out the downside.

About the author

Mike Cooper grew up in Missouri. After college he lived and worked in Asia for a number of years. Jobs back home have included ambulance medic, food co-op president, and VP at Fidelity Investments. He has a masters in finance from MIT, and lives with his family outside Boston. For over a decade he has been the stay-at-home parent, which is when he began writing more seriously. Literary recognition includes a Shamus Award, a Thriller nomination, and inclusion in Best American Mystery Stories. His most recent novel is Full Ratchet (Viking), sequel to the widely hailed Clawback.

For more information make contact with or visit MysteriousPress.com.


Hurricane Matthew

October 6, 2016

I lhurricane-matthew-2ive in Palm Beach County, Florida and as you can see on this map, we are expecting to be at the epicenter of the storm.

I’ve lived through more hurricanes than I care to think about, starting with David in 1979, Andrew in 1992, Wilma in 2005 and many more in between all those.

We took a direct hit from Wilma eleven years ago, also an October storm. Lost our roof, which landed on our cars – lots of damage, and the landscape of the community was forever changed. Lost our electricity for over a week. That one hit towards the end of the month and it was cool and lovely afterwards. It’s still pretty hot now, high 80’s, low 90’s.

But we were safe. And that is all I wish for this storm, too.

Hurricane Matthew is expected to hit as a Cat 4; Wilma was a Cat 3 so I admit to being a little bit scared. Plus the fact that it will making its presence known around midnight and it is always more frightening to hear that ruckus during the night.cat 4

My husband has been working on making us safe since yesterday. The hurricane shutters are up. He’s bringing in the patio furniture now. We have enough water and chemically laden food to last at least a week. And lots of comforting snacks, too. Last load of laundry is in the drier. We are as ready as we can be.

Our governor had quite the message for us:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-matthew-will-be-devastating-florida-governor-rick-scott/

We are hoping for the best and that everyone stays safe.


Author Mara Wilson’s ideal writing environment

September 30, 2016

Mara Wilson (author of WHERE AM I NOW? and star of the films Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire) talks about her ideal writing environment—it involves lots of tea.

WHERE AM I NOW?

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True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame

“Growing up, I wanted to be Mara Wilson. Where Am I Now? is a delight.” —Ilana Glazer, cocreator and star of Broad City

“Genuine and authentic, funny and heartbreaking.” —Jenny Lawson, author of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened and Furiously Happy

Named a best book of the month by GoodReads and Entertainment Weekly

A former child actor best known for her starring roles in Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire, Mara Wilson has always felt a little young and out of place: as the only kid on a film set full of adults, the first daughter in a house full of boys, a Valley girl in New York and a neurotic in California, and a grown-up the world still remembers as a little girl. Tackling everything from what she learned about sex on the set of Melrose Place, to discovering in adolescence that she was no longer “cute” enough for Hollywood, these essays chart her journey from accidental fame to relative (but happy) obscurity. They also illuminate universal struggles, like navigating love and loss, and figuring out who you are and where you belong. Candid, insightful, moving, and hilarious, Where Am I Now? introduces Mara Wilson as a brilliant new chronicler of the experience that is growing up female.

WHERE AM I NOW? by Mara Wilson. Penguin Books (September 13, 2016). ISBN: 978-0143128229. 272p.


Barbara Bush & Brad Meltzer

September 23, 2016

Brad Meltzer in a Lucille Ball wig with Barbara Bush recreating the famous I Love Lucy chocolate conveyor belt scene, to raise awareness for family literacy. From Brad: “And God bless her, she let me eat 300 chocolates in the President’s office.” Need I say more? Enjoy!

If you would like to share this book with someone you love, click on the cover below.

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Ordinary People Change the World

“We can all be heroes” is the message of this picture-book biography series from #1New York Times Bestselling author Brad Meltzer.

“Kids always search for heroes, so we might as well have a say in it,” Brad Meltzer realized, and so he envisioned this friendly, fun approach to biography—for his own kids, and for yours. Each book tells the story of one of America’s icons in a vivacious, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction readers, those who aren’t quite ready for the Who Was biography series. Each book focuses on a particular character trait that made that role model heroic. For example, Lucille Ball could make any situation funny. By making people around the world laugh, she proved that humor can take on anything.

This engaging series is the perfect way to bring American history to life for young children, providing them with the right role models, supplementing Common Core learning in the classroom, and best of all, inspiring them to strive and dream.

I am Lucille Ball by Brad Meltzer, illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos. Dial Books; First Edition/First Printing edition (July 14, 2015). ISBN: 978-0525428558. 40p.


Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence: Longlist Announced!

September 21, 2016

2017-carnegie-long-list

Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence
Longlist 2017

Congratulations to the 47 titles, 24 fiction and 23 nonfiction, that made the 2017 Carnegie Medals for Excellence Longlist! Six finalists, three fiction and three nonfiction will be announced on October 26. The winners are announced at the RUSA Book and Media Awards Ceremony, Sunday, January 22, 5-7:00 p.m. EST, at the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting in Atlanta.

Click on the links below to read the Booklist reviews!

Fiction:
Alameddine, Rabih. The Angel of History. (Atlantic Monthly)
Beverly, Bill. Dodgers. (Crown)
Butler, Robert Olen. Perfume River. (Atlantic Monthly)
Chabon, Michael. Moonglow. (Harper)
Eggers, Dave. Heroes of the Frontier. (Knopf)
Enrigue, Álvaro. Sudden Death. (Riverhead)
Erdrich, Louise. LaRose. (Harper)
Gyasi, Yaa. Homegoing. (Knopf)
Haslett, Adam. Imagine Me Gone. (Little, Brown)
Ivey, Eowyn. To the Bright Edge of the World. (Little, Brown)
Lee, Krys. How I Became a North Korean. (Viking)
Mbue, Imbolo. Behold the Dreamers. (Random House)
Morgan, C. E. The Sport of Kings. (Farrar)
Murphy, Tim. Christodora. (Grove)
Patchett, Ann. Commonwealth. (Harper)
Prose, Francine. Mister Monkey. (Harper)
Smith, Dominic. The Last Painting of Sara de Vos. (Farrar)
Smith, Zadie. Swing Time. (Penguin)
Strout, Elizabeth. My Name Is Lucy Barton. (Random House)
Terrell, Whitney. The Good Lieutenant. (Farrar)
Thien, Madeleine. Do Not Say We Have Nothing. (Norton)
Watson, Larry. As Good as Gone. (Algonquin)
Whitehead, Colson. The Underground Railroad. (Doubleday)
Woodson, Jacqueline. Another Brooklyn. (Harper)

Nonfiction:
Bell-Scott, Patricia. The Firebrand and the First Lady: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice. (Knopf)
Desmond, Matthew. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. (Crown)
Dum, Christopher P. Exiled in America: Life on the Margins in a Residential Motel. (Columbia University Press)
France, David. How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS. (Knopf)
Isenberg, Nancy. White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America. (Viking)
Jahren, Hope. Lab Girl. (Knopf)
Kanigel, Robert. Eyes on the Street: The Life of Jane Jacobs. (Knopf)
King, Ross. Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies. (Bloomsbury)
Kurlansky, Mark. Paper: Paging through History. (Norton)
Macy, Beth. Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother’s Quest—A True Story of the Jim Crow South. (Little, Brown)
McBride, James. Kill ‘Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul. (Spiegel & Grau)
McDonald-Gibson, Charlotte. Cast Away: True Stories of Survival from Europe’s Refugee Crisis. (New Press)
Phillips, Patrick. Blood at the Root: A Racial Cleansing in America. (Norton)
Rawlence, Ben. City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp. (Picador)
Roach, Mary. Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War. (Norton)
Sax, David. The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter. (Perseus/Public Affairs)
Shetterly, Margot Lee. Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. (Morrow)
Sobel, Dava. The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars. (Viking)
Staiti, Paul. Of Arms and Artists: The American Revolution through Painters’ Eyes. (Bloomsbury)
Wideman, John Edgar. Writing to Save a Life: The Louis Till File. (Scribner)
Williams, Terry Tempest. The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks. (Farrar)
Voight, Emily. The Dragon behind the Glass. A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World’s Most Coveted Fish. (Viking)
Younge, Gary. Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives. (Nation Books)

The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were established in 2012 to recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. the previous year. The winners (one for fiction, one for nonfiction) are announced at an event at the ALA Midwinter Meeting; winning authors receive a $5,000 cash award, and two finalists in each category receive $1,500. For more information on award seals, please visit the ALA store.

The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction are made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York on the occasion of the foundation’s centennial and in recognition of Andrew Carnegie’s deep belief in the power of books and learning to change the world. These awards are cosponsored by Booklist and the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA).

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association, represents librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, readers’ advisory and resource sharing. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services, and collection materials they need. Learn more about the association at http://www.ala.org/rusa.


