“Wiggs tells a layered, powerful story of love, loss, hope and redemption.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
A Blog post from Susan Wiggs The Things We Carry With Us
by Susan Wiggs, author of THE APPLE ORCHARD
In 1918, my grandparents–just teenagers then–made their way from the north of Ukraine, through Budapest and to Scandinavia, across the ocean to America, in search of a new life. The things they brought with them ranged from the extremely commonplace–a nutcracker, a jar of boot-black–to achingly sentimental–my grandmother’s thick, yard-long braid of hair, sewn to a girl’s cap. I found myself fascinated by the objects that made the arduous and convoluted journey with them.
When you have to leave a place in a hurry, and can only take a few things with you, what do you bring…and what do you leave behind? That’s a question explored by Tess, the main character of THE APPLE ORCHARD. She has one of those careers most of us have never heard of. She’s a treasure hunter. She tracks down other people’s precious objects, and traces their provenance, to see where an art object was first created, who owned it, who appropriated it, and who, ultimately, is its rightful owner.
However, the key to Tess Farraday is not the treasure but the hunt. She’s a searcher. A truth-seeker. And her big wake-up call, at the start of THE APPLE ORCHARD, is that her own family is steeped in secrets. As the story unfolds, she learns that she’s not alone in the world, and her new task is to connect with the family she’s never known.
It’s no accident that all this drama unfolds in a thoroughly magical, golden place–the wine country of Sonoma. It’s an area where beauty and abundance are found around every twist in the winding, country roads, where good things grow and magic seems like an ordinary occurrence.
My roots are in romance, so there’s a spellbinding love story unfolding for Tess as she puts together the pieces of the past. Dominic Rossi is a man whose life took an unexpected turn when he found himself cast in a role he never anticipated–that of a single dad. What Tess and Dominic discover along the way turns out to be far more precious than treasure.
THE APPLE ORCHARD is a story of hope and happiness, and how the heart is made more sturdy by adversity. As I wrote the novel, the characters began to feel as real–and as fragile–as flesh-and-blood people. I’m excited about the release of this book. Readers can connect with me via my web site, www.susanwiggs.com, or via Facebook at www.facebook.com/susanwiggs. (more…)
From a future world where vampires reign comes the enticing new series from New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Fey Series, Julie Kagawa. In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.
The First Book in the Blood of Eden Series Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die…or become one of the monsters. Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad. Then Allie is forced to fl ee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike. But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.
Praise for The Immortal Rules “Kagawa’s Blood of Eden series kicks off with a bang…. Allie is a terrific heroine–tough, pragmatic, yet sympathetic–and readers will be hungry to see where her story goes. Kagawa wraps excellent writing and skillful plotting around a well-developed concept and engaging characters, resulting in a fresh and imaginative thrill-ride that deserves a wide audience.”
- Publishers Weekly
“Kagawa has done the seemingly impossible and written a vampire book, the first in a planned series, that feels fresh in an otherwise crowded genre. She mixes paranormal and dystopian tropes to good effect, creating a world that will appeal across audiences.”
- Kirkus Reviews
Be sure to check out the second installment in the Blood of Eden series, The Eternity Cure out now!!
Praise for The Eternity Cure
Excellent Kirkus Review!
Seventeen-year-old Allie Sekemoto is back with a vengeance in the second installment of Kagawa’s (The Immortal Rules, 2012) Blood of Eden series. Banished from Eden and separated from her first and only love, Allie finds herself on a dangerous quest to rescue her sire, Kanin, from unspeakable (even by vampire standards) torture. Bonded by blood, Kanin calls to her through agonizing visions and leads Allie on a treacherous journey that will bring her face to face with her human past and with an evil so great it threatens the futures of humans and vampires alike. The stakes are high, and the journey is an incredibly personal one for Allie, which adds deliciously complicated layers to an already compelling plot. Allie again proves herself a force to be reckoned with as she fights to protect the ones she loves and to save both mankind and monster. Readers will also appreciate glimpses of her vulnerable side when it comes to matters of the heart and her desire to cling to the basic tenets of humanity despite the Hunger within. (more…)
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Why you should read it: The Accidental Prince offers adventure, peril, discovery and sacrifice in one potent romantic package. Sometimes buoyant, sometimes bleak, often stirring and always engrossing, this story revolves around personal and political conflicts that seem to have no resolution beyond bloodshed. Willingham keeps her reader guessing — I had no idea how the prince and princess would ever find their fairy-tale ending! After Karl kidnaps Serena, they both remain in grave danger not only from the royal wrath of Serena’s father, but from his scheming advisor, who wants Serena for himself. Karl’s refusal to let her go means certain execution, and Serena’s refusal to marry the prince becomes less about her own fears and more about saving his life.
About the Book From the creators of the popular online dating site HowAboutWe.com, the definitive guide for navigating the modern dating world.
Now the experts at HowAboutWe.com will share their extensive research to gently guide women through all the highs and lows of what modern dating is actually like: from the first online date to the pre-exclusive relationship to the first big fight. It’s a book that will help them navigate e-mails, text messages, and other confusing forms of communication; a book that really understands how women are dating today and can answer the questions, share the stories, and reveal what’s mysterious and exciting about modern love.
Readers will find tried-and-true advice on:
how to create a fail-safe first date idea.
how to make sure you’re getting into a relationship for the right reasons.
how to send a relatively unembarrassing sext. (more…)
Kirkus Starred Review “The world, a community and an elderly couple are confused and disconcerted when people who have died inexplicably come back, including the couple’s 8-year-old son, whom they lost nearly 50 years ago.
No one understands why people who died are coming back. There’s no rhyme or reason, just a sudden reappearance of a massive population who were dead and are now alive, nearly exactly as they were the minute before they died. Some died a hundred years ago, some died 50 years ago; some are young children, some are senile old women and men. Considered by some the work of the devil, by others a miracle, the confounding reality is that an already struggling planet must abruptly support a staggering influx of beings who have typical human needs: food, water, shelter, sanitation. Globally, the cataclysmic event of their return brings about a spectrum of responses that reflects many facets of faith, spirituality, and the best and worst of human nature. (more…)
