While I don't read tons of thrillers, I do read a lot of mysteries, and this sounds like it could be riveting!
Monday, January 31, 2022
Catch Her When She Falls
Allison Buccola's Catch Her When She Falls is a 2022 Debut that will be launching February 1st. It's a thriller about a young woman who finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew about the murder that changed her life when her high school boyfriend was convicted of murdering her best friend.
While I don't read tons of thrillers, I do read a lot of mysteries, and this sounds like it could be riveting!
While I don't read tons of thrillers, I do read a lot of mysteries, and this sounds like it could be riveting!
Friday, January 28, 2022
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Love and Other Disasters
Looking for a queer-friendly rom-com? Anita Kelly's 2022 debut Love and Other Disasters, which launched January 18, could be just the thing. Disastrously married Dahlia goes on a cooking show and meets nonbinary London, who hopes to raise money for the queer community--sparks fly!
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Meet the 2022 Debuts!
We now have a website, https://2022debuts.com/, where you can learn more about us and about our books, which include mysteries, romcoms, thrillers, fantasy, science fiction, women's fiction, literary fiction, and pretty much anything else you can think of--something for pretty much any reader. Many of us are on Instagram and/or Twitter as well, posting about books and reading and many other things. Below, you can see just a few of us whose names begin with K!
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
How High We Go in the Dark
How High We Go in the Dark, by Sequoia Nagamatsu, is a 2022 Debut that has been prompting a lot of pre-publication buzz. It launches January 18th.
Set in 2030, it features an archaeologist discovering the body of a girl preserved in melting Arctic permafrost--and she appears to have died of an ancient virus. Arctic Plague soon sweeps the earth, altering human civilization. This is timely science fiction and I'm eager to read it!
Set in 2030, it features an archaeologist discovering the body of a girl preserved in melting Arctic permafrost--and she appears to have died of an ancient virus. Arctic Plague soon sweeps the earth, altering human civilization. This is timely science fiction and I'm eager to read it!
Monday, January 17, 2022
McMullen Circle
Heather Newton's book of linked stories, McMullen Circle, launches January 17th from Regal House.
From the Regal House website:
The twelve linked stories in McMullen Circle explore the intertwined lives of faculty families at the McMullen Boarding School in Tonola Falls, Georgia, in 1969–70. The school community is isolated and idyllic, yet issues of race and the Vietnam War still intrude. The stories in this collection ask what, or who, is a hero? Does heroism require physical prowess, or is there valor in a cafeteria worker enduring a cluttered, needy life with her four young sons (“Good Boys”), or an elderly school librarian caring for her disabled lesbian partner (“Twilight Song”)? In “Once and Always” a decorated World War II pilot feels his own hero status threatened when whites petition to have a black civil rights activist barred from burial in Arlington Cemetery. In “Wish I May, Wish I Might” a young African American girl finds the courage to assert her right to attend the all-white McMullen School. In “The Preferred Embodiment,” a headmaster realizes that his role as father-hero requires him to do more than simply not embarrass his child. In “The Stole,” “Things Summoned,” “Breaking Bread” and “The Walk,” two children learn the limitations, and the surprising extent, of their parents’ strength and integrity.
From the Regal House website:
The twelve linked stories in McMullen Circle explore the intertwined lives of faculty families at the McMullen Boarding School in Tonola Falls, Georgia, in 1969–70. The school community is isolated and idyllic, yet issues of race and the Vietnam War still intrude. The stories in this collection ask what, or who, is a hero? Does heroism require physical prowess, or is there valor in a cafeteria worker enduring a cluttered, needy life with her four young sons (“Good Boys”), or an elderly school librarian caring for her disabled lesbian partner (“Twilight Song”)? In “Once and Always” a decorated World War II pilot feels his own hero status threatened when whites petition to have a black civil rights activist barred from burial in Arlington Cemetery. In “Wish I May, Wish I Might” a young African American girl finds the courage to assert her right to attend the all-white McMullen School. In “The Preferred Embodiment,” a headmaster realizes that his role as father-hero requires him to do more than simply not embarrass his child. In “The Stole,” “Things Summoned,” “Breaking Bread” and “The Walk,” two children learn the limitations, and the surprising extent, of their parents’ strength and integrity.
Thursday, January 13, 2022
All the Salt in the Sea
All the Salt in the Sea, by Tammy L. Harrow, is a 2022 Debut about a wife escaping a powerful and untruthful husband only to discover that her attempts to settle things do not go as planned. The novel launches January 11th
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
Daughter of the Moon Goddess
Daughter of the Moon Goddess, a 2022 Debut by Sue Lynn Tan, comes out January 11th and is inspired by the legend of Chang’e, the Chinese moon goddess. In this fantasy novel, a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm. Advance readers are loving its richly imagined take on Chinese legend.
