ARC Arrival: Travel Writing by Peter Ferry

Travel Writing by Peter Ferry

Publisher: Mariner Books

About the book: Pete Ferry, our narrator, teaches high school English in the wealthy suburb of Lake Forest, outside Chicago, and moonlights as a travel writer. On his way home after work one evening he witnesses a car accident that kills a beautiful woman named Lisa Kim. But was it an accident? Could Pete have prevented it? And did it actually happen, or is this just an elaborate tale he concocts to impart the power of story to his teenage students? Why can't he stop thinking about Lisa Kim? And what might his obsession with her mean to his relationship with his girlfriend, Lydia?

With humor, tenderness, and suspense, Travel Writing takes readers on fascinating journeys, both geographical and psychological, and delves into the notion that the line between fact and fiction is often negotiable. (back cover)

About the author: Peter Ferry is a teacher, writer, and editor. His short stories have appeared in StoryQuarterly, Fiction, the New Review of Literature, and McSweeney's. He has won the Illinois Arts Council Literary Award for Short Fiction. Ferry lives in Evanston, Illinois. (back cover)

Travel Writing
Publisher/Publication Date: Mariner Books, July 2009
ISBN: 978-0-15-603392-3
304 pages

ARC Arrival: The Fruit of Her Hands by Michelle Cameron

The Fruit of Her Hands: The Story of Shira of Ashkenaz by Michelle Cameron

Publisher: Pocket Books

About the book: Crafting a richly textured, absorbing novel based on the life of her ancestor, renowned thirteenth-century Jewish scholar Meir ben Baruch of Rothenberg, Michelle Cameron paints a page-turning and deeply personal portrait of Judaism in medieval France and Germany. Imagined through the eyes of Rabbi Meir's wife, Shira, this opulent drama reveals a devout but independent woman who struggles to preserve her religious traditions while remaining true to herself as she and her family witness the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe.

Raised by her widowed rabbi father and a Christian nursemaid in Normandy, Shira is a free-spirited, inquisitive girl whose love of learning shocks the community. But in Meir ben Baruch, a brilliant scholar, she finds her soul mate and a window on the world of Talmudic scholarship that fascinates her.

Married to Meir in Paris, Shira blossoms as a wife and mother, savoring the intellectual and social challenges that come with being the wife of a prominent scholar. After every copy of the Talmud in Paris is confiscated and burned, Shira and her family seek refuge in Germany. Yet even there they experience bloody pogroms and intensifying hatred. As Shira weathers heartbreak and works to find a middle ground between two warring religions, she shows her children and grandchildren how to embrace the joys of life, both secular and religious.

A multigenerational novel that captures a hitherto little-known part of history with deep emotion and riveting authenticity--and includes an illuminating author's note and a Hebrew glossary--The Fruit of Her Hands is a powerful novel about the enduring spirit of the Jewish people. (book jacket)

About the author: Michelle Cameron discovered the inspiring story of Rabbi Meir ben Baruch while exploring her family tree. She lived in Israel for fourteen years and served in the Israeli Army. She currently lives in Chatham, New Jersey, with her family. (book jacket)

The Fruit of Her Hands
Publisher/Publication Date: Pocket Books, Sept 8, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4391-1822-1
448 pages

ARC Arrival: The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim

The Calligrapher's Daughter: A Novel by Eugenia Kim

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

About the book: A sweeping debut novel inspired by the life of the author's mother, about a young woman who dares to fight for a brighter future in occupied Korea.

In early twentieth-century Korea, Najin Han, the privileged daughter of a calligrapher, longs to choose her own destiny. Smart and headstrong, she is encouraged by her mother--but her stern father is desperate to maintain the ways of traditional Korea, especially as the Japanese steadily gain control of his beloved country. When he seeks to marry Najin into an aristocratic family against her will, her mother defies generations of obedient wives and instead sends her to serve in the king's court as a companion to a young princess. But the king is soon assassinated, and the centuries-old dynastic culture comes to its end.

