Fan Favorites « Crown Publishing

Fan Favorites

The Strength of Four Generations of Mothers and Daughters in Color Me Butterfly by L.Y. Marlow

Inspired by a true story, Color Me Butterfly follows four generations of mothers and daughters—haunted by a common specter of domestic abuse—as they discover the strength, hope, and courage to survive. It will take unconditional love, old-fashioned family values, faith, and fearless determination—already embedded in each woman’s DNA—to triumph over a life plagued with unspeakable pain.

Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran Now in Paperback

Based on meticulous research, Cleopatra’s Daughter is a fascinating portrait of imperial Rome and of the people and events of this glorious and most tumultuous period in human history. Emerging from the shadows of the past, Selene, a young woman of irresistible charm and preternatural intelligence, will capture your heart. Read an excerpt of Cleopatra’s Daughter and learn how you can connect with Michelle online. She’s gathered everything you need for a very special book group meeting!

» read the article » 12 comments

Alia Yunis on the Henna Hands of The Night Counter

After 85 long years, Fatimah Abdullah is dying, and she knows when her time will come. In fact, it should come just nine days from tonight, the 992nd nightly visit of Scheherazade, the beautiful and immortal storyteller from the epic The Arabian Nights. Just as Scheherazade spun magical stories for 1,001 nights to save her own life, Fatima has spent each night telling Scheherazade her life stories, all the while knowing that on the 1,001st night, her storytelling will end forever.

» read the article » 4 comments

Jesse Katz on the Birth of The Oppposite Field

The Opposite Field is one of the most remarkable, ambitious, and utterly original memoirs of this generation, a story of the losing and finding of self, of sex and love and fatherhood and the joy of language, of death and failure and heartbreak, of Los Angeles and Portland and Nicaragua and Mexico, and the shifting sands of place and meaning that can make up a culture, or a community, or a home. If you like Rick Bragg, Bret Easton Ellis, or Michael Connelly, you will love The Opposite Field. (Rick, Bret, and Michael all did!)

» read the article » 1 comment

Delphine Minoui on Writing I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

Working on this book was a unique and challenging experience. As a journalist covering the Middle East, I have reported on many difficult situations. In Iraq, I have interviewed widows of men killed by death squads. In Iran, I have met female dissidents locked up in jail, in solitary confinement for several months. In Afghanistan, I have shared tales of female students who stopped going to school after it was attacked by presumed terrorists. But interviewing and listening to Nujood was the most challenging project.

» read the article » 13 comments

Todd Kliman on Researching The Wild Vine

I was astonished to learn not only that there is wine being made in Missouri, but that Missouri was the epicenter of American wine more than a century ago — the Napa Valley of the 19th century, with more than a hundred wineries. It was a groundbreaking moment, for sure. The Norton’s success — it was pronounced one of the great red wines of the world at a world’s fair in Vienna, and won another big medal five years later, in Paris — occurred in the 1870s.

» read the article » 2 comments

Alice Hoffman Reads from The Story Sisters

Alice Hoffman is a favorite among book groups and booksellers alike, and it’s a real treat to listen to her at one of her readings. If you’re not able to see her live, the next best thing is to listen to her read via podcast. Listen to Alice Hoffman read from The Story Sisters. Alice loves hearing from her readers! Leave a comment on Alice Hoffman’s guest book and join the conversation surrounding her remarkable work. It’s always fun to hear what other readers are saying, whether it’s about an author you haven’t read yet or a beloved favorite. Enjoy the conversation!

» read the article » 7 comments

Book Trailer for Jan Goldstein’s The Bride Will Keep Her Name

Madison Mandelbaum has a loving—though totally neurotic—family, and two fabulous girlfriends, and best of all, she’s head-over-heels in love with Colin Darcy, an investigative reporter for NBC, a distant relation to the Queen, and—most importantly—Maddie’s fiancé. With one week to go before the wedding, Maddie receives an anonymous email that suggests that her fiancé may not be the man she thinks he is. As sinister phone calls, text messages, and disturbing clues turn up, all linking Colin to the murder of a sexy call girl, Maddie realizes that she must get to the bottom of this. Fast.

» read the article » 6 comments

Scott Sigler on Becoming an Author with the Help of Junkies

I owe a lot to those Junkies. Back in the early days of podcasting my fiction, they would wait (impatiently) for their weekly “fix” of new chapters, and the name was born. These fiction addicts are a huge part of the enjoyment I get out of the business of writing books, and an even bigger part of my success. Real-life friendships are always a happy side effect of sharing your favorite books, and it’s been no different with the Junkies. Even though we are a largely virtual community, there was no lack of celebrating when Contagious hit the New York Times bestseller list.

» read the article » 6 comments

Gillian Flynn on Writing Her First Novel Sharp Objects

Libraries are filled with stories on generations of brutal men, trapped in a cycle of aggression. I wanted to write about the violence of women. Female violence is a specific brand of ferocity. It’s invasive. A girlfight is all teeth and hair, spit and nails — a much more fearsome thing to watch than two dudes clobbering each other. And the mental violence is positively gory. Women entwine. Innuendo, backspin, false encouragement, punishing withdrawal, sexual jealousy, garden-variety jealousy — watching women go to work on each other is a horrific bit of pageantry that can stretch on for years.

» read the article » 5 comments