Author: Marissa DeCuir

A former award-winning journalist with national exposure, Marissa now oversees the day-to-day operation of the Books Forward author branding and book marketing firm, along with our indie publishing support sister company Books Fluent. Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.

An interview with Emily Giglierano of Astoria Bookshop

Posted on | by Marissa DeCuir

What is your favorite area of your bookstore?

Our under-visited kids’ nonfiction section. It’s not ideally situated, tucked away near the office and the back door storage area, but the books are my favorites: these are the really cool picture-book biographies, the oversized atlases of wild animals and places all over the world, almanacs and science books, the “growing up” shelf that covers self-esteem, social justice, and sexuality for elementary through high-schoolers — in other words, all of the most interesting books that try to explain how the world works. I almost always learn something new when I’m shelving here, and it’s my favorite place to recommend gift books.

What’s the coolest book cover that you like to have facing out on the shelves?

The first one to spring to mind is Aimee Nezhukumathil’s WORLD OF WONDERS — something about the charming nature illustrations + the title + the foil on the author’s name, it just brings me joy and makes me want to stop and pick it up every time I see it. It’s small but has a big impact.

If you had a staff pick for a recent new release, what would it be? Backlist pick?

Cat Sebastian’s THE PERFECT CRIMES OF MARIAN HAYES, a historical romance + crime novel in which our two bisexual lead characters fall in love while exchanging blackmail letters. I’ve read it twice this year, once as soon as the galley was posted and again for a mini-romance book club.

My go-to backlist pick is THE CUTTING SEASON by Attica Locke: The caretaker at a plantation-house museum – a museum still owned by the family that ran the plantation where her ancestors were enslaved – uncovers historical secrets. An emotionally complex mystery novel with great atmosphere and a relatable single-mother protagonist.

Do you have a strange customer story?

One of our regulars speaks with a flat, demanding tone of voice that can sound aggressive, especially when she’s asking questions. Once, after several typical questions – “Miss, how much this book cost? Miss, why you not have [this other book]?” she asked one more: “Miss, do you like cheese?”

I had to say yes. Next thing I know, she reaches into her pocket and hands me a wedge of cheddar cheese! (Packaged in plastic.) She’d given us tokens of appreciation before, like a pen from the bank and cookies from a holiday gift basket, but this was the first perishable food item….

What author have you been starstruck to meet, or have you gotten to host a fun virtual event?

Since I started working at the bookshop right before the pandemic kicked into gear, I haven’t gotten to spend much time with authors here. But I was working at Penguin Random House when Knopf published Judy Blume’s grown-up novel, IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT, and hosted an in-office signing. I asked her to sign a copy of the book to my seventh-grade English teacher – and still got a little choked up 😊

What are some misconceptions people have about working in a bookstore?

I think people tend to forget that it’s a customer service job — it’s not just you and a stack of books, it’s also about being able to talk with folks who come in, asking the right questions to suss out what they want to take home (especially when they’re buying for someone else!), and making small talk.

Least favorite bookstore task? Favorite part?

Least favorite: As a small store, we’re constantly trying to fit more stock on our shelves than we actually have room for, so this is a job that’s never done! Favorite part: Alphabetizing is extremely satisfying.

Readalike for a popular book?

One of our biggest sellers this past year has been Michelle Zauner’s CRYING IN H MART. The memoir that I try to give everyone alongside it is SEEING GHOSTS by Kat Chow (Grand Central, 2021). Like H Mart, Seeing Ghosts is about losing your mother to cancer and negotiating your complicated relationship to her culture — but Kat tells her story in a fragmented, snapshot-like style, revisiting certain scenes and moments from her childhood and her parents’ lives so that I felt like I was remembering alongside her as I read. The way she reexamines her relationships with her parents as she grows into adulthood offered me new perspectives on my own parental relationships, and changed the way I think about my grandparents’ stories of growing up as first-generation Americans, and how that influenced my parents in turn.

Emily Giglierano is a bookseller at Astoria Bookshop in Queens, NY.

“Addictive” WWII series continues with detective investigating art heist and multiple London murders

Posted on | by Marissa DeCuir

‘This is to my shame the first Mark Ellis book I’ve read. If the others evoke a vanished London so impressively, are graced with such complex plots and deep characterisation, and, above all, are written so well I shall have to read them all.‘ –THE LONDON TIMES

LONDON, England – In “Dead in the Water” (Jan. 17, 2023, Hachette) Detective Chief Inspector Frank Merlin is back in Mark Ellis’ vividly atmospheric WWII crime series. The newest addition to the series that NYT-bestselling author Andrew Roberts calls “masterly and compelling” does not disappoint as readers dive into DCI Frank Merlin’s next case.

In the summer of 1942, the Second World War rages on but Britain now faces the Nazi threat with America at its side. In a bombed-out London swarming with gangsters and spies, DCI Frank Merlin continues his battle against rampant wartime crime. A mangled body is found in the Thames just as some items of priceless art go mysteriously missing. What sinister connection links the two?

Merlin and his team follow a twisting trail of secrets as they investigate a baffling and deadly puzzle–and lovers of mystery, espionage and historical crime fiction will eagerly consume every new clue until the novel’s thrilling end.

“Dead in the Water”
Mark Ellis | January 17, 2023 | Hachette | Historical Crime Fiction
Paperback | 978-1786159885 | $17.99
Ebook | B09NVP3PCF | $4.99

More about MARK ELLIS

Mark Ellis is a thriller writer from Swansea and a former barrister and entrepreneur. His books treat the reader to a vivid portrait of London during the war skilfully blended with gripping plots, political intrigue and a charismatic protagonist.

Mark grew up under the shadow of his parents’ experience of the Second World War. His father served in the wartime navy and died a young man. His mother told him stories of watching the heavy bombardment of Swansea from the safe vantage point of a hill in Llanelli, and of attending tea dances in wartime London under the bombs and doodlebugs. In consequence Mark has always been fascinated by WW2 and in particular the Home Front and the fact that while the nation was engaged in a heroic endeavor, crime flourished. Murder, robbery, theft and rape were rife and the Blitz provided scope for widespread looting.
This was an intriguing, harsh and cruel world. This is the world of DCI Frank Merlin. Learn more at https://markellisauthor.com/.

