#BestSummerEver #SCR2016 #Review #AllIsNotForgotten by @Wendy_Walker @BookSparks

In the small, affluent town of Fairview, Connecticut everything seems picture perfect.

Until one night when young Jenny Kramer is attacked at a local party. In the hours immediately after, she is given a controversial drug to medically erase her memory of the violent assault. But, in the weeks and months that follow, as she heals from her physical wounds, and with no factual recall of the attack, Jenny struggles with her raging emotional memory. Her father, Tom, becomes obsessed with his inability to find her attacker and seek justice while her mother, Charlotte, prefers to pretend this horrific event did not touch her perfect country club world.

As they seek help for their daughter, the fault lines within their marriage and their close-knit community emerge from the shadows where they have been hidden for years, and the relentless quest to find the monster who invaded their town - or perhaps lives among them - drive this psychological thriller to a shocking and unexpected conclusion. 

Wendy Walker is a practicing divorce attorney in Fairfield County, Connecticut who began writing while at home raising her three sons. She published two novels with St. Martin’s Press and edited multiple compilations for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series before writing her debut psychological thriller, All is Not Forgotten.

Hot damn...I did not see that ending coming.  I was taken though a labyrinth of clues never really figuring out where the story was taking me, but I was more than happy to be taken along.  It was unsettling, intense and so well written.  I love the point of view the story was told from...a therapist.  It was such a clever way to take the reader inside each of the characters minds and lives.  This book takes on so many issues from so many different points of view.  It is sheer genius.  This book had me thinking that is for sure...what would I do as a parent or as a victim.  Would I want to forget or what lengths would I take to remember?   I can see why this book is getting so much hype, it is just that good.  I would love to see this book made into a movie and I think I read some rumoring that was going to happen.  I really hope it does because it will be a blockbuster hit!  5 HUGE stars.  

#MMBBR #Review #TheSisters by @Dougieclaire

One lied. One died.

When one sister dies, the other must go to desperate lengths to survive. Haunted by her twin sister's death, Abi is making a fresh start in Bath. But when she meets twins Bea and Ben, she is quickly drawn into their privileged and unsettling circle.

When one sister lies, she must protect her secret at all costs. As Abi tries to keep up with the demands of her fickle friends, strange things start to happen - precious letters go missing and threatening messages are left in her room. Is this the work of the beautiful and capricious Bea? Or is Abi willing to go to any lengths to get attention? When the truth outs, will either sister survive? 



Claire Douglas always wanted to write novels and, after many years of trying to get published, her dream came true when she won the Marie Claire Debut Novel Award in 2013 with THE SISTERS. It has been selected for the Amazon Rising Star 2015 list.

This book is creep, good and so intense at times.  It had me buzzing through the pages because I had to see what was coming next.  It was quite the twisty, turny ride!  The Sisters is one of the best physiological thrillers I have read for a while.  5 stars

#MMBBR #Review #PerfectlyGoodCrime by @DeteMeserve @BookSparks

From the bestselling author of Good Sam comes a taut and thought-provoking follow-up, Perfectly Good Crime. 

When the estates of the 100 wealthiest Americans are targeted in a series of sophisticated, high tech heists, Los Angeles TV news reporter Kate Bradley must venture inside the world of the super rich to investigate the biggest story of the year. 

As the heists escalate, Kate’s search is thwarted when the Los Angeles police detective she’s been working with mysteriously disappears, her senator father demands that she stop reporting on the heists, and the billionaire victims refuse to talk to the media. Kate uncovers clues that those behind the robberies have shocking, yet uplifting, motives—it just may be a perfectly good crime that brings about powerful change. 

Further complicating her life is a dream job awaiting her in New York, a choice that could shatter from her deepening relationship with Fire Captain Eric Hayes. Kate must trust her instincts—and her heart—in a high stakes search that will test everything she believes and force her to decide where she belongs. 