In the shadow of the dying monarchy, Najin begins a journey through increasing oppression while she pursues and education and surprisingly finds love. After just one night of marriage, a denied passport separates Najin from her new husband, who continues alone with their original plans for coveted education in America. As a decade passes, Japan invades China and then attacks Pearl Harbor. With an ocean between them--and the prospect of a reunion uncertain--will the love they share be enough to sustain Najin through the deprivation and violence her country continues to face?

Spanning thirty years, The Calligrapher's Daughter is a richly drawn novel about a country torn between ancient customs and modern possibilities, a family ultimately united by love, and a woman who never gives up her search for freedom. (book jacket)

About the author: Eugenia Sunher Kim, an MFA graduate of Bennington College, has published short stories and essays in journals and anthologies, including Echoes Upon Echoes: New Korean American Writings. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and son. The Calligrapher's Daughter is her first novel. (book jacket)

The Calligrapher's Daughter
Publisher/Publication Date: Henry Holt & Company, August 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8912-7
400 pages

ARC Arrival: The Embers by Hyatt Bass

The Embers: A Novel by Hyatt Bass

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

About the book: A once-charmed family is forced to confront the devastating tragedy that struck it years ago in this fiercely tender tale of betrayal and reconciliation.

Engaged to the man she loves, Emily Ascher stands on the brink of a new life. But a ring on a finger can somehow change everything, and with the promise of new love settling into old comes a difficult look at how her family has been torn apart in the many years since her brother died. Her parents have long since divorced, and her father, Joe, a famous actor and playwright, carries the blame for his son's death--but what really happened on that winter night? Why has he been unable to clear his name, or even discuss that evening with Emily and her mother?

As spring looms--and with it Emily's wedding in the Berkshires and the unveiling of Joe's first new play since the tragedy--each Ascher begins to reevaluate the events of long ago, finally facing the truth of his or her own culpability in them. Moving between past and present over the course of sixteen years, and interweaving the perspectives of a father, mother, and daughter who finally summon the courage to put the pieces of their lives back together, The Embers is a masterful debut novel of buried secrets and deep regrets that threaten to crush a family while bonding its members irrevocably. (book jacket)

About the author: Hyatt Bass wrote, directed, and produced the film 75 Degrees in July, which was released in 2006. The Embers is her first novel. (book jacket)

The Embers
Publisher/Publication Date: Henry Holt & Company, June 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8994-3
304 pages

ARC Arrival: Shake the Devil Off by Ethan Brown

Shake the Devil Off: True Story of the Murder that Rocked New Orleans by Ethan Brown

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

About the book: They looked like a slightly mischievous version of the all-American couple, a handsome army veteran and his gorgeous artist girlfriend. Zackery Bowen--one of the first soldiers to encounter the fledgling insurgency in Iraq--returned to New Orleans to tend bar and deliver groceries. In the weeks before Hurricane Katrina, he met Addie Hall, a pretty and high-spirited bartender. Their improvised, hard-partying endurance during and after the storm had news outlets around the world feature the couple as the personification of what so many wanted to imagine was the indomitable spirit of New Orleans. But Addie Hall had a long history of abuse that colored her world and everyone who entered it. And Zackery Bowen fell for Addie completely, until his personal demons, unleashed in the desert of Iraq, combined with hers in a perfect storm of violence that shocked even rough-and-tumble New Orleans.

In October 2006, Bowen leapt from the rooftop bar of a French Quarter hotel. A note in his pocket directed the police to Addie's body. It was, according to NOPD veterans, one of the most gruesome crimes in the city's history. Why had this well-liked and easygoing ex-soldier done this horrible thing?

