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A CLOSER LOOK AT DECEMBER’S SEVEN BOOK CLUB-WORTHY TITLES

We Are Not Like Them

By Jo Piazza and Christine Pride

Told from alternating perspectives, this is an evocative and riveting novel about the lifelong bond between two women, one Black and one white, whose friendship is indelibly altered by a tragic event. It’s a powerful and poignant exploration of race in America and its devastating impact on ordinary lives. Best friends since kindergarten, Jen and Riley remain close. Jen married young and is finally pregnant. Riley, a journalist, is poised to become one of the first Black female anchors of the top news channel in Philadelphia.

The bond is tested when Jen’s husband, a city police officer, is involved in the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager. Jen’s future, her husband’s freedom and her friendship with Riley are thrown into uncertainty. Riley wrestles with the implications for her Black community, her ambitions and her friendship. At its heart it’s a novel of enduring friendship that defies the odds. Learn more at https://www.jopiazza.com.

THE AUTHOR

Christine Pride is a writer, editor and 15-year publishing veteran. Christine has edited and published a range of bestselling books with a special emphasis on inspirational stories and memoirs. This is her first book. She lives in New York City.

Jo Piazza is an award-winning reporter and editor. Her novel, The Knockoff, written with Lucy Sykes, became an instant international bestseller. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed If Nuns Ruled the World and Celebrity Inc: How Famous People Make Money. She currently lives in San Francisco with her husband and their giant dog.

LEARN MORE

Follow Christine Pride on Instagram and Jo Piazza on Facebook and Twitter.

Invite Christine and Jo to your book club.

To learn more about Jo, visit her website.

Streets of Tears

By Larry Hilton

In this affecting work, the author takes Viktor Baur’s Viennese family through the turbulent years of World War I, the difficulties of feeding the family when money was worthless after the war, and then the Depression with so many out of work. With all of this going on in Austria, citizens could look over the border at their German neighbors and see their country improving under Hitler and the Nazis …

Viktor is a successful banker and could also see how the German economy was improving and why many Austrians were demanding Anschluss with Germany. However, he was a strong Austrian who had fought in the Great War and was concerned about the dictatorship under Hitler. The story then focuses on Viktor’s two children, both caught up in the Hitler “magic.” Too often we read about the great events in history and concentrate on the people in power, forgetting that decisions made at high levels in government touch all families.

THE AUTHOR

Larry J. Hilton brings his strong knowledge of finance and European history to recreate the events that led to the Holocaust. With a B.A. in History from Arizona State University and a graduate degree from the Southwestern School of Banking at Southern Methodist University, Larry also has an extensive background in the financial services industry as a banker, stockbroker and portfolio manager. This is Larry’s second book.

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Follow Larry J. Hilton on Facebook.

Invite Larry to your book club.

Cosmic Tattoo

By Taylor Marsh

Dr. Kate Winter is a psychic profiler and behavioral psychologist whose work began in the national security world of the nation’s capital, but a career-motivated move across the country won’t stop a confrontation with her demons. Danger, love, loss and healing, Kate’s never faced her own shadow side … her past. Then, a message arrives: a karmic confrontation is near and mythology provides the template.

For Kate, the tales of ancient mythology and the once-respected art of astrology provide a canvas on which to decipher her gifts. A downloaded warning foreshadows the confrontation she’s dreaded her whole life. Mystics say when the past rears up it’s because Spirit wants to share information we need. It’s not about what we want. We’re here to level up, to become intimate with ourselves, to change the trajectory of our lives and those around us and help advance the world. Kate has to say the truth out loud because only she can set herself free.

THE AUTHOR

Taylor Marsh tinkers beyond the veil, and introduces “a new type of thriller,” according to readers. She’s excelled across multiple entertainment platforms over 25 years. One of her works, May Be Fatal, was called one of the “Buzziest Books of February,” 2019. She also has a podcast. She has been featured in multiple significant newspapers and publications.

LEARN MORE

Follow Taylor Marsh on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.

Invite Taylor to your book club.

To learn more about Taylor, visit her website.

This Distance We Call Love

By Carol Dines

These stories explore the complexities of contemporary family life with a fine balance of humor and insight. This Distance We Call Love takes its title from the interwoven themes of connection and disconnection in our most intimate relationships. Sisters battle issues of duty and obligation when one becomes homeless, a mother and daughter take a trip to Mexico only to be followed by the daughter’s stalker, a family living in Rome must contend with their daughter’s rape, parents navigate raising their only child in the age of climate change, a biracial daughter whose mother is dying battles her own internet sex addiction: these come together in a thought-provoking volume.