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Out Front the Following Sea
Leah Angstman's historical novel Out Front the Following Sea, launching from Regal House January 11th, has already been getting quite a bit of attention.
From the Regal House website:
Out Front the Following Sea is a historical epic of one woman’s survival in a time when the wilderness is still wild, heresy is publicly punishable, and being independent is worse than being scorned—it is a death sentence. At the onset of King William’s War between French and English settlers in 1689 New England, Ruth Miner is accused of witchcraft for the murder of her parents and must flee the brutality of her town. She stows away on the ship of the only other person who knows her innocence: an audacious sailor—Owen—bound to her by years of attraction, friendship, and shared secrets. But when Owen’s French ancestry finds him at odds with a violent English commander, the turmoil becomes life-or-death for the sailor, the headstrong Ruth, and the cast of Quakers, Pequot Indians, soldiers, highwaymen, and townsfolk dragged into the fray. Now Ruth must choose between sending Owen to the gallows or keeping her own neck from the noose.
From the Regal House website:
Out Front the Following Sea is a historical epic of one woman’s survival in a time when the wilderness is still wild, heresy is publicly punishable, and being independent is worse than being scorned—it is a death sentence. At the onset of King William’s War between French and English settlers in 1689 New England, Ruth Miner is accused of witchcraft for the murder of her parents and must flee the brutality of her town. She stows away on the ship of the only other person who knows her innocence: an audacious sailor—Owen—bound to her by years of attraction, friendship, and shared secrets. But when Owen’s French ancestry finds him at odds with a violent English commander, the turmoil becomes life-or-death for the sailor, the headstrong Ruth, and the cast of Quakers, Pequot Indians, soldiers, highwaymen, and townsfolk dragged into the fray. Now Ruth must choose between sending Owen to the gallows or keeping her own neck from the noose.
Monday, January 10, 2022
The Best Place to Pre-Order In Search of the Magic Theater Is...
The very best place to order your copy of my forthcoming novel In Search of the Magic Theater is from the publisher, Regal House: https://www.regalhousepublishing.com/product/in-search-of-the-magic-theater/. Why? Because not only do more of your purchase dollars go to me and the publisher that had the vision to take on my book (no middle man), but in addition to the options of paperback or e-book, you can order the special-edition hardback from Regal House!
Of course, it's also a wonderful idea to pre-order your copy through your local independent bookstore! Tell them that it is distributed by IPG.
Pre-orders (orders that arrive before the book is available) help the publisher get a sense of how many books to print, and help raise visibility with those mysterious algorithms (as does adding the book to your Goodreads want-to-read list!).
Of course, it's also a wonderful idea to pre-order your copy through your local independent bookstore! Tell them that it is distributed by IPG.
Pre-orders (orders that arrive before the book is available) help the publisher get a sense of how many books to print, and help raise visibility with those mysterious algorithms (as does adding the book to your Goodreads want-to-read list!).
Saturday, January 8, 2022
One More Day to Get MAGNETIC WOMAN on Sale
Don't forget, University of Pittsburgh Press is having a 30% off sale on all titles through January 9, 2022! This means you can order Magnetic Woman: Toyen and the Surrealist Erotic for just $70. Go to https://upittpress.org/books/9780822946472/ and in your order use the code PITTBOOKS. But hurry, the sale is nearly over!
Thursday, January 6, 2022
You Can Now Pre-order In Search of the Magic Theater!
The order page for my debut novel In Search of the Magic Theater is now live at Regal House! Now, you might ask why you should order now and directly from the publisher when the book will not arrive until June (it launches June 1st) and it can also be bought from various other sellers.
Well! Here's why:
First of all, pre-ordering (that is, ordering in advance of publication) helps the publisher and others gauge how much interest there is in the book, which includes how skillfully the author is getting the word out. Did you ever wonder how books can be best-sellers from Day 1? The answer is that they had a ton of pre-orders. Pre-orders have other benefits too, but I trust you get the overall point. (This is true no matter where you pre-order from, but read on...)
Second, ordering any book from the publisher means that since the publisher is getting the full retail price you pay, rather than a steeply discounted wholesale price, you're supporting the publisher AND therefore the author (in this case me) receives more of your dollars. That's not to say you shouldn't support your local independent bookstore too, because you should, but when you particularly want to support the author and/or the press right from the start, this is the way to do it.
Third, pre-ordering means you'll get your copy right around when the book launches. You haven't put off buying your friend, relative, or admired author's new title--you're one of the people making it a success.
And fourth, if you're a reader who likes hardback books or special editions, Regal House offers special edition hardbacks only through its website. You can buy the paperback or e-book elsewhere, but the hardback is only available directly from Regal House. (Unless, of course, you are buying your hardback directly from the author once the book comes out. I will be ordering some hardbacks to sign for people who buy them from me.)