Dete Meserve is an award-winning author who is searching for Good. Like Kate Bradley in the novel 'Good Sam' and 'Perfectly Good Crime,' Meserve is looking for people who are doing extraordinary good for others, sometimes at great personal sacrifice. While most mysteries focus on finding the killer or kidnapper, Meserve focuses our attention on finding the helpers, the rescuers, and the people who inspire us with their selfless acts of kindness. When she's not writing, she is a film and television producer in Los Angeles and partner of Wind Dancer Films. Meserve lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three children—and a very good cat that rules them all.

Although I did not read GOOD SAM, the first book in this series, I felt like I got a good overview of the characters and overall feel for the series.  There is something for everyone...mystery, intrigue and romance.  It was easy to keep turning pages because the characters were very realistic and the real life issues were some that got me thinking.  4 stars


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#MMBBR #Highlight #AlltheSingleLadies by @dorotheafrank

The perennial New York Times bestselling author returns with an emotionally resonant novel that illuminates the power of friendship in women’s lives, and is filled with her trademark wit, poignant and timely themes, sassy, flesh-and-blood characters, and the steamy Southern atmosphere and beauty of her beloved Carolina Lowcountry.

Few writers capture the complexities, pain, and joy of relationships—between friends, family members, husbands and wives, or lovers—as beloved New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank. In this charming, evocative, soul-touching novel, she once again takes us deep into the heart of the magical Lowcountry where three amazing middle-aged women are bonded by another amazing woman’s death.

Through their shared loss they forge a deep friendship, asking critical questions. Who was their friend and what did her life mean? Are they living the lives they imagined for themselves? Will they ever be able to afford to retire? How will they maximize their happiness? Security? Health? And ultimately, their own legacies?

A plan is conceived and unfurls with each turn of the tide during one sweltering summer on the Isle of Palms. Without ever fully realizing how close they were to the edge, they finally triumph amid laughter and maybe even newfound love.



Dorothea Benton Frank is the New York Times best selling author of ten novels.

Dottie has appeared on NBC's Today Show, Parker Ladd's Book Talk and many local network affiliated television stations. She is a frequent speaker on creative writing and the creative process for students of all ages and in private venues as the National Arts Club, the Junior League of New York, Friends of the Library organizations and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. She has also been a guest speaker at the South Carolina Book Festival, Novello, North Carolina's festival of books and the Book and Author annual event in Charleston, SC, sponsored by the Post & Courier.

Before she began her writing career, Dottie was involved extensively in the arts and education, and in raising awareness and funding for various non profits in New Jersey and New York.

Dottie, who was born and raised on Sullivan's Island in South Carolina, currently divides her time between South Carolina and New Jersey. 

#SRC2016 @BookSparks You Will Know Me by @meganeabbott #BestSummerEver #MMBBR

Katie and Eric Knox have dedicated their lives to their fifteen-year-old daughter Devon, a gymnastics prodigy and Olympic hopeful. But when a violent death rocks their close-knit gymnastics community just weeks before an all-important competition, everything the Knoxes have worked so hard for feels suddenly at risk. As rumors swirl among the other parents, revealing hidden plots and allegiances, Katie tries frantically to hold her family together while also finding herself drawn, irresistibly, to the crime itself, and the dark corners it threatens to illuminate. From a writer with "exceptional gifts for making nerves jangle and skin crawl," (Janet Maslin) You Will Know Me is a breathless rollercoaster of a novel about the desperate limits of desire, jealousy, and ambition. 

Megan Abbott is the Edgar®-winning author of the novels Queenpin, The Song Is You, Die a Little, Bury Me Deep, The End of Everything, Dare Me, and her latest, The Fever, which was chosen as one of the Best Books of the Year by Amazon, National Public Radio, the Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times.

Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Salon, the Guardian, Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Believer and the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Born in the Detroit area, she graduated from the University of Michigan and received her Ph.D. in English and American literature from New York University. She has taught at NYU, the State University of New York and the New School University. In 2013-14, she served as the John Grisham Writer in Residence at Ole Miss.

