Don and I are in the COVID19 high risk group, so we are isolating ourselves. We already had a fully stocked pantry and freezer in anticipation of the snowstorms and thunderstorms that can knock out power for a few days at a time. So far, the pandemic is a spectator sport for us.
In all honesty, we can’t pretend that social distancing is much of a challenge. We’re the kind of introverts who always feel a bit of relief when some gathering has been called off. That said, all the book events that would have supported sales for The Women of the Copper Country have either been cancelled or postponed to tentative dates in August.
Sales are going to take a hit but at least Copper Country got a good start last year. So let me recommend to you two authors whose newest books will be published in the next few weeks and whose work deserves a robust readership.
David Sosnowski is a wonderful writer whose Happy Doomsday is perfect for current events. His new one is Buzz Kill. Here’s my blurb for that one:
“David Sosnowski’s novels have all been funny, insightful, and utterly of the moment, and yet he accomplishes what the great nineteenth century novelists strove for: he makes us understand that everyone around us — sullen teenagers, homeless guys, demented old women — everyone has a vivid interior life and a compelling story.”
And then there is Susan Petrone, whose newest novel is dead solid perfect. The Heebie Jeebie Girl is set in Youngstown, Ohio, in the 1970s when the steel mills were shutting down and people were feeling their way through end of one economy and the beginning of another — something that many people will be experiencing over the coming months.
Susan’s characters are beautifully individual, diverse, and well-drawn, but the genius of this story is making the city of Youngstown a character who comments on events as they unfold. I just loved it.
Please help to support your local independent bookstore and order books from stores in your community. As always, you can order signed copies of my books from my local independent, Mac’s Backs/Books on Coventry.
Stay safe. Flatten the curve. Be kind.