The Ordinary Bruja by Johanny Ortega blitz with giveaway

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**

 

 

The Ordinary Bruja: Marisol’s Story
Johanny Ortega
(Las Cerradoras, #1)
Publication date: November 1st 2025
Genres: Adult, Horror, Magical Realism, Psychological

The Ordinary Bruja is a haunting and heartfelt coming-of-age novel wrapped in Dominican magical realism and psychological horror.

Marisol Espinal doesn’t believe she’s special. Not when she’s back in her small Ohio hometown, working as a barista, haunted by grief and the girls who once made her life hell. But when mirrors flicker with strange words, cigar smoke curls where no one is smoking, and voices whisper from Hallowthorn Hill, she realizes something darker has always been watching.

The Espinal family magic was buried generations ago-forced into silence by Salvador, the ancestor who bound their power for himself. Now his ghost feeds on fear and doubt, and Marisol is his next target. To survive, she must reclaim her heritage, unearth the truth hidden in her mother’s journal, and face the hill that has been waiting for her all along.

Atmospheric and emotionally charged, The Ordinary Bruja blends generational trauma, identity reclamation, and queer love with a creeping sense of dread. Perfect for fans of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina and Mexican Gothic, this novel asks: What does it cost to embrace every part of yourself-even the parts the world taught you to bury?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

“Ten months since she had dropped out and came home, to the place she promised herself she’d never return to. She was bad at keeping promises. That was for sure.”

PRAISE for The Ordinary Bruja

“There is spirituality, magic, ghosts, there is plenty of love, there is loss; and above all there is familia, both genetic and of choice.”

“…An impactful horror story that blew me away.”

“This book . . . pushed me to confront my own assumptions about history.”

“You can absolutely feel the anguish Marisol feels at the loss of her mother.”

“I absolutely enjoyed “The Ordinary Bruja”. It was a perfect mix between horror (with a slight humor – thank you early Marisol and her “nope” moments + Kia) and a story that shows you that you need to find your own way, even if everything is pushing you down.”

 

Author Bio:

Johanny Ortega is a Dominican American author who writes across genres—blending psychological horror, literary fiction, magical realism, and thrillers that punch you right in the gut. Whether writing about haunted hills, generational trauma, or the quiet unraveling of everyday life, her stories center marginalized voices, morally complex women, and the messy truth about survival.

She is the founder of Have a Cup of Johanny, a creative platform where she blogs, podcasts, and advocates for inclusive storytelling. Her award-winning middle-grade and adult fiction has resonated with readers who crave depth, grit, and emotional honesty.

When she’s not writing, she’s raising kids in a blended military family, reading books that wreck her soul in the best way, and saying what others are afraid to.

Website / Goodreads / TikTok / Instagram

 

GIVEAWAY!

The Ordinary Bruja Blitz

Death By Mistake by Abigail Keam Ford blitz with giveaway

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**

 

 

Death By Mistake
Abigail Keam
(A Josiah Reynolds Mystery, #22)
Publication date: October 13th 2025
Genres: Adult, Cozy Mystery

In a world of oak-cured bourbon, antebellum mansions, and Thoroughbred farms, secrets buried in the deep earth are never hidden long.

Josiah has resigned herself to being alone. Her boyfriend, Hunter left her for an old flame, and Josiah vows not to interfere in his life. She cares for the man and wants him to be happy. So, it comes as a shock when Detective Drake informs her that Hunter has been arrested for the murder of his wife, Kathy Wickliffe. Josiah simply can’t believe Hunter would harm another human being. She must uncover the truth—and fast. There’s the law, and there is Josiah’s justice!

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

The Josiah Reynolds Mystery Series

Death By A HoneyBee

Death By Drowning

Death By Bridle

Death By Bourbon

Death By Lotto

Death by Chocolate

Death by Haunting

Death By Derby

Death By Design

Death By Malice

Death By Drama

Death By Stalking

Death By Deceit

Death By Magic

Death By Shock

Death By Chance

Death By Poison

Death By Greed

Death By Theft

Death By Betrayal

Death By Trauma

Death By Mistake

Death By Mail

AWARDS

2010 Gold Medal Award from Readers ’Favorite for Death By A HoneyBee

2011 Gold Medal Award from Readers ’Favorite for Death By Drowning

2011 USA BOOK NEWS-Best Books List of 2011 as a Finalist for Death By Drowning

2011 USA BOOK NEWS-Best Books List of 2011 as a Finalist for Death By A HoneyBee

2017 Finalist from Readers ’Favorite for Death By Design

2019 Honorable Mention from Readers ’Favorite for Death By Stalking

2019 Top 10 Mystery Novels from Kings River Life Magazine for Murder Under A Blue Moon

2020 Imadjinn Award for Best Mystery – Death By Stalking

2022 Finalist in Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Finalist for Best Historical Category – Murder Under A Full Moon

