"Waiting On" Wednesday: Little Woman in Blue: A Novel of May Alcott by Jeannine Atkins

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick for this week is:

May Alcott spends her days sewing blue shirts for Union soldiers, but she dreams of painting a masterpiece—which many say is impossible for a woman—and of finding love, too. When she reads her sister’s wildly popular novel, Little Women, she is stung by Louisa’s portrayal of her as “Amy,” the youngest of four sisters who trades her desire to succeed as an artist for the joys of hearth and home. Determined to prove her talent, May makes plans to move far from Massachusetts and make a life for herself with room for both watercolors and a wedding dress. Can she succeed? And if she does, what price will she have to pay?

Based on May Alcott’s letters and diaries, as well as memoirs written by her neighbors, Little Woman in Blue puts May at the center of the story she might have told about sisterhood and rivalry in an extraordinary family.

What are you "waiting on" this week?

Recent Books Added to My TBR Pile

Is it possible to have too many books? If it is, I think I'm going for a world record. I've recently added these books to my TBR Pile:


Unexpected Christmas Hero by Kathi Macias,

American Patriots: Answering the Call to Freedom by Rick Santorum,

Deadly Plunge by Greg Messel,

A Texan's Choice by Shelley Gray,

Beside Two Rivers by Rita Gerlach,

The Proxy Assassin by John Knoerle.

At a recent writers conference, I purchased some books for myself and some for the girls:

The Treasure Chest: Prince of Air by Ann Hood. She was the afternoon keynote speaker.

Escaping into the Night by D. Dina Friedman,

Borrowed Names by Jeannine Atkins,

Jo's Girls edited by Christian McEwen,

Confectionately Yours: Save the Cupcake by Lisa Papademetriou.

What are some recent additions to your TBR Pile?

Another WriteAngles Conference Come and Gone

It's hard to believe, but after months of hard work, this year's WriteAngles Conference is over. We had a ton of fun, and there were so many interesting panels to choose from, it was hard to decide what to do.

As registrar, I didn't get a chance to attend too many panels, but I did manage to take in the entire Writing Young Adult and Middle Grade Fiction one. D. Dina Friedman moderated this panel that included writers Jeannine Atkins and Lisa Papademetriou. I was so impressed with what these ladies had to say that I bought one of each of their books. If I were richer, I would have picked up more.

Add in two great keynote speakers and four fabulous agents and it was a wonderful day. The staff from the Willits-Hallowell Center at Mount Holyoke College did a superb job of creating a relaxing, pleasant setting for the conference, and once again, the food was phenomenal. After a short rest, I'm ready to do it all again.

Have you attended any writers conferences this year? What was your favorite part?