#read99women: Sherri L. Smith

The #read99women series started well before we knew what wide-ranging effects the COVID-19 pandemic would have on the United States, so most of the recommendations you’ve been reading were made long before #StayHomeAndRead became a thing. But today’s guest has a recommendation specifically for quarantine reading, and I know so many of us are seeking comfort in books these days. Comfort comes in different forms for different people, but the good news is, there’s a book out there for everyone.

To get your hands on new books, definitely check out Bookshop.org, where your purchases support local bookstores, most of which are suffering a huge decrease in business due to stay-at-home orders. And if you’re looking for a heartbreaking, immersive YA historical novel to keep you company, include this one in your order: THE BLOSSOM AND THE FIREFLY by today’s guest, Sherri (rhymes with Capri) L. Smith.

Sherri L. Smith is the award-winning author of YA novels Lucy the Giant, Sparrow, Hot Sour Salty Sweet, Flygirl and Orleans. Her bestselling novel, The Toymaker’s Apprentice is the Southern California Booksellers Association Award winner for Middle Grade. Her books have been listed as Amelia Bloomer, American Library Association Best Books for Young People, and Junior Library Guild Selections. Flygirl was the 2009 California Book Awards Gold Medalist. Sherri was a 2014 National Book Awards judge in the Young People’s Literature category. She is a three-time writer-in-resident at Hedgebrook retreat in Washington State, as well as a resident at Wassard Elea retreat, in Ascea, Italy. Sherri is a faculty member of the Creative Writing MFA program at Goddard College and the MFA in Children's Writing at Hamline University.  She lives in Los Angeles with the love of her life and a disreputable cat.

Sherri L. Smith

“These are hard times. We are hunkered down at home, worrying about what we cannot see. From Covid-19 to legislation and policies affecting our health and the environment, to the lack of human contact with our loved ones, it’s an isolating time. So naturally, I turned to a series of books about a woman who lives on a lonely Saltmarsh on the edge of the sea.  Ely Griffith’s Ruth Galloway Mysteries tell the story of a forensic archeologist brought in by the local police in the neighboring British town, to identify bodies, bones and other possibly ancient (possibly recent) discoveries. Rife with literary references, Roman and Celtic history, and scientific insight, these books are a pleasure to read. Dr. Galloway is my kind of lady—a little overweight and under-fashionable, brilliantly knowledgeable, insatiably curious, believably desirable, and tired. This twelve book series starts with The Crossing Places. The most recent installment, The Lantern Men, hit shelves just this February. If you pace yourself, you’ve got good company for as long as you are sheltering in place. “

#read99women: Janelle Brown

If you need evidence that there are still great things happening in the world, a fun coincidence: turns out today’s #read99women guest is our second in a week to have one of her books optioned for the screen by Nicole Kidman! Janelle Brown’s PRETTY THINGS — out today! — is the latest, and I for one can’t wait to see an adaptation. The book is twisty, dark, delicious fun, following a desperate con artist and her Instagram-influencer target in a constantly escalating game of secrets, manipulation, competition and conflict. Thriller fans will want to snap this one up immediately.

Janelle Brown is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels WATCH ME DISAPPEAR, ALL WE EVER WANTED WAS EVERYTHING, THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE, and PRETTY THINGS, now available from Random House. Her journalism and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, Elle, Wired, Self, RealSimple, Lenny, The Los Angeles Times, and numerous other publications. Previously, she worked as a senior writer at Salon, and began her career as a staff writer at Wired during the dotcom boom years, working on seminal Web sites like HotWired and Wired News. In the 1990s, she was also the editor and co-founder of Maxi, an irreverent (and now, long-gone) women’s pop culture Webzine.

A native of San Francisco and graduate of UC Berkeley, she has since defected to Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband Greg and their two children.

Janelle Brown

Janelle’s #read99women recommendation is THE HUNDRED-YEAR WALK by Dawn Mackeen, which she calls “one of the most visceral, gripping non-fiction books that I’ve read in recent years.”

