Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting local author Nancy Grossman and chatting with her about her debut young-adult novel, A World Away, during a lovely book-club event. What a fun night! Nancy's novel revolves around the "rumspringa" of an Amish teen, who leaves home for a summer of self-discovery in Chicago.

Take a peek at the story's concept:
A summer of firsts: Sixteen-year-old Eliza Miller has never made a phone call, never tried on a pair of jeans, never sat in a darkened theater waiting for a movie to start. She’s never even talked to someone her age who isn’t Amish, like her.  
A summer of good-byes: When she leaves her close-knit family to spend the summer as a nanny in suburban Chicago, a part of her can’t wait to leave behind everything she knows. She can’t imagine the secrets she will uncover, the friends she will make, the surprises and temptations of a way of life so different from her own.
A summer of impossible choice: Every minute Eliza spends with her new friend Josh feels as good as listening to music for the first time, and she wonders whether there might be a place for her in his world. But as summer wanes, she misses the people she has left behind, and the plain life she once took for granted. Eliza will have to decide for herself where she belongs. Whichever choice she makes, she knows she will lose someone she loves.  I fell in love with Eliza and was fascinated to get an inside glimpse into the world of an Amish teenager. A wonderful story to read -- I highly recommend it! Below are a few photos from the event:   But one of the reasons I enjoy being an author is because people I know and love are publishing books all the time, so every week brings new literary gifts! Several friends have had big fall releases -- including my pal Susan McBride, whose Avon Impulse novella is a special release during Breast Cancer Awareness month. It's called In the Pink: How I Met the Perfect (Younger) Man, Survived Breast Cancer, and Found True Happiness After 40.  About the story, Susan writes: "It's my personal tale of being single at 40 (remember the study that said women over 40 have a better chance of being killed by a terrorist than getting married?), meeting the love of my life (and becoming an "accidental" cougar), being diagnosed with breast cancer at 42 before I walked down the aisle, and finding out I was pregnant at 47. Yep, a sense of humor has come in mighty handy!"  Lexi Ryan -- one of my awesome '007 Golden Heart sisters -- also has a new novella out, Just the Way You Are, and this one is book #2 in her Decadence Creek series! Here's the hot premise:One year of marriage. No sex. No complications. No messy emotions.
Stacey Parker has laid out the rules for her temporary marriage to Harrison Duval, and Harrison plans to break every one. Ten years ago, Stacey disappeared from his life, and he’s not about to let it happen again.  Stacey has wanted Harrison for years, but giving in to the heat between them could mean exposing her secrets, secrets about family scars and choices young women shouldn't have to make alone. Secrets that could tear his world apart.
And my long-time Chicago-North RWA friend, Sara Daniel, has her newest contemporary romance, Construction Beauty Queen, out now from Entangled Publishing.

The romantic details:
Chicago socialite Veronica Jamison is determined to shake off her sheltered lifestyle and overbearing parents. She heads to her grandfather’s small town of Kortville, ready to roll up her sleeves and work for the family construction business. She’ll prove her worth, even if it means answering to the company’s ruggedly handsome co-owner, Matt.

Matt Shaw just wants to run his business, spend time with the niece he’s raising on his own, and give back to the townspeople who have stood by him. Managing a spoiled-rotten princess he knows he’ll never be good enough for? Not part of his plan. But as he gets to know Veronica, he learns there’s more to her than her beautiful looks and designer clothes. She’s got a heart as rich as her background.

With the quirky townspeople rallying against Veronica inheriting her grandfather’s business, it’s up to Matt to try to drive her out of town. But how can he, when instead she’s driving her way into his heart?

What novels have been on your nightstand or your ebook reader lately??
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