A modern-day love story that explores childhood trauma, the boundaries between idealism and self-righteousness, and the heartaches we must confront in order to chart our courses forward. Lo Gunderson feels trapped in her small midwestern hometown until she sees an ad for a free car in the local paper. To maintain her staunch anticapitalist values, she refuses to spend money on what she can find for free, so this car is the perfect ticket out of the town. Though it doesn’t cost any money, it still comes with a price. Blanche Peterson is dying and asks for a single favor—that Lo track down her estranged son, whom Blanche hasn’t seen in over a decade. Before she can decide whether to fulfill Blanche’s dying wish, she needs to get the car started. She’s helped by John Blank, a Southern auto mechanic who moved up north for a fresh start. Despite vastly different backgrounds, they share an electrifying mutual attraction that threatens to upend Lo’s carefully constructed worldview. Meanwhile, Blanche’s son, Jason, finds himself adrift after an argument with his girlfriend. Memories of his negligent mother and the death of his father resurface for the first time in years as he travels across the country searching for what comes next. Manmade Constellations is a smart, magnetic, and emotional novel dedicated to the American landscape, exploring how taking to the open road teaches lessons that can’t be learned at home.

The new Kevin Traynor novel: THE MYSTERY OF THE MYSTERIOUS BOAT Death from the fog? For decades, a ghostly boat has been haunting an old house in Malibu. Where others have failed, Kevin Traynor takes charge. A sneaky star, an altruistic activist, a strange scientist - is one of them conjuring up the ghosts? From Venice and South Central to the Hollywood Hills runs the chase: Who is the cat, who the mouse? Fire, arrows, gunshot, and predators from another dimension: Wherever they go, Traynor and his friends are threatened by sinister stalkers. Finally, Traynor has to face the ghouls himself - and Traynor and company are on the menu! Plus a bonus story: THE SECRET OF THE LOST TRIBE Swallowed by the wilderness... Who in the world were the Anasazi? And whatever became of them? Kevin Traynor is bound to find out. Just follow the ghost riders through the badlands of New Mexico... Kevin Traynor. With the right to be politically incorrect.

Nearly two years after the harrowing events of The Straits of Galahesh, Atiana and Nikandr continue their long search for Nasim. The clues they find lead them to the desert wastes of the Gaji, where the fabled valley of Shadam Khoreh lies. But all is not well. War has moved from the islands to the mainland, and the Grand Duchy knows its time may be limited if Yrstanla rallies its forces. Worse, the wasting disease and the rifts grow ever wider, threatening places that once thought themselves safe. The Dukes believe that their only hope may be to treat with the Haelish warriors to the west of Yrstanla, but Nikandr knows that the key is to find Nasim and a lost artifact known as the Atalayina. Will Nikandr succeed and close the rifts once and for all? The answer lies deep within the Flames of Shadam Khoreh. From Bradley P. Beaulieu, author of the critically acclaimed debut novel, The Winds of Khalakovo, comes the concluding volume in the Lays of Anuskaya trilogy, The Flames of Shadam Khoreh.

A practical guide to help authors authentically write and edit a character whose identity is different than their own. Do you have the tools to authentically write and edit a character whose identity is different than your own? It’s not a subject that’s generally taught in creative writing programs, and there are so few craft books and online resources on the subject. Even if you can take a seminar, class, or workshop, there’s nothing like having an easy-to-understand book on hand to provide guidance and insight every time you craft characters with historically marginalized identities. In Writing an Identity Not Your Own, award-winning author Alex Temblador discusses one of the most contentious topics in creative writing: crafting a character whose identity is historically marginalized. What is “identity,” and how do unconscious biases and bias blocks impact and influence what we write? What is intersectionality? You’ll learn about identity terms, stereotypes, and tropes, and receive genre-specific advice related to various identities to consider when writing different races and ethnicities, sexual and romantic orientations, gender identities, disabilities, nationalities, and more. Through writing strategies, exercises, and literary excerpts, writers will gain a clearer understanding on how misrepresentations and harmful portrayals can appear in storylines, dialogue, and characterization. Alex will guide writers from the brainstorming phase through the editing process so they can gain a full understanding of the complexities of writing other identities and why it’s important to get them right.

A charming, hilarious romantic comedy told with sharp insight and sarcastic wit, for readers of Helen Fielding, Maria Semple, Emily Giffin, or Jennifer Weiner. We switch. I bait. Let me help you snag a date. All through college, Blanche Carter was known as the love doctor in her sorority. Now she's parlayed her talent into a unique consulting business: she runs the online dating profiles of Washington D.C.'s most eligible women. Armed with a battalion of rules, Blanche expertly helps her clients optimize their profiles and ace that first date. But although she'll happily message handsome strangers (and fend off dick pics) for other ladies, Blanche's most important rule is the one she has for herself: no relationships. She's seen too much heartbreak to believe in real love anymore. When a former fling pops up among the matches for one of her favorite clients, Blanche gamely messages him on her behalf. Blanche is definitely over him, and this is how she'll prove it. But if she doesn't watch out, Blanche might end up not only screwing over a client-and possibly tanking her entire business-but breaking her rule about love as well . . . Ricki Schultz's trademark irreverent humor and wry insight into the absurdities of modern dating are both outrageously funny and genuinely moving in her unforgettable new novel. "Ricki Schultz's relatable novel will have readers LOLing."--- US Weekly on Mr. Right-Swipe "Rae is a Heroine Who Keeps It Real...She's blunt, she's sarcastic, she's honest...A brilliantly funny debut novel about a 21st century girl searching for her happily ever after."--- Bustle on Mr. Right-Swipe "Breezy, brazen...a fun beach read." --- Seattle Times on Mr. Right-Swipe "This book gave me my absolute favorite feeling: laughing out loud alone in a room, chased immediately by the swoons."--- Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author, on Mr. Right-Swipe "For a fun read that feels like an adventure in everyday life more than it does a book, this comes highly recommended."--- RT Book Reviews (FOUR STARS), on Mr. Right-Swipe