Spotlight: The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister

Erica Bauermeister, the national bestselling author of The School of Essential Ingredients, presents a moving and evocative coming-of-age novel about childhood stories, families lost and found, and how a fragrance conjures memories capable of shaping the course of our lives.

Emmeline lives an enchanted childhood on a remote island with her father, who teaches her about the natural world through her senses. What he won’t explain are the mysterious scents stored in the drawers that line the walls of their cabin, or the origin of the machine that creates them. As Emmeline grows, however, so too does her curiosity, until one day the unforeseen happens, and Emmeline is vaulted out into the real world--a place of love, betrayal, ambition, and revenge. To understand her past, Emmeline must unlock the clues to her identity, a quest that challenges the limits of her heart and imagination.

Lyrical and immersive, The Scent Keeper explores the provocative beauty of scent, the way it can reveal hidden truths, lead us to the person we seek, and even help us find our way back home.

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About the Author

Erica Bauermeister is the author of the bestselling novel The School of Essential Ingredients, Joy for Beginners, and The Lost Art of Mixing. She is also the co-author of non-fiction works, 500 Great Books by Women: A Reader’s Guide and Let’s Hear It For the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. 

She has a PhD in literature from the University of Washington, and has taught there and at Antioch University. She is a founding member of the Seattle7Writers and currently lives in Port Townsend, Washington.

Spotlight: Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland

A woman must confront her sense of right and wrong when the one person she loves most is accused of an unimaginable crime. From the New York Times bestselling author of Need to Know. . . . 

A strange sensation runs through me, a feeling that I don’t know this person in front of me, even though he matters more to me than anyone ever has.
            
Stephanie Maddox works her dream job policing power and exposing corruption within the FBI. Getting here has taken her nearly two decades of hard work, laser focus, and personal sacrifices—the most important, she fears, being a close relationship with her teenage son, Zachary. A single parent, Steph’s missed a lot of school events, birthdays, and vacations with her boy—but the truth is, she would move heaven and earth for him, including protecting him from an explosive secret in her past. It just never occurred to her that Zachary would keep secrets of his own.

One day while straightening her son’s room, Steph is shaken to discover a gun hidden in his closet. A loaded gun. Then comes a knock at her front door—a colleague on the domestic terrorism squad, who utters three devastating words: “It’s about Zachary.”

So begins a compulsively readable thriller of deception and betrayal, as Stephanie fights to clear her son’s name, only to expose a shadowy conspiracy that threatens to destroy them both—and bring a country to its knees. Packed with shocking twists and intense family drama, Keep You Close is an electrifying exploration of the shattering consequences of the love that binds—and sometimes blinds—a mother and her child.

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About the Author

Karen Cleveland is a former CIA analyst. She has master’s degrees from Trinity College Dublin (international peace studies) and Harvard University (public policy). Cleveland lives in northern Virginia with her husband and two young sons. This is her first novel.

Spotlight: Chances Are . . . by Richard Russo

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning Richard Russo–in his first stand-alone novel in a decade–comes a new revelation: a gripping story about the abiding yet complex power of friendship.

One beautiful September day, three sixty-six-year old men convene on Martha’s Vineyard, friends ever since meeting in college circa the sixties. They couldn’t have been more different then, or even today–Lincoln’s a commercial real estate broker, Teddy a tiny-press publisher, and Mickey a musician beyond his rockin’ age. But each man holds his own secrets, in addition to the monumental mystery that none of them has ever stopped puzzling over since a Memorial Day weekend right here on the Vineyard in 1971. Now, more than forty years later, as this new weekend unfolds, three lives and that of a significant other are displayed in their entirety while the distant past confounds the present like a relentless squall of surprise and discovery. Shot through with Russo’s trademark comedy and humanity, Chances Are . . . also introduces a new level of suspense and menace that will quicken the reader’s heartbeat throughout this absorbing saga of how friendship’s bonds are every bit as constricting and rewarding as those of family or any other community.

For both longtime fans and lucky newcomers, Chances Are . . . is a stunning demonstration of a highly acclaimed author deepening and expanding his remarkable achievement.

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About the Author

Richard Russo is the author of eight novels, most recently Everybody’s Fool and That Old Cape Magic; two collections of stories; and the memoir Elsewhere. In 2002 he received the Pulitzer Prize for Empire Falls, which like Nobody’s Fool was adapted to film, in a multiple-award-winning HBO miniseries; in 2016 he was given the Indie Champion Award by the American Booksellers Association; and in 2017 he received France’s Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine. He lives in Port­land, Maine.

Spotlight: The Strongman and the Mermaid by Kathleen Shoop

Myscowa, Poland—1910
Once upon a time in tiny, rural Myscowa, Lukasz Musial competes in feats of strength against his lifelong nemesis to win passage to America. He leaves behind grinding poverty and despair, to seek the clear blue skies, and better life he sees on a postcard. Settled in Donora’s Polish community, Lukasz secures a coveted job in the wire mill, and is matched to marry Donora’s very own Polish princess. Life is set on course. The American Dream is nearly his.

