Books About Authors & Writers

Book Summary

Author Charlotte had a breakout first novel, but now her much-anticipated second novel is overdue. On top of that, she’s going through a painful public divorce and has uncovered a huge family secret. She discovers she has a tween half-sister who has been orphaned in Italy.

She would never turn her back on her family, so despite her looming deadlines, Charlotte heads to the Amalfi Coast with her best friend, Sloane, and Sloane’s charming brother. As she forms a new bond with her sister, Charlotte must re-examine all the relationships in her life and reconsider what it means to be family.

Book Summary

Growing up in the 1920s, Clara Harrington had a magical childhood as the daughter of renowned author Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham. Bronwyn became a national sensation when, at the age of just twelve, she wrote a book in an invented language.

But when Clara is just 8 years old, her mother goes missing off the coast of South Carolina. Not only does this leave her daughter and husband brokenhearted, but it also dashes the hopes of ever translating the sequel to her book.

Years later, in 1952, Clara is an illustrator raising a daughter of her own. Out of the blue, she is contacted by a stranger in London named Charlie Jameson, who claims to have discovered a handwritten dictionary of her mother’s lost language. Clara is skeptical but can’t help but be intrigued.

Together with her daughter, Wynnie, Clara crosses the Atlantic. When they arrive, London is experiencing a deadly natural disaster—the Great Smog. It’s too much for young Wynnie’s asthma, so Charlie invites them to seek refuge at his family’s retreat in the Lake District. There, Clara must find the courage to uncover the truth about her mother and the story she left behind.

Book Summary

Struggling novelist and divorced mom of two, Finlay Donovan, is BARELY holding things together. Each day has new challenges, like her ex-husband firing the nanny with no warning right before an important meeting.

Money is running out, and her next novel is way behind schedule. While meeting with her agent and attempting to buy more time, she receives a mysterious envelope with an offer of quick cash in exchange for a job.

Desperation and intrigue lead her to follow up with the number on the note, and before she knows what’s happening, she’s kind of agreed to be a contract killer for a woman with a truly terrible husband. Whoops.

Book Summary

When she met and married renowned novelist William Aubrey in the late 1800s, Evelyn was an aspiring author. When William finds himself gripped by writer’s block, he becomes jealous of his wife’s writing talent. Their marriage deteriorates when he deceitfully publishes Evelyn’s manuscript under his own name. Determined to reclaim her work and autonomy, Evelyn devises a daring plan to escape his control.

In California in 2006, Abigail Phillips, grappling with the void left by her mother’s death and the mystery of her father’s identity, discovers a photograph linking her to Evelyn Aubrey. This revelation propels Abigail to England, where she uncovers Evelyn’s disappearance and the suspicion of her murder. As Abigail delves deeper, she begins to suspect that Evelyn had another plot up her sleeve.

Book Summary

Margaret Ives is the daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th century, but the former tabloid princess hasn’t been seen in years. Now in her 80s, this tragic heiress is ready to tell her story. She invites two authors to Little Crescent Island for a one-month trial period, after which she intends to choose one to write her memoir.

The two authors she has invited couldn’t be more different. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-Prize winner with the personality of a thundercloud. Alice Scott, on the other hand, is an eternal optimist still working toward her big break as a writer.

Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story, but because of their ironclad NDAs, Hayden and Alice can’t share what they’ve learned in order to put together a more complete picture. Whether her story is a mystery, a tragedy, or a love ballad is yet to be determined. The same can be said for the story between Alice and Hayden, who can’t deny the inconvenient pull between them each time they’re in the same room.

Book Summary

Writers & Lovers is a classic coming-of-age book about the struggle of a 31-year-old in debt. She works as a waitress to pay the bills while trying not to give up her bigger dream of writing a novel.

The book is a mix of literary fiction and reality TV as it follows the main character through every aspect of her daily life as she struggles to find her way as an adult.

Book Summary

Marilyn wasn’t just caught making out with the rabbi’s son—she was caught by the whole congregation! In hopes of saving their daughter’s reputation, her parents sent her to her great-aunt Ada for the summer. They gave her an ultimatum: spend the summer with Ada, Philadelphia’s premier matchmaker, or kiss her college plans goodbye.

Based on her mother’s description, Marilyn expects Ada to be a humorless septuagenarian. Instead, Ada is sharp and straight-talking, with platinum blonde hair, a Hermès scarf, and a Cadillac convertible. As the summer goes on, Ada and Marilyn set off for the Jersey Shore, where Marilyn helps to scope out eligible matches for anyone but herself. She’s learning a lot from Ada—but not exactly what her parents were hoping for. Marilyn realizes that she doesn’t have to settle, even as her father threatens to disinherit her.

Book Summary

Wylie is a true crime writer who retreated to an isolated farmhouse to write her new book. She doesn’t mind being snowed in because the cozy fire and silence feel perfect. However, she doesn’t realize a storm is brewing inside the farmhouse as well.

Decades earlier, two people were murdered, and a girl disappeared from the same house. As the storm rages on, Wylie is haunted by the secrets of the house and her past. When she discovers a small child outside in the snow, it becomes clear that the farmhouse isn’t as isolated as she thought.

Book Summary

Hazel’s romance writing career has been stalled ever since a breakup left her with writer’s block. To make matters worse, she just lost her Upper East Side apartment, and her publisher is losing patience waiting for her next manuscript.

Facing an ultimatum – turn her book in by her next deadline or she’ll lose her publishing deal – she impulsively decides to relocate to a small town in Pennsylvania, hoping it will provide just the inspiration she needs. She buys a historic house sight unseen. After a less-than-smooth arrival in town (including a run-in with the local wildlife), she discovers that the house is dilapidated and the town is also on its last legs.

On the bright side, despite his grumpy demeanor, the contractor she hires to help renovate her house provides some swoon-worthy inspiration.

Book Summary

After a teenage heartbreak, Beth marries a kind, gentle farmer named Frank, and they build a beautiful life together. Years later, Beth’s brother-in-law shoots a dog that is attacking sheep on the farm, and then they learn that the dog belonged to Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager, who has just returned to town. From that moment forward, nothing will ever be the same again.

Gabriel, now a famous author, has returned to his hometown with his young son. A son who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident.

As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel’s orbit, the past is no longer in the past. Secrets and jealousies resurface, and tensions rise throughout the village. Beth will have to decide between the life she has and the life she once wanted.

Book Summary

Lara looked like a typical soccer mom in Santa Cruz, California, complete with a million-dollar home in a cul-de-sac. But one day, everything she had been hiding came tumbling down. Lara had been stealing neighbors’ credit cards in order to support her heroin addiction.

She was convicted of 32 felonies and had to quickly learn the ways of prison politics and its class system. She earns the nickname “Mama Love” from other inmates and soon rises to become the “shot caller”.

After her sentence, Lara reinvents herself again as a ghost-writer. She’s gone from stealing others’ identities for heroin to becoming others to help them write hit novels. She was successful enough to meet Oprah, the Dalai Lama, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Through all this, the shame of her past haunts her. She must learn to forgive before she can truly move on.

Book Summary

In 1930, five of the greatest female crime writers of the era came together to form a secret society. Tired of being treated as second-class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club, these women call themselves the Queens of Crime, and they are determined to solve an actual murder reminiscent of the locked-room murders they are famous for writing about.

Led by Dorothy L. Sayers (whose husband is a member of the Detection Club), the Queens of Crime also includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy.

May Daniels, an English nurse, was visiting France with her friend when she seemingly vanished from a train station. Her body was discovered in the nearby woods months later. The police believe she was strangled, but how did the killer manage to sneak her body out of the crowded station without anyone noticing, and why was there so much blood at the crime scene?

The Queens of Crime take it upon themselves to solve this highly publicized murder, but it seems that the killer is targeting Sayers and threatening to expose a dark secret from her past.

Book Summary

Eve feels like the luckiest woman in the world. She has her dream career as a successful novelist and a happy family, including an amazing husband who made it possible for her to have both a career and children.

But then, in a single day, everything changes. She wakes up in the hospital, unsure why she’s there. Her doctors and husband remind her that she had a brain tumor and just had a major surgery to remove it. She’s gone from relying on her words and stories for her career to not even remembering the words of Christmas carols. Will she even remember her children?

Book Summary

Rosie leaves her hometown in Tennessee and moves to New York City to pursue her dreams of being a writer. But things get off to a rocky start when she discovers that her arch-nemesis and ex-crush, Aiden, is in her writing workshop. Aiden may be gorgeous, but he’s also a surly and obnoxious literary writer with little patience for Rosie’s preferred romance genre.

Their constant classroom clashes prompt their professor to offer an ultimatum. If they want to stay in her class, they’ll have to co-author a manuscript that merges their opposing genres. The boundary between fiction and reality blurs as their work-in-progress provides an outlet for them to express their feelings of attraction.

When Rosie and Aiden again find themselves competing for a coveted career opportunity, their rivalry is reignited and threatens to unravel both their partnership and burgeoning romance.

Book Summary

If Judy Blume is one of the authors who first sparked your love of reading, then you’ll want to pick up this biography, which provides an intimate portrait of her life, her work, and her cultural impact.

It begins in the 1960s, when Judy, a mother of two living in suburban New Jersey, was searching for more purpose in her life. She began writing books that starred regular children with genuine thoughts and problems. But more than that, she used her deceptively simple tales to provide an honest exploration of the growing women’s rights movement and address issues like career opportunities, bodily autonomy, and even sexual pleasure.

Blume’s bravery provoked backlash, making her the country’s most-banned author in the mid-1980s. Thankfully, her works withstood those culture wars, and she remains a beloved author among readers of all ages. Now, this biography tells the story of how she went from housewife to a groundbreaking icon.

Book Summary

Emma has spent her life as an aspiring (and talented) screenwriter, but a past family tragedy keeps her in Texas as a full-time caregiver. However, when the opportunity of a lifetime comes along, it may finally be her chance to pursue the career of her dreams.

Emma’s screenwriting idol, Charlie Yates, has written his first romance script – and it’s terrible. His agent wants to bring Emma in to help with the rewrite, but there are problems. Charlie is cranky, he doesn’t work with co-writers, and he doesn’t believe in love.

Can Emma convince him that romance and love exist? And can her younger sister handle caring for their dad while she is away?

Book Summary

In 1581, Emilia Bassano had access to the English theater as the Lord Chamberlain’s mistress. However, she wants to be a playwright, not just an audience member. But in the 16th century, that was not a role society would permit a woman to hold. But her desire to see her work on the stage is strong, so she pays a man for the use of his name. To see her work performed, she must write herself out of history.

In the present day, playwright Melina Green has written a new work inspired by her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. However, 400 years later, Melina faces some of the same challenges as Emilia. Will she also be willing to forgo credit in order to see her work performed?

Book Summary

When bookshop employee and aspiring writer Alex is dumped on her 30th birthday, she makes some huge life decisions…while drunk. The next morning, she decides to go all in on the plans to escape her New Zealand hometown and hop on the plane to New York City. It’s finally time to pursue her dream of writing a novel!

Determined to build a career, she focuses on crafting stories about single life in the city. Her plans take an unexpected turn when she meets Michael, her grumpy yet attractive upstairs neighbor and single father. As their paths intertwine, Michael begins featuring in her fantasies. Maybe he’s exactly the inspiration she needs to write a sexy romance novel.

Book Summary

Tess Harrow is a bestselling thriller writer, but this summer, she just wants to take a break to bond with her daughter after her recent divorce. They’ve barely settled in when an explosion rocks the cabin, and Tess finds herself pulled into a murder investigation.

The local sheriff turns out to be the spitting image of the detective Tess writes about in her books, her young daughter is fascinated by dead bodies, and the neighbors are pointing their fingers at Bigfoot. Nothing about this summer is going as she had planned.

Book Summary

Eva is a single mother and bestselling erotica author based in Brooklyn. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she encounters Shane Hall, a reclusive, award-winning novelist, at a literary event. Unbeknownst to the public, Eva and Shane shared a passionate week-long romance as teenagers twenty years prior—a connection they’ve subtly referenced in their writings over the years.

As they reconnect over the course of seven days during a sweltering Brooklyn summer, unresolved feelings and past traumas resurface. Eva grapples with trusting Shane again, especially given the heartbreak he once caused her. Amidst their rekindled chemistry, both must confront their personal demons and decide if they can forge a future together.

Book Summary

While jogging near her home on Nantucket, novelist Vivi is killed in a hit-and-run accident. After her death, Vivi is granted the opportunity to watch what happens to her family for one final summer. In addition to watching, she gets three “nudges” to change the outcome of events on Earth.

Between troubles for her children, the investigation into her death, and a childhood secret that she wrapped into the final novel she was writing, Vivi must be cautious with her nudges while learning to let her family make decisions without her.

Book Summary

Tanner Scott’s family relocated from progressive California to conservative Utah three years ago. Life in Provo (home to BYU) is complicated enough as a half-Jewish, half-lapsed Latter-day Saint teenager, so Tanner, who was openly bisexual at his previous school, decides to go back into the closet at Provo High. Now, in his senior year, he is looking forward to attending an out-of-state college next year, where he can once again feel free to be himself.

He fully intends to coast through his final semester of high school classes until his best friend, Autumn, dares him to take a prestigious honors seminar where students draft an entire book in just four months. And his final semester plans are pushed even further off track when Tanner finds himself falling in love with Sebastian Brother, the class mentor who sold his seminar novel to a major publishing house the year before. He’s also the son of a Bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Book Summary

Lila’s family is complicated, her house is falling apart, and her career as a self-help writer is at a standstill because she’s developed writer’s block. She’s divorced, has two willful daughters, and her elderly stepfather seems to have quietly moved in with her. Then her real father – a man she hasn’t seen since he left for Hollywood more than three decades ago – suddenly shows up on her doorstep.

His reappearance in her life after 35 years feels like the final straw. But she’ll learn that even when you think you can’t forgive someone, they might still have something to teach you about love and what it means to be family.

Book Summary

Emma’s parents are both highbrow authors and publishers with their own vanity press. They look down on anything popular, mainstream, or that they deem as not literary enough. Her sister is also in the industry as a well-known book influencer promoting the family’s books. Emma recently graduated from the University of Michigan, but her dreams of being a romance author make her the black sheep.

At the family cottage on Lake Michigan, she finds inspiration for her own writing in the juicy romance novels that once belonged to her grandmother. But that’s not all she finds in Gigi’s belongings. She discovers a secret that has the power to ruin her parents’ business and destroy their reputation in the industry. Now, it’s time to decide if she’s okay letting her parents be exposed, or if she needs to protect the family legacy despite all the times they’ve treated her poorly.

Book Summary

Verity Crawford was a bestselling author of a popular series of books, but an injury has left her unable to complete the series. Her husband, Jeremy, hires struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh to complete his wife’s unfinished books. 

Lowen begins sifting through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to work with. In the process, she uncovers Verity’s unfinished autobiography – one she doesn’t think Verity intended anyone to read. It’s filled with bone-chilling admissions – including the truth about what really happened the day Verity and Jeremy’s daughter died.

Lowen intends to keep her discovery of the autobiography manuscript secret in order to protect Jeremy. But as their relationship grows more complicated, she begins to reconsider. If Jeremy read Verity’s horrifying truths, could he continue to love his wife? And if not, would that make room for Lowen?

Book Summary

Known for her best-selling young adult historical fiction featuring vivid characters and harrowing plots, Ruta Sepetys is considered an expert in her craft. In this book, which is part memoir and part how-to guide, she encourages aspiring writers to look inward and use their own personal experiences and memories to discover their unique voice.

This book weaves together heartfelt stories from her own life that illustrate an aspect of the craft of writing (such as plot, character development, or dialogue) and provides a series of writing prompts and exercises.