Come Sit On My Tangerine Couch

About the Author Who am I? I am a small, mouthy person who was born on the East Coast at the end of WW II, grew up and matured in placid 1950’s Americana and the turbulent 60s and 70s. I was a successful entrepreneur and businesswoman during the docile 80s and 90s and am now aging in the turbulent early years of the 21st century. I have driven a hippie van and muscle cars, ridden subways in NYC, Boston, London and Paris, rescued old cats, started and managed several businesses, subsisted on food stamps, made $1 million in a year, voted in every election since age 21, knitted about 1,000 scarves, planted about 1,000 bulbs and hugged many more than 1,000 times.

Even life in the greatest city in the world can sometimes feel like a little too much. For this New Yorker, running away to the Heartland may be just the antidote. When New York City native Desirée Christian-Cohen flees her sometime-boyfriend, unhappy mother, Nina (who's recently learned her soon-to-be ex-husband Patrick is gay), and failing grandfather, she picks the flight plan by randomly dropping her finger on a map and hitting: Honey Creek, Kansas, population 1,623. And if being a "tourist" in Honey Creek weren't noticeable enough, try hanging out in the Sweet Tooth luncheonette, where you're referred to as "half a Jew." Wary of , but wanting to, fit in with the local populace, Desirée is forced to defend herself and define herself in a world that feels vastly different from her own. Her Yale boyfriends were never like Bobby McVicar, the son of two ageing hippies, who finds all he needs in his pinprick of a hometown. And never—even as an only child of typically doting Manhattan parents—has anyone paid so much attention to Desirée. Over one surprising, transformative and sometimes very funny summer, Desirée Christian-Cohen, member-in-good-standing of the Self Esteem Generation, discovers how an impulsive escape from home and family turns out to be much more than that.

*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* One of Barack Obama's Recommended Reads for Summer • New York Times Notable Book • NPR’s Best Books of 2021 • Washington Post’s Best Thriller and Mystery Books of the Year • TIME Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2021 • New York Public Library’s Best Books of the Year • Goodreads Choice Award Nominee • Book of the Month’s Book of the Year Finalist “Provocative, violent — beautiful and moving, too.” —Washington Post “Superb...Cuts right to the heart of the most important questions of our times.” —Michael Connelly “A tour de force – poignant, action-packed, and profound.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel A Black father. A white father. Two murdered sons. A quest for vengeance. Ike Randolph has been out of jail for fifteen years, with not so much as a speeding ticket in all that time. But a Black man with cops at the door knows to be afraid. The last thing he expects to hear is that his son Isiah has been murdered, along with Isiah’s white husband, Derek. Ike had never fully accepted his son but is devastated by his loss. Derek’s father Buddy Lee was almost as ashamed of Derek for being gay as Derek was ashamed of his father's criminal record. Buddy Lee still has contacts in the underworld, though, and he wants to know who killed his boy. Ike and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge. In their quest to do better for their sons in death than they did in life, hardened men Ike and Buddy Lee will confront their own prejudices about their sons and each other, as they rain down vengeance upon those who hurt their boys. Provocative and fast-paced, S. A. Cosby's Razorblade Tears is a story of bloody retribution, heartfelt change - and maybe even redemption. “A visceral full-body experience, a sharp jolt to the heart, and a treat for the senses...Cosby's moody southern thriller marries the skillful action and plotting of Lee Child with the atmosphere and insight of Attica Locke.” —NPR

Including an exclusive interview with bestselling American novelist Elizabeth Strout, this groundbreaking study will engage literature scholars and general readers alike. Written in accessible language, this book is the first to offer a sustained analysis of Elizabeth Strout’s work. A recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and the O. Henry Award, among other accolades, Strout has achieved a vast popular following as well. Amy and Isabelle was made into a television movie; Olive Kitteridge, which sold more than one million copies, was adapted as a miniseries; The Burgess Boys has been optioned for HBO; and My Name Is Lucy Barton was reimagined for the stage in London and on Broadway. Oh William!, the sequel to My Name Is Lucy Barton, appeared in 2021, and Strout’s latest book, Lucy by the Sea, is slated for release in fall 2022. At the height of her literary powers as a chronicler of American life and particularly the lives of American women, Strout is currently enjoying both commercial and critical success. Her sales and perennial presence on book club lists indicate a tremendous impact on the popular realm and the growing attention to her in academia charts her importance in American letters. This book will satisfy readers looking for a serious, in-depth introduction to Strout’s work, as well as those interested in women’s writing, contemporary fiction, ethics, and literature. It includes a new interview with Strout in which she discusses these issues. Montwieler traces the evolution of Strout’s voice, themes, and characters, which uniquely address American twenty-first-century feminine perspectives and sensibilities. From classic domestic spats between a mother and daughter to hate crimes aimed at mosques, from sweeping forays into decades past to snapshots of contemporary life, Strout compassionately portrays humanity at its most brutal and its most intimate. Though her canvas is vast, her eye for detail is astute and her ear for nuance is keen. Looking across Strout’s work, Montwieler explores how she portrays the endurance of hope, the complexities of family, the effects of trauma on individuals and communities, the sustaining power of the natural world, and the effects of place on personal and collective character. Strout’s creations cultivate empathy in her readers, teaching them to be attuned to the suffering of others and to the human need for connection. Across her work and in the new interview included within this book, Strout shows her readers that they are not alone in this impersonal, often violent world. The connection that acknowledges our limitations, our woundedness, our capability to do harm, our remorse, and our recognition of beauty and humor distinguishes Strout’s unique contribution to contemporary American letters.

