In so many ways—large and small—life is not what it was a few months ago. For authors launching a new book, it’s an unprecedented challenge. Some launches are delayed, others proceed on the original schedule. But given that launching a new book is stressful anyway, no matter what happens, authors are at a definite disadvantage launching in these extraordinary conditions.

Which is why I’m glad to be able to call attention to especially exciting new releases like Lauren Francis-Sharma’s upcoming historical novel BOOK OF THE LITTLE AXE, forthcoming from Grove Atlantic Press on May 12, 2020. As Laila Lalami puts it, “BOOK OF THE LITTLE AXE is an epic novel that recreates the hybrid history of Native and African peoples during the era of American exploration and expansion. Lauren Francis-Sharma’s care for her characters and skill with her subject shine through every page.” You can find out more about it here.

Lauren Francis-Sharma is the author of BOOK OF THE LITTLE AXE (May, 2020) and ‘TIL THE WELL RUNS DRY, which debuted in 2014 and was short-listed for the William Saroyan International Prize, awarded the Honor Fiction Prize by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. ‘TIL THE WELL RUNS DRY was also chosen as an O, The Oprah Magazine Summer Reading Pick and lauded by the New York Times, USA Today, Essence Magazine, and People Magazine amongst other publications.

Lauren holds a Bachelor’s degree in English literature with a minor in African-American Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. Lauren is the owner of DC Writers Room, a co-working space dedicated to both published and aspiring writers. She is also the Assistant Director of Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference at Middlebury College and a MacDowell Fellow. Lauren lives in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. with her husband and two children and she is always working on another book.

For her #read99women recommendation, Lauren chose FRYING PLAINTAIN by the Canadian debut novelist Zalika Reid-Benta. Her take:

“FRYING PLAINTAIN is a deep dive into the life of a first-generation Jamaican girl. Reid-Benta brilliantly captures the aching shame of her protagonist, Kara, born and raised in Canada, who is decidedly not Caribbean enough for her family and her cadre of sophisticated Caribbean-accented friends. When we first meet Kara, she is on her inaugural trip to sunny Jamaica, horrified by the casual wringing of chicken necks and the frozen pig head she finds in her auntie's icebox. For her shock, Kara is deemed ‘a soft chile’ by her frigid mother and stubborn grandmother, and when back in Canada, we watch as Kara tries to steady herself in that dangerous land between childhood and an adulthood she doesn't yet understand. When we meet Kara as an older teen, we find that the once sensitive and chatty Kara has become almost unfeeling owing to the unbearable weight of her mother and grandmother's expectations, as well as by the discord of an all too familiar ‘island-flavored’ family dysfunction. Crushes on boys, ‘mean girl’ dramas, and mother-daughter conflicts fill the pages of this satisfying debut novel. What I loved most about this book, however, was its casual and matter-of-fact exploration of the life of a normal Caribbean-Canadian teenager's life--as if this happens every day. (Let me tell you, it does not!)

This short and punchy novel was a treat that left me feeling excited to share it as a read-along with my teenagers.”