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Jessica Strawser

Tall Poppy Review: The Tearjerker ‘You Were Always Mine’

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Equal parts tear-jerker and page-turner, Nicole Baart’s You Were Always Mine (Atria Books) entwines the heartbreak of a mother’s struggle with the urgency of a mystery that won’t let her (or you) go. At the start of You Were Always Mine, we meet mother and teacher Jessica Chamberlain on the brink of a nightmare—and a plunge into regret—when her estranged husband is found dead. Her older son, in a surly teenage phase, seems to blame her for not having tried harder to repair the marriage and thus the family, while her younger son’s developmental challenges immediately intensify in the wake of the tragedy. It would be a struggle for any mother to try to quietly deal with her own grief while pulling…

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Tall Poppy Review: Perfect Drama For Moriarty Fans

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Not That I Could Tell (St. Martin’s Press) by Jessica Strawser examines life under the suburbia microscope. When a group of friends gather around a fire pit in one of their backyards, wine in hand, the conversation turns both dramatic and personal. A few days later, one of the women is missing and the friends are left to pick up the pieces of what they thought was her perfect life. Each of the friends has their own secrets and hidden truths, which makes for some juicy, page-turning drama! The character sketches in the book reminded me of Celeste Ng or Liane Moriarty. Each character has a distinct personality and complexity, which I loved. I think the idea that we never truly…

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Hamilton, Romance and Glamour of the Big City

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  This is where it all began. When I started writing the MacKenzies so many years ago, I fell in love with them not because of the heroes and heroines I created, but because of their love, devotion, and loyalty to each other as a family. But where did that love and devotion start? It started with two brothers—one a lawman and the other an outlaw—and the start of a new legacy that would endure for generations. Please write to [email protected] to win one of five copies. Visit the book website at:  http://www.1001darknights.com/liliana-hart-dawn-of-surrender/. We were blown away by reader response to NYT Bestselling AMERICA’S FIRST DAUGHTER–thank you! Now we’re back with MY DEAR HAMILTON–the untold story of Eliza, the wronged wife…

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Jon Land’s Year-End Picks: 6 Best Thrillers of the Season

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Tis’ the season… for a good thriller! From some of the best known thriller writers come some great suggestions you don’t want to miss, like unforgettable novels by James Rollins and Lisa Gardner. No matter what adventure you’re looking for them to take you on, here are some suggestions for every thriller lover: The Demon Crown, James Rollins James Rollins, the master of the speculative thriller, never fails to deliver. But his latest, The Demon Crown, threatens to rewrite the rules of a sub-genre he practically invented. All the usual Rollins staples are firmly on display right from the start: a massive threat to mankind, the stalwart Sigma Force’s desperate attempts to stop it, and a cunning villain determined to thwart…

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DIY MFA Radio Episode 140: Writing Multiple POV Suspense — Interview with Jessica Strawser

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diymfa jessica strawser

In this week’s DIY MFA Radio episode, Gabriela Pereira interviews Jessica Strawser, editorial director of Writer’s Digest magazine, and author of the stunning debut novel, Almost Missed You. They talk about writing multiple point-of-view suspense and how to craft that crucial first chapter for maximum impact on your readers. They also discuss the juggling act involved with being moms who write and also have busy “day jobs.” (It is possible to balance it all!) ABOUT DIY MFA Here’s a secret no one ever tells you. The typical MFA (Master of Fine Arts) boils down to one simple formula: Writing + Reading + Community = MFA This means that to create a do-it-yourself version of the MFA, all you need to do is:…

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