2022 Finalist the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Historical Category – Murder Under A New Moon

2022 Death By Chance: A Josiah Reynolds Mystery Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Finalist for Best Cozy Mystery

EXCERPT:

Hunter Wickliffe woke up. Something had sounded in the night and awakened him. Getting out of bed, he went over to the large double-hung sash window, catching sight of a car racing away around the curve of the driveway to Wickliffe Manor. He could hear the car screech to a stop and then turn onto Old Frankfort Pike. He looked at his watch. It was two twenty-three in the morning.

Donning trousers and flip-flops, Hunter trudged down the hallway and opened the door to his wife’s son, Palley’s bedroom. The bed was messy, but no Palley. He then slogged to Kathy’s room, gently knocked, and opened the bedroom door.

The bed was made, showing no one had slept in it. Odd. His wife usually went to bed around midnight.

After checking the upstairs bathrooms and finding them unoccupied, Hunter went down the grand staircase and searched throughout the entire first floor of his 19th-century home. He couldn’t find either Kathy or Palley.

Hunter checked the decorative ceramic bowl by the open back door and saw Kathy’s keys were there. Stepping into the velvet night, he shouted Kathy’s name.

No one returned his call.

Thinking it strange Kathy was not in the house, Hunter went outside to look for her. Discovering Kathy’s Lexus parked in the driveway, he placed his hand on the hood. Hunter found it cold to the touch, so she had to be on the grounds somewhere. He headed to the stables as he heard the boarded horses acting up. That was always a bad sign.

As he walked down the dark gravel path to the horse barn, a Great Horned Owl hooted in the distance, Black Angus cattle snorted in their pasture, and the crunch-crunch of his flip-flops on the gravel were the only sounds to be heard. The otherwise eerie quiet unnerved Hunter. He made a mental note to get some dogs. Dogs were good indicators of people and things not being in place. They were always aware of the unusual. A dog walking beside him in the dark would give him confidence.

Was he frightened?

Hunter was certainly wary.

Something was definitely off.

He picked up a thick fallen branch from a walnut tree and carried it with him. Closer to the barn, he distinctly heard the horses kicking their stalls and neighing occasionally. Not a good sign. Perhaps a coyote had been sniffing around the stable.

Dropping the branch, Hunter stepped through the side door. Searching for the light switch, he found it and turned on the overhead barn lights. The horses immediately quieted down. He first noticed the pedestal fans, which were supposed to circulate the air on warm nights, were turned off. He looked at his watch again. It was two forty-five. As the night cooled, the fans were programmed to switch off at three.

He stepped to the nearest fan and touched the housing. The metal felt wet. Now what would cause water on the fans? Hunter looked up. The roof wasn’t leaking. Besides, it hadn’t rained.

“What’s going on, ladies?” Hunter asked as he opened the stall doors and checked several horses close to the west entrance until he noticed bales of hay lying in disarray on the floor of the barn’s central aisle. Someone or something had also overturned the sweet feed buckets near the storage closet. A sense of dread filled him.

“Kathy? Kathy, are you here?” Hunter called out.

The only responses were horses nickering. Hunter strained to hear his wife’s response or maybe a faint cry for help. Perhaps she went to check on the horses and fell. He wanted to hear something—anything resembling a human voice.

Certain that something was amiss, Hunter went into the first five stalls and opened the back stall doors to a large paddock, letting the pregnant Thoroughbred mares out. He brought them in only at night to keep coyotes and wandering dogs away from them. Free, the horses ambled over to a water trough for a quick sip of cool water.

The last four stalls contained pleasure horses boarded at the Wickliffe Farm. Hunter slid open the stall door and grabbed the skittish Arabian horse by the halter. “Whoa, girl. Whoa. That’s a good girl.” He opened the back exterior door of the stall and pulled the horse toward the outside. She happily joined the other horses now grazing hay left out for them.

