For many, the first person we love is our mother. That important relationship is often complicated through trauma, different desires and complex perspectives. During this month of gratitude, Women’s Fiction Writers Association celebrates the intricacies of mother-daughter relationships!
The Summerville Sisters by Heather Dixon
Storm Publishing | January 2024
Claire is still reeling from her beloved mother’s death after a short illness when the doorbell rings. On the doorstep is a woman with a startling resemblance to Claire’s mother. And when she introduces herself as Audrey — the name of the baby sister Claire has always believed died in a car crash — Claire’s world falls apart. As she and this stranger — who might just be the long-lost sister she always yearned for — piece together the past, a new revelation rocks them both. Claire discovers a devastating truth about her childhood that threatens to blow her world apart. Can she find the courage to forgive her mother’s mistakes and rebuild her life?
A Life in Bloom by Anna E. Collins
Red Adept Publishing | July 2023
High school teacher Kristin Caine has a black belt in settling for less and a dying mother who doesn’t mince words when it comes to voicing how disappointed this makes her. But when Kristin’s status quo is rocked by an unexpected pregnancy and the consequent breakup with her less-than-enthusiastic boyfriend, things change. Suddenly, agreeing to help her overbearing mother complete a bucket list before the big C wins seems not the worst thing in the world — despite their many differences and Kristin’s fear of traveling.
As a journey of physical and emotional adventures, belated mother-daughter bonding, and unexpected romantic feelings for a new female friend ensues, Kristin must challenge preconceived notions of motherhood, love and what it means to live life fully, one bucket-list checkmark at a time. Only if she succeeds will she be able to create a new future free of self-imposed limits, for herself and her unborn child.
Right Side of the Tracks by Laverty Sparks
Amazon | March 2020
Thirty-something Macey Burris has ambitions of a makeup artist career in the vibrant lights of a major city. But currently those visions are overshadowed with sacrifices in central Illinois. She’s stuck in a rural city by her daughter’s high school education and a meager part-time job. Macey’s single life is held in check raising a sixteen-year-old all the while counting the days until she can finally enjoy independence, freedom, and inner peace. Add to that, her road to liberty shortens when a love interest comes along when she least expects it. Now she must courageously choose to stay her course or give in to salvation.
Mountain Miracles by Elizabeth Wilmoth Solazzo
Independently Published | September 2024
Young Katie Cook has worked hard to pave her own path in life. She moved away from her workaholic father and domineering mother in order to open a medical practice in the beautiful mountains of east Tennessee and stand on her own. Not convinced she could have both a rewarding career as a doctor and enjoy a rich family life, she has avoided love and marriage. Determined to remain independent and devote herself to a career focused life, Katie wasn’t looking for new relationships. As she builds meaningful connections complications unfold that challenge her hoped for family.
A Stone’s Throw by Alida Winternheimer
Wild Woman Typing | June 2024
Simona Casale, a Minneapolis artist, learns she’s pregnant the same day she lands a major mural installation at a new women’s center. No problem; she can take on a surprise pregnancy and a monster commission. And with the father in London, that’s one less complication.
Gemma Ledbetter, a London homemaker, is grieving the babies she couldn’t have. When her husband returns from the States, she decides they’ll start fresh. But it doesn’t take long for her plans to unravel.
Simona and Gemma live an ocean apart, yet their lives become forever entwined when the women Simona is painting come to life, stepping out of their portraits. They arrive with a purpose: to nurture a broken heart … or two. Simona and Gemma learn about art-making, love, grief and motherhood when they are magically welcomed into a lineage of women who share their lives’ joys and sorrows during the most creative time of a woman’s life.
Seeds by Angie Paxton
Rising Action Publishing | January 2025, available for preorder
Kore has lived her life in her resentful mother Demeter’s shadow, trying her hardest to please a woman grown bitter with betrayal. With her self-esteem in tatters, it’s no surprise Kore is confused when she meets a collection of otherworldly women — the Goddesses of Olympus — who tell her that her mother is, in truth, a Goddess and so is Kore. Kore tells them her preferred name, Persephone, and hopes they’ll provide the friendship and love she craves. Instead, an imposing figure emerges from a nearby cave on a chariot and snatches Persephone away.
