Deb Class of 2010

The 2010 Debutantes are:


Maria Garcia-Kalb

Whether she’s working in radio or television or writing books, Maria Garcia-Kalb shines as a bilingual professional in the exhilarating world of electronic media. A born extrovert, scoring laughs comes easily to Maria, but it is her disarming honesty and approachable nature that captivate readers and audiences and keep them coming back for more. Currently, you can find Maria on the air at South Florida’s 97.3 The Coast FM.

Maria is also devoted to helping charities, including The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation, and The National Breast Cancer Coalition. When she’s not busy juggling her hectic schedule, Maria enjoys spending quality time with her family, schlepping between her West Side pad in NYC and her relaxing home in sunny South Florida.

101 Ways to Torture Your Husband
(Humor, January 2010, Adams Media)
“101 Ways to Torture Your Husband” is a fun, devilish manual for every wife who dreams of making her husband pay for his naughty wrongdoings.

While the title refers to “husbands,” boyfriends and lovers are also included, and can suffer the same consequences when they drive their woman insane! Sure, it’s a passive-aggressive way to seek revenge, but boy will you feel better afterwards!

How many times have you asked your husband to do a simple task like “bathe the dog” only to watch him take off with his buddies just moments later leaving you to do the dirty deed? When was the last time he did something nice for you like take the kids to the park while you relax for a whole hour? Does he ever to anything without being asked? Are you fed-up with his incredible selfishness and inconsiderate behavior? Well girlfriend, this book is for you!!

Even if you don’t execute any of the hilarious scenarios, 101 Ways to Torture Your Husband is guaranteed to lighten your mood and put a smile on your face – at least until your man comes home demanding dinner!

Order a copy: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Borders | Powell’s | IndieBound

Maria’s Debutante Ball posts
Maria’s website

Email Maria at maria (at) thedebutanteball (dot) com


Sarah Pekkanen

Sarah is a freelance journalist whose work has been published in People, The Washington Post, USA Today, The New Republic, and The Baltimore Sun, among others. She writes an Erma Bombeck-style column for Bethesda Magazine and has contributed on-air pieces to NPR and E! Entertainment’s Gossip Show.

A former DC model, Sarah lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland with her husband and three young boys.


The Opposite of Me
(Women’s fiction, March 2010, Atria)
Twenty-nine year old Lindsey Rose has, for as long as she can remember, lived in the shadow of her devastatingly beautiful fraternal twin sister, Alex. Determined to get noticed, Lindsey is finally on the cusp of being named Creative Vice President of an elite New York advertising agency, after years of 80 plus hour weeks, migraines, and profound loneliness. But during the course of one devastating night, Lindsey’s carefully-constructed life implodes.

Humiliated and desperate, she flees the glitter of Manhattan and retreats to the time warp of her parents’ Maryland home. As her sister plans her lavish wedding to her prince charming, Lindsey struggles to maintain her identity as the smart, responsible twin, while she furtively tries to put her career back together. But things get more complicated when a long held family secret is unleashed that forces both sisters to reconsider who they are and who they are meant to be.

Order a copy: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Borders | Powell’s| IndieBound

Sarah’s Debutante Ball posts
Sarah’s website

Email Sarah at sarah (at) thedebutanteball (dot) com


Joëlle Anthony

Joëlle currently lives on a tiny island in British Columbia with her fabulous husband. She’s a sometimes-actress, most-of-the-time writer, and you can almost always find her with a book in her hand, especially in winter when there’s a cozy fire in the wood stove.

As for the future, her main plans include more writing, more reading, cooking (and eating) lots of yummy vegetarian food, listening to her husband play guitar, and anything else that helps her avoid a real job. Oh, and she plans to live happily ever after, too.

Restoring Harmony
(YA, May 2010, Putnam)
The year is 2041, and for sixteen year old Molly McClure, her life now is pretty much the same as it’s always been. She was only six when The Collapse of ’31 happened, ending life as the world’s population had known it. For grown-ups everywhere, the changes in their daily routines since The Collapse are a constant source of anxiety and worry. Not to mention bitterness at what they feel they’ve been cheated out of; abundant food and goods, ease of travel and communication, and financial security.

In Molly’s opinion, adults spend way too much time talking about the good old days. Sporadic electricity, bicycles, horses, solar powered tractors, sewing, cooking and farm work are all Molly’s ever really known, so she doesn’t waste a lot of energy worrying about what things used to be like. Life after The Collapse is just normal for her. At least until she finds herself forced to leave the comfort of her home and small island in British Columbia to travel down to Oregon.

What starts out as a quick trip to the United States to convince her grandfather to come back to Canada and be the island’s doctor, turns into a rescue mission, a test of Molly’s strengths, ingenuity, and sheer determination. She faces an unknown world where people are hungry, desperate, and sometimes even ruthless. But she also meets many helpful people, makes new friends, and is tested in ways she couldn’t have imagined. Will a farm girl like Molly survive in this upturned world? Will she be able to return with her grandpa in time for him to help her ailing mother? And just how much will she have to compromise to succeed in getting back to British Columbia with her grandparents?

Order a copy: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Borders | Powell’s | IndieBound | Canada: Chapters

Joëlle’s Debutante Ball posts
Joëlle’s website

Email Joëlle at joelle (at) thedebutanteball (dot) com


Emily Winslow

Emily is an American writer living in Cambridge, England. She has a BFA in acting from Carnegie Mellon University’s elite drama conservatory, and an MA from Seton Hall University’s Museum Professions program. She has written for Games magazine and The Wittenburg Door. The Whole World is her first novel.


The Whole World

(Literary mystery, May 2010, Delacorte Press)
American students Polly and Liv are giddy over the accents and architecture of Cambridge University. They both fall for the same charming graduate student.

Then he disappears.

Told through five narrators whose personal obsessions limit what each of them sees, The Whole World is the story of the desperation and malice that take them by surprise while they’re all looking elsewhere.

Order a copy: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Borders | Powell’s | IndieBound

Emily’s Debutante Ball posts
Emily’s website

Email Emily at emily (at) thedebutanteball (dot) com


Alicia Bessette

Alicia Bessette was born and raised in Massachusetts, where she was a reporter for The Landmark newspaper. She won Yankee magazine’s New Voices award, and her writing has appeared in Yoga + and the alumnae magazine of Bryn Mawr College. She and her husband, novelist Matthew Quick, live near Philadelphia with their adopted racing greyhound. Simply From Scratch is Bessette’s first novel.

Simply From Scratch
(Women’s fiction, August 2010, Dutton)
Rose-Ellen Roy talks to her dog in the voice of a pirate. That’s her widow style. Since her husband Nick died during a post-Katrina volunteer mission in New Orleans, she feels raw and undone. Then she meets Ingrid, a lonely but lively nine-year-old with a penchant for experimental baking. Together they embark on winning a celebrity chef’s international dessert contest—with help from EJ, a muffin-baker battling his own grief over Nick’s death; and a 70-something chainsaw artist. Set in a quirky New England town, Simply From Scratch is a panoramic and uplifting tale of heartbreak, hope, and—most of all—home.

Order a copy: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Borders | Powell’s | IndieBound

Alicia’s Debutante Ball posts
Alicia’s website

Email Alicia at alicia (at) thedebutanteball (dot) com

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