Journalist Ethan Brown moved to New Orleans in order to find out what had driven Bowen and Hall to this end, and eventually he discovered that their tragedies--like so many others--could have been avoided if the military had not, in the words of Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, "absolutely and completely failed this soldier." By telling the story of these lives, Brown gets to the dark heart of two of the biggest debacles of this era. The result is a deeply investigated, sympathetically told, mesmerizing, and moving tribute to the city of New Orleans, to anyone who has been touched by the signature disasters--foreign and domestic--of our era, and to two victims of these disasters, Zackery Bowen and Addie Hall. (book jacket)

About the author: Ethan Brown has written for New York magazine, The New York Observer, Wired, Vibe, The Independent, GQ, Rolling Stone, Details, The Guardian, and The Village Voice, among other publications. He is the author of two previous books, Queens Reigns Supreme and Snitch. He lives with his wife in New Orleans. (book jacket)

Shake the Devil Off
Publisher/Publication Date: Henry Holt & Company, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8893-9
304 pages

ARC Arrival: The Shimmer by David Morrell

The Shimmer by David Morrell

Publisher: Vanguard Press

About the book: Creator of Rambo and co-founder of the International Thriller Writer organization, David Morrell has been called "the father of the modern action novel." Now this award-winning, New York Times bestselling author delivers The Shimmer, a novel of chilling impact.

When police officer Dan Page's wife disappears, her trail leads to Rostov, a remote Texas town where unexplained phenomena attract hundreds of spectators each night. Not merely curious, these onlookers are compelled to reach this tiny community and gaze at the mysterious Rostov Lights.

But more than the faithful are drawn there. A gunman begins shooting at the lights, screaming "Go back to hell where you came from!" then turns his rifle on the innocent bystanders. As more and more people are drawn to the scene of the massacre, the stage is set for even greater bloodshed.

To save his wife, Page must solve the mystery of the Rostov Lights. In the process, he uncovers a deadly government secret dating back to the First World War. The lights are more dangerous than anyone ever imagined, but even more deadly are those who try to exploit forces beyond their control.

With The Shimmer, David Morrell takes readers on a brilliant, terrifying journey. Suspenseful, yet thought-provoking, it is the master at his very best. (book jacket)

About the author: David Morrell is the award-winning author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including Creepers and Scavenger. Co-founder of the International Thriller Writers organization and author of the classic Brotherhood of the Rose spy trilogy, Morrell is considered by many to be the father of the modern action novel. (book jacket)

The Shimmer
Publisher/Publication Date: Vanguard Press, July 2009
ISBN: 978-1-59315-537-7
352 pages

ARC Arrival: In the Arms of Immortals by Ginger Garrett

In the Arms of Immortals: A Novel of Darkness and Light by Ginger Garrett

Publisher: David C. Cook

About the book: Sicily, 1347. It starts with a strange ship in the village harbor. That night an old man falls ill. . .then the baker's wife. . .then a street urchin. By morning half the townspeople are dead and more are dying--horribly. Civic order breaks down. Wolves move in from the countryside. And no one has a clue what is happening or how to stop it. Not the local priest. Not the rich baron. Not the baron's proud daughter, nor the powerful knight who loves her. Certainly no the outcast healer whom many call a witch.

Only the Destroyer and the unseen Watchers know the real story. . .along with an unwilling visitor from another time. Mariskka recognizes the Black Death that will soon decimate Europe. But she has no voice to speak, no way to help. . .until she dares open her pain-hardened heart to the unfathomable truth. (back cover)

Richly imagined, tautly suspenseful, and deeply moving. . .another heart-stopping historical thriller form the author of In the Shadow of Lions.

About the author: Critically acclaimed author Ginger Garrett (Dark Hour, Chosen: The Lost diaries of Queen Esther, and most recently In the Shadow of Lions) creates novels and nonfiction resources that explores the lives of historical women. In addition to her writing, Garrett is a frequent radio and television guest. She resides in Georgia with her husband and three children. (back cover)

In the Arms of Immortals
Publisher/Publication Date: David C. Cook, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7814-4888-8
320 pages

ARC Arrival: The Transformation by Terri Kraus

The Transformation (A Project Restoration Novel)
by Terri Kraus

Publisher: David C. Cook

About the book: Oliver Barnett is a good contractor, a good Christian, and an obedient son, never in trouble, never one to rock the boat. . .until real-estate developer Samantha Cohen enters his life and offers him a controversial renovation project: Transform an historic church into a restaurant/night club. Samantha, full of life, vitality, and wit, is unlike any woman he has ever known--in more ways than one. However, with Samantha's less-than-innocent past and the fact that she's Jewish, Oliver's not sure if he should get involved with her or the Blue Church project.

