Kirjahaku

When a Hollywood location scout comes to Applewood, Long Island, and announces that the local elementary school might make the perfect backdrop for an upcoming George Clooney movie, the PTA's decorum crumbles like a cookie from last week's bake sale. Enter Maddie, Ruth, and Lisa, three women who become the glue that holds the project together, forging a bond of friendship stronger than anyone could imagine. And not a moment too soon, as marriage woes, old flames, and scandalously embarrassing family members threaten to tear each of them apart. Is their powerful alliance strong enough to overcome the obstacles to getting the movie made in their town? And will their friendship be enough to mend their hearts and homes? Join them as they reach for the stars . . . and try to pull off a Hollywood ending of their own. At once tender and hilarious, Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA is a captivating story that turns suburbia upside down . . . with more humor, heartache, and heat than one PTA can hold.

Bev is the Smart One, who finally leaves her artistic ambitions in chalk dust (and her humor-impaired husband in the arms--and legs--of his nubile prot g e) to become a schoolteacher. Clare is the Pretty One, who married well and seems to be living a designer version of the suburban dream. Joey is the Wild One, struggling to stay clean and sober now that she's used up her fifteen minutes of fame as a one-hit-wonder rock star.They love each other but mix like oil, water, and hundred-proof gin . . . a combination that threatens to combust over family tensions, suspected infidelities, a devastating accident, a stunning confession, and the sudden reappearance of their handsome, now all-grown-up former neighbor, Kenny Waxman, who's back in town making his mark as a TV comedy writer.It seems they'll never understand where their differences begin and their own destructive tendencies end. Then it happens: the sisters discover a decades-old body stuffed inside an industrial drum and begin a bold, heartbreaking, and sometimes hilarious journey that will either bring them together . . . or tear them apart for good.

If you could return to the road not taken...would you? Quinn Braverman has a perfect life, with a loving husband, an adorable son, and another baby on the way. But she also has an ominous secret: she knows that another version of her life exists...one in which she made totally different life choices. But she's never been tempted to switch lives--until a shocking turn of events pushes her to cross over, and she discovers the one person she thought she'd lost forever: Her mother. But Quinn can't have both lives. Soon, she must decide which she really wants--the one she has...or the other life...

When it comes to movie reviews, critic Violet Epps is a powerhouse voice. But that's only because she's learned to channel her literary hero Dorothy Parker, the most celebrated and scathing wit of the twentieth century. If only Violet could summon that kind of strength in her personal life. Violet visits the Algonquin Hotel in an attempt to find inspiration from the hallowed dining room where Dorothy Parker and so many other famous writers of the 1920s traded barbs, but she gets more than she bargained for when Parker's feisty spirit rematerializes. An irreverent ghost with problems of her own--including a refusal to cross over to the afterlife--Mrs. Parker helps Violet face her fears, becoming in turn mentor and tormentor...and ultimately, friend. READERS GUIDE INSIDE

In a prequel to her appearance in Ellen Meister's "delicious"* Farewell, Dorothy Parker, the acid-tongued writer haunts the halls of the Algonquin Hotel with her piercing wit and unexpectedly tender wisdom. Death cannot quell the feisty spirit of Dorothy Parker. For more than forty years, Mrs. Parker has been spurning the white light and wandering the famous halls of the Algonquin, drink in hand, searching for someone--anyone--who will keep her company on this side of eternity. She may have found the perfect candidate in Ted Shriver, a brilliant literary voice of the 1970s, silenced early in a promising career by a devastating plagiarism scandal. He is now a recluse hiding away in the old hotel, waiting to die. But when a young, ambitious TV producer enters the hotel in search of Shriver, she and Dorothy Parker begin to discover a host of secrets surrounding the life of the famous man--and why he seems as anxious to enter the beyond as Mrs. Parker is to avoid it. *Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Readers looking for a light beach read will enjoy the engaging writing and compelling plot."--Library Journal "A great romp of a read"--Candace Bushnell, New York Times bestselling author of SEX AND THE CITY Bright lights, big trouble...Dana Barry has nothing against rules. She just knows they're meant to be bent. So it's no wonder the single, twentysomething, aspiring actress loses her day job. Now her life is a mess... until she hears the Shopping Channel is auditioning. Relying on her knack for knowing what makes people tick, she lands a gig on air. But before she can say office politics, Dana is caught in the biggest drama of her life. The star host--a diva who terrorized the entire staff--is found dead. Dana knows the prime suspect is innocent. The heat is on, and Dana thinks she's ready for it...until she tangles with the tall, dark and smoldering detective in charge. It's more fuel than she needs right now as she's trying to launch her career. But Dana's never been afraid to take chances...even when a single spark could ignite everything.

2021 SUMMER READ PICK--LONG ISLAND WOMAN"THE ROOFTOP PARTY is a wickedly entertaining rom-com/murder mystery from start to finish. It promises to be a contender for beach read of the year." --BookReporter A Host of Trouble...In this witty and engaging novel, Dana Barry, the Shopping Channel's star host, stops by the company's rooftop party to pitch the new CEO her brilliant idea that just might save the flagging business, her job and possibly her love life.As she chats with the smarmy executive, he backs her into a dark corner. For Dana, it's a quid pro oh-hell-no. She escapes his lecherous grasp and grabs her drink on her way to the dance floor. Woozy, she blacks out.When she comes to, the CEO is dead, fallen from the roof. Or was he pushed? And if so, by whom? It's hard to know, but one thing is certain: Dana was close enough to be suspect.Sure, she loathed how the creep moved in on her, but she's no killer. Or is she? Truth is, Dana can't remember much about those minutes. Now she has to use all her skills to prove her innocence to everyone, including her police detective boyfriend--and herself.Meister's latest is fun and breezy, a compelling, suspenseful read that entertains and keeps you guessing.

"Perfect late summer escapism." --New York Journal of Books on Love Sold Separately Only one thing stands in the way of Laurel Applebaum's happiness...Doug Applebaum. In this darkly comic novel about a wife whose rope is so frayed it's about to snap, Laurel gets a call that her husband has been in an accident. She imagines the worst. But as she is on the way to the ER, another emotion seizes her. Relief. Doug's death could solve all her problems. No more catering to his incessant demands. Then there's the insurance money. Laurel's dreams seem so close. There's just one problem: Doug is very much alive. Now Laurel has to decide if she is going to do something about it. Subversive, irreverent and surprisingly poignant, Take My Husband probes the deep corners of a marriage and emerges to find the light. For anyone who's spent a little too much time with a significant other and thought, One of us has got to go.

Lauren Weisberger meets Janet Evanovich in this fast-paced and funny novel by Ellen Meister that follows the adventures (and misadventures) of Dana Banks, a newly-minted NYC shopping channel host.Dana Barry's life is a mess. Newly unemployed after getting fired from Hot Topic for mouthing off to customers, she has too much free time on her hands, which always means trouble. And while she loves performing with her theater troupe Sweat City, their tiny plays don't pay the bills. So when she learns the Home Shopping Channel is auditioning for new hosts, she dives in with nothing to lose and is stunned when she actually lands the job. Her keen eye for detail, an uncanny knack for knowing what makes people tick, and a lot of sheer bravado make her perfect for her new role and she is suddenly on the brink of a strikingly successful career.But when the Shopping Channel's star Kitty Todd is found shot to death in her office, Dana can't help but involve herself in trying to track down the killer. She was never one to mind her own business, and like any true actress, she inevitably winds up at the center of every drama. Plus, she knows the homicide detective's prime suspect is innocent -- they were together on the roof for some slightly illicit alone time when they heard the gunshot, after all. Lorenzo's record may not be squeaky clean but she can tell the single father has a heart of gold. He may even be marriage material - something she'd be able to focus on if only Detective Marks wasn't so handsome and their chemistry wasn't so electric. Dana is this close to having it all if, just this once, she can keep herself out of trouble and not screw it up. But for Dana Berry, trouble usually comes easier and is always a lot more fun...

The Best Prompts to Spark Your Creativity For most of us, creative ideas don't rain down from the heavens or knock on our doors. We can stare at that blank page all we want-ready, willing and eager to write-and nothing happens. As a working novelist, writing coach, and teacher, I've seen writers launch like rockets from the gentlest nudge of an idea. So I've spent years developing prompts to fuel that take-off, making sure each one offers the inspiration writers crave. Many of these are specifically designed to challenge the writer's skills, and help bring their work to the next level. No matter your writing goals-publication, fulfillment, improved technique or just having fun-getting started is the first step toward success. And sometimes, all that takes is a spark.