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Allison Larkin

MENUMENU
  • Home
  • Books
    • Home of the American Circus
    • The People We Keep
    • Allie Larkin
  • TrueHearts Collective
  • Events
  • Writer Resources
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Book Clubs
    • Press

New Book! New Website!

September 24, 2012 Filed Under: Ashley is awesome, Mrs. X can suck it, WCIBY

I'm super excited to finally share a little bit of information about my next book, Why Can't I Be You!  It hits shelves on February 26th (complete with blurbs by three of my favorite authors: Amy Hatvany, Sarah Pekkanen, and Jen Lancaster)! I have to admit that after spending so much time with Van, Janie, Pete, Alex & Joe, I worried I wouldn't be able to fall in love with new characters, but I did.  I miss Jenny Shaw and the rest of the gang already and I can't wait for you to get to know them too. I'm thrilled to announce that WCIBY will be a Brilliance Audiobook!  Brilliance did an … [Read more...]

11 Comments

STAY in Target

September 12, 2011 Filed Under: Mrs. X can suck it, STAY, Target

So, back in February of 2009, I was shopping at Target when my agent called to tell me that STAY had sold. I still don't remember what I'd gone in to buy.  Handsoap? Laundry detergent?  Dog toys?  Whatever the item, it was probably an excuse to visit the book section, stare at all the covers, study all the imprints, and daydream about seeing my book on Target shelves one day.  I was always particularly fond of Plume's beautiful covers for Jane Green's books (and Jane Green's books in general). I can't say it ever felt like a realistic dream.  It was actually more than my mind could completely … [Read more...]

9 Comments

Things I’m absurdly excited about

January 4, 2011 Filed Under: Mrs. X can suck it, STAY

With the holidays, friends in town, and several people I love having birthdays, last week got a little crazy around here, and I didn't get to blog at all. I'm working on a year end wrap up post for later in the week, but a few things have had me jumping for joy & shouting "Mrs. X can suck it!" recently, and I wanted to share!The cover above is the standard German version of STAY from Weltbild!  The title translates to "Sit! Place! (or stay) Love!" And I'm completely and totally in love with it.  I didn't know it was out until a reader left me a comment in German on the Facebook page on New … [Read more...]

12 Comments

I swear I don’t need a refresher on the days of the week

October 25, 2010 Filed Under: Book Tour, Mrs. X can suck it, STAY

I know, I know, I missed a Friday again. It's not that I don't know what day is which, it's that I was so completely and totally exhausted on Friday that the idea of posting felt ridiculously involved and difficult. Ah, the joys of ADD. I swear the tagline for ADD (you know, if we were to all start promoting it) should be "Making molehills seem like mountains since 1798.*"So, here's the final Friday prize - In addition to all the other fun stuff you'll get if you win, I'm throwing a signed ARC of STAY into the prize pack. ARCs are printed as review copies before the book comes out. … [Read more...]

5 Comments

On the road again!

July 2, 2010 Filed Under: Book Tour, Mrs. X can suck it, Travel

So, I am feeling better! That was not pretty. I was getting to the point where the sound of my own cough was annoying the crud out of me. I've finally unpacked from my Seattle trip...so I can pack again to head to Holland, MI for a reading at Treehouse Books on Friday night. The big suitcase we took to Seattle never made it past the kitchen. Right under the toaster. We're good like that.Do you travel a lot? Do you have travel tips? If so, I would like to hear them. I feel like I pack too much, but not the right things, and the second I open my suitcase there's a huge explosion of … [Read more...]

5 Comments

#8!!!!!!!

June 22, 2010 Filed Under: Mrs. X can suck it

Guess what?STAY hit #8 on the Wall Street Journal romance bestseller list!!!!!! … [Read more...]

12 Comments

“Can’t stop now, I’ve traveled so far. . .”

June 9, 2010 Filed Under: ADD, Mrs. X can suck it, STAY

Well, the cure for Final Countdown is apparently this (Do not click on it! I'm warning you!). I heard it on the radio yesterday, and now I am prone to randomly belting out the chorus while I make coffee, do the dishes, etc. J is so lucky he doesn't work from home. Oh, who are we kidding? I don't do dishes. I put my coffee mug in the dishwasher, sing a few verses into a spatula, get distracted by something shiny, and then completely forget I haven't finished the dishes, until I need my afternoon cup of coffee and walk into a kitchen full of messy. But it's all okay, because the … [Read more...]

5 Comments

“And you’ll always know your neighbor, you’ll always know your pal…”

April 26, 2010 Filed Under: Argo the wonder dog, lists, Mrs. X can suck it, STAY, STELLA

Lately, the days have been going by way too fast. I swear it should be last Wednesday instead of this Monday. And I've been meaning to write to you about oh so many things, so here's one of my big messy list posts.STAY sold in Poland! It's so amazingly cool to think that something I wrote will be published in four languages other than English. I'm not sure I can quite get my head around it. (Mrs. X can suck it!) I have a Facebook page for the book now, and have some event dates up!Shanna convinced me that when I do book events, I should actually, you know, wear decent clothes. AND she … [Read more...]

