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J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 20 novels, including her latest, IT’S ONE OF US. Releasing on February 21st, this twisting, emotionally layered thriller explores the lies we tell to keep a marriage together --- or break each other apart. J.T.’s holiday blog post certainly doesn’t revolve around a lie, but rather a simple misunderstanding that all started when she found a book on her shelf that she thought had been misplaced. Her husband got an early Christmas present out of it!

  On Tuesday, December 6th, we hosted a very special “Bookaccino Live” event where 11 Bookreporter reviewers talked about their three favorite books of 2022. Our guests were Kate Ayers, Sarah Rachel Egelman, Megan Elliott, Harvey Freedenberg, Pamela Kramer, Bronwyn Miller, 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.

Mary Dixie Carter is the author of THE PHOTOGRAPHER, which released in paperback this summer. This psychological thriller is a slyly observed, suspenseful story of envy and obsession, told in the mesmerizing, irresistible voice of a character who will make you doubt that seeing is ever believing. In her holiday blog post, Mary Dixie reflects on the last Christmas she spent with her mother and the book she wishes her mother had inscribed.

We are kicking off this year’s Holiday Author Blog series with New York Times bestselling author Allegra Goodman. Her new novel, SAM, releases on January 3rd and poses the question: What happens to a girl’s sense of joy and belonging --- to her belief in herself --- as she becomes a woman? For Allegra, the holidays are all about giving. This means going to bookstores and finding the perfect book for each member of her family. Allegra is a self-proclaimed “book fairy” --- but even book fairies have secrets, and she has two confessions to make in her revealing blog post.  

Now available in paperback, JUST THIEVES is a nail-biting, noirish exploration of the working lives of two unforgettable crooks and the hidden forces that rule and ruin their lives. Gregory Galloway has penned a twisty and twisted crime novel that evokes the worlds of George V. Higgins, Patricia Highsmith and David Mamet. In fact, these legendary writers --- along with Dashiell Hammett, Dorothy B. Hughes, Herman Melville and many others --- served as his inspiration for the book, which includes “more than 40 allusions, homages, references and direct lifts from novels, as well as a number of crime films.” In this fun and insightful piece, Galloway explains why and how he did this.  

We wrap up this year’s Mother’s Day Author Blog series with Sarah McCoy, whose latest novel, MUSTIQUE ISLAND, releases on May 10th. It’s a sun-splashed romp with a rich divorcee and her two wayward daughters in 1970s Mustique, the world’s most exclusive private island, where Princess Margaret and Mick Jagger were regulars and scandals stayed hidden from the press. In our final Mother’s Day blog post of 2022, Sarah reflects on the Mother’s Day celebrations she enjoyed with her mom growing up and what made them so unique. As an adult, Sarah recognizes how important it is to honor everything that her mother has been --- a daughter, a sister, a girl with big dreams, a conscientious student, a best friend, a competitive athlete, a teacher…and, of course, a loving parent.

Kimberly Brock is the award-winning author of THE RIVER WITCH and her latest novel, THE LOST BOOK OF ELEANOR DARE, a sweeping tale in which the answers to a real-life mystery may be found in the pages of a story that was always waiting to be written. It’s only fitting that Kimberly’s Mother’s Day blog post is about stories --- more specifically, the ones that her mother told her. Although her mother read all kinds of stories to her and her siblings, including the Little House on the Prairie series, there was one story in particular that Kimberly will never forget. Because it’s the most important story in the world.

EASY BEAUTY is Pulitzer Prize finalist Chloé Cooper Jones’ groundbreaking memoir about disability, motherhood, and a journey to far-flung places in search of a new way of seeing and being seen. In anticipation of Mother’s Day, Chloé was kind enough to share with us an excerpt from her book. She told us, “I write a lot about my mother in EASY BEAUTY, but this brief section --- a portrait of us on a rare family vacation --- reveals the most about our relationship by simply sketching the intimacy of our everyday conversations and the way we tease, deflect, scold and protect each other. When I’m away from my mother, as I will be this Mother’s Day, I miss our commonplace conversations and how they show me our easy bond and understanding of each other.”

Deborah Goodrich Royce’s first psychological thriller, FINDING MRS. FORD, was published in 2019 to rave reviews. Her second, the highly praised RUBY FALLS, released in 2021 and is now available in paperback. In last year’s Mother’s Day Author blog series, Deborah wrote a wonderful piece about memorable moments, or markers, in her life --- the most important of which involved raising her daughters and witnessing their various milestones and achievements. This year, Deborah returns to share another marker with us --- a Sunday evening ritual that allowed her to spend quality time with her girls and read with them.

Popular CNN anchor Zain E. Asher was born to first-generation Nigerian parents in South London. She was raised by her mother, Obiajulu Ejiofor, after losing her father in a tragic car accident when she was just five years old. Drawing on tough-love parenting strategies, Obiajulu taught Zain and her three siblings to overcome the daily pressures of poverty, crime, prejudice and much more. Zain’s remembrances of Obiajulu in her Mother’s Day blog post will inspire you to read her newly released memoir, WHERE THE CHILDREN TAKE US, where she pays tribute to her mother’s strength, tenacity, perseverance and relentless support.