It sounds simply stunning: “Dawn MacKeen traces the path that her grandfather - a survivor of the Armenian Genocide - took when he was managed to escape the Turks in 1915. As a refugee, he walked naked through the Syrian desert, hid from the death squads hunting him, was taken in by a tribe of nomadic Sheikhs, and managed over and over to survive through the moments when death seemed inevitable. Dawn MacKeen visits Syria herself -- a perilously journey through a war-torn landscape -- on a quest to retrace his steps; and even includes excerpts from his long-lost journals. The resulting book is half-memoir and half investigative reporting. It’s wrenching and beautifully written and more relevant than ever when we think of our modern refugee crisis.”

#read99women: Marie Benedict

The end of the #read99women series is in sight (what!?) and so I’m not sure how many more of these cool double-features we have in store, but on Friday we had Camille di Maio recommending Marie Benedict’s THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM (yay!), and today we have Marie Benedict herself (another yay!) with her recommendation.

Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years' experience as a litigator at two of the country's premier law firms, who found her calling unearthing the hidden historical stories of women. Her mission is to excavate from the past the most important, complex and fascinating women of history and bring them into the light of present-day where we can finally perceive the breadth of their contributions as well as the insights they bring to modern day issues. She embarked on a new, thematically connected series of historical novels with THE OTHER EINSTEIN, which tells the tale of Albert Einstein's first wife, a physicist herself, and the role she might have played in his theories. The next novel in this series is the USA Today bestselling CARNEGIE'S MAID, and the book that followed is the New York Times bestseller and Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM, the story of the brilliant inventor Hedy Lamarr. In January of 2020, LADY CLEMENTINE, the story of the incredible Clementine Churchill, was released, and became an international bestseller. Her next novel, THE MYSTERY OF MRS. CHRISTIE, will be published in January of 2021, and her first co-written book, THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN, with the talented Victoria Christopher Murray, will be released in June of 2021.

Marie Benedict

Marie’s #read99women pick is HOMEGOING by Yaa Gyasi, “a necessary read… A multi-faceted exploration of the ramifications of the evils of slavery, it contains one of my favorite reflections on the study of history: ‘You must always ask yourself, whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story.’” Read the full review here.

#read99women: Camille di Maio

Historical fiction comes in many flavors, but biographical historical fiction has an appeal all its own, and nothing gets certain readers’ hearts racing like the words “based on a true story.” If that’s your jam, you’re going to want to circle the date May 5 on your calendar for Camille di Maio’s new novel THE FIRST EMMA. Check out this summary:

Camille Di Maio's fifth novel THE FIRST EMMA is the true story of Emma Koehler, whose tycoon husband Otto was killed in a crime-of-the-century murder by one of his two mistresses--both also named Emma--and her unlikely rise as CEO of a brewing empire during Prohibition. When a chance to tell her story to a young teetotaler arises, a tale unfolds of love, war, beer, and the power of women.

(Murder! Mistresses! Beer! I’m ready.)

Camille di Maio recently left an award-winning real estate career in San Antonio to become a full-time writer. Along with her husband of twenty-one years, she enjoys raising their four children. She has a bucket list that is never-ending, and uses her adventures to inspire her writing. She’s lived in Texas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and California, and spends enough time in Hawai’i to feel like a local.

Camille di Maio

Camille’s pick for #read99women, like her upcoming novel, is also biographical historical fiction based on a true story. Here’s Camille:

“My favorite historical fiction books have me rushing to learn more as soon as I finish the last page. The author will have successfully sparked my imagination and my desire to dig deeper. One of the best examples of this is THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM by Marie Benedict. From Nazi dinner parties to Hollywood to the halls of science, Benedict's book covers the remarkable life of actress Hedy Lamarr. A Jewish woman married to a Nazi sympathizer, she was savvy enough to learn of their plans and escape before she was in too much danger. Transforming herself into one of Hollywood's A-list actresses, she harbored yet another secret - she was a scientist. Using her understanding of music, she invented technology that made bluetooth possible today. While these facts are all interesting enough, Benedict writes a narrative that keeps the reader turning the pages in this most engrossing tale.”