She is also the author of a nonfiction book, The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir, and the editor of A Hell of a Woman, an anthology of female crime fiction. She has been nominated for many awards, including three Edgar® Awards, Hammett Prize, the Shirley Jackson Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Folio Prize

A CONVERSATION WITH MEGAN ABBOTT:

What was the inspiration for You Will Know Me?

I’ve always been interested in families of prodigies. How power operates in those families, how ambition does. Then, during the London Olympics four years ago, I saw this video of the parents of American gymnast Aly Raisman watching their daughter’s uneven bar routine and it kind of blew me away. They were so invested in it, so connected to her. They moved as she moved. They knew every beat of the performance. The footage went viral and the response to it was tricky. Some people found it funny, others found it problematic and there was some finger pointing. I think we all struggle with how invested parents should be in their children’s development, but with exceptionally talented children, all that is thrown into high relief.

I could just feel the book taking shape after that. How does that kind of intense focus on a child’s talent affect a marriage, for instance? What about siblings? And families in general fascinate me—the place of the greatest darkness and the greatest light.

You are known for writing shockingly accurate portrayals of teen angst and an uncanny ability to get inside the heads of teen girls. Why are you so drawn to this subject matter?

In some ways because teen girls are still so often dismissed or condescended to. But every woman I know is haunted in some ways by their teen years, by the choices they made then and the way they crafted their identity and developed their sense of self.

And, as a writer, it’s such rich terrain. Everything is in such high relief during those years. All the big emotions of life seem to storm through us every day. When I remember myself at that age, it was like my nerve endings were all exposed. It’s when you’re both at your most curious (and, potentially, risk-taking) and also at your most vulnerable—especially to disillusionment. And when you’re a mom, like the main character in You Will Know Me, you’re in some ways living through it all again through your daughter, which is incredibly complicated.

You Will Know Me is a bit of a departure in that it focuses more on the parents’ perspective. Why did you choose to shift gears in this way?

My last book, The Fever, had three viewpoints, one of whom was the father of two teens, and I really loved it. Exploring the gap between how parents view their teens and how teens view themselves, and vice versa. But it seemed thrillingly different in the case of You Will Know Me. Katie, the protagonist, is so close to her daughter, Devon, because of the way the family has circled itself around Devon’s extraordinary talent. And that closeness fascinates me.

At what point does your child become a stranger to you? Because all children need to break apart from you to become themselves, but is it slower to happen in the case of a prodigy? A case when the parent, like Katie, is so tied up in her daughter’s everyday life?

What research did you do into the world of uber-competitive youth gymnastics when writing You Will Know Me?

Gymnast memoirs were a huge help. I read almost every one I could get my hands on. Both the flag-waving sports ones and the tougher ones too, the exposés. The one that had the biggest impact for me was Nadia Comaneci’s Letters to a Young Gymnast, which is a brilliant book on many levels (foremost her strong voice), and is such a keen distillation of what seems a pure, fire-hardened ambition. I also talked to former gymnasts and had one of them read the manuscript.

And, I confess, watching a lot of YouTube, and diving into online chat rooms, especially those devoted to parents of gymnasts. But the book’s title comes from Nadia, who tells her reader, “I don’t know you, but you will know me.” What could be more enticing to a reader?

What did you learn about this world that surprised you?

Everything! I became very fixated on the mental control and struggles the gymnasts faced. How much it is a head game. And then the sport’s impact on girls’ developing bodies. It is not a universal experience, but for many girls it halts their adolescence in certain ways, or it threatens to, and this prospect fascinated me and worked its way into the novel. Your body is both your greatest gift and your worst enemy. Maybe we all feel that, in a way.

Have any gymnasts or parents of youth athletes read and responded to You Will KnowMe yet?

