Tales from the Book Nerd-2
…because we could all use a good book and a stiff drink.
Hello all! The big news this month is the cover reveal for The Wicche Glass Tavern. In this book, we’re back in San Francisco. Sam is reopening The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore & Bar and contending with her homicidal aunt. Clive, on the other hand, is digging into the attempts on his life, while trying to make Sam comfortable living among vampires who hate her guts.
I’m looking forward to you meeting some of the new characters, like George and Coco’s grandmother Benvair,the matriarch of the dragon clan.
The Wicche Glass Tavern is out October 5th. Preorder Here
In other exciting news, the first two books in the Sam Quinnseries are currently being made into audiobooks. The reader is Samantha Desz. She has a rich, beautiful voice that I think will be perfect for books filled with every manner of supernatural being. The audiobook for The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore & Bar is out June 15th.
Behind the scenes info: In the original draft of The Dead Don’t Drink at Lafitte’s, Sam’s encounter with the evil entity (at the Ursuline Convent in the book) was originally set in a scary house on the outskirts of the French Quarter. My editor, the fabulous Peter Senftleben, had lived in New Orleans for years so he was able to correct a couple of my geography problems. He loved the scene but said that type of house with a big tree and a yard would not be in that neighborhood. I needed to move it. I wandered through a map app, looking for the right neighborhood when I found the Ursuline Convent. I’d completely forgotten that I’d originally planned to have the convent in the book. Years earlier, I’d stood in front of it on a ghost tour thinking that it would make great, scary setting. So, I rewrote the whole scene, set it at the convent, and like it much better.
It’s been truly lovely to receive notes from readers reaching out to share their reactions to the books. It’s a treat I hadn’t expected, so thank you for that.
Book Recommendation Corner
As I’m also a librarian, I want to share titles of amazing books you might want to pick up. I’ll switch up the genres in each newsletter. If you like any of the books I suggest, remember to write a quick review for it. Reviews helps authors <3
Young Adult: As I’m a young adult librarian, you’ll see this genre in every newsletter. I’m going to recommend two for you. First, Slay by Brittney Morris. It’s a page-turning, techno-thriller about a brilliant teenager Kiera who creates a multiplayer online game that celebrates Black culture and history. I am not a gamer and I was totally engrossed in not only the rich world she created online but in her real life that has take a turn for the upsetting.
The second YA book I’ll recommend is What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera. This is the gay YA rom-com we all need! Arthur is visiting New York for the summer, interning at his mother’s law firm when he runs into Ben at the post office. Ben is gorgeous and Arthur is smitten but their brief conversation is broken up by a flash mob. How will they are ever find each other again and if they do, how will they make it work? I laughed out loud and fell in love with them both.
Mystery: A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas. This is the first in a series. I’ve read and loved them all. This is a historical, set in London. It presupposes that Sherlock Holmes is a real person but a woman rather than a man. Charlotte Holmes is kicked out of her parent’s home (see the scarlet women issue in the title) and has to make it on her own. She is a brilliant detective but strangely enough, people don’t want to hire female detectives. If people want a man, Charlotte will give them one, her brother Sherlock who is bedridden. To the outside world, Charlotte is a devoted sister who passes information between her brother and the client. In reality, she’s traversing the city and solving crimes. You need to pay attention, because the mysteries are quite complex. Of course, those always make the best candidates for rereading. My husband wanted it known that he read and loved the series too
😊 Happy Reading!
