Great Books & Scene Stealers

Monday morning already! That was one fast weekend... I'm at Austen Authors today talking about characters who are scene stealers. Tomorrow, I've got author Kelly Moran visiting! And, coming up on Friday, I'll be at Magical Musings. (Wish I got to travel so much in real life, LOL.)

I also wanted to give a shout out to three fabulous new novels I've been reading that I think the world should know about:

My GBC sister, Ellen Meister, has a wonderful new book out called The Other Life , which asks the question: What if you could return to the road not taken? Happily married with a young son and another child on the way, Quinn Braverman has the perfect life. She also has an ominous secret. Every time she makes a major life decision, she knows an alternative reality exists in which she made the opposite choice-not only that, she knows how to cross over. But even in her darkest moments-like her mother's suicide-Quinn hasn't been tempted to visit . . . until she receives shattering news about the baby she's carrying. Desperate to escape her grief, Quinn slips through the portal that leads to her other life: the life in which she stayed with her exciting but neurotic ex- boyfriend, and is childless. The life in which-as she is amazed to discover-her mother is still very much alive. Quinn is soon forced to make an impossible choice. Will she stay with the family she loves and face the painful challenges that lie ahead? Or will a more carefree life-and the primal lure of being with her mother-pull her into her other life for good? (And Ellen just did a great interview on NPR yesterday! You can listen to it here.)

My friend Lainey Bancroft has a brand new ebook release, too, called Mixed Blessings! Love the premise for this novel, as well as Lainey's engaging writing style: Daniela Blessing’s ability to see crimes through the eyes of victims is a mixed blessing. She thinks she’s a handmaiden of Fate, but when Vincent Gabriele accosts her one sunny morning he calls it eye for an eye justice. He’s willing to keep her secrets—if she helps him. Despite his blackmail tactics, Danni would help, except her psychic abilities evaporate whenever Vincent is around. As truths emerge unlocking Vincent’s past, some of Danni’s history is also revealed. They’ve been intrinsically tied in the past, and their future is about to become a Destiny neither of them expected.

And, thanks to an exciting win on Edie Ramer's blog, I just got ahold of Karen Cantwell's comedic murder mystery, Take the Monkeys and Run, which was a 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel semi-finalist. So delightful! Film lover Barbara Marr is a typical suburban mom living the typical suburban life in her sleepy little town of Rustic Woods, Virginia. Typical, that is until she sets out to find the missing link between a bizarre monkey sighting in her yard and the bone chilling middle-of-the-night fright fest at the strangely vacant house next door. When Barb talks her two friends into some seemingly innocent Charlie's Angels-like sleuthing, they stumble upon way more than they bargained for and uncover a piece of neighborhood history that certain people would kill to keep on the cutting room floor. Enter sexy PI Colt Baron, Barb's ex-boyfriend who would love to be cast as new leading man, filling the role just vacated by her recently estranged husband, Howard. When Colt flies in from out of town to help Barb, events careen out of control and suddenly this mini-van driving mother of three becomes a major player in a treacherous and potentially deadly FBI undercover operation. It's up to her now. With little time to spare, she and she alone, must summon the inner strength necessary to become a true action heroine and save the lives of those she loves. The question is can she get them out alive before the credits roll?

What have you all been reading lately? Debut authors? Long-time favorites? Ebooks, paperbacks, hardcovers?? Would love to hear about some of your newest novel discoveries ;).