Novelists I Recommend for Your Summer Reading

I like to share good things with folks I like, which is  almost everyone I know including my readers.  Joshilyn Jackson has won all kinds of local awards and is a  NYT Best Selling author. She  lives in Decatur, Georegia. You can read about her life here.  The first of her books that I read was Between Georgia and I was hooked. You can see on  her website she is a busy writer and has several more books available. Her novels are decidedly southern, and I like that. I heard her speak at the Blue Ridge Writers' Conference a few years ago. She was down-to-earth and shared some good advice on writing.

A friend of Joshilyn is Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants which was made into a movie. Sara lives in Asheville, NC and was guest at the Blue Ridge Bookfest in Hendersonville, NC this year. Bill Ramsey held an interview with Sara on stage. You can see that interview here.
Sara's website is most interesting with sound effects and more. My dog, Lexie, almost attacked my computer when she  heard the cawing of crows.

Susan Snowden, author

A friend of mine, Susan Snowden, has published a collection of short stories. Her first novel, Southern Fried Lies was set in Atlanta in the fifties and sixties, and the main character, Sarah, is a teenage girl. I liked reading about places I recognized and, since I was a girl in the fifties, I could relate to some of the problems such as racism and parents choosing who Sarah could date. Sarah's mother seemed more concerned with what people would think than she was with what her children wanted. She was obsessed with her son and wanting to control his life.

The mother caused most of the conflict because she was mentally ill and made life hectic for her family. In Susan's book of short stories, A Closet Full of  Masks, she begins with a novella about Sarah who has grown up and is trying to  decide which college she should attend.  I was delighted to see this book end with a final story bringing us full circle as we attended the funeral for the difficult mother who was loved in spite of her irrational behavior. The other short stories portray interesting characters with unusual dilemmas. I recommend both of Susan Snowden's books.

Do you  have any recommendations for summer reading? Leave a comment and tell us.