Letters Books Paradise Author Events Readers Photos Reviews Press Home   Searching for Paradise in Parker, PA, Bantam Dell, 2008 From the bestselling author of The Sunday List of Dreams and Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral comes a poignant, funny, and uplifting novel of a woman at midlife whose search for happiness within her marriage -- and within herself -- turns a whole town upside down. After twenty-eight years of marriage to her husband Lucky, Addy Lipton feels anything but happily married. In fact, just thinking of their garage, filled to the brim with Lucky’s useless junk collection, drives Addy dangerously close to plowing her car through it. But when Lucky wins a trip to paradise -- aka Costa Rica -- Addy has a faint hope they may be able to turn things around. Or maybe they won’t. Either way, Addy never gets the chance to find out. On the morning of their departure, Lucky fractures his back tossing their luggage into his truck. Now, with the man she feels she barely knows anymore parked indefinitely on her couch, Addy can’t see their already shaky relationship surviving much longer. It’s time to make some big changes -- and some drastic choices. With the love and support of her devoutly single sister Hell and her workout friends, the Sweat -- hers, Addy begins a crusade to revive her dreams -- and she takes the women of Parker along for the ride. Soon the men will realize they’ll have to step up to the plate to keep their wives and lovers happy. And Addy will have to decide if the paradise she’s creating in Parker is big enough for two.... Filled with small-town characters and big-time soul searching, this sparkling and inspirational tale will hit you where you live -- and show you that just as happiness can get buried beneath the jumble of years, it can be rediscovered... if you look hard enough for it within your heart. Read an excerpt from this book here. Get a Reading Group Guide here (PDF). The Sunday List of Dreams, Bantam Dell, 2007 * Feb. 2007 Book Sense pick One woman gets a unexpected crash course in spicing up her life... From the acclaimed author of Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral comes a deliciously outrageous novel about a woman who follows the path of her deepest desires…with the most unexpected companion of all! Connie Nixon is no stranger to making lists. In fact, she has rewritten the list of her deepest desires no fewer than forty-eight times. And each Sunday, for as long as she can remember, she’s tinkered with it. But actually doing something about her desires is a different story—until the night she comes across a box belonging to her estranged daughter…and makes a stunning discovery. It turns out that her seemingly straitlaced Jessica is part owner of one of the most successful sex toy shops in America. Shocked by her daughter’s secret life, Connie tucks her list in her back pocket and does something utterly impulsive: she hops on a plane to New York City to track down Jessica -- and winds up on the wildest adventure of her life. Because with her daughter’s help, Connie’s about to let her own inner bombshell see the light of day. Now, for the first time ever, things are flying off Connie’s list. Like reconnecting with her daughter. And getting tipsy before noon. And the most startlingly extraordinary desire of all: falling in love. Read an excerpt from this book here. Get a Reading Group Guide here (PDF).   Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral, Bantam Dell, 2006 For Katherine Givens and the four women about to become her best friends, the adventure begins with a UPS package. Inside is a pair of red sneakers filled with ashes and a note that will forever change their lives. Katherine’s oldest and dearest friend, the irrepressible Annie Freeman, left one final request–a traveling funeral–and she wants the most important women in her life as “pallbearers.” From Sonoma to Manhattan, Katherine, Laura, Rebecca, Jill, and Marie will carry Annie’s ashes to the special places in her life. At every stop there’s a surprise encounter and a small miracle waiting, and as they whoop it up across the country, attracting interest wherever they go, they share their deepest secrets–tales of broken hearts and second chances, missed opportunities and new beginnings. And as they grieve over what they’ve lost, they discover how much is still possible if only they can unravel the secret Annie left them.... Read an excerpt from this book here. Get a Reading Group Guide here or here (PDF). Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn, Bantam Dell, 2005 What if a wild moment in your life gave you the power to move to a place you only dreamed of? What if you really could dance naked at the edge of dawn every single day of your life? This story of a life coming round to where it should have started is a strong vision for all who know the power of change and chance and those who may need inspiration to be what we have always dreamed of being. Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn is an eloquent novel, that "reads like a poem" and will resonate through the hearts of women everywhere. Life, love, the joy of friendship, family bonds and the notion that, only our hearts, and not society or someone else's rules, can tell us how to live make this a book that will make every reader definately dance. Read an excerpt from this book here. Get a Reading Group Guide here. The Elegant Gathering of White Snows, Bantam Dell, 2003 Eight Women on a Journey That Will Change Their Lives as Lovers, Wives, Mothers, Daughters, Friends Just after midnight in a small town in Wisconsin, eight women begin walking together down a rural highway. Career women, housewives, mothers, divorcées, and one ex–prom queen, they are close friends who have been meeting every Thursday night for years, sharing food, wine, and their deepest secrets. But on this particular Thursday, Susan, Alice, Chris, Sandy, Gail, Mary, Joanne, and Janice decide to disappear from their own lives. Their spontaneous pilgrimage attracts national attention and inspires other women from all across the country. As the miles fall away and the women forge ahead on their backroads odyssey -- leaving small miracles in their wake--each of their histories unfolds, tales of shattered dreams and unexpected renewal, of thwarted love affairs and precious second chances. In luminous, heartwarming prose, Kris Radish deftly interweaves the women’s intimate confessions into the story of their brave, history-making walk. A breathtaking achievement, The Elegant Gathering of White Snows tells an incomparable tale of friendship and love, loss and liberation. Read an excerpt from this book here. Get a Reading Group Guide here. The Elegant Gathering of White Snows, Spinster Ink, 2002 The Elegant Gathering was first purchased by Spinster's Ink, a Denver-based feminist press in 2002, and was then bought by Bantam Dell, a division of Random House, for publication in 2003. Read an excerpt from this book here. The Birth Order Effect, Adams Media, 2002 The Birth Order Effect challenges the old chiches of birth order and proves that there are other aspects to the family structure that determine your Birth Order Personality. Starting with a fun and easy quiz, this revolutionary book tells you how to figure out which of the five birth types you are, and then shows you how to use birth order and family information to help you understand a variety of issues, ranging from complulsive organizing to repeated failed relationships. Run, Bambi, Run, Penguin Books, 1992. The shocking, true story of Laurie Bembenek, ex-cop, feminist and former Playboy Bunny who was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. Bembenek made headlines throughout the world when she escaped from prison and was recaptured following a segment on FBI's Most Wanted. Run, Bambi, Run -- which was printed in three foreign countries -- was optioned for a movie and was selected by The Literary Guild and The Doubleday Book Club.
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