Three compelling novels, three unforgettable voices, each with a story
to tell on and off the page. From Catherine Airey’s haunting post-9/11
tale of family secrets in Confessions, to Sophie Stava’s twisty nanny-
in-too-deep thriller Count My Lies, and Emily Henry’s irresistible rivals-
to-lovers romance-meets-mystery in Great Big Beautiful Life, these
authors bring drama, depth and heart to their books. Watch them
introduce their novels in their own words, sharing what inspired their
characters, settings and emotional arcs – and discover why these are
the stories everyone will be talking about this season.
Catherine Airey
It is late September in 2001 and the walls of New York are papered over with photos of the missing. Cora Brady’s father is there, the poster she made taped to columns and bridges. Her mother died long ago and now, orphaned on the cusp of adulthood, Cora is adrift and alone. Soon, a letter will arrive with the offer of a new life: far out on the ragged edge of Ireland, in the town where her parents were young, an estranged aunt can provide a home and fulfil a long forgotten promise. There the story of Cora's family is hidden, and in her presence will begin to unspool…
An essential, immersive debut from an astonishing new voice, Confessions traces the arc of three generations of women as they experience in their own time the irresistible gravity of the past: its love and tragedy, its mystery and redemption, and, in all things intended and accidental, the beauty and terrible shade of the things we do. Read an extract >>
Catherine Airey grew up in England in a family of mixed English-Irish descent, and now lives between County Cork and Bristol. Here she is talking about Confessions, her first novel.
Sophie Stava
Sloane Caraway is a liar.
They are harmless lies, she tells herself, to make her own life a bit more interesting.
So when she sees a child in tears in a playground one afternoon, she tells the girl’s (very attractive) dad she’s a nurse and helps him pull a bee sting from his daughter’s foot. With this lie and chance encounter, Sloane becomes the nanny for Jay and Violet Lockhart who have everything: a beautiful brownstone house, a daughter in private nursery school, and long summers on an idyllic island just off the coast of New York. Sloane wants to be just like them.
She wants their life and she’s prepared to lie about almost everything to get it. But Sloane isn’t the only one lying, and soon she begins to realise that all that’s picture-perfect about her employers hides a much more dangerous truth . . .
Sophie has loved to read as long as she can remember. Her passion for reading led her to study English Literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she received her B.A. She spent a number of years as (among other things) an event planner, executive recruiter, and ghostwriter before pursuing her own writing. She currently resides in Southern California with her family. When she isn't writing, you'll find her reading, acting as personal assistant to her children, and travelling. Here she is talking about Count My Lies, her debut novel.
Emily Henry
When Margaret Ives, the famously reclusive heiress, invites eternal optimist Alice Scott to the balmy Little Crescent Island, Alice knows this is it: her big break. And even more rare: a chance to impress her family with a Serious Publication.
The catch? Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud, Hayden Anderson, is sure of the same thing.
The proposal? A one-month trial period to unearth the truth behind one of the most scandalous families of the 20th Century, after which she’ll choose who’ll tell her story.
The problem? Margaret is only giving each of them tantalising pieces. Pieces they can’t put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.
And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story – just like the tale Margaret’s spinning – could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad … depending on who’s telling it.
Emily Henry is the author of the butterfly-inducing romantic comedies Beach Read and You & Me on Vacation, both of which were New York Times bestsellers. She studied creative writing at Hope College and now lives and writes in the American Midwest. Jodi Picoult calls her 'my newest automatic-buy author. Here she is with a message to you about her sixth novel, Great Big Beautiful Life.
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