Saturday Seven: Georgia Writers

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews

Since I am a Georgia gal, I thought I would share with you some Georgia writers that I really enjoy! I'm including the purchase information, because I hope you will take a chance on them as well (click on the book title).

1. Brenda Sutton Rose has just one book out currently, but is working on another. I absolutely loved this-- you can check out my review of it here.

Told through the voices of its eccentric characters, Dogwood Blues is a story of a small southern town struggling with change. Carrying the odor of scandal, award-winning New York author Kevin Kilmer moves back to Dogwood to write his memoir, and Boone Marshall, blues pianist and farmer, returns from a trip to New Orleans with a wife, nightclub singer Jasmine Boudreaux. When gossipmonger Nell Sauls, a member of the fabulous Honeysuckle Bridge Club, gets wind of the recent events, she starts dropping gossip like bird poop over the historic district. And not far from Dogwood, the Alapaha River, the color of tobacco spit, flows in liquid harmony, carrying the scent of something more ancient than the human soul. Dogwood Blues, a story of heartbreak and forgiveness, moans with the blues.

2. Mary Kay Andrews is a sweet sweet lady and I was privileged to have the honor of meeting her.

. She's a funny lady and writes wonderful books about the Georgia coast. I would love to live in one of her books. She has a new one coming out in May.

When ninety-nine-year-old heiress Josephine Bettendorf Warrick summons Brooke Trappnell to Talisa Island, her 20,000 acre remote barrier island home, Brooke is puzzled. Everybody in the South has heard about the eccentric millionaire mistress of Talisa, but Brooke has never met her. Josephine’s cryptic note says she wants to discuss an important legal matter with Brooke, who is an attorney, but Brooke knows that Mrs. Warrick has long been a client of a prestigious Atlanta law firm.

Over a few meetings, the ailing Josephine spins a tale of old friendships, secrets, betrayal and a long-unsolved murder. She tells Brooke she is hiring her for two reasons: to protect her island and legacy from those who would despoil her land, and secondly, to help her make amends with the heirs of the long dead women who were her closest friends, the girls of The High Tide Club—so named because of their youthful skinny dipping escapades—Millie, Ruth and Varina. When Josephine dies with her secrets intact, Brooke is charged with contacting Josephine’s friends’ descendants and bringing them together on Talisa for a reunion of women who’ve actually never met.

The High Tide Club is Mary Kay Andrews at her Queen of the Beach Reads best, a compelling and witty tale of romance thwarted, friendships renewed, justice delivered, and true love found.

3.

If you love historical romances, you can't go wrong by checking out the works of Rebecca Hagan Lee. She has a way of bringing the past to life!

The heiress and the bodyguard… When wealthy heiress Gemma Belmont needs a hero, she goes in search of the “Bountiful Baron”, a legendary character famed throughout the west for rescuing damsels in distress. What she doesn’t expect to find is a gruff, gorgeous Irishman who has been thrust into the role against his will. Now all she has to do is convince him that the only way to protect her is to marry her…

Murphy O’Brien is a former Pinkerton agent and saloon owner who has spent the last several years guarding his own battered heart. The last thing he wants is to become a reluctant bodyguard—and husband—to a pampered American princess. But he soon finds his heart under siege by Gemma’s charm, beauty, and wit.

Gemma knows their marriage of convenience is only an illusion. But she still finds herself falling beneath the spell of Murphy’s husky brogue and masterful touch. And after a few long, enchanting nights in his arms, she realizes the man she has hired to protect her might be far more dangerous to her yearning heart than any assassin…

4. I was introduced to Karin Slaughter when my husband saw her first book Blindsighted on the shelf and bought it for me while I was recovering from the flu seventeen years ago. I fell in love with her writing and is one of the few authors to literally make me cry. Her latest book is absolutely thrilling!

Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind…

Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn's happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father — Pikeville's notorious defense attorney — devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night.

Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father's footsteps to become a lawyer herself — the ideal good daughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again — and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized — Charlie is plunged into a nightmare. Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it's a case that unleashes the terrible memories she's spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime that destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won't stay buried forever…

5. Karen White writes what she calls "grit lit" and I love her works. I read her first book The Color of Light and loved it, then read the first book in her Tradd Street series and was hooked! Her latest book is number 5 in that series.

Karen White invites you to explore the brick-walked streets of Charleston in her fifth Tradd Street novel, where historic mansions house the memories of years gone by, and restless spirits refuse to fade away...

With her extended maternity leave at its end, Melanie Trenholm is less than thrilled to leave her new husband and beautiful twins to return to work, especially when she’s awoken by a phone call with no voice on the other end—and the uneasy feeling that the ghostly apparitions that have stayed silent for more than a year are about to invade her life once more.

But her return to the realty office goes better than she could have hoped, with a new client eager to sell the home she recently inherited on South Battery. Most would treasure living in one of the grandest old homes in the famous historic district of Charleston, but Jayne Smith would rather sell hers as soon as possible, guaranteeing Melanie a quick commission.

Despite her stroke of luck, Melanie can’t deny that spirits—both malevolent and benign—have started to show themselves to her again. One is shrouded from sight, but appears whenever Jayne is near. Another arrives when an old cistern is discovered in Melanie’s backyard on Tradd Street.

Melanie knows nothing good can come from unearthing the past. But some secrets refuse to stay buried....

6. Unfortunately, Eugenia Price is no longer with us, but her historical novels have been life-long friends and taught me much of what I know about the history of Georgia! If you've never read her, I suggest you begin at the beginning with her first book (although it's known as the third book in the trilogy).

A timeless tale of one man's devotion toward the women he loves, the sorrow of lost love, and the beautiful island on which compassion and kindness abound.

In this masterful novel by Eugenia Price, a wealthy young northerner, Anson Dodge, discovers new meaning in his life on St. Simons Island, Georgia, just after the Civil War. A man of remarkable and unforgettable kindness and strength, he shares his heart with two very different women—Ellen, who passionately adores him, and Anna, who comforts him in sorrow. They each surrender themselves to his dreams. Anson's story unfolds as a beautiful tale of honor when he rebuilds the war-torn Christ Church, Frederica, in memory of happy and lost love.

7. I recently discovered that Sue Monk Kidd is just from the next town over! I knew she was a Georgia gal, too, but I had no idea how close of neighbors we were! Her first book The Secret Life of Bees was incredible (and spent more than 100 weeks on the NYT Bestsellers List).

Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sister, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

If you've not read these authors, I recommend you give them a try. Who are some of the authors from YOUR state? Inquiring Minds Want to Know.