Laura Benedict's Blog, page 4

THE STRANGER INSIDE Cover Reveal!

 

 

 

Today is a celebration–It’s cover reveal time!

It’s been about a year since Mulholland Books bought my latest novel, THE STRANGER INSIDE, and now it has a stunning cover. Doesn’t it look fabulous?!

I love the warmth of the light coming from the house juxtaposed against the tense darkness. You can just imagine being uncertain whether to step inside or not. Lucy Kim, the designer, really nailed the novel’s tone.

It’s always exciting to see the direction a designer will take when they rec...

April 28th: It’s Independent Bookstore Day! Where Will You Be?

 

At a long ago event at The Book Cellar in Chicago–with my daughter and baby sis

 

The last Saturday of every April has become a bookish holiday of sorts. Independent bookstores all over the country will be having special events, parties, sales, celebrations. We’ve lost many independent bookstores over the last few years, but I’m happy to say that there are many, many out there that are hanging tough.

All bookstores are good things, in my opinion. Bookstores in general have suffered because...

In the Handbasket: Kimberly Conn

 It’s spring and new books are popping up all over the place! Meet Kimberly Conn, the author of the touching, popular novel, BUYING THE FARM. Her latest novel, AUDREY ANONYMOUS, is out now. I asked her to drop by the Handbasket to tell us all about it! Please tell us all about your latest book, AUDREY ANONYMOUS. What inspired you to write this particular story?   Audrey Anonymous is about a mother struggling to raise a very emotional teenage daughter and autistic son. Her rol...

A Valentine to Share

A Valentine from my dear friend, Michelle Brooks.

 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been a bit silly for Valentine’s Day. Discovering that someone has sent me a Valentine makes me feel as excited as an eight-year-old with a decorated paper bag taped to the back of her classroom chair.

Valentine’s Day used to be a day of intense pressure for me. When I was a teenager, I was ridiculously romantic. And teenage boys are generally among the least romantic people on the planet. Even as I go...

Trouble is Here!

Happy 2018, my dears!

I hope your holidays were cozy and full of all the things and people you love. In the past couple weeks we’ve layered on the sweaters and spent lots of time refilling bird feeders, but happily so. I’ve been making plans for the year, and they’re relatively simple: more time with the people I love, more reading, and more writing. You’ll see me a bit less here on the blog, but I promise to make up for it in stories. (Do subscribe to the blog right here so you won’t miss a...

Small Town Trouble

SUMMER SECRETS…KIDNAPPING AND MURDER.

Erin Walsh arrives home to tiny New Belford, Kentucky from college only to clash with her young stepmother, Shelby Rae. When Shelby Rae is kidnapped and a dear friend of the family is murdered, Erin discovers that both victims had secrets connected to the violent death of her mother seven years earlier. In a small town the pool of suspects is limited, but it also means the danger to Erin’s own life is deathly close.

Noah Daly, an old high school friend...

A Wonderfully Human Kind of Joy

The Holy Family–Matthias Stom

 

This painting by Matthias Stom (Dutch, 1600-1652+) is so vibrant and full of life that it speaks loudly of joy. Stom was Dutch, but he did most of his painting in Italy, closely following the style of Caravaggio. I love this painting’s warm, humid temperature, its Mediteranean feel. It’s a refreshing change from the pale Madonnas and blond or ginger Christs from earlier in the Renaissance. The figures are human and full of emotion.

It’s their humanity that touc...

Saturday Serendipity, 23 December 2017

 

Serendipity makes a life worth living.

 

 

Some quick reads for a busy weekend. I don’t know about you, but with all I have to do I haven’t had a lot of time for online reading. Here’s a list you can tackle in about 15-20 minutes.

 

Bits and Bobs

Either the coolest grandparents ever–or the dumbest. And older couple was nabbed with $330,000 worth of marijuana and claimed it was all for gifts.

The government and UFOs. The secret that was never a secret.

2017 was a tough year for losing the he...

Thursday with Santas

Happy Thursday! All my concentration is gone and I only have room in my brain for wrapping, recipes, decorating, hanging out with my family, and the ending of Advent. Last night I went through the non-tree decorations–the ones that should’ve gone up before the tree–and put up about half. Not because I’m feeling minimalist, but because it feels like just enough.

Do you ever get pictures stuck in your head about how things should be? In the past I’ve felt like if I had to put EVERYTHING out, a...

Jesus and Andy Warhol: A Twice-Borrowed Christmas Blessing (Reprise)

 

It’s always a pleasure to get original poems from friends. This is one of my  favorites (2009) of the many we’ve received over the years. I’ll post their latest closer to Christmas.

 

Andy Warhol’s Nativity

 

Every year our wonderful poet friends John and Llewellyn McKernan (formerly) of West Virginia send out a Christmas poem. This summer, when I saw Llewellyn at the Appalachian Writer’s Workshop, I told her once more how much I treasure this annual gift, and asked if it would be okay if I...