Michael Connelly Introduces The Wrong Side Of Goodbye

September 19, 2016

Two new short videos from one of my favorite authors! First, the introduction to the next Harry Bosch book, The Wrong Side Of Goodbye, which comes out Nov.1 – mark your calendar, or better yet, click on the cover below to preorder!

Next, About The Title:

The Wrong Side Of Goodbye

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Detective Harry Bosch must track down someone who may never have existed in the new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly.

Harry Bosch is California’s newest private investigator. He doesn’t advertise, he doesn’t have an office, and he’s picky about who he works for, but it doesn’t matter. His chops from thirty years with the LAPD speak for themselves.

Soon one of Southern California’s biggest moguls comes calling. The reclusive billionaire is nearing the end of his life and is haunted by one regret. When he was young, he had a relationship with a Mexican girl, his great love. But soon after becoming pregnant, she disappeared. Did she have the baby? And if so, what happened to it?

Desperate to know whether he has an heir, the dying magnate hires Bosch, the only person he can trust. With such a vast fortune at stake, Harry realizes that his mission could be risky not only for himself but for the one he’s seeking. But as he begins to uncover the haunting story–and finds uncanny links to his own past–he knows he cannot rest until he finds the truth.

At the same time, unable to leave cop work behind completely, he volunteers as an investigator for a tiny cash-strapped police department and finds himself tracking a serial rapist who is one of the most baffling and dangerous foes he has ever faced.

Swift, unpredictable, and thrilling, The Wrong Side of Goodbye shows that Michael Connelly “continues to amaze with his consistent skill and sizzle” (Cleveland Plain Dealer).

About the Author

michael-connellyMichael Connelly is the bestselling author of twenty-eight novels and one work of nonfiction. With over sixty million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into thirty-nine foreign languages, he is one of the most successful writers working today. A former newspaper reporter who worked the crime beat at the Los Angeles Times and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Connelly has won numerous awards for his journalism and his fiction. His very first novel, The Black Echo, won the prestigious Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly’s 1998 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of his #1 bestselling novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, hit theaters worldwide starring Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. His most recent #1 New York Times bestsellers include The Crossing, The Burning Room, The Gods of Guilt, The Black Box, and The Drop. Michael is the executive producer of BOSCH, an Amazon Studios original drama series based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch, starring Titus Welliver. He is also the executive producer of the documentary film, SOUND OF REDEMPTION: The Frank Morgan Story. He spends his time in California and Florida and is currently at work on his next Harry Bosch novel, THE WRONG SIDE OF GOODBYE, which will be published on November 1, 2016.

The Wrong Side Of Goodbye by Michael Connelly. Little, Brown and Company (November 1, 2016). ISBN: 978-0316225946. 400p.


How author Amor Towles developed his writing skills

September 15, 2016

Bestselling author Amor Towles (A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW and RULES OF CIVILITY) discusses how he honed his craft—with lots of reading.

A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW

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From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel

“In all ways a great novel, a nonstop pleasure brimming with charm, personal wisdom, and philosophic insight . . .this book more than fulfills the promise of Towles’ stylish debut, Rules of Civility.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred)

With his breakout debut novel, Rules of Civility, Amor Towles established himself as a master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction, bringing late 1930s Manhattan to life with splendid atmosphere and a flawless command of style. Readers and critics were enchanted; as NPR commented, “Towles writes with grace and verve about the mores and manners of a society on the cusp of radical change.”

A Gentleman in Moscow
immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles. Viking (September 6, 2016). ISBN 978-0670026197. 480p.

amor-towlesAmor Towles was born and raised near Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale College and received an MA in English from Stanford University. For over twenty years he was an investment professional until he retired in 2013 in order to write full time. He lives with his wife and two children in Manhattan and serves on the boards of the Library of America, the Yale Art Gallery, and the Wallace Foundation.

Published in July 2011, his novel RULES OF CIVILITY has been translated into 15 languages. In America it was on the bestseller lists of the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Los Angeles Times. The book was ranked by the Wall Street Journal as one of the ten best works of fiction in 2011 and its French translation received the 2012 Prix Fitzgerald. His second novel, A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW, was published in September 2016.

Mr. Towles is an ardent fan of early 20th century painting, 1950’s jazz, 1970’s cop shows, rock & roll on vinyl, obsolete accessories, manifestoes, breakfast pastries, pasta, liquor, snow-days, Tuscany, Provence, Disneyland, Hollywood, the cast of Casablanca, 007, Captain Kirk, Bob Dylan (early, mid, and late phases), the wee hours, card games, cafés, and the cookies made by both of his grandmothers.