Melissa Senate

I love novels about women's friendships, and I especially love reading about women from different cultures. I can't wait to curl up with Nadine Dajani's new novel CUTTING LOOSE. Here's the scoop:

  Meet three women who are as different as could be—at least that’s what they think—and the men who’ve turned their lives upside down as their paths collide in sizzling, sexy Miami. . . .  Ranya is a modern-day princess—brought up behind the gilded walls of Saudi Arabian high society and winner of the dream husband sweepstakes . . . until said husband turns out to be more interested in Paolo, the interior-decorator-cum-underwear-model, than in his virginal new wife. Smart, independent, but painfully shy, Zahra has managed to escape her impoverished Palestinian roots to carve out a life of comfort. But she can’t reveal her secrets to the man she adores or shake off the fear that she doesn’t deserve any of it. Neither can she stop herself from thinking that if she holds on to anything—or anyone—too dearly, they will be taken away in the blink of a kohl-lined eye.

Rio has risen above the slums of her native Honduras—not to mention the jeers of her none too supportive family—to become editor in chief of Suéltate magazine, the hottest Latina-targeted glossy in town, and this in spite of Georges Mallouk, her clueless boss, and in spite of Rio’s affair with Georges’ delicious but despicable younger brother, Joe. In this city of fast cars, sleek clubs, and unapologetic superficiality, Ranya, Zahra, and Rio wrestle with the ties that bind them to their difficult pasts, each wondering if she will ever manage to cut loose…

Praise for Cutting Loose
 “Dajani spins a tale of three women and their individual journeys to find happiness. Through strong writing and distinctive characters, readers are drawn into their lives, their loves, and their internal struggles. Dajani wraps it up nicely in the end, leaving us with a delectable tale that is hard to put down” – Romantic Times

“Engrossing” – Publishers Weekly

About the Author
 Born in Beirut, Lebanon to Palestinian parents, Nadine spent the first nine years of her life in Saudi Arabia before settling in Montreal. While Nadine could definitely think of better ways of spending a year than devoting it to mastering the French language, the experience (and all that duty-free terminal shopping) would turn Nadine onto the wonders of world travel and the quirky, unexpected (and usually hilarious) ways cultures meshed (or stubbornly refused to). As an adult she moved to the Cayman Islands to pursue a career in, what else – offshore banking. And while Nadine has yet to see her “golden parachute” she did get to reap the rewards of Caribbean relocation by island-hopping to nearby Cuba, Jamaica, Honduras and Miami whenever the travel bug bites.Nadine’s travel articles have been published in Atmosphere magazine. Cutting Loose is her second novel.
For a beefier bio, author pics, and assorted trivia, please visit nadinedajani.com, and Nadine’s blog, where she feels free to pontificate on whatever strikes her fancy that day.

Melissa

Ooooh, this sound good and eerie! The Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit, a group of female authors who blog about each other's new novels, is proud to present:

WATER WITCH by Deborah LeBlanc

Dunny knew from an early age what it meant to be an outsider.  Her special abilities earned her many names, like freak and water witch.  So she vowed to keep her powers a secret.  But now her talents may be the only hope of two missing children.  A young boy and girl have vanished, feared lost in the mysterious Louisiana bayous.  But they didn’t just disappear, they were taken.  And amid the ghosts and spirits of the swamp, there is a danger worse than any other, one with very special plans for the children—and for anyone who dares to interfere.

PRAISE!

“It’s now official:  Deborah LeBlanc has become a master not only of good spooky stories, but also of crafting great characters to fill them.” —The Horror Fiction Review

“An imaginative chiller.  Riveting!” —Publishers Weekly on Family Inheritance

“A solid haunted house thriller.” —Midwest Book Review on A House Divided

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deborah LeBlanc is an award-winning author from Lafayette, Louisiana. She is also a business owner, a licensed death scene investigator, and an active member of two national paranormal investigation teams. Deborah’s unique experiences, enthusiasm, and high-energy level make her a much sought after speaker at writers’ conferences across the nation. She also takes her passion for literacy and a powerful ability to motivate to high schools around the country.
She is the president of the Horror Writers Association, president of the Writers’ Guild of Acadiana, president of Mystery Writers of America’s Southwest Chapter, and an active member of Sisters in Crime, the National Association of Women Writers, and International Thriller Writers Inc. In 2004, Deborah created the LeBlanc Literacy Challenge, an annual, national campaign designed to encourage more people to read, and soon after founded Literacy Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting illiteracy in America’s teens. Her latest novel is WATER WITCH.
 

Enjoy!