#read99women: Samantha Downing

Today’s guest Samantha Downing had a blockbuster debut last year with MY LOVELY WIFE, which was praised by People Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Cosmopolitan, the Washington Post, and countless other channels. Now not only is it available in paperback, it’s also headed for the silver screen — with none other than Nicole Kidman in the starring role. Not bad for a debut, right?

Her follow-up HE STARTED IT is also getting early raves, with Booklist calling it “virtually impossible to put down” in a starred review, and notoriously difficult-to-please Kirkus saying “Buckle up and settle in for one diabolically fun road trip.” It’s due out in July, and there’s no time like the present to pre-order. (You can get a signed copy from Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans, even!)

Samantha Downing

Samantha’s recommendation is YOU ALL GROW UP AND LEAVE ME by Piper Weiss, which she calls “One of the most polarizing memoirs I have read. Piper Weiss grew up in the Manhattan of the 90's, the daughter of an elite, wealthy family. She was also the tennis student of a child predator...only she wasn't chosen as the victim…. A pre-MeToo era story worth reading, if only to remember how dangerous self-conscious teenage girls can be to themselves.”

Read the full review here.

#read99women: Alison Hammer

Alison Hammer has been spinning words to tell stories since she learned how to talk. A graduate of the University of Florida and the Creative Circus in Atlanta, she lived in 9 cities before settling down in Chicago. During the day, Alison is a VP Creative Director at an advertising agency, but on nights and weekends you can find her writing upmarket women’s fiction. Alison is represented by Joanna MacKenzie of Nelson Literary Agency. Her debut novel YOU AND ME AND US is out now from William Morrow (HarperCollins). 

(And YOU AND ME AND US is earning praise right and left — check it out! Camille Pagán, bestselling author of I’M FINE AND NEITHER ARE YOU, calls it “that rare novel you want to savor even as you’re turning the pages as fast as possible. This poignant and heartrending story of a family redefining their roles in the face of a crisis made me smile and cry. Even better, it made me profoundly grateful for my own family. Alison Hammer is an exciting new voice in women’s fiction, and I can’t wait to read what she writes next.”)

Alison Hammer

Alison’s pick for #read99women is MINOR DRAMAS AND OTHER CATASTROPHES by Kathleen West. 

“With short, punchy chapters and a rotating cast of characters, Kathleen West's debut reads like Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies—only the 'crime' takes place in the hallways of Liston Heights High School and centers around an overly engaged drama club parent….You should do yourself a favor and put this amazing debut on your to read list. One of my favorite reads of the year!”

Read the rest of Alison’s rave on Goodreads.

#read99women: J'nell Ciesielski

It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means — more new books in the world! Hooray for new books!

And one of those books belongs to J’nell Ciesielski, today’s #read99women guest: her new novel THE SOCIALITE is out today from Thomas Nelson. In THE SOCIALITE, “glamour, treachery, and espionage collide when an English socialite rushes to save her sister from the Nazis.” Publishers Weekly says, “Readers looking for an immersive, high-stakes romance will be wowed.”

With a passion for heart-stopping adventure and sweeping love stories, J’nell Ciesielski weaves fresh takes into romances of times gone by. When not creating dashing heroes and daring heroines, she can be found dreaming of Scotland, indulging in chocolate of any kind, or watching old black and white movies. Winner of the INSPY and the Maggie Award, she is a Florida native who now lives in Virginia with her husband, daughter, and lazy beagle.

J’nell’s pick for #read99women is MY DEAR HAMILTON by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. “This is the story of Eliza Schulyer Hamilton, the amazing woman behind the genius that was Alexander Hamilton. A brilliant mind on her own, Eliza’s is a story of revolution, love, immense loss, and resolute loyalty when the world threatened to tear down everything she had built. Guaranteed you’ll fall in love with this unstoppable woman.”

