The holidays have passed and we find ourselves settling into the cold and dark as the world is called to stillness. If you can, slow down too and find a comfy spot to luxuriate over a good book. Here are some great new releases to help you do just that. Several of the featured authors will join me, Martin House Books, and 95.9 WCRI-FM at the Ocean House Author Series this summer, and we would all love to see you there.
Wendy Walker’s Blade publishes February 1. As a former family practice attorney, Walker is familiar with childhood trauma. In Blade, she reveals the complex world of competitive figure skating, one she knows well having spent her own adolescence in it. Defense attorney Ana Robbins had been set for Olympic stardom until tragedy struck. When her former coach turns up dead years later, Ana is pulled back into the scene she fled as a teenager, and long-buried secrets are unearthed.
Susan Lucci – AKA Erica Kane from ABC’s beloved soap, All My Children (and, fun fact, my TV-sister from my role as Silver Kane in the 80s!) – releases La Lucci, her follow-up memoir to All My Lives, on February 3. With her signature warmth and honesty, Lucci shares pivotal moments that shaped her perspective and ability to move forward with gratitude, hope, and grace. Stay tuned for the date she will be my guest at the Ocean House Author Series this summer!
February 10 delivers The House of Eve by New York Times bestselling author, Sadeqa Johnson. When Ethel Gathers – wife of an American officer stationed in post-World War II Germany – discovers an orphanage filled with the abandoned mixed-race children of German women and American GIs, she determines to find them homes. Her vision will change the course of countless lives, and demonstrates that love in its myriad of forms – familial, parental, and forbidden, even love of self – can be transcendent.
My newest thriller, Best Boy, publishes February 24! A gripping psychological thriller, Best Boy teeters on the knife-edge of memory and identity when the arrival of a shocking letter threatens the carefully constructed life of a woman desperate to outrun her past. A heartfelt exploration of the mistakes we make – even unwittingly – and how they haunt us years later. Please join me in conversation with Robin Kall at the United Theatre in Westerly at 5pm on Sunday, February 22.
On March 10, Allison Pataki, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post, returns with It Girl, a sensational novel about a model and showgirl at the turn of the last century whose dramatic journey echoes through the decades. Inspired by real-life Ziegfeld and Gibson Girl, Evelyn Nesbit, whose story climaxed with the murder of Stanford White by her jealous husband (who claimed America’s first insanity defense!), It Girl takes that story to an engagingly different conclusion.
Marie Benedict, known for her “delightful blend of historical fiction and suspense” (People), delivers Daughter of Egypt on March 24. A sweeping tale of a woman who unearths the truth about a forgotten female pharaoh, Hatshepsut, who ruled three thousand years ago. Propelled by high adventure and deadly intrigue, this is the story of two adventurous women who lived centuries apart but were both forced to hide who they were during their lifetimes. Ultimately, they each changed history.
Royce began as an actress on All My Children and in multiple films before transitioning to the role of story editor at Miramax Films, developing Emma and early versions of Chicago and A Wrinkle in Time. She holds a bachelor’s degree and two honorary doctorates, from both Lake Erie College and the University of Rhode Island. With her husband, Chuck, she has restored the Ocean House Hotel, United Theatre, Martin House Books, and numerous Main Street revitalization projects in Rhode Island and the Catskills. She serves on multiple governing and advisory boards.
Royce’s upcoming psychological thriller Best Boy, will be published on February 24. Reef Road, a national bestseller, was named one of the best books of 2023 by Kirkus Reviews and an Indie Next pick by the ABA. Her Ocean House Author Series, in partnership with Martin House Books and WCRI, brings world-class authors like Sarah Ferguson, Chris Bohjalian, and Katie Couric to Watch Hill. With fellow authors, Luanne Rice and Amy Scheibe, she created the Deer Mountain Writers’ Retreat in the Catskills. For tickets and more, visit OceanHouseEvents.com.
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