Follow Mark on social media
Facebook: Mark Ellis- Author Page | Twitter: @MarkEllis15 | Instagram: @markell1

In an interview, Mark Ellis can discuss:

  • What inspired DCI Frank Merlin and his detective thriller series
  • His interest in wartime crime and espionage stories, and the continued popularity of wartime stories
  • His research process and his desire to make his series historically accurate
  • How his family’s background inspired his writing
  • How his time in America versus his time in England has shaped his stories

Praise for “Dead in the Water”

“This is to my shame the first Mark Ellis book I’ve read. If the others evoke a vanished London so impressively, are graced with such complex plots and deep characterisation, and, above all are written so well I shall have to read them all.” The London Times

“Extraordinarily atmospheric and compelling, Dead in the Water is a wonderfully intelligent and complex story.” Chris Lloyd, winner of The Historical Writers Association Gold Crown 2021

“A very satisfying puzzle, expertly crafted.” Historical Novel Society

“Mark Ellis has shown himself to be a historical crime writer of the first rank. This is a pacy, gripping, taut thriller that rampages across the bombed out landscape of wartime London. Loved it!” Alec Marsh, author of the acclaimed Drabble and Harris crime series

“A whirlwind of an international historical thriller…another incredible addition to a phenomenal series…I firmly believe that the Frank Merlin series is one of the best to be written over the past 10 years.” Dorset Book Detective

“A terrifically enjoyable historical thriller…characters drawn so brilliantly…keeps you guessing all the way to the end” The Last Word Book Review

“An exceptional story and a terrifically engaging and entertaining read.” AMW Books

“A fantastic novel of wartime Noir at its best, gritty, tense and intelligent.” Jude’s Bookworm Blog

“This thrilling mystery is a must-read on your summer reading list…will keep you reading late into the night.” Toronto Filming

“An illuminating and enjoyable read.” Aspects of History Magazine

Praise for the Frank Merlin Series

“A richly atmospheric, authentic, and suspenseful detective series set during World War II on the UK’s home front. Mark Ellis calls to mind Ken Follett, Alan Furst, and P.D. James.” Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling thriller writer

“Masterly…compelling…one of the most attractive characters to emerge in recent detective thriller-fiction.” Andrew Roberts New York Times bestselling historian

“Historically realistic and dramatically enthralling.” Kirkus Reviews

“Compelling…perceptive…engaging.” Foreword Reviews

“A vivid and often surprising portrayal of wartime London.” The Western Mail

An Interview with Mark Ellis

DCI Frank Merlin is a unique and memorable character. What inspired his creation?

Originally my hero was going to be a more prosaic Cockney character but I then decided to make him a little more exotic. On holiday in Spain I thought why not make him half-Spanish? I happened to be in the countryside when the idea came to me and a herd of Merino sheep were nearby. I suddenly decided that Merino was a good name. Thus was born Francisco Merino, born in London to a Spanish sailor and his English wife. In due course, the father Javier decided to Anglicise his name and those of his children. Thus Francisco Merino became Frank Merlin.

How did time living in the U.S. influenced your writing?

In 1972, I went on a school exchange trip to America. The school I attended was Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh and I was looked after by a wonderful family called the Denneys. When school was finished I bought a Greyhound monthly bus pass for $200 and then travelled right around the country. It was on this journey that I first read great classic American crime writers like Chandler, Hammett, James M Cain and Patricia Highsmith. This was when I first had the idea of one day becoming a crime writer myself. Later in the 80s and 90s I worked for a while in the US, specifically in New York and Los Angeles. My exploration of American crime writers continued. My business life also provided me with ideas and characters for my future fiction.

Who are some of your favorite authors and what inspiration have you drawn from them?

I love the writers mentioned above. Other favourites in crime fiction include Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Michael Connelly, Ruth Rendell, Robert Crais, Don Winslow, Henning Mankell, Jo Nesbo, PD James…I could go on! Other favourite general authors include Tolstoy, Dickens, Gore Vidal, Hilary Mantel.

Historical fiction often requires a lot of research. What is your process for making sure the books are as accurate as possible?

I am writing a series set in wartime London. The books progress in roughly 6-9 monthly intervals. I am just embarking on Book 6 of the series which will be set in the Spring of 1943. Before I start writing I immerse myself in the particular period and usually my research will yield ideas for the plot or plots of the new book. As I am well into the series, I have already built up a large library of war-related books. Online information has grown hugely since I started the series and I get much from that source. Biographies, collections of letters and fiction of the period are all excellent sources as well as more straightforward wartime histories.

Why do you think wartime stories continue to be so popular with readers?

As a period of history retreats further into the past, it inevitably becomes more strange and exotic. Also, interest in the war has been prompted by a number of major anniversaries in recent years. Overall the war is a fantastic story on a large level and a more intimate one. I focus mainly on the level of ordinary people, good or bad, trying to go about their lives against a tumultuous background. I find the details of their lives fascinating as do, apparently, the readers of my books.

What does Frank’s future look like?

I have always said that I intend to take Merlin all the way through the war. At the normal pacing of the books, that implies another 3 or 4. What his adventures will be I cannot say. I do not plan my books in advance. The plots come to me as I am writing them. All I can say is that every time I research a book I find something new and exciting to incorporate into it.

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Three women face life-altering events in haunting debut

Posted on | by Marissa DeCuir

Eerie stories perfect for fans of Haruki Murakami and Kate Atkinson

BATH, Ohio – Step into the shocking, strange, and unforgettable stories of three women entering adulthood through a series of grim events in this genre-bending debut by M. Laszlo. Using his own personal journals, M. Laszlo creates an illusion of happiness struck down by the realities of society during the height of WWI and post-WWI Europe. The Phantom Glare of Day (SparkPress, Nov 1, 2022) is a trio of novellas that will shock and surprise you as each woman faces a series of events more unforeseen than the next, in an enigmatic collection that is sure to become a cult classic.

Having spent years abroad writing on his experiences, M. Laszlo combines the journals from his youth with his uncanny imagination and vintage writing style into a novella collection about three women facing strange, dire circumstances.