I’ve had a few early gymnast readers who’ve been very supportive. In particular, they’ve responded to the parent-booster culture in the book, the way parents invest in a gym and insert themselves into gym politics. The hothouse environment that the parent viewing area can take on. Or, “gym drama,” as it’s called. Which seems to have all the hallmarks of a great reality TV show, or a Shakespearean play.

After being so close to this world while researching and writing You Will Know Me, willyou view the Olympics in Rio this year through a different lens?

I love watching gymnastics and this book reflects a love of, and immense respect for, the sport and the art. But in the end, I think the book is more about family and parent love than gymnastics, so probably my eyes will be more on the families than in past years. More on what it takes for a family to help make an Olympic medalist.

You’re working on TV scripts for your novels Dare Me (for HBO) and The Fever (for TNT). What is it like to adapt your own work for the small screen?

As much as people like to say that TV is the new novel, the two are so very different. By the time you sell it, it’s changed so much from the book—the world has gotten so much larger,you’ve had to create ways to make the story possibilities expand indefinitely—you lose all vanity about your own book. Instead, it’s something entirely new. But the biggest difference is how collaborative it is. Writing a novel, until the last stretch, is utterly solitary. Writing for TV is a cacophony of voices. Sometimes noisy, but never, ever lonely!

You recently joined the writing staff of David Simon’s (“The Wire”) new HBO drama “The Deuce.” How does that work differ from writing a novel? How did your career in fiction inform your work in the writers’ room? When can we see “The Deuce?”

Different in every way. I’d say apples and oranges, but maybe it’s more like apples and a large, cunning mountain lion! As collaborative as developing your work for TV is, being on staff for a show in production is a thousand times more so. You’re there to help in every way you can to bring the showrunners’ ideas to life. I think there are so many crime novelists writing for TV now because we bring a certain facility with plotting, but in the end what’s most exciting in the writers’ room is how different everyone is, how differently we see the world, and yet how we all value the same things: character, story, meaning.

And “The Deuce,” which stars James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal, will be on HBO next year. I’ve seen the pilot, and it’s incredible.

Do you have time to work on another book with all of your TV project in the works? What’s next and when from Megan Abbott?

Somehow, I do! I have a new novel in the works called Give Me Your Hand, which will come out in 2018, I think. It’s about two ambitious female scientists who share a secret from their past. Very Hitchcock-inspired, this one.

I could not put this book down.  It was a wild and intense ride that kept me on the edge of my seat.  Holy cow!!!  Wow! I was unable to figure out what was going to happen next, which was a wonderful addition to this insanely well written story that pulls at the heart and begs the questions...What would you do for the one you love??  YOU WILL KNOW ME is published at the right time, with the Olympics coming this summer you will want to read this book!  A must read and 5 star book.

#MMBBR #Q&A w/ @CareJaneAngell All the Time in the World

An unforgettable debut about a young woman's choice between the future she's always imagined and the people she's come to love.

Charlotte, a gifted and superbly trained young musician, has been blindsided by a shocking betrayal in her promising career when she takes a babysitting job with the McLeans, a glamorous Upper East Side Manhattan family. At first, the nanny gig is just a way of tiding herself over until she has licked her wounds and figured out her next move as a composer in New York. But, as it turns out, Charlotte is naturally good with children and becomes as deeply fond of the two little boys as they are of her. When an unthinkable tragedy leaves the McLeans bereft, Charlotte is not the only one who realizes that she's the key to holding little George and Matty's world together. Suddenly, in addition to life's usual puzzles, such as sorting out which suitor is her best match, she finds herself with an impossible choice between her life-long dreams and the torn-apart family she's come to love. By turns hilarious, sexy, and wise, Caroline Angell's remarkable and generous debut is the story of a young woman's discovery of the things that matter most.

Caroline Angell grew up in Endwell, N.Y., the daughter of an electrical engineer and a public school music teacher. She has a B. A. in musical theater from American University and currently lives and works in Manhattan. As a playwright and director, she has had her work performed at regional theaters in New York City and in the Washington, D.C., area. Caroline is the co-founder of Racket, an initiative dedicated to eliminating menstrual taboos and advocating for equal access to feminine hygiene products.

