One of the fun things I get to do with this #read99women series is figure out what order to put things in, and the rest of this week will be a fun little combo: I get to feature several of my favorite Iowans in a row! (You know how my bio says “raised in the Midwest?” Yep, Iowa. When I went to college in Boston, as the first Iowan most of my classmates had met, I was frequently asked which side of Crispix is the crispiest.)

First up in our Hawkeye sequence: Kali White, author of the forthcoming crime novel THE MONSTERS WE MAKE (Crooked Lane, June 2020) and the novels THE GOOD DIVIDE and THE SPACE BETWEEN (as Kali VanBaale). She’s the recipient of an American Book Award, an Eric Hoffer Book Award, and an Independent Publisher’s silver medal for fiction. Her short stories and essays have appeared in The Coachella Review, The Chaffey Review, Midwestern Gothic, Nowhere Magazine, Poets&Writers, The Writers’ Chronicle and several anthologies. She’s the co-editor of the micro essay series The Past Ten, and volunteers for the PEN America Prison & Justice Writing program. Kali holds an MFA in creative writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a core faculty member of the Lindenwood University MFA Creative Writing Program. She lives in Iowa with her family.

The novel Kali recommends for #read99women comes from Heather Gudenkauf, a New York Times Bestselling author of seven novels, and “a master of the unpredictable small-town thriller with a conscience. BEFORE SHE WAS FOUND is a contemporary thriller that explores the slipperiness between friendship and betrayal in young female relationships, the complex dangers of modern communication, and the lengths some parents will go to protect their children. I’ve lost many hours of sleep to Heather’s books.”

And by the way, Heather has a new book coming out next month — you’ll hear more about it directly from Heather when she appears as tomorrow’s #read99women guest! (Like I said. My favorite Iowans.)