14 Comments

ADD, Of Mice and Men, and Mrs. X

April 5, 2010 Filed Under: ADD, Mrs. X can suck it, STAY

In high school, my English teacher accused me of cheating on a test on Of Mice and Men. Obviously, my memories of this are tainted by emotion, but the gist of her accusation was that she didn't think I was smart enough to get all the answers right on the test by myself. I was a horrible student, but I wasn't a cheater. I read voraciously, but I read the books I chose, not the books that were assigned in school. I skimmed Frankenstein, but stayed up past bedtime with a flashlight to read Phantom of the Opera. I didn't make it past the second chapter of A Separate Piece, but I wore out the … [Read more...]

22 Comments

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Allison Larkin

allielarkinwrites

Internationally bestselling author of three novels as Allie Larkin and THE PEOPLE WE KEEP. Look for HOME OF THE AMERICAN CIRCUS @gallerybooks May 2025

“Larkin abandons the typical story arc in favor “Larkin abandons the typical story arc in favor of a more naturally flowing up-and-down journey that basks in beautiful moments like a slice-of-life story. Whether it’s banter at the bar Freya’s working or a leaking roof that is simply one more thing than she can possibly handle right now, the characters and their experiences are so real and pure that their joys and sorrows are amplified tenfold.” 

So honored by this AP review of Home of the American Circus! 

https://apnews.com/article/home-american-circus-allison-larkin-book-review-79ea3d1fdb69ef16232a8dfb7d148ad6

#homeoftheamericancircus #booksbooksbooks
I’ve seen a bunch of references to Home of the A I’ve seen a bunch of references to Home of the American Circus as my second novel. It’s actually my 5th! Before The People We Keep, under the name Allie Larkin, I wrote three books: Stay, Why Can’t I Be You, and Swimming for Sunlight. Here they are in their various editions with some of their translations! (And @justjuliawhelan also narrated Stay and Why Can’t I Be You, if you’d like to listen!)

Fun fact: That gorgeous dog on the hardcover of Stay was actually our dog Argo, and I took that photo of him when @duttonbooks couldn’t find the perfect photo of a black German Shepherd. #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram
Pub Day Part One. The thing is, it’s really hard Pub Day Part One. The thing is, it’s really hard to be a creative person in the world, and the blessing, the salvation, the joy of it is the community around art: the writers who will call an emergency novel Zoom meeting when you’re stuck on a draft, the ones who roll up their sleeves and make sure your words are saying what you intend to say, the one who writes an interview to promote your book in the local paper, the reader who captures pictures of the event and makes a reel, the bookstore saints who plan a meal based on the story and serve blue and yellow cupcakes and sing happy birthday to your book on launch day, the readers who show up and get books signed and ask great questions and tell stories about their lives. That’s book magic. And thanks to @townecenterbks (especially Judy and Stacey although I know there are bookstore saints behind the scenes too) and @reneewritesnovels and @woolfmania and @cassandra.a.dunn and @lindalattelessons @aneedleinmybookstack and everyone who showed up to Read it and Eat, I will never ever forget the pub day for Home of the American Circus. You all made it so special. Thank you! I love you. I’m so grateful to be part of the community of writers and readers. ❤️🐘
@deborahblakeauthor RIGHT BACK AT YOU! ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I will be back on Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I will be back on the grid tomorrow! I love you all so much and I’m so grateful for your support! 😘😘😘 #homeoftheamericancircus
Well, here we are on the eve of Pub Day for Home o Well, here we are on the eve of Pub Day for Home of the American Circus! 

You know that classic bit of writing advice about how you’re supposed to write the book that scares you? Well, for a long time the thought of actually writing and sharing Home of the American Circus scared the heck out of me. I spent many many years collecting ideas for this book, terrified by the thought of how deep I’d have to dig to tell this story the right way. The book is firmly fiction, and the characters are all my imaginary friends, but the setting and themes are literally and figuratively close to home for me. Freya’s story isn’t mine, we have different life events and demographics, but I understand her sense of grief and loss and floundering and hope on a cellular level. And of all the characters I’ve ever written, the way her mind works is the closest to how I think and feel. It takes place in the town where I grew up. And I think when you read this book, you won’t know my life story, but you will know the tenor of my heart. I grew up as a kid with undiagnosed ADHD in a place where I didn’t fit, frantically trying to look normal, believing it was the only way anyone would love me. Always falling short, terrified of failure. And then in my early twenties, I dropped out of college and worked at a biker bar and made such a huge mess of my life that I was forced to build myself up again brick by brick—this time knowing that failure isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a person. That as long as you can find the strength to try again in one way or another, falling flat on your face is not the end of the world. And I learned that the only way to truly feel loved is to be yourself and see who’s up for loving you in your natural form. The people I keep taught me that. And even though it scared me, this was a book I needed to write, it’s the work I’m most proud of, with characters I love the most. So sharing it doesn’t feel like the end of the world at all. Just the end of the world where I have not shared this novel set in ny hometown with a character who has a heart like mine. #misheardlyrics #rem #homeoftheamericancircus #awkwardguitar #itstheendoftheworldasweknowitandifeelfine
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