Author Bio
Caroline Angell grew up in Endwell, N.Y., the daughter of an electrical engineer and a public school music teacher. She has a B. A. in musical theater from American University and currently lives and works in Manhattan. As a playwright and director, she has had her work performed at regional theaters in New York City and in the Washington, D.C., area. All the Time in the World is her first novel. For more information please visit http://carolineangell.com/ and follow Caroline on Twitter and Instagram 

Q. What inspires your writing?

A. I’ve had inspiration come to me from a bunch of random places. A particular quote, or something that’s happening in the news, or a story that I hear from a friend—the kinds of things that I observe that make me say, “But what if . . . ?” Lately, I’ve found that the kids in my life give me a lot of material to work with. They tend to encounter things and work through them out loud, and they’re much less inhibited about displaying their feelings than most adults I know. Their basic human nature is so beautifully on display, and that has had a major influence on the way I think about characters. Plus, kids say truly hilarious things. I try to write them down whenever I get the chance.

Q. What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

A. I learned most of what I know about writing from reading other writers. When I’m reading and I come across a sentence that gives voice to a feeling I’ve had and maybe not had my own words for, or understood fully, it makes me feel connected. Hearing that my words have had that effect on someone else really moves me, and I think being a part of that circle is probably my favorite thing.

Q. What is the toughest part of being a writer?

A. At times I find it a bit difficult to strike a balance between my creative brain and my business brain. And I would apply this feeling to almost every job I’ve had in the arts: playwriting and directing, as well as writing the novel. When I’m making something, my creative brain needs to be really immersed, really close to the material. And then, when the piece comes out of the rough-draft phase, I’ve got to try and regain some objectivity, because other people are starting to become involved. The process becomes collaborative. And that’s a wonderful thing; it’s heartening to have a bunch of people believe in your work enough to get invested with you. But the more voices you have commenting on the work, the more challenging the balance becomes between trusting your own instincts and listening to the people who know more than you. (And when I say challenging, I mean emotionally—it’s writing, after all, not working in a coal mine, or performing neonatal surgery.)

Q. If you could not be writer, what would you do/be?

A. A friend and I cofounded an initiative called Racket, an organization dedicated to eliminating the taboo surrounding menstruation, and helping people at an economic disadvantage gain access to menstrual hygiene products. Right now we operate mainly in New York City and work under the umbrella of a fiscal sponsor to organize product drives whenever we have the opportunity. I’ve always been interested in nonprofit development, so if I didn’t have all the jobs I have now, including writing, I might try to see how we could broaden the reach of that initiative.

Q. What would the story of your life be entitled?

A. “And Then I Went Home and Broke an Entire Carton of Eggs: The Caroline Angell Story.”

Q. What is your favorite book of all time?

A. The Small Rain by Madeleine L’Engle. After I evolved out of my Sweet Valley Twins phase, this is the first novel that I remember reading and feeling completely sucked into, both by the

prose and by the world the author created. I’m three-quarters of the way through the entire Madeleine L’Engle canon, and to this day, no other writer has spoken to my soul the way she does. I go back to The Small Rain from time to time, and I’m never disappointed. Its sequel, A Severed Wasp, comes in a close second.

Q. Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A. Most days, I feel like the pigeon from Mo Willems’s stories. Highly emotional, fired up for the things I believe in, and reluctant to share my hot dogs.

Q. What character from all of your books are you most like?

A. There are aspects of me in all of my characters. I’m not sure I have enough objectivity to say which one is the closest!

Q. Which book would you love to take a weekend vacation inside of?

A. Twilight. (Just kidding! Or am I? Yes, I am. I’m scared of vampires. But also a little bit excited by them.) For real though, I think I’d want to pick a road-trip novel, like John Green’s Paper Towns. There’s something about being young and enthusiastic and feeling invincible that he captures in his writing—a true sense of being thrilled to be on a journey, and less concerned about the actual destination. Plus, I love road trip food. Especially corn nuts.

