Farewell February

It's Advanced Reader time!

It has been a super chilly February in the outer, outer Philly suburbs. I hope it’s been warmer where you are, or if not, perhaps at least you’re beginning to feel that Spring is finally on the way.

This month I’ve spent a lot of time on the de Acosta sisters. Flight, Fashion and ‘that furious lesbian’ is shaping up to be my most popular sister post so far. If you missed it, please do take a look.

Mercedes de Acosta

I’ve also written about The Painter’s Daughters by Emily Howes, an immersive historical novel about Gainsborough’s daughters, which I highly recommend.

February was publication month for sister-story, Maya and Natasha by Elyse Durham. You can read my review of that one for the Historical Novel Society, here. Also for the HNS, but not a sister story, I contributed this feature, Into the Light - Victoria Christopher Murray reclaims the hidden story of Jessie Redmon Fauset, about Harlem Rhapsody, a novel set at the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance.

I’ve posted about my February reading on Instagram, but these two are worth highlighting as sister stories:

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Last week I took a fun visit with a friend to the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, and took this photo of Matisse’s Three Sister paintings arranged in a triptych:

Eagle-eyed subscribers might know from the header image for these newsletters that I actually have a print of two of these paintings up on my office wall:

I’ve spent some time this week, trying to work out if the sitters were actual sisters and if so, what their story might be… but it’s not going too well. The internet tells me Matisse had a model called Laurette, who he painted multiple times in and around 1917. It’s believed that a sister of hers, perhaps called Anna, was another model for the Three Sisters triptych, but without a last name for them it’s hard to find out more. I did comb through The Dictionary of Artists’ Models at Delaware University Library, and while I didn’t learn more about Laurette, I took copious notes on other artists’ models - some sisters and some not - with fascinating biographies.

In writing news, I’ve been busy gearing up for the release of my next novel, THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR. The book is now available for Advanced Readers via Netgalley, and will be released by Joffe Books on April 2nd. I also have a Bookfunnel link which allows up to 50 (yes, 50!) readers to download an advance ebook copy. The idea is that in exchange for the free book, early readers will commit to sharing news about the book’s publication and post reviews - on or around publication day - on places like Amazon, Goodreads and Bookbub. If you think you think this sounds like your kind of book and would like to be an Advanced Reader, but are not on Netgalley, please reply to this email and I’ll happily provide the Bookfunnel link.

The other day, Joffe Books asked me to describe THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR in three words - horrifying to someone who tends to use ten words when three would probably do - and I came up with SISTERS, SECRETS & SURPRISES. Eek! Not too original, maybe, but this book is fast-paced and has all the thriller twists and turns you’d expect. Here’s the cover blurb:

Twenty years ago, Jen's sister disappeared. Now, she's looking for answers.

Jen Silver has moved to a new neighborhood in affluent, suburban Pennsylvania with her partner, Dan, and her daughter. It's a picture-perfect neighborhood where the residents hang out on each other's patios drinking margaritas on warm summer nights. They eagerly welcome Jen and her family.

But Jen isn't who they think she is.

Dan doesn't know the truth either.

Jen has spent her life trying to find out what happened to her sister. She's chosen this community for a reason-because Dan has his own connection to the neighborhood and a past he thought was long-buried.

As Jen pieces together the events of twenty years ago, someone is determined to keep the facts from coming to light.But secrets always come out and sometimes, the worst truths lie close to home . . .

This tense psychological suspense novel packed full of family secrets is perfect for fans of Claire Douglas, Dandy Smith, A.R. Torres and Liane Moriarty.

I’m alternately excited and nervous about this switch of genre, but here are some early reviewer comments from the publisher’s sell sheet:

So, that’s it from me. Farewell February and hello March! I’m looking forward to a family/research trip to Edinburgh and have some good sister stories in the pipeline.

All best,

Kate x