“The Ghost of Sin” tells of Sophie, a young lady who has lived a sheltered life and consequently has no idea how cruel public school bullying can be. When she meets Jarvis, a young man obsessed with avenging all those students who delight in his daily debasement, she resolves to intervene before tragedy unfolds. “Mouvements Perpétuels” tells of Cäcilia, who feels unable to resist when her ice-skating instructor attempts to take advantage of her. Not a month later, she realizes that she is pregnant and must choose between an abortion and her ice skating career. “The Daughters of Lillth” tells of Manon, a young lady who falls in love with a beautiful actress after taking a post as a script girl for a film company—and is subsequently confronted with the pettiest kinds of homophobia.

Specific to their time yet unquestionably relevant for women today, The Phantom Glare of Day is an understanding coming-of-age story with a compelling interrogation of who gets to decide what is right and what is wrong.

“The Phantom Glare of Day”
M. Laszlo | November 1st, 2022 | | Historical Fiction
Paperback | 9781684631759 | $17.95
Ebook | 9781684631759 | $9.95

M. Laszlo: M. Laszlo is the pseudonym of a reclusive author living in Bath, Ohio. According to rumor, he based the pen name on the name of the Paul Henreid character in Casablanca, Victor Laszlo.

He has lived and worked in New York City, East Jerusalem, and several other cities around the world. While living in the Middle East, he worked for Harvard University’s Semitic Museum. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio and an M.F.A. in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.

His next work is forthcoming from SparkPress in 2024. There are whispers that the work purports to be a genuine attempt at positing an explanation for the riddle of the universe and is based on journals and idea books made while completing his M.F.A at Sarah Lawrence College.

In an interview, M. Laszlo can discuss:

  • His time living in London as a teen and its inspiration in his novellas
  • How he assembled his personal journal into a trio of novellas focused on fictional characters
  • Using the diverse themes and modern social issues and set them in during WWI and post-WWI Europe
  • Creating three novellas that seamlessly blend into each other while also being completely independent
  • His reclusive life and how looking back at his journals inspired him to be an author

An Interview with M. Laszlo

1. What inspired you to write a collection of short stories rather than one overarching narrative story?

Honestly, this work had to be a collection of different works because that was the easiest way to use all the disparate source material. It’s not always good to take the easiest way out, but this was my first book—so I figured why not? From here on, the challenge will be to break apart each idea book so as to create a singular narrative arc. As such, subsequent works will make The Phantom Glare of Day look like child’s play.

2. How did your time living in London affect your process with writing stories set in London? Did it help you capture the city in words?

London introduced me to Britspeak, British colloquialisms, and British phraseology—the kinds of things that don’t necessarily make it into great British novels. At any rate, London made me realize that dialogue has to be real—that characters ought to talk the way people really talk. In a sense, Britspeak does help capture London in that Britspeak makes the characters REAL.

3. What was the process of taking your journals and turning them into fiction like? How did it inspire your work?

At first, the process was entirely scientific: to make sense of all that teenage angst, it was necessary to cut things apart and to isolate variables. Having done that, only brainstorming could help to fill in the blank spaces and to turn the material into actual narrative arcs. Of course, that aspect of the process was anything but scientific.

4. What part of the writing process was most difficult?

It was easy to cut up the journals and to divide ideas into sensible categories. The brainstorming part was the difficult part, of course. After all these years, decades really, the process became a game of finding real, meaningful relationships between disparate concepts. And the stories followed of their own accord.

5. How do these historical stories fit into the narrative we are all facing in our current, modern lives? What will we learn from your characters?

The ethical issues that face modern society never really change all that much. The struggles are eternal and part and parcel of the human condition. My guess is that every reader will learn something different from interacting with my characters. It’s all down to the fact that every reader is unique and struggles with the big moral issues in his or her own way.

6. Why set the stories during WWI rather than in modern day?

Honestly, it all comes down to my love of steampunk and the peculiar technological contraptions of the early twentieth century. As odd as it seems, there’s nothing more romantic! Also, I really want these novellas to be timeless—and few events in history seem as hauntingly timeless as the Great War. At least, that’s always been my feeling.

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An interview with Ericka Arcadia of Hudubam Booktraders

Posted on | by Marissa DeCuir

What’s your favorite area of your bookstore?

I’ve always loved our sci-fi/fantasy area the best because those were the books I carried around when I first started feeling like a reader. I was never the kid who read enough to get a personal pizza for it, and I never had money for book fairs. It used to be on an order system, and when the shipments would arrive I would watch all my classmates get their brand new books with the brand new smell in the air. I borrowed a lot of books from the library at school and boyfriends, and it wasn’t until I read Dune that I felt the magic of what reading does to our minds. I thought, “This Frank Herbert guy thinks I’m smart!”

What’s the coolest book cover that you like to have facing out on the shelves?

I LOVE cover art, and that is a really tough one to narrow down, but Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions (our bookseller Andrew brought those to my attention) are doing the most. I think the best one is the artwork for The Master and Margerita by Mikhail Bulgakov. It’s just gorgeously intriguing.

If you had a staff pick for a recent new release, what would it be? Backlist pick?

I cannot keep V. E. Schwab‘s books on the shelves and I know why; I am very much enjoying The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Backlist: I really love to read anything by Haruki Murakami. I always seem to gravitate back to the first novel of his I read, Sputnik Sweetheart. That feeling of having my mind completely blown just hasn’t really been the same now that I know to expect the unexpected from him.

Do you have a strange customer story?

Probably a very unconventional attachment developed between myself and a customer, Chris, who was a Vietnam Veteran in his 70’s. He loved to talk about 80’s science fiction, fantasy, and horror movies. I saw him almost every day for 18 months, for several hours a day, and we talked about everything all the time. He loved the show Dark Shadows, and I think he used to watch it after he came home from his time in the service. He did two tours. Anyway, he loved the show so much that he would try to strike up a conversation about the show with anyone who would listen, and he had copies of a DVD collection of the show in his bag at all times to give away to people who didn’t know what he was talking about. His brother, who handled his affairs, left us with about 15 copies of the show that Chris said should be given away to anyone interested, and we honor that request to this day.

