The Cicada Tree

WHEN AN ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD, WHISKY DRINKING, PIANO PRODIGY ENCOUNTERS A WEALTHY FAMILY POSSESSING SUPERNATURAL BEAUTY, HER ENSUING OBSESSION UNLEASHES FAMILY SECRETS AND A CATACLYSMIC PLAGUE OF CICADAS. The summer of 1956, a brood of cicadas descends upon Providence, Georgia, a natural event with supernatural repercussions, unhinging the life of Analeise Newell, an eleven-year-old piano prodigy. Amidst this emergence, dark obsessions are stirred, uncanny gifts provoked, and secrets unearthed. During a visit to Mistletoe, a plantation owned by the wealthy Mayfield family, Analeise encounters Cordelia Mayfield and her daughter Marlissa, both of whom possess an otherworldly beauty, a lineal trait regarded as that Mayfield Shine. A whisper and an act of violence perpetrated during this visit by Mrs. Mayfield all converge to kindle Analeise's fascination with the Mayfields. Analeise's burgeoning obsession with the Mayfield family overshadows her own seemingly, ordinary life, culminating in dangerous games and manipulation, setting off a chain of cataclysmic events with life-altering consequences-all of it unfolding to the maddening whir of a cicada song. When an eleven year old, whisky drinking, piano prodigy encounters a wealthy family possessing supernatural beauty, her ensuing obsession unleashes family secrets and a cataclysmic plague of cicadas. "Following in the magnificent footsteps of Carson McCullers and Harper Lee, Robert Gwaltney creates a wonderful snapshot of the friendship that forms between Analeise and Etta Mae, two eleven-year-old girls in '50s small town Georgia... This is a book to love and remember, and every book club in America would be wise to snap it up."- Robert Goolrick, #1 New York Times bestselling author  "The gothic beauty of a relentless Georgia summer is brought to life through Gwaltney's deliberate details and exquisite imagery, while all the while evil lurks beneath the surface; from where or what the reader does not know but is as convinced by Gwaltney's expert storytelling as he is."-Zoe Fishman, bestselling author of Invisible Air and Georgia Author of the Year 2020 "Gwaltney's Southern Gothic, THE CICADA TREE mesmerizes and seduces, the language redolent and deadly, the characters steeped in secrets and madness, and the whole of it an enthralling and perfect read. Easily my favorite book of the year."-Kim Taylor Blakemore, bestselling author of After Alice Fell

NOMINATED FOR A BRAM STOKER AWARD FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL 2018 - Belinda Alvarez has returned to Texas for the wedding of her best friend Veronica. The farm is the site of the urban legend, La Reina de Las Chicharras - The Queen of The Cicadas. In 1950s south Texas a farmworker- Milagros from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, is murdered. Her death is ignored by the town, but not the Aztec goddess of death, Mictecacíhuatl. The goddess hears the dying cries of Milagros and creates a plan for both to be physically reborn by feeding on vengeance and worship. Belinda and the new owner of the farmhouse - Hector, find themselves immersed in the legend and realize it is part of their fate as well. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Remember when you said you never wanted to grow up? Dr. Richard Ross has discovered a cure for aging. But it comes at a price. Everyone who wants eternal youth must undergo an operation before passing into adulthood that locks their body in the form of a preadolescent youth. When juveniles suddenly begin rapidly aging, the entire human population is set on a course of imminent extinction. Building to a chilling climax, Dr. Ross and his endocrinologist girlfriend must find and rescue the one remaining person who carries the genetic link for saving the human race. A mind-bending technothriller for fans of Michael Crichton, Robin Cook, and Tess Gerritsen. "Best science fiction book of the year." (Books, Books, and More Books) Keywords: medical thriller genetic engineering science fiction hard scifi sci-fi evolution darwin fantasy dystopian technothriller thrillers immortality dna future action adventure utopia mystery immortal eternal

“A fast-paced, stirring narrative about loss and unrequited love” set amid a destructive cicada swarm in West Virginia (Publishers Weekly). In a West Virginian town, a brood of Magicicadas emerges for the first time in seventeen years. The cicadas damage crops and trees, and swarm locals. Jessica, a former cop whose entire family was killed in a car crash two years earlier, is deputized during the crisis. At the same time, she is dealing with her feelings for her sister’s best friend, Natasha, a town council member—and the two-year anniversary of the car crash that killed her family is approaching. As all this descends, a sudden, devastating loss will change everything . . . “A bright, raw, original new voice in American fiction. Her prose is electric. And Summer of the Cicadas was a novel I couldn't put down.” —Thomas Christopher Greene, author of The Perfect Liar

This lovely story about a child and their grandfather searching for cicadas is part of the award-winning narrative nonfiction Nature Storybooks series. In the summertime, Grandpa and I go cicada-watching. We put our camping gear into my wagon and walk down to the local reserve. Last year we saw five Green Grocers, three Yellow Mondays and one Floury Baker. Can we find the rare Black Prince this year? This picture book brings together award winners Lesley Gibbes and Judy Watson to showcase the wonder and beauty of cicadas as well as highlight the common summer pastime of cicada-watching.

Our special edition of the classic, Cecily Cicada, created for the Midwest's double-brood emergence of 2024.