Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr.

Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr. is an advocate, educator, author, and Kentucky Teacher of the Year. His work is focused on advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and creating inclusive spaces for students, especially within the context of Appalachia. He is the author of Tore All to Pieces, a fragmented novel about a small town in Appalachia and the interconnectedness of our identities, as well as Gay Poems for Red States, a bestselling collection of narrative poetry about his childhood growing up queer in Appalachia.

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

I was asked what I am reading. An easier question might be what I'm not reading, since I have a propensity for reading dozens of books at a time.

I just finished Needlework by Julia Watts. A gorgeous novel set in east Tennessee. What I love the most is that she doesn't shy away from the ugly and painful; in fact, she takes a second look. She allows ethics to articulate itself where things feel hopeless. She flings something nostalgic into the future.

Yesterday, I finished Mickie Kennedy's Worth Burning, a stunning poetry collection. That's another book unwilling to look away. But here, the focus isn't nostalgia or hope. It's the courage of witness.

I am halfway through Joshua Whitehead's Jonny Appleseed. It centers an indigenous two-spirit person who navigates a life following trauma, and there is a haunting that I recognize in it. A haunting in bodies.

I am also halfway through Bearwallow by Jeremy Jones. He traces a lot of things—story, place, ancestry. But he never gets lost in the past. He anchors us in the moment, but softly. Lets us see the shape he's feeling.

Lastly, I am finishing Dear Mothman by Robin Gow. What a tender collection! It centers the diary of a 6th grader with autism who has lost his best friend, a diary written to Mothman. Written for children, it reminds us that we all know the feeling of being someone's monster.

Visit Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr.'s website.

Q&A with Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr.

My Book, The Movie: Tore All to Pieces.

The Page 69 Test: Tore All to Pieces.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ava Morgyn

Ava Morgyn is the USA Today bestselling author of The Bane Witch and The Witches of Bone Hill. She grew up falling in love with all the wrong characters in all the wrong stories, then studied English Writing & Rhetoric at St. Edward’s University. She is a lover of witchcraft, tarot, and powerful women with bad reputations, and she currently resides in Houston surrounded by antiques and dog hair. When not at her laptop spinning darkly hypnotic tales, Morgyn writes for her blog on child loss (forloveofevelyn.com), hunts for vintage treasures, and reads the darkest books she can find.

She is the author of YA novels Resurrection Girls and The Salt in Our Blood.

Morgyn's new novel is Only Spell Deep.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Her reply:

I’m very much a mood reader, which means I don’t like to keep a towering TBR and tend to jump around a lot between genres. Though I pretty consistently read books with darker themes—so horror, Gothic literature, dark fantasy, thrillers, and the like.

I just finished books by two of my favorite authors. I devoured Play Nice by Rachel Harrison, a contemporary horror about an influencer who inherits her late mother’s old haunted house and tries to remodel it for views. It was a dark, winding adventure through childhood trauma, unreliable memories, attempts to control the narrative, grief, and the phenomenon of women not being believed. Highly recommend!

I also just turned the last page on Eve Chase’s The Midnight Hour—a beautiful mystery set in London’s Notting Hill that jumps between time periods and points of view as it unravels the secrets at the heart of one family’s legacy of love, betrayal, loss, and second chances. Eve’s prose is stunning and her stories are like intricate knots waiting to be untied. I treasure them.

Visit Ava Morgyn's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Bane Witch.

Q&A with Ava Morgyn.

The Page 69 Test: Only Spell Deep.

--Marshal Zeringue

Lyla Lane

Sonia Hartl (AKA Lyla Lane) is the author of YA, romance, and cozy mysteries. Her books have received starred reviews from BookPage and Booklist, and earned nominations for the Georgia Peach Book Award, YALSA’s Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Books of the Year, ALA’s Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, and ALA’s Rainbow Booklist, and was named an Amazon Editors’ Pick for Best Young Adult. When she’s not writing she enjoys board games with her family, attempting to keep her garden alive, or looking up craft projects she’ll never get around to completing on Pinterest.