At the same time, Oliver's old girlfriend Paula rekindles a long-ago relationship with him--with the enthusiastic encouragement of his domineering mother. Paula would be the safe choice, and the choice that would appease Mom, yet Oliver is drawn to Samantha because of her beauty and her exotic nature. Oliver finds himself in a most unsettling dilemma. Does he do what's right by the nice girl his mother has chosen for him, or does he follow his heart? (back cover)

About the author: An award-winning interior designer, Terri Kraus comes to the Project Restoration series naturally, having survived the remodel, renovation, and restoration of three separate personal residences, along with those of her clients. The author/coauthor (with husband, Jim) of eleven other novels, including The Renovation and The Renewal, Terri lives in Wheaton, Illinois, with her husband and son, Elliot. (back cover)

The Transformation
Publisher/Publication Date: David C. Cook, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7814-4867-3
304 pages

ARC Arrival: Beg, Borrow, Steal by Michael Greenberg

Beg, Borrow, Steal: A Writer's Life by Michael Greenberg

Publisher: Other Press

About the book: In Beg, Borrow, Steal Michael Greenberg regales us with his vivid take on the life of a writer of little means trying to practice his craft or simply stay alive. He finds himself doctoring doomed movie scripts; selling cosmetics from an ironing board in front of a women's department store; writing about golf, a game he has never played; and botching his debut as a waiter in a posh restaurant.

Central characters include Michael's father, whose prediction that Michael's "scribbling" wouldn't get him on the subway almost came true; his artistic first wife, whom he met in a Greenwich Village high school; and their son who grew up on the Lower East Side, fluent in the language of the street and in the language of the parlor. Then there are Greenberg's unexpected encounters: a Holocaust survivor who on his deathbed tries to leave Michael his fortune; a repentant communist who confesses his sins; a man who becomes a woman; a Chilean filmmaker in search of his past; and rats who behave like humans and cease to live underground.

Hilarious and bittersweet, Greenberg's stories invite us into a world where the familial, the literary, the tragic, and the mundane not only speak to one another, but deeply enjoy the exchange. (book jacket)

About the author: A native New Yorker, Michael Greenberg is the author of the memoir Hurry Down Sunshine, published in sixteen countries and chosen as one of the best books of 2008 by Time, the San Francisco Chronicle, Amazon.com, and Library Journal. He is a columnist for the Times Literary Journal. He is a columnist for the Times Literary Supplement. His writing has appeared in such varied places as O, The Oprah Magazine and The New York Review of Books. He lives in New York. (book jacket)

Beg, Borrow, Steal
Publisher/Publication Date: Other Press, September 2009
ISBN: 978-1-59051-341-5
232 pages

ARC Arrival: The Sum of His Syndromes

The Sum of His Syndromes by K.B. Dixon

Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers

About the book: The Sum of His Syndromes is a wry, odd, idiosyncratic book. A collage of notes written in a sixth-floor men's room, it is the story of a dissatisfied, slightly disturbed young man named David who has found himself at a personal and professional crossroads. He has a job he hates, but cannot leave, and a girl he loves, but cannot fully understand. With help from his friend, Peter, and his therapist, the irrepressible Dr. Costa, he struggles to make sense of his complicated young life.

A fractured, fragmented, unconventional narrative, Syndromes offers a comic look at office angst, contemporary psychiatric practice and romantic uncertainty.