Upon realizing she’s been taken to the Underworld by Hades, who desires she become his queen, Persephone vows to escape. Demeter, enraged upon finding her daughter taken, goes to extreme lengths to reclaim her — putting the lives of all humanity, and even the gods, at risk.
Delphi by Karen Martin
KazJoyPress | October 2024
The appearance of an unknown aunt spirals Cressida into chaos. Childhood wounds resurface, compelling her to make a crucial decision. Will she trade her newfound life for love and security? Inspired by dreams, she travels to Delphi seeking counsel from the Oracle, unaware of her pivotal role to save humanity from catastrophic misery.
Delphi is a follow up tale to Dancing the Labyrinth a riveting tale of gods, snakes, prophesy and a young woman’s struggle to understand herself.
Rooted in Sunrise by Beth Dotson
Brown Koehler Books | September 2024
Ava Winston likes her life of routine in Lexington, Kentucky. Each day she goes to the place she’s worked for 20 years then returns home. On Sundays, she cooks a meal with a fabulous dessert for her 25-year-old daughter, Juniper. It’s a little boring, but as Ava nears fifty-five, she deserves a bit of ease. Then a tornado blows it away. Ava is safe in the basement but when she emerges, only one corner of her home stands. The loss causes her to see the world through new eyes.
Ava wants to seize the opportunity to find the owners of a wedding album and a suitcase that landed on her lawn during the storm. Yet, Juniper urges Ava to rebuild, her employer doesn’t want Ava to quit and her ex-husband invites Ava back into his life. Following her instincts deepens the tension with her daughter and pushes Ava to face her fears. Rooted in Sunrise is a story of finding resilience within the strength of family and friends.
Not So Little Things by Kyle Ann Robertson
Hybrid Global Publishing | November 2023
Tina Edwards loved her childhood and sharing her passion of creating fairy houses with her father, a world-renowned architect. But at nine years old she finds him dead at his desk and is haunted by this memory. Tina’s mother abruptly moves away leaving Tina with her aunt and feelings of abandonment and suspicion. Years later, Tina becomes a miniature room artist and cherishes the control she has over her life when her estranged mother appears with family secrets that must be told. While attempting to accept her mother’s return and focusing on research for a new client, Tina discovers stories from his past that echo her own forcing her to explore family miscommunications and misinterpretations and the chaos they create- even in the name of love.
The Weight We Carry by Christina Consolino
Black Rose Writing | October 2023
Marissa Raffaelo-Moretta is used to shouldering the burden. As the middle child, she’s played the mediator role for longer than she cares to admit. As a mother, she’s taken on the exhausting task of primary caregiver. And as a daughter and nurse practitioner, she’s spent her adult life being responsible for her parents’ physical and mental health.
When her stubborn and impulsive father, Frank, falls and refuses to stay at rehab, she and her brothers bring him home, and Marissa upends her life: she temporarily moves into her parents’ house, which takes precious time away from her two sons and jeopardizes her job. Soon, Marissa recognizes that life as they’ve all known it is about to change: while Frank’s ineffective legs are worrisome, her mother Angie’s memory issues might be a more urgent dilemma.
Bedside Manners by Heather Frimmer
SparkPress | October 2018
As Joyce Novak’s daughter, Marnie, completes medical school and looks ahead to a surgical internship, her wedding, and a future filled with promise, a breast cancer diagnosis throws Joyce’s own future into doubt. Always the caregiver, Joyce feels uncomfortable in the patient role, especially with her husband and daughter. As she progresses through a daunting treatment regimen including a biopsy, lumpectomy and radiation, she distracts herself by planning Marnie’s wedding. When the sudden death of a young heroin addict in Marnie’s care forces Marnie to come face-to-face with mortality and her professional inadequacies, she also realizes she must strike a new balance between her identity as a doctor and her role as a supportive daughter. At the same time, she struggles with the stark differences between her fiancé’s family background and her own and comes to understand the importance of being with someone who shares her values and experiences. Amid this profound soul-searching, both Joyce and Marnie’s futures change in ways they never would have expected.