Hartl/Lane's new novel is The Best Little Motel in Texas.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Her reply:

I just finished Murder Bimbo by Rebecca Novack, and I can say with certainty that this is going to be one of my favorite reads of the year. It was an epistolary novel about a sex worker who assassinates a right-wing politician known as Meat Neck. With one story told three different ways, depending on who the unreliable narrator was trying to persuade, this absolutely unhinged book was a delight from start to finish.

Visit Lyla Lane's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Best Little Motel in Texas.

Q&A with Lyla Lane.

The Page 69 Test: The Best Little Motel in Texas.

--Marshal Zeringue

Kelsey Day

Kelsey Day is a young adult author and queer Appalachian poet. Their writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Orion Magazine, Freeman’s and more.

The Spiral Key is their first novel for young readers.

I recently asked Day about what they were reading. Their reply:

Right now I’m midway through a book called I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane. It’s a literary speculative novel in which wrongdoers are marked for their crimes with extra shadows. Every character’s interaction(s) with the “justice” system physically marksthem with a new shadow, and each shadow further ostracizes them from the privileged class.

The book is about surveillance and the justice system, but even more it’s about grief and motherhood. The narrator’s wife died in childbirth, and their kid was born with two shadows. The reader follows the narrator through spirals of grief and rage, with the tense hum of dystopia in the background.

I love books like this, that place us in a speculative environment while focusing on the ordinary ache of human life. There’s a YA book called The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness that does something similar. It’s set in a world full of supernatural disasters and “chosen ones” who valiantly fight off the threats—but those heroic stories operate in the background of the story. The main characters of the book are ordinary teenagers who live in the heroes’ wake.

This style of dystopia writing is super inspiring to my own work. My debut novel, The Spiral Key, is about a teenage girl getting locked into a virtual reality that’s controlled by her ex-best friend—and though it’s a techno-thriller about the dangers of VR and AI, it’s also ultimately focused on the relationship between these two girls.

Visit Kelsey Day's website.

Q&A with Kelsey Day.

--Marshal Zeringue

Isabel Booth

Isabel Booth is the pen name of Karen Jewell, a former trial attorney and now a writer. She holds an undergraduate degree in English, a Master’s in Business Administration, and a Juris Doctorate degree. When she’s not writing she loves to read, travel, and cook dinner for friends. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband.

Booth's new novel is Then He Was Gone.

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

I belong to two neighborhood book clubs. Both meet this week and I’ve been reading like mad the past few days to be prepared. When you see the first selection, you’ll understand why.

All the Colors of the Dark, by Chris Whitaker

595 pages! I found it engrossing to the end. This is a missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, and a love story. Set in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, the novel centers around Joseph “Patch” Macauley and his friend Saint. Thirteen-year-old Patch, born with one eye and fancying himself a pirate, saves a girl from being kidnapped and he is taken instead. This sets off a complex, decades-long story of trauma and obsession, loss, hope, lasting friendships, and love. The ending is a treasure because it has twists and turns that I didn’t see coming but don’t feel contrived.

The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans

Sybil Van Antwerp is 72 when this novel begins, outspoken, intelligent, and set in her ways. She is a retired attorney, divorced and living alone, and has recently discovered that she is going blind. The story of her life is told through letters and emails she sends to, and the replies she receives from, family, friends, former colleagues, and literary icons. The correspondence explores themes of loss and regret, estrangement and forgiveness, and a lifetime of grief and guilt over the death of one of her sons at the age of eight. Those are always powerful themes, but what really made the novel work for me was its look at the possibility of change late in life, and the exchanges that reveal her prickly character that are sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.

Visit Isabel Booth's website.

My Book, The Movie: Then He Was Gone.

Q&A with Isabel Booth.

The Page 69 Test: Then He Was Gone.

--Marshal Zeringue

Danielle Girard

Danielle Girard is the USA Today and Amazon #1 bestselling author of sixteen novels, including the Annabelle Schwartzman Series, Chasing Darkness, and The Rookie Club series. Her books have won the Barry Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, and White Out was in the top 100 bestselling e-books of 2020. In addition, two of her titles have been optioned for screen.