Q. What is your favorite season?

A. I’m from upstate New York, where the foliage is spectacular, so I think I’d have to say September, October, November. Usually, in the fall, I notice that I have a real sense of anticipation, like I have the energy to begin a bunch of new projects. I think that all those years of operating on a scholastic calendar make September feel like the start of a new year.

Q. What inspired your book cover(s)? Or what is your favorite book cover and why?

A. The cover of Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld, is the first one that always comes to mind when I think about intriguing covers. I picked up that book and bought it, with no prior context, because of the cover. Aesthetically, I think my favorite cover I’ve seen recently is The Nest, by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney. That is a picture that I would frame and hang on my wall.

Q. Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book.

A. My mom gave my number to a guy (it’s funny already, right?) who owns a bar in my hometown, and he wants to do a promotional book club–like event while I’m up there later this year. A book club, in his bar. Which is awesome, and also funny.

Q. Are you working on something new?

A. I’m in the middle of the workshop process for a musical I’m cowriting. The first part of the piece will be presented this September by Everyday Inferno Theatre Company as part of the Dixon Place works-in-progress series here in New York City. The musical is a modern retelling of the apocryphal story of Susanna from the Book of Daniel, entitled After I Was Free.

#SRC2016 @BookSparks THE CHOICES WE MAKE @WriterKarma #BestSummerEver #MMBBR

Following her bestselling debut novel Come Away with Me, Karma Brown returns with an unforgettable story that explores the intricate dynamics of friendship and parenthood 

Hannah and Kate became friends in the fifth grade, when Hannah hit a boy for looking up Kate's skirt with a mirror. While they've been close as sisters ever since, Hannah can't help but feel envious of the little family Kate and her husband, David, have created—complete with two perfect little girls. 

She and Ben have been trying for years to have a baby, so when they receive the news that she will likely never get pregnant, Hannah's heartbreak is overwhelming. But just as they begin to tentatively explore the other options, it's Kate's turn to do the rescuing. Not only does she offer to be Hannah's surrogate, but Kate is willing to use her own eggs to do so. 

Full of renewed hope, excitement and gratitude, these two families embark on an incredible journey toward parenthood…until a devastating tragedy puts everything these women have worked toward at risk of falling apart. Poignant and refreshingly honest, The Choices We Make is a powerful tale of an incredible friendship and the risks we take to make our dreams come true.

KARMA BROWN is an award-winning journalist and freelance writer, who probably spends too much time on her laptop in coffee shops. When not writing, she can be found running with her husband, coloring (outside the lines) with her daughter, or baking yet another batch of banana muffins. Karma lives just outside Toronto with her family. She's the author of two novels: COME AWAY WITH ME (September 2015) & THE CHOICES WE MAKE (July 2016).

I adored Brown's first book COME AWAY WITH ME, so my expectations were high for her forthcoming book THE CHOICES WE MAKE and she did not disappoint.  This book is another hit, that grabs at your emotions right away and makes you feel for each character, as Brown brilliantly brings you into the characters hearts and minds.  There is such a wonderfully layered story with a complex story line that pulls you in because you can relate to the characters because they are raw, human and vulnerable! Another 

5 star hit!

#MMBBR #Showcase Better in the Morning by @FernRonay

Description

Veronica Buccino has a plan: marry John DelMonico and quit her soul-sucking job as a lawyer. And when he tells her he has big news, she’s certain he’ll pop the question. But instead of proposing, John informs her that he’s moving to London.

Heartbroken, Veronica feels lost. Salvatore and Antoinette, her dead grandparents, begin to visit her dreams in an attempt to steer her in the right direction. At their suggestion, Veronica takes a news reporting class, which leads to a challenging freelance assignment covering a conspiracy trial. She also begins dating an unlikely suitor: creative Syd Blackman.

