Says Jenny Huston Crowley, about Pat Spears‘ new novel, It’s Not Like I Knew Her: ” Like an artist’s brush strokes on canvas, her words define and describe her characters and their surroundings, shining light to illuminate and creating shadows to hide important aspects of the story until she’s ready to reveal them.” Read the rest of the review here.
Join author Darlyn Finch Kuhn author of Sewing Holes and to discuss Kristin Harmel’s latest When We Meet Again. Come early and grab dinner, or join us at seven at our Infusion Tea location.
“Perhaps one of the most moving and powerful stories of all time.” — RT Book Reviews
Emily thinks she’s lost everything…until a mysterious painting leads her to what she wants most in the world. The new novel from the author of international bestsellers The Sweetness of Forgetting and The Life Intended shows why her books are hailed as “engaging” ( People), “absorbing” ( Kirkus Reviews) and “enthralling” ( Fresh Fiction).
Emily Emerson is used to being alone; her dad ran out on the family when she was a just a kid, her mom died when she was seventeen, and her beloved grandmother has just passed away as well. But when she’s laid off from her reporting job, she finds herself completely at sea…until the day she receives a beautiful, haunting painting of a young woman standing at the edge of a sugarcane field under a violet sky. That woman is recognizable as her grandmother—and the painting arrived with no identification other than a handwritten note saying, “He always loved her.”
Emily is hungry for roots and family, so she begins to dig. And as she does, she uncovers a fascinating era in American history. Her trail leads her to the POW internment camps of Florida, where German prisoners worked for American farmers…and sometimes fell in love with American women. But how does this all connect to the painting? The answer to that question will take Emily on a road that leads from the sweltering Everglades to Munich, Germany and back to the Atlanta art scene before she’s done.
Along the way, she finds herself tempted to tear down her carefully tended walls at last; she’s seeing another side of her father, and a new angle on her painful family history. But she still has secrets, ones she’s been keeping locked inside for years. Will this journey bring her the strength to confront them at last?
“Harmel…authentically weaves American history into this engaging novel. An appealing family saga that connects generations and reaffirms love.”— Kirkus Reviews
Books available at our The Lovely and Infusion Tea locations.
If you’re considering self-publishing your poetry, join this discussion with Peter Gordon, author of LET’S PLAY TWO. He’ll compare the process of publishing his own work to working with a self-publishing company, as well as working with small presses.
The discussion will be held Sunday, August 7th, from 4-5 p.m. in the Albertson Room on the 3rd floor of the Downtown Orlando branch of the Orange County Library. Click here for more information, and to register.
The amazing Sally Bellarose has reviewed Pat Spears‘ wonderful new novel, It’s Not Like I Knew Her.
Read the Bellarose review here. Pre-order the book here.