A conglomeration of thoughts, observations, commentary, overheard conversations and cameo appearances, its story--David and Kate's story--merges surreptitiously from this innovative presentation of a confused and chaotic time. (back cover)

About the author: K.B. Dixon's work has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers and journals. The recipient of an OAC Individual Artist Fellowship Award, he is the author of Andrew (A to Z), a novel, and My Desk and I, a collection of short stories. (back cover)

The Sum of His Syndromes
Publisher/Publication Date: Academy Chicago Publishers, May 2009
ISBN: 978-0-89733-586-7
142 pages

ARC Arrival: Stretch Marks by Kimberly Stuart

Stretch Marks by Kimberly Stuart

Publisher: David C. Cook

About the book: Mia is a granola-eating, sensible shoe-wearing, carbon footprint-conscious twenty-something living in a multicultural neighborhood in Chicago. Her mother, Babs, is a stiletto-wearing Zsa Zsa Gabor type who works as an activities hostess on a Caribbean cruise line. . .and if you guessed there's some tension there, you'd be right. Factor in an unexpected pregnancy and Mia's idealistic boyfriend, and the mother-daughter relationship is, well, stretched very thin. As is Mia's sanity when Babs shows up to. . .help.

Actually, Mia has a whole neighborhood of quirky characters who want to help, including her BFF, Frankie, a magenta-haired librarian; Silas, the courtly gentleman of indeterminate age who lives downstairs; and Adam, proprietor of the corner grocery store where Mia shops. But it's Adam--endearing, kind, possessed of a perfect smile and impeccable Persian manners--who ultimately charms Babs and rescues Mia from more than one mother-induced meltdown. Could it be that Mia and Babs might actually be able to get along?

With Kimberly Stuart's trademark irreverent humor and a surprising and satisfying take on romance, Stretch Marks is an authentic but tender story about family, grace, and the importance of a good grocer. (back cover)

About the author: Kimberly Stuart lives, plays, parents, does a lot of laundry, and writes at her home in Des Moines, Iowa. (back cover)

Stretch Marks
Publisher/Publication Date: David C. Cook, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7814-4892-5
304 pages

ARC Arrival: Touching Wonder by John Blase

Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas by John Blase

Publisher: David C. Cook

About the book: Little children understand how amazing the Nativity story is. But, sometimes, as we become men and women, we put away the childlike with the childish. The result? We lose something vital--the wonder of it all. When author John Blase went looking for the lost wonder of Christmas, he went back to the place he'd last seen it--the stories from Luke 1-2. What he found fills the pages of his new book, Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas, with flesh and bone and dust and night and a baby's cry; the intimate union of human and divine--the Incarnation.

By boldly imagining the first two chapters of the gospel of Luke, writer, editor, and former pastor John Blase has created an instant classic for Christmastime. In a tale that reads like a novel parallel parked by the record of Scripture, Blase beckons those who could use a little wonder in their lives to step onto the stage of history and witness the long awaited coming of the Messiah. With Eugene Peterson's The Message Bible translation as his backdrop, Blase adds his own voice and commentary to the historic events, exploring the renowned drama from an array of viewpoints.

In Touching Wonder, readers will meet a cast of unruly unlikelies--a frightened teenaged girl, a worried carpenter, a collection of senior citizens, a disillusioned young shepherd, even an angel or two--moving toward the realization that the little one just born is the One. This imaginative retelling of the grand miracle will leave readers wide-eyed, slack-jawed, and heart-full. The Lord is come!

In this lovely and distinctive book to be read. . .and re-read. . .and pondered in the heart, young and old will recapture the wonder of the Christmas story by seeing through the eyes of those who lived it. The book's graceful design and Amanda Jolman's beautiful line drawings combine to make this a thoughtful Christmas gift as well as a wonder that families will treasure for years to come. (The B&B Media Group)

About the author: John Blase's work includes Living the Questions and Living the Letters Bible-study series, the Worldviews reference book (TH1NK), Real Life Stuff for Couples, and The Message Children's Bible. A Former pastor, John currently edits by day and writes by night. He and his wife, Meredith, have three children and make their home in Colorado. (The B&B Media Group)