Just when her love life and career are looking up, Veronica is tossed back to square one by an event that makes her question all her new choices.

On Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27395638-better-in-the-morning

Author Bio

Fern Ronay is a lawyer who has lived in Manhattan, Chicago and now sunny Los Angeles with her husband, but she will always consider herself a Jersey girl. She is working on her next novel.

Q.  What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

A. The sense of fulfillment I feel after getting the words on the page and seeing the story take shape.

Q.  What is the toughest part of being a writer?

A. The editing process. It's this thing that makes the story infinitely better but is just so painful to go through.

Q.  If you could not be writer, what would you do/be?

A. A journalist. I love interviewing people and am lucky to do so as part of AfterBuzzTV in Los Angeles.

Q.  What would the story of your life be entitled?

A. A Fern Grows in Jersey

Q.  What is your favorite book of all time?

A. Wow. Does everyone say this is a tough one to answer? I'll go with Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus. It's a "children's book for adults" in a sense but it had such a profound impact on me when I read it almost ten years ago that I even wrote a blog post about it called "The Book that Changed My Life."

Q.  Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A. A combo of Bridget Jones, Carrie Bradshaw (Sex and the City, of course, was a book before it was a show; thanks, Candace Bushnell!) and my own protagonist Veronica Buccino.

Q.  What character from all of your book are you most like?

A. Well, since I only have one under my belt at this point, I'd have to say I'm Veronica Buccino from Better in the Morning but I do have quite a bit of Jada, her best friend, in me.

Q.  Which book would you love to take a weekend vacation inside of?

A. The Great Gatsby

Q.  What is your favorite season?

A. Summer

Q.  What inspired your book cover(s)?  Or what is your favorite book cover and why?

A. The way it works with my publisher is that we fill out a form that asks a series of questions about the story and specific feelings that are elicited from the book. It then goes to the artist and cover designer. What came back was beyond my wildest writer dreams. It was the perfect cover and includes an "Easter egg" that any reader of Better in the Morning will appreciate.

Q.  Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book.

A. Hmmm. Nothing comes to mind but I did have an awesome release party that was hosted at AfterBuzzTV studios, complete with a cake with the book cover on it from Cake + Art in West Hollywood, a signature cocktail with champagne that was dubbed "The Veronica," and gift bags too. I felt like it was my wedding again! And I felt like Carrie Bradshaw who said "There is one day even the most cynical New York woman dreams of ... her book release party." You can see pics on my Instagram @FernRonay.

Q.  Are you working on something new?

A. Yes, I'm now telling Jada's story. She's married and a mother but is rather unhappy. It's a bit darker but has the same elements of incorporating "life after life."

Q.  Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A. Well, I'd like to say thank you to you for hosting me! And, as I say in the acknowledgements of Better in the Morning: To the person reading this right now, I always believed that whoever was meant to read this would be led to it somehow. I am so happy you have found your way here and I hope you enjoyed it!

#MMBBR #Showcase My Spouse Wants More Sex Than Me: The 2-Minute Solution for a Happier Marriage by Ruxandra LeMay

Is “not enough sex” a daily or weekly argument in your relationship? 

Is sex at the bottom of your to-do list after mopping the floors, laundry, and packing the kids’ lunches? 
Would you rather catch up on your favorite show than have sex? 

