Library Love Fest

Secret Daughter

We are so excited about this amazing new book.  First time novelist Shilpi Somaya Gowda has a true hit on her hands with Secret Daughter, an emotional story that explores motherhood, loss, acceptance and belonging.  The reviews are outstanding!  Here are just a few of them:

"Secret Daughter is an engaging read, with its quick shifts between characters and rapid movement through 20 years of familial narrative...Gowda resolutely refuses to tie up all her loose ends, keeping the novel from settling into banality."
-Boston Globe

"Some of the best contemporary novels about families and what it means to be American are bring written by Indian - or Pakistani-Americans, many of them women.  I've read and admired a lot of them lately, and Secret Daughter, Californian Shilpi Somaya Gowda's debut, is my favorite...her novel is captivating and ultimately very wise...This novel travels far in the world, and deep into the human heart."
-Minneapolis Star Tribune

I had the pleasure of meeting Shilpi Somaya Gowda as she signed copies of Secret Daughter at the Texas Library Association Conference held in San Antonio earlier this month.  She was warm, engaging, and a true hit among the librarians there!

Secret Daughter should be a part of your reading list.  You WILL NOT regret it!

Enjoy!

-Bobby 

Tattooed in Texas

Just one more reason to L-O-V-E the Texas Library Association! Check out this article in the Huffington Post to find out why.

-Virginia

Texas Library Association 2009 Conference

Every year HarperCollins attends the Texas Library Association’s annual conference.  Texas is big.  Their library show is big (about 8,500 total attendance!) Their hearts are big. So is their BBQ! So off we go – and we bring lots of authors.  Everyone always has a great time. This year we brought the fun-loving Mary Kay Andrews, author of the highly anticipated forthcoming novel,  The Fixer Upper.  As you can see from previous blog posts, we can’t stop talking about this book.  We figured it’s time to clam up and let the author herself do the talking.  Here she is sitting outside our hotel on a balmy night in Houston.  Forgive the lighting. (I was going for dramatic effect but it didn’t work)

Also in attendance at TLA was first-time author Attica Locke.  Her book, Black Water Rising, is a mystery set in Houston in the 1980s.   She’s already being compared to John Grisham, James Lee Burke and Michael Connelly. Ms. Locke gave an impassioned speech not about her book but about her appreciation and gratitude to librarians.  Mark my words:  this author is one to watch. 
Hear what Attica has to say about her book and her love of libraries.

-Virginia