What author have you been starstruck to meet, or have you gotten to host a fun virtual event?

We don’t really get starstruck by authors who come in because we’re a small community, so we all kind of know each other already. On that vibe, our open mics have been magical because it truly feels like we’re together as a family. A writer proposed to his wife during an open mic, so that’s the environment. We haven’t had one since the pandemic, but we’re hoping to set one up again soon.

What are some misconceptions people have about working in a bookstore?

It’s work. It takes so much energy to keep things going, and the idea of it just being a “cool hang” doesn’t really get to be realized. You have to derive joy from helping people and making them happy, and I feel like that really comes first.

What is your least favorite bookstore task? Favorite part about working in a bookstore?

Delegating. I have an amazing crew of booksellers that have finally been made happy by me stepping back from the day to day functions so they can shine in their roles, and that was a hard place for me to come to. But I can trust them, more than myself on a lot of the service requests, and they’re fantastic. It’s just, when you run something yourself for so long, it’s hard to pry your hand off the wheel. My favorite part is ringing up kids who have found something in the 50 cent bin or something lightly used, nice and cheap. They’re going home with something in their hands that they chose and that makes me happy.

What’s the best dedication or first line of a book that you can remember?

I always loved that Nabokov always dedicated his books to his wife, Vera. I think it was the first dedication I ever really noticed, and I took it as, “I didn’t have to do this alone.”

What’s YOUR favorite indie bookstore that you’ve visited, besides your own!

That is a super tough question. Can I give a handful of shout outs? I grew up on Watermark Books in Wichita, KS, and I happily go broke there every time I visit home. I love that Left Bank Books in the Pike Place Market in Seattle is still running their revolution, and that is actually a bookstore that is the same age as I am, so bravo them! And I love Powell’s in Portland It truly was a place that had everything.

Ericka Arcadia is one of the owners of Hudubam Booktraders in Clarksville, TN.

An interview with Grace Hagen of The Novel Neighbor

Posted on | by Marissa DeCuir | 1 Comment on An interview with Grace Hagen of The Novel Neighbor

What’s your favorite area of your bookstore?

My favorite area of the bookstore is the front window section, both inside and outside facing. It is one of the places where we showcase our values as we highlight monthly themes, books and sidelines relevant to current events. Linda and Michelle are so thoughtful about how they curate the sidewalk-facing window display, I love how it greets our customers and neighbors.

What’s the coolest book cover that you like to have facing out on the shelves? In a Garden Burning Gold

If you had a staff pick for a recent new release, what would it be? Backlist pick?

My staff pick for a recent new release: When Women Were Dragons. It was SO moving. Although this novel is set in an alternate reality and in the past, where some women are actually dragons, it couldn’t be more prescient given our current socio-political environment. This novel quenched an emotional need for me, made me feel more powerful, and more in love with the strength that “ordinary” people can exercise. Barnhill doesn’t preach one right way of being, but is inclusive of myriad identities and presents characters who are complex and imperfect in such an accessible way. Simply LOVED it.

My staff pick for backlist: Beloved. Beloved has been banned from at least five schools in the U.S. despite winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and being nominated for the National Book Award, among many other acclaims. This novel is proof that great art can sometimes create great discomfort. It invites readers to grapple with individual, family, and systemic trauma, while challenging the binary understanding of right and wrong. It brings to life many types of relationships with graphic descriptions, the supernatural, and deep humanity.

Do you have a strange customer story?

The strangest and most delightful customer story I have is when an adorable toddler was in the store intently reading (or pretending to read?) How Not to Become a Little Old Lady like it was full of the secrets to life!

What author have you been starstruck to meet, or have you gotten to host a fun virtual event?

I was absolutely starstruck when I met Claudia Rankine a few years ago. Her talk was so generous – she gave up a lot of emotional labor to the audience during the Q and A – and so prescient.

What are some misconceptions people have about working in a bookstore?

There are two misconceptions I regularly encounter. One is that we get to read all day at work, which sounds dreamy but is so not true. The other is that we are just a tiny staff of book lovers. The truth is that we are book lovers, but we have a very large staff (20 people!) of highly skilled professionals in various roles related to the work of an independent bookstore.

What is your least favorite bookstore task? Favorite part about working in a bookstore?

My least favorite bookstore task is bookcover stripping. I understand the reason for the process, but it does hurt my soul a bit.

My favorite part about working in a bookstore: This is such a hard question to answer which makes me feel SO lucky to have my job in particular at The Novel Neighbor! I get to do many different things that bring me joy, like supporting and amplifying local activists addressing important socio-political issues that impact the community. It’s also such a delight that part of my job is to intentionally celebrate our staff and affirm their incredible work on individual and collective levels.

Can you recommend an underrated readalike book for one of the store’s top titles?

We sell a lot of Emily Henry’s Beach Read and an underrated comp for that is The Roughest Draft. We have an amazing romance customer community and the agreement is that it’s a great readalike!

Grace Hagen is the Director of Operations and Inclusion at The Novel Neighbor in St. Louis.

An interview with Gretchen Shuler of Fiction Addiction

Posted on | by Marissa DeCuir

What is your favorite area of your bookstore?

Walking into the front door. We are a small store, so when you walk into the store you are enveloped with the new book smell, and it is akin to getting a hug from the books.

What’s the coolest book cover that you like to have facing out on the shelves?

I have two favorite covers that I make sure are facing out: The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh, because of the beautiful colors and intricate designs that tells as much of a story as the book itself, and The Wedding Veil by Kristy Woodson Harvey, because it’s a beautiful bride walking in front of the Biltmore House.

If you had a staff pick for a recent new release, what would it be? Backlist pick?

My favorite new release staff pick right now is The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston. The idea of a ghost writer falling in love with a ghost was an intriguing idea. Then you add in Ashley’s punny antidotes and you have a book that will keep you giggling all the way through.

My favorite backstock pick is The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. It’s a modern twist of a gothic tale that follows three three prep school boys on a quest to find a lost king. It is my go to whenever I need a reading pick me up.

Do you have a strange customer story?