Then this book is for you. 
Nowadays, women work more than ever; they juggle a career, a household, kids, bills, pets, their own parents and in-laws. In a relationship, marriage to be precise, sex is on a continuum: from hot and sweaty to non-existent. The author has seen numerous couples in therapy, all struggling to make the transition from “I can’t breathe without you” to “I would rather sleep than have sex.” Although most couples experience these changes, many don’t know how to handle them. Women feel exhausted, guilty, and wondering whether they need medication to feel some sort of sexual desire again. Men feel unloved, misunderstood, and highly frustrated. Nobody wins. And sometimes, the table turns and the man has a lower sex drive. 
This unique book offers a practical solution that is a great compromise for both genders. It’s fast and easy to implement and maintain. It’s the real deal. The goals are realistic, easily attained, and make an actual difference in the relationship. 
Dr. LeMay also talks about the fact that the female and male sex drives are different but there is no reason to apologize for such a difference. There is nothing wrong with women that have a low sex drive and not all men are addicted just because they like sex. 
This book offers a compilation of tips and ideas to increase assertiveness and honesty during sex. Finally, the author introduces 10 insights into what affects female sex drive such as husband’s participation in household chores, his effort in looking good for his spouse, and his willingness to accommodate his wife’s sexual needs. 

Dr. Ruxandra LeMay is a psychologist that specializes in couples' therapy, addiction, and mood disorders. She is passionate about women's mental health issues, parenting, and how to manage healthy interpersonal relationships. At the heart of her couples' therapy is a strong belief in partnership, compromise, and accommodating each other's needs. There is no such thing as a perfect marriage; all couples have areas to work on.

Her writing style is very similar to her therapeutic style: direct, down-to-earth, and practical. Humor is very important to her and comes out in therapy as well as her in her book.
She has been married for more than ten years and is the mother of three amazing boys.

Q. What inspires your writing?

A. I don’t really consider myself a writer. I am psychologist that wrote a self-help book, hoping to help as many as possible.  One of my interests is couple’s therapy. I have seen couples at every stage of their relationship, from newlyweds to the divorce court. During my practice with couples, I noticed some patterns, researched these patterns, and developed some interventions to help along the way. But, unfortunately, I also noticed that most couples and families don’t go to therapy until it’s too late. So, I wanted to capture them before that happens.  

I also know from reading these books myself that the majority of the marriage resources out there are cumbersome, not always practical or easy to implement, or targeting one gender over the other. That’s not good enough for couples’ therapy. Couples’ therapy is one of the most difficult to do well because you have to capture both partners’ attention and then, almost dance with both of them, back and forth until they are able to make sustainable changes.

Q. How did you decide on the topic?

Sex is an important issue for a couple; actually, it’s the main difference between intimate relationships and friendships. It’s the reason for a lot of silent frustrations in a relationship and the one topic that people don’t like talking about, not even in therapy. They dance around it, don’t address it, and it’s always there in the background. It’s a very complex issue and the book doesn’t address everything, but it starts the conversation.

Q. How would you describe your book?

My book is short, easy to read by both partners, and it has behavioral interventions-ideas to change the behavior first, which in turn may change the thoughts and feelings. The 2-minute solution is about accepting each other’s differences in terms of sexual desire without being offended, shaming each other, without the long nagging arguments about what is happening in the relationship. It’s about compromise and accommodating each other’s needs when one wants sex and the other one doesn’t. And, yes, it can be done in 2 minutes!

It’s about a shift on how we look at sex and intimacy, especially in a marriage. It changes the idea that good sex has to include 30 minute of foreplay, 30 minute of intercourse, and 30 minute of cuddling. Most married couples with kids don’t have the time or desire for that. Conversely, not having any sex at all (or just once per month) is not an answer either. My method is a bridge between the two options, but it’s based on research and it has a lot of common sense. I can tell you that most people can relate to what I describe in this book.

Q.  What inspired your book cover(s)? 

A. I wanted to capture the spirit of the book, about a couple who is tired, overwhelmed with day-to-day chores and parenting and doesn’t have time for one another.

Q.  Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book.

A. Well, of course, there are lots of jokes around the 2-minute sex phrase and my answer is always “don’t knock it till you try it.”

Q.  Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A.  Thank you for taking the time to read about a non-fiction book; it’s not as creative or artistic as your followers are used to, but I believe that anyone that has been married or in a long term relationship can relate to something in this book. It’s not going to fix anyone’s marriage, but it’s a great tool to have in your box when you are going through a rough patch, and trust me all relationships do.