Saturday, June 1, 2013

Announcing the June Author in the Spotlight

Announcing the June Author in the Spotlight

Happy June to everyone who has been waiting for the summer months to arrive.  June is my favorite month of the year.  School ends and I turn another year older.

I have three more days left of the school year, tons of papers still to grade, a classroom room to clean and pack and I am looking forward to some down time.  I'm invited to three weddings this month and I plan to start my summer by relaxing at the beach and jumping on my trampoline, if it ever warms up that is.  I also plan to read A LOT.  One of the books I plan to read is A Million Heavens by John Brandon, June's Minnesota Author in the Spotlight here on Booksnob.

John Brandon has written three books.
A Million Heavens (synopsis from Goodreads):

On the top floor of a small hospital, an unlikely piano prodigy lies in a coma, attended to by his gruff,
helpless father. Outside the clinic, a motley vigil assembles beneath a reluctant New Mexico winter—strangers in search of answers, a brush with the mystical, or just an escape. To some the boy is a novelty, to others a religion. Just beyond this ragtag circle roams a disconsolate wolf on his nightly rounds, protecting and threatening, learning too much. And above them all, a would-be angel sits captive in a holding cell of the afterlife, finishing the work he began on earth, writing the songs that could free him. This unlikely assortment—a small-town mayor, a vengeful guitarist, all the unseen desert lives—unites to weave a persistently hopeful story of improbable communion.

Citrus County (Synopsis from Goodreads):


There shouldn’t be a Citrus County. Teenage romance should be difficult, but not this difficult. Boys like Toby should cause trouble but not this much. The moon should glow gently over children safe in their beds. Uncles in their rockers should be kind. Teachers should guide and inspire. Manatees should laze and palm trees sway and snakes keep to their shady spots under the azalea thickets. The air shouldn’t smell like a swamp. The stars should twinkle. Shelby should be her own hero, the first hero of Citrus County. She should rescue her sister from underground, rescue Toby from his life. Her destiny should be a hero’s destiny.

Arkansas (Synopsis from Goodreads):

Arkansas is a biting first novel full of wet T-shirt contests, illicit drugs,
and cross-country road trips. There are the days: the dappled grounds, the aimless yardwork, the hours in the booth giving directions to families in SUVs. And then there are the nights: crisscrossing the South with illicit goods, the shifty deals in dingy trailers, the vague orders from a boss they've never met. Before Kyle and Swin can recognize how close to paradise they are in this neglected state park in southern Arkansas, the lazy peace is shattered with a shot. Night blends into day. Dead bodies. Crooked superiors. Suspicious associates. It's on-the-job training, with no time for slow learning, bad judgment, or foul luck.

This month at Booksnob you can expect a contest, author interview, book reviews and so much more.  Stick around because June is going to be a great month on Booksnob.  So get busy and start reading!
Happy June!