Girard's new novel is Pinky Swear.

Recently I asked the author about what she reading. Her reply:

My Friends by Fredrik Backman.

I’m in awe with the way Backman portrays friendship and emotion with such remarkable tenderness and authenticity. His characters reveal love, loyalty, guilt, and forgiveness through subtle gestures and shared silences. Backman captures the fragility of human connection, showing how friendships endure through vulnerability, miscommunication, and unwavering compassion. When I’m working on my own books, I like to read Backman and remind myself how much power there is in what isn’t said and how much depth can be accomplished with such economy.

Visit Danielle Girard's website.

Writers Read: Danielle Girard (August 2018).

My Book, The Movie: Expose.

The Page 69 Test: Expose.

The Page 69 Test: White Out.

Q&A with Danielle Girard.

--Marshal Zeringue

Karen E. Olson

Karen E. Olson, author of An Inconvenient Wife, is the winner of the Sara Ann Freed Memorial Award and a Shamus Award finalist. She is the author of the Annie Seymour mysteries, the Tattoo Shop mysteries, and the Black Hat thrillers. Olson was a longtime editor, both in newspapers and at Yale. She lives in North Haven, Connecticut.

Olson's new novel is A Defiant Woman.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Her reply:

The Tudors are clearly top my non-fiction subjects—and while my new novels are re- tellings, I like to loosely base my plots on actual Tudor history. It was for this reason that I recently picked up Nicola Tallis’s Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey. Tallis’s easy narrative is more novel-like than a dry biography of the young woman who was officially queen for nine days after Edward VI died, casting aside his half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth in the line of succession in favor of his cousin—who did have a direct line to the throne as her grandmother was Henry VIII’s youngest sister Mary. Jane, who was a scholar and a linguist rivaling her cousin Elizabeth, was first a reluctant bride when her father conspired with the Duke of Northumberland to marry her to his son—and then was a reluctant queen in the plot that would put both her and her husband on the throne. But no matter how reluctant she was, Jane did attempt to rise to the occasion only to be struck down by her much more powerful and popular cousin Mary Tudor. Tallis’s recounting of Jane’s upbringing through to her fate on the block is a worthy read for anyone interested in the Tudors.

As for fiction, I balanced out my Tudor obsession with a remarkable crime novel called The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer. I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this book, as I stumbled across it and thought it might be interesting. Who knew there was an illegal egg trade in the UK? Two braided timelines, one set in the 1920s and one today, tell the story of the mysterious and rare Metland egg, coveted by collectors—enough so that murder is not a step too far to obtain it. The author’s note at the end of the book is just as fascinating as her fictional story, because she explains that it is based on a real one. Two months after finishing this book, I find myself still thinking about it and the incredibly well drawn characters who inhabit it.

Visit Karen E. Olson's website.

The Page 69 Test: An Inconvenient Wife.

Q&A with Karen E. Olson.

The Page 69 Test: A Defiant Woman.

--Marshal Zeringue

Marina Evans

Marina Evans is a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader who graduated from Southern Methodist University with degrees in English Literature and Creative Writing. During her time with the Cowboys, she cheered under her maiden name/nickname, Rena Morelli. She lives in Arizona now but thinks about her days in short-shorts often.

Death of a Cheerleader (UK title) and The Cheerleader (U.S. title) is her debut thriller.

Recently I asked Evans about what she was reading. Her reply:

I’m so happy to answer this question; I love talking up other authors!

First on my list is Saltwater by Katy Hays. I’m half-Italian and love everything Italian, so when I read the book blurb I was sold. It’s a sultry, seductive mystery set on the cliffs of Capri involving three key things: a valuable necklace that’s been passed down for generations, dishy family drama, and a decades’ old crime. Think Succession on a stunning Mediterranean island!

Next on my TBR list is The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan. I adore all of Macmillan’s books; she has a distinctively sinister writing style. In this story set on Scotland’s frigid Western Isles, a body of woman is discovered on the shore. From there, the cast of characters get tangled in a complicated web that quickly spins out of control. There’s a deadly rivalry. A chilling secret. And only one woman who can decipher the truth. A brilliant premise!