#read99women: Theresa Kaminski

Theresa Kaminski holds a PhD in history from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her newest book, Dr. Mary Walker’s Civil War: One Woman’s Journey to the Medal of Honor and the Fight for Women’s Rights, is available now for pre-order from Lyons Press. She is the author of a trilogy of nonfiction history books on American women in the Philippine Islands during World War II, the last of which is Angels of the Underground: The American Women who Resisted the Japanese in the Philippines in World War II, published by Oxford University Press in 2015. She is currently completing the first full-length biography of America’s favorite cowgirl, Dale Evans. Theresa is quarantined with her husband in a small town outside of Madison, Wisconsin. They both really miss seeing their grandson, known as Double O, and, of course, his parents.

Theresa Kaminski

Theresa’s #read99women selection is Sarah M. Broom’s THE YELLOW HOUSE, “a beautiful, richly detailed memoir about the role of place in a family’s history. Broom deftly weaves in politics and history as she traces her family’s experiences in New Orleans, before and after Hurricane Katrina.” Says Theresa, “This won the 2019 National Book Award for Nonfiction, and I recommend it to everyone looking for a ‘real life’ story to read.”

7 answers with Kim Taylor Blakemore

I love being interviewed by other authors, and I recently had the opportunity to answer seven questions from Kim Taylor Blakemore, author of THE COMPANION, as part of her “7 Authors 7 Questions 7 Days” series. In the process, I talked about my writing process, the themes I find myself revisiting (“Power, love, ambition, regret. You know, the fun stuff.”) and the theme songs I crank up to pump myself up for a writing session.

Click here to read it all!

#read99women: Robb Cadigan

The University of Iowa’s MFA program is the gold standard for graduate-level fiction writing, and since I grew up in Iowa, I was never not aware of that fact. I didn’t get my MFA there—I totally would have, except that they didn’t accept my application—but for several summers in a row I attended workshops at their Summer Writing Festival, and got to learn craft from some really fabulous teachers, like Gordon Mennenga and Sands Hall.

It was at one of those workshops (mumbletymumble years ago) that I met Robb Cadigan. Over the many years we’ve stayed in touch, our writing lives have evolved in different and wonderful ways. Not only did Robb publish the incredibly successful PHOENIXVILLE RISING, he’s now one of the owners of a wonderful independent bookshop, Reads & Company. (Speaking of Bookshop, Reads & Company now uses the Bookshop.org e-commerce platform, which you can and should use to buy allllll the books.)

The bio business: A former advertising copywriter and television executive, Robb Cadigan lives with his wife and two children in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Before becoming a full-time writer, Cadigan shucked oysters, drove a forklift, waited tables, sold clothes, edited TV Guide, and wrote advertisements for products as diverse as shoes, watches, and vacuum cleaners. For thirteen years, he was a marketing and television executive for QVC and helped develop the retailer into the world’s most profitable TV channel.

For his #read99women recommendation, Robb enthusiastically chose LADY IN THE LAKE by Laura Lippman. He says, “I first picked up a Laura Lippman novel some twenty+ years ago simply because she was writing about my hometown. With that debut (BALTIMORE BLUES) and each subsequent release, I became an unabashed Laura Lippman fanboy.

As a reader, I devour everything Laura Lippman writes — and I could not put down her latest novel, LADY IN THE LAKE. 

As a writer, I marvel at the way she crafts a story, never rests on her laurels (pretty much every crime-writing award in the universe), and challenges herself with each new work. 

As her student, I have been blessed by her guidance, wisdom, and mentorship. 

And now, as a bookseller, there’s nothing quite like placing a novel into the right reader’s hands and saying ‘It’s Lippman—you’ll love it!’ ... and they do.

LADY IN THE LAKE is a wonder of structure and point of view and suspenseful crime writing with Laura’s characteristic sensitivity and skill. A landmark work of a singular storyteller firing on all cylinders. And one hell of a tale, exceptionally well told. A New York Times and Indie Bookstores bestseller, LADY IN THE LAKE has a featured spot on the ‘Staff Picks’ shelf here at Reads & Company. (PS: watch for Laura’s first nonfiction collection of essays, coming this summer. I’ve read MY LIFE AS A VILLAINESS and I can’t wait until you do too. ‘It’s Lippman—you’ll love it!’)”