Book Trend: Women Self-Publishing Stories of Abusive Childhoods.

I get a lot of emails from various writers and publishers asking me to talk about their book on my blog, and I noticed an interesting trend in my inbox recently. I've had quite a few requests from self published female authors who've written books about growing up in abusive homes or about the stories …

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My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

With it's cover styled to look like a classic 80's VHS cover, My Best Friend's Exorcism is  playful nostalgia for the 80's era, it's music, TV, fashion, and most of all, it's dodgy horror films. And it's absolutely delightful. In the fourth grade, Gretchen moves to town and soon becomes Abby's best friend. Best friends …

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When Your Friend Is Diagnosed With A Mental Illness or Serious Disease: How Information Can Help You Both Cope.

Recently, one of my closest friends, who has been struggling with depression for years, told me that she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. One of the things that she said that really resonated with me was that some of her friends had turned away from her and didn't want to know her anymore. It …

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We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson

The Blackwell family have always lived in their beautiful home, a little apart and a little better than those around them. But since a family tragedy 6 years earlier, Merricat, her sister Constance and their aged and fragile Uncle Julian live there alone, avoiding contact with the hostile village around them. They live by a …

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Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace: The Private Diary Of A Victorian Lady by Kate Summerscale

This book is really beautifully bound if you get the hard cover edition. It's soft blue, with embossed gold flowers on the cover, and a swathed Victorian lady pictured in the centre. Perhaps it's slightly beside the point, but I do love a the pleasure of reading a beautifully bound volume. Kate Summerscale once again …

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