Touching Wonder
Publisher/Publication Date: David C. Cook, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4347-6465-2
128 pages

ARC Arrival: Playing House by Fredrica Wagman

Playing House by Fredrica Wagman

Publisher: Zoland Books

About the book: When Playing House appeared in 1973, Publishers Weekly hailed it, "A probing descent into madness that will fascinate the same audience that appreciated I Never Promised You a Rose Garden." This nationally best-selling story of one woman's struggle with the lasting effects of a childhood sexual relationship with her brother shocked American readers; it remains a literary work of enduring quality and value. In his foreword Philip Roth writes, "The traumatized child; the institutionalized wife; the haunting desire; the ghastly business of getting through the day--what is striking about Wagman's treatment of these contemporary motifs is the voice of longing in which the heroine shamelessly confesses to the incestuous need that is at once her undoing and her only hope." (back cover)

About the author: Fredrica Wagman is the author of five novels, including His Secret Little Wife. She has four grown children and lives with her husband in New York City. (back cover)

Playing House
Publisher/Publication Date: Zoland Books, May 2008 (35the edition)
ISBN: 978-1-58195-225-4
176 pages

ARC Arrival: The Triumph of Deborah

The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy

Publisher: Plume

About the book: In ancient Israel, war is looming. Deborah, a highly respected leader, has coerced the warrior Barak into launching a strike against the neighboring Canaanites. Against all odds, he succeeds and returns triumphantly with Asherah and Nogah, the daughters of the Canaanite king, as his captives. But military victory is only the beginning of the turmoil, as a complex love triangle develops between Barak and the two princesses.

Deborah, recently cast off by her husband, develops a surprising affinity for Barak. Yet she struggles to rebuild her existence on her own terms, while also groping her way toward the greatest triumph of her life.

Filled with brilliantly vivid historical detail, The Triumph of Deborah is the absorbing and riveting tale of one of the most beloved figures in the Bible, and a tribute to feminine strength and independence. (back cover)

About the author: Eva Etzioni-Halevy is professor emeritus of political sociology at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. She has published fourteen academic books and numerous articles, as well as two previous biblical novels. Born in Vienna, she spent World War II as a child in Italy, then moved to Palestine in 1945. She also lived in the United States and spent time in Australia before taking up her position at Bar-Ilan. Eva lives in Tel Aviv with her husband; she has three grown children. (inside book)

The Triumph of Deborah
Publisher/Publication Date: Plume, Feb 2008
ISBN: 978-0-452-28906-2
368 pages

ARC Arrival: My Unfair Lady by Kathryne Kennedy

My Unfair Lady by Kathryne Kennedy

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

About the book: The impoverished Duke of Monchester despises the rich Americans who flock to London, seeking to buy their way into the ranks of the British peerage. So when railroad heiress Summer Wine Lee offers him a king's ransom if he'll teach her to become a proper lady, he's prepared to rebuff her. But when he meets the petite beauty with the knife in her boot, it's not her fortune he finds impossible to resist. . .

Frontier-bred Summer Wine Lee has no interest in winning over London society--it's the New York bluebloods and her future mother-in-law she's determined to impress. She knows the cost of smoothing her rough-and-tumble frontier edges will be high. But she never imaged it might cost her heart. . .

From acclaimed author Kathryne Kennedy comes a delightful new take on the romantic classic My Fair Lady. As a Wild West beauty takes Victorian London by storm, the devilishly handsome duke she's hired to instruct her in proper deportment begins to wonder if his unconventional pupil might be perfect just the way she is. . . (back cover)

About the author: Kathryne Kennedy is the author of the Relics of Merlin series, and is acclaimed for her world-building. She has also published nearly a dozen short stories in the SFF/Romance genre, receiving Honorable Mention twice in the "Writers of the Future" contest. She lives with her husband and two sons in Glendale, Arizona. (Amazon)

My Unfair Lady
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, December 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4022-2990-9
384 pages

ARC Arrival: The Sister Pact by Cami Checketts

The Sister Pact by Cami Checketts

Publisher: Bonneville Books

About the book: Savannah Compton is devastated when her sister and best friend Allison falls into a coma after a tragic accident. Or was it an accident? Even with a charming and handsome detective at her side, it seems Savannah may never discover the truth. But if she doesn't, her family could be in even more danger. And Savannah's past holds its own secrets that could change everything.