Oscar night. Rock star legend, Ashland Keys should be on top of the world, but the blond blue-eyed SoCal surfer is disillusioned with fame, done with drugs, bored with the groupies and sick of all the fake f*ckery. A rising star, Fanny Bay is nominated for best original song in the same category as the Dirt Dogs band, but the novel redhead with the corkscrew curls and the slight Canadian accent would prefer to chart a course with a different destination. Hollywood is not for her. He’s full of regrets, darkness and secrets. She’s full of hope and light and has mysteries of her own. He’s her reserved hero. She’s his gypsy rose. He’s water. She’s fire. Together, they don’t make sense. But he’s what she’s always wanted, and she just might be everything he needs.

From New York Times bestselling author Michelle Mankin, The Complete Rock Stars, Surf and Second Chances Series is available for the first time ever in a box set. Five full-length novels. Your all access backstage pass to Southern California's most famous rock band. OUTSIDE When handsome California surf god Lincoln Savage suddenly rolls into Ocean Beach like a rogue wave, shy beauty Simone Bianchi’s foundation is shaken. No longer under the thumb of her domineering father, she’s made a simple quiet life for herself and her fluffy Havanese pup running a surf shop in her hometown. Long ago she gave up her dreams for a future with Linc. But now the notorious lead singer of the Dirt Dogs has returned, and Simone is reluctant to admit that she’s still vulnerable to his killer dimpled smile and easy charm. She finds that although she’s stowed away the mementos, it hasn’t been as easy to erase the memories of their epic summer love. It seems he hasn’t forgotten, either. Is the recording contract he’s offering merely a pretense? Or does he have something more in mind? RIPTIDE Rock star Ramon Martinez can have any woman he wants, and he frequently does because he can’t have her. His bandmate's wife. The one woman he could give his heart to, but he can never let her know. Karen Grayson wanted Ramon way back at the beginning, but she thought he didn’t want her. So she made the safe choice. The wrong one. Ramon and Karen were once friends. Now they’re not even that. And they’re both back in Ocean Beach and that dangerous attraction remains. OCEANSIDE Oscar night. Rock star legend, Ashland Keys should be on top of the world, but the blond blue-eyed SoCal surfer is disillusioned with fame, done with drugs, bored with the groupies and sick of all the fake f*ckery. A rising star, Fanny Bay is nominated for best original song in the same category as the Dirt Dogs band, but the novel redhead with the corkscrew curls and the slight Canadian accent would prefer to chart a course with a different destination. Hollywood is not for her. He’s full of regrets, darkness and secrets. She’s full of hope and light and has mysteries of her own. Together, they don’t make sense. But he’s what she’s always wanted, and she just might be everything he needs. HIGH TIDE & ISLAND SIDE Hollie Lesowski is a beautiful young actress locked in a legal battle with one of the most powerful and feared directors in Hollywood, a man who betrayed and hurt her, a man she mistakenly believed was her father. Maximillian Cash is her bodyguard, a blond, blue-eyed giant sworn to protect her. Gentle despite his imposing presence, he seems to be just right for her. But can she trust him with her deepest secrets? Diesel Le is a rock star in her sister's band. Devastatingly sexy and annoyingly arrogant, the former pro surfer from Hawaii delights in driving her and everyone else crazy. So, why does she have to continually remind herself to stay away from him? Two uniquely handsome men tempt her. Both want to make her their own. But one is her employee, and the other is a confirmed player. Will she be swept away by temptation? High Tide and Island Side is a heart-twisting, gut-churning, page-turning, coming-of-age duet. It is a triangular second-chance love story with two compelling alpha males but no cheating. Romantic and suspenseful, it sparkles with the glitz of Hollywood, sizzles with the tropical heat of Hawaii, and steals your breath at times, but it will also make your spirit soar.

“This captivating page-turner whisks readers back in time to Buckingham Palace in 1933…A majestic story that delves into the incredible life of Queen Elizabeth II before she took her place on the throne.”—Woman’s World Sunday Times bestselling author Wendy Holden brings to life the unknown childhood years of one of the world’s most famous figures, Queen Elizabeth II, and reveals the spirited young governess who made her the icon we love today. In 1933, twenty-two-year-old Marion Crawford accepts the role of a lifetime, tutoring the little Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. Her one stipulation to their parents the Duke and Duchess of York is that she bring some doses of normalcy into their sheltered and privileged lives. At Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Balmoral, Marion defies stuffy protocol to take the princesses on tube trains, swimming at public baths, and on joyful Christmas shopping trips at Woolworth’s. From her ringside seat at the heart of the British monarchy she witnesses twentieth-century history’s most seismic events. The trauma of the Abdication, the glamour of the Coronation, the onset of World War II. She steers the little girls through it all, as close as a mother. During Britain’s darkest hour, as Hitler’s planes fly over Windsor, she shelters her charges in the castle dungeons (not far from where the Crown Jewels are hidden in a biscuit tin). Afterwards, she is present when Elizabeth first sets eyes on Philip. But being beloved confidante to the Windsors comes at huge personal cost. Marriage, children, her own views: all are compromised by proximity to royal glory. In this majestic story of love, sacrifice and allegiance, bestselling novelist Holden shines a captivating light into the years before Queen Elizabeth II took the throne.

When authorities reopen their investigation into the suicide of a woman named J. Winter Brown, Boulder psychologist Alan Gregory and his equally culpable friend Sam Purdy inadvertently disclose details of their involvement in her death. Now, the trail that leads back to Alan and Sam, once cold, has turned white-hot. With his vulnerability mounting daily, Alan begins to fear that a mesmerizing new patient may be the catalyst that can cause everything he treasures—his marriage, family, friendship, and future—to implode. As the authorities close in, the story hurtles toward a conclusion that will set the stage for the most unexpected of outcomes: the final act of the Alan Gregory saga.