As a child I was an avid reader, my brothers’ books, my mother’s magazines, and anything in the bookcase. The library was my favorite place to go and I was proud of my library card. Today, I am a romance and cozy mystery author who is passionate about writing books that feature strong, compassionate characters that I would want to be friends with in real life. I hope you enjoy the books I've recommended but remember to pace yourself as you read through these authors' extensive lists. Allow yourself to sink into their fictional worlds and save each story.
First, I’m a huge Nora Roberts fan and the Three Sisters Island Trilogy is one series that I have read many times. I love the strength of the female characters, their connection to each other, and the passion to do what is right, no matter the challenges they must face. They’re stronger together and form their family and support system. The love each woman finds in each book only cements their connections not just to each other but also they find a home.
When Nell Channing arrives on Three Sisters Island, she hopes she has finally found refuge from her abusive husband. But even in this peaceful place, she feels haunted by fear. Then she discovers the island is suffering under a terrible curse and that she must find the power to save herself. Pbk: ISBN 0749932775.
I adore reading books where women over the age of 40 are celebrated and highlights that they have full and rich lives. Their romantic lives aren’t dead, nor is their zest for adventure. This series of four books features each woman who is strong on her own but with her friends they are unstoppable and funny and who doesn’t wish we all had a touch of magic at our fingertips too. I love reading books that inspire me to live a full and rich life and even write those kinds of characters too.
Witches are created, not born. The only magic word Libbie Stark seems to know these days is ‘ibuprofen’ thanks to a headache-inducing job, two teenagers, one ex-husband, and a deadbeat boyfriend—until the death of a friend brings unexpected consequences. Libbie and the other members of her weekly cocktail club are shocked to discover that their eccentric friend was far more extraordinary than they realized and that they are the recipients of her magical assets. Libbie would’ve preferred to inherit an island beach house, especially when her life starts to unravel. With the help of her friends and a handsome lawyer…
This series, A Miss Fortune Mystery, begs to be devoured but like anything that is this enjoyable savoring prolongs the enjoyment. I so much love vising the small town of Sinful LA. Fortune, a CIA operative who needs a place to hide meets up with 2 kindred souls, Ida Belle and Gertie, who just happen to have mad skills after serving in the military as young women, over 50 years ago. Talk about strong women, men who adore them and all wrapped up with a cozy mystery. I must pace myself. Ms. DeLeon needs to write faster.
CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever-in Sinful, Louisiana. With a leak at the CIA and a price placed on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off-grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element. Posing as a former beauty queen turned librarian in a small bayou town seems worse than death to Fortune, but she's determined to fly below the radar until her boss finds the leak and puts the arms dealer out…
If you love crime fiction there is no one who writes it better than Agatha Christie. Each one of her books transports you on an adventure where you become part of the crime scene, working to solve the murder before he or she gets away. In Death on the Nile, the vivid descriptions of the ship, the pyramids and the slow winding journey, and even the funny Belgian detective is so well developed you can’t help but be transported. It’s like traveling to exotic locals via armchair.
The tranquillity of a cruise along the Nile was shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway had been shot through the head. She was young, stylish and beautiful. A girl who had everything... until she lost her life.
Hercule Poirot recalled an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: 'I'd like to put my dear little pistol against her head and just press the trigger.' Yet in this exotic setting nothing was ever quite what it seemed...
Early in my author life I picked this memoir up to discover Mr. King's secret to his success. I had visited his home in Bangor Maine and of course it was quirky as I had expected but I was curious if his memoir would evoke that same feeling. When I finished this book there were some tips I gleaned from writing but I was inspired to never give up. I applied this to all aspects of life, not just as an author. His strength facing rejection, recovery from a horrible accident, and his discipline and balance in life was inspiring.
Twentieth Anniversary Edition with Contributions from Joe Hill and Owen King
ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S TOP 100 NONFICTION BOOKS OF ALL TIME
Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, this special edition of Stephen King’s critically lauded, million-copy bestseller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him and his work.
“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the…
For Polly Carson, working the land on a Montana ranch is a dream come true. No one knows she’s on the run, carrying a secret that could endanger the big eclectic family she’s found on the ranch.
Something about Polly draws Clint Goodman, foreman of Grace Star Ranch. If only he could remember why she seems so familiar. She trips his trigger for sure, but he’s been burned before. Maybe a woman like Polly is worth taking a second chance. Polly’s a strong woman with a deep inner strength. Clint, the strong silent type, loves and respects her fierce independence. But just as their slow-burn romance is heating up, Polly’s past returns to threaten her future. As lies and secrets are revealed, no one on the ranch will be safe.
Kelly Simmons has been published in 12 countries by Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks, and her widely praised novels are frequently compared to Big Little Lies.
Her new book, The Off Season, is set on the tranquil shores of the Chesapeake Bay, where headstrong thirteen-year-old Savannah bursts into the local police department, insisting her mother’s drowning was anything but an accident. She’s forced to tangle with the languid Bay police department as well as the year-rounder adults and teens who might be complicit not just in her mother’s death but a decades-old cold case.
For fans of Lisa Jewell and Liane Moriarty. Published in 12 countries by Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks, Kelly's widely praised novels are frequently compared to BIG LITTLE LIES.
THE OFF SEASON explodes on the tranquil shores of the Chesapeake Bay. A headstrong thirteen-year-old girl insists her mother’s drowning was anything but an accident. She’s forced to tangle with the languid bay police department as well as the year-rounder adults and teens who might be complicit not just in her mother’s death, but a decades-old cold case. With echoes of GONE GIRL and STAND BY ME, it’s part crime, part…