Now she must prove her innocence to the one person who is beginning to matter most. Join Savannah as she struggles to summon hope and rely on faith, even in the darkest of circumstances, and learn how the bond between sisters can overcome anything.

The Sister Pact is a thrilling romantic mystery, full of unexpected twists. Cami Checketts delivers an exhilarating new novel that will keep you guessing to the very last page. (back cover)

About the author: Cami Checketts is a wife, mother, exercise scientist, and avid supporter of Cold Stone Creameries. Although clean toilets are a wistful memory, she adores her husband and three wild boys. Sometimes between being a human horse, cleaning up magic potions, and reading Berenstain Bears, she gets the chance to write fiction. Cami has a BS in Exercise Science from Utah State University. She currently has a thriving business as a pro bono fitness trainer. Cami's blog, fitmommas, offers fitness advice and strength training routines for busy women.

Cami lives with her family in the beautiful Cache Valley of northern Utah. During the two months of the year it isn't snowing, she loves to swim, run and bike.

A portion of the proceeds for The Sister Pact will be donated to The Child & Family Support Center of Cache County, INC. (inside cover)

The Sister Pact
Publisher/Publication Date: Bonneville Books, July 2009
ISBN: 978-1-59955-267-5
240 pages

ARC Arrival: The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

About the book: Seventeen-year-old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, particularly her father. . .until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she and her younger brother spent the summer with him in North Carolina.

Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will be the centerpiece of a local church. Resentful and rebellious, Ronnie rejects all of his attempts to reach out to her and threatens to return to New York before the summer's end. But soon Ronnie meets Will, the town's local heartthrob, and the last person she thought she'd ever be attracted to. As Ronnie slowly lets her guard down, she finds herself falling deeply in love, opening herself up to the greatest happiness--and pain--that she has ever known.

An unforgettable story of love in all its myriad forms--first love, love between parents and children--THE LAST SONG demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that love can break our hearts. . .and heal them. (book jacket)

About the author: Nicholas Sparks is one of the world's most beloved storytellers, an author with eight #1 New York Times bestsellers and well over 50 million copies of his books in print worldwide. All his books, including Three Weeks with My Brother, the memoir he wrote with his brother, Micah, have been New York Times and international bestsellers and were translated into more than forty languages. Four of Nicholas Sparks's novels--Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, and Nights in Rodanthe--were also adapted into major motion pictures. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and family. (book jacket)

The Last Song
Publisher/Publication Date: Grand Central Publishing, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-54756-7
400 pages

ARC Arrival: Laced with Magic by Barbara Bretton

Laced with Magic by Barbara Bretton

Publisher: Berkley Trade

I received this book for a Pump Up Your Book Tour!

About the book: In Casting Spells, USA Today bestselling author Barbara Bretton introduced knit shop owner and sorcerer's daughter Chloe Hobbs. Now, in this magical follow-up, Chloe, who's still getting a handle on her powers, is about to discover that love may not conquer all, but a nasty Fae certainly can. . .

Ever have the feeling that the fates finally got it right? That's how I felt when I met Luke MacKenzie. And no one could have convinced me otherwise--not the trolls, selkies, or spirits who also call Sugar Maple, Vermont, home. But since I live in a town that thrives on secrets, why am I surprised that the man I love has a few of his own? Because out of nowhere his ex-wife has suddenly shown up, claiming to see the spirit of their daughter, Steffie--a daughter I knew nothing about.

