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Author and television writer Rebecca Serle is best known for her young adult books TRULY MADLY FAMOUSLY and FAMOUS IN LOVE, for which she also writes the screenplay of the television adaptation. This week, Rebecca made her adult book debut with THE DINNER LIST, a wistful, romantic and heartbreaking story based on the popular question, “If you could have dinner with any five people, alive or dead, who would they be?”

Three longtime Bookreporter.com readers shared their commentary about the National Book Festival with us. Many thanks to Denise Neary from Maryland, Nancy Sharko from New Jersey, and Clair Lamb from Virginia for sharing their thoughts with us. They each brought a special perspective to their reporting!  

Alison Law is an unapologetic book pusher and author enabler. Host of the Literary Atlanta podcast, she interviews authors who are residents there, as well as those who have subject matter ties to the area, or who are visiting metro Atlanta on book tour. Alison also has had the privilege of interviewing authors or moderating literary discussions at live events like Writers at the Wrecking Bar, the Beyond Books monthly author series, and, of course, the AJC Decatur Book Festival. Thus we are so pleased to be sharing her commentary on this storied festival, as well as her photos, which you can see here.  

Poisoned Pen Press, an independent publisher of mystery novels, was founded in 1997 by Robert Rosenwald (President and Founder), Barbara Peters (Editor-in-Chief), and their daughter Susan Malling. In recognition of their contribution to the publishing industry, Robert and Barbara received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 Bouchercon Crime and Mystery conference, and were given the Ellery Queen Award at the 2010 Mystery Writers of America’s annual dinner honoring “writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry.” This month marks the 21st anniversary of Poisoned Pen Press, and in this interview, Robert and Barbara reflect on the Press’s history --- including the first titles they published, the various challenges they’ve had to overcome, and their proudest accomplishments. They also identify the single most satisfying day they’ve enjoyed so far as publisher, the publishing trends they would like to implement (and reverse) if they had the power, and their primary goal for the Press over the next few years.

As historical fiction gains popularity with a broader range of readers, some who remember a time when the genre was shunned by publishers have asked “Why?” My answer is “Why not?” History provides us with everything we need for epic story plots --- suspense, mystery, intrigue, battles between good and evil, love and romance, even real superheroes. (Don't get me started on James Douglas!) With all this, it's no wonder millennials and 20somethings are becoming the fastest growing audience of historically based books and films. Sprinkled with fantasy and time-travel, a great story can capture the attention and satisfy the cravings of a generation of readers who grew up playing video games and reading Harry Potter.

On Friday, July 13th, I attended my first ThrillerFest with Bookreporter.com's Editorial Director Tom Donadio and President Carol Fitzgerald. Not only was this the 13th celebration of the annual conference of the International Thriller Writers (ITW), but this day of programming was being held on Friday the 13th, which was thrillingly appropriate.

On May 2, 2017, the debut novels of Thomas Kies and Annie Hogsett released, and both were first installments of a series. Kies’ RANDOM ROAD introduced readers to veteran reporter Geneva Chase, and TOO LUCKY TO LIVE kicked off Hogsett’s Somebody’s Bound to Wind Up Dead Mystery series. So it’s only fitting that the second books in their respective mystery series (DARKNESS LANE for Kies and MURDER TO THE METAL for Hogsett) would publish on the same day this year (June 5th). To celebrate, Thomas and Annie have teamed up for a dual interview, where they talk about the challenges of writing a second book in a series, explain what it was like to interact with the public as they promoted their first novels, and offer advice to their younger selves now that they have two published books under their belts.

This year’s Mother’s Day Author Blog series wraps up with a heartwarming piece from New York Times bestselling author Karen White, whose new novel, DREAMS OF FALLING, releases on June 5th. Karen was a voracious reader growing up, but sadly her mother didn’t share her passion for books. While pregnant with her first child, Karen of course prayed for a happy and healthy baby, but she also made it clear that she wanted to give birth to a reader. Sure enough, her bookish wish came true! Here, Karen shares some wonderful memories of reading with her daughter…and explains what happens when a bookworm wants to redecorate her room.

I’m really super fancy. That's the warning Abby Fabiaschi's daughter, who was three years old at the time, issued to her mother when the two read Jane O'Connor's FANCY NANCY together. Abby was a tomboy growing up and thus did not understand her daughter's propensity for glamour. But that all changed four years later when Abby realized that, in order to strengthen their relationship, she needed to embrace this difference between them and make reasonable compromises that would make both of them happy. Abby's debut novel, I LIKED MY LIFE, is now available in paperback.

Julie Clark’s newly released debut novel, THE ONES WE CHOOSE, is about a boy desperate to find his place in the world, a mother coming to terms with her own past, and the healing power of forgiveness. In her blog post, to which many parents will be able to relate, Julie talks about reading wordless picture books with her children from the perspective of a young mother who was sometimes so exhausted at the end of the day that “creating engaging dialogue between a family of bears living in a tree” could prove to be quite the challenge.