News Flash: Taking 2017 by Storm

Congratulations to Jacqueline Bridges, winner of our #DebBallGiveaway of the SMALL ADMISSIONS audiobook!

We send our thanks to author Kimberly Belle for being our guest yesterday on The Debutante Ball. If you haven’t already, pick up a copy of THE MARRIAGE LIE. Or you can enter to win a copy! Simply RETWEET on Twitter:

Or you can also SHARE on Facebook by noon (EST) January 13th for your chance to win (US only). We’ll select and contact the winner on Friday. Good luck! 

News from the 2017 Debs

Tiffany D. Jackson is two weeks away from her book birthday and scrambling with a MILLION THINGS TO DO before then. But is really proud of this piece she wrote for Epicreads.com called #RealTalk: “Girls are f*cking resilient.”

Lynn K. Hall is a month away from pub day!! Some exciting things are happening behind the scenes – events planned, OpEds written – but meanwhile, Lynn has fled to South America. That’s what authors are supposed to do right before their debut launches, right? But seriously, she went to go climb a tall mountain (Mt Aconcagua) and hopefully work through the anxiety while doing so.

Amy Poeppel was so excited to have her first official book signing at House of Books in Kent, CT. Looking for a post-holiday read? Bustle just included SMALL ADMISSIONS on its list of books to treat yourself to. Also, look what came in the mail! So excited to get an ARC of BECOMING BONNIE!

Jenni L. Walsh gets so excited every time someone sends her a photo of BECOMING BONNIE’s ARC in the wild, sooo she started a slideshow. Come see all the beautiful faces with Bonn here! Jenni is also very excited to head to New York City on Tuesday to meet her agent and publishing team AND to also celebrate Amy’s release at the Corner Bookstore. Join us!

Crystal King received her first big review, from Library Journal, a publication that helps libraries and bookstores decide if they should order certain books. You cannot even imagine her excitement when she discovered it was a starred review! It’s print only right now, but here’s the awesomeness transcribed:

Rome under the rule of Augustus Caesar was a city of great wealth, power, and decadence. Following the death of his master, 19-year-old Thrasius is purchased by the most famous gourmand in Rome to be his protégé and cook. Already known for his talents in the kitchen, Marcus Apicius is convinced that the young slave would make him even more famous. Together the two men, first as master and slave, then, later as patron and freedman, reach the heights of culinary fame as they create incredible dishes, spend lavish amounts of money on outrageously decadent banquets, and scour the known world for the most exquisite delicacies available. But that kind of fame doesn’t come without a price as Apicius finds himself in competition with the most ruthless and powerful men in the empire. King’s descriptions of the food and entertainment are exquisite, her characters are beautifully drawn, and events and people of the times are deftly woven throughout this engrossing novel. One hopes to see more works by this author and self-described culinary enthusiast. VERDICT: A delight to the senses, King’s debut novel is to be savored and devoured.

WOOHOOO!

More news from the Debs:

We were thrilled to hear that 2016 Deb Aya de Leon been accepted into the Brooklyn Book Festival in September. You can learn more about the largest literary event in New York City here: http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/

2014 Deb Natalia Sylvester has big news! Her second novel, EVERYONE CARRIES THEIR OWN WATER, sold to Little A Books and will be published in 2018. Read more about it here.
And in more recent news, she has joined Writer Unboxed as a regular contributor, and her first post published on Friday! It can be found here: http://writerunboxed.com/2017/01/06/we-will-always-be-beginners/

Congratulations, Natalia!

Big Congratulations also go to Joanne Levy, Class of 2012, whose book CRUSHING IT is coming out this Tuesday, January 10th! This is a book for Tweens that Kirkus calls “An undemanding, entertaining, and engaging romp…”

Here’s the scoop:

Twelve-year-old Kat woos the boy next door on behalf of her best friend, and in the process realizes that true beauty—and true confidence—comes from the inside in this hilarious M!X novel from the author of Small Medium at Large.

Kat is already so over seventh grade. It doesn’t help that her best friend and cousin, Olivia, grew a foot over the summer and won a spot on the school’s dance team, shooting her up on the popularity scale. In the jungle that is middle school, Olivia is a gazelle. Braces-wearing, manga-loving, uncoordinated Kat is a warthog. Plus, Tyler, Kat’s next-door neighbor and buddy since birth, morphed into a really cute boy over the summer. Suddenly the person Kat’s used to playing Xbox with is causing her stomach to do cartwheels.
When Olivia confesses that she has a crush on Tyler and wants to ask him to the Fall Ball dance, Kat knows there’s going to be a problem: Tyler thinks Olivia is just another ditsy girl who only cares about lip gloss and boy bands. But since Kat’s one of Tyler’s oldest friends, Olivia’s sure she’ll know how to get his attention.

Trying to be a good friend and squash her own feelings, Kat makes it her mission to get the two of them together. From writing “Tyler cheat sheets” listing his favorite things, to feeding Olivia lines through her headphones during Tyler-focused study sessions, Kat devises schemes by which Tyler will fall for Olivia. And to her delight—or maybe horror—her plan begins to work. Now that Olivia’s caught Tyler’s attention, Kat has to wonder if she’s fooled Tyler into falling for the wrong girl. But what boy would ever choose a warthog over a gazelle?

Learn more at: http://www.joannelevy.com

Mia King (class of 2007), writing as Darien Gee, released An Avalon Valentine, on January 2, 2017. A holiday novella in the Friendship Bread series, this sweet read follows five women in their quest for love as Valentine’s Day approaches.

Learn more at www.dariengee.com or buy the book as a Kindle title on Amazon. Congratulations, Mia!

 

 

Author: Amy Poeppel

Amy Poeppel grew up in Dallas, Texas and left the south to attend Wellesley College. Since then, she has worked as an actor, a high school English teacher, and most recently as the Assistant Director of Admissions at a school in New York City. Her three fabulous boys are all off in Boston attending school, and she and her husband now split their time between New York and Frankfurt, Germany. A theatrical version of SMALL ADMISSIONS was workshopped at the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit. She later expanded it into her first novel.