Hunter went to the next stall to check on a Quarter horse when he noticed shiny

splotches of a dark substance on the center aisle’s rubber mat. He squatted down and swiped the dark substance with his finger. The substance was gooey, and as he raised his hand to inspect it, the overhead light illuminated the unmistakable red color. Hunter smelled the red substance and rubbed it between his fingers. As a forensic psychiatrist, he had seen enough dead bodies to know this was coagulated blood!

He jumped up and frantically searched the last stalls. “Kathy! Kathy!” There were two remaining horses, which he quickly pulled into the paddock. It wasn’t until Hunter came to the remaining stall that he discovered Kathy lying on her back with unblinking eyes staring at the ceiling. He quickly checked for a pulse, and when he didn’t discover one, Hunter slid down the wall of the stall in disbelief. Shocked, he sat beside his dead wife and put his head between his hands, moaned, “Oh, Kathy. What did you do? What did you do?”

 

Author Bio:

Abigail Keam is an award-winning and best-selling author who writes the Josiah Reynolds Mystery Series about a Southern female beekeeper turned amateur sleuth living in the glamorous world of oak-cured bourbon, antebellum mansions, and Thoroughbred farms.

Besides loving history, Kentucky bourbon and chocolate, Abigail loves honeybees and for many years made her living by selling honey at a farmers ’market like her protagonist, Josiah Reynolds. She is an award-winning beekeeper who has won many honey awards at the Kentucky State Fair including the Barbara Horn Award, which is given to beekeepers who rate a perfect 100 in a honey competition.

Miss Abigail has taken her knowledge of beekeeping to create a fictional beekeeping protagonist, Josiah Reynolds, who solves murder mysteries in the Bluegrass. While Miss Abigail’s novels are for enjoyment, she discusses the importance of a local sustainable food economy and land management for honeybees and other creatures.

She currently lives on the Kentucky River in a metal house with her husband and various critters.

Website / Facebook / Pinterest / Instagram / Amazon / Bluesky

 

GIVEAWAY!

Death By Mistake Crush Blitz

Hooking Up With a Rockstar by Kitt Henley blitz with giveaway

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**

 

 

Hooking Up With a Rockstar
Kitt Henley
Publication date: October 28th 2025
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

An opposites-attract friends-to-lovers romance featuring a charming, swoon-worthy rockstar hero who falls first, a fiercely independent club-manager heroine, a hometown show, a secret song, and one very compromising position.

I told him it was just a hookup. I don’t think he bought it.

JUNE: Anthony’s always been a wild good time, but even before his band got famous, I knew better than to let myself bask in the glow of that 1,000-watt smile.

He makes me feel things I don’t ever want to feel. For anyone.

So when his band went on tour halfway across the world, forgetting him was the goal, but his postcards from the road didn’t make it any easier.

And now he’s back. Playing my club, looking every inch the rock god, and reminding me what it feels like to be with him.

Under him.

But I have a club to run, a boss breathing down my neck, and no room for distractions. This is my chance to prove myself, and unlike my mother, I’m not about to let some guy derail my life.

Three nights.

That’s all I have to survive without letting my guard down.

Without losing myself.

Without wanting him.

Soulmates: Two bands. Three shows. Four happily ever afters.

Hooking Up With a Rockstar is a complete romance novella with no cliffhanger. This story can be enjoyed as a standalone or read as the second book in the Soulmates interwoven rockstar romance series.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

“How are you doing on your part of the list so far?” I ask, situating myself on the barstool directly across from June.

“Doing good.” Her eyelashes flutter a little. She’s working hard to keep her attention on the bottles she’s probably pretending to count, but her eyes keep darting in my direction.

“Everything’s ready to go for ticketing and admission, and the staff are all confirmed for tonight.”

“OK, fabulous. Sounds like the perfect time for the two of us to grab a bite to eat.”

“Oh. Thanks, but I’ll get something later.” She angles her body away even further.

She’s adorable.

June’s making me work for it, that’s for sure. She’s a tough nut to crack, so I wasn’t expecting her to toss her panties at me or anything, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping she’d be a little more receptive. But that’s OK. We’ve got three whole days together, and this time I’m playing the long game.

“My treat.” I slide over one stool and inch myself back into her line of sight. “How about a quick sandwich?”

