Parnassus Books
Nashville, TN
Last week I had the opportunity to do a YA panel at one of my very favorite indie bookstores, Parnassus. I’ve been DYING to get there since it first opened, so when I was invited, I jumped at the chance. Also, it meant my very first night sans kiddo in a hotel room, where I watched a whole lot of Real Housewives with a side of HGTV. But really the highlight of the trip was the panel with Rachael Allen (The Revenge Playbook), Katie Stout (Hello, I Love You) and Jenny Martin (Tracked). Courtney Stevens moderated for us, and she was incredible. So many great questions (and some real stumpers, like “If you books could be a band, what band would they be and why?”). We had a lot of laughs (and I might have uttered the phrase, “sometimes you gotta hit a bitch”), and afterwards I bought books! Kissing in America by Margo Rabb (which I’m reading now and loving), Skippyjon Jones for my lil kiddo (my favorite books to read aloud), and …
Writen in the Stars
by Aisha Saeed
Aisha is a fellow Georgia author, and I was really bummed I couldn’t make her launch party at Little Shop of Stories. I’d heard such great things about her and her debut novel, so when I saw it on the shelf at Parnassus, I snatched it up immediately. Like I said, I heard it was great, but I didn’t realize what a serious page-turner it was! I did NOT want to put it down. Aisha is also one of the founders of the We Need Diverse Books campaign, which is really making waves in the publishing world (and also expanding my own reading list). Definitely get a copy of this incredible book, both because it’s awesome, and because we want to make sure more like it get published!
Lauren Morrill 