I don’t have a strange customer story, but I do have a very memorable customer experience that happened a few months ago. I had a family (grandmother, mother, and daughter) come to the store on a Saturday afternoon. They were very excited to be at the store. While they were looking around, they told me their story. They were on a book road trip from Alabama. The daughter was an avid reader, and loved in-person author events. However, the pandemic had stopped these events. So the grandmother gave her a road trip to all of the independent bookstores that had signed books of her favorite authors from Alamaba to the Northern Banks, North Carolina. We were the middle point of their journey. It was so much fun to hear about the different stores they had visited, and to see their enthusiasm while exploring the store.

What author have you been starstruck to meet or have gotten to host a fun virtual event?

I am a huge fangirl when it comes to authors. My work shirt says it all, “Professional Fangirl.” The best starstruck moment was meeting Alex London at YALLFest in Charleston, South Carolina. I had read his book Proxy, and I had made him a bookmark as a gift to celebrate his book. I was such a nervous wreck, I could not keep my hands from shaking. He took the time to talk to me and take a picture. It was one of my favorite moments meeting an author.

What are some misconceptions people have about working in a bookstore?

One major misconception I have seen is that people think we have read every book in the store.

What is your least favorite bookstore task? Favorite part about working in a bookstore?

My least favorite task is standing on a foot stool to get items off the high shelves. I am terribly afraid of heights (even the height of a step stool), and it always feels like I am walking on a tightrope. My favorite part of working in the bookstore is setting up the window displays. I love the ability to be creative and come up with new ideas. Some of my favorite window designs were our Black History Month window and Pride month window. I’m currently working on a Banned Books month display.

Can you recommend an underrated read alike book for one of the store’s top titles?

I actually had an encounter with a customer with a similar request a few weeks ago. She had just read Emma Straub’s This Time Tomorrow. She said she really enjoyed it, and wanted something similar but original. I recommend Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. The books are similar with mystical realism, time travel, and family dynamics.

What is the best dedication or first line of a book that you can remember?

My most favorite dedication was in My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows, the dedication reads:
“For everyone who knows there was enough room for Leonard DiCaprio on that door.
And for England. We’re really sorry for what we’re about to do to your history.”

What’s YOUR favorite indie bookstore that you’ve visited besides your own?

Blue Bicycle Books in Charleston, S.C.

Gretchen Shuler is a bookseller at Fiction Addiction in Greenville, S.C.

Arab author’s new memoir contextualizes personal history within modern Middle East

Posted on | by Marissa DeCuir

BEIRUT, Lebanon – In her upcoming memoir, Amal Ghandour reflects on her life as a privileged member of the “silent” Arab generation that came of political age in the 1980s, seeking clarity from a twin excavation of the self and the world that gave shape to it. In doing so, she draws from personal histories and larger political and cultural trends to thread a generational tale of seeming early promise, cascading defeats, and devastating finales.

“This Arab Life: A Generation’s Journey into Silence” (Bold Story Press, Oct. 11, 2022) unfolds through a series of juxtapositions of private tragedies and epochal events, places and geographies, characters and lived experiences, innermost truths and shared realities. Through such depictions, the author pulls together half a century of Levantine and Arab history, even as she proceeds to disentangle it for answers.

“This Arab Life” begins in Amman in the summer of 1973 and concludes in Beirut in December 2021. But the narrative encompasses a world by turns distant and faded, near and vital.

“This Arab Life: A Generation’s Journey Into Silence”
Amal Ghandour | Oct. 11, 2022 | Bold Story Press | Non-fiction/Memoir

Advance Praise

“Unsparing of herself as ‘informant,’ in a book that is at once painful and a delight to read, Amal Ghandour probes the conscience and circumstances of a small but very influential section of Arab society. Stylish, witty and heartbreaking, this is a unique and critical contribution to our current soul-searching.”
– Ahdaf Soueif, best-selling Egyptian novelist and short story writer, and political and cultural commentator

“Amal Ghandour has written a nostalgic book with glimmers of brilliant personal, social and political observations and probing about Jordan and Lebanon, about wars and longings, about a rich life of upheavals and laments.”
– Raja Shehadeh, Palestinian writer and lawyer, and founder of the human rights organization Al-Haq

“This Arab Life is a sweeping retrospective on a generation’s historic complicity in the present travails plaguing the Arab world. The book is, at once, intimate, far-reaching, political, angry, melancholic, funny, and nostalgic. Ghandour’s reflections on her life, and on the decisions taken by her and her peers as they came of age in the eighties and nineties, offers important insight for anyone seeking to understand how we got to where we are today in the region. The book is a cautionary tale of political acquiescence, and one that is, like many Arabs, stuck between an urgent impulse to act, to change, to hope, alongside an overwhelming sense of despair and apathy.”
– Tarek Baconi, author of “Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance,” and president of the board of al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network

“The Arab world hasn’t fallen into silence. It has descended, not unlike other parts of the globe, into a logorrhea of reflexive grumbling, vacuous politics, and hopeless nostalgia. Amal Ghandour’s voice pierces through this noise: analytic, female, rebellious, acid yet soothing, if only because so much of the corrosion she describes is just begging for her brand of intellectual rust remover. Ghandour taunts the very elites she belongs to with questions few of the privileged ever ask themselves: Wealth aside, what is our worth? Who are we, as an elite, if we do little more than indulge and free-ride? Her own answers rise from a unique blend of acute insights, touching vignettes, and downright introspection, all caught up in the region’s traumatic historical arc, and bound together by Ghandour’s ever so tight, elegant style.”
—Peter Harling, founder of Synaps, a public interest research Institute

About the Author

Amal Ghandour is the author of “This Arab Life: A Generation’s Journey into Silence” (Bold Story Press, Oct. 11, 2022). Her career spans more than three decades in the fields of research, communication, and community development. An author (“About This Man Called Ali”) and a former blogger (“Thinking Fits”), Ghandour is Senior Strategy Adviser to Ruwwad al Tanmeyah, a regional community development initiative, a position she has held since 2009.