And so, I hope you will consider pre-ordering In Search of the Magic Theater right now directly from Regal House at https://www.regalhousepublishing.com/product/in-search-of-the-magic-theater/
Praise for In Search of the Magic Theater
Karla Huebner’s debut novel offers a sophisticated meditation on the idea of art, mythology, theater and music (classical and jazz) as two women, separated by a generation and divided by a cultural shift – from 60s to post-60s – negotiate sexuality, love, regret, grief, and above all forgiveness… A treat for the denizens of the world of art and intellect. — Moazzam Sheikh, author of Cafe Le Whore and Other Stories
In this tale of two women, in which the men are also treated very sensitively, Karla Huebner calls on her deep knowledge of European of classical paintings and verse, and surely her personal knowledge, for a story of desire denied, delayed, and sometimes precariously fulfilled. — Geoffrey Fox, author of Welcome to My Contri, A Gift for the Sultan, and Rabble
Huebner sets us up for a climax of dazzling theater that combines Keats’s romantic poetry, Greek drama, music and dance, a production that leaves the reader excited and fulfilled by the magic one can experience with good art. And, yes, a sense of adventure in our unforeseeable future. — Margaret C. Murray, author of Spiral and Pillow Prayers
A sophisticated, queer-friendly, and feminist take on Hesse’s Steppenwolf. Although loosely set in the late 1990s, Huebner’s meditation on repression, instinct, and the creative drive is fresh and timeless. — Gabriella West, author of Time of Grace and Once You Are Mine
Through the voices of two women with overlapping lives but diverging paths, Karla Huebner explores the tension between control and surrender, reason and ecstasy, dreaming and choosing. This engaging, erudite, yet accessible novel takes us on a cultural journey spanning millennia, from Greek mythology to Jimi Hendrix, from Elizabethan lyric poetry to performance art, revealing along the way the joy of self-discovery. — Julie Wittes Schlack, author of This All-at-Oneness
Well! Here's why:
First of all, pre-ordering (that is, ordering in advance of publication) helps the publisher and others gauge how much interest there is in the book, which includes how skillfully the author is getting the word out. Did you ever wonder how books can be best-sellers from Day 1? The answer is that they had a ton of pre-orders. Pre-orders have other benefits too, but I trust you get the overall point. (This is true no matter where you pre-order from, but read on...)
Second, ordering any book from the publisher means that since the publisher is getting the full retail price you pay, rather than a steeply discounted wholesale price, you're supporting the publisher AND therefore the author (in this case me) receives more of your dollars. That's not to say you shouldn't support your local independent bookstore too, because you should, but when you particularly want to support the author and/or the press right from the start, this is the way to do it.
Third, pre-ordering means you'll get your copy right around when the book launches. You haven't put off buying your friend, relative, or admired author's new title--you're one of the people making it a success.
And fourth, if you're a reader who likes hardback books or special editions, Regal House offers special edition hardbacks only through its website. You can buy the paperback or e-book elsewhere, but the hardback is only available directly from Regal House. (Unless, of course, you are buying your hardback directly from the author once the book comes out. I will be ordering some hardbacks to sign for people who buy them from me.)
And so, I hope you will consider pre-ordering In Search of the Magic Theater right now directly from Regal House at https://www.regalhousepublishing.com/product/in-search-of-the-magic-theater/
Why, the rather staid young cellist Sarah wonders, should her aunt rent their spare room to the perhaps unstable Kari Zilke? Like the nephew in Hermann Hesse’s Steppenwolf, Sarah finds herself taking an unexpected interest in the lodger, but she is unable to stop at providing a mere introduction to Kari’s narrative of mid-life crisis and self-discovery, and develops her own more troubled tale of personal angst and growth, entwined with the account Kari herself purportedly left behind. Generational tensions, artistic collaborations, and even a romance steeped in Greek myth follow as Kari and Sarah pursue their very different creative paths in theater and music. And while Kari seems to blossom post-divorce, Sarah must grapple with the question of what the role of mothers, fathers, aunts, mentors, and male collaborators should be in her life as a young musician.
