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We wrap up this year’s Holiday Author Blog series with Allison Pataki, the New York Times bestselling author of THE TRAITOR'S WIFE, THE ACCIDENTAL EMPRESS, SISI, THE QUEEN'S FORTUNE and THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST, as well as the memoir BEAUTY IN THE BROKEN PLACES. Her upcoming novel, FINDING MARGARET FULLER, publishes on March 19th and is an epic imagining of the life of Margaret Fuller --- America’s forgotten leading lady and the central figure of a movement that defined a nation. In 1985, Allison’s aunt gave her and her siblings a copy of the just-released THE POLAR EXPRESS for Christmas. It quickly became a Christmas Eve tradition that her family would gather around and read Chris Van Allsburg’s beloved book before bedtime. What a joyous, comforting and emotional experience it was…and continues to be!

Armando Lucas Correa is the author of the international bestseller THE GERMAN GIRL; THE DAUGHTER’S TALE; and THE NIGHT TRAVELER, for which he was awarded the Cintas Foundation Creative Writing Fellowship. His latest novel, THE SILENCE IN HER EYES, releases on January 16th. This bold and suspenseful psychological thriller is about a young woman with a rare neurological condition who is convinced her neighbor is going to be murdered. Armando grew up in Cuba with his sister, and there was a long period of time when Christmas and Three Kings Day were banned in that country. However, as he explains in this powerful piece, that did not stop his grandparents from continuing to celebrate the holidays.

Freida McFadden, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE HOUSEMAID, is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury. Her new book, THE TEACHER, releases on February 6th. This mind-bending psychological thriller is a story of twisting secrets and long-awaited revenge. In her holiday blog post, Freida recalls the Christmas Eves she spent with her grandmother, who would place her presents in an actual stocking. Not surprisingly, Freida’s favorite stocking stuffer was a book…but this was a very special book that she never knew she wanted yet would treasure for many years to come.

Jonathan Santlofer is an author and artist whose new thriller, THE LOST VAN GOGH, releases on January 2nd and is a stand-alone sequel to 2021’s THE LAST MONA LISA. This time, he spins a riveting tale based on rumors that Van Gogh completed a final self-portrait before his death, one that has since been lost to time --- or the black market. Before Jonathan became a writer, he studied art and was a painter, so he tends to have a visual memory and sees his favorite gift books in images. Here, he looks back on a few unforgettable books he has been gifted, including one he received as a Christmas present that is among his all-time favorites.

The author of six young adult novels, Ashley Elston will make her adult fiction debut on January 2nd with the release of FIRST LIE WINS, an upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On title. This cat-and-mouse thriller is about a picket-fence Southern belle living a double life as a professional con woman. As a youngster, Ashley and her entire family would spend Christmas Eve nights at a family member’s house, which sounds like the best kind of sleepover. In her holiday blog post, Ashley looks back fondly on the book that her grandfather would read to all the kids each year before Santa came down the chimney. It’s a clever twist on a beloved holiday classic and produced one of Ashley’s favorite memories.

We are kicking off this year’s Holiday Author Blog series with New York Times bestselling author Laurie Frankel, whose fifth novel, FAMILY FAMILY, releases on January 23rd. While promoting her most recent movie, a film about adoption, India Allwood does something she knows you should never, ever do --- she tells a journalist the truth. When Laurie was in high school, she worked in a mall bookstore unboxing and shelving books. Although the job lasted only a few weeks, it exposed her to a variety of books and gave her the itch to write one of her own. Fortunately for her many fans, that itch has never gone away.

  On Wednesday, December 6th, we hosted a very special “Bookaccino Live” event where eight Bookreporter reviewers talked about their three favorite books of 2023. Our guests were Kate Ayers, Harvey Freedenberg, Pamela Kramer, Rebecca Munro, Eileen Zimmerman Nicol, Ray Palen, Norah Piehl and Stuart Shiffman. Their selections cover a wide variety of genres, and there may be a few titles here that you didn’t have on your radar that you will want to check out.