While some relationships fall apart, others remain entrenched in old patterns and stay grappling with notions of self and duty. Altogether, the stories delve deeply into the relationships that impact and inform our lives, creating a portrait of authentic American family life today.

THE AUTHOR

Carol Dines was born in Rochester, Minnesota. Her new collection of stories for adults is This Distance We Call Love while her newest novel, The Take-Over Friend, will be published by Fitzroy Press in fall 2022. Her previous books include two novels for young adults, Best Friends Tell the Best Lies and The Queen’s Soprano, as well as a collection of short stories, Talk to Me. She has published numerous poems and stories for adults in journals and anthologies.

LEARN MORE

LEARN MORE

Follow Carol Dines on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.

Invite Carol to your book club.

To learn more about Carol, visit her website.

To learn more about the authors, visit their website.

Burning Ground

By D.A. Galloway

If you enjoyed the movie Dances with Wolves, appreciate stories of frontiersmen, Native Americans, and explorers in the American West, or like the historical time-travel adventure of Outlander, then you’ll love Burning Ground! Pennsylvania, 1971: Graham Davidson is a young man with survivor’s guilt after the death of three siblings. Seeking life’s direction, Graham learns about vision quests from a Crow Indian and embarks on a spiritual journey.

Wyoming Territory, 1871: Under a full moon at a sacred area, Graham finds himself in Yellowstone a century earlier. He joins the Hayden Expedition which was commissioned to explore the region. Although a military escort provides protection, the cavalry’s lieutenant threatens Graham. His perilous journey is marred by a tragedy in a geyser basin, a grizzly bear attack and an encounter with hostile Blackfeet Indians. Graham falls in love with Makawee, a beautiful Crow woman who serves as a guide. As the expedition nears its conclusion, Graham must make a choice. Does he stay in the previous century with the woman he loves or travel back to the future?

THE AUTHOR

The book was inspired by two memorable summers. As a teenager, the author worked on a farm in PA and met a Crow Indian: Galloway dedicates this novel to his memory. Experiences giving tours on Yellowstone Lake, and days exploring that magnificent land, led to this book. He researched the Hayden Expedition through diaries and documents. When he isn’t writing he enjoys riding a tandem bicycle with his wife and traveling anywhere that requires a passport.

LEARN MORE

Follow D.A. Galloway on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.

Invite D.A. to your book club.

To learn more about D.A., visit his website.

Love Has No Limits

By Arminé Papouchian

At sixteen, Arminé fell in love for the first time … and lost that love for the first time. She was the youngest daughter of three in Armenia and the only one underage when her parents decided to immigrate to the United States. She had to leave her beloved Alex behind. Her parents saw a land of opportunity while Arminé saw heartbreak. But it wasn’t the end of her story with Alex.

Sixteen-year-olds are resilient. Even when losses and hurt came calling repeatedly throughout the author’s life, she had the strength to love and to rise again. Arminé and Alex’s lives intersect over thirty years, through deaths and divorces, but don’t line up from their opposite sides of the globe. The book is a memoir of keeping faith in oneself, and in love, despite heartbreak, betrayal and loss.

THE AUTHOR

Arminé was born in Soviet Armenia and immigrated to the United States with her parents when she was 17. She worked in the health care industry and held key leadership roles in various health plans. She retired from a senior executive position and is also involved in volunteering. She hopes her debut will inspire women and give them the courage to share their stories and the confidence to be the warriors of their best life.

LEARN MORE

Follow Arminé Papouchian on Twitter.

To learn more about Arminé, visit her website.

Invite Arminé to your book club.

My Sister’s Mother

By Donna Urbikas

In the 1950s, baby boomer Donna Solecka Urbikas grew up in the American Midwest yearning for a “normal” American family. But during World War II, her Polish-born mother and half-sister had endured hunger, disease and a desperate escape from slave labor in Siberia. War and exile created a profound bond between mother and older daughter, one that Donna would struggle to find with either of them.

In this unforgettable memoir, Donna recounts her family history and her own survivor story, finally understanding the damaged mother who had saved her sister.

THE AUTHOR

Donna Solecka Urbikas was born in Coventry, England, and immigrated with her parents and sister to Chicago in 1952. She lives in Chicago.

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Follow Donna Urbikas on Facebook.

To learn more about Donna, visit her website.

Invite Donna to your book club.

CONTACT: Jim Alkon, Editorial Director | BookTrib | jim@booktrib.com | 203-226-0199 | www.booktrib.com