Praise for In Search of the Magic Theater
Karla Huebner’s debut novel offers a sophisticated meditation on the idea of art, mythology, theater and music (classical and jazz) as two women, separated by a generation and divided by a cultural shift – from 60s to post-60s – negotiate sexuality, love, regret, grief, and above all forgiveness… A treat for the denizens of the world of art and intellect. — Moazzam Sheikh, author of Cafe Le Whore and Other Stories
In this tale of two women, in which the men are also treated very sensitively, Karla Huebner calls on her deep knowledge of European of classical paintings and verse, and surely her personal knowledge, for a story of desire denied, delayed, and sometimes precariously fulfilled. — Geoffrey Fox, author of Welcome to My Contri, A Gift for the Sultan, and Rabble
Huebner sets us up for a climax of dazzling theater that combines Keats’s romantic poetry, Greek drama, music and dance, a production that leaves the reader excited and fulfilled by the magic one can experience with good art. And, yes, a sense of adventure in our unforeseeable future. — Margaret C. Murray, author of Spiral and Pillow Prayers
A sophisticated, queer-friendly, and feminist take on Hesse’s Steppenwolf. Although loosely set in the late 1990s, Huebner’s meditation on repression, instinct, and the creative drive is fresh and timeless. — Gabriella West, author of Time of Grace and Once You Are Mine
Through the voices of two women with overlapping lives but diverging paths, Karla Huebner explores the tension between control and surrender, reason and ecstasy, dreaming and choosing. This engaging, erudite, yet accessible novel takes us on a cultural journey spanning millennia, from Greek mythology to Jimi Hendrix, from Elizabethan lyric poetry to performance art, revealing along the way the joy of self-discovery. — Julie Wittes Schlack, author of This All-at-Oneness
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
The Intangible
C. J. Washington's The Intangible is a 2022 Debut about two grieving women, one of whom experiences a psychological condition that tricks her body into thinking she’s pregnant and the other of whom hopes her brilliant math can discover the string in the universe that will allow her to talk to the dead. Wow! The Intangible launched on New Year's Day.
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
The Tenderest of Strings
Starting 2022 for Regal House (my publisher!) and launching January 4th is Stephen Schwartz's The Tenderest of Strings.
From the Regal House website:
In search of a new life, Reuben and Ardith Rosenfeld and their two children move from Chicago to the small town of Welton, Colorado, looking for all the hope that the burgeoning West has to offer—its abundance of jobs, space, sunshine, prosperity, and the promise of reinvention. Reuben, a former copyeditor at the Chicago Tribune, purchases the local town paper, the Welton Sentinel. Ardith stays home and copes with the task of fixing up an older house, which suffers such disrepair that on Halloween it’s mistaken for part of a haunted house tour. Teenaged Harry continues his life as a troubled loner, skipping school and losing his tooth in a mysterious encounter. Meanwhile, Reuben, unaware that Ardith is having an affair, worries about his wife’s growing unhappiness and distance from the family. One night, after a cookout at some friends’ dairy farm, a fatal hit-and-run occurs that shocks the community, exposes a secret, and begins to rip apart the Rosenfeld family. The Tenderest of Strings is a riveting, full-hearted story of what it takes to survive as a family in a small Western town that beckons from afar but will put its newcomers to the test of their lives.
From the Regal House website:
In search of a new life, Reuben and Ardith Rosenfeld and their two children move from Chicago to the small town of Welton, Colorado, looking for all the hope that the burgeoning West has to offer—its abundance of jobs, space, sunshine, prosperity, and the promise of reinvention. Reuben, a former copyeditor at the Chicago Tribune, purchases the local town paper, the Welton Sentinel. Ardith stays home and copes with the task of fixing up an older house, which suffers such disrepair that on Halloween it’s mistaken for part of a haunted house tour. Teenaged Harry continues his life as a troubled loner, skipping school and losing his tooth in a mysterious encounter. Meanwhile, Reuben, unaware that Ardith is having an affair, worries about his wife’s growing unhappiness and distance from the family. One night, after a cookout at some friends’ dairy farm, a fatal hit-and-run occurs that shocks the community, exposes a secret, and begins to rip apart the Rosenfeld family. The Tenderest of Strings is a riveting, full-hearted story of what it takes to survive as a family in a small Western town that beckons from afar but will put its newcomers to the test of their lives.
Monday, January 3, 2022
The Taste of Ginger
With 2022 being the year my novel In Search of the Magic Theater comes out, I plan to blog with special attention to other novels launching during this year. Since there's no way I can mention (much less read and review) all worthy novels, I'll be focusing on two sets of authors: members of the 2022 Debuts group and fellow Regal House authors. With luck I'll manage to highlight most of these books while also announcing scholarly books by friends and keeping you abreast of developments with my own books and anything else of interest I can manage to write about.
The Taste of Ginger, by Mansi Shah, kicks off an exciting round of 2022 adult traditionally published debut novels, of which my own In Search of the Magic Theater will be one. The Taste of Ginger launched January 1 and has already garnered high praise for its tale of an immigrant who returns to India and her estranged family after years in the US, grappling with her two cultures and their different expectations.
I'm looking forward to reading The Taste of Ginger!
The Taste of Ginger, by Mansi Shah, kicks off an exciting round of 2022 adult traditionally published debut novels, of which my own In Search of the Magic Theater will be one. The Taste of Ginger launched January 1 and has already garnered high praise for its tale of an immigrant who returns to India and her estranged family after years in the US, grappling with her two cultures and their different expectations.
I'm looking forward to reading The Taste of Ginger!
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