The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypole White
Lake Union | January 2018
Metal artist Katie Mack is living a lie. Nine years ago she ran away from her family in Raleigh, North Carolina, consumed by the irrational fear that she would harm Maisie, her newborn daughter. Over time she’s come to grips with the mental illness that nearly destroyed her, and now funnels her pain into her art. Despite longing for Maisie, Katie honors an agreement with the husband she left behind—to change her name and never return.
But when she and Maisie accidentally reunite, Katie can’t ignore the familiarity of her child’s compulsive behavior. Worse, Maisie worries obsessively about bad things happening to her pregnant stepmom. Katie has the power to help, but can she reconnect with the family she abandoned?
To protect Maisie, Katie must face the fears that drove her from home, accept the possibility of love, and risk exposing her heart-wrenching secret.
Who Loves You Best by Marilyn Simon Rothstein
Lake Union Publishing | October 2024
For Jodi Wexler, a Florida doctor with a flourishing practice, only one thing’s missing: the chance to spend more time getting to know her eight-year-old granddaughter, Macallan. When Jodi’s restauranteur daughter asks her to watch Macallan in the Berkshires while she takes care of some business out of town, Jodi can’t say yes fast enough. Neither Jodi’s podiatric patients nor her just-fired, suddenly retired husband can keep her away. But when Jodi arrives, she discovers she’s not the only grandma at Lisa’s house. Lisa’s mother-in-law, Di — a hard-nosed real estate agent — has moved into the house. What’s more, there’s Grannie Annie, the twenty-seven-year-old girlfriend of Lisa’s oddball father-in-law. They’re not the only surprises. Lisa’s marriage is faltering even as her new restaurant is taking off. As the competition for Macallan’s attention among the three “grandmas” increases, Lisa drops a bomb about her life that changes everything. Under pressure, and determined to help her daughter, Jodi must choose her next step. Her decision surprises everyone — Jodi, most of all.
As Seen on TV by Meredith Schorr
Grand Central Publishing/Forever | June 2022
Emerging journalist Adina Gellar is done with dating in New York City. If she’s learned anything from made-for-TV romance movies, it’s that she’ll find love in a small town — the kind with harvest festivals, delightful but quirky characters and scores of delectable single dudes. So when a big-city real estate magnate targets tiny Pleasant Hollow for development, Adi knows she’s found the perfect story — one that will earn her a position at a coveted online magazine, so she can finally start adulting for real … and maybe even find her dream man in the process.
Only Pleasant Hollow isn’t exactly “pleasant.” There’s no charming bakery, no quaint seasonal festivals and the residents are more ambivalent than welcoming. The only upside is Finn Adams, who’s more mouthwatering than the homemade cherry pie Adi can’t seem to find — even if he does work for the company she’d hoped to bring down. Suddenly Adi has to wonder if maybe TV got it all wrong after all. But will following her heart mean losing her chance to break into the big time?
Secret Of The Sassafras by Olivia Sparrow
Independent Publisher | October 2023
She learned at a young age that love and heartache walk hand-in-hand.
Ambitious twenty-three-year-old law student Gemma Ellsworth is living her best life in New York City. No one would guess that beneath her polished surface, she’s riddled with anxiety and guilt. Raised by a loving Mom and Grandmother, Gemma and her twin spent their childhood running barefoot through the golden fields of rural Indiana until one fateful night left her screaming into a pitiless sky.
Fearful of getting close to anyone again, Gemma resists when her roommate introduces her to Miles. But when she suddenly finds herself smiling, even laughing — it terrifies her. Torn between fear and longing, Gemma must face her past, only to uncover a long-buried family secret that’s been hiding in plain sight.
Hate Follow by Erin Quinn-Kong
William Marrow Books | October 2024
Influencer Whitney Golden has it all: beautiful children; a handsome new boyfriend; a gorgeous house; and designer clothes and beauty products that arrive on her doorstep every day. After spending years building her brand as a widowed mother of four to over a million followers, the 37-year-old is at the peak of her career.
