Our Blog

Death in the Downline

It’s multi-level murder in this darkly funny mystery novel about the glamorous world of MLM “huns”—and the dangerous secrets at the top of the pyramid.

Drew thought she was destined to rise above her small New Jersey hometown and make it as a serious journalist in New York City. But now she’s back in Clearfield, pushing thirty, newly single, and living with her father.

After a chance encounter at the grocery store, she reconnects with her former best friend, Steph, who married young and never left their hometown. But Steph looks . . . good. She’s tanned, clear skinned, and glowing. She drives an expensive car and wears only name brands. What’s her secret? A multi-level marketing scheme called LuminUS that’s taken the ladies of Clearfield by storm. With nothing left to lose, Drew gets sucked into this glamorous world of downlines, sales parties, and girls’ trips.

But when a LuminUS distributor dies under mysterious circumstances, can Drew uncover the dark secret at the heart of the organization—and save her best friend—before it’s too late?

Laugh-out-loud funny and a pitch-perfect skewering of pyramid schemes, Death in the Downline is a page-turner that will have readers nodding in recognition and cheering for Drew until the cathartic conclusion.

Posted by Christina Schillaci

Taylor Swift by the Book

From the childhood nostalgia of Peter Pan in Speak Now to the haunted halls of Rebecca in evermore, Taylor Swift’s lyrics are filled with literary connections.

Make sure you’re catching them all with this expert guide to the novels, poems, and plays that influence her songwriting.

Let a literature professor and a musical theater artist guide you through the Taylor Swift canon—from Shakespeare to the Brontë sisters to Robert Frost!

  • Learn what “New Romantics” has to do with the old Romantics
  • Get to know the Gothic monsters haunting Midnights
  • Spot Taylor’s many Great Gatsby references
  • Discover what Taylor Swift and Emily Dickinson have in common
  • And find your new favorite tortured poet!

 

With full-color illustrations guiding you through the literary eras of Dr. Swift (yes, she has an honorary Ph.D.), it’s a perfect gift for the Swiftie in your life.

Packed with fun facts, entertaining analysis, and literary-themed playlists that fans will love, Taylor Swift by the Book will turn anyone from a Taylor Swift lover into a Taylor Swift scholar.

Posted by Christina Schillaci

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes

From Vulture‘s “master of horror” Clay McLeod Chapman, a relentless and emotionally charged social horror novel about a family on the run from a demonic possession epidemic that spreads through media, for fans of The Last of Us and Where Evil Lurks

Noah Fairchild has been losing his formerly polite Southern parents to far-right cable news for years, so when his mother leaves him a voicemail warning him that the “Great Reckoning” is here, he assumes it’s related to one of the many conspiracy theories she believes in. But when his own phone calls go unanswered, Noah makes the long drive from Brooklyn to Richmond, Virginia. There, he discovers his childhood home in shambles, a fridge full of spoiled food, and his parents locked in a terrifying trance-like state in front of the TV. Panicked, Noah attempts to snap them out of it and get medical help.

Then Noah’s mother brutally attacks him.

But Noah isn’t the only person to be attacked by a loved one. Families across the country are tearing each other apart-–literally-–as people succumb to a form of possession that gets worse the more time they spend watching particular channels, using certain apps, or visiting certain websites. In Noah’s Richmond-based family, only he and his young nephew Marcus are unaffected. Together, they must race back to the safe haven of Brooklyn–-but can they make it before they fall prey to the violent hordes?

This ambitious, searing novel from “one of horror’s modern masters” holds a mirror to our divided nation, and will shake readers to the core.

Posted by Gaby Iori

You Gotta Eat

A trained chef teaches you how to keep yourself fed in the face of stress, burnout, and exhaustion—and have fun doing it.

Delivery is expensive. Eating a spoonful of peanut butter is depressing. You can’t imagine having the energy to chop an onion. But somehow, you gotta eat. How does anyone feed themselves under these conditions?

Enter You Gotta Eat, a friendly, accessible resource for getting something on your plate when you have too much on your plate. Part cookbook, part pep talk, and part action plan, You Gotta Eat offers tips and tactics—plus ten “do exactly this” recipes—for making effortless food that’s nourishing, tasty, and even a little fun. Choose your current energy level and learn important kitchen skills:

  • If you can open a package: Turn instant ramen into a feast
  • If you can assemble a plate: Make a cheese board fit for a king
  • If you can press a button: Whip up perfect eggs in the microwave
  • If you can wield a knife: Turn any leftovers into a hearty casserole
  • And dozens more ideas for living deliciously without impossible effort!

Whether you’re burnt out, depressed, overworked, a new parent, living away from home for the first time, or some combination of the above, let food editor, classically-trained chef, and nacho enthusiast Margaret Eby show you how to make your eating experience better—and easier—in every way.

Posted by Gaby Iori

Movies with Balls

This irreverent, balls-out celebration of the greatest matchups in sports movie history includes analysis, maps and diagrams, and designed memorabilia, perfect for movie buffs and sports fans.

Including Caddyshack, Rocky IV, White Men Can’t Jump and 23 more classic flicks!

If you’re the kind of fan who cheers every single time you watch Rocky beat Drago, or remembers who said “If you build it, he will come,” or has ever wished you were in the stands at the ADAA Dodgeball Finals when Peter LaFleur took out White Goodman, then Movies with Balls is the book for you.

Movies with Balls celebrates and analyzes more than two dozen of the greatest sports films of all time. You’ll be transported into fictional arenas, stadiums, gyms, fields, and golf courses to relive the climactic moments from:

  • The Natural
  • Field of Dreams
  • Teen Wolf
  • The Karate Kid
  • She’s the Man
  • The Waterboy
  • Bend It like Beckham
  • Creed
  • And many more!

Illustrated with fictional ticket stubs, trading cards, play maps, and more, Movies with Balls brings to life the iconic films and characters that we love and admire—just as much as we love our real-world sports and athletic heroes—letting us cheer them on, again and again.

Posted by Gaby Iori

Tiny Pep Talks

Why should you need to be doing something important or impressive to get a pep talk? Two comedians offer hilarious encouragement for your most mundane struggles.

Anybody can tell you “You can do it!” before the big job interview, or before you walk down the aisle, or before you head out onto the field to make the game-winning kick at the Super Bowl. But what about the other 99.99% of stuff you do? Who’s going to gas you up for all those low-stakes situations where you need an extra push?

That’s where Tiny Pep Talks comes in. Comedians Paula Skaggs and Josh Linden are rooting for you, and they’re here to cheerlead you through your everyday challenges. You’ll find specific, constructive, and—most of all—very funny motivation for:

  • Parallel parking (cars just weren’t meant to go sideways!)
  • Sending a scary email (if you died and came back as a ghost, wouldn’t it suck if this was your unfinished business?)
  • Making a doctor’s appointment (think how good you’ll feel when you’re finished—like a runner’s high without the chafing!)
  • Doing your taxes (just round to the nearest dollar! The IRS could never be mad at you—not with a face like that)
  • Getting through a breakup (did you know the grocery store will sell you a cake on any day for any reason?)
  • Remembering that all your friends are not secretly mad at you (they’re busy worrying all their friends are secretly mad at them)
  • …and many more!

If you’re going through it, have ever gone through it, or will maybe go through it in the future, let Tiny Pep Talks give you the boost you need.

Posted by Gaby Iori