Ghandour was special adviser to Columbia University’s Global Centers, Middle East, from 2014 to 2017, sits on The Women Creating Change Leadership Council of Columbia University’s Center for the Study of Social Difference; the Board of Trustees of International College, Lebanon; the Board of Directors of Ruwwad, Lebanon; The Board of Directors of Synaps, a public interest research institute; and has served on the Board of Directors of The Arab Human Rights Fund (2011-2014). She holds an MS in International Policy from Stanford University and a BSFS from Georgetown University.

Follow Amal Ghandour on social media:
Twitter: @ghandour_ag | Instagram: @amalghandour

In an interview, Amal Ghandour can discuss:

  • Countering stereotypes about Arab women and their condition
  • The importance of native Arab voices in narratives about the Arab world
  • Understanding the meaning and lasting impact of the 2011 Arab uprisings
  • The current moment in the Arab world and the political and cultural trends sweeping through it
  • The collapse of Lebanon and its implications
  • Islamism and its place in Arab politics and culture
  • Straddling writing genres – including elements of memoir, cultural commentary along with historical and political context

An Interview with Amal Ghandour

How does “This Arab Life” differ from other memoirs by Arab women?

There aren’t many memoirs written in English by Arab women. Iranian women have been more visible on that front. But invariably, theirs (Arab and Iranian) are personal tales of persecution and struggle, escape or deliverance. In the case of translated older generation activists like Egyptian Nawal el-Saadawi, there is, of course, the noble cause-focused memoir.

“This Arab Life” stands this tradition on its head. Strictly speaking, it is not a memoir. It bestrides genres and the personal in it is to illuminate a larger generational story. It is written by a privileged woman and casts a sharp lens on the elites and their place in this story, tracing a journey of grand possibilities and wholesale abdication.

Were you aware of any stereotypes and tropes about Arab women that you wanted to stay away from in your writing?

I am always alert to stereotypes and tropes about women, both homegrown and foreign. But in writing “This Arab Life,” I didn’t set out to avoid or focus on any. I wanted them to reveal themselves naturally through what I witnessed and experienced as an Arab woman. For example, the growing influence of Islamism in the 1970s, when we were still teenagers, and how that began to change our world: the social norms, the dress codes, the personal status laws, the dos and don’ts.

I dedicate a couple of pages to the veil because of the extraordinary significance it has been accorded in the contrived cultural wars between the East and the West. I wanted to enrich the discourse with the nuance and humanity that suffuse our realities but are almost always absent in the furious back and forth. And I thought it’s important to show how we women (and inevitably the veil) have been conveniently weaponized by both sides.

You went to the United States when you were a teenager to do your high school and university studies, and then back to Jordan, where you grew up. How would you describe that experience of voyage and return?

Going to the U.S. for university studies was the norm for many middle and upper-class Jordanians. I went in the 11th grade, earlier than my friends, because of family circumstances. High school in the U.S. is like an early ticket into the American way of life. At the tender age of 15 or 15, you imbibe very quickly the culture and its quirks, the politics, the language, the habits… By the time I graduated from Holton Arms and was ready to join Georgetown’s Foreign Service School, I was intimately familiar with America and very much at ease in it.

America was an education. It was social freedom and political loneliness on issues like Israel and Palestine, for example. It was a mélange of unexpected friendships and fascinating encounters with political and intellectual adversaries. It was adulthood.

Returning was easy – at least for me. Amman was a cocoon, and cocoons, by their very nature, are cozy and comfy and safe. We knew the rules and most of us played by them.

In your book, you choose to reveal Lebanon, your birthplace, through dichotomies and juxtapositions. In one of them, you describe yourself as “the tourist.” Where did that come from?

The label was bestowed on me by some Lebanese friends who remained in Lebanon during the 1975-1990 civil war. Postwar, there was a rupture of a sort between those who stayed and those who left. I never, in fact, lived in Lebanon before 1991, so the tension was perhaps deeper.

For many of those who stayed, those who left were foreign to Lebanon and its mysteries, didn’t quite love and understand it, and didn’t have the right to criticize it because they had abandoned it. Every time I offered a critical perspective about any matter Lebanese, the comeback was, what do you know – you, the tourist?

So I use the term as a literary device to unpack Lebanon and its many paradoxes for the reader.

Connection is a theme that runs throughout your book. Connection with your family, connection with your culture and connection with yourself. Why was this important for you to write about?

Because much of contemporary history in the Levant and other corners of the Arab world (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Yemen…) has been that of uncertainty, dislocation, displacement, and disruption. Continuums and connections offer context, color, perspective, anchor. They help you locate yourself in the sweep of history, if you like.

I am not referring here only to the costs of political turmoil and war. Environmental degradation, modernity’s reckless assault on heritage, oppressive regimes’ intolerance of the lushness of culture. Your world becomes very lonely without connections, and hence my quest for them.

How did your educational and professional backgrounds influence your writing?

Politics, culture, and social themes permeate my writing – my old “Thinking Fits” blog, my first book, the pieces I chose to write for various publications, “This Arab Life”… My work as a journalist after graduation and my communication and community development career have given me invaluable insight into life outside the narrow borders that keep many of us in the Arab world in our tiny bubbles. Such insight naturally informs everything I do and write.

You straddle genres in your book, combining elements of memoir, history and cultural commentary. Did you find it difficult to insert your own voice into your writing, especially given your research background? How would you describe the tone of your writing?

I found it interesting and challenging, actually. Inserting my voice was not hard, because I had a personal story to tell. The question was how much of myself would I dare share. I decided that I would simply write with abandon and then see what I might want to delete.

But I did have to resist the habit of seeking support in quotations and citations. I worried about the disruption to the narrative that a seemingly academic tilt might cause. So, I minimized those to ones essential to the argument. I am hoping that the two styles danced well on the page.

Some people label the 2011 Arab uprisings as a “failure” – how do you see them?

In this opening act, I saw them as failures – both for the people and the regimes. And the consequences have, of course, been devastating. We have countries that have been dismembered, cities that have been laid to waste, regions that have been cleansed, entire generations that have been traumatized… Chasms checker the Fertile Crescent and vacuums poke it. Yemen does even worse, and North Africa is only modestly better.

But the uprisings have offered extraordinary lessons and revelations as well. Perhaps the most important among them is the real difficulty of dislodging police states.