“Oh, I don’t know…” She finally turns to face me, looking skeptical.

“Come on, Chicago,” I tease, lowering my voice. “What. Are you afraid I’m gonna put the moves on you?”

She rolls her eyes. “I freaking know you will.”

“No. This is a professional lunch outing.”

“Uh-huh. Sure it is.” She shakes her head, smiling. “Yeah, all right. But just a quick bite.”

“Absolutely.”

She reaches for her coat and we step outside. I swear it’s even colder than it was this morning, and it takes my eyes a minute to adjust to the bright sun after spending all day in the club.

“We could grab barbecue sandwiches at that place around the corner,” June says.

“Actually, I heard there’s this great place a couple of blocks down. Follow me.”

The truth is I know exactly where we’re headed. It’s the diner where June and I used to go sometimes after closing up the bar.

The first time she asked if I wanted to get a bite to eat after work, I thought she was asking me out on a real date. We were sitting at that diner, facing each other across the table, when she first started telling me about all the different bands she was into. Eclectic stuff. She could appreciate things in the music that most people never even notice. That was when I realized she was someone special.

As we make our way down the sidewalk, I can’t help but feel giddy. It’s good to be walking through the city side by side with June again.

We round the corner and I slow down as we approach the restaurant.

“Oh, I see what you did here,” she says. “A trip down memory lane, huh? I recall being promised a quick sandwich.”

“But if you’ll remember, June, the service here is incredibly speedy,” I reassure her with a wink, and she rolls her eyes.

We score our usual cozy table by the window and put our sandwich orders in right away to speed things up.

June leans toward me, resting both hands at the edge of the table and giving me a little scowl as the server pours us each a cup of coffee.

“I can’t believe you brought me back here,” she says, shaking her head. “You’re hilarious. You know that?”

“It’s one of the things you love most about me.” I grin.

“That’s debatable.” She’s giving me one of those feisty June expressions that I’ve missed so much.

“Well, you guys sure have been getting around this past year.”

“Oh, you’ve been paying attention?” I wink.

“I did receive thirty-eight postcards.” She gives me a sideways glare, and my heart does a flip-flop. She actually read my cards.

“Ahh, but who’s counting?” I tease.

“Right.” She nods slowly, but her cheeks flush pink.

I pause, taking a deep breath to steady myself. “You know, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this past year.”

“Yeah? About what?” She takes a sip of her coffee.

“About us, actually,” I say softly.

That must’ve caught her off guard because those dark eyes lock right on mine, and her cheeks flush a deep shade of pink.

“Oh.”

“Sorry. Is that weird?”

“No, I mean, it’s fine,” she says, dropping her voice a little. “It’s just—I’m worried we got our wires crossed somewhere.”

“What do you mean?”

“Last year—when we hooked up—I didn’t mean for it to be anything more than one night.” She’s watching my eyes closely now.

“Yeah, I was wondering about that,” I say.

“I know. I really fucked that up. I should have been clear about what I was looking for from the start. That wasn’t fair to you.”

I shrug. “Nah, you’re OK. We didn’t make any promises that night.”

She gives me a little smile. “Well, thanks for saying that. But I shouldn’t have ghosted you. We’ve been friends a long time, and you deserve better.”

“OK. But I get it. It was intense, what happened between us.”

She stops mid-sip, almost choking on her coffee. “Err, umm—hmm? What do you mean?”

“The two of us. We’re something else together. I know you felt it too.”

“Oh, I don’t know…” Her pupils dilate and her lips part a bit, the way they do when she’s turned on.

“It wasn’t just a hookup, June.” I let my tone drop down low, just the way she likes it. “No matter what you want to tell yourself.”

“Um, no, I’m pretty sure that’s what it was,” she tries, but her voice is breathless, and her hands are trembling. “Just…a hookup.”

“If you say so, Chicago,” I tease, giving her a wide smile.

 

Author Bio:

Kitt Henley writes short, spicy contemporary romance with relatable characters, a touch of humor, and tons of heart. Never one to make it through a good romance (or cookie commercial) with dry eyes, Kitt’s heartstrings are easy to pull on. When she played in rock bands and crunched numbers in the Seattle tech world, those waterworks weren’t an asset, but after a

friend suggested she try writing romance, everything clicked into place. From the moment she sat down to write her first novel, she knew she’d found her calling.

When she’s not wrangling words in her tiny bedroom office, Kitt loves to spend time with her high school best friend (a.k.a. her rockstar husband) and their two ridiculously funny boys. She’s still holding out hope for that family band someday, but in the meantime she’ll happily settle for camping trips, board games, long walks with friends, and watching lots and lots of thrillers.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Bookbub

 

GIVEAWAY!

Hooking Up With a Rockstar Blitz

Pity Please by Whitney Dineen blitz with giveaway

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**

 

 

Pity Please
Whitney Dineen
(Pity Series, #7)
Publication date: October 25th 2025
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

She had a foolproof plan. He thought his future was sealed. Neither of them imagined life would take them down a different path …

Allie

I never planned to live in Elk Lake again, but here I am. I was going to get married, have a great family and career, and then I’d get my happily-ever-after stamped on the passport of my life.

But Brett cheated and got his mistress pregnant with quadruplets. Karma was my consolation and believe me when I tell you, I couldn’t have been more satisfied by the outcome.

Just as I was busy with my fresh start, Noah Riley walked back into my life. I’ve always worshipped my best friend’s older brother, but he never noticed me.

Until that one day …

Noah

What coach gets demoted after taking their high school basketball team all the way to third in the state? Me, that’s who.

I could have gotten any other job in Chicago, but my anger and hurt pride caused me to accept a position at my alma mater. That’s right, I’m the new basketball coach of the Elk Lake Crappies. Don’t think the irony is lost on me.

My goal is to make a splash with my new team, and then have my old school beg to hire me back. Of course, I won’t accept until there’s an appropriate amount of groveling, along with a substantial pay raise.

When I moved to Elk Lake, I never expected to run into my sister’s best friend from childhood.

Who knew Allie Rogers would make me reconsider my dream?

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

Instead of agreeing that I should be the captain of my own ship, my mother laments, “I always thought your life would turn out like one of those delightful romcoms from the nineteen nineties. You know, single girl meets the love of her life in a quirky, yet totally believable way …”

I’m not sure which movie she’s thinking of as I’ve grown up watching them all with her. On repeat.

“Which Julia Roberts character did you envision me being? If it’s Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman, I’ll have to move to LA and become a sex worker first.” My mom pushes out of my arms and stares at me in horror.

Instead of letting the subject drop, I feel a burst of indignant steam start to build. “If you want me to be like Anna Scott in Knotting Hill, I’ll also have to move to LA, but this time I’ll have to figure out how to become a movie star. Then I’ll need to find an abusive boyfriend so I can cheat on him with a bookstore owner in London.” How does she find these to be believable scenarios?

Hurt tinges her voice as she responds, “What about Jules Potter in My Best Friend’s Wedding?”

“She didn’t even wind up with the guy!” I shout.

“How about the Runaway Bride?” This woman is relentless.

“I would have to get engaged three times so I could dump three men before my true love showed up to write an article about my chaotic life,” I remind her.

My mom’s face screws up in an agonizing expression like she’s painfully wracking her brain. “Maybe not a Julia Roberts movie then. What about Sandra Bullock? Her romcoms were more girl-next-door, which is exactly what you are.”

Raising my hand into the air, I start ticking off fingers. “While You Were Sleeping would involve nearly killing someone in a train accident so I could lie to the victim’s family and fall for his brother. In Miss Congeniality, I’d have to be an FBI agent masquerading as Miss New Jersey. Hope Floats would get me that husband and child you so badly want me to have but said husband would have to dump me on national television before running off with my best friend. Do you want me to go on?” I demand.

Confusion riddles my mom’s features resulting in my feeling an unexpected wave of compassion for her. “I don’t want any of that for you. I just want you to have a beautiful and happy ending to your story.”

“My story is a long way from being over, Mom.” I’m not going to tell her that my vision of the future is nothing like what she’s hoping for. As in, I’m pretty sure I’ll never let myself be vulnerable enough to give love a second chance. I know for certain I will never have my own children. Three lost pregnancies are enough for me to take the hint.

My mother inhales deeply before telling me, “I’m not good at leaving things in the hands of fate.”

“No, you’re not. You’re the worst control freak I know, but that doesn’t mean you’ve been appointed God and get to make all the decisions for my life.”

“I don’t want to make all the decisions. I just want you to start living again!”

“I’m enough on my own, Mom. I don’t have to be a wife to have value.” I can tell I’ve hurt her feelings again, but what else can I do? It’s like we’re two different species with zero understanding of how the other works.

With hands on hips, she demands, “What’s your five-year plan?”

“To still be breathing,” I tell her honestly.

“Do you ever want to get back into publishing?”

I offer a brief shrug. “Can’t say.”

“Do you plan on working at Rosemary’s for the rest of your life?”

“Would there be anything wrong with that? Would you not be able to love me anymore if I don’t get the Hollywood ending you’ve always imagined for me?”

My mom’s face turns bright red, which is a sure indicator she’s about to lose her cool. But instead of screaming at me, she merely turns around and strides out of the dining room like she’s on her way to execute a military coup. Napoleon had nothing on this woman.

I take her reaction to my question to mean that her love is dependent on my capitulation to her vision. Well, too freaking bad, Margaret. I’m not going to try to make you happy when I don’t even know what will make me happy.

My phone pings before I can stand up and clear the remnants of my uneaten breakfast. Picking it up, I click on the message notification and read a text from Lorelai.

Lorelai: Noah is driving me crazy! I’ve been asking him to put my navy-blue cashmere sweater in the mail for a week, and he hasn’t done it. Would you mind going over to my parents ’house and sending it? The key is under the mat.

My nervous system responds by causing me to break out into a cold sweat. I do not want to see Noah Riley. To be honest, I hate that he’s moved back to Elk Lake. There is no place in my life for my childhood crush. He’s part of my past and I will not go out of my way to run into him again.

Having said that, Lorelai is my best friend, and she never asks for anything. Shoot! I’m going to have to do it. I’ll just have to make sure to go when Noah isn’t there.

 

Author Bio:

Whitney loves to laugh, play with her kids, bake, and eat french fries — not always in that order.

Whitney is a multi-award-winning author of romcoms, non-fiction humor, and middle reader fiction. Basically, she writes whatever the voices in her head tell her to.

She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, Jimmy, where they raise children, chickens, and organic vegetables.

Gold Medal winner at the International Readers’ Favorite Awards, 2017.

Silver medal winner at the International Readers’ Favorite Awards, 2015, 2016.

Finalist RONE Awards, 2016.

Finalist at the IRFA 2016, 2017.

Finalist at the Book Excellence Awards, 2017

Finalist Top Shelf Indie Book Awards, 2017

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / X / Instagram

 

GIVEAWAY!

Pity Please Blitz

Cover Reveal: Alice Adrift by Susan Bacon

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**

 

 

Alice Adrift
Susan Bacon
Publication date: November 4th 2025
Genres: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction

Alice Adrift is an intimate human drama about loss and recovery, coupling and uncoupling, and a child caught in the turmoil.

It’s the 1990s. The Fishers—Alice, David and their two sons, Tobias and Jeremiah—live in the upper Northwest quadrant of Washington DC, home to an urbane mix of journalists, academics and professionals. Alice is a composer and music professor. Her husband is an architect of some note. The economy is booming. Life is good. But their seemingly perfect existence is shattered when Jeremiah, their youngest, dies suddenly of an unidentifiable illness.

In the years that follow, Alice and David seem to lose their bearings. When Toby appears to be struggling, they move him to an alternative school with a baffling curriculum (“They don’t even teach reading, Mom”) and a peculiar set of rules (“Absolutely no television!”). Alice doesn’t seem to fit in, but David is drawn to everything about the place including, Alice eventually realizes, one of Toby’s teachers, the striking woman with the long, tangled red hair.

Not long after David moves out of the house, a group of young men move in next door, ingratiating themselves to Alice. She finds herself attracted to one of them, which sets her further off-kilter. How will she find her way back? How will Toby emerge from all this disruption? And what on earth will happen to David?

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

 

Author Bio:

Susan is best-known for her award-winning mysteries — THE HISTORY TEACHER and its sequel THE ART COLLECTOR. Her latest novel, ALICE ADRIFT, is a bit of a departure. An intimate human drama about loss and recovery, coupling and uncoupling, and a child caught in the turmoil, it is slated for release on November 4, 2025.

A graduate of Barnard College with a degree in history, Susan is a former journalist, copywriter and ghostwriter whose credits include an international best seller. She grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and has lived in New York City, Washington, DC, and Memphis, Tennessee, all of which serve as settings for her novels.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram