February 1, 2021
In Bly's Lizzie & Dante, a Shakespearean scholar heads to Italy after an ugly breakup and an end-of-the-road health diagnosis and meets a handsome chef--but is this any time to start a relationship? In debuter Christie's The Rehearsals, Megan Givens and Tom Prescott plan to call off their wedding after a calamitous rehearsal dinner but wake up the next morning in a time loop, endlessly repeating the event until maybe they get it right (100,000-copy first printing). Clancy's Shoulder Season reveals what happens when shy young church organist Sherri Taylor switches paths after her parents' death to become a Playboy bunny (100,000-copy first printing). The New York Times best-selling Guillory's While We Were Dating features Ben Stephens, Theo's brother from The Wedding Party, who's trying to stay strictly professional while working with a famous actress. In Macomber's stand-alone It's Better This Way, Julia Jones has sold her business, moved into a condominium, and put her marital breakup behind her, but she isn't looking for love--until handsome resident Heath comes along. In Island Queen, romance writer Riley goes mainstream historical to reimagine the life of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, who rose from enslavement to become a rich and powerful landowner in the colonial West Indies (100,000-copy first printing). Pretty Little Liars author Shepard's Safe in My Arms stars three out-of-the-loop moms who try to discover why the principal of the children's elite California preschool was attacked. If you've got Nine Lives, take this journey with Steel from Chicago and Paris to London and Monaco. In Hugo/Bradbury/Eisner winner Straczynski's latest, an unsuccessful young writer pulls together a crew of equally disaffected folks, buys an old bus, and proclaims Together We Will Go--straight to California, where they will then drive off a cliff (100,000-copy first printing). In debuter Yoder's one-of-a-kind Nightbitch, a woman who's convinced that she is turning into a dog ferrets out answers in A Field Guide to Magical Women and links up with a group of mothers with their own secret persuasions. Optioned for film.
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May 17, 2021
Riley (An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler) delivers a spirited narrative of an enslaved woman turned Caribbean power broker, based on a historical figure. Born in 1756 on Montserrat, Dorothy Kirwan Thomas is the mixed-race daughter of an Irish plantation owner and a Black enslaved woman. At 13, she runs away from her rapist half brother, leaving their one-year-old daughter behind with her mother and ending up in Demerara. She begins accumulating wealth by hiring out housekeepers to the colony’s newcomers, and eventually buys freedom for herself and her family. She parlays her savvy entrepreneurial skills into adding a hotel and sugar cane plantation to her substantial assets, expanding her empire to Dominica, Grenada, and Barbados. Her love affairs—with a local planter, shipper Joseph Thomas (they eventually marry), and England’s Prince William—expand her family to 10 children. When the British Empire imposes a tax on the West Indies, which Demerara’s corrupt governor places only on wealthy, free women of color, Dorothy persuades Lord Bathurst to rescind it. While the narrative is overly long and often stalls out in repetition, Riley has made a fascinating character out of Dorothy. Readers will enjoy Riley’s depiction of Dorothy’s unconventional life. Agent: Sara Younger, Nancy Yost Literary Agency.
July 1, 2021
Riley brings multicultural communities and strong women to life in her superb historical romance novels, such as An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler (2021). In this compelling work of historical fiction she chose an inspiring, true-life muse, Dorothy Kirwan Thomas. Born into slavery on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, Dorothy bought freedom for herself, her sister, her mother, and her children and then established herself as a successful merchant, hotelier, and planter, creating a legacy of wealth for her family. In this dazzling fictionalized version of Dorothy's life, Riley combines in-depth research with passionate and frank storytelling to explore Dorothy's fierce protection of her family, her tenacity, and the complex tales of the men in her life, who often failed to be worthy of her affection. The experiences and achievements of powerful women, especially those whose lives began among the enslaved, are too often overlooked, and Riley's richly engaging novel is a ringing reminder of how much we miss when these stories remain untold.
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