“Ladies’ Night” by Mary Kay Andrews
Mary Kay Andrews is the pen name for Kathy Hogan Trocheck, 58, a former AJC reporter and author of 20 books, seven of them bestsellers. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, Tom Trocheck. They have two grown children and two grandchildren.
Elevator Pitch
It’s about a lifestyle blogger whose life goes spectacularly awry when she catches her husband cheating and drives his expensive convertible into the family swimming pool. She quickly finds herself homeless and penniless and locked out of her blog. A judge mandates she attend divorce recovery therapy with a group of oddballs, and they bond over the fact that nobody wants to be there. It’s a story of revenge, divorce, redemption and renewal.
Defining characteristic of protagonist, Grace.
Determined.
A good beach read should…
Be fast and funny and delicious like a margarita.
Best thing about a book tour
Room service. Nah. It’s meeting fans who like your books. And then they tell me their juicy stories and a lot of those stories end up in the books.
Up next
“Christmas Bliss,” the fourth in my Savannah series. It’s the story of “Weezie” Foley and BeBe Loudermilk, set in Savannah at Christmas, and they both have life-changing events ahead of them. It comes out Oct. 18.
Readings and signings
Launch party. 6-8 p.m. Mon., June 3, Kudzu & Company, Sandy Springs. $35 includes signed book.
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. Also 4:30 p.m. Tues., June 4, Omega Books, Peachtree City; 6:30 p.m. Mon., June 24, Book Exchange, Marietta. For details go to
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» CHECK IT OUT: Click here for a chance to win a copy of “Ladies’ Night” from publisher St. Martin’s Press
“The Time Between” by Karen White
Karen White, 48, is a best-selling author who’s written 16 books. She lives in Milton with her husband, Timothy White, and they have two children in college.
Elevator pitch.
Set in 1944 Hungary and modern day Edisto Island, S.C., it’s a story of two women from different generations who form an unlikely bond as they slowly unravel a tapestry of secrets — of love, betrayal, and heartbreak — that bind them both to the past.
Defining characteristic of protagonist, Eleanor.
She’s loyal, to her detriment. It’s a good and a bad thing.
A good beach read should…
Totally sucks me in so I am unaware of time passing and I’m unaware of my own surroundings.
Best thing about a book tour
Meeting readers who talk about my characters as if they are real people.
Up next
It’s set in the Mississippi Delta. There’s an an element of mystery, an element of romance. My characters are always damaged at the beginning of the book and they’re always in a better place mentally and spiritually by the end of the book.
Readings and signings.
6:30 p.m. Tues., June 4, at Book Exchange, Marietta; 6:30 p.m. Wed., June 5, Foxtale Book Shoppe, Woodstock; 7 p.m. Thurs. June 6, Bookmiser, Marietta. For details go to www.karen-white.com
“A Place at the Table” by Susan Rebecca White
Susan Rebecca White, 37, is the author of three books. She lives in Atlanta with her new husband, Sam Reid, (they married just last Tuesday) and is an adjunct professor in creative writing at Emory University.
Elevator Pitch
It’s about a preacher’s son growing up in Decatur in the 1970s. He loves the world he was born into but is no longer welcome in it once his homosexuality is revealed. He flees to New York where his path crosses with two other exiles, an older black woman from North Carolina and a wealthy white woman from Connecticut whose marriage has just exploded.
Defining characteristic of your protagonist, Bobby
He moves to New York and he acclimates well, but he’s always yearning for the home he left behind in the South.
A good beach read should …
be totally immersive and engaging. Vacation is my time to read for pure pleasure, my time to get lost in the world of a novel.
Worst thing about a book tour
They can be very humbling. On my very first book tour I was in Durham, N.C. I had a lot of friends in that area who, one by one, told me they couldn’t make it, and there was a thunderstorm, and it was March Madness. One person showed up.
Up next
I have a book I want to write, but it completely terrifies me. It’s dark and involves me knowing a lot of history. So far the main character is completely unlikeable.
Readings and signings
6:30 p.m. reception, 7:30 talk, Sun., June 2, Georgia Center for the Book, at Decatur Library. For details go to www.susanrebeccawhite.com
Read excerpts from all three books on myajc.com.
