Picture this: you wake up one morning and decide you're going to write a book. Something you've never done before but your mind's made up. You decide on a children's book maybe because your childhood best friend, who's an illustrator, can scribble out the pictures for you. You think you'll make it about a female Water Bear (although not really a bear, it's still a badass) on a journey to the Antarctic as part of a quest to find a super-hero because you figure everyone loves a superhero and why shouldn't the adventurer be a female? Just before it's published you reassure yourself that although you know your book is really good, that won't necessarily mean others will find it so. But 'it's ok' you repeat to yourself because it's the first time you've ever written a book. Like ever. Unknown to you at the time that not only would your book find success here among earthly mortals but that it would skyrocket all the way into space. Literally, SKYROCKET INTO OUTER SPACE.

​This month saw British Palestinian author Shereen Malherbe's much anticipated second novel published by Beacon Books hit the shelves. 'The Tower' is the story of two women who become friends after bonding over their altered circumstances. Neighbours in a communal building in London, Reem, a recently arrived refugee from Syria, and Leah, a British single mother from Kensington forge a friendship as they learn to navigate a life foreign from anything they knew before. Despite the tragedy at the core of this book, it is a novel about hope and resilience in which Malherbe explores life in a tower block and what it's like to share a public space in daily proximity with residents who come from different religious, socio-economic or ethnic backgrounds and how that affects the general well being and social structure of the tower dwellers not only when times are good but when they are far from good as well. You can read my full review HERE.

Joseph Scapellato’s new novel, 'The Made-Up Man' released by Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, is a conversation on finding one’s identity in today’s vast pool of choices. It is also a novel on art - ‘art that engages, and art that estranges. And art that engages-estranges’ - and how they play in our perception of who we are and how we are represented in the different art mediums.

Author Marlon James was invited to speak this evening at an event co-hosted by DC's Politics and Prose Bookshop and Sixth&I. James's new book 'Black Leopard, Red Wolf', which was released Feb 5, is the first book in his Dark Star Trilogy. It was revealed that the rights for the movie have already been secured by Michael B. Jordan.

Exasperated by the lack of representation diversity in fantasy novels in general, he set out to write his own, the culmination of which resulted in the extremely well-received Trilogy. At the event he said: 'The Hobbit isn't real, so you could've included a range of characters in there.' 

The author who won the 2015 Booker Prize for his 'A Brief History of Seven Killings' was beyond charming. He worked that full house like putty in his hands and when I got to the book signing of the man who I'd read everything he'd written, and everything written about everything he'd written, the only words I managed were, 'Hi, Thank you, Bye' - like seriously #Duh (hashtag intentional).

I've made a list of the 8 best nuggets on writing Marlon James shared with his audience on the night:

1. 'Try writing in another writer's style until you find your own'
2. 'It's cool to sit down and not write sometimes'
3. 'Your internal critique cannot create. Try to get over the self policing impulse and just write'
4. 'My workspace is a mess'
5. 'Have you read 'We've Always Lived in the Castle' by Shirley Jackson? It's terrifying!'
6. 'There is nothing wrong with a little ego when writing'
7. 'Always write the novel that is in your head'
8. 'You have to have confidence in the story you're telling'

And then there was this: 

It's February, which means it's African American History Month here in the US from Feb 1- Feb 28. Here's how BookFabulous and Friends are marking the first week of the month. More events will be added week by week.
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As I wait in anticipation of Toni Morrison's latest non-fiction 'The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches and Meditations' to be released Feb 12, I'm acquainting myself with 'Tar Baby', her 1981 novel that I never got round to and which has been described as 'a ravishing reinvention of the love story'. The novel charts all the nuances of obligation and betrayal between blacks and whites, masters and servants, and men and women.

My second choice is 'Washington Black' by Esi Edugyan which was released September 2018 and was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize. This latest novel by the author of 'Half-Blood Blues' - also a finalist for the Man Booker Prize in 2011 - is one boy's adventure that takes him from the blistering cane fields of the Caribbean to the frozen Far North, from the earliest aquariums of London to the eerie deserts of Morocco. It tells a story of self-invention and betrayal, of love and redemption, of a world destroyed and made whole again, and asks the question, What is true freedom?
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When I read 'A Brief History of Seven Killings' by Marlon James - a 2015 Booker Prize winner and recipient of the American Book Award - I was blown away by the novel's storyline, its violence, its unique voice and the masterful writing. It was then that I went back and read his first novel 'The Book of Night Women'. To this day, I rate it as one of the the most memorable books I have ever read. Right there in my top four of all time.

On Wednesday Feb 6, a bookclub friend of mine and I are going to hear James speak at a book event hosted by DC's Politics and Prose Bookstore with regards the first instalment in his new Dark Star Trilogy 'Black Leopard, Red Wolf' which hits the shelves on Feb 5. His interview in The New Yorker (Jan 28, 2019) in which he spoke of his forthcoming book as well as his work in general is a powerful read. The article's writer describes the new book as 'not just an African fantasy novel but an African fantasy novel that is literary and labyrinthine to an almost combative degree.'

The organisers of this event wrote on their website: 'Drawing from African history, mythology, and his own rich imagination, Marlon James’ new book is a novel unlike anything that's come before it: a saga of breathtaking adventure that's also an ambitious, involving read. Defying categorisation and full of unforgettable characters, it is both surprising and profound as it explores the fundamentals of truth, the limits of power, and our need to understand them both.'
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The Library of Congress in DC have launched the 'Omar Ibn Said Collection' online which is the only known extant autobiography written in Arabic by enslaved person in US. The collection consists of 42 digitised documents in both English and Arabic, including an 1831 manuscript in Arabic on "The Life of Omar Ibn Said," a West African slave in America, which is the centrepiece of this unique collection of texts. Some of the manuscripts in this collection include texts in Arabic by another West African slave in Panama, and others from individuals located in West Africa. Check it all HERE.

'Death is Hard Work' by Syrian author Khaled Khalifa is a satirical novel set in a war-ravaged Syria, that meditates on death and dying, love and revenge in a place where fear has become everyone's sole true enemy. The English-language translation will be released by Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, on February 12, 2019

The latest Sarah Jessica Parker imprint for Hogarth (SJP Hogarth) is to be released into the book universe today.

'The Golden Child' by Claire Adam is a psychological novel set in Trinidad following the lives of a family as they navigate impossible choices about scarcity, loyalty, and love.

Early positive reviews such as that by Jennifer Clement, author of 'Gun Love' described it as 'a stunning novel written with force and beauty ... that stands tall beside icons of her tradition like V.S. Naipaul.'

​Julie Myerson, author of 'The Stopped Heart' found it 'utterly convincing, horrifying and, ultimately, intensely moving.' She continued, 'it’s almost impossible to believe this small masterpiece is a first novel. Adam is a true and rare talent. I’m in awe.'

​However, although Kirkus found it to be a 'fascinating' novel, it found it 'failed to stick its landing'.

Here's a list of books that I'm looking forward to this week. I'll update along the week in case something else catches my eye. Enjoy!

“You can be beautiful, even more beautiful than before.” This is the seductive promise of Dr. Nzinga’s clinic, where anyone can get their lips thinned, their skin bleached, and their nose narrowed. A complete demelanization will liberate you from the confines of being born in a black body—if you can afford it.

In this near-future Southern city plagued by fenced-in ghettos and police violence, more and more residents are turning to this experimental medical procedure. Like any father, our narrator just wants the best for his son, Nigel, a biracial boy whose black birthmark is getting bigger by the day. The darker Nigel becomes, the more frightened his father feels. But how far will he go to protect his son? And will he destroy his family in the process?

This electrifying, hallucinatory novel is at once a keen satire of surviving racism in America and a profoundly moving family story. At its center is a father who just wants his son to thrive in a broken world. Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s work evokes the clear vision of Ralph Ellison, the dizzying menace of Franz Kafka, and the crackling prose of Vladimir Nabokov. We Cast a Shadow fearlessly shines a light on the violence we inherit, and on the desperate things we do for the ones we love.
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Readers and critics alike raved over USA Today bestselling author Sally Thorne’s smash hit debut, 'The Hating Game', which has sold in over 20 countries. Now she’s back with an unforgettable romantic comedy about a woman who finally has a shot at her long time crush—if she dares.

Crush (n.): a strong and often short-lived infatuation, particularly for someone beyond your reach…
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Darcy Barrett has undertaken a global survey of men. She’s travelled the world, and can categorically say that no one measures up to Tom Valeska, whose only flaw is that Darcy’s twin brother Jamie saw him first and claimed him forever as his best friend. Despite Darcy’s best efforts, Tom’s off limits and loyal to her brother, 99%. That’s the problem with finding her dream man at age eight and peaking in her photography career at age twenty—ever since, she’s had to learn to settle for good enough.

When Darcy and Jamie inherit a tumble-down cottage from their grandmother, they’re left with strict instructions to bring it back to its former glory and sell the property. Darcy plans to be in an aisle seat halfway across the ocean as soon as the renovations start, but before she can cut and run, she finds a familiar face on her porch: house-flipper extraordinaire Tom’s arrived, he’s bearing power tools, and he’s single for the first time in almost a decade.

Suddenly Darcy’s considering sticking around to make sure her twin doesn’t ruin the cottage’s inherent magic with his penchant for grey and chrome. She’s definitely not staying because of her new business partner’s tight t-shirts, or that perfect face that's inspiring her to pick up her camera again. Soon sparks are flying—and it’s not the faulty wiring. It turns out one percent of Tom’s heart might not be enough for Darcy anymore. This time around, she’s switching things up. She’s going to make Tom Valeska 99 percent hers.
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This next hilarious romance includes a special PS section with two Happily Ever Afters—one for this novel featuring Darcy and Tom and the other, an epilogue featuring fan favorites Lucy Hutton and Josh Templeman from 'The Hating Game'!
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A powerful and thought-provoking YA debut from New York Times bestselling author Laura Moriarty.

Imagine a United States in which registries and detainment camps for Muslim-Americans are a reality. Fifteen-year-old Sarah-Mary Williams of Hannibal, Missouri, lives in this world, and though she has strong opinions on almost everything, she isn’t concerned with the internments because she doesn’t know any Muslims. She assumes that everything she reads and sees in the news is true, and that these plans are better for everyone’s safety.

But when she happens upon Sadaf, a Muslim fugitive determined to reach freedom in Canada, Sarah-Mary at first believes she must turn her in. But Sadaf challenges Sarah-Mary’s perceptions of right and wrong, and instead Sarah-Mary decides, with growing conviction, to do all she can to help Sadaf escape.
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The two set off on a desperate journey, hitchhiking through the heart of an America that is at times courageous and kind, but always full of tension and danger for anyone deemed suspicious.
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After standing at Donald Trump’s side on Election Night, Cliff Sims joined him in the West Wing as Special Assistant to the President and Director of White House Message Strategy.

He soon found himself pulled into the President’s inner circle as a confidante, an errand boy, an advisor, a punching bag, and a friend. Sometimes all in the same conversation.

As a result, Sims gained unprecedented access to the President, sitting in on private meetings with key Congressional officials, world leaders, and top White House advisors. He saw how Trump handled the challenges of the office, and he learned from Trump himself how he saw the world.

For five hundred days, Sims also witnessed first-hand the infighting and leaking, the anger, joy, and recriminations. He had a role in some of the President’s biggest successes, and he shared the blame for some of his administration’s worst disasters. He gained key, often surprising insights into the players of the Trump West Wing, from Jared Kushner and John Kelly to Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway.

He even helped Trump craft his enemies list, knowing who was loyal and who was not.

And he took notes. Hundreds of pages of notes. In real-time.

Sims stood with the President in the eye of the storm raging around him, and now he tells the story that no one else has written―because no one else could. The story of what it was really like in the West Wing as a member of the President’s team. The story of power and palace intrigue, backstabbing and bold victories, as well as painful moral compromises, occasionally with yourself.

First they gave us weekly serialised short stories in our mailbox and now Penguin Random House's cleverest people are launching 'The Write Advice', a monthly blog post that offers all writers who are looking for guidance, perspective and real advice a 'behind the curtain look' at how established Random House authors get the work done. Make sure to subscribe to their free newsletter so you won't miss a single one.

Their promise is that 'whether it’s workshopping with others, making a detailed outline, or just showing up at your desk consistently, you’re sure to learn a few helpful and inspiring things about writing'.
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Check out their first post by Penguin Random House author Chanel Cleeton who talks magic red pen, writing, revision and a lot more. Click HERE to start.

Here's a quick look at the books that hit the shelves today and that BookFabulous is adding to its 'To Read' list for 2019

The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School share their emotional journeys that began on February 14, 2018, and continue today. This revealing and unfiltered look at teens living in the wake of tragedy is a poignant representation of grief, anger, determination, healing, and hope.

The intimate collection includes poetry, eyewitness accounts, letters, speeches, journal entries, drawings, and photographs from the events of February 14 and its aftermath. Full of heartbreaking loss, a rally cry for change, and hope for a safe future, these artistic pieces will inspire readers to reflect on their own lives and the importance of valuing and protecting the ones you love.
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At 28, Stephanie Land's plans of breaking free from the roots of her hometown in the Pacific Northwest to chase her dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer, were cut short when a summer fling turned into an unexpected pregnancy. She turned to housekeeping to make ends meet, and with a tenacious grip on her dream to provide her daughter the very best life possible, Stephanie worked days and took classes online to earn a college degree, and began to write relentlessly.

​'Maid' explores the underbelly of upper-middle class America and the reality of what it's like to be in service to them. "I'd become a nameless ghost," Stephanie writes about her relationship with her clients, many of whom do not know her from any other cleaner, but who she learns plenty about. As she begins to discover more about her clients' lives-their sadness and love, too-she begins to find hope in her own path. Her compassionate, unflinching writing as a journalist gives voice to the "servant" worker, and those pursuing the American Dream from below the poverty line.
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Katharine Smyth was a student at Oxford when she first read Virginia Woolf’s modernist masterpiece 'To the Lighthouse' in the comfort of an English sitting room, and in the companionable silence she shared with her father. After his death—a calamity that claimed her favourite person—she returned to that beloved novel as a way of wrestling with his memory and understanding her own grief. 

Smyth’s story moves between the New England of her childhood and Woolf’s Cornish shores and Bloomsbury squares, exploring universal questions about family, loss, and homecoming. Through her inventive, highly personal reading of 'To the Lighthouse', and her artful adaptation of its groundbreaking structure, Smyth guides us toward a new vision of Woolf’s most demanding and rewarding novel—and crafts an elegant reminder of literature’s ability to clarify and console.
 
Braiding memoir, literary criticism, and biography, 'All the Lives We Ever Lived' is a wholly original debut: a love letter from a daughter to her father, and from a reader to her most cherished author.

​When two eighteen-year-old girls go missing in Thailand, their families are thrust into the international spotlight: desperate, bereft, and frantic with worry. What were the girls up to before they disappeared?

Journalist Kate Waters always does everything she can to be first to the story, first with the exclusive, first to discover the truth—and this time is no exception. But she can’t help but think of her own son, whom she hasn’t seen in two years, since he left home to go travelling. 

As the case of the missing girls unfolds, they will all find that even this far away, danger can lie closer to home than you might think...

The reason I picked 'All the Beautiful Lies' by Peter Swanson for the BookFabulous Summer Read 2018 was because it had been on several book lists for most anticipated thriller for 2018 (note to self: keep a record next time of those lists and their source to present to readers of this blog). I am going to assume that this book only made it on to those lists based on the author’s previous successful books - which is the most logical explanation I can come up with. I say this, because although I enjoyed the book, it wouldn’t necessarily be on the top of the list of my recommendations.

This delish podcast is created and presented by William Schwalbe, an author, entrepreneur and journalist based in New York City. Schwalbe was the former editor-in-chief of Hyperion Books. In this  podcast the author talks to his guests about the books that changed their lives.

'The Perfect Mother' by Aimee Molloy is a psychological thriller about a group of new moms in one community who call themselves the 'May Mothers' - the mommy group whose sons were all born in the same month. While on a planned night out, one of their newborns is abducted. What follows is a heart-pounding race to find Midas, during which secrets are exposed, marriages are tested, and friendships are destroyed. Need more convincing? Read on for five more reasons you'll want to read this thriller now!

Once upon a time, on a whim, I downloaded 'The State We're In' by Adele Parks as an audiobook to listen to during my drive to a temporary job in the city. The book turned out to be this wonderful heartbreaking romance that had me by its ending having to pull over for the tears pouring - yes pouring - down. It's been a while since then (read it in 2014) and the to this day the story hasn't left me. ​

This novella revolves around the case of a nanny who is found dead in the nursery of the two children she has just killed before taking her own life. If you're worried, this is NOT a spoiler because the story opens up with the murder and we know what's happened and who's done it. What we don't know is the why and that's one of the reasons most of us will read on. ​