A lot of you have said you’re interested in joining us for our summer contest (I’ll get to “us” in a minute). I know a lot of you are already doing summer reading challenges or other contests. Too bad; here’s one more. Read on; you’ll dig it.

It’s time for the West of Mars, Breeni Books, Morsie Reads, Eclectic Closet, Writing Aspirations Summer Reading Contest!

The rules are simple:

1. Find a book that’s a Hidden Treasure. That means a book that hasn’t made it to a best-seller list anywhere that you can find. A suggested reading list is available at WestofMars.com. Feel free to find your own treasure, though.

2. The book MUST be from a royalty-paying publisher. If in doubt, ask.

3. Read it.

4. Post a review somewhere on the Internet between July 15 and August 15.

5. Sign the Mr. Linky at West of Mars. Include the permalink for your review. (yeah, that link brings you back here.)

6. Yes, you can use a Hidden Treasure book that fulfills another contest or reading challenge.

7. Yes, you can review more than one book.

8. If, for some reason, you don’t want to win a prize, let Susan know.

9. If you have suggestions for the Hidden Treasures Suggested Reading List, or a prize for the winners, drop Susan an e-mail. You can also contact Janelle; she’s giving me a LOT of help (so be sure to surf over and thank her).

10. Prizes will be awarded August 20. Winners will be contacted and winning list will be posted no later than 22 August; be sure to have a way for us to contact you!

So, there you go. Got a prize to offer? Got a favorite book that you want more people to know about?

Leave a comment or e-mail me. I’m a bit slow lately, but I’m still here.

Kudos to friends for helping spread the word: Nimrodiel,

Today’s special guest blog writer is (drum roll, please) . . .

The Tour Manager!

==============================================================

So, the star of W-o-M shows me this Booking Through Thursday
thing (here)
and asks if I’d like to write a blog entry. I figure, “Why not?”

To the question at hand, do I cheat and look at the end of a book
or read it like the author intended? I don’t cheat, well, not in my
mind. If I stick with a book, then I read it beginning to end. Now,
if I decide mid-way through the book that it’s a load of dren
(as they’d say on Farscape), then I’ll sometimes scan the ending
before flinging the book on the “Give to Susan to trade” pile.
I do read the teasers or whatever you call them on the dust cover
flaps or on the back cover.

Am I tempted to cheat? Maybe once in a long while, but again, usually
when I’m thinking “where the !@#$!#@ is this heading” which often
results in the “load of dren” declaration.

Phew. There you go. A peek into the mind of The Tour Manager.
Hopefully you survived with your sanity intact.

Bunches of little things and one big one…

1. Check out Front Street Reviews for two (not one! Two!) of my latest book reviews — one for Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, by Peter Ames Carlin. (the link’s to buy the book. Use the Front Street Reviews link to read what I had to say about it.)

The other review is for a new rave of mine: Karma Girl, by Jennifer Estep. (Oh, just check out both links, then the Front Street one for the review!) This is a writer worth watching; her vision is incredible. She creates a totally believable world that you’ll want to live in. I promise.

2. Have you been to Dewey’s place lately? She’s running this really cool contest and yours truly has offered to throw in for the prizes. Come jump on the fun.

3. And finally, speaking of contests and Jennifer Estep, I’m looking for more authors who’ve published fiction by royalty-paying publishers. Yes, gang, it’s time for our summer reading contest, and I am hoping some of you authors, or friends of authors, will stop by and offer up not only prizes, but up to five books or authors who fit the theme of Hidden Treasures.

I’ve noticed that this is a hot theme this year; I picked it way back in February, so I may be late to the bandwagon, but that’s cause I was busy hitching the horses up to it.

Drop me an e-mail for more details. Authors only right now, though! The rest of you can wait a scant two weeks. (Go hunt down Karma Girl in the meantime, okay?)

Explore a new literary form!

Check it out.

In Jewish communities, a Sephardic Jew is one who hails, roughly, from Spain. That’s how I always remember it: Sephardic, Spain. S, S. You get the idea, even though the geographical area is actually a bit bigger than the one country.

So what’s a Sfardic?

My term for a fan of Joann Sfar, a (incidentally Jewish) fabulous graphic novelist. I first encountered him via The Rabbi’s Cat and have since picked up Vampire Loves and a few of the Dungeon books. I can’t get enough. In fact, I’ve taken a few out of my local library and somehow have wound up with two copies of The Rabbi’s Cat. I mean, how can you argue with a cat who gains the power of speech (in a way that’s simply brilliant) and demands a Bar Mitzvah?

To say I’ve flipped over this talented, creative, insightful, wise, and funny as hell artist/storyteller/what-have-you is an understatement. And now, with a new release on the shelves, you don’t have an excuse to stay away.

A quick Spring Reading Thing Update before I get to Buy a Friend a Book Week fun…

I gave up reading Dead Man’s Island (Carolyn G. Hart) and it’s already been mooched from me. A Darker Place (Laurie R. King) was also abandoned partway through, and is available either from PaperBackSwap, BookMooch, or … (what a segueway, Susan!)

… this quarter’s Buy a Friend a Book Week contest.

There are two ways to win:

The first three people who e-mail me a scan of their receipt for Steven Lee Beeber‘s The Heebie Jeebies at CBGB’s will get my last three copies of Lyrical Life. So make sure you include an address with your e-mail. Buy it for you, for a friend, for the rocker-type down the street. Steven and I don’t care. Just buy it and read it. It’s a really cool book, and Steven’s a truly cool dude.

The other way to win a book between now and the 7th, with the winner announced shortly thereafter, is to visit my bookshelf at BookCrossing. Look under the available titles — but be careful, because if there’s anything in parentheses after the word available, that means I don’t have the book anymore. Leave a comment here on this post (because there will be quite a few posts this week, I suspect, so let’s keep things where they belong) and tell me what book you want, and WHY. Whoever has the best reason will win the book and I’ll happily send it to you.

Be warned: I like multiple winners. And I’ve got enough books here to sink a rowboat, I suspect. Have at it.

Now, I know that in my Thursday Thirteen this week, I promised you more fiction about Mitchell‘s desk. It’s coming. But you guys helped me have one of my busiest Thursdays yet, and I’m still digging out from it. Keep it coming and I’ll reward you with, as always, more and better.

Happy Buy a Friend a Book Week! (and yes, if you run out today and buy Heebies for a friend’s Easter basket, I’ll count it as a purchase)

Okay, I’ve got a TON of stuff for you guys the next few days (and none of it is fictional, scarily enough), so I thought I’d combine two posts into one.

First off is Kailana‘s request for the Blogger List of Books They Cannot Live Without. I don’t expect to see many, if any, of these titles in her final list; they’re too off the beaten path. But they’re right up my alley and they’ve all had an impact on me in one big way or another. (if you want to know how/why, ask. I’ll answer)

Susan’s List of Ten Essential Reads:
1. The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green — Joshua Braff
2. Dragonflight — Anne McCaffrey
3. The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon — Richard Zimler
4. I’m with the Band — Pamela DesBarres
5. Cowboys are my Weakness — Pam Houston
6. Bright Lights, Big City — Jay McInerney
7. One Hundred Years of Solitude — Gabriel Garcia Marquez
8. The Handmaid’s Tale — Margaret Atwood
9. East is East — T. Coraghessan Boyle
10. Fat Kid Rules the World — KL Going

All of these books have impacted me in one way or another. Many you’ll see in my Library Thing sidebar; I’ve included in my LibraryThing list only the books I’ve really loved.

And now… on to the other book-related list. That’s Katrina‘s Spring Reading Challenge. Check out the cool graphic in my sidebar and join in! Here, we’re supposed to list the books we want to read or finish before June 21.

Beware; you’re about to see that I’m not kidding when I say I have too many books! All but the first three arrived in my house between April 2005 and June 2005. I’d love to have them all read by the end of June, but c’mon. I’ve got a life.

Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson — Peter Ames Carlin
A Crazy Little Thing Called Death — Nancy Martin
Every Little Secret — Lila Shaara
A Darker Place — Laurie R. King
Deadhouse — Linda Fairstein
Cold Hit — Linda Fairstein
Dead Man’s Island — Carolyn G. Hart
The Chatham School Affair — Thomas H. Cook
Final Jeopardy — Linda Fairstein
Blood Harvest — Gary Gottsfeld
Track of the Cat — Nevada Barr
Talk Before Sleep — Elizabeth Berg
Where Serpents Lie — T. Coraghessan Boyle
Harvest — Tess Gerritsen
Bloodstream — Tess Gerritsen
Flashback — Nevada Barr
Deep Freeze — Lisa Jackson
The Puttermesser Papers — Cynthia Ozick
Buried Evidence — Nancy Taylor Rosenberg
The Second Silence — Eileen Goudge
Skinny Dipping — Claire Matturro
I’m no Angel — Patti Berg
Rain of Gold — Victor Villasenor
The Ladies — Doris Grumbach
Grime and Punishment — Jill Churchill
The Quality of Mercy — Faye Kellerman
Under Currents — Francis Fyfield
Shock Rock II — Jeff Gelb (Ed)
Imperfect Strangers — Stuart Woods

Hi, there. My name is Susan and I have a small book problem…

I got TWO rejections from agents Monday, and like the two before them, they said the same thing, if you read between the lines. It’s either they hate that Trevor gets sick, or that they think they can’t sell the book somehow.

I think the worst part is that these rejections I’m getting come in one of two varieties: the form letter that tells me they didn’t read past the first word, or else the personal letter that’s truly regretful and yet hopeful that I’ll find the right one of their colleagues who’ll take this on. One of the letters yesterday, from a VP at one of the biggie agencies, handwrote an additional “I am sorry” on the bottom of the letter. Like she’d wanted to take me on but someone stopped her.

Okay, enough of my frustrations. On to the good stuff.

I’ve been talking to Breeni about having a graphic made for when I talk up my groupies and when you guys blog about me. What do you think? You game? Do you want an official West of Mars Groupie graphic? What? (go on and say t-shirts; I’m on it)

Claire found this gem of an idea. We all know what I want for the world — for everyone to have the chance to meet Trevor. What do you want?

Now, the real news: Camille at Littlebird blue sent me this link, to Green Man Review, where she’s got a few reviews posted. Check them out.

And Karen and Janelle and I have been discussing this one via e-mail: The Bookseller is out with their (his? Her?) annual list of the oddest book titles. Be sure you vote.

Debut a Debut author Joshua Palmatier dropped into my inbox to tell me that his debut novel, The Skewed Throne, is one of the four finalists for the Baltimore Science Fiction Society’s Compton Crook/Stephen Tall Memorial Award for best first novel of 2006. HUGE congratulations to Joshua!! May the best book be yours!

Lastly, a shameless plug that you go check out what’s new at Front Street Reviews. Nothing from me (I’m too busy with the query letters), but plenty of other gems that you might want to consider for the summer reading contest… Stay tuned for that, as well as that graphic I’m thinking about. If you’d like it, give me a yay or nay in the comments.

My dear friend Janelle, who will be more involved here as we do more major book contests, has proclaimed March to be Small Press Month.

Keep an eye on The Eclectic Closet to be exposed to some pretty cool stuff in the upcoming weeks.

And, as always, share any gems you come across!

While we were busy with the Debut a Debut contest, I snuck in a debut, too, albeit an older one. Joshua Braff’s The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green is a book I’d wanted to read since I first heard about it and come on, how can your resist a book whose cover copy talks about a drawing of a rabbi, a pig, and a lobster in a threesome?

My book club agreed to this adventure, I collected a few copies — because getting books is sometimes a pain — and we read Jacob’s story.

The book is billed as a modern-day Portnoy’s complaint and I was expecting Jacob to be similar to Portnoy in that his teenagered sexual awakening dominated things. Nope. Instead, this book is about Jacob’s relationships with his father and, ultimately, with his brother. And while absolutely nothing in my background is similar to Jacob’s — well, okay, we’ve got that religion thing going — I got this book so totally, I cried through the final confrontation scene.

As for the ending, I got that, too.

This is one of those don’t miss books. You can be sure I’ll be picking up copies at used book stores and sales and sharing them with you guys. Assuming you wisely decide you can’t wait that long.

Just be prepared: the rabbi, the lobster, and the pig aren’t the major players you sort of wish they’d be. Sadly.

First off, congratulations to everyone who played along, thought about playing along, or tried but got derailed (Cheesy, I still love you!). I’d have to say our first Debut a Debut contest was a smashing success.

So. Without further ado, here are the winners and their prizes.

Janelle — 5 points from BookMooch.com

Little bird blue — $20.00 gift card from Borders

cherie pie — Tina Bendoni’s Argus: In Dreams

Karen — Suzanne Adair’s Paper Woman and Sela Carsen’s Not Quite Dead

Andrew — Shane Gericke’s pack, including Blown Away, his debut

world in a satin bag — Racy Li’s Ninja

Confessions of a literary persuasion — Lila Shaara’s audio of Every Secret Thing

breeni — Sela Carsen’s The Virgin Courtesan

mark baker — Lila Shaara’s Every Secret Thing (hardcover)

sahbu — Thomma Lyn’s Thy Eternal Summer

she — $20.00 Border’s gift certificate & Rhonda Stapleton’s Stripped

megan — Dawno’s You Pick

prester john — Michael FitzGerald’s Radiant Days

scooper — Matt Curran’s The Secret War

la lady lisa westerfield — RG Willems’s Targets of Affection

A few last housekeeping notes…
1. I’ll keep the list of suggested authors and the prize list up at my main website. Hope you’ll refer to it often and find yourself some good books.

2. Erica posted a great interview with Joshua Palmatier at Writing Aspirations. We’re talking to Joshua about having him be involved in our summer contest, so the next few months would be an excellent time to pick up his first — and second! — book, The Skewed Throne and The Cracked Throne.

3. You may be looking at the fact that prolific reviewer Antheras only won five points from BookMooch and wondering what’s up with that. That’s because she refused anything more and will be joining the Debut a Debut team. Thanks to Janelle for doing that; with her knowledge, Debut a Debut (and our upcoming summer contest) will get bigger and better. You cool people will be able to say you knew us when!!

4. Lastly, thanks to all of you who were part of this in any way, large or small. We hope you’ll keep spreading the word of the joint West of Mars and Writing Aspirations contests; there WILL be more (did I say summer contest?), so check in at our blogs for updates about all of that.

In the meantime, enjoy the fun stuff that Erica and I bring you on a semi-daily basis. We appreciate the fact that you guys are our readers. We hope we’ve exposed you to new bloggers and book reviewers and more neat sites for us bibliophiles (didn’t know your favorite metal head knew those big words, huh?), and we hope you’ll make at least some of them new favorites. Just… don’t forget us. We’ll miss you.

I’m out of here for the night… off to my couch and what else but a good book!

So, today’s the last day you can submit your review for the Debut a Debut contest. I have to admit that I’m sad about this. It’s been great fun, seeing what’s out there, reading the reviews you guys have chosen to write. (see the list of entrants)

And, of course, I’ve learned a lot. I have a habit of doing this, of learning a lot. It’s a good habit to have. Karen has learned a lot, too. She says it very eloquently, in fact. If you don’t already spend time there, you should.

Erica and I will pop up on President’s Day with the list of winners. I wish you guys could all win and who knows, maybe you can. But definitely check back; we’ll do a summer contest, and bring Debut a Debut back this time next year.

As always, if you read anything great, tell us about it. I can’t speak for Erica, but I read about 12 books a month (that number includes the ones I give up on). I’m always happy to hear of good reads.

And if you’re an author, stay tuned. I’d love to help bring your books to a wider audience; no need to wait for the major contests for that.

One last note for you West of Mars regulars: I’ve got a new character to introduce you to. Stay tuned.

All right, gang. It’s that time at last. Time to send in your entries to the <a href="All right, gang. It's that time at last. Time to send in your entries to the Debut a Debut contest.

Send them to me or Erica and we’ll post ’em and announce the prizes on the 19th of this month. Watch this space for updates — and don’t be shy; take the plunge and check out some of these great books!

Details on the summer contest coming up soon… again, we’ll be trying to point you guys to authors you may never have heard of before — but should!

Contest entrants:
Nimrodiel reviewing The Last Templar, by Raymond Khoury.

Andrew with The Skewed Throne, by Joshua Palmatier.

Janelle with The Friday Night Knitting Club, by Kate Jacobs.

Janelle with Was She Pretty, by Leanne Shapton.

Karen with The Interpretation of Murder, by Jed Rubenfeld

Camille with Firmin, by Sam Shepard.

Cherie with The Rest Falls Away: The Gardella Vampire Chronicles Book 1, by Colleen Gleason

Janelle with Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Shaun with Tower of Shadows by Drew Bowling.

Breeni with Speak Right On: Dred Scott a Novel, by Mary E. Neighbour

Candice with Nightmare in Laos by Kay Danes

Karen! with Kabbalah: A Love Story, by Lawrence Kushner.

Janelle with And Only to Deceive, by Tasha Alexander

Mark with Death on the Flop, by Jackie Chance

Mark with A Killer Collected, by Jennifer Stanley

Karen with Torch, by Cheryl Strayed

Scooper with The Rest Falls Away, by Colleen Gleason

Prester John with Rumble on the Bayou, by Jana DeLeon

She with Don’t Be Afraid, by Rebecca Drake

Lady Lisa Westerfield with And Only to Deceive, by Tasha Alexander

Karen with Jade Tiger, by Jenn Reese

Janelle with The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, by Gordon Dahlquist

Yourotherleft with Disobedience, by Naomi Alderman”>Debut a Debut contest.

Send them to me or Erica and we’ll post ’em and announce the prizes on the 19th of this month. Watch this space for updates — and don’t be shy; take the plunge and check out some of these great books!

Details on the summer contest coming up soon… again, we’ll be trying to point you guys to authors you may never have heard of before — but should!

Contest entrants:
Nimrodiel reviewing The Last Templar, by Raymond Khoury.

Andrew with The Skewed Throne, by Joshua Palmatier.

Janelle with The Friday Night Knitting Club, by Kate Jacobs.

Janelle with Was She Pretty, by Leanne Shapton.

Karen with The Interpretation of Murder, by Jed Rubenfeld

Camille with Firmin, by Sam Shepard.

Cherie with The Rest Falls Away: The Gardella Vampire Chronicles Book 1, by Colleen Gleason

Janelle with Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Shaun with Tower of Shadows by Drew Bowling.

Breeni with Speak Right On: Dred Scott a Novel, by Mary E. Neighbour

Candice with Nightmare in Laos by Kay Danes

Karen! with Kabbalah: A Love Story, by Lawrence Kushner.

Janelle with And Only to Deceive, by Tasha Alexander

Mark with Death on the Flop, by Jackie Chance

Mark with A Killer Collected, by Jennifer Stanley

Karen with Torch, by Cheryl Strayed

Scooper with The Rest Falls Away, by Colleen Gleason

Prester John with Rumble on the Bayou, by Jana DeLeon

She with Don’t Be Afraid, by Rebecca Drake

Lady Lisa Westerfield with And Only to Deceive, by Tasha Alexander

Karen with Jade Tiger, by Jenn Reese

Janelle with The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, by Gordon Dahlquist

Yourotherleft with Disobedience, by Naomi Alderman

If you are scrambling for something to read and review before the 17th of this month, let me make one final suggestion for this year’s Debut a Debut contest.

I heard from the lovely Joshua Palmatier, whose debut novel The Skewed Throne is on our list of debuts. Better news yet: it was released, in hardback, simultaneously with its sequel, The Cracked Throne.

That’s good news for one of you lucky folk, because Mr. Palmatier has graciously offered the Debut a Debut contest an autographed copy of that second book, The Cracked Throne.

AND, because all that’s not enough, if you review The Skewed Throne for this contest, you can turn around and enter a second contest at Joshua’s site — you’ll win a sneak peek at the new novel later on this year.

Two for the price of one. How can you refuse THAT?

Hope you’re busy reading!

I’m sure you guys have already chosen your debut novels for the Debut a Debut contest, right? Just in case you haven’t, I wanted to point you to one that just came on my radar the other day.

My friend Janelle sent me the info, and I was immediately taken by the author’s name. It’s so great and lyrical; I wish I could trade names with her. Ready? Roopa Farooki, and her book is Bitter Sweets.

Using my link will take you to a UK edition, but there’s apparently a US edition that was released early this month.

The book looks neat: themes of deception and how they affect the ones we love. If it’s too late for you to get your hands on it now and have it read and reviewed for posting anytime between the 12th and 17th of this month, have no fear.

Ms. Roopa Farooki will be on our list of 2007 debut authors… yep, I think we’re gonna do this again. Stay tuned for more…

Check out my review of LL Cool J’s Platinum Workout, now posted at Front Street Reviews.

Best line in the book? Near the end, when LL is telling the ladies not to worry about bulking up too much. “Believe me, ladies, I want to be the hardest thing in the bed.”

You’ve got to love a man who can slip a line like that into an exercise book.

And in Debut a Debut news…

Karen has featured one of our debut authors (and prize contributors). Make sure you stop in if you like historical fiction.

Looking to start a new series? Try Heather Hayashi’s To Save the World. I don’t know much about Hayashi (yet), but it seems that her series is directed at gamers. The Tour Manager will be pleased.

If you’re looking for an updated (or correct!) version of the authors for the Debut a Debut contest, head on over to the main West of Mars site, or else to Writing Aspirations. The list is huge, and I’m afraid that if you haven’t been here in a few days, you’ll miss some of the routine action that’s been happening. (Want a hint? Chelle‘s got something on her mind and you guys have been strangely quiet about what she’s got to say.)

Time is drawing close… Twelve more days before entries should start arriving. Have you selected your book(s)? Are you ready to read and review?

What about Ali Liebegott — The IHOP Papers? Don’t be like me and freak when you notice she’s got another publication — it’s a poem. Ali still qualifies for the contest, and her book is on my wishlist. Check it out…

While we’re talking contests, I came across this one. I entered more to tell the story than to win; that story is only one of millions that I’ve got. And it’s true! Let me know what you think of it (read the comment trail to see it, but feel free to comment here; you guys have been scarily quiet lately).

See you guys in a few with a Thursday Thirteen that takes us back to Riverview. Anyone else miss it there amid all the Debut a Debut hoopla?

Okay, no wonder I’m tired and cranky. In just one week, our list of debut authors we know about has swelled from 40 to 173. And guess who is the keeper of the list? Rashenbo?

Well, I did volunteer, so no bellyaching allowed on my end. If you know of a debut author who qualifies under our rules, keep those names rolling in. And if you catch any mistakes, please let me know! There’s no malice intended, just an exhausted mom-writer-wife with a potentially torn knee cartilege (again).

I thought I’d post the list for you here, even though it’s fun to watch the hits on my main website. Guess I’ll watch ’em in both places.