But it all comes to a screeching halt when Mia, her teenaged daughter, announces she is done with her mother’s online brand — and demands that not just she, but her siblings and their deceased father be removed from Whitney’s Instagram, blog, and everywhere else on the internet.
When Whitney doesn’t agree, Mia does the unthinkable: She sues her mother. What started as a family spat turns into a monumental case about child privacy, individual agency and modern parenting that shatters Mia and Whitney’s relationship and wreaks havoc on their lives. As the case ignites a media firestorm and unrelenting online bashing from a Greek chorus of internet snarkers, Whitney has to decide whether she’s willing to risk everything she’s built to win back her daughter.
When Robins Appear by Densie Webb
Red Adept Publishing | October 2020
With a lucrative freelance career and a loving family, Deborah Earle has a life many women would envy. But her daughter, Amanda, is heading to college soon, and Deborah worries about having an empty nest. She thinks another child might be the answer. Her husband, Richard, however, may not be willing to start over so late in life.
Amanda is excited about attending NYU next year, but she meets Graham, a handsome older boy, falls hard, and considers postponing her education to stay close to him. Her mother takes an instant dislike to Graham, but Amanda refuses to let her keep them apart.
As Deborah watches her daughter rush headlong toward heartache on an all-too-familiar path, the secrets lurking in Deborah’s past continue to echo in her present. When tragedy strikes, Deborah faces a future she could never have imagined.
Feral Creatures of Suburbia by D. Liebhart
9:25 Books | July 2024
MOTHERS WILL DO ANYTHING TO PROTECT THEIR CHILDREN … BUT THE GREATEST THREATS ALWAYS COME FROM WITHIN.
Julie White’s once-sweet son has morphed into a terror. She hoped it was growing pains but a glimpse into his private messages shatters that illusion. Now she wonders if her moody teen is actually a ticking time bomb…
Varvara Perlman’s researcher job is hard, but caring for her emotionally-complex daughter is harder. After dismissing the latest call from the school counselor as another ploy for attention, she can only hope it’s not too late when she finally understands. This latest crisis may not only be real, but deadly…
Crystal Carrasco is as warm and fuzzy as steel wool. Nothing gets to her, not even her own terminal illness diagnosis. When she realizes her newly-married son will cancel his upcoming honeymoon if he finds out, she decides to do the only thing that makes sense. Do whatever it takes to hide the truth…
Three women linked by one heart-stopping crisis. When faced with the unthinkable, how far will they go to protect their children?
All They Ask is Everything by Hadley Leggett
Lake Union Publishing | August 2024
In this hopeful debut about the silent struggles of motherhood, three very different women want custody of the same two little girls—and learn they have more in common than the children they’re fighting for.
Determined to be a better mother than her own, Hannah has devoted her life to her daughters. She ignores her increasing exhaustion and isolation as a widowed mom—until a disastrous mistake lands the girls in foster care. The more the girls’ foster mom bonds with them, the more she worries about their previous home life and becomes intent on keeping them. Meanwhile, Hannah’s estranged mother thinks rescuing her granddaughters will be her one chance at a parenting do-over.
Each woman thinks she’s the best possible mother, but none understands the full truth. Old hurts, long-held secrets, and budding new relationships collide as they fight for the girls who could make them a family.
Our Daughters’ Last Hope by Elaine Stock
Amsterdam Publishers | Sept 2022
Amsterdam, the Netherlands 1940. Herta, and her family, Jewish refugees, are living contentedly until the Nazi invasion, which echoes the persecution and fear they experienced before fleeing Germany. Across town, another wife and mother, Julia, also faces upheaval when her husband becomes more involved in the Nazis’ effort in controlling the world.
When their husbands go missing, one accused falsely of crimes and the other to fight on behalf of the Nazis, Herta, despite the heartache, takes charge and places her daughters into hiding believing they’ll keep safe. Meanwhile, Julia, as the only parent home, chooses to redefine family. These unexpected developments bring Herta and Julia together … until their true identities surface and they’re thrown into dangerous consequences that could harm not only them but their daughters.