Donora, Pennsylvania—1910
Mary Lancos is no princess. A tall, athletic girl who loves the water, she spends her days keeping house for families in town, digging coal out of a backyard seam and rowing her father across the Monongahela River for work. Mary is dependable, tenacious, and always ready to help when someone needs her. She dreams of a gas-heated home, a bedroom for each of her future children, and good meals on the table each night. To help make that happen Mary attends local dances, waiting for the few men who are taller than her to ask her to dance, hoping one of them is right for her.

An unexpected Christmas Eve visitor brings bad luck, and Lukasz’s world crumbles. Meanwhile, tension grows at the Lancos home when money is short and Mary’s dreams clash with her parents’ old world expectations. Just when Mary and Lukasz are at their lowest, they find themselves under an odd pink moonlit sky and Lukasz rescues Mary from a fall into frigid river water. The attraction between them is sudden and consuming, turning the pair onto an unexpected path. With mounting disapproval from Mary’s parents, and increased pressure on Lukasz, they must decide if love is enough to risk losing everything else that matters.

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About the Author

Bestselling author, Kathleen Shoop, holds a PhD in reading education and has more than 20 years of experience in the classroom. She writes historical fiction, women’s fiction and romance. Shoop’s novels have garnered various awards in the Independent Publisher Book Awards, Eric Hoffer Book Awards, Indie Excellence Awards, Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the San Francisco Book Festival. Kathleen has been featured in USA Today and the Writer’s Guide to 2013. Her work has appeared in The Tribune-Review, four Chicken Soup for the Soul books and Pittsburgh Parent magazine. She lives in Oakmont, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.

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Spotlight: Prom-wrecked by Jennifer DiGiovanni and T.H. Hernandez

Publication Date: May 6, 2019

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Their prom night ended in a jail cell with forty of their closest friends. But that’s hardly the worst thing that happened to them…

When the principal announces prom is canceled this year, senior Riley Hart is determined to save it. Armed with little more than her own enthusiasm, she ends up working closely with Owen Locklear, who is more than completely off-limits. Because he’s the boyfriend of her ex-BFF, Catherine Reed. Still, Owen knows Riley better than almost anyone, and his charming ideas for turning the prom upside-down and backward win Riley over.

Catherine is willing to join Owen and Riley on the prom committee, but only because her legacy as prom queen is at stake. She’s already suffocating under the weight of her parents’ expectations for after senior year, and compared to that, ensuring prom happens should be easy. At least until everything starts to go wrong.

First they lose their deposit. Then they book a band full of octogenarians. And lose their venue... Twice.

Riley will have an unforgettable teenage experience, damn it, if it’s the last thing she does…

Excerpt

RILEY – TWO MONTHS UNTIL PROM

I turn the corner and glance over my shoulder, hoping to catch another glimpse of Owen’s familiar dark brown hair poking above the crowd. When I recognize his spiky-messy style, my breath catches in my chest. With a wave to Catherine, he breaks away and trails behind me, leaving half a hallway between us. I veer off into an empty stairwell and wait.

Eventually, he makes his appearance, towering over me in the cramped space. Although he’s not as big as the basketball players, Owen stands at least six inches taller than me, which means I’m always looking up at him when we cross paths in school. We met during recess on the first day of kindergarten, when we decided to join up with Catherine and fight the imaginary monsters hiding under the playground equipment. Years later, Catherine has found other things to do with her free time, but Owen and I still fight monsters together—virtual ones, in our favorite video game.

“Haven’t caught up with you on Q-Chat lately,” he says, breaking into his familiar wide smile, one that could take down the entire cheerleading squad. Though it’s a struggle, I manage to remain upright. But just barely.

“Sorry, but I’ve been busy.” I speak too fast and nearly drop the bag of tech club pamphlets I printed last night. Talking to Owen in real life always seems to throw me off. It’s much easier to pretend I don’t have a crush on him when we’re battling aliens online.

Faking disappointment, he shakes his head. “Priorities, Riley. Immortal Quest released an update yesterday with an all-new army of zombies. They suck your life force away, and I really need your shields for protection.” His blue eyes brighten as he steps closer. “C’mon, Evil Skater Girl.”

I raise my finger to my lips. “Shhh! We promised never to call each other by our Quest names in school!” No one needs to know about my secret virtual superhero persona. At eighteen, I’m practically a grandma in the Immortal Quest world.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He backs away, darting his eyes toward the hallway, probably checking for his girlfriend. “Just…log on once in a while, okay? Keep me company.”

“Doesn’t Catherine do enough of that?” The words rush from my mouth before I think about them. I really don’t want to know what he and Catherine do when they’re alone together, but for some reason I can’t resist bringing her up, if only to remind myself that he’s in love with the girl who tossed me aside without a second thought way back in middle school.

Owen flashes his smile again. “No one does it like you, ESG.” He hikes his backpack higher on his shoulder and turns to go. Before I call him out on the name thing again, he says, “By the way, did you hear anything about prom being canceled?”

“What? Is that even possible?”

