Allison Larkin

My Fridays have tended toward hectic lately, so I haven't put up any trailers in several weeks, but now Book Trailer Fridays is back, starting with Amaryllis in Blueberry by Christina Meldrum! Here's a description of the book:Meet the Slepys: Dick, the stern doctor, the naive husband, a man devoted to both facts and faith; Seena, the storyteller, the restless wife, a mother of four, a lover of myth. And their children, the Marys: Mary Grace, the devastating beauty; Mary Tessa, the insistent inquisitor; Mary Catherine, the saintly, lost soul; and finally, Amaryllis, Seena's unspoken favorite, … [Read more...]

I had the chance to tell you a bit about Kate Ledger's The Dogs' Book of Romance the other day when I announced the Valentine's Giveaway (have you entered yet?  Go enter!). But I didn't get to talk much about Remedies, Kate's debut novel, so I figured this would be the perfect Book Trailer Friday pick! REMEDIES is a Self magazine book pick, an Indie Next List Notable Book, an Ingram Premier Pick, a "Community Read" selection of the Twin Cities Jewish Book Fair, and earned a starred review from Publisher's Weekly, who said: "Ledger's accomplished debut offers a compelling view of married life … [Read more...]

The Murderer's Daughtersby Randy Susan Meyers has gotten rave reviews in hardcover.  It just came out in paperback this week and it's the most recent Target Club Pick, so I thought it would be a great choice for this week's book trailer.Here's the description:Lulu and Merry's childhood was never ideal, but on the day before Lulu's tenth birthday their father drives them into a nightmare. He's always hungered for the love of the girl's self-obsessed mother. After she throws him out, their troubles turn deadly.Lulu's mother warned her to never let him in, but when he shows up, he's impossible to … [Read more...]

I've been meaning to blog all week, but I've been completely lost in my manuscript. It's a good thing, but I get to the end of my writing day and I'm kind of shocked that I'm still me. It's a little disorienting. Like watching a movie that's completely engrossing and when it's suddenly over, walking through the doors of the movie theatre back to the normal world seems surprising. Or like the time The Other 1/4 watched the entire first season of Heroes around the same time that I did. She called and said, "You know, the only thing I didn't like about it --""--was when you stopped watching … [Read more...]

I read Little Women in fourth grade, and was completely and totally mesmerized.  It was the first book that made me feel like I was living inside the story while I read it, because I was so emotionally invested in the characters.  I'd enjoyed reading up until then, but Little Women is the book that made me a reader, and it's still one of my all time favorites.Little Women was also the book that sparked my interested in writers.  The woman behind the Little Women is just as interesting as the book itself.  Louisa May Alcott was a student of several members of the Transcendental Club, an … [Read more...]

I re-read The Things They Carried for book club a few months ago.  It is a stunning book, and I'm completely in awe of Tim O'Brien.  So, my TBR pile has gotten a little taller, since discovering that he had this to say about The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli:"Set amid the twin infernos of Cambodia and Vietnam in the early 1970's, The Lotus Eaters draws the reader into a haunting world of war, betrayal, courage, obsession, and love. Tatjana Soli's spare, lucid prose infuses this novel with a dramatic clarity that makes us eyewitnesses to the collapse of two civilizations. More than that, The … [Read more...]

Hope you're all enjoying the holidays! I've been busy working on J's Christmas present like crazy this week. If I can manage to keep it a secret for another twelve hours or so, it may actually be the first year ever, that he hasn't found out about his gift before Christmas. Keep your fingers crossed for me!This week's book trailer is for Caroline Leavitt's book PICTURES OF YOU, which is currently at the top of my TBR pile. I love how eerie the trailer is!Here's what critics are saying about PICTURES OF YOU:"Caroline Leavitt plumbs the depths of grief and forgiveness in the lovely Pictures Of … [Read more...]