What’s on my iPod: “Skinny Love” by Birdy

What I’m reading: So Far Away by Meg Mitchell Moore

The last person I followed on Twitter: @CurtisBrownLTD

1.  ‘Oprah Would Accept After the Fog’

The Historical Novel Society just released an excellent review of Kathleen Shoop’s After the Fog.  “This is a well-written story set authentically in a historic place and time, around an intricate plot which includes most of the elements that provide for a good “soap opera,” or a book that would be accepted by Oprah Winfrey.”  Way to go, Kathie!  Be sure to take a look at the rest of this amazing review.

MORE ABOUT AFTER THE FOG:

The sins of the mother…

In the steel mill town of Donora, Pennsylvania, site of the infamous 1948 “killing smog,” headstrong nurse Rose Pavlesic tends to her family and neighbors. Controlling and demanding, she’s created a life that reflects everything she missed growing up as an orphan. She’s even managed to keep her painful secrets hidden from her loving husband, dutiful children, andlarge extended family.

When a stagnant weather pattern traps poisonous mill gasses in the valley, neighbors grow sicker and Rose’s nursing obligations thrust her into conflict she never could have fathomed. Consequences from her past collide with her present life,making her once clear decisions as gray as the suffocating smog. As pressure mounts, Rose finds she’s not the only one harboring lies. When the deadly fog finally clears, the loss of trust and faith leaves the Pavlesic family—and the whole town—splintered and shocked. With her new perspective, can Rose finally forgive herself and let her family’s healing begin?

2.  Working Mother Picks Hell or High Water

Working Mother just released an article, “Summer Beach Reads for Moms and Kids.”  They paired five different themed books, one for mom and one for a little one, and named Joy Castro’s Hell or High Water a mystery beach read for mom.  They listed Club CIS: The Case of the Disappearing Dogs by David Lewan for the kid’s read under mystery.  Congratulations on making the list, Joy!

MORE ABOUT HELL OR HIGH WATER:

Nola Céspedes, an ambitious young reporter at the Times-Picayune, catches a break:  an assignment to write her first full-length crime feature.  While researching her story, she becomes fixated on the search for a missing tourist in New Orleans.  As Nola’s work leads her back into dangerous corners of the city, she finds herself faced with an even more compelling question:  Who is Nola Céspedes?  Vividly rendered in razor-sharp prose, this psychological thriller is a riveting journey of trust betrayed—and the courageous struggle toward recovery.

Hell or High Water is more than just a mystery; it’s a heartfelt examination of a second America—poor but undaunted—that was swept under the rug but refuses to stay there.”  –Dennis Lehane, New York Times bestselling author of Mystic River

“In the tradition of P.D. James, Ruth Rendell, and Lucha Corpi, Joy Castro shows how mystery can be much more than the unraveling of crimes concealed.  An irresistible and compelling novel.”  –Lorraine M. López, author of Homicide Survivors Picnic and Other Stories

3.  Sneak Peek of Hillary Duff’s New Novel with Elise Allen 

Although Hillary Duff’s third Novel True with Elise Allen does not release until April 16,2013, Entertainment Weekly has a sneak peek at the cover art and a sample chapter- just in time before her own stand alone book Populazzi hits stores in paperback on August 7.  True is the last novel of her Elixir trilogy.  Our very own Elise Allen co-authored the novel and we can not wait for its debut!  In the meantime be sure to check out the first two in the series, Elixir and Devoted.

MORE ABOUT ELIXIR:

Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. The daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington DC politician, she has grown to be a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world. But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, Clea’s photos begin to feature eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful man—a man she has never seen before.

When fate brings Clea and this man together, she is stunned by the immediate and powerful connection she feels with him. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance, and they discover the centuries old truth behind their intense bond. Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fates, together they race against time to unravel their pasts in order to save their lives—and their futures.

4.  Nomad Brush Featured on Geek Beat

Geek Beat just did a feature on their top 3 favorite stylus’ and Nomad Brush made the list not only once, but twice!  They listed the Nomad Play as their No. 3 pick and the Nomad Brush as their No. 1!  Take a look at the great video review for both stylus’.  Congratulations, Nomad!

MORE ABOUT NOMAD:

Founded in 2011 and based in Portland, Ore., Nomad Brush invented the first paintbrush stylus for digital screens. The company is dedicated to inspiring and facilitating artists to create in their daily lives, wherever they are, with brushes for both large and small touchscreen devices, such as the iPad and iPhone. Nomad Brush is active in the art community by hosting, sponsoring and facilitating digital painting and design competitions and workshops. More information on Nomad Brush is online at www.NomadBrush.com.

5.  Game of Secrets on Radio Boston

Radio Boston just released their summer book picks and Mary Cotton listed Dawn Tripp’s Game of Secrets as one of her favorites.  Some of her other picks are When We Were the Kennedys by Monica Wood and Three Weeks in December by Audrey Schulman.  Take a look at the rest of her list and grab a great beach read for the last bit of summer left!

MORE ABOUT GAME OF SECRETS:

Game of Secrets weaves between multiple points of view, as a dark family mystery comes unraveled. In 1957, eleven-year-old Jane Weld’s father disappeared. No one in her small New England town knew for sure what happened until, four years later, his skull rolled out of a gravel bank by the river, an unmistakable bullet hole in its temple. Rumor had it he was murdered by the husband of his mistress, Ada Varick.

Now, half a century later, Jane is still searching for the truth of her father’s death, a mystery made more urgent by the unlikely romance that her daughter has struck up with one of Ada’s sons. Jane and Ada come together for casual Friday board games that soon transform into acat-and-mouse game of words long left unspoken. As the two women play out,across the board, the stories that bind their lives together, it becomes clear that more than a reckoning with the past—it is the future of both families that is ultimately at stake.