He breaks out in a small smile. “According to Cat, it is.” His smile falters before he picks it back up. “So, you haven’t heard anything?”

“No, but if I do, I’ll let you know.”

With a wave, he ducks around the corner and out of sight. I count to ten before continuing on to my locker.

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About the Author

Jennifer DiGiovanni writes light fantasy and contemporary fiction for teens. You can find out more about her books by visiting www.jenniferdigiovanni.com or following her on Instagram or Twitter @jendwrites.

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T.H. Hernandez is a young adult author of six novels, spanning the contemporary, post-global warming/dystopian, and urban scifi genres. She lives in San Diego, California with her husband, three kids, and a zoo-worthy collection of animals. Her latest release, PROM-WRECKED, was co-written with Jennifer DiGiovanni and releases May 2019 from Entangled Teen.

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Spotlight: Runaways by Rachel Sawden

Runaways
Rachel Sawden
Publication date: November 9th 2018
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Harper Rodrigues’ five-year plan was on track. She’d worked hard to secure her graduate marketing job, her boyfriend Adam was set to propose any day, and she was learning to process the death of her sister. She’d been through some dark times, but there was light at the end of the tunnel.

At least, that’s how it had seemed until the day she was fired in the morning and dumped by nightfall.
Now, with her life plans in ruins, Harper turns to her best friends who are going on the trip of a lifetime – five-months traveling across Asia and Oceania. Determined to see the silver lining in her unraveled plans, she decides to book a plane ticket to join them and resurrect her dreams of becoming a travel photographer.

But Harper’s travels aren’t all sunshine and cocktails. With Adam begging for her forgiveness and proposing on the eve of her departure, Harper knows she must be on her best behavior. But when she meets Xavier, an enigmatic poet on the beaches of Goa, that may just be easier said than done.

Runaways is the empowering and racy tale of one woman’s voyage of self-discovery. A must-read for fans of travelogues and romance alike.

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EXCERPT:

Date: January 8, 2010

Toronto, Canada

Where would you go if you could run away? Trek the tangled jungles of Thailand? Camp under the constellations in the Australian outback? Or run wild with your lover on white sand beaches in the South Pacific?

“Nowhere,” I whispered. My heels clicked on the linoleum floor, punctuating the spiel from my presentation echoing in my head. “I am exactly where I am supposed to be.”

How could I not be positive? I was one of the lucky few to gain and maintain employment in the shadow of the Great Recession. Fresh out of university, I might add. Granted, my working unpaid for TMI Marketing during my summer years gave me a leg up on the competition. While my job consisted mainly of making coffee, filing papers, and having my ideas ignored, I worked my ass off for the past three years. And today was the day my hard work would pay off. It was the day it all would change. The career side of my five-year plan was on schedule.

A fresh wave of adrenaline pulsed through me as I made my way down the hallway of very unflattering lighting to my boss’s office to discuss the presentation I’d given that morning. A discussion that would hopefully lead to a new position in the company. One where I could take on actual responsibility and express my creativity. Perhaps be involved in art direction. A business card with a title: Harper Rodrigues, Marketing Executive.

I would actually manage my very own accounts.

We had secured a new client, a travel website, Madcap Travels, who was looking to reevaluate their social media marketing plan and contracted my company to manage it. Myself and a colleague had made competing presentations for the job. Only one of us could gain the account. Only one of us could be promoted. Only one of us could win today, and I wanted it to be me.

I had never been so excited about a project, and so damn scared about presenting.

Inspired by my friends’ upcoming “gap year” travels, I created the Run Away campaign harnessing the power of this growing thing called social media. When Facebook became a buzzword a few years back, my father said it was just a passing fad used by horny college students too lazy to go to the bar and talk to each other. He may have been right, but once it had been opened up to anyone with an email address there were millions of lazy, horny people of all ages across the world skulking around on confined areas of cyberspace. And that is gold to a marketer.

In a nutshell, the campaign would focus on incentivizing both amateur and professional photographers who were traveling the globe to connect and share their stories and photographs on social media platforms. Top entrants would not only gain recognition on the website but also chances to win prizes from partner sponsors such as airlines, tour companies, and hotels. I poured myself into this presentation. Putting myself in the shoes of one of the many runaways, I imagined my life living out of a backpack, seeing a new city every week, learning from other photographers, finding remote waterfalls and villages from the whispers of other vagabonds.

It was what I hoped to do had I not abandoned my plans to become a world-famous travel photographer.

It was what I could do if I abandoned my carefully crafted five-year plan and took off with Jade and Lana.

It was what I wanted to do with my sister, Audrey, since we were little girls. It was what we could have done if she were still alive.

Author Bio:

Rachel Sawden was born and raised in Bermuda. As the daughter of a Jamaican father and English mother the former model earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from McGill University in Montreal Canada. Today Rachel is an author, producer, and content creator in her beautiful island of Bermuda. The certified scuba and free diver explored the Great Barrier Reef and underwater worlds in Cuba and Indonesia. She is the ultimate travel maven having journeyed to over 35 countries across 5 continents since graduating college.

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