Now it seems Steffie's spirit is being held hostage by a certain Fae leader. And if I weave a spell to free her spirit, my nemesis will also be free--free to destroy my yarn shop, all of Sugar Maple, and everyone in it. But if I don't, Steffie won't be the only one spending eternity in hell. I'll be joining her, cursed with a broken heart. . . (back cover)

About the author: Barbara Bretton is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of more than forty books. She currently has over ten million copies in print around the world. Her works have been translated into twelve languages in more than twenty countries.

Barbara lives in New Jersey but loves to spend as much time as possible in Maine with her husband, walking the rocky beaches and dreaming up plots for upcoming books. (back cover)

Laced With Magic
Publisher/Publication Date: Berkley Trade, August 2009
ISBN: 978-0-425-22752-7
352 pages

ARC Arrival: Detectives Don't Wear Seat Belts

Detectives Don't Wear Seat Belts by Cici McNair

Publisher: Center Street

I received this book from Miriam at Hachette Books. Thank you Miriam!

About the book: Growing up in Mississippi, Cici McNair was always more the tomboy her mother supported than the Southern belle her father demanded. She escaped her suffocating upbringing the first chance she had to travel the world. Whether working at the Vatican in Rome or consorting with a gunrunner in Haiti, she lived a life of international adventure. When Cici finds herself in New York, divorced, broke, and fashionably starving to death in a Madison Avenue apartment, she impulsively decides to become a private detective.

But, as Cici soon learns, the world of P.I.s is tight-knit and made up almost exclusively of former law enforcement officers. By nature, they are a highly suspicious group and are especially wary of a newcomer with an untraceable past. Diligently working her way through the Yellow Pages, doggedly pursuing the slightest lead, Cici is finally hired by a private investigator willing to take a chance. The next day she's working side by side with a pair of seasoned detectives and a skip tracer who is scary to meet but like silk on the phone. She quickly realizes she'll need all her energy and wits to succeed in this new world.

Being a private investigator is as exciting and liberating as Cici ever dreamed, from creating a false identity on the spot on her first case in the field to surviving adrenaline-rushing car chases. Working with law enforcement, she goes undercover, dealing with the ruthless Born to Kill gang in Chinatown and the Middle Eastern counterfeiters west of Broadway. A detailed account of the hidden world and real-life cases of a P.I., this action-packed memoir is as entertaining as any detective novel you've ever read. (Amazon)

About the author: Cici McNair was born and raised in Mississippi. She has worked as a news writer, on-air newscaster, and producer of documentaries and has published three novels under the name Clarissa McNair. Cici now lives in Philadelphia, where she heads her own private investigation firm, Green Star Investigations. (back cover)

Detectives Don't Wear Seat Belts
Publisher/Publication Date: Center Street, Sept 23, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-59995-187-4
368 pages

ARC Arrival: Fearless by Max Lucado

Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear by Max Lucado

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

I received this book from Thomas Nelson Books.

About the book: We fear being sued, finishing last, going broke, the mole on the back, and the sound of the clock as it ticks us closer to the grave. Every season seems to bring fresh reasons for fear.

And it feels dreadful. Fear sucks the life out of the soul, curls us into an embryonic state, and drains us dry of contentment.

Wouldn't it be great to escape it? What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats?

According to Jesus, this is possible. The one statement he made more than any other was this: "Don't be afraid." In this book, Max Lucado invites you to consider Jesus' invitation to courage.

Fear will always knock on your door. Just don't invite it in for dinner. And for heaven's sake, don't offer it a bed for the night.

The promise of Christ and the contention of these pages are simple: we can fear less tomorrow than we do today. (book jacket)

About the author: Max Lucado, Minister of Writing and Preaching for the Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, is the husband of Denalyn and father of Jenna, Andrea, and Sara. In a good week, he reads a good book, has a few dinners with his wife, and breaks 90 on the golf course. He usually settles for the first two. (book jacket)

Fearless

Publisher/Publication Date: Thomas Nelson, Sept 8, 2009
ISBN:978-0-8499-2139-1
224 pages