Visit Marina Evans's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Cheerleader.

Q&A with Marina Evans.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ahmad Saber

Ahmad Saber is a young adult author who grew up on an all-girls college campus next to a massive fort in Pakistan. He now lives in Canada, and loves Broadway (favorite show = Phantom), travel (favorite place = 4-way tie between NYC, Seoul, Paris, and Melbourne), and Taylor Swift (favorite album = folklore) He's also a self-professed Chocolate Chip Cookie Connoisseur and has crowned New York's Culture Espresso’s as the best in the world.

Ramin Abbas has MAJOR Questions is his debut novel and is based in part on his own lived experience, exploring the inherent challenges of being queer and Muslim, and the struggle to reconcile faith with sexuality.

Saber is also a medical doctor specializing in rheumatology.

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

I must admit I am a relatively new reader, and I know this is not typical for many writers. After all, we know that in order to be a writer, you have to be a reader first. However growing up, I never had the chance to explore the reader within me, so now I have a huge backlog of classics to catch up on! I am overjoyed to have discovered the world of books (and not so overjoyed that I’m a “slow” reader.)

Nevertheless, as I gradually form my reading tastes, I already know I like YA literature (Hello, John Green!) and horror (hello, Stephen King!) the best, so I will give examples from each for my recent/current reads.

For YA, I recently read Emiko Jean’s Tokyo Ever After and as a lover of all things Japan, I loved this book. It hit the spot between a feel-good coming-of-age with romance, and a fun exploration of Japanese culture from an “outsider’s” point of view.

I also read Crystal Maldonado’s The Fall of Whit Rivera and had simply picked it up for wanting fall vibes in book form. I really enjoyed the sweet romance in the book, and Whit’s battle with self-acceptance including her polycystic ovary syndrome. And then there’s Crystal’s beautiful writing, which I’ve been a fan of since Fat Chance, Charlie Vega.

Lastly, I just knocked off a classic on my YA TBR: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. And my gosh, what a read! Definitely pulled on all the heart strings, and I felt this was the YA equivalent of Call Me By Your Name. I could clearly see why the book is such a powerhouse in queer literature.

For horror, I’m about 30 to 40% of the way into Ascension by Nicholas Binge, and truly creeped out. The book is about a tall mountain that has appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and no one knows why. Throw in people developing schizophrenia-like syndromes by climbing it, and discovering RNA-based life forms, and you’re in for a thrilling read! I’m thoroughly enjoying it and can’t wait to finish reading it.

And that is just a snapshot from my TBR!

And if I can add a book to your TBR–not only because I’m the author and thus very biased–but because I truly believe this is a fun book that’ll also leave you thinking: Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions.

Visit Ahmad Saber's website.

The Page 69 Test: Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions.

My Book, The Movie: Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions.

--Marshal Zeringue

Sherry Rankin

Sherry Rankin grew up in New Jersey where she became an early and avid reader of mystery fiction. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in English and currently lives in Abilene, Texas where she has taught writing and literature at a local university for twenty years.

Her novel, Strange Fire, was shortlisted for the 2017 Daniel Goldsmith First Novel Prize and won the 2017 CWA Debut Dagger Award.

Her debut thriller, The Killing Plains, was published by Thomas & Mercer as a super lead title in February 2025.

Rankin's new novel is The Dark Below.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Her reply:

I tend to read less for information than for the emotions books evoke—which makes me a devoted re-reader. For every new book I read, I probably reread ten.

I’ve just finished rereading Jane Harper’s The Lost Man. I’m always struck by her ability to make landscape feel like a living presence, as well as by her spare, clean, understated style and her seamless weaving of past and present.

At the moment, I’m also rereading Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It feels like returning to an old friend—comfortable and comforting, but intellectually and morally challenging, as well. It helps keep me grounded.

Visit Sherry Rankin's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Killing Plains.

The Page 69 Test: The Killing Plains.

Q&A with Sherry Rankin.

My Book, The Movie: The Dark Below.

The Page 69 Test: The Dark Below.

--Marshal Zeringue