1. Alan Fox — The Seeker in Forever
2. Albyn Leah Hall — The Rhythm of the Road
3. Alex Espinoza — Still Water Saints
4. Alexandra Sokoloff — The Harrowing
5. Ali Liebegott — The IHOP Papers
6. Alice Greenway — White Ghost Girls
7. Aliya Whiteley — Three Things About Me
8. Amir Gutfreund — Our Holocaust
9. Amy Bryant — Polly
10. Ana Baca — Mama Fela’s Girls
11. Andrew Britton — The American
12. Antoinette May — Pilate’s Wife
13. Antonia Arslan — Skylark Farm
14. Benito Cordova — Big Dreams and Dark Secrets in Chimaya
15. Betsey Osborne — The Natural History of Uncas Metcalfe
16. Brian Martin — North
17. Brian Shuster. The Minerva Virus
18. C-Murder — Death Around the Corner
19. CA Belmond — A Rather Lovely Inheritance
20. Carolyn Turgeon — Rain Village
21. Cate Sweeney — Selfish Jean
22. Catherine Murdock – Dairy Queen
23. Cheryl Strayed — Torch
24. Christine Conrad — Mademoiselle Benoir
25. Cindy Woodsmall — When the Heart Cries
26. Clifford Chase — Winkie
27. Colleen Gleason — The Rest Falls Away
28. Cornelia Read — A Field of Darkness
29. Conor Corderoy — Dark Rain
30. Da Chen — Brothers
31. Daniel Judson – The Darkest Place
32. David Lynn Golemon — Event
33. Debra Dean – The Madonnas of Leningrad
34. Debra Ginsberg — Blind Submisssion
35. Derek Armstrong — The Game
36. Diane Setterfield — The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
37. Donna Westover Gallup — White as Snow
38. Drew Bowling — The Tower of Shadows
39. Edward Charles — In the Shadow of Lady Jane
40. Ellis Avery — The Teahouse Fire
41. Faiza Guene — Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow
42. Farrell O’Gorman — Awaiting Orders
43. Frances Washburn — Elsie’s Business
44. George Robert Minkoff — The Weight of Smoke
45. Gillian Flynn — Sharp Objects: A Novel
46. Gina Buonaguro and Janice Kirk — The Sidewalk Artist
47. Gordon Dahlquist – The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters
48. Heather Hayashi — To Save the World
49. Heidi Pitlor — The Birthdays
50. Henry Chang — Chinatown Beat
51. Hisham Matar — In the Country of Men
52. Heidi Pitlor — The Birthdays: A Novel
53. Hisham Matar — In the Country of Men
54. Hugh Paxton — Homunculus
55. Jackie Kessler — Hell’s Belles
56. James Canon — Takes from the Town of Widows and Chronicles from the Land of Men
57. James Janko — Buffalo Boy and Geronimo
58. Jana DeLeon — Rumble on the Bayou
59. Jane May — Doggy Style
60. Jason Webb — The Ghost of Che Guevara
61. Jed Rubenfeld – The Interpretation of Murder
62. Jenn Reese — Jade Tiger
63. Jennah Sharpe — Along the Hibiscus Path
64. Jennifer Gilmore — Golden Country: A Novel
65. Jerome Tell — The Election
66. Jill Conner Browne (with Karin Gillespie) — The Sweet Potato Queen’s First Big Ass Novel
67. Jonathan Drapes — Never Admit to Beige
68. Joshua Cohen — Cadenza for the Schneidermann Violin Concerto
69. Joshua Palmatier — The Skewed Throne
70. Joshua Spanogle – Isolation Ward
71. Judith Lindbergh — The Thrall’s Tale
72. Judith Marks-White — Seducing Harry
73. Julie Carobini — Chocolate Beach
74. Kat Richardson — Greywalker
75. Kathleen Jacobs — The Friday Knitting Club
76. Katherine Min — Secondhand World
77. KE Silva — A Simple Distance
78. Kelly Kerney — Born Again
79. Keith Donohue — The Stolen Child
80. Kevin Shay — The End as I Know it
81. Kirsten Sawyer — Not Quite a Bride
82. Laura Dave — London is the Best City in America
83. Laura Fitzgerlad — A Veil of Roses
84. Laura Ruby — I’m not Julia Roberts
85. Lauren Fox — Still Life With Husband
86. Lauren Lipton — It’s About Your Husband
87. Lauren Marks-White — Seducing Harry
88. Layne Maheu — Song of the Crow
89. Lee Merrill Bryd — Riley’s Fire
90. Liam Jackson — Offspring
91. Lila Shaara — Every Secret Thing
92. Lisa Fugard — Skinner’s Drift
93. Lisa Pearl Rosenbaum — A Day of Small Beginnings
94. Lisa Unger — Beautiful Lifes
95. Lori Lacefield — The Seventh Survivor
96. Lu Vickers — Breathing Underwater
97. Lucy McCarraher — Blood & Water
98. Marcus Sakey — The Blade Itself
99. Margo Candela — Underneath it All
100. Marie Arana — Cellophane
101. Marisa de los Santos — Love Walked In
102. Marisha Pessl — Special Topics in Calamity Physics
103. Mark Binelli — Sacco and Vanzetti Must Die!
104. Mary E. Neighbour — Speak Right on: Dred Scott a Novel
105. Matthew Scott Hansen — The Shadow killer
106. Max Brooks — World War Z
107. Meg Mullins — The Rug Merchant
108. Melissa Clark — Swimming Upstream Slowly
109. Mia King — Good Things
110. Michael A. Fitzgerald — Radiant Days
111. Michael Graham — The Snow Angel
112. Michael Stephen — The Manuscript
113. Michael Thomas — Man Gone Down
114. Michelle Tea — Rose of no Man’s Land
115. MWF Curran — The Secret War
116. Naomi Alderman — Disobedience
117. Natalie Danford — Inheritance
118. Nora Gallagher — Changing Light
119. N.S. Koenings — The Blue Taxi
120. Olga Grushin — The Dream Life of Sukhanov
121. Pam Jenoff — The Kommandant’s Girl
122. Pamela Carter Joern — The Floor of the Sky
123. Patrick F. McManus — The Blight Way
124. Patrick Hyde — The Only Pure Thing
125. Paul Batista — Death’s Witness
126. Paul Rusesabagina – An Ordinary Man
127. Paul Wolfe — Choices
128. Peter Behrens — The Law of Dreams
129. Peter Bourne — The Deserter
130. Peter C. Brown — The Fugitive Wife
131. Peter Hobbs — The Short Day of dying
132. Racy Li — Ninja
133. Rae Meadows — Calling Me Out
134. Raymond Khoury — The Last Templar
135. Rebecca Drake — Don’t Be Afraid
136. RG Willems — Targets of Affection
137. Robert Dugoni – The Jury Master
138. Robert Fate — Baby Shark
139. Robert Gregory Browne — Kiss Her Goodbye
140. Robert Gussin — Trash Talk
141. Roger Morris — Taking Comfort
142. Roger Alan Skipper — Tear Down the Mountain
143. Roseanne Keller — A Summer All Her Own
144. Sam Barone — Dawn of Empire
145. Sam Savage — Firmin
146. Samantha Grosser — Another Time and Place
147. San Culberson — The Nick of Time
148. Sandi Ault — Wild Indigo
149. Sara Gruen – Water for Elephants
150. Sean Chercover — Big City Bad Blood
151. Sela Carsen — Not Quite Dead (http://www.Selacarson.com)
152. Sela Carsen — The Virgin Courtesan
153. Shane Gericke — Blown Away
154. Stephen J. Spignesi – Dialogues
155. Steven Hockensmith — Holmes on the Range
156. Steve Voake – The Dreamwalker’s Child
157. Sunny — Mona Lisa Awakening
158. Suroopa Mukherjee — Across the Mystic Shore
159. Suzanne Adair — Paper Woman (http://www.suzanneadair.com)
160. Tasha Alexander — And Only to Deceive
161. Tawny Taylor — Sex and the Single Ghost
162. Thomas Mullen — The Last Town on Earth: A Novel
163. Thomma Lyn — Thy Eternal Summer
164. Tinling Choong — FireWife
165. Toby Devens — My favorite midlife crisis (yet)
166. Tom McCarthy — Remainder
167. Tony D’Souza — Whiteman
168. Troy Cook — 47 Rules of Highly Effective Bank Robbers
169. Wendy Wasserstein — Elements of Style
170. Will Beall — L.A. Rex
171. William Kittredge — The Willow Field
172. Yael Goldstein — Overture
173. Yvette Christianse — Unconfessed

Prizes:

• 2 $20 gift certificates from Borders
• A copy of RG Willems’ debut, Targets of Affection
• 5 free points from BookMooch.com
• A copy of Matt Curran’s debut, The Secret War
• An autographed copy of Lila Shaara’s debut, Every Secret Thing
• A copy of Suzanne Adair’s debut, Paper Woman
• A copy of Racy Li’s debut e-book, Ninja
• A copy of Sela Carsen’s debut e-book, Not Quite Dead
• A copy of Sela Carsen’s follow-up short, The Virgin Courtesan
• A copy of Michael FitzGerald’s debut, Radiant Days

And a hello to all of you dropping in from the Romance Divas bulletin board! I hope everyone visiting for this contest will stay awhile, poke around, and become as enchanted with my world of Riverview, USA, and my fictional band, ShapeShifter.

For those of you who’ve been looking for it, a partial list of debut authors for the Debut a Debut contest is now up at West of Mars.

If you are an author of a debut novel and would like to either see your name listed, or would like to contribute prizes, please contact me or Erica.

Happy reading, everyone! I’ll be back with a list of winners from my second contest tomorrow. And would anyone else like some fiction this week?

I think it was my friend Breeni who first mentioned Silas House. I’m not sure, but House always makes me think of her, so we’ll give her credit. Maybe she’ll chime in with the real story and fix my revisionist history.

Anyway, someone sent me a copy of House’s 2001 debut, Clay’s Quilt, at some point along the line (okay, maybe I do span overdo it with the online trading stuff. But it’s so fun!). It sat here for about a year and a half before I finally picked it up and read it.

Oh, my.

What on Earth took me so long???

This book was wonderful.

Get your own copy; mine’s long gone.