You cover a lot of ground in your book. Are there any stories or experiences that were left on the cutting room floor that you wish you could have included?

Many. But I am happy for them to stay on the cutting floor. As I wrote in “This Arab Life,” my stories are excavations at their most delicate, and the introspections are constantly hiding frailties and awkward matters of the heart and mind. I shared all that I could share – for now.

Can you tell us about your previous book, “About This Man Called Ali?”

The book is a historical narrative of the contemporary Near East through the life and art of Ali al Jabri, a magnificent but rather obscure Syrian artist who was murdered in Amman in 2002. Ali was a dear friend, and when he died I thought who he was, how he lived, what he painted, and what he wrote in his diaries would offer very original insight into our modern history.

What do you hope readers take away from reading your new book?

Many things, I am hoping.

A knowledge of people, place, and time that is intimate. I hope I have succeeded in weaving a history from below for the reader.

And for decades, we Arabs have heard a painful description of us: Arab Exceptionalism. It became very popular after the revolutionary fervor that swept through East Europe in 1989 and seeming transitions to democracy elsewhere. A truism about us Arabs took root: that we are resistant to progress, stuck, incapable of renewal. My generation came of political age in the 1980s. Our silence was part of that narrative. In “This Arab Life,” I offer my own narrative about what transpired. I wrote to achieve clarity and build contexts. My hope, again, is that the reader has achieved the same when done with “This Arab Life.”

What’s next for you?

Another book. A new blog. More writing.

Download press kit and photos

Ask an Expert: A Conversation with Bryan Robinson on How to Build a Successful Author Brand (Without Burning Out)

Posted on | by Marissa DeCuir

It’s important for authors to protect their mental health; like any other job, failing to care for your mental wellbeing can result in serious burnout. As an author and a psychotherapist, Bryan Robinson understands the unique challenges authors face when caring for their mental wellbeing. Robinson has successfully published numerous titles about combatting both workaholism and burnout, and taking care of yourself, including Chained to the Desk (4th edition – 2023), #Chill: Turn Off Your Job and Turn on Your Life (2019), and Daily Writing Resilience (2018). Today on the blog, he’s sharing some of his top tips about how to build a successful author brand, while caring for your mental health.

  1. What’s your top piece of advice for writers when it comes to mental health?
    When you receive a rejection (and you will; every great writer has), don’t take it personally. You can’t have an up without a down, a right without a left, a success without a failure. Writing success is built on writing failure. That’s how you learned to walk. You fell down a few times when you were a toddler before you could walk and run on your own. Your mindset is essential for your success. So remember rejection and success are a package deal.
  2. Are there certain groups or resources you recommend for writers to help them protect and improve their mental health and wellbeing?
    My book, DAILY WRITING RESILIENCE is exactly for that. It has 365 readings to deal with all the obstacles writers encounter on their literary trajectory. Also joining organizations such as International Thriller Writers or Mystery Writers of America and conferences such as Killer Nashville are supports every writer needs to develop resilience and stay in the game. It’s a lonely enterprise and support is essential to boost your self-confidence.
  3. What’s something you wish someone had told you as a debut author?
    Your book isn’t as great as you think it is, but you can make it great with the right attitude, persistence, and skill. Perseverance is as important or more important than a well written book. Too many debut writers give up because they can’t take the hard knocks. If you want to see your writing in print, never give up, keep learning, and take that towel you want to throw in, wipe the sweat off your brow, and keep on plugging away. And you’ll get there.
  4. You are an expert at branding yourself as an expert. Why is “branding” important (particularly for nonfiction authors)? What tips would you offer to other writers who are seeking to publicly “brand” themselves as experts in the subjects they are writing on?
    You have to have a platform, credentials, or extensive experience to be an expert. Sometimes that takes years of schooling or years of practice so that you truly are an expert. If you don’t have one, the first step is to develop your platform by working as a consultant or a writer gratis to get the experience under your belt part. Then you have to promote yourself. That’s the sticky part. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. If you have a book, your expertise is part of the product. If you shy away from talking about yourself and your skills out of modesty, you’re sabotaging your branding. Of course, you have to be discreet. Nobody wants to hear someone drone on about how much they know about something. But you need to find that line where you feel comfortable promoting yourself without carpet bombing people with the promotions.
  5. Bonus: In your opinion, what does it mean to be a “successful” writer?
    It’s a life dream. When I was seven, I wrote stories to get away from a dysfunctional childhood. A teacher teaches, a doctor heals people, a realtor sells everyday. A successful writer writes everyday, not just on a whim. A successful writer pens their craft because they are passionate about writing, not because they want to be famous or rich. If you lose your passion and don’t consider it as a job, you’re dead meat.

 

Bryan E. Robinson is an author, psychotherapist, and Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is Chief Architect Officer (CAO) of ComfortZones Digital, Inc. He is a regular contributor to Killer Nashville Magazine, The Big Thrill, Thrive Global, and Forbes.com. He has authored forty nonfiction books, including his latest, the 4th edition of Chained to the Desk (2023) and #Chill: Turn Off Your Job and Turn on Your Life (2019). His books have been translated into fifteen languages, and he has written for over one-hundred professional journals and popular magazines. He has won two awards for writing and has lectured across the United States and throughout the world. His work has been featured on every major television network. Way DEAD Upon the Suwannee River has been made into a pilot for a television series under the name of Limestone Gumption, and he has completed the second novel in the series, She’ll Be KILLING ‘Round the Mountain. Robinson maintains a private clinical practice in Asheville, North Carolina and resides in the Blue Ridge Mountains with his spouse, four dogs, and occasional bears at night.

For more information, visit his website: www.bryanrobinsonbooks.com and www.comfortzonesdigital.com.

 

An interview with Giovanni Boivin of The Bookloft

Posted on | by Marissa DeCuir

What’s your favorite area of your bookstore?

This is a toss-up between our Sci-fi/Fantasy/Horror corner and our graphic novel section. I am a sucker for all things in both sections. Especially sci-fi/fantasy/horror graphic novels!

What’s the coolest book cover that you like to have facing out on the shelves?

When they say “don’t judge a book by its cover” they have never met a modern reader. The cover is what catches your eye and brings you in. One of the coolest (and creepiest) covers I love to have face-out is the horror novella Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw. It’s a really disturbing cover and I love it.

If you had a staff pick for a recent new release, what would it be? Backlist pick?

One of my new staff picks is the novella, A Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers. It is a lovely, meditative reflection on life and one’s journey. Conversely, the backlist pick is All Systems Red, book one of the Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells. Another novella, but I love the Murderbot diaries for the action and the antisocial awkward protagonist.

Do you have a strange customer story?

We have a lot of strange people and strange requests, but one that sticks in my mind is a woman coming in and asking for someone who doesn’t work here. She thought we were a completely different business, despite the numerous signs she passed, and it took a few minutes to convince her she had the wrong building.

What author have you been starstruck to meet, or have you gotten to host a fun virtual event?

We worked with a local theater company that hosts author events for bigger name authors and have the capacity for hundreds of people to come. We were able to meet David Sedaris as he was on a book tour for his title, Theft by Finding, and we sold this and other of his titles at the event.

What are some misconceptions people have about working in a bookstore?

A Bookstore is still a retail position. There is still customer service and a point-of-sales system to learn. Answering phones, putting stock away and cleaning up after people. We still have holiday rushes and the usual supply-demand issues as with any other retail business. Yes, we all love books and love to read, but there is still that face-to-face interaction with customers that may or may not know what they want or where to look. It’s a lot of hand-holding.

What is your least favorite bookstore task? Favorite part about working in a bookstore?

My least favorite part of the bookstore job is dealing with unhappy or disgruntled customers. We always have a few through the seasons where they refuse to comply with our mask mandates, demand a book we have on hold for someone else because they didn’t plan ahead, or don’t understand why a book they want isn’t available; be it out of print, or on backorder with the publisher.

My favorite part of the bookstore life is putting the perfect book in someone’s hand. Especially if it is one of my picks or favorites. I love sharing my passion for books with other people and seeing the joy on their faces when I hit the mark perfectly.

Can you recommend an underrated readalike book for one of the store’s top titles?

If you liked A Game of Thrones or the Song of Ice and Fire books, I highly recommend Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter. Not only does it have dragons and fantastic world building, it also has that classic underdog story, political intrigue, challenging the status quo and a mythology totally unique to its own world.

Giovanni Boivin is the Gentleman Bookseller (and the head book buyer for Adult titles) at The Bookloft in Berkshires, MA.

 

An interview with Nicole Brinkley of Oblong Books

Posted on | by Marissa DeCuir

What’s your favorite area of your bookstore?

All of it! I love our bookstore. But if I had to choose just one area, I really love our kids section. It’s open, airy, and full of beautiful and colorful books. I love seeing kids get excited about something new to read, so watching them run around and show off what they want to get is the best.

What’s the coolest book cover that you like to have facing out on the shelves?

I love a slightly creepy cover, so I am constantly falling in love with beautiful, oversized, stylized nonfiction books like Gothic and Memento Mori: The Dead Among Us. There’s just something really cool about books that feel like art pieces in-and-of themselves.

If you had a staff pick for a recent new release, what would it be? Backlist pick?

Most of the staff picks at our store are backlist! It’s never too late to discover a good book. One of my favorite backlist picks is This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, a sapphic time-travel novella following two time agents on opposite sides of a time war. I don’t think I have words that will do this book justice. I recommend reading in snippets or risk drowning in its gorgeous prose.

And one of my more favorite recent titles is The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston! I adore a good romance and adore a good fantasy, and The Dead Romantics manages to be both. This spectral romance is a balm to the spirit. When writer Florence Day has to return home for an unexpected funeral, she’s surprised to find herself visited by the ghost of… her stoic, too-handsome editor Ben. Romance readers will want Florence and Ben to haunt their shelves after reading: it’s soulful, punny, whimsical, and death defyingly romantic.

Do you have a strange customer story?

Oh, so many! But one of our favorites is the story of the ghost cane. A beautiful old wooden cane appeared in our store without its owner. We put it in our lost-and-found box and waited a little while to see if the owner would come and retrieve it. They didn’t! Upon further glance, there was a phone number on the cane. So we figured: hey, why not call it and see if the owner of the cane would like it back?

The phone number led us to a lovely lady in California, who—very confused but kind—explained that the cane belonged to her husband… who had died six months previously.
We have no idea how it got into the store. Apparently, a ghost wanted to do a little shopping.

What author have you been starstruck to meet?

I feel really lucky that we’ve hosted a whole bunch of my favorite authors, but the only one I ever got starstruck around was Alan Cumming! We hosted him at an offsite (bookseller jargon for an event not in the actual bookstore store; it’s not big enough for that crowd!) and I got to help him set up and sign books and chat with him. He’s so charismatic and charming in person that I suspect he might actually be fae folk. An absolute gem.

What are some misconceptions people have about working in a bookstore?

We don’t sit around reading! There’s always something to do. There’s customers to ring out, web orders to fill, books to receive, shelves to organize, displays to make, dogs to pet… the list is endless.

What is your favorite part about working in a bookstore?

I love, love, love handselling books to customers. There is no greater joy than connecting somebody to a book that they end up loving – especially if you loved it, too! Since some of my specialities are kids books and queer books, it’s especially a privilege to be able to connect young folks or traditionally underrepresented folks to a book that really speaks to them. It’s the reason I never want to leave bookselling: there’s no other experience like it, and I don’t ever want to give it up.

Can you recommend an underrated readalike book for one of the store’s top titles?

Oh, Oblong — like every bookstore — sells a ton of kids graphic novels. If you (or your kiddo) love the Dogman series by Dav Pilkey, you should try the InvestiGators series by John Green. (It’s alligators, in vests, doing investigating!) If Babysitter’s Club is more your jam, pick up Twins by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright, about two twin girls who decide to compete against each other to become class president! And if you love fantasy graphic novels like The Witch Boy, you simply must pick up Star Knights by Kay Davault, a charming woodland fantasy about embracing who you are and looking past the differences of others.

Nicole Brinkley is a manager with Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY.