Sonora Reyes

Born and raised in Arizona, Sonora Reyes is the award-winning and bestselling author of The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School, The Luis Ortega Survival Club, The Broposal, and The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar. They also have contributed short stories to the anthologies Transmogrify! and For the Rest of Us.

They write fiction celebrating queer and Mexican stories in a variety of genres, with current projects in both kidlit and adult categories.

Recently I asked the author about what they were reading. Reyes's reply:

I've gotten to read a few books from my favorite authors recently! I keep adding new authors to my list of auto-buys, and I'm not mad about it!

I adored Nav's Foolproof Guide to Falling in Love by Jessica Lewis. It was the perfect rom com to get me out of my head in a dark time. Sometimes I just want to forget about my own problems and scream about two fictional characters who couldn't be more clueless about their feelings for each other. I can't wait for the spinoff, Hallie's Rules for a Recovering Romantic, which comes out next year! I will read anything Jessica Lewis writes, from horror to rom coms, she hasn't let me down so far!

Another auto-buy author for me is Alechia Dow, and I had the privilege of reading her next release early to blurb it! Until the Clock Strikes Midnight was my favorite book I've read this year. With a bipolar fairy godmother and a broody misfortune who have to fight over the fate of a queer bookstore owner, I could not put it down. The entire time I was reading, I just kept thinking to myself, "this is the perfect book." It really healed something in my little bipolar heart to see a character with this illness portrayed with such tenderness.

Lastly, I also got to read an early copy of Aiden Thomas's next book, Cemetery Boys 2: Espíritu. If you haven't read Cemetery Boys yet, this is your chance before the sequel comes out! Aiden Thomas is one of my all time favorite authors. Every story has so much love and care weaved into each character, and this one was no exception. It was so nice returning to such beloved characters and seeing them grow even further. It's truly such a joy!

Visit Sonora Reyes's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Kitty Zeldis

Kitty Zeldis is the pseudonym for a novelist and non-fiction writer of books for adults and children. She is the author of Not Our Kind and The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, NY.

Zeldis's new novel, One of Them, is "a story of secrets, friendship, and betrayal about two young women at Vassar in the years after World War II, a powerful and moving tale of prejudice and pride that echoes the cultural and social issues of today."

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Zeldis's reply:

I’ve just finished with When Women Ruled Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion by Julie Satow. It’s a portrait of three major department stores in New York City—Bonwit Teller, Lord & Taylor and Bendel’s—and the women responsible for their respective successes. The glory days of the American department store are, alas, over, but this book makes them live again. I enjoyed it so much that I’m about to start Nancy MacDonell’s Empresses of Seventh Avenue: World War II, New York City and the Birth of American Fashion. It looks like it will cover similar territory but from a slightly different angle. I’m very interested in fashion and since department stores and fashion are closely linked, both of these books are right up my (sartorial) alley.

Visit Kitty Zeldis's website

My Book, The Movie: Not Our Kind.

Writers Read: Kitty Zeldis (December 2018).

Coffee with a Canine: Kitty Zeldis & Dottie.

The Page 69 Test: Not Our Kind.

The Page 69 Test: The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights.

My Book, The Movie: One of Them.

Q&A with Kitty Zeldis.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jessica Bryant Klagmann

Jessica Bryant Klagmann grew up climbing mountains, paddling rivers, and scampering through the woods of New Hampshire. She studied writing there and in Fairbanks, Alaska, before falling in love with northern New Mexico. Klagmann is the author of the novel This Impossible Brightness, and when she isn’t writing, she can be found illustrating, trail running, or teaching her two kids the fine art of scampering.

Klagmann's new novel is North of the Sunlit River.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Klagmann's reply:

Right now, I’m reading Weyward by Emilia Hart and Dear Writer by Maggie Smith, and listening to Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez. I’m branching out a little on the first two, because I don’t read a lot of historical fiction or fantasy, and I haven’t read a book of writing advice in a long time, but I’m enjoying both a lot so far. I’ve read Arctic Dreams before, but it’s such a gorgeous book, it felt like a good way to head into the launch of North of the Sunlit River, which takes place in the Arctic.

Over the past summer, I read truer to my reading tastes. I love naturalist nonfiction and so I picked up The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer, which was lovely and enlightening. And then, something that’s been inspiring me lately and that I’m trying to learn from as a writer, is more experimental speculative or magical realism work, so I read Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino, On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle, and It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over by Anne de Marcken. They all give you a sense that the speculative elements could be read as happening on a literal level or, perhaps, only in the characters’ minds, and I find it such an impressive feat when I writer can pull this off without a definitive answer.

Visit Jessica Bryant Klagmann's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Peter Colt

Peter Colt is a 1996 graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a BA in Political Science. Colt was a 24-year veteran of the Army Reserve with deployments to Kosovo and Iraq as an Army Civil Affairs officer. He is currently a police officer in Providence, Rhode Island. He is married to his long suffering wife with whom he is raising two sons.

He enjoys, kayaking and camping and tries to get on the local rivers and ponds as often as he reasonably can. Colt is also an avid cook, a hobby which manages to find its way into his novels. He is a proud member of both the Mystery Writers of America and The Pawtuxet Athletic Club.

He is the author of the Tommy Kelly mysteries, Cold Island (2025). He also wrote the Andy Roark series of books, The Off-Islander (2019) and Back Bay Blues (2020) and Death at Fort Devens (2022), The Ambassador (2023), The Judge (2024) and The Banker (2025). He has also published short stories in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.

Recently I asked Colt about what he was reading. The author's reply:

I just finished Mark Bowden's excellent Hue 1968. It is an excellent history of the Battle for Hue City during the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War. Bowden, a journalist, not a historian does a fantastic job of telling the history of what was one of, if not the bloodiest battle of the Vietnam War. The advantage that Bowden brings to the book is his having interviewed numerous people, Marines, soldiers, Vietcong, North Vietnamese Army soldiers, Vietnamese and American civilians who were all directly involved in the battle. In doing so he creates a very balanced and nuanced portrait of the battle. I have been reading books about the Vietnam war for the last thirty-five + years and this is among the finest of them. I would say that it ranks up there with Bernard Fall's Street Without Joy or Hell in a Very Small Place. It is a must for anyone interested in the Vietnam War or military history in general.

I am also reading Amor Towles Table for Two. Towles writes beautifully and this collection of short stories makes me wish that I had his talent. From the first story, set in Soviet era Moscow, the reader is drawn into the very rich tapestry of Towles storytelling. I have been reading it but was seduced away by Bowden's excellent book about Hue.

I should also add that both books ended up with me because of two very different friendships. Hue 1968 was a gift from a good friend and mentor who served in Vietnam in 1968. Though not in that battle it offered insight into his experiences in Vietnam. Table for Two was recommended by an old and dear friend. She dated a good friend and one time roommate of mine in the late 1990's. One of the stories in the book reminded her very much, of us in that time and place. I love books but books with a personal connection, all the more so.

Visit Peter Colt's website.

My Book, The Movie: Back Bay Blues.

The Page 69 Test: Back Bay Blues.

Q&A with Peter Colt.

The Page 69 Test: Death at Fort Devens.

My Book, The Movie: Death at Fort Devens.

Writers Read: Peter Colt (June 2022).

My Book, The Movie: The Ambassador.

The Page 69 Test: The Ambassador.

The Page 69 Test: The Judge.

My Book, The Movie: The Judge.

Writers Read: Peter Colt (May 2024).

Writers Read: Peter Colt (March 2025).

My Book, The Movie: The Banker.

The Page 69 Test: The Banker.

The Page 69 Test: Cold Island.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ken Jaworowski

Ken Jaworowski is an editor at The New York Times. He graduated from Shippensburg University and the University of Pennsylvania. He grew up in Philadelphia, where he was an amateur boxer, and has had plays produced in New York and Europe. He lives in New Jersey with his family.

Jaworowski's new novel is What About the Bodies.

Reacently I asked the author about what he was reading. Jaworowski's reply:

I'm going to bend the rules here and tell you not what I've been reading, but what I've been rereading. Lately, I've been knee-deep in several projects, including preparing my new thriller, What About the Bodies, for its Sept. 2 publication. When I get this busy, I find myself revisiting old favorites rather than devoting myself to a new book that I won't be able to give my full attention to. So here are three that I've been picking up and paging through for a third or fourth (or more) time.

The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham

This is the book that changed my life. In the first few years after I'd gotten out of college, I did little but chase money and material success, and wonder why I was so miserable. Then I read this story of a soldier devastated by his experiences during World War I, and how he later struggles to find his place in an unforgiving world. Its messages moved me deeply.

Benediction by Kent Haruf

The quiet, ordinary people who populate Haruf's stories can make you grin or break your heart. The most affecting character in this novel is the dying Dad Lewis. Haruf doesn't pander to the reader by sugarcoating his situations, and here we find Dad Lewis looking back on a life of regrets, most notably that of his relationship with his son, who he pushed away and now longs to see.

Clockers by Richard Price

A masterpiece of crime fiction, Clockers follows Strike, a drug dealer, and Rocco, a detective, whose lives intertwine in the tough, fictional town of Dempsy, New Jersey. Price writes some of the sharpest dialogue in any genre, and his characters are multifaceted and entirely human. The novel, first published in 1992, remains both clear-eyed and compassionate, and full of the dark energy that pulses through a city’s streets.

Visit Ken Jaworowski's website.

Q&A with Ken Jaworowski.

The Page 69 Test: What About the Bodies.

--Marshal Zeringue

David McGlynn

David McGlynn's books include the memoirs One Day You'll Thank Me and A Door in the Ocean, and the story collection The End of the Straight and Narrow. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The American Scholar. He teaches at Lawrence University and lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

McGlynn's debut novel is Everything We Could Do.

Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. His reply:

Everything We Could Do is set in a hospital -- specifically within a small, locked unit inside the hospital. In the neonatal intensive care unit, the premature infants spend weeks and months on end inside climate and temperature controlled incubators, technically called Isolettes. The story's setting is a kind of Russian doll: tiny humans inside of pods inside of pods inside of pods. The people in the story, accordingly, struggle with isolation but also form deep, deep bonds with their other pod mates. A close friend, who teaches Russian literature, quipped that the story is like "Tolstoy in space."

In the course of writing Everything We Could Do, I spent a lot of time diving into books about hospitals as well as stories set in remote places. I grew sort of addicted to them, and several of those books I've read multiple times, cover to cover. The best example is Michael Ruhlman's Walk on Water: The Miracle of Saving Children's Lives. Walk on Water is a nonfiction book written more than 20 years ago, that's set in a pediatric heart surgery center in Cleveland. The doctor at the center of the story is among the most proficient and accomplished surgeons in the world at repairing congenital heart defects in newborn and very small children. But the book is about the surgical center, not just one guy. The stories Ruhlman tell are incredibly harrowing -- with as much drama unfolding in the OR as the best action movies -- and yet the book is tender, precise, and technical. It was the book that got me excited about writing a hospital novel, and whenever I pick it up, I lose several hours reading around in it.

A few weeks ago, I spent two extremely pleasurable weeks reading Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum's new novel, Elita. I've read Lunstrum for years, since her first book came out, but this book shines above the rest. It's set on a small island in Puget Sound in the 1950s, where a feral child -- a young woman -- is found naked in the woods near a state prison. She can't speak, so she can't say how she got there or how she managed to survive, and it falls to an academic psychologist, Bernadette, to try to solve the mystery. The women who populate the novel are often up against the destructive whims and demands of men, and so must fight to be believed and taken seriously even while fighting for a helpless child. The writing is moody and lyrical and so beautiful. I'm also extremely proud that Elita and Everything We Could Do share a press (TriQuarterly Books). Elita, especially, is evidence that some of the best books lurk among the smaller houses. The diamonds are in the remote corners.

Finally, I am currently reading Michael Deagler's novel, Early Sobrieties. It's a debut book, a first novel, and it also won the PEN / Hemingway Award. The narrator and main character is a young guy who is recently sober. The world seems intent on trying to get him to drink again and to haul him back into darkness, even while he's clawing his way toward goodness and light. But this tension is hilarious. Deagler takes off on hipsters, gentrification, cheesesteaks (Early Sobrieties is set in Philadelphia), and so many more topics. The pieces tumble around and lock together in a way I find so joyful and true and satisfying.

Visit David McGlynn's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Kathleen Barber

Kathleen Barber is the author of Truth Be Told (2017, originally published as Are You Sleeping), which was adapted into a series on AppleTV+ by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine media company, and Follow Me (2020). A graduate of the University of Illinois and Northwestern University School of Law, she now lives in Washington, DC, with her husband and children.

Barber's new novel is Both Things Are True.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Barber's reply:

One of the upsides of being an author is getting to read new books before they're released! I just finished reading an early copy of Lyn Liao Butler's The Deadly Book Club, which is about the murder of a high-profile bookstagrammer and the other bookstagrammers-slash-frenemies who are all suspects. It's dishy and a lot of fun!

I also just started an early copy of Michelle Maryk's debut, The Found Object Society, which is delightfully creepy and hooked me from the very first page.

I read across genres, although my favorite genres are suspense and romantic comedy — probably not a huge surprise, as those are the genres I write! The Deadly Book Club and The Found Object Society are on the suspense end of the spectrum, and on the romance side, I just finished Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan. I love her books, and this one (about a screenwriter who starts a romance with the celebrity cast in her movie) was just so fun.

It also set me off on a normal people-celebrity romance book kick: I'm in the middle of Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman (about a journalist reconnecting with a celebrity she interviewed years ago) and have Square Waves by Alexandra Romanoff (a companion novel to Big Fan, which is about political strategist who starts a romance with a former boy band member) high on my TBR.

Visit Kathleen Barber's website.

The Page 69 Test: Follow Me.

Writers Read: Kathleen Barber (March 2020).

12 Yoga Questions with Kathleen Barber.

The Page 69 Test: Both Things Are True.

My Book, The Movie: Both Things Are True.

Q&A with Kathleen Barber.

--Marshal Zeringue

Nolan Chase

Nolan Chase lives and works in the Pacific Northwest.

A Lonesome Place for Murder is his second book featuring Ethan Brand. It follows A Lonesome Place for Dying, which earned starred reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.

Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. Chase's reply:

The James Bond novels by Ian Fleming and Ian Fleming: The Complete Man by Nicholas Shakespeare

There’s an interesting paradox with the original Bond novels—they’re rooted in real-life espionage, yet pure adventure stories. Casino Royale and From Russia With Love are the best of them (From Russia was one of JFK’s favorite books).

Nicholas Shakespeare’s Fleming bio covers Fleming’s early life at Eton, his Navy service where he contributed to the creation of what became the CIA, and his years as a journalist and newspaper editor (where he was rumored to still run a spy ring). It’s not a particularly searching bio, but Fleming lived quite a life.

Visit Nolan Chase's website.

Writers Read: Nolan Chase (May 2024).

The Page 69 Test: A Lonesome Place for Dying.

My Book, The Movie: A Lonesome Place for Dying.

My Book, The Movie: A Lonesome Place for Murder.

--Marshal Zeringue

Arbor Sloane

Arbor Sloane grew up in the Midwest and earned her master’s degree of English at Iowa State University. She now teaches community college courses and resides with her family in the Des Moines area.

Sloane's new novel is Not Who You Think.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Sloane's reply:

I'm in the midst of reading two books right now.

I picked up the first one, Dear Future Me by Deborah O'Connor, while shopping for books to read on vacation this summer. The premise intrigued me... twenty years ago, an English teacher gave his students the assignment to write a letter to themselves twenty years in the future, and then he actually sends those letters out when the kids have grown up. The twist is that a student died mysteriously around the time the kids wrote the letters, and everyone only knows a piece of what happened to him. When one of the kids in the future receives her letter, she is so upset by her memories that she ends up taking her own life. Her best friend from the class, Miranda, becomes determined to solve the mystery of both deaths by interviewing former classmates. I'm really enjoying it so far.

The second one has been assigned through the community college I teach for. Every year they buy each student a copy of one book, and this year it happens to be The Measure by Nikki Erlick. Again, the premise is so fascinating... one day, everyone in the world wakes up to a box outside their door. The box contains a piece of string that indicates how long their life will be. Some have many years left, others only have a few days. I think this book will really grab my students' attention and we will have some great conversations about the finite nature of life and how we should live it.

Follow Arbor Sloane on Instagram.

The Page 69 Test: Not Who You Think.

Q&A with Arbor Sloane.

--Marshal Zeringue

Beth Morrey

Beth Morrey‘s work has been published in the Cambridge and Oxford May Anthologies and shortlisted for the Grazia Orange First Chapter competition. Her novels include The Love Story of Missy Carmichael and Delphine Jones Takes a Chance.

Morrey's new novel is Isabella's Not Dead.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Morrey's reply:

I tend to read in fits and starts – maybe three books in a week and then nothing at all for three weeks; it’s very erratic. I also don’t read very much when I’m writing, as it’s too tempting to copy the style of the book I’m reading. On holiday, I binge-read, and I’ve just been to Cornwall for two weeks, so I’ve got a few stone-cold bangers under my belt:

Annie Bot, by Sierra Greer

This was recommended by a writer friend and is absolutely outstanding. It’s a lightly speculative novel about the relationship between a man and a robot-woman. She’s virtually indistinguishable from a human and is programmed to be autodidactic so she learns from cues and interactions with others. The relationship between Annie and her ‘owner’ Doug is fascinating, creepy and completely gripping, exploring coercive control, autonomy and equality. It’s like Westworld meets Anora, but so much more – a tale told incredibly tightly, with great nuance and compassion. I really loved it and it was one of those books that felt like it was written just for me.

Once Was Willem, by MR Carey

I’m such a fan of Mike Carey – The Girl with All the Gifts is one of my favourite books of all time. He builds worlds so effortlessly, making the unreal so real that you never question it. This is the story of a boy, Willem, who becomes something else entirely – not alive, and not dead; a monster, but also a saviour. It’s a mighty and profoundly mystical medieval tale, with the supernatural element woven through elegantly and matter-of-factly. Carey’s narrative is dense with detail, wildly inventive and deeply weird. It’s funny but also moving, and I found myself quite tearful at the epic finish, uplifted by its power and audacity. One of my favourite writers at the top of his game.

The Art of a Lie, by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

I follow Laura on social media and really like her style, so thought I’d probably enjoy her books, and this latest one is getting a great buzz, with good reason. It’s historical crime fiction, which is a juicy genre, and she’s pulled off something really special – a twisty, unexpected tale that constantly wrongfoots you. Stuff happens when it shouldn’t! It’s so deliciously unpredictable, riotous, yet impeccably plotted, plus the period detail is spot-on. A terrific yarn.

Just Like You, by Nick Hornby

I picked this up in the holiday cottage I was staying in and sank into it within about three seconds flat. Nick Hornby is another of my favourite writers – I particularly loved About a Boy. This is an unusual romcom – an age gap relationship between a middle-aged single mother and a 22-year-old man. I felt a bit uncomfortable about the idea – if it was the other way round, gender-wise, would it be a dodgy? – but I liked the challenging nature of the set- up. Hornby is such an engaging writer – his prose is so intensely readable, funny and resonant. I also felt that the female characters were very well-drawn – nice, funny, decent grownup women; no manic pixie dream girl in sight.

Next, I’m reading The Greengage Summer, by Rumer Godden, because I felt like something sumptuous, and I’ve recently discovered that I own a greengage tree. Life is full of surprises.

Visit Beth Morrey's website.

Coffee with a Canine: Beth Morrey & Polly.

The Page 69 Test: The Love Story of Missy Carmichael.

My Book, The Movie: The Love Story of Missy Carmichael.

Q&A with Beth Morrey.

The Page 69 Test: Delphine Jones Takes a Chance.

My Book, The Movie: Delphine Jones Takes a Chance.

Writers Read: